Chapter 1: Reborn Little Red Robe

The first heavy rain of October 1992.

The night rain poured down.

The howling wind mixed with pea-sized raindrops striking the window sounded like drumbeats in Su Pingnan’s ears.

Inside a dilapidated bungalow.

The house was small, at most a dozen square meters. Bedding was carelessly rolled and piled in a corner on a raised platform meant to be a bed. A worn out wardrobe that looked like it was from the 1960s stood in one corner. That was all the room contained.

Su Pingnan’s expression was strange as he inspected his twenty-year-old self in the mirror under dim light.

His hair was shaved down to a buzz cut, with a similarly prominent nose and thin lips. A body of lean, streamlined muscle.

An eye-catching black dragon was tattooed on his bare back. It bared claws, rode on clouds and mist, its scales lifelike. Its two dragon eyes were wide open, appearing extremely ferocious.

“Nice to see you again.”

Su Pingnan’s mouth curled into a faint smile as he greeted himself in the mirror.

At this moment, Su Pingnan’s gaze was full of defiance, proud as an eagle that had just overcome a storm — completely different from the crippled, struggling old thug he would become later in his previous life.

The year was 1992; Su Pingnan was twenty years old. He lit a cheap unfiltered cigarette and pondered his current situation.

Now it was mid-October, the Xia Country had just lifted the wave of reform and was opening up. At this time he had already, by sheer ruthlessness in his bones, established a foothold at the south train station in the city of Wucheng.

He was from the Su family living in Changyang County, one of four brothers. His grandfather had been a bandit back then — hot-tempered and fierce, but extremely loyal. He had stopped living that life and moved to the foot of the mountain, but he still the most authoritative figure in the family and the village they lived in. If there was a dispute in the village, generally the old master would step in.

The old man had been used to being domineering his whole life and he gave his four grandchildren very imposing names.

Zhendong, Pingnan, Anxi, Dingbei.

Su Pingnan was the second son, and the one whose temperament most resembled the old master. The eldest was originally named Su Zhendong, but later on, his father thought it inappropriate and quietly changed the name when registering the boy’s birth.

When the old master found out he flew into a rage. So, afterward, although the third and fourth grandchildren were girls, the names stuck. The eldest resembled his mother — an honest and simple farmer. The third and fourth were girls, and Su Pingnan was the old man’s favorite most days.

After the old man died, Su Pingnan ran like a runaway wild horse, this hell-raising, fierce dragon soon made a great name in Changyang County by causing a ruckus for himself, but after all that effort, Su Pingnan found his family still as poor as ever. By that age, he could understand the power of having lots of money, so he couldn’t stand the state his family was in anymore. When he heard about the many moneymaking opportunities in Wucheng, he led several equally fierce fellows and charged right in without thinking.

After taking a few hard drags of his cigarette, Su Pingnan calmed down.

In memories of his past life, most of the paths he later took were crooked and evil. Not only did he come to no good end himself, but several of his loyal followers were killed or maimed. Now that he had been reborn, he secretly resolved that from now on he would not play dirty or dabble in shady deals, nor rely on connections — just do honest business. In this era of countless golden opportunities, he might well become a figure of influence. Even if he took a step back, saved money for a few years and bought a house in the capital in 1998, that would be hundreds of times better than in his last life. He would never repeat the same mistakes.

Actually, Su Pingnan’s starting point now was not that low.

This particular era gave him opportunities. As one with neither connections nor capital, Su Pingnan relied on sheer grit to slowly establish himself at Wucheng Station. At this time, Wucheng Station was the third busiest station in the northern region of the province, with extensive connections to other parts of the country. It was the junction of several provincial railways and, in an age when road transport was undeveloped, a very prosperous place.

Trains and people came and went daily, an endless flow. Hotels and inns stood in rows, never resting. Merchants and travelers from all directions, dreaming of making money, hurried in and left, forming Wucheng’s unique scenery. This also drew a large number of ruffians, hoodlums and idle people, a chaotic mix. Countless goods transited here every day; the demand for freight cars was obvious. Large piles of goods, due to time costs or routing, would be hauled from the station to nearby freight yards and loaded onto trucks.

Right now, Su Pingnan made a living loading goods onto trucks at the freight yard. Where there are people, there is a world of its own. When trucks were few and goods were many, getting yours on first and off first was the skill of the local toughs who run the place. Men like Su Pingnan — fierce, stubborn and unconcerned with connections or face, men who poured their life into whatever they did because that was all they had. That attitude let him brutally seize control of the freight yard’s affairs. One must admit, sometimes violence is the most direct and effective tool, especially in that era.

The freight station managers were already sick of the mess, constantly entangled in relationships that gave them headaches because they were all locals, including relatives and friends, making it hard for them to do or say anything that could offend anyone. After the hotheaded Su Pingnan established a one-man rule, the previously chaotic affairs became much more orderly. To avoid trouble, the station leaders tacitly went along. But though Su Pingnan was fierce, he wasn’t a fool and naturally had his own intentions. Bit by bit, the station actually accepted Su Pingnan’s presence, making him thrive even more.

For most people, if their source of income was cut off, they would be indignant and find a way to get it back. But Su Pingnan’s temperament would not settle at all. Because one of his workers had all of his belongings stolen by men who claimed to be from Sihairen, an influential gang, when they were merely pickpockets, Su Pingnan actually went to hunt them down. At that time, larger stations in Tiannan Province all had members from this gang present. The phrase “when geese pass overhead you lose a feather; when Sihairen walk past you lose your bag” was no empty saying. These guys wielded sharp knives like toys, were united and skilled with dirty hands — a scourge at most major stations.

After that incident, nobody from the Sihairen gang appeared at Wucheng station anymore. Su Pingnan’s ferocity that day thoroughly frightened some people, and some busybodies gave him the nickname “Little Red Robe.”

It was around this time that the saying began to spread in Wucheng: “His robe was white, now stained red by blood; Wucheng’s most vicious is Su Pingnan”. Those in the business of robbing others of either their personal items or business goods immediately fell silent and were seen no more. They were essentially laborers earning money through hard work, poor folks making a living by muscle. Besides, there were a dozen other sources of money available within the station, so there was no need to get entangled with a demon like him.