Astrology Hall with Flesh and Blood

Chapter 78

"Huh?" He raised his arm suspiciously and sniffed hard. It was definitely strong smoke, because what he smelled wasn't a fragrance, but a stench similar to rotting corpses. What smelled awful to him would naturally smell sweet to his wife.

So, because he smokes for so long, he emits a strong smoky smell even at other times?

"Does it smell good?" he asked with a grin. "According to Lao Qiang, this is a new variety."

His wife nodded silently, still with her back to him, and struggled to utter a sound:

"From now on, will you come to see me often?"

He scratched his head in distress. Visiting his wife wasn't the main issue; the problem was not being able to smoke while sitting next to her, which was what tormented him most. Just as he hesitated, his wife's voice suddenly choked with emotion:

"I don't have many days left... Can't you even grant the wish of a dead man...?"

"No! What are you talking about, dying or something!" He hurriedly covered his wife's mouth, repeatedly agreeing. His wife leaned softly against his arm, a satisfied smile on her face, and said to him:

"Yes...that's the smell...as long as I can smell this fragrance, I'd accept my fate even if it meant death..."

No way? He was stunned. His wife, who was always severely allergic to the smell of smoke, had actually made a request, just because she was captivated by the aroma of the strong smoke... Could it be that this strong smoke really had an unparalleled, mellow flavor?

But as long as he's a smoker, he'll never be able to smell that wonderfully delicious aroma. Conversely, if he didn't sacrifice himself to smoke, where would the people in the Strong Smoke Club have any smoke to smell?

Driven by curiosity, he solemnly asked Lao Qiang if he could smell the strong smoke as a secondhand smoker. He thought it would be an easy task, but Lao Qiang's expression changed drastically, and before he could finish speaking, Lao Qiang repeatedly said no.

He said "impossible" dozens of times in a row. "Once you've smelled strong smoke, you can never resist the temptation. You just want others to exhale that fragrant smoke." His eyes were cloudy and grayish-black. "To tell you the truth, before you came, several of us had smoked strong smoke for others."

"But once I smell the smoke, I can never go back..." His tone carried a hint of pleading. "That's why I came to you specifically. Please, for our sake, please continue smoking, okay?"

"No!" Old Yan straightened his back and declared imposingly, "If you don't let me smell it, you can forget about smelling my strong cigarettes from now on!"

"No!" It wasn't just Lao Qiang who was pitiful; the club members all shouted in unison upon hearing Lao Yan's threat. Not only did they shout, but they also knelt down before Lao Yan without hesitation. "Please! Smoke for us!" they howled hoarsely, their cries filled with helplessness and despair.

"Stop howling!" Old Yan shouted, roughly interrupting their tearful show. "Either do as I say, or I'm leaving! The choice is yours!"

However, Lao Yan miscalculated greatly. Just as he was comfortably waiting for them to give in, he never expected that several strong members would rush forward and tie him tightly to the chair. His limbs were completely deprived of their freedom, and he could only watch in fear as Lao Qiang respectfully offered him a strong cigarette and put it in his mouth.

"We'll treat you to good food and drinks, good cigarettes and good liquor. We'll definitely take good care of you." Old Qiang slowly lit a cigarette in his mouth, and a wisp of smoke immediately came out of Old Yan's nostrils, eliciting exclamations of praise from the group of members. "From now on, please smoke more cigarettes, smoke good cigarettes, and contribute more to the development and growth of our club."

Fifty or sixty members slowly gathered around, practically pressing their noses into Old Yan's mouth. Old Qiang took the lead, the first to stick his nose right up to Old Yan's nostrils, desperately inhaling the black smoke he exhaled. The other members weren't to be outdone; they pushed and shoved, even fighting over the spot closest to Old Yan. Everyone looked so engrossed. At that moment, perhaps only Old Yan's heart was filled with pain. He closed his eyes, and long-forgotten memories flashed through his mind.

...Amidst the puffs of bluish-green smoke he exhaled, his wife coughed violently, her thin body shrinking further...As he reveled in the nicotine's pleasure, the black smoke seeped into his wife's nostrils, corroding a huge black hole inside her chest cavity...

What you see as paradise may be hell to others.

