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

  The old cripple and the big flagpole had never read Mao's Selected Works, but these two old thieves had long since refined themselves in this university of society. The enemy of an enemy is an object that can be united with, they intuitively understood this principle. That day, the old cripple and the big flagpole hid in a small tavern, secretly discussing for a long time, only dispersing after three rounds of drinks. When the old cripple walked out of the tavern, his waist, which had collapsed earlier, was straight as a pen!

  Back home, the old cripple saw Zhang Manli pressing water in the yard. After using two buckets of water, she still couldn't get the water from the well to come up. The old cripple stumbled over, drunk, and with just half a bucket of water, he quickly and efficiently pressed the handle of the well's pump, and with a few strokes, the cool well water was pumped up. The old cripple proudly patted his hands, glanced at Zhang Manli who was deliberately avoiding him from a distance, and said as he walked towards the house: "Ginger is still spicy when it's old, that little turtle Li Huqiu won't be able to jump around for much longer, and when the time comes, you'll have to follow me, otherwise the big flagpole will harm you."

  In the evening, Zhang Manli told Li Huqiu about this matter. Li Huqiu was preparing to wash his feet and listened to her finish speaking, hesitated for a moment, and then continued to adjust the water temperature. There was no cold water, so Li Huqiu carried the basin into the courtyard, came to the old well, poured in just a little water, and then deeply pressed the handle of the well down to the bottom. With a sudden burst of strength, he pressed the handle down again, and cool clear water gushed out. These few movements were much more agile than those of the old cripple during the daytime. Li Huqiu carried the water back into the house, laughing: "Don't worry, if he's Jiang Meng from Water Margin, then I'm Wu Song - I guarantee he won't be able to stir up trouble."

  The confidence in his voice and the childishness on his cheeks form a striking contrast.

  Zhang Manli cherished the hard-won stable life. Since she moved in, Li Huqiu brought more money home, and Zhang Manli didn't need to go out anymore. This life, similar to a man earning a living and a woman taking care of children and household chores, made Zhang Manli unconsciously produce some kind of illusion, as if this life could be lived for a lifetime.

  Before going to sleep, Zhang Manli leaned on the pillow, looking at Li Huqiu with her head tilted, saying "You should be careful about Da Qi Ganzi, I always feel that old cripple's words today were a bit off." Li Huqiu sat up from under the quilt, tucked in the corner of Xiaoyanzi's bed, and smiled: "What's wrong with him? He's just an old disabled man, I can crush him to death at any moment. Da Qi Ganzi is also a waste, relying on them two, let alone if they were to join forces, it wouldn't be a match for me."

  Li Huqiu's arrogance and youthful recklessness made Zhang Manli even more worried. She sighed softly and said "In short, just be careful."

  Li Huqiu got up and turned off the light, the old cripple at the window root quietly crawled back to his own house. In the pitch-black room, Li Huqiu's eyes shone brightly, as if they could pierce through the darkness of the night.

  The next day, Harbin South Railway Station.

  At 10 am, Li Huqiu appeared on time in front of Lao Miao's tea egg stall, as usual throwing down 10 yuan, picking up a few tea eggs, not peeling them, and stuffing them into his mouth. Then he picked up the large teapot and used the old tea root water to rinse down the tea eggs. Lao Miao asked him why he never peeled them before eating. Li Huqiu said that recently, for some reason, his stomach had an excess of qi, his tooth roots were itchy, and he loved to gnaw on bones. He didn't mind eating hard things and wouldn't spit them out, feeling like chewing on two stones and swallowing them would be comfortable. Lao Miao listened in confusion but didn't ask further since Li Huqiu looked fine.

  Zhang Tiejun appeared in Li Huqiu's line of sight with two little thieves. The two little thieves were huddled together, their hands inserted into their pockets, but they exposed two fingers outside, randomly waving them around, as if afraid that others wouldn't know they were thieves.

  Li Huqiu had already seen from a distance, but hadn't yet caught sight of him. The pride of the Nanzhan police station, one of the top ten anti-pickpocketing heroes in Heilongjiang Province, Old Cop Chen Dewang sauntered over with his hands behind his back.

