1 The Disappearance of Elia Zou
The sound of numerous men running was heard throughout the whole place, their footsteps were heavy and showed a hint of panic but what overshadowed it was the sound of shouting voices. Men dressed in black were shouting as they seemed to restlessly searching after someone.
"Men! We have to find the second young master!"
"Has anyone found anything yet?!"
"The Dragon Head is going to be furious if we can't find a single clue! Hurry!"
After searching and searching, a group of foot soldiers[1] finally found a clue and checking the clue out, the men couldn't help but gulp anxiously. They thought their eyesights have gone bad or they must have become illiterate but having one of their Red Poles[2] coming towards them, they returned to the reality.
"Hey! What have you got there?" A tall and broad man with black crew cut hairstyle looked at the foot soldiers sternly.
"Lieutenant Guowei!" The foot soldiers, also called as 49ers, saluted before giving the clue to the Red Pole, Guowei Ling. "This is what we found..."
Guowei Ling narrowed his dark eyes at the paper note that one of the foot soldiers handed over to him. He opened the folded note and silently read what was written inside, no emotion showed on his face.
Folding back the paper, he looked at the foot soldiers, "Good job. I will take this to the Incense Master. Brothers, you can go back."
The foot soldiers nodded in response and watched their Red Pole, Guowei Ling, turning his back towards them as he walked away before they dispersed.
After receiving the paper note from Guowei Ling, the Incense Master[3] helplessly sighed, in his mind, he thought that the Dragon Head's second grandchild was such a headache.
The Dragon Head[4] of Yin Ying Triad, Zou Jinhai, was a very powerful man but because of some health issues that his wife had, she was only able to birth one child – A son. That son grew up and married a beautiful Italian woman. Afterwards, the woman he married successfully birthed four children.
The Incense Master had no idea why the second young master had turned much different compared to the other siblings.
"Well, well... Enlai, you old fogey, you seem to be on the brink of your death."
The Incense Master, Kang Enlai, dryly laughed, "Ah, Peizhi, you have no idea... That boy is making troubles again."
An old man at age 50 arched his eyebrow, "Heard the members tried to find him... What did he do this time?"
".... He ran away from home. Possibly won't come back again. For real this time." Kang Enlai waved the paper in front of the Vanguard[5].
Widening his eyes, Chung Peizhi swiftly grabbed the paper and after reading the content, his hands started to shake, "Oh dear, that old geezer is going to explode when he sees this..."
Kang Enlai smacked his head and chided, "Old idiot, don't call the Dragon Head an old geezer. Don't blame me when the Dragon Head overhears you."
An angry expression appeared on Chung Peizhi's face, "What 'Old idiot', you're older than me! No need to worry about me, I am very sneaky."
Shaking his head, Kang Enlai snatched back the paper from Chung Peizhi's hand, "I will go hand it over to the Dragon Head now. And you... Do what you are supposed to do."
With that, he walked away from his place and when Chung Peizhi saw that, he gave him a middle finger.
Suddenly, Kang Enlai stopped in his tracks, and without turning around, he spoke, "Do it again and I won't mind telling the Dragon Head about you."
Ending his sentence, he continued to walk, leaving a shocked vanguard.
'H-how did he know?! He obviously had his back towards me! That damn psycho fogey is a demon in disguise!'
Inside the master room in the Zou mansion, a strong built old man leisurely sat in his black leather chair behind a large desk. He smoked a cigar, slowly filling the room with smoke. Kang Enlai obediently placed the folded paper on the desk, waiting for the man in front of him to take a look.
"And what is this?"
"A group of 49ers found it inside an ice cream shop. It is better for the Dragon Head to read it for yourself."
Switching his gaze from the paper to the Incense Master and back to the paper, the Dragon Head spoke, "Very well."
After folding up the paper, the Dragon Head Zou Jinhai began to read the content but as he was doing it, his complexion changed drastically. His right hand clenched the paper and then slammed it on the desk fiercely as he stood up from the chair.
"THAT GODDAMN UNGRATEFUL FOOL!"
Taking this as the cue to leave before things would become more difficult for him, Kang Enlai bowed and quietly left the room. There was no way he wanted to stay in the same room as the furious Dragon Head, that leader would no doubt make him do more troublesome things that he could have avoided.
Having to notice that his Incense Master had left the room only added more fury in Zou Jinhai. He continued to yell out curses, and when his gaze fell on the paper, he gritted his teeth and scrunched it up heatedly before throwing it towards the door.
"Is this how you repay me, you problematic brat?!"
The door slowly opened as a tall man dressed in a black suit entered the room, he picked up the scrunched paper and straightened it until he was able to read the full content.
...
'Hello, my dear wonderful Grandfather!
Your lovely second grandchild is leaving home without telling anybody! Don't worry, you read that right so no, your eyesight hasn't gone bad yet, unfortunately.
Wait... Is this called running away from home? Oh, I guess I'm running away from home then.
When will I come back? N-E-V-E-R.
.... If you haven't gotten the clue yet, I'm cutting ties with you. No more criminal activities. Too bothersome.
Well then, I hope you will have a wonderful day, may your upcoming days be as peaceful as possible.
PS. DO NOT LET ALEXEI CHASE AFTER ME. I AM TRYING TO LEAVE BEHIND MY PAST AND LIVE A PEACEFUL AND LEISURELY LIFE.
The point is, don't disturb me. Thank you.
- Your ex-grandchild, Zou Xinya[6].'
...
"This is indeed problematic."
Hearing the cold voice with a hint of slyness, the Dragon Head raised his head to look at the white-haired foreigner. His fury had by then toned down a bit as he took a deep breath and sat down on his chair.
"Alexei boy, what did I do wrong when I raised him?"
Instead of answering, the white-haired man walked to Zou Jinhai and stopped when he was only a few meters away from the desk.
"How does the elder want to handle this?"
"Hmph. That little brat has always been mischievous. What 'peaceful and leisurely life', he's being an idiot. As 489[7] of Yin Ying Triad, I have to trouble you to find and bring that brat of a grandson of mine back."
A chuckle ran throughout the room, "I don't mind."
Upon hearing that, Zou Jinhai heaved a sigh, "Such a troublesome grandson. Then, I'll leave him to you."
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to bring my dear 'young master' back."
...
Inside an airport stood a man with a lazy posture with his luggage beside him, he stretched his shoulders as he held ice cream.
Looking at random people walking, he breathed out, "New life, new me. Here I come."
.
.
.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1]Foot soldiers — "At the bottom of the triad hierarchy are the 49s. Almost all triad members belong to this category. They are the foot soldiers of organized crime."
[2]Red Poles — "Red Poles were originally military unit leaders, they are now gang leaders. A Red Pole may have around fifty men under his command."
[3]Incense Master — "Someone who officiate over triad rituals, in this respect they are extremely important in preserving the rituals and ensuring that they remain potent symbols of the triads history and power."
[4]Dragon Head — "At the top of the triad hierarchy is the man known as Mountain Lord, First Route Marshal, or Dragon Head. The elected group leader."
[5]Vanguard — "Equal rank with Incense Master. Someone who recruits, organizes and assists ceremonies. Also assists the Incense Master. "
[6]Xinya — The Chinese first name of the second young master of Zou Family.
[7]489 — "Numeric codes are used by the Triads to differentiate between the positions and ranks within the organization. The Dragon Head is coded by 489."
