Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Love and Hatred, Haicheng's Solitude

  Good taste knows no regional boundaries, just as beautiful music can transcend linguistic barriers.

  Li Huqiu has been born, this meal is the most fragrant. Others are tasting, only this little brother can eat. He doesn't picky eater, can eat steamed buns and swallow bird's nest and shark fin. Such a delicious dish, naturally want to eat quickly and eat a lot. Only troubled Gao Longyu's wallet, the dishes here except for the famous taste nationwide, the price is also famous. 386 yuan per serving of dry-braised lobster, this guy alone finished four servings. Other same-priced dishes were not missed eating.

  People who eat Jianghu food don't easily make friends, but once they do, they often have a deep understanding of each other. Crab Claw and Li Huqiu got along well on this road, becoming familiar with each other and forming an unlikely friendship despite their age difference. Seeing Li Huqiu's impressive eating skills, he couldn't help but laugh: "After all, you're a big horse that needs to eat a lot to grow strong, one meal is enough for me to eat for a week!" Hu Guangli snorted in response with a sour tone from the northwest: "No matter how much you eat, it's just that your time on the toilet will be longer than others, what's the use?"

  Li Huqiu raised his head and smiled at Hu Guangli: "Thirty years ago, your eating habits were even more unpleasant than mine. Thirty years later, I guarantee that you won't be able to eat or shit, and you'll have to bring a magazine with you every time you take a piss."

  Everyone heard and burst into laughter. There were many middle-aged and old men here, and they all knew about this kind of thing. Li Huqiu knew because the old cripple often sighed after using the toilet. People in the underworld value their reputation, and Hu Guangli was trying to take advantage of his age to bully Li Huqiu. Li Huqiu hadn't reached the level of "hundred忍becomes gold" yet, so he couldn't tolerate him. This joke seemed ordinary, but for people in the underworld, it was equivalent to making an enemy. Hei Huli smiled coldly twice, with a chill in his eyes and anger in his heart. Li Huqiu ignored him.

  Gao Longyu's mobile phone rang again, he didn't answer it and hung up directly. He said to everyone: "Uncle Li has arrived, please sit for a while, I'll go pick him up, I'll be right back."

  Dà Dǐngzi suddenly became enthusiastic about talking and said to Lǐ Hǔqiū: "Little brother, how about I tell you a story?"

  Li Huqiu felt that there was more to his words, and guessed that this story must be related to Li Shu, the lone wolf from outside. He nodded and said "good", and Da Dingzi began to tell a story about two thieves and a woman. After listening, Li Huqiu couldn't help but sigh, good stories always involve women, whether they are good or bad is unimportant, what matters is that they must be beautiful and fascinating.

  About thirty years ago, the land of China had just experienced a food disaster. The streets were filled with people who were starving and had swollen heads and thin necks. At that time, there was a small-time thief named Zhang Bao Ding who was quite famous in the steel city and northeast region. He had a partner named Li Ya Rong, also known as "Little Devil". The two of them were master and apprentice, so after they started their careers, they always worked together. After a year or two of small-time thievery, the two of them felt that their skills were not ordinary, and they gradually became dissatisfied with their mediocre lives. They wanted to do something big. So, after some reconnaissance, they decided to target the gold vault of the steel mill in Steel City, aiming for the tens of thousands of kilograms of grain coupons inside. At that time, after the two of them had finished their reconnaissance and started preparing for the heist, they met a girl who was as beautiful as an angel. She completely captivated the two thieves, and they were both smitten with her. As people from the underworld, they didn't care about politics, and their thoughts weren't constrained by the "Red Treasure Book". They were relatively open-minded, and they didn't feel ashamed of things like flirting with women. After a period of chasing after her, the girl discovered that the two men spent money lavishly, so she thought to herself that she should be cautious and not make a choice too quickly. Therefore, she pretended to be interested in both of them but didn't give either of them an opportunity to get close to her.