  Chen Dewang glanced at Li Huqiu with a profound gaze as he approached him. He had always been aware of what this sturdy young man, whom he had watched grow up, was capable of, yet he had never caught him in the act. This was an inexplicable phenomenon to Chen Dewang, who possessed a pair of piercing eyes and had never failed to apprehend a thief. The boy had arrived here eight years ago at the age of six and had been living with Hau Cui, whose leg had been amputated by Li Huqiu's own hands. Rumors circulated that the boy had mastered all of Hau Cui's thieving skills. Chen Dewang observed him for a long time but remained clueless.

  Twenty years ago, Hao Qiu Zi was running away and crossed the gap between two train cars in motion, unexpectedly breaking his leg. He had to flee because Chen De Wang caught him red-handed. During his escape, he encountered a passing train and had no choice but to attempt to pass through the gap between the two cars. He only succeeded halfway. After landing, his buttocks were grazed by the train, causing him to fall over. Although he wasn't crushed by the train, he unexpectedly injured his hip. From then on, he developed a limp, earning him the nickname Hao Qiu Zi.

  Chen Dewang crippled Hao Qiu Zi, but Hao Qiu Zi made Chen Dewang a lonely and childless man. All three of his sons and his wife died in a big fire shortly after Hao Qiu Zi was released from prison. The fire was set by Hao Qiu Zi, which only he knew, but Chen Dewang had a hunch. Although he knew that Li Huqiu and Hao Qiu Zi were actually like water and fire, Chen Dewang still didn't like Li Huqiu. In old Chen's eyes, this kid would be ten or a hundred times more harmful to society than Hao Qiu Zi in the future. The little guy was too smart and too quick to learn, so old Chen always kept an eye on him. What made him disappointed was that from the time Li Huqiu took over Hao Qiu Zi's territory until now, he had never caught Li Huqiu in the act, despite his keen eyesight and experience.

  Chen Dewang sat down beside Li Huqiu, bought a tea egg from Lao Miao, carefully peeled the skin, blew on it, and then bit off half of it, swallowing it into his stomach. "Little devil, what did you ask me to come for?" Li Huqiu looked at him without speaking, pointing with his hand at Zhang Tiejun and the other two. The eyes of the two men converged on Zhang Tiejun and the others.

  Just like a cat never explains to mice why it catches them, Chen Dewang never liked to waste words on petty thieves. He stood up and strode towards Zhang Tiejun and his two accomplices who were recklessly unloading goods. Li Huqiu's voice, which was in the midst of breaking, came out as a husky whisper: "If you can keep your patience today, you might just catch that big fish you've been dreaming of."

  The little thief has recently become infatuated with Gu Long's works, and his way of speaking has also taken on a few shades of Gu Long's tone. Chen Dewang was stunned by this casual remark, and he went against his lifelong principle - to catch thieves whenever he met them.

  Chen Dewang turned around and asked Li Huqiu: "The big fish you mentioned, is it missing half of its tail?"

  "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, or maybe it's two fish, who knows?" He said with a flourish of his hand, waving it in the air like a big flag. At the end, he chuckled and revealed a mouthful of beautiful, pearly white teeth.

  Chen Dewang walked up to Li Huqiu and said: "You little brat, you dare to deceive me, be careful or I'll keep an eye on you until the day you die."

  The kidnapper is afraid of being ambushed, and the bag snatcher is afraid of being stared at. Especially afraid of being stared to death by old detectives like Chen Dewang with their piercing eyes.

  Li Huqiu calmly stared back at him: "I'm afraid that when the time comes, you won't have the guts to avenge your family of four who died!" The young boy's words had the power of thunder on a clear day. Chen Dewang's eyes widened instantly, he had always suspected that the fire was set by Hao Cunzi, but the professional firefighters and police who investigated the scene had said that there was no evidence to suggest it was an arson attack. Li Huqiu saw the faint red glow and mist in Chen Dewang's eyes, took out a small metal object from his pocket and handed it to Chen Dewang, saying: "Put this thing into the coal heap and pour some water on it, and you'll understand everything."

