Novels like When an Honest Man Picks Up a Knife
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as When an Honest Man Picks Up a Knife, best match first.
- 1 I Tore Open the City's Dark Curtain 我撕开了都市黑幕 [Ensemble cast + underworld] This isn’t a power fantasy or a mindless story. Every character is fleshed out, and there are no absolute heroes or villains. People can be good and evil alike. All that matters is human nature and self-interest. If that bothers you, don’t read. A seemingly ordinary workplace dispute pushes a group of everyday people into the eye of the storm. Caught in the depths of this vast, dark whirlpool, where will they go from here? 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 2 The Jianghu: A True Account of Half a Life in the Underworld 江湖：混社会的半生真实经历 A chaotic age, filled with flashing blades and clashing steel! The martial world is like a cup of tea. Everyone tastes it differently. My name is Zhao Long. Back then, most people called me Long Si, Brother Si, or Fourth Master! I'm not exaggerating when I say my reputation back then was almost as great as that of the famous Fourth Master Qiao up north! I was a poor kid who couldn't afford a meal. Through sheer grit and ruthl 4.8kReads7.1Score215Shelves
- 3 The Evil Lord Descends into the Abyss 邪主临渊 [Underworld] [Brotherhood] [Passionate] [The author is also a fan of Uncle Qin] I was bullied all through middle school. I thought things would get better in high school, but I was still bullied. Little by little, those people led me down a road of no return... My name is Mo Daoxie. Dao as in “principle,” and Xie as in “evil.” 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 4 Schoolyard Storms, Northeast Underworld 校园风云，东北江湖路 [Wherever there are people, there will be a world of the underworld] [A Northeast underworld story] [Decisive and ruthless] [A road of no return] [First person] [Recollections] [This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.] My name is Han Tian. I was kidnapped by human traffickers as a child and forced to beg on the streets. It wasn't until Uncle Han rescued me from them that I was given a name. He showed me that a person could live like a re 14Reads—Score—Shelves
- 5 Shan Jin Underworld: I Took Down the Whole Jianghu 山晋黑道，我打爆了江湖 [Underworld, passionate, multiple heroines, first-person] My name is Xu Haoqiang. I live in Longcheng, Shan Jin, a coal-producing region. In 1997, at the age of twenty, I joined the underworld. I let money do the talking, and even the truth has to bow its head. I let the rules of the underworld do the talking, and both the legitimate and criminal worlds have to make way. From there, my influence spread across Shan Jin and beyond… 782Reads6.4Score103Shelves
- 6 Oh No, This Mob Boss Can Tank a Nuclear Bomb 坏了，这黑老大能硬抗核弹 [Gangsters + No Goody-Two-Shoes + No Mindless Protagonist + Invincible in the Later Stages] Qin Dong transmigrates to the year 2004 in a parallel world, taking over the body of a small-time gangster who has done every evil imaginable and is hated by everyone. He also awakens a System that makes him stronger every time he kills someone. He can increase his strength just by devouring evil people! Infinite toughness! Infinite heat resistance! Infinite bone strength! ... Gangsters hunting him down: 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 7 He and His Thousand Brothers 他和他的一千个兄弟 A sweeping crackdown on organized crime by the municipal Party committee and government brought Kangcheng ten years of peace. But after a decade, criminal forces sprang up like mushrooms after rain and returned in force. A breakup, having his identity stolen in the college entrance exam, and a construction boss’s schemes led Chen Li’an to give up on making an honest living. In the end, he went down a path of no return, turning against society. 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 8 A Song for the Underworld 混子的挽歌 [Raise our cups and toast the rugged road through the underworld.] [Through blood and fury, a brotherhood that lasts a lifetime.] A naive, timid young man, to keep from losing the brothers at his side again, chooses to take up a three-foot steel blade and step into a world stained red with blood. Behind the brotherly bravado and drunken revelry of the underworld, the only things that never change are ruthless exploitation and cold reality. The people he meets make him sick. And little by little, 2.4kReads7.3Score237Shelves
