“I don’t know. Isn’t this what I’m doing? I’ve arranged to meet him at the Da Fu Gui Dance Hall at 9 p.m. If you can go, you can go on my behalf to see him and see what he really thinks. I understand this is a tricky matter, but I won’t force you if it’s inconvenient for you.”
"Leave it to me." Having said that, I had no choice but to go. Old Hao had laid the groundwork for so long, and now he was asking me for this favor. What could I say? Most importantly, once this was over, Old Hao and I would be even. He didn't say it, but that's probably what he meant.
When Lao Hao saw that I had agreed, he readily said, "You can take 10% afterwards, and the 500,000 is yours."
"Absolutely not. I, Xiaoqiang, cannot do such a heartbreaking thing." I really can't take this money; taking it would change the nature of the transaction. Besides—I don't need this 500,000 yuan right now. In fact, if it weren't such a huge amount, I would have been willing to use my own money to help Lao Hao.
"We'll talk about that later. I have to remind you of something: Dafugui is Lei Laosi's territory. If you can talk to him when you get there, then talk. If you can't reach an agreement, I'll think of another way. Let's not cause any trouble."
"Boss, you and Lei Laosi..." I need to figure out the situation first. Is it a matter of friends helping each other in an emergency or is it based on mutual interests? I don't want to say something I shouldn't.
“I only met him once and we don’t have any relationship. I only lent him money last time because I couldn’t refuse him. Who would have thought that he would be so forgetful? We’re not even close enough to disappear without a word after 5 million.”
"I understand. Do you have the IOU?"
"No. If Lei Laosi wants an IOU, just come back. I don't think he would be that dishonest. It's one thing for people like him to borrow money and not pay it back, but if he doesn't even acknowledge this, then I have nothing more to say."
"Okay, I know what to do."
After hanging up the phone, I pondered for a while. I felt it was necessary for me to learn more about Lei Laosi. Tiger immediately came to mind; he should know people in this circle. Tiger had been spending a lot of time at Yucai School recently. Besides Dong Ping, Cheng Fengshou and Duan Tianlang were also like magnets to him. Although Duan Tianlang had a slightly unpleasant encounter with Tiger's senior brother, I mediated it all.
"Brother Qiang!" Tiger called out to me cheerfully. We've been in frequent contact lately.
"Brother Tiger!" I replied in return, though by seniority I should be his senior uncle. "I'm asking you about someone, do you know Lei Laosi?"
"Why are you asking about him?" Tiger's tone was less than pleasant.
"It's nothing, just some business stuff, just asking."
Tiger said, “Although I have friends in the underworld, we are two different kinds of people. After all, I’m a legitimate businessman. I’ve met Lei Laosi a few times, but we’re not close. He made his way up through violence in his early years, and although he’s started a business in recent years, he still has some shady dealings to clean up. Let me tell you, don’t mess with him. That old guy is ruthless and doesn’t play by the rules.”
"The underworld?"
"That's right, it's the underworld!"
...Now things are clear. Lao Hao wants me to go find the underworld to collect the debt, and the old man who owes the debt is someone I absolutely cannot mess with—Tiger is rich and powerful, and he's skilled in martial arts. He's been running rampant for years, and even Lei Lao Si has to be careful around him. So I have to think twice.
Of course, I still have to go if I promise someone. I'm just figuring out how to do it. I've seen others do debt collection before, and you have to be seven parts firm and three parts gentle. If you're all smiles and sweet talk, you might as well not go at all. If they see you like that, they'll have to change their minds even if they want to pay you back.
But I can't get it up now. My biggest mistake was sending all the heroes away, not even the Four Heavenly Kings. Xu Delong hasn't left the school an inch. My worst fear has come true: when I need firepower the most, the school is full of saints and immortals, but not a single one who can fight! It's true what they say, you only realize how few people you have when you need them most, like a river flowing eastward…
I had to turn to the five-man group, but that didn't seem to work either. Xiang Yu, the invincible warrior, had never shown any interest in my affairs. In his eyes, other people's problems were just child's play; two kids getting into a fight and spitting at each other—as an adult, I couldn't possibly lower myself to help my own children. Besides, I really didn't dare use him. Xiang Yu was in a terrible mood lately, and he seemed inclined to kill indiscriminately.
Ersha is fine with it, he'll go wherever he's told, but he's an assassin, and his strength lies in his willingness to die for his cause. When it comes to fighting, he might not be able to fight alone. He almost messed up last time he fought Xiao Liu, and this time the other side is the underworld!