  Saying that, Da Dingzi smiled at Li Huqiu and said: "I suppose you've also guessed that these two people are me and Li Ya Rong." Li Huqiu nodded with a smile: "Please continue."

  Da Dingzi continued: "On the day we were supposed to get to work, the two of us arrived at the Steel City vault. The large iron gate was locked from both inside and out. The lock on the outside was easy to deal with, but the one on the inside was a tightly secured dark lock. We had both learned the art of using hooks as a weapon - he was skilled at using them for climbing, while I was good at using them for fishing. So, I used my hook to open the window and unlock the door from the inside. After some effort, we finally managed to open the door. Inside, there were still safes, several hundred kilograms of large iron cabinets that we couldn't open except by force. It took me half a day's effort to finally open the cabinet. We then started moving out packages of national grain tickets. When we had only two packages left, he sat down at the entrance and said he was tired, telling me to go in and move them. I didn't think much of it and went inside." At this point, he let out a sigh and continued with gritted teeth: "That bastard suddenly locked the door from the outside while I was still inside!"

  Li Huqiu smiled and said: "He's for that woman, isn't he?"

  "He left, and then we used the stolen national grain tickets to deceive her, and they did that thing, while I was locked in the vault. Two days later, I was caught by the cleaning staff on duty and spent a few days in detention, eating two days of black bread. After my physical strength recovered, I found an opportunity to pry open several locks and ran out. When I looked for him again, this beast had abandoned her and gone wandering around the world."

  Li Huqiu slammed his hand on the table and cursed: "This old turtle egg, really isn't human, comparable to that old cripple."

  His face revealed a look of anger, and he continued to speak: "He deceived me once, I was angry for a while, but after a while, I let it go. However, he shouldn't have abandoned Yulan after she became pregnant. When Yulan found out she was pregnant, she waited two months for that scoundrel, but he didn't intend to return. She decided to end her life, and this can't be blamed on her narrow-mindedness. It's just that during those times, such things were too shameful. Whoever knew about it would spit at her, and the gossip could drown her. Yulan hanged herself at home, but I rescued her, and only then did I know she had been abandoned by Li Ya Rong."

  Dà Dǐngzi said to this point, felt a bit suffocated and couldn't continue. Xiè Zǎo'er took over the conversation and continued: "This isn't even the most hateful part, what's even more infuriating is that Lí Yàróng later returned to Gāng Chéng, at which time Yùlán Jiě had already given birth to a child and also bore a son for Zhāng Gē. That turtle egg harbored resentment towards Yùlán Jiě after she married Zhāng Gē, so he waited for an opportunity to frame Zhāng Gē while he was working on the railroad, resulting in Zhāng Gē being caught and sentenced to life imprisonment. This turtle egg then took advantage of the situation to go find Yùlán Jiě again."

  Li Huqiu's eyebrows were raised, and he asked: "What happened next?" Da Dingzi said: "Yulan was very angry when she saw him. He forced his way into the courtyard and told Yulan that Li Yaorong had tricked me again for her sake. In a fit of rage, Yulan stabbed him with a knife, but naturally, he was no match for her. Later, Yulan was desperate and used a knife to disfigure her own face. She thought that Li Yaorong kept betraying me because she had a pretty face, so she disfigured it."

  Everyone present had heard some rumors about this matter except Li Huqiu, and only Crab Claw had heard such a detailed version. Da Dingzi told the story with great anger, his words full of emotion, and when he finished speaking, not only did Li Huqiu slap the table in anger, but even the female thief Bao Wanjing slammed her cup down. Only Hei Huli Hu Guangli, who had a good relationship with Li Yaru, remained calm and expressionless.

  Li Huqiu asked what happened later. Da Dingzi continued: "Later, he was still bullied by Yulan, and Yulan took advantage of his sleep to cut off his second child. From then on, he and I were sworn enemies!"