- 9 From Rags to the Top of the Underworld 白手起家，干到黑道之巅 [Crime syndicate fiction + brotherhood + passion + shocking twists!] Beneath the gods and Buddhas, all are believers. First, crush the Azure Dragon, then wipe out the Divine Gang. I! Will become the one and only peerless gangster! 370Reads6.8Score—Shelves
- 10 I Chopped Until My Blade Chipped, and You Say I Hit the Wrong Person? 刀都砍崩了，你说我砍错了人 [Underworld + passionate jianghu + ruthless and decisive + a true kingpin] To stand up for the girl I loved, I blinded the village bully in one eye and spent three years in prison. When I got out, the goddess never came to greet me. Instead, I received an invitation to her wedding to the village bully... The jianghu is colorful and exciting, but it’s also rife with bloodshed, schemes, and deception. Brothers may share life and death, but there’s no shortage of betrayal, infighting, and estrangem 16.5kReads7.8Score1.1kShelves
- 11 I Can Turn My Hand to Anything: Two Horizontal Strokes and One Vertical, That's How We Get Things Done 翻手为云：两横一竖就是干 My name is Wang Xiao, and my nickname is Xiao San’er. Those who respect me call me Third Brother. This book is dedicated to the youth I’ve lost and the days I once spent running with a rough crowd. A butterfly spends its life in love with flowers, wandering with their fragrance to the ends of the earth. Through countless hardships, I have no regrets about my golden years. 252Reads—Score—Shelves
- 12 After I Got Out of Prison, My Sister Forced Me to Inherit a Billion-Dollar Fortune 出狱后，姐姐逼我继承亿万家产 Food delivery rider + Sanhe drifter + brotherhood in the underworld + rise to the pinnacle of power. Revenge and face-slapping + unexpected fortune + underdog's rise + tight, logical plotting. A Southeast Asian power struggle + fierce mercenary battles + leading your brothers to the top. My ex-girlfriend clings to a rich man and mocks me: “All you'll ever be in this life is a garbage picker!” Late one night, three sexy older women corner me beneath a bridge. “Your parents left you hundreds of mi 8Reads—Score—Shelves
- 13 We’ve Been Around the Block Too 哥几个也混过 We navigate society with feeling, And live our lives by loyalty. When feeling and loyalty conflict, We choose loyalty first. We walked side by side, reveling in the wild abandon of youth through those passionate years. You’re my brother, so we’ll face life and death together. 156Reads—Score—Shelves
- 14 The Godfather of the Underworld 黑道教皇 Brothers for a day, brothers for a lifetime. Their vow of loyalty rings out amid the fanfare of youth: impulsive days, blazing passions, love that lasts until death, and brothers who stand together for life. Whose youth isn't filled with fire? “What do they call you?” “Long.” “I asked for your name.” “People like me don't have names.” “But one day, the world will tell you mine.” “People today don't recognize a tree that will reach the clouds, only praising it once it has grown that tall!” 643Reads7.1Score—Shelves
- 15 Heading South in 1996: I Take My Young Aunt and Conquer the Underworld 九六南下：我带小姑奶闯江湖 [Period] [Fleeing an arranged marriage] [Heading south for work] [Passionate underworld] [Multiple heroines] New Year’s Day, 1996. Chen Yaozu, a poor lad from southeastern Henan, flees south overnight with his young grandaunt, who is being forced into marriage. As soon as they arrive in the Pearl River Delta, his classmate’s cousin kicks him out of her rental, leaving him homeless. He steps in to help someone, only to be hunted by gangsters. At the factory, he’s bullied, and people even set thei 885Reads—Score101Shelves
- 16 Those Were the Days: My Life in the Underworld 那些年，混过的日子 Sleeping rough and braving the elements are just part of life. Clashing blades and exchanging blows can put old grudges to rest. Brothers are heaven, brothers are earth. With brothers, you can stand tall between heaven and earth. Brothers are the wind, brothers are the rain. With brothers, you can summon the wind and call down the rain. Based on real events, this novel commemorates the years we spent getting into trouble together and pays tribute to the youth of those born in the 1980s. End 1.3kReads6.4Score109Shelves
