Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 292

Triad King
Sha Tin College, Chan, Cyrus - 13
A
new life. A new beginning just beyond these walls. This was everything that I yearned for. A new start at the Old
City of Shanghai, where nobody knew who I was; this was where I redefined myself. “You may enter the city.” Those
words rung so sweetly through my head, as I had dreamed of this moment for as long as I could remember.
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The change was instantaneous. I was greeted with swarms of people hurrying up and down streets and alleys. As I made
my way through the hustle and bustle, I couldn’t help notice the atmosphere here, everyone walked around with poise and
purpose, their heads held tautly as they went about their day. To them I appeared as someone foreign, the neophyte within
their tight-knit community.
One focal purpose resounded in my head as to why I was here in the Old City, the Green Gang. A small but successful
triad whose power was growing exponentially. A surreal feeling of awe and disbelief came upon realising the level of
corruption the city was driven by. That of course enabled the triad to go unnoticed going about their usual business; drug
trafficking and collecting protection fees. As inconspicuous and secretive the triad had seemed, there were an awful lot of
people who knew how to join the triad itself. Each person I had asked responded in the same way, writing a person’s name
onto a piece of paper. His name was not allowed to be said, but he was rumoured to be the go-to person. Upon talking
to me someone had wrapped my head in a cloth bag, leading me through the streets until I was let go.
It all started with an initiation. I stood amongst a circle of cloth cladded figures, each of them not willing to raise their
heads to look at me. In the middle of the circle was a goblet that I had been told to hold onto. A ghastly voice came
through the circle, sending chills down my spine. “Do you vow to treat your sworn brothers as your own kin?” A swirl of
unease settled into my brain. Was I really ready for all of this? Without any warning I had replied “Yes.” A sudden wave of
realisation hit me. I was taking an oath to join the Green Gang. The rest of the oath had seemed like a blur in my memory.
A sharp surge of ushered me back into reality, as my blood flowed into the goblet, the final step of the initiation. The circle
opened up...
I woke up the next day with very little recollection of what had happened the day before, only remembering that I was
now part of the Green Gang. Stepping onto the streets I saw a man beckoning me to him. Amongst him stood what
appeared to be members of the triad, whose dark overalls clouded the view of the alleyway. Following them through the
alleyway I saw multiple people sitting around a wooden table. In the middle of it was a handwritten piece of paper, a
message in black ink spiralled through the paper in calligraphy. Picking up the piece of paper and looking upon it with a
quick glance, the Vanguard (more commonly known as the Operations Officer) replied with no hint of emotion, “The
union of the city has given orders to relocate with the Nationalist troops to the outskirts of the city by tomorrow.” A
silence later, the Vanguard sent the triad into a hurried scramble. Officers were barking orders at members to go to
different places, while I remained where I was, unsure of what I had to do. “You over there, come here quickly.” An officer
signalled me. The Deputy stepped forward, with a trace of authority he said “A message received today is being questioned
of its authenticity. We require you to infiltrate the Union and find out why they want us to relocate. Take advantage of your
fresh face and show up to the Union asking for a job. You’ll continue on from there.” Obediently, I nodded acknowledging
my orders.
In front of me stood the Union building. “It’s going to be okay.” I repeated that phrase until I genuinely started to believe
in those words myself. A man appeared at the door. One glance and he questioned “Are you here for the new job?”. My
head resounded with the word yes, but my mouth failed to orate it. Nodding at the man, he escorted me into the office
area, where he ordered me to wait. Before my own thoughts took me away, a worker walked past, dropping a small brown
envelope onto my lap.