During the Republic of China era, I achieved unparalleled success by returning to the past.

"Yingxue." A clear voice called from behind. She hurriedly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stopped. "Is there anything else?"

"That was my cousin. She came from the north to stay with me. She just arrived this morning."

"Oh." Wen Yingxue suddenly felt the sky brighten up again. "Your cousin is so pretty."

Song Beiyou smiled and said, "Stretch out your hand." Looking at her slender but rough hand covered in calluses, Song Beiyou touched her palm.

Wen Yingxue was shocked when she saw it and exclaimed, "This..." She hurriedly tried to return the silver coins, saying, "I can't accept this. My father said that we shouldn't accept charity. You've already helped me a lot last time."

Song Beiyou stepped back, avoiding her hand, and smiled, "Can you write and do accounting?"

"Yes, my father taught me."

"I'll start a company in a while, and I'll hire you as my accountant. This is an advance payment, so don't expect to get it for free."

Wen Yingxue's eyes lit up: "Really?" Receiving an affirmative answer, she happily said, "Then I'll go back and learn more from Father; I've forgotten so much."

Back inside, Su Xiaowan glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and said, "You have good taste. That blond girl may be thin and pale, but she's a beauty in the making, especially her eyes, which are so bright and sparkling."

Song Beiyou said without changing his expression, "She's a scavenger, quite pitiful."

Su Xiaowan turned to look at him, "So you're a very kind person. But you're ruthless when you kill."

Song Beiyou didn't reply, but instead said, "I'm going out for lunch and then I'm going to boxing in the evening. Miss Su, are you going to take care of your own meals, or would you like Aunt Wang downstairs to cook and bring them over?"

Su Xiaowan rolled her eyes at her, annoyed. "You don't even have coal briquettes here, and the small coal stove is all rusted and clogged. How am I supposed to cook?"

"Okay, I'll tell Aunt Wang downstairs to bring you some food." Song Beiyou closed the door tightly, lifted the blanket, and loaded the bright yellow bullets into the magazine. After getting the gun, he naturally found a secluded place to test it out.

"I'm going with you at noon. Ah Kuan invited me." Su Xiaowan took out a makeup bag from a bundle.

The sun was high in the sky, at noon. Sunlight dappled the rusted railings, creating dazzling golden spots. A man and a woman pushed through the shadows in the stairwell and went downstairs.

The man was wearing a black suit, tall and well-built; the woman wore a floral cotton-padded jacket and straight trousers, small black cloth shoes, and two braids on either side of her shoulders.

Aunt Wang stared wide-eyed, nearly dropping the laundry tub she was holding. "Is Ayou going out?"

"Let's go to A-Kuan's house for dinner," Song Beiyou said with a smile, pushing out his bicycle.

"Oh, right. Your wife just arrived, take her around to show her around and let her get acquainted. Hehe." Aunt Wang's eyes darted back and forth over Su Xiaowan.

Song Beiyou quickly explained, "This is my cousin, Achun, not my wife."

"Look at what you're saying. The girl has already admitted it. Don't look down on her just because she's from the countryside. Look how pretty she is."

"Ah Chun, explain yourself." Song Beiyou glared at Su Xiaowan, earning her a glare in return.

Su Xiaowan lowered her head, her bangs covering her smooth forehead, her eyelashes trembling, looking aggrieved: "Auntie, my cousin said that it's a new era now, promoting new culture and new customs, and that the old-fashioned arranged marriages are no longer in vogue."

"Huh? How can that be?" Aunt Wang looked at Song Beiyou with a hostile gaze.

Song Beiyou smirked and quickly changed the subject, taking out three silver dollars and handing them to Aunt Wang: "Auntie, I'm busy these few days, so I'll have to trouble you to take care of my cousin."

Aunt Wang waved her hand and said, "We're all neighbors, why should I give you money? It's just an extra pair of chopsticks."

"My cousin has a big appetite, I can't let her eat for free." Song Beiyou stuffed the money into her hand, straddled the car with his long legs, gripped the handlebars, and the back seat sank as Su Xiaowan jumped on.

Outside the alley, a rickshaw was parked at the intersection. Xia Caifei's older brother, Xia Hai, with a cigarette between his fingers, exhaled a pungent smoke ring. Seeing him arrive, he greeted, "Ayou."

