"Madam, this is one million. You can count it if you like…"
Nine in the morning, in the living room of Fat Wah's villa.
Lin Yao placed a leather briefcase filled with HKD 1,000,000 on the table and spoke to the widow, Hua Sao, who was dressed in a black cheongsam.
Today, Hua Sao had clearly put effort into showing off her advantages.
Lin Yao gave a quick visual estimate—a D-cup, at least.
As for whether there was padding inside… who knew?
Hua Sao rested her hand on the briefcase but didn't open it.
Instead, she looked up at Lin Yao and smiled faintly.
"I trust you as a person, Ah Yao. Counting money would just make things awkward."
As she spoke, she took out the property deed from a rosewood drawer behind her.
When she handed it over, her fingertip deliberately brushed lightly across Lin Yao's palm.
Lin Yao accepted the deed without pause, slipped it neatly into his suit pocket, and said calmly:
"Madam, I'll have my lawyer handle the transfer procedures as quickly as possible."
Seeing that he didn't take the bait, Hua Sao wasn't embarrassed. She turned around, poured a cup of tea, and brought it over.
Lin Yao took the cup and added:
"I'll have A-Bu escort you to the airport. If anything happens on the way, he can handle it."
Hua Sao nodded. She tried to take Lin Yao's hand again, but halfway through she stopped herself.
"Ah Yao, come upstairs and take one last look. I've lived in this house for over ten years… I do have some feelings for it."
Lin Yao followed her around the villa, upstairs and down.
Looking at the yellowed wallpaper and the old-fashioned chandeliers, he calculated silently:
This renovation is straight out of the '50s. Everything needs to be redone. Even the sofa has to go.
Seeing him staring at the walls, Hua Sao reached out and touched his arm.
"If you don't like it, I can have people redo it for you?"
"No need to trouble yourself, Madam."
Lin Yao stepped half a pace back, his tone even.
"I've already contacted a renovation team. They'll start in a couple of days. You're flying out the day after tomorrow—you should rest early."
The smile on Hua Sao's face faded slightly. She didn't push it further, only sighed.
"Then I won't see you out. If anything comes up, give me a call."
Lin Yao nodded, turned, and left with the property deed.
Back at his base, he called A-Bu and told him to escort Hua Sao to the airport the day after tomorrow.
If Fat Wah had truly been killed by an old enemy, there was a chance they might target Hua Sao as well.
Even though Lin Yao found the woman troublesome—
She had sold the villa to him at a low price. That was still a good deal.
Protecting her while she was in Hong Kong was only fair.
Principles still mattered.
Once she left Hong Kong, though—she'd have nothing to do with him anymore.
The woman was undeniably older.
If she'd been younger… maybe—
But old habits die hard.
Age was still a hard line.
Plenty of young, pretty ones would come later.
…
"By the way, Brother Yao, I just remembered something," A-Bu said.
"Go on," Lin Yao replied, sliding a cigarette across the table.
"Didn't we say earlier that someone from Tung Sing, that guy Ba Xian, was making trouble?"
A-Bu accepted the cigarette but didn't light it.
"What kind of trouble?" Lin Yao laughed.
"Isn't he afraid I'll deal with him?"
A-Bu replied, "He says Fat Wah owed him money last year. Now that you're the boss, he wants you to pay."
"Does he have an IOU?" Lin Yao asked.
"Yes. I've seen it. It was borrowed in the name of the hall. Boss, want to check last year's accounts?"
Lin Yao frowned slightly and summoned Wu Qiuyu, the acting accountant.
Wu Qiuyu—short, chubby, greasy-haired, balding, with a mole under his nose—looked shifty as hell.
During last night's purge, he'd been slacking the whole time.
Five-out-of-ten fighting skills, always hiding behind others.
One of the pieces of trash Lin Yao was planning to clean out.
Today, he intended to kick him out directly.
Soon, Wu Qiuyu arrived.
Lin Yao questioned him. The man hesitated, then admitted it sounded familiar.
Lin Yao pulled out the account books.
Sure enough—it was real.
The debt was listed under the hall's name.
Did he know he was going to be replaced this year?
No—he must've been planning to step down.
Leaving a hole for the next boss to fall into.
But would Hun Jianglong have paid it back?
Lin Yao had personally trained Hun Jianglong…
This godfather–godson relationship was more tangled than it looked.
Now they were all dead. The truth would never come out.
Damn Fat Wah.
Die if you want—but why leave a landmine behind?
Still, the interest rate was outrageous.
Borrow 9, repay 13.
What kind of annual rate was that?
Fat Wah had borrowed one million from Ba Xian—God knew what he used it for—and was supposed to pay it back within a year.
Next month was the deadline.
"He says if we don't pay back 1.5 million, he'll start swinging," A-Bu sneered.
"He even sent a lackey to pass the message today. If I wasn't worried about messing up your plans, Boss, I'd have beaten him already."
One point five million?
Lin Yao ground his cigarette between his fingers.
He'd just used hall funds to buy the villa.
Even though the Canada Road purge brought in some cash—
There was no way he was paying Fat Wah's debt.
I didn't borrow it.
Why should I repay it?
In the movies, didn't Jing Kun borrow two million and never pay it back?
"All right," Lin Yao said calmly.
"A-Bu, set up a meeting with Ba Xian. I'll talk to him face to face about this debt."
"Yes, Boss!"
After A-Bu left, Lin Yao gathered information on Ba Xian.
The movies barely explained his background.
All he knew was that Ba Xian belonged to Tung Sing, wasn't one of the Five Tigers, and Tung Sing didn't even have a formal boss.
No idea if he was a Red Pole or not.
Wu Qiuyu knew Lin Yao disliked him.
New emperor, new ministers.
He didn't want to get swept out the door.
So he wracked his brain and spilled everything he knew about Ba Xian.
And sure enough—
Reality was different from the movies.
Ba Xian didn't stay at Tung Sing's main base in Yuen Long.
He operated out of Causeway Bay.
He was wealthier than Wu Wei and was Tung Sing's richest man, having started out as a loan shark.
Not just Jing Kun—倪坤, even Lian Haolong, and Fei Fei Yong were all backed by him.
Even Lau Yiu-cho, the old boss of the Causeway Bay Everglory Hotel.
All "old acquaintances."
One thing was just like the movies—
Ba Xian and Hongxing's Chan Ho-nam were currently clashing.
Ba Xian had expanded Sang Na City and several nightclubs into Causeway Bay, openly challenging Big B.
And behind Ba Xian stood Jing Kun.
Which meant—this was almost certainly Jing Kun pulling strings from behind the scenes.
After analyzing Wu Qiuyu's information, Lin Yao couldn't help but look at him a little differently.
This useless five-out-of-ten fighter…
actually knew quite a bit.
After thinking it over, Lin Yao said:
"Alright. You don't need to do anything else these next few days."
Then his face darkened.
"Take a couple of sharp guys and quietly find out Ba Xian's movements.
If you do it well—you can stay."
"Yes, yes! Brother Yao, I'll handle it perfectly, I swear!"
"I've got connections all over the streets—this isn't bragging—"
"Enough," Lin Yao cut him off.
"Go do it."
"Yes, yes…" Wu Qiuyu laughed nervously and hurried out.
After he left, Lin Yao closed the office door and told the younger guys not to disturb him.
He sat on the sofa, smoking and sipping tea—
—and began replaying the movie's plot in his head.
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