I only told my father-in-law half the truth.
It was true—someone had pushed Li Fang.
Four thugs.
If I'd gone to the police, those four wouldn't have faced much punishment. There might not even have been proof it was them.
But letting this go? That was never an option.
…
I'd spent four years in prison, where I'd gotten to know a lot of guys from the streets. I tracked down a few former cellmates, asked around the circles they knew, checking if there was any buzz about an incident involving a pregnant woman that day.
Sure enough, one of them had heard something.
"Word is, four thugs—shirtless, smoking, covered in tattoos—harassed a pregnant woman in an alley in broad daylight. She slipped down a slope, and they took off. The woman got carted away in an ambulance, from what I heard."
I pressed for details: Where were these four? What were their names?
They gave me the address of a bar, said I'd find them there, and jotted down their names on a slip of paper.
I walked through an alley, pried a steel pipe loose from someone's aluminum roof beam, then flagged down a motorcycle taxi on the main road. The driver saw the pipe and hesitated at first, but I slipped him a fifty and told him to take me to the bar.
When I arrived, I spotted the bouncers at the door. I slid the pipe up my sleeve and snuck inside.
Once in, I pulled out the slip of paper and asked the bartender, "Brother, I'm looking for these guys. Seen 'em?"
The bartender glanced at it, then pointed to a table. "Those four over there—sitting with that woman with the wavy hair."
I turned. Four men, exactly.
I walked up to their table, held out the paper, called out their names one by one, and asked, "Is that you?"
One of them,嚣张得很, shot back: "Who the hell are you?"
I only repeated: "Is that you?"
"Yea, so what?"
I nodded. No mistake.
I slid the pipe out from my sleeve and swung it at the closest one.
…
That night, I tore through the bar. The bouncers moved to stop me, but then a man stepped forward and said, "He's the husband of that pregnant woman who died."
The bouncers froze. They put on a show of trying to intervene, but kept their distance.
I had the element of surprise. I knocked two of them out first. After a messy brawl, I took down all four.
I dropped the pipe, planted my foot on their hands, grabbed a tall bar stool, and raised it high. One by one, I brought it crashing down on their left forearms—shattering every last one.
I didn't care which hand they'd used to push my wife. I only crushed their lefts, leaving their rights so they could still get by.
Half the bar's patrons had fled; the rest stayed to gawk.
After breaking their arms, I found a pack of cigarettes on a table, fished a lighter out of someone's discarded stuff, and sat on the bar steps to light up. The bouncers watched silently. I smoked, staring back at them.
Exhaling a cloud of smoke, I said, "I know the rules. I wrecked the place, so I'll take the heat—whatever comes, I'll own it. But I had to hit them. You guys not stopping me? That's loyalty. Thanks."
I offered them cigarettes. I'd gotten banged up in the fight, couldn't stand, so I held the pack out from where I sat. The bouncers took the smokes, exchanged glances, then looked to the man standing nearby.
I followed their gaze. That must've been the one running the place.
He looked at me and said, "Someone warned me you might come tonight. Told me your story. Half the neighborhood's heard it by now. Brother, your baby's still in the hospital. And you didn't break much—just a glass table. I'll make these four pay for it. Let me call you a cab. Get back to the hospital."
I stared at him, surprised, then clasped my hands in a gesture of thanks. "Loyalty. Thanks."
He nodded to the bouncers, who helped me up and led me outside. They hailed a taxi, and one of them pressed a twenty into the driver's hand, telling him to make sure I got where I needed to go.
The driver started toward the hospital, but I spoke up: "Sir, not the hospital. Take me to Dongwan Alley."
"Whoa, kid, your head's bleeding," he said.
"Already stopped. I need to change clothes before going back."
"You sure you're all right?"
"I'm fine. Thanks for humoring me."
"Not a problem."
The taxi turned around and dropped me off outside my building. It was night, so no neighbors were around to see me covered in blood. I fumbled my way up the stairs in the dark.
After showering, cleaning my wounds, and changing, I got ready to head out again. Remembering I'd need money, I grabbed my bankbook, my card, a few changes of clothes, and headed back down, then made my way to the hospital.
When I arrived, my father-in-law was asleep on a bench outside the mortuary. I draped the extra clothes I'd brought over his shoulders and sat down beside him.
He'd wanted to keep watch over Li Fang.
I'd stay with him.