A Prophet - Chapter 6 (Part 1)
Chapter 1 - The Third Chieftain’s Plot to Destroy the Faction
Historically, in palace power struggles, there were always emperors, imperial concubines, and crown princes who died under mysterious circumstances—and the reason lay hidden in these "lethal culinary prescriptions"!
To be precise, these secret formulas were recipes. Looking at each individual dish from ingredients to preparation, there was nothing wrong with them at all. However, when one dish was consumed alongside another, massive problems arose!
Everything in the universe possesses Yin and Yang attributes. For instance, men are Yang while women are Yin; daytime is Yang while nighttime is Yin; the sun is Yang while the moon is Yin; fire is Yang while water is Yin; sunny days are Yang while rainy days are rainy—food is no exception! The most common example is a saying in traditional Chinese medicine: "Eat radishes at night and ginger in the morning, and you'll never need a doctor to write a prescription." This speaks to the principle of maintaining health through diet.
The meals that "Madman Hand" had been eating over the past two months were all mismatched combinations of dishes that conflicted according to the Five Elements. "Chaos Primeval Pork" paired with "Yin-Yang Greater Water Caltrop" brought Great Yin crashing into Great Yang, where water floods and wood floats, destroying the liver; "Old Crock Shredded Chicken with Cucumber" paired with "Lesser Yin Drunken Peanuts" brought Lesser Yin clashing with Greater Old Yang, where an excess of wood shatters metal, fracturing the lungs; "Three Yangs Opening Peace Dog Meat" paired with "Dual-Color Secret Seasoned Beans" had Old Yang pulling up Lesser Yin, damaging the kidneys. Every seven days formed a cycle, taking turns ravaging the internal organs.
This was using the breath of the Five Elements to commit murder! A murder most bizarre, a murder completely silent!
Listening to Wang Jiaxian recount this deadly recipe, Grandpa slapped the table with a loud crack, stood up, and cursed, "Bastard! Bastard!" I could hear that even Grandpa's voice was trembling!
Wang Jiaxian immediately went on to reveal an even greater conspiracy. It turned out that this faction had arranged things as follows: after eliminating "Madman Hand," Qin Bailian would immediately dispatch a letter to Grandpa stating that there was a massive business deal to be made in Sichuan, asking Grandpa to cooperate in setting up a scam. They would lure Grandpa to Sichuan and then trap him within an intricate nested scheme, causing him to die without knowing what hit him. At the same time, Qian Yuelin and the Third Chieftain, leading the Fifth Chieftain, the Seventh Chieftain, and "Little Qian"—who had been bought off long ago—would launch a rebellion at home. With "Madman Hand" already dead, taking out the First, Second, and Fourth Chieftains would be effortless. Working from the inside out, they would thoroughly and cleanly annihilate the Eastern Faction!
Grandpa asked, "How was the recipe delivered to the Sixth Chieftain's kitchen?"
Wang Jiaxian replied, "We got the Sixth Chieftain's cook under our control. If he refused to cooperate, we threatened to kill his parents, so he was forced to turn against them."
Grandpa shouted in a booming voice, "First Chieftain, go over there right now and chop up Chef Wang!"
The First Chieftain said, "Understood!" He grabbed his firearm and was just about to leave when Grandpa added, "Order the Second Chieftain—the attack can begin!" Receiving his orders, the First Chieftain took two footmen and headed out. A short while later, a muffled gunshot echoed from afar, instantly followed by an intense flurry of gunfire popping and cracking into a chaotic roar.
Before long, the First Chieftain returned and reported to Grandpa, "Grandpa, Chef Wang committed suicide and left a suicide note."
Grandpa took a look, and the letter was full of remorseful words, explaining that he had been driven to a desperate corner and had no face left to live. After reading it, Grandpa said, "Treat his parents well."
Wang Jiaxian continued, "Qian Yuelin and the Third Chieftain knew that Grandpa had seen through their plot, so they planned to strike first—tomorrow! They are ready to fight to the bitter death. Dozens of brothers in the guild hall have been subverted by them! Their ambushers are already dug in at the theater!" Sensing that Grandpa's grace toward me is as heavy as a mountain, I couldn't bear to let it happen, which is why I secretly came to report the news."
Before his voice had even faded, several footmen carried a large burlap sack in from outside. Once inside, they shook the sack open, and with a rustling clatter, a pile of human heads rolled out.
I was so terrified I nearly screamed out loud. Over a dozen human heads, slick with blood, some of them still wide-eyed.
Grandpa pointed at the dozen heads on the floor and said coldly, "The ambushing troops hidden in the theater are all right here."
Wang Jiaxian was stunned in horror: "This... Grandpa, this..."
Grandpa slowly sipped his drink. As he drank, he narrowed his eyes, deep in thought, as if waiting for something. The room fell into absolute silence, while distant gunshots continued to echo in bursts.
After about half an hour, the gunfire gradually died down. Soon after, the Second Chieftain ran in, slick with sweat: "Grandpa, it's over. Qian Yuelin committed suicide, and the rest have been captured."
Kneeling on the ground, the Third Chieftain lifted his head: "Grandpa, give me a clean death!"