A collection of short stories: The Unluckiest Kidnapper in the History of an Absurd Country (Part 1)

"Did you see the target?" I lowered my head, secretly talking on my cell phone under the cover of the newspaper, the anxiety of the long wait making me restless. After waiting for what felt like half an hour, Lao Si's reply sent a shiver down my spine, a jolt of tension instantly coursing through my body. "Coming, coming!" His tone was full of eager anticipation.

"Go!" I waved my hand and gave the brief order.

Target Name: Yangjiehe

Gender: Male

Age: 49

Employer: TransAtlantic Construction Group

Position: Chairman

Pan-Atlantic Construction Group has repeatedly won titles such as "Outstanding Private Enterprise" and "Top 100 Private Enterprises." Its leader, Yang Jiehe, has also been awarded numerous honors, including "Outstanding Entrepreneur," "Top Ten Outstanding Private Entrepreneurs," "Model Worker," "Top Ten Outstanding Management Figures in Asia-Pacific," and "Most Creative Chinese Business Leader." Furthermore, he has consistently ranked among the top on the Hurun China Rich List and the Forbes list in recent years. Last year, he made a stunning debut, becoming China's richest person with a total personal asset of 25 billion yuan. This year, the group's development momentum is even stronger, having successively acquired 66 large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises with substantial investments, bringing its member companies to 99. It is expected to enter the international market in the second half of the year…

As I read the flowery introduction from the newspaper to my fourth brother, the kid yawned incessantly and almost fell asleep. "In short," I said slowly, putting down the newspaper and slapping him hard on the forehead.

"The old man has plenty of money!" The fourth brother jumped up suddenly, his eyes shining brightly.

We quickly devised a plan and split up. I stayed in the rented car, while Lao Si disguised himself as a passerby and staked out the area, reporting back to me as soon as Yang Jiehe stepped out. I had initially worried that the two of us wouldn't be able to handle the large number of bodyguards and henchmen of the country's richest man, so I specifically instructed Lao Si not to act rashly and to wait until he was alone before making a move.

"Let's do it, Brother Mao!" The fourth brother sounded like a greedy cat, eager to pounce on Yang Jiehe, that fat rat, and take him down in one fell swoop. "This is a golden opportunity!"

When did this guy learn to use idioms? I sat up straight and looked through the clear car window, instantly understanding why Lao Si was inexplicably excited. The target in my field of vision, a living, breathing hundred-yuan bill, was walking alone on the desolate tree-lined path late at night. No secretary, no entourage, no bodyguards. I cautiously looked around; there was no one there except for him, me, and Lao Si lying in ambush behind us, with only the cold moonlight illuminating us.

My palms were slightly sweaty.

"I'm going, Brother Mao?" It seemed like the fourth brother was giving me his last piece of advice.

The arrow was on the bowstring, and there was no choice but to release it. "Damn it!" The word was practically squeezed out from between my teeth.

Dealing with this old guy was incredibly easy. The fourth brother rushed forward from behind, pinned him to the ground, and began to beat him mercilessly. The old man was clearly stunned, only able to futilely defend himself, repeatedly begging for mercy. "Stop, stop hitting me!" he cried, "What are you doing?"

"Kidnapping!" Lao Si and I exclaimed in unison, uttering the word fiercely.

Although it was called a kidnapping, my intentions were clearly not just about extorting money. Otherwise, I wouldn't have just stood by with my arms crossed, watching as Lao Si brutally beat Yang Jiehe. I only stopped him at the crucial moment because I was afraid he would be beaten to death by Lao Si's punches. My true thought at the time was to let Yang Jiehe suffer more at Lao Si's hands. I was determined to get Yang Jiehe's money; but I also wanted his life!

"Listen, from now on you are our hostage. If you dare not obey, hmph," I sneered twice, "don't blame us for being impolite!"

Yang Jiehe's face, bruised and swollen, looked like a comical panda. He glanced at me uneasily, then stole a look at the fierce-looking fourth brother, before meekly replying, "Gentlemen... what do you want?"

"One hundred million yuan!" I blurted out this astronomical figure without hesitation, which startled the fourth brother standing next to me, turning his face pale. "Don't think it's too expensive, this is what we brothers deserve!"

Admittedly, for Yang Jiehe, the richest man in China, 100 million yuan is just a tiny fraction of his vast assets, making it well worth the price to secure his freedom. As for ordinary people like me and Lao Si, our future security and carefree lives depend entirely on this money! Besides, the reason I'm asking for such an exorbitant amount, besides the obvious excuse of being a "kidnapper," is for a reason completely unknown to outsiders…

As expected of someone who had weathered many storms in the business world, Yang Jiehe's expression immediately softened, clearly having recovered from his tense state. "You want money, right?" He slowly stretched his shoulders, groaning a few times in the process. "Why don't you just say so? What kind of money can you make from hitting someone?!"

