RTCBM 14

Last night’s heavy rain had washed away all the lingering summer heat from the city.
The temperature dropped sharply, and just like that, it stepped into deep autumn.

Mu Yuan changed into clean clothes and carefully slicked his hair back with gel.
In an instant, he was once again the spirited Mu-ge, admired by all his underlings.

But as soon as he stepped outside, a cold gust of wind hit him head-on. He shivered, turned around, and rushed back into the house to grab a long-sleeved jacket.

After pulling his car out of the garage, Mu Yuan drove toward the western part of the old city, opposite the direction of Six Houses.

The car moved slowly through the narrow alleyways of the old district and finally came to a stop in front of a fortress-like building.
When he looked up, he saw a weathered plaque hanging in a prominent spot above the courtyard gate. It was painted in bright red and neatly written in regular script: Hong Qing Cantonese Opera Troupe.

Several apprentices were sweeping the courtyard. When they heard movement at the gate, they looked up and immediately recognized Mu Yuan’s car. They tossed aside their brooms and ran over in excitement.

“Senior Mu! Long time no see!”

Mu Yuan took off his sunglasses and gave each of them a light knock on the forehead as he passed. He went to the backseat and opened the door. Inside were seven or eight boxes filled with expensive imported fruits, dried seafood, and snacks the younger members liked. He pointed to the pile and said, “Come help me bring all this inside.”

The apprentices nodded eagerly, scrambling to grab the boxes.

“Where’s Shifu?”

“Upstairs, rehearsing with the others. If you go up now, you’ll see him right away.”
Apprentice Zhuo Fei answered, as if afraid Mu Yuan had been away so long he might forget the layout. He insisted on personally leading Mu Yuan inside.

Just as the two of them were about to head upstairs, a man in a dark red tangzhuang stood waiting at the top of the staircase.
His hair was tinged with white, and though he remained silent, his posture was straight and imposing. He radiated an aura that made people instinctively straighten up.

Mu Yuan immediately dropped his usual arrogance. He bowed respectfully and greeted him properly.

“Shifu.”

Lu Qiming let out a light snort through his nose.

“Now you remember you still have a shifu?”

Mu Yuan stood still, obedient and silent.

Zhuo Fei secretly nudged Mu Yuan and leaned in to whisper, “Senior, don’t be fooled by Shifu putting on that angry face. Inside, he is overjoyed. Last night, when he heard you were coming, he made us stay up late cleaning every corner of the place.
See that outfit he’s wearing? It was custom-made. Normally, he treasures it so much he won’t even take it out. But today, he changed into it first thing in the morning, just to wait for you.”

Lu Qiming walked over and smacked Zhuo Fei hard on the back of the head.
“Big mouth. Did you finish the cleaning outside?”

Zhuo Fei pouted.
“No…”

“Did you warm up your voice today?”

“No…”

“Then why are you standing around here? Go get to work.”

Zhuo Fei shot Mu Yuan a mischievous grin and slipped away just before Lu Qiming could land a second slap.

Lu Qiming, was the current head of Hong Qing Cantonese Opera Troupe. He was also the one who had introduced Mu Yuan to the world of Cantonese opera, teaching him the skills of the stage.

To be fair, Mu Yuan had not joined willingly at the start. As a child, he had been mischievous and restless. When he was five, during a Tin Hau Festival celebration, he happened to catch a troupe performance and, purely for fun, started mimicking them from the sidelines. Lu Qiming had seen it and immediately spotted his natural talent.
After asking around, he managed to track down Mu Huafeng, Mu Yuan’s second uncle, and explained his intention to take Mu Yuan as a disciple.

At the time, Mu Huafeng was at his wit’s end with his unruly nephew. Sending him off to the opera troupe for some discipline seemed like a blessing. It would cultivate some cultural grounding and teach him a practical skill at the same time. He agreed.

At first, Mu Yuan resisted with everything he had. He clashed with Shifu constantly, skipped practice, pulled every stunt he could to rebel. Eventually, word got back to Mu Huafeng. And Mu Yuan was the kind of kid who absolutely needed a beating to set him straight. After being dragged home and disciplined a few times by his second uncle, he finally behaved. He began taking lessons seriously and never caused trouble again.

Later, when Mu Yuan started school, word got out that he sang opera at the troupe.
Some classmates mocked him, calling him effeminate. They even waited for him after school, picking fights and mimicking his opera voice in a shrill, mocking tone.

Mu Yuan had no patience for nonsense.
He rolled up his sleeves and beat the crap out of them, knocking out a few teeth in the process. After that, no one dared laugh at him to his face again.

Mu Yuan had stayed with the opera troupe until he was sixteen. Later, when Mu Huafeng got into trouble, Mu Yuan left the troupe and started mixing in the underworld. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around.

Mu Yuan always worried that one day his Shifu and the other apprentices would get dragged into trouble because of him.
After leaving, he rarely came back, though he never once missed sending gifts to his Shifu and the others during every holiday over the years.

