Chapter Twenty-Three: The Duality of Human Nature

An organized criminal gang, formed with the aim of illicit gain and operating under an underground order contrary to the law, is known as a “gang,” elegantly referred to as the “rivers and lakes” or the “greenwood.” The Chinese style of gang traces its roots to rebel armies, reaching as far back as the Greenwoods and Red Eyebrows uprisings. Because self-interest endures while other ideals fade before the passage of time, these groups gradually degenerated into clusters of vested interests.

The Butchers’ Guild is one such group, the Lion’s Guild another; they define their spheres of influence by trade and territory, a practice unchanged for millennia.

Tie Xinyuan watched as Niu Er struggled desperately for his life, only to be run through by a long spear. He didn’t even blink at the bloody scene. He had witnessed such things before; lying on the Gobi desert gazing at the stars, he had come to terms with everything—especially life and death.

The constables came roaring down the street, swinging their iron chains with a clamor, making a great show of force. The killers had already fled, perhaps nearly free of the city by now, yet the officers continued their loud theatrics, as if to assert their authority. Only common folk could be cowed by such bluster. Besides Niu Er’s corpse, the only ones left on the street were the strutting constables.

Their display failed to scare off the greedy flies. The lead constable prodded Niu Er’s corpse with his foot, causing a cloud of green-headed flies to take wing like a dark cloud.

“Ha, so it’s Niu Er who’s dead. Didn’t I always say, live like that and sooner or later you’ll end up dead on the street? Sure enough.” Hearing their leader speak, the other constables dropped their pretense and gathered round the body, laughing and joking at the sight of Niu Er’s rag-doll form. Some even wagered on how many wounds he’d taken before he died.

Watching Niu Er’s body being poked and dragged by sticks and boots, Tie Xinyuan was struck by a strange sense of sorrow, as if he too were a hunted beast.

His mother quickly took him into the back kitchen, not wanting her son to witness the tragedy. The stewed meat bubbled on the stove as two women used iron forks to skewer pieces for delivery to the Fan Pavilion. These days, Tie’s stewed meats were much beloved, even the scholars and officials reveling at Fan Pavilion enjoyed the elegant platters made from Tie’s cuisine.

In front of Tie Xinyuan sat an enormous pork bone. His mother had already extracted the marrow, waiting for him to begin. Normally, her son would devour it with relish, but today he only stared pensively outside. Following his gaze, Wang Rouhua saw only the blackened wall stained by years of smoke, sighed quietly, and returned to her work.

“Please, good shopkeeper, spare a scrap of sackcloth, even an old piece, if you have one.” A timid voice came from the storefront. When Tie Xinyuan went out, he found a little beggar, indistinguishable as boy or girl, standing at the door and bowing repeatedly.

Tie Xinyuan handed his pork bone to the child. “Here, take this bone.”

The little beggar eyed the meat-laden bone hungrily, but shook their head. “Please, could you spare a piece of sackcloth? Even an old one will do.”

Puzzled, Tie Xinyuan looked from the bone to the child. “What do you need sackcloth for?”

The beggar rubbed their red eyes with dirty hands. “Uncle Er is dead. I want to cover his face with the cloth.”

“Why help Niu Er? He always bullied people. Are you his nephew?” the shopkeeper asked.

The little beggar hesitated, then nodded emphatically, pointing outside. “We’re all his nephews.”

Glancing casually at the street, Tie Xinyuan’s gaze froze. Seven or eight little beggars circled Niu Er’s corpse, driving away the flies to keep them from laying eggs on the body. Some younger ones had stripped off their own tattered clothing to build a small shade over the dead man. The constables had long since departed. The day was too hot for the corpse-bearers to come, so the body would not be taken to the paupers’ graveyard until sunset.

Witnessing this, Tie Xinyuan handed over both the pork bone and a clean piece of sackcloth to the beggar. He pointed to the coffin shop at the end of the street, kindly reminding the child. The beggar only shook their head and, with the help of older children, loaded Niu Er’s body onto a sled made of branches and dragged it toward the city gate.

Once the corpse was gone, so too were most of the flies. Several night watchmen shoveled the blood-soaked earth into baskets and washed the flagstones until every trace of blood was scrubbed away. Thus, the last mark Niu Er had left on the world was wiped clean.

