Those Years, Those People, Those Things in the Underworld!

Someone once said, “The jianghu isn’t about fighting and killing. It’s about human relationships and worldly wisdom.”

Countless people have quoted this line and hailed it as a classic.

I picked it up from a TV drama, and it went to my head.

But without fighting and killing, is the jianghu still the jianghu?

Fighting and killing are the price of admission to the jianghu.

Coercion and enticement are the means of making your way in it.

Human relationships and worldly wisdom are the art of ruling it.

Wealth and luxury are the reason for being in it.

Without violence behind your fighting and killing, who’d give a damn about you?

If you don’t use coercion and enticement, playing good cop and bad cop, who’d fear you?

If you can’t combine fighting and killing with coercion and enticement, turning them into the art of winning people over, who’d submit to you?

If you don’t seek wealth and luxury, if your goal isn’t to satisfy every desire you have, then why do all of the above? What did you come to the jianghu for?

You’d be better off locking the door, chaining up the dog, drawing the curtains, covering your head, hugging a pillow, and having a spring dream. That’s the sensible thing to do.

Isn’t that right, brother?

The story follows the underworld careers of two generations of people, including Chang Baisheng and Lü Yuanyuan, in an overseas city over the course of forty years. They rise from nothing, grow from small to big and weak to strong, and eventually meet their downfall. The two generations both intertwine and stand apart. Their lives are connected, yet each has its own trajectory.

The story has family bonds, friendship, and love, as well as schemes, open plots, and treachery. It has loyalty, brotherhood, and passion, but also betrayal, defiance, and sorrow. Some of it comes from personal experience and things heard and seen; the rest is gossip, stories, and made-up tales.

The plot is cohesive and tightly paced, with plenty of twists and turns. It’s a great story worth reading!

Special notice: This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.