Song Beiyou stopped beside him. "Brother Hai, is something wrong?"

Xia Hai, in his early twenties, had a rough, dark face from years of driving his car, exposed to the elements. His gaze swept over the motorcycle and Su Xiaowan in the back seat, a fleeting look of envy crossing his face. He said, "I won't beat around the bush. You're a married man. Stay away from Afei from now on. She cried all the way this morning."

A chuckle came from the back seat. Realizing she had made a blunder, Su Xiaowan quickly cleared her throat and said in a hoarse voice, "Sorry, my throat hurts."

Song Beiyou's heart skipped a beat, and he smiled and said, "Brother Hai, you've misunderstood. This is my cousin, Achun, not my wife. Besides, I've always treated Afei like a younger sister. What are you talking about, Brother Hai?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Hai was about to speak when he suddenly saw several people walking towards him. The short man leading them, who had no eyebrows or hair, called out, "Ayou, Second Master is looking for you!"

Xia Hai's expression changed, and he quickly pulled the rickshaw away without saying a word.

Song Beiyou gripped the handlebars, looking down at Baldy Adong: "What does Second Master want with me?"

Ah Dong's heart skipped a beat. He had been to boxing rings before, and moreover, he had suffered a great loss at the hands of this man. He quickly stopped in his tracks and said from five or six steps away, "Second Master said he has arranged two opponents for you tonight..."

Song Beiyou's lips twitched into a forced smile as he asked, "I helped him make a lot of money, didn't I? Isn't that enough to pay off his debts?"

A-Dong felt like he was being stared at by a ferocious beast, making him extremely uncomfortable. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Second Master bet on Sergei that day and lost all his winnings. He said, 'Either you go and fight, or you settle your debts.'"

Song Beiyou's eyes turned cold, and he sneered, "Then please go back and tell Second Master to remember to bet on me to win, and don't make a mistake again."

Startled, A Dong shrank back and took a step back. Song Beiyou, however, had already stomped off on his foot.

The frost on the moss at the base of the wall melted in the sun, releasing a faint earthy, rotten smell. Inside the cramped and crowded room, water was boiling, hissing and steaming.

Su Xiaowan said slowly, "When I was little, I think I lived in a place like this too. Now it feels like I'm coming home."

"Do you still remember where you live?"

"I don't remember anything, not even what my parents looked like. I only have two blurry images in my mind."

"We will definitely find them."

Su Xiaowan tugged at the hem of his suit jacket, her expression shifting, and asked with a grin, "The scavenger girl, the student next door, who else is there? Tell me quickly, let me see."

Song Beiyou was somewhat displeased and warned, "When we go to A-Kuan's house later, you'd better behave and not say anything out of line. You don't want your identity to be exposed, do you?"

Su Xiaowan glanced around: "Who would have thought I'd be hiding in this fortified village, becoming someone's cousin? You should tell your two brothers to keep their mouths shut and not tell anyone."

"Hey, hurry up and tell me, do you have any other female confidantes?" Su Xiaowan waited for a while, but didn't get an answer. Feeling a little bored, she changed the subject: "Are you going to fight in underground boxing matches tonight?"

"Mm." Song Beiyou nodded.

……

Night, like a light wisp of smoke.

The boxing ring in Zhabei was dimly lit by a dozen or so ceiling lights.

Countless specks of dust were swept up by the heatwave stirred up by the shouts, rolling and swirling in the dim light.

"If no one can defeat the Lord of the Black Prison before midnight tonight, he, the Lord of the Black Prison, the invincible god, will continue to be the champion of Zhabei Boxing Championship this year." The official's face was flushed, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, pointed sharply, and roared.

A figure dressed in a gray prison uniform, with a large frame but thin muscles, stood motionless in the middle of the boxing ring, which was covered with layers of dark brown bloodstains. He wore a black leather hood over his head, revealing only a pair of downcast eyes. His wrists and ankles were covered with dark brown calluses, the result of years of wearing heavy shackles and handcuffs.

Song Beiyou's eyes were sharp. This man looked dull and simple, but Song Beiyou had a feeling that as long as he made a move, it would be earth-shattering.