I sat on the sofa, looking troubled. Mulan saw me and asked, "What's wrong?"
When I told her what had happened, Mulan said, "How about I disguise myself as a man and go in your place?"
I quickly waved my hand: "Forget it, I'm not your father." It's better not to enjoy treatment you're not entitled to; a farmer would get sores after sitting in an office for two days. Besides, Mulan just wants to be a peaceful woman; we can't help her, so let's not hold her back.
I thought and thought, and finally closed my eyes and made a snap decision:
Talk to them nicely.
Even gangsters have parents; I can reason with them and appeal to their emotions—but if they won't listen, there's nothing I can do, since all our powerful figures are far away in Singapore. I wonder if they'd even see a bunch of smoke signals lit on the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai.
Just then, the phone rang again; this time it was my cell phone. I answered impatiently, "Hello!" I was in a bad mood. I knew it was going to be a botched negotiation, but I still had to go. Anyone would feel bad in that situation.
Upon hearing my unfriendly tone, Sun Sixin cautiously said, "Brother Qiang, your second uncle has brought people here again."
"What did he bring this time?" I asked, then chuckled to myself. What could Sun Sixin possibly know? I asked, "Is the old man who brought him still around?"
Sun Sixin said, "They've already left. What do you think, Brother Qiang..."
I said, "I'll go over now." I checked the time and it was still early. Taking this new client to the school before seeing Lei Laosi wouldn't delay things. I wasn't interested in this new client's identity at all. It was always something like music, chess, calligraphy, painting, or this and that. I didn't care how much rich historical and cultural heritage they brought. The key was that they couldn't help at all.
I drove quickly to the bar and rushed to the front desk to ask Sun Sixin, "Where is he?" Sun Sixin pointed upstairs. The bar was already preparing to open for customers, so he arranged for him to stay in a private room upstairs.
I patted him on the shoulder to show my satisfaction with his work, and quickly went upstairs to private room number one.
I was taken aback when I saw the door. My new client was sitting with his back to the door, his broad back like a small mountain. There was a jar of wine on the table, and he was slowly sipping it. From behind, I could see that his hair was already a bit gray, and he must be over fifty years old.
Hearing someone enter, the man didn't turn around, remaining as steady as a mountain. He slowly brought the wine bowl to his lips, the muscles in his arms rolling around like a volleyball. I honestly can't think of any historical scholar or writer with such a robust physique; he was probably a drummer by trade.
Seeing that the old man was quite arrogant, I had no choice but to walk around to the front of him. In the dim light, I could see that this big man had eyebrows like cicadas and a face like a red date, with three strands of black beard flowing down his chest. Although he was not young, he exuded a thousand kinds of imposing power and a murderous aura...
I stood frozen, my heels planted firmly on the ground, unable to move an inch, my mind completely blank. After a moment, I involuntarily prostrated myself, trembling as I said, "Second Master Guan...?" I wanted to call him Second Brother, but I didn't dare.
Don't ask me how I'm so sure this is Guan Yu. There are plenty of big guys with cicada-shaped eyebrows and phoenix eyes, but I bet all of them combined can't match this old man's aura. Guan Yu is Guan Yu. This time, I've indeed received another saint—the Martial Saint!
Lord Guan glanced at me and chuckled, "Hehe, I wouldn't dare." Though he said this, he made no move to help me up. I had no choice but to straighten myself and say obsequiously, "Lord Guan, what brings you here?"
Speaking of this, the Second Master was quite dissatisfied, saying, "It should have been my turn long ago according to the order, but I don't know how so many junior scholars cut in front of me."
I knew perfectly well that Second Master's influence was undeniable, and the Underworld dared not let He Tiandou's matter fester for too long, so in the end, Guan Yu was sent.
After the second uncle's rant, I suddenly felt much more at ease with him. After all, the people have long worshipped Guan Yu as a god. You've never seen a god come to you and discuss whether soft or hard white sand is better to smoke, have you? They don't smoke; they just have people burn incense for them every day, which is about the same.
I picked up the jar and filled it to the brim for Guan Yu, asking, "Second Master, have you eaten?"
Guan Yu: "...No."
"It's best to drink less alcohol on an empty stomach. Let's find a place to eat first. What would you like to eat?"
"Whatever." Guan Yu seemed a little lost, probably because he had never talked to anyone like this before.
"Oh right, you're a saint, you don't care about food and drink. Then I'll get you your favorite thing. Would you like to read the Spring and Autumn Annals or Sun Tzu's Art of War tonight?"