“At least those kids have some conscience. Niu Er looked after them for over a year,” an old watchman remarked, resting at the soup shop for a drink.

“Niu Er, look after beggars? He conned enough coins out of me every month,” scoffed the herbalist.

The watchman smiled. “I don’t know why Niu Er did it, but I saw him many nights bringing those children food. Not long ago, he carried a sick girl to Doctor Hou’s clinic and spent quite a bit on her treatment.”

“A weasel paying respects to the chickens, surely up to no good. Maybe he thought that good-looking beggar girl could fetch a price when grown?” the herbalist sneered.

The cobbler across the street bristled. “That’s unfair! Any good-looking beggar would be snatched up by the beggar bosses hiding in the sewers. Niu Er might have been a scoundrel, but he gave those kids food, and paid for the sick one’s medicine. That shows a bit of heart. Old Liu, you wouldn’t even take your own kid to Doctor Hou, would you?”

“Cobbler, we’re talking about Niu Er, not my children. And don’t say he never bullied you—remember that slap you got?” The cobbler, red-faced, clenched his fists, ready to brawl, but Wang Rouhua stepped in, laughing. “Never mind Niu Er’s faults, he’s gone. Let’s speak kindly of the dead. We should be more concerned about who’ll collect protection money at West Water Gate now.”

At the mention of this, the shopkeepers fell silent. The wolf was gone; surely a leopard would take its place. The magistrate of Kaifeng may hold the law, but the authorities were never reliable. Without guilds or brokers for protection, there was no hope of survival in the city.

By dinner, Tie Xinyuan had learned the full story. Jin Suanni, the Lion’s Guild boss, heard that Niu Er planned to break away and start his own faction. Seizing his chance, Jin Suanni ambushed and crippled Niu Er, intending to kill him first in his own courtyard.

They thought the matter would remain hidden, but Niu Er fought his way out, killing his way through the ambush and ending up on the street. Though Niu Er died, the Lion’s Guild suffered heavy losses—their six best fighters perished at his hands, and many more were wounded. The gang was greatly weakened.

Moreover, the daylight murder had aroused the authorities. The county magistrate of Kaifeng had issued a fiery decree: the constables had three days to capture the killers or face thirty strokes of the rod for every day overdue. Forced by the crackdown, Jin Suanni had fled the capital with his men.

After hearing this, Tie Xinyuan frowned. “So Niu Er really was helping those beggar children?”

Copper Coin nodded vigorously. “He was! I gave the teahouse master at Spring Fragrance Pavilion ten coins, and he told me himself. Niu Er often went hungry to feed those children. Sister Hua at Spring Fragrance has lost her last hope.”

“Sister Hua?” Tie Xinyuan asked.

“Niu Er’s sweetheart. He was saving up to redeem her and marry her. Now he’s dead, and it’s all over.” With that, Copper Coin handed over his remaining coins and ran home for supper.

Tie Xinyuan sat under the pear tree, bewildered. He had never imagined that the ruffian Niu Er had such a side. He thought he’d been delivering justice, but now it seemed he’d committed a grievous wrong.

Since coming to this world, he’d believed he could live out his passions and avenge wrongs as he pleased, but reality proved he could not escape his conscience. Killing Niu Er had changed many people’s destinies—and Tie Xinyuan felt as though a great weight pressed upon his heart.

If not for him, perhaps Niu Er would have raised those beggar children, perhaps even rescued that courtesan from her hellish life.

To spare his mother worry, Tie Xinyuan shared a cheerful meal with her and told amusing tales he’d read in books. After she fell asleep, he lay on his cot, staring at the ceiling, unable to rest.

When the sound of wood knocking came from Copper Coin’s home, he finally made up his mind: Niu Er was dead, but the fate of others should not be determined by him. Since he had orchestrated Niu Er’s death, the consequences were now his to bear.

Only then did he understand what the Buddhists meant by “karma”—once entangled in cause and effect, there was no escape in this life.

With his resolve set, sleep finally swept over him like a tide.

In his dreams, he once more saw Niu Er’s blood-stained face, roaring at him, “It’s you who’s ruined me!”

PS: Still begging for recommendations, collections, and clicks. From today on, three updates daily—I hope you’ll enjoy. With respects, Ji Yu.