Three shots rang out, leaving three bullet holes in the main road.
Fortunately, Chen Qiang hadn't fired at the people inside the cars.
After the three shots, while I was still dazed, Chen Qiang was already carrying the pistol, walking slowly toward the lead Audi 100.
The men in the two cars behind tried to open their doors and get out, but a hand extended from the window of the lead Audi, making a gesture to stop them.
Chen Qiang walked up to the back seat of the lead Audi and knocked on the window with the butt of his gun.
The window slowly rolled down, revealing a dignified middle-aged man sitting inside.
He was dressed impeccably, like a major tycoon—blue shirt, black suit, gold-rimmed glasses—and his aura was as steady as Mount Tai.
Even with Chen Qiang holding a gun, his expression didn't change a bit.
The muscles in Chen Qiang's face were twitching, making him look hideous.
"Brother Muye, where are you heading? Going to Liuxiang Town?"
Brother Muye.
Chen Qiang didn't say "Brother" sarcastically; he meant it sincerely.
His free hand, hanging by his thigh, was trembling slightly.
Chen Qiang, the boss of Liuxiang Town, was terrified of this middle-aged man in the Audi.
Muye looked at the gun in Chen Qiang's hand without a hint of panic. He reached up, took off his glasses, pulled out a cloth, and began wiping them slowly.
"Barren hills and treacherous waters breed unruly mobs. The last person to block my road with a gun was also from your Liuxiang Town. Name was Chu Jianghai."
"He blocked me, and that was that. But what kind of character are you, Baldy Qiang? You dare to block me too?"
Standing next to Chen Qiang, I could clearly see that not only were his fingers trembling, but his legs were shaking too.
Who exactly was this man named Muye, a man in his early forties, to make an armed Chen Qiang so terrified?
Chen Qiang's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Brother Muye, it's not that I don't know the difference between heaven and earth, or that I want to make trouble for you."
"But I have so many brothers looking to me for a living. You partnering with Tumor is smashing my rice bowl. Even a dog will jump a wall when cornered, let alone a man like me!"
Hearing this, I was stunned at first, then looked at Chen Qiang with complex eyes.
So Chen Qiang didn't offend Tumor just to stand up for me; there was a bigger grudge between him and Tumor.
Maybe he only took me in because he saw how ruthless I was when I blinded Chen Xiang.
With or without me, he and Tumor were destined to have a showdown sooner or later.
Muye wiped his glasses methodically, not even glancing at Chen Qiang, and spoke indifferently.
"So what exactly do you want to do? Use that piece of junk to handle me?"
Chen Qiang closed his eyes, his expression tortured. After a long while, as if he had made up his mind...
He raised the gun. But the muzzle wasn't aimed at Muye; it was aimed at his own forehead.
The trigger and grip were facing Muye. All Muye had to do was lift his hand and move his finger, and he could drop Chen Qiang with one shot.
"Brother Muye, give me a chance. Fifteen days. In fifteen days, I'll settle Tumor. Then, whatever business you want to do in Liuxiang Town, I'll do it for you."
"Whatever cut you had with Tumor, I'll take ten percent less."
Muye didn't speak, but his hands stopped wiping the glasses. He looked at Chen Qiang with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
Winters in the Southwest are always damp and cold, but beads of sweat were forming on Chen Qiang's forehead.
It showed just how nervous he was.
Chen Qiang lowered his head, pushing the trigger closer to Muye, and continued. "If you look down on me, Brother Muye, if you think I'm not worthy and insist on working with Tumor, then just shoot me right now, Brother."
I sucked in a breath of cold air. I thought Chen Qiang was going to go for broke and handle Muye.
I never expected he would offer himself up on a platter for Muye to handle.
Brother Muye put his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, opened the door, and got out of the car.
He walked up to Chen Qiang, gently pushed the gun aside with his hand, and looked Chen Qiang—as well as me, Xu Rang, and Goatee—squarely in the eye for the first time.
His gaze paused on my face for a few seconds, seeming somewhat curious.
But he quickly withdrew his gaze and stared straight at Chen Qiang.
Even though I wasn't the one locking eyes with Muye, I could still feel the crushing pressure of his gaze.
Compared to Muye, Chen Qiang looked like a street thug.
Muye slowly took the gun from Chen Qiang's hand and toyed with it for a moment.
Beside me, Goatee's breathing quickened with Muye's movements.
Xu Rang and I felt the same. We were all terrified that Muye would actually shoot Chen Qiang.
Fortunately, Muye let out a chuckle and handed the gun back to Chen Qiang.
"If you had turned ruthless today and killed me, I, Xu Muye, would have accepted it. But if you had left me with even a single breath, your whole family wouldn't have survived the night."
"But you've got guts, daring to hand the gun to me. That makes me think a little higher of you."
Chen Qiang visibly relaxed. But before he could fully exhale, Brother Muye backhanded him four times across the face.
Blood seeped from both corners of Chen Qiang's mouth.
"That's the price for blocking my car. I'll give you five days. In five days, I'll come from the county seat to Liuxiang Town again. If you haven't settled Tumor by then, I'll settle the new scores and the old scores together. I'll handle you on Tumor's behalf."
"Of course, you can also try using this piece of junk to block me again."
Having been slapped four times, Chen Qiang wasn't angry; instead, he looked overjoyed.
"You got it, you got it. Thank you, Brother Muye, for this chance. Don't worry, I absolutely won't let you down."
Brother Muye wiped his hands and said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "For you people, this is big business. But for me, it's negligible. It doesn't matter if I give it to you or Tumor."
"Baldy Qiang, remember this: if you don't handle this beautifully, if you make me uncomfortable, go pick a spot with good Feng Shui. I'll bury you overnight."
Chen Qiang wanted to say more, but Brother Muye waved him off. He walked up to me and asked softly, "What is your relationship to Chu Jianghai?"
Facing this Brother Muye, who made even Chen Qiang afraid to breathe loudly, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.
I let out a slow breath to steady my heartbeat. "He was my biological brother."
Brother Muye nodded slightly with a look of realization. "Good. If you get the chance to come to the county seat, come find me at the Mingge Nightclub. Your brother and I... we weren't just casual acquaintances."
My eyes lit up. Could it be that this Brother Muye from the county seat was good brothers with my late brother?
Before I could get too happy, Brother Muye continued.
"Your brother nearly killed me twice. If I didn't have luck on my side, I'd have died before he did."
My scalp went numb. From now on, I'd better stop telling everyone I meet that I'm Chu Jianghai's little brother.
Otherwise, I might get taken out one day without even knowing why.
Brother Muye was clearly not the same breed of animal as trash like Chen Xiang. Even though my brother had a feud with him, my brother was dead, so the debt was wiped clean.
He didn't make things difficult for me. Instead, before getting back in the car, he patted my shoulder affectionately.
Perhaps this was the magnanimity of a true boss.
...
Xu Muye, native of Qianyang, born in 1954. Known in the jianghu as Brother Muye. He was the undisputed society boss of my county in the mid-to-late nineties.
Controlling over a dozen KTVs, nightclubs, and transport businesses in the county seat, he already fit the prototype of a gangland boss.
He was righteous, broad-minded, and decisive.
A few years later, with his help, I committed the first shooting case in Liuxiang Town.
In 2010, Xu Muye died of illness in Vancouver. At that time, I was on my third stint in the palace, serving a heavy sentence at a "college" in the Northwest. I could only light three cigarettes by the iron window to pay my respects.