Lu Qiming studied his disciple carefully.
It had been a long time since he last saw him. Mu Yuan had grown more mature and steady. The kid who used to make him furious had become a man who could stand on his own. Lu Qiming felt proud, but at the same time, he could not help but feel regret that Mu Yuan had given up on opera.

“Shifu, how have you been lately? Are you in good health?” Mu Yuan brought him a cup of freshly brewed goji berry tea and warned him to be careful of the heat.

“What could happen to me? I eat well and sleep even better.” Lu Qiming blew on the tea and took a small sip, then gave him a sidelong glance. “And you? Been causing any trouble out there?”

“Of course not. I have been behaving,” Mu Yuan said with a straight face.

If not for maintaining his dignity, Lu Qiming would have burst out laughing. This little brat…

He had raised Mu Yuan for eleven years.
How could he not know exactly what kind of person this disciple was?

“If you are what passes for ‘well-behaved,’ then all the good people in the world must have gone extinct.” Lu Qiming said it with a serious face, but his tone was filled with affection.

Mu Yuan grinned and moved closer to his Shifu, kneading his shoulders and pounding his back like a good little apprentice.
“Shifu, no need to worry. I’m a grown man now. I know what I’m doing. Speaking of which, what’s for lunch? I’m starving.”

“Missing a meal won’t kill you. Go close the door and sit down. I have something to ask you.”

Once the door was shut, the noise of singing and practice from outside was completely sealed off. Inside, the room was quiet. Only the two of them remained.

Lu Qiming finally spoke.
“Xiao Yuan, when are you going to let go?”

“Let go of what?”
Mu Yuan pretended not to understand and lowered his head to sip his tea.

“Your second uncle has been gone for years. You still cannot let it go?”

Mu Yuan drank one cup after another.
It took him a long while before he finally said, “As long as the real culprit hasn’t been found, I won’t give up.”

“Nine years have passed. What have you found?” Lu Qiming’s voice was calm but heavy.

“The conflicts between criminal groups are dangerous and complicated. If your second uncle knew you were risking yourself like this for him, he would not be happy. He never wanted you to live your life carrying a burden for him. He just wanted you to live peacefully.”

Mu Yuan poured him another cup of hot tea and smiled faintly. “Since I have been digging for nine years already, giving up now would be too much of a waste, don’t you think?”

“You know my temper and character better than anyone. I am the type who keeps going even if the road gets darker and darker.
I know you are worried about me, but this is the path I chose for myself. I have never regretted it.”

Lu Qiming let out a helpless sigh.
Of course he knew how stubborn Mu Yuan was. If he could have been talked out of it, he would have stayed nine years ago.
There would have been no need to wait until now.

In the end, he could only remind him,
“No matter what, you need to be careful.”

On the way back from Lu Qiming’s place, Mu Yuan kept replaying his Shifu’s words over and over in his mind.
He could not afford to drag this out any longer. He needed to find that man called Fat Bear as soon as possible.

Just as he was reaching for his phone to call He Dongying for an update, his phone rang.
As if connected by some invisible thread, it was He Dongying calling first.

“Hey, Mu Yu, you had two packages delivered to my company. I brought them back to your place.”

“Alright. I’m on the way home now. Almost there.”

“I spilled something while drinking earlier and messed up my clothes. I borrowed one of yours to wear.”

“Fine. Just grab something from the closet.”

He had just hung up when Mu Yuan realized he had forgotten to ask about the main issue. He was about to call back when another call came in. This time, the caller ID displayed Pervert.

Mu Yuan frowned but immediately switched into Xiaoxing mode, answering with a cheerful, “A Shang!”

“Xiao Xing, where are you right now?”

“At home. I’m off today.”

“Good. I left my jacket at your place this morning. I have a meeting with a client nearby, so I’ll drop by to pick it up.”

“Huh? Wait, hang on…”

“I have to run. Talk later.”

Before Mu Yuan could say another word, the call had already ended.

He immediately tried calling He Dongying back, telling him to get out of the house right away. But He Dongying’s phone was already off, probably dead. Mu Yuan quickly dialed the landline at home, muttering under his breath, “Come on, big bro, pick up, pick up…”

Someone answered.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end was not He Dongying’s.

“Ah Zhi? Why are you there?”

“I was wondering who it was. Turns out it’s you, Boss. Didn’t you say the kitchen drain was broken a few days ago and asked me to come fix it? I happened to have some free time today, so I came over with Xiao Xing.
We rang the doorbell for ages but no one answered. I was just about to call you when we ran into Ying-ge.”

“Wait. Xiao Xing is there too?”

“I needed an extra pair of hands, so I dragged him along.”

This was bad. If Wen Shang showed up, rang the doorbell, and found his own underlings inside, the whole act would be exposed.

Mu Yuan panicked and shouted into the phone, “Get Dongzi on the phone. Right now.”

“Mu Yu? What’s going on?” He Dongying picked up the landline.

“Dongzi, listen carefully. That pervert just called me. He said he left his jacket at my place and is coming by to get it. You need to get Ah Zhi and Xiao Xing out of there immediately. If he sees them, we’re screwed.”

“I think it’s already too late,” He Dongying said.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s already downstairs. He’s coming up now.”

“…”