- 17 Tales of the Second High School 二中之风云往事 For all three years of middle school, my whole class ostracized me. Second-year students cornered and humiliated me, and everyone treated me like trash and walked all over me. They thought I was weak and easy to bully, but they didn’t know that a boy backed into a corner has nothing left to lose. From this day on, I’ll give my life to anyone who protects me, and pay back anyone who bullies me twice over. This isn’t a novel. It’s the bloody path of my youth, the one I truly walked. “My name is Ba 259Reads—Score109Shelves
- 18 Dongguan, I Am King! 莞市，我为王！ What kind of legendary path will Li Feng carve out after leaving martial arts school and arriving in Dongguan? In the bright days of youth, ride proud and true. Make the most of your time, and know where you’re headed. May you roam the world for half your life, then return still young at heart... (The original cast of strongmen who rose from vocational school reunites. A new story, a fresh start!) 381Reads7.3Score—Shelves
- 19 The Absolute Kingpin 绝对枭雄 After transferring schools, I find out my beautiful desk mate is actually my former enemy. And then... New book: Call Me a Con Artist. I hope you’ll check it out and show it some support! 288Reads8.8Score—Shelves
- 20 Tales of the Southern Underworld 南方黑道往事 A highly realistic and utterly authentic autobiographical story about the underworld. Many readers who have started reading have already been drawn deep into it. Open this book, and you'll see a real underworld: helplessness and betrayal, a deeply immersive world of bloodshed and brotherhood. 5.8kReads8.9Score461Shelves
- 21 Blood Prison's Mad Overlord 血狱狂枭 The down-and-out youth Zhao Tian suffered the slaughter of his entire family as a boy. After vanishing for many years, he returned to exact revenge, rise to power, establish the Blood Prison, and dominate the world. With a band of brothers who would lay down their lives for him, he embarked on one journey after another, stirring up waves of bloodshed across the martial world… 15.7kReads8.5Score1.1kShelves
- 22 Big Brother of the Streets: Starting as a Demobilized Soldier 社会大哥：从退伍军人开始 My name is Wang Yi. Wang as in “king,” Yi as in “number one”! My big brother told me there are three essentials to making it in the underworld: being ruthless, knowing when to endure, and having a plan. But he never told me that life in the underworld would mean blood and tears, death and farewells! Countless bones pile up in the wilderness, and the law's net is wide enough to catch every hoodlum. Of the countless gangsters out there, only one or two ever make something of themselves! And I'm on 8.2kReads8.7Score811Shelves
- 23 What Gang Boss? Call Me a Philanthropist 什么黑老大？叫慈善家 The ratings have just come in, so feel free to give it a try! Rebirth + business + lots of loyal followers + staying on the straight and narrow + law-abiding + women, but no female lead! A top underworld boss is reborn. He rises from humble beginnings, making use of every resource around him. He brings along the brothers who followed him in his previous life and were forced to take the fall and go to prison! He founds the Hanhai Group! Drinks the strongest liquor! Dates the wildest women! Yet no 119Reads5.5Score—Shelves
- 24 The Underworld as Seen Through a Madman's Eyes 疯子眼中所谓的江湖 His father goes bankrupt overnight. His mother receives a notice that she is critically ill. A carefree young wastrel stumbles into the world of the martial underworld! Confronted with all the different lives in the martial world, and one situation after another where he has no choice, the young man, already mired in the quagmire, gazes around in confusion. The martial world is a road of no return. You have to go mad to become a demon. An unseen hand pushes him ever onward... Can this dashing yo 749Reads7.0Score103Shelves