  Chen Dewang took the thing into his hands. He asked Li Huqiu where he got it from and what it was. Li Huqiu said that this thing is called sodium, the old cripple hid it next to the coal stove in my bedroom, I found it and thought it was unusual, later sent it to the heating management office laboratory for testing, they said it's sodium, which can catch fire when it meets water. Li Huqiu also said: "I don't have any evidence to prove that the fire at your house that year was done by the old cripple, I just know that this thing will not leave any traces after burning, the old cripple wanted to harm me but didn't succeed."

  Chen Dewang's furious expression was not concealed at all, "What more evidence do you need? It was done by Hao Biaozi!" Li Huqiu said that if you dare to confirm it was him, then it's fine. You have to be brave and trustworthy, so meet me at 2 pm at the fake mountain in San Kongliu Park on Yangjiang Road. Chen Dewang asked if he should bring a gun? Li Huqiu said that if you have one, it would be best to bring it along.

  On the clock tower of the South Station, Hao Diaozi and Da Qizhan were holding binoculars looking this way. Da Qizhan asked with some concern: "Zhang Tiejun and others have passed by, do you think Li Huqiu will not take the bait?" Hao Diaozi shook his head and said very firmly: "I eavesdropped on him last night, this kid is arrogant, he doesn't put either of us in his eyes. Zhang Tiejun was first my man, then followed you, such a person doing things in his own territory, he must not tolerate."

  Da Qi Ganzi said: I hope so, old cripple, you can rest assured. As long as I get to vent my anger today, the South Station will still be your domain in the future! He also self-deprecatingly said: In fact, I'm saying this is also unnecessary. Now that knives, guns and cannons are so powerful, relying on your relationship with San Ye, who dares to challenge you?

  When he heard the two words "Third Master", the old cripple's heart tightened, thinking that if it were really as you said, why would I need to cooperate with you? When Song San asks about this matter later, I'll have to use you as a shield. He also thought of the relationship between Li Huqiu and Song San, and his heart couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. But this hesitant emotion only flashed through his mind, and as soon as he looked down at his empty trouser legs, his courage and viciousness returned.

  Chen Dewang walked away according to Li Huqiu's intention. As he walked, he thought about Li Huqiu's performance just now. The environment is a good teacher and a bad friend, maturity always starts from learning from mistakes, how old is this kid? He has already learned to calculate people, and the one he calculated is an old cripple like Lao Maotou.

  Zhang Tiejun led two little thieves and saw Chen Dewang walking far away, and couldn't help but feel a burst of joy in his heart.

  Three people sauntered into the train station hall, squeezing into the crowd. One of them, a small thief, had a silver ring on his hand that looked shiny and white. In fact, it was embedded with a small blade that was good for nothing else but cutting open ladies' small handbags. The thief was now pushing his way into the queue, pretending to cut in line. The people waiting in line naturally disagreed. Next to the thief stood a woman wearing a fur coat, holding a small handbag that the thief didn't recognize. He pretended to call out along with the others, taking advantage of the chaos to squeeze next to the woman. With a swift motion, he cut open the woman's handbag, and as the contents spilled out, he quickly swept them up with his sleeve and turned to leave. As he walked away, he shouted, "I don't like waiting in line, you won't let me cut in, I'm not buying anything anyway!"

  The little thief had already dropped the thing from his sleeve into Zhang Tiejun's canvas bag when he brushed past him on the way. The woman who lost her belongings only realized she had lost something at this moment, and as she recalled the scene just now, she suddenly realized that she had been stolen by the little thief who had just added to her. She squeezed out of the crowd and chased after her. The little thief walked leisurely, and when he saw the woman chasing him, he didn't panic, but instead stopped in his tracks and waited for the woman.

  They say that thieves are always nervous, but once you discover that the thief next to you is not nervous at all, there are two possibilities: either this thief has no stolen goods on him, or this thief is a ruthless one who will fight to the death with his knife. The woman chased after this calm thief, but naturally didn't gain anything and was even ridiculed. She stood anxiously in place, looking around frantically, her heart racing wildly. Just then, Li Huqiu walked in from outside with his hands in his pockets, just in time to see the woman's anxious state. Li Huqiu took one look and was stunned for a moment.