  Li Huqiu turned his face and asked Bao Wenjing: "You clearly know they have a grudge, why did you invite the two of them to come together?"

  Bao Wenjing's expression was furious, and she said: "I'm also hearing for the first time that Lixiong is doing something inhuman. In the past, I thought the old thing was pretending to be a decent person, but it turns out he doesn't have the capital to be indecent. When he comes later, you all don't move, watch me squeeze him."

  Li Huqiu seemed to have forgotten the topic of conversation just now and smiled at Bao Wenjing: "Old sister, what kind of road do you think I am on?"

  Bao Wenjing couldn't believe that Li Huchu actually dared to provoke her, she chuckled and said: "You? You haven't even gone through the proper channels yet, so you still don't know what's going on." Li Huchu replied calmly: "Although I haven't been through the proper channels, at least I've seen it before, for example, your way of doing things, I've seen it once."

  Bao Wenjing felt hostility in Li Huqiu's words, she frowned and asked: "What's wrong? Little Red Rascal, you're not thinking of rushing me, are you? You've also seen my hand injury, otherwise, it would be strange!" After finishing speaking, she put her hand with three missing fingers on the table, looked around in a circle, and said again: "Are you all wondering where my fingers went? Honestly, I made a bet with someone and lost."

  Li Huqiu asked her bluntly: "With such a serious injury, all the work in your hands is ruined. How can you continue to eat the rice of the gate?"

  Bao Wenjing replied, "My hands are no longer useful, but I have a disciple, and her hands are still useful. This time, I'm calling on everyone to participate in the Thief King contest. Although I won't be able to participate myself, my disciple Hei Hudie will take my place."

  Li Huqiu thought of Hei Hudie's method, and in his heart he didn't quite agree with Bao Wenjing's words, but he said nothing. The atmosphere cooled down for a moment, and the few people occasionally moved their chopsticks, but it was clear that except for Li Huqiu, the others were all preoccupied with their own thoughts, and they were not very appetizing.

  The door of the private room was pushed open, and Gao Longyu and two men and one woman walked in. He pointed to a thin and weak middle-aged man among the two men and introduced him to everyone: "Some of you know him, some don't, I'd like to introduce him to everyone here, this is Lai Shu, the lone wolf from outside." Then he introduced the other two, the man was called Dehua, and the woman was called Ruo Ying. They were all big thieves, and they mixed with Lai Shu.

  Bao Wenjing stood up and raised his cup, saying: "Old Lei, I've known you since I first started out thirteen years ago. At that time, I wanted to have a friendly drink with you, but it turned out that you're a very upright and honest person. Over the years, there aren't many people I admire, and you're definitely one of them. Do you know what I admire most about you?"

  Li Huqiu remained calm and composed as he asked her with feigned anticipation: "Quickly, tell us which aspect of him do you admire the most?"

  Bao Wenjing laughed and said, "He's as chaste as jade! If you entrust your sisters to him, there's no need to worry." After finishing speaking, she burst into loud laughter. Crab Claw and Ba Gou followed her, laughing just as freely. Li Yaorong surprisingly also joined in the laughter, his wolf-like eyes narrowing into a slit, smiling warmly and naturally. "Since I'm so trustworthy, I heard you have a female apprentice. When can I help you train her?" Bao Wenjing bravely stared back at him, but after seeing the cruel glint in Li Yaorong's eyes, she finally backed down, no longer teasing or provoking him.

  Li Huqiu pretended to be confused and asked: "Older sister, what's so funny about guarding one's body like jade? What is a 'friendship cannon'?"

  Li Ya Rong suddenly turned around and faced Li Hu Qiu, with a cold smile, saying: "Youngster, first meeting, let's exchange blows."

  Dà Dǐngzi didn't wait for Li Hǔqiū to react, and suddenly stood up saying: "Eunuch, your family's Dǐng master is here, how about we exchange blows?"