- 25 Tales of the Hong Kong and Macau Underworld 港澳黑道往事 Told from a third-person perspective and set in the otherworldly port city of Aocheng, this novel explores the social issues of a particular era in Hong Kong and Macao. It also depicts the tragic fate of the underworld and the darkness of human nature in another world. At the same time, it reflects on gang culture, showing readers the cruelty and unsustainability of life in the underworld, and the harm it causes to individuals and society. The story is entirely fictional. Please don’t imitate it 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 26 Southwest Storm: Turmoil on the Black Sea 西南风云：黑海沉浮 When I was eighteen, I met someone who led me down a certain path. Some describe this path with the idealistic word “jianghu.” But the jianghu you actually find yourself in is better summed up by a rather funny saying: “After all this time, I’ve made no friends, only learned lessons.” My name is Lin Dongxia, and I’ve learned my fair share of lessons. 33.2kReads9.3Score3.2kShelves
- 27 The Underworld Boss Who Came Out of a Martial Arts Academy 从武校走出来的黑道大佬 [Youthful passion + Ruthless + Absolutely no saintly do-gooder] What kind of legendary life will Gu Feng write for himself after returning from martial arts school? A young man in fine clothes, riding a spirited horse: may he make the most of his youth and live without regrets! May you wander far and wide, yet return still young at heart! 14Reads6.5Score—Shelves
- 28 The Underworld King of Campus: The Campus Belle Falls for Me 高校黑道枭雄，校花为我倾倒 Qin Ling should have grown up happily under his parents' protection, but they were brutally murdered. Qin Ling had a rough childhood and even spent three years in prison after being framed. By the time he left prison, he had grown into a young man standing 194 centimeters tall. He also happened to find his way onto a university campus. [Violence?]“Sorry! I like it too.” [Stealing?]“My bad! I'll pay you back double.” [Loan sharks?]“Isn't this basically free money?” [Human traffickers?]“Prepare to 674Reads5.8Score—Shelves
- 29 1998: My Bloody Era! 1998：我的血色年代！ When I hit the streets, I rely on just three things! Being ruthless, having money, and having tough brothers! These are passionate, fiery times! These are times when tough guys are everywhere! The moment I picked up a three-edged military dagger, I was destined to spend my life battling through the underworld! Don't talk to me about big shots in the underworld. That won't work on me! Welcome to my story of life on the streets! 6.1kReads8.5Score427Shelves
- 30 The Rise and Fall of a Nobody 混子风云 [Adult-themed story] [Ensemble cast] [Not mindless] No saintly protagonist, no System Are his parents' divorce the final straw that breaks Li Qian? Absolutely not. His ambition will drive him ever higher. If nobody believes in me, then I'll climb over their heads and become the king of Laicheng. This story does not promote violence in any way. We hope everyone will obey the law. Anyone who breaks the law will be severely punished. Society won't go easy on you. You alone are responsible for every 70Reads—Score—Shelves
- 31 The Fire of Our Youthful Years 那些年我们青春的锋芒 To everyone else, he was an honest man and a spineless loser. His middle school years were a living hell, until one day, a friend his age from the neighboring family transferred back from a school out of town and came to his defense with a commanding presence. The boy, Wu Feng, took the baton handed to him and strode ahead, rising from a meek, honest kid into a powerful figure who radiated authority and revealed his sharp edge. 21Reads—Score—Shelves
- 32 My Years in the Underworld: Three Fingers 混黑道的那些年：三根手指 (Period Setting + Underworld + Urban + Satisfying Read + Passion + Mockumentary Style + Brotherhood + No Harem) This novel may touch on real underworld events. Any similarities are purely coincidental! The audiobook is officially out now! It's a real thrill! Brothers, dive right in! Northeast China, 1994. A young man cuts off three fingers with a knife and flees to the northwest. His parents are divorced and his family is well-off, but he insists on making his way through sheer ruthlessness. Fol 93.7kReads9.2Score10.1kShelves
- 33 Tale of the Twin Flood Dragons 双蛟记 [Brothers bound by deep affection, sharing life and death] [A flood dragon lies hidden in deep waters. After enduring bitter hardships, it can emerge transformed into a dragon.] 679Reads7.1Score101Shelves