Grandpa let out a sigh, slowly stood up, walked slowly over to the Third Chieftain, patted his head, and said, "Old Third, in your next life as a human, don't be so clever anymore..." Suddenly, Grandpa raised his hand and struck downward with a crisp slap. With a dull thud, the Third Chieftain's body stiffened, and he pitched forward onto the ground, dead. Grandpa had driven a steel nail straight into the back of his head.
The footman who had been sent to deliver the message to Qin Bailian of the Western Faction was also captured alive. Having seized this messenger, Grandpa firmly grasped the initiative in the entire affair, and he immediately issued an order to blockade all news! Furthermore, he instructed the Fourth Chieftain—who excelled at imitating handwriting—to write a return letter to Qin Bailian using Qian Yuelin's exact handwriting and tone, telling him: "Everything is going smoothly, proceed according to plan."
Grandpa intended to play this game all the way through, right up until he took down Qin Bailian!
Grandpa was so clever, so full of strategic brilliance. I often wondered: was Grandpa satisfied with himself? I believe he wasn't. For all his brilliance, the little Sixth Chieftain whom he held so dear still died right under his nose; for all his brilliance, the Third Chieftain still rebelled, and dozens of brothers in the guild hall he had painstakingly cultivated died in an instant; for all his brilliance, the moment war broke out, he still had to drag his brothers and flee in all directions. Amidst the tumultuous storms of history and the cruel corridors of fate, I discovered for the first time that Grandpa was also deeply vulnerable.
This internal strife aged Grandpa significantly overnight. During that period, my heart would ache whenever I laid eyes on him. Jiang Feiyan sent people to deliver top-quality bird's nest soup to him, but he couldn't bring himself to eat it, so Jiang Feiyan invited him out to watch the opera. In short, during that time, Jiang Feiyan frequently visited Grandpa's residence to keep him company and chat.
In truth, at the very beginning, Jiang Feiyan's help to Grandpa stemmed from romance—she loved Grandpa, but it was also to repay a debt of gratitude, as Grandpa had saved her life on two separate occasions. It was only when the "Seventh Chieftain," Wang Jiaxian, exposed Qian Yuelin and his cohorts' plot to seize her territory and carve up the sisters of her guild hall that she realized this battle was protecting her as well.
Jiang Feiyan always possessed a certain allure that captivated every man she met. Not only did her icy gaze fail to put distance between herself and men, but it instead constantly stirred up a desire within them to melt her away.
Everyone in the underworld knew of the "Single Flower of Southern Guangdong." Back in the day, it was Qiao Wumei; after Qiao Wumei's death, it was Jiang Feiyan. People in the jianghu often joked: "After Fifth Mother comes Sister Yan; Mother wins over Sister by three parts in looks, but Sister surpasses Old Mother by a wisp of fragrance." This meant that in terms of pure facial features, Qiao Wumei might have held a slight edge over Jiang Feiyan, but Jiang Feiyan possessed an incomparable advantage that no other woman could rival—she had a natural body fragrance. Even without applying a speck of powder, whenever she walked past you, she would leave a trail of faint, lingering perfume in her wake.
In reality, both Qiao Wumei and Jiang Feiyan were beauties among beauties, the absolute pinnacle of their kind. The nature of a female Aobao dictated that a faction leader had to be stunning, because she needed to orchestrate schemes, handle public relations, and deploy the honey trap; homely women simply couldn't cut it on the big stage.
When Qiao Wumei died back then, hundreds of local gangsters surrounded the guild hall. Grandpa cleverly defused the crisis by employing the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao," causing Jiang Feiyan to fall hopelessly in love with him at first sight. Yet Grandpa never reciprocated those feelings, always keeping her at a respectful distance. Back then, Jiang Feiyan was thirty-one and Grandpa was thirty. For over a decade, Jiang Feiyan yearned bitterly for Grandpa, but he always remained elusive, keeping her hanging on.
I only learned all of this in private when the Second Chieftain and I were drinking together. Later on, even the Seventh Chieftain said the same thing.
The rule Jiang Feiyan established for her own guild hall was that her female Aobao were strictly forbidden from marrying. The Second Chieftain called this abnormal. After the founding of New China, when we chieftains were released from prison, the Seventh Chieftain and I touched upon these matters again while drinking. The Seventh Chieftain remarked: "Forbidding them to marry was just something said to the Aobao on the surface; she did it for the sake of the guild hall's interests. But mortals are flesh and blood, how could they be devoid of emotion? She harbored a secret crush on Grandpa for all those years while he never made a move—she was the most pathetic one of all."
Female Aobao truly had miserable lives, especially the faction leaders. Don't be fooled by the superficial gold, silver, and luxurious garments—all of that was traded away using their bodies and their wits. Jiang Feiyan dedicated her youth to the Jiangxiang Faction, reigning over the "Yuehaitang" for twenty years. To outsiders, it looked glorious and grand, but in truth, whatever teeth she lost, she swallowed right back down into her stomach; the bitterness was something only she knew.
Two months later, she helped Grandpa eliminate Qin Bailian. Afterward, she spoke the words buried deepest in her heart to Grandpa, leaving him bathed in silent tears. When she finished speaking, she left—leaving completely, departing from the mainland and the "Yuehaitang" that she had poured decades of blood, sweat, and tears into. In the spring of 1987, she passed away from illness in Taiwan.