- 34 After Getting Out of Prison, the Underworld Princess Pursued Me 出狱后的我被黑道公主倒追 [Passionate youth] [Ruthless and decisive] [Tattoos covering his back] [A crowd of loyal brothers] On the eve of the college entrance exams, Li Shu lands in prison for using excessive force in self-defense. Three years later, having “successfully completed his studies,” he returns like a king. After surviving one bloody battle after another, he finally stands at the top of the city. Only then does he suddenly realize that his seemingly sweet and clueless girlfriend is the biggest boss in the ent 2.8kReads7.0Score212Shelves
- 35 The Underworld: I Make the Rules 黑道：我才是规矩 Two years in prison, and nothing is as it was. Wherever there are people, there are rivalries and power struggles. Schemes and betrayals are everywhere, and one careless move can destroy an entire family. No matter what, the strong can turn the tables against the odds. Starting today, I make the rules in Philadelphia! 2.6kReads—Score113Shelves
- 36 Are You Crazy? You Dare Mess with Brother Long? 你疯了，敢惹龙哥？ The underworld is rife with temptations of money, profit, power, and women. It’s not just about fighting and killing, but also about the ways of the world. But human hearts are treacherous, and the ways of the world are ever-changing! After getting out of prison, Li Hailong uses his bloodstained hands to carve out a world of his own and become a fearsome dragon of the underworld! 280Reads7.4Score—Shelves
- 37 My First Half of Life: A Bloody Underworld 我的前半生：血色江湖 [The rating just came in and it’ll keep rising, so don’t let it scare you off! This book is entirely handcrafted, and writing it isn’t easy. Hope you enjoy it!] Eight years in the army, decorated for valor, only to have his future stolen by a substitute! He moves to the city for work and tries to keep his head down, but is forced into a dead end! His brother goes to prison, and his sworn brother dies a tragic death. Good people have no way out, while the wicked run rampant! He abandons the strai 1.4kReads8.4Score129Shelves
- 38 Underworld Storm: The Uncrowned King 黑道风云：无冕王侯 (First person, period setting, underworld) A big brother? A big brother isn't some glamorous, all-powerful emperor who does whatever he pleases. A big brother is just the guy who picks up the tab. The underworld? It's brotherly loyalty, deceit and betrayal. It's a place that strips the tenderness from gentle-hearted men and hardens them, and turns green young boys into grizzled old gangsters. My name is Zhao Qingfeng. I've been around the underworld, and I was once a big brother! 37.4kReads9.2Score3.9kShelves
- 39 Selfish Desires: Tales of the Underworld 私欲：江湖往事 [This book is based on a true story] Three years ago, I was convicted of intentional assault and sent to prison. After getting out, I wanted to live an ordinary life. But then my younger sister went down a path of no return. For her sake, I had no choice but to return to the underworld! This book is packed with thrilling action and satisfying moments! 1.1kReads7.5Score111Shelves
- 40 Legends of Jiangbei 江北风云传 Jiangbei is a tangled city, its underground forces deeply entrenched in a balance of power that no one has been able to shake for decades. No one could have guessed that the person to stir up this muddy pond would be a transfer student at a vocational high school. Su Yan transfers in and plunges straight into a school rife with conflict and chaos. Faced with the law of the jungle, he neither hides nor backs down. He makes his fists his blade and his courage his edge, carving out a place for hims 11Reads—Score—Shelves
- 41 After Getting Fired, I Became the Strongest Bodyguard to a Mafia Heiress 我被开除后成黑道千金的最强打手 The rating just came in, so it’ll go up later. [For adults only. No one under 18 may read this.] [Urban + underworld + multiple heroines + all-powerful protagonist + brotherhood] Lu Fei was expelled from middle school for fighting and spent four years guarding his village... At last, he came of age! Newly 18, Lu Fei hadn’t even had time to establish his own gang in the village before the aunt he lived with kicked him out and sent him to the big city to stay with her daughter. After arriving in 55Reads6.7Score—Shelves
- 42 The Peerless Mad Dragon Who Defies Heaven 胜天半子之绝世狂龙 [Decisive and ruthless] [No do-gooder protagonist] [Realistic urban setting] [Fast-paced] [No dragging things out] [Satisfying underworld story] [No System] [Not invincible] Not invincible!!! Not invincible!!! Not invincible!!! Everything comes down to hard work grounded in reality. A must-read for fans of underworld stories~ An urban youth leads a band of brothers who would live and die for him, rising from having nothing to the pinnacle of the underworld and forging a legendary empire~ The mal 61Reads—Score—Shelves
- 43 Dark Glory: Twenty Years in the Underworld of Northeast China 黑暗荣耀：东北江湖二十年 1.3kReads8.8Score109Shelves
- 44 The Thirteen Hawks of the Underworld 黑道十三鹰 He was once a shining star in the military, rising to prominence through his fearlessness. But fate took a sudden turn during a brutal battle with drug traffickers. In the midst of a fight to the death, he had no choice but to kill a captured drug lord, a decision that forced him to leave the military. From then on, he entered the underworld, burying his former glory and sense of duty deep within. Like a lone wolf, he roamed the world of darkness and began a life in the criminal underworld that 829Reads—Score—Shelves
- 45 Jinbei Storm: A Black-Market Outlaw 晋北风云：黑道狂徒 Yanbei City is known as the Coal Capital, and coal is also called black gold. Crowds of gold seekers pour into Yanbei City, hoping to get a share of the coal industry. The various factions stop at nothing to achieve their goals. In their eyes, everything has a price, including human life. What is the underworld? The underworld is face. The underworld is brotherhood. The underworld is money. They say the coal of northern Shanxi is black, but few realize that human hearts are blacker still. After 3.7kReads9.0Score206Shelves
- 46 The Man Who Reached the Top of the Underworld 黑道触顶之徒 The underworld is shallow waters teeming with big shots. Thousands shout my name: Brother Tian. Xia Tian, a young man from the bottom of society in Northeast China, gets caught up by chance in the feud between two underworld bosses. From then on, he sets out to climb to the top of the criminal world. Benefactors, moles, bandits, desperados… all sorts of characters take the stage, and the action is heart-pounding. Watch as he leads his brothers from small-time nobodies to become the biggest kin 3.8kReads8.8Score258Shelves
- 47 Twenty Years of Gangland Turmoil 黑道风云二十年 I had just gone to prison when my girlfriend got together with my big brother. My name is Wang Chao, a street punk who takes loyalty seriously. The passion of the 1990s is my dream. And the youth an entire generation can never get back. With my story, I’ll look back on the glorious years we shared! 520Reads6.3Score—Shelves
- 48 The Underworld: A Life in the Jianghu 黑道：人在江湖 What is the underworld? No one can really say. To me, the underworld is the jianghu. The jianghu has its own rules and its own stories. It’s not all fighting and killing. More than anything, it’s about human relationships and navigating the ways of the world. In 1996, a film about young gangsters influenced countless young people, leading them down a path of no return... That same year, after four years in prison, I walked out through those heavy doors and regained my freedom. My name is Fang We 209Reads6.7Score—Shelves
- 49 Don't Call Me Boss, I'm a Law-Abiding Entrepreneur 别叫我大哥，我是守法人民企业家 [Reborn + Reformed Gangsters + Business Empire + A Cast of Drama Queens] Jiang Che is reborn on the eve of the Green Dragon Gang's bloody killing spree. He tears up their machete permits and declares, "From today on, anyone who talks about fighting and killing again gets their performance bonus docked!" While his rivals wait for him to make a fool of himself: • Three hundred underlings sweep the streets before dawn and land a contract to supply disposable tableware to restaurants across the city 106Reads—Score—Shelves
- 50 Reborn in ’88: I Won’t Retire from the Game 重生八八：金盆不洗手 In his previous life, he was the underworld emperor of Dongjiang Province. In the end, he died alone at the defendant's table. Reborn in 1988, Lin Tianqiang swore to rewrite his fate. All he wanted was to lead his brothers down the straight path and make honest money. But the world wouldn't leave him in peace. Enemies cut off his livelihood, while thugs bullied his brothers, forcing him step by step back into the crucible. With nowhere left to retreat, he went with the flow and built a gray empi 1.2kReads7.4Score101Shelves