How dare you lecture me! I just can't stand your bloated, fat belly, and I want to beat you up, so what? What richest man, what outstanding entrepreneur? Aren't you just like a leech, getting rich by squeezing the blood and sweat of us lower-middle-class laborers? But I couldn't be bothered to waste my breath. I just had my fourth brother blindfold him and stuff a stinky sock into his mouth. I started the car and sped away under the cover of night.

I had already prepared a secluded rental room as a temporary detention facility for Yang Jiehe. The fourth brother had only shoved him a little too hard, and the old man started complaining incessantly, "Take your filthy hands off me! I'd rather have a beautiful woman guarding me!"

"Fourth brother, why are you arguing with him?" I called out hurriedly. We hadn't gotten anything done, and we were wasting time with the hostage.

"Brother Mao, the old man says he's hungry and wants a midnight snack!" the fourth brother replied.

"You've got pretty high standards, huh? Eating this late? Aren't you afraid of getting even fatter?" I patted his bulging belly hard with malice.

"Comrade, I had no choice!" He helplessly spread his hands. "I was just about to go out to get something to eat, and that's how you guys dragged me here! If I weren't starving, why would a dignified chairman like me go out alone in the middle of the night?"

It seems he's determined to have this late-night snack. "Then you go buy it!" I loudly instructed the fourth brother. "Chairman, tell him what you want to eat, don't be shy!" I frowned and added this sentence fiercely.

The old man nodded hurriedly, his face beaming with delight, a smile so disgusting it still makes me want to vomit. "I won't be polite!"

After the fourth brother left, I was the only one who carried out the most crucial task, which was to call the Yang family and extort money from them.

Short Story Collection: The Unluckiest Kidnapper in the History of an Absurd Country (Part Two)

I dialed that number I knew by heart.

"Hello?" came a woman's voice, which sounded somewhat cold and unfriendly.

"Listen up!" I lowered my voice, trying to project my sinister and ruthless side to the fullest. "Your richest chairman, Yang Jiehe, is in our hands. Don't call the police, or I'll kill him! As for how to get his freedom, you must obey my orders unconditionally!"

"Kidnapping?" The woman on the other end of the phone seemed to pause for a long time.

“That’s right! Listen to me,” I emphasized, my tone more threatening, “one hundred million yuan! That’s Yang Jiehe’s price! As for when and where to pay the ransom, I’ll call you later to give you instructions! If you disobey my orders and make any rash moves, I guarantee I will kill him! I’ll repeat myself, do not call the police…!”

Two beeps, and the call was disconnected. I stood there stunned for a good long time before it suddenly dawned on me. That damn woman, how dare she hang up on me!

The hostage's family actually dared to hang up on the kidnappers?! Don't they value their lives? No, they don't want their hostage alive, do they?

I stormed up to Yang Jiehe, but his grinning face made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with your wife?" I demanded bluntly. "Do you want to kill me? Believe me or not, I'll skin you alive!"

"No, no, no!" He waved his hands frantically, his chubby face turning deathly pale. "That's impossible! What happened to my wife?"

"She hung up on me!" I yelled at him. "She didn't even hear my specific demands!"

"It's... a disconnection, isn't it?" He looked at me pitifully. "My wife couldn't be so heartless! Or, comrade..." he pleaded in a low voice, "Could you try calling again?"

I quickly calmed down, not because I was convinced by his words, but because I realized how unwise it would be to get angry at this moment. It's understandable; this was my first time kidnapping, although I'd practiced a few times before, but facing real-life situations inevitably made me a bit flustered. I composed myself and dialed Yang Jiehe's home phone number again.

"Your husband, Yang Jiehe, is in our hands. We want to get him back and pay a ransom of 100 million yuan..." I didn't even catch my breath before I managed to get all this important information onto the phone. But all I got in return was a disdainful snort from the woman.

"Why doesn't he just die?" the woman replied with a sneer.

Then the call was abruptly disconnected again.

She absolutely did it on purpose! It wasn't a dropped call! That damned Yang Jiehe's wife is just like her husband, she won't shed a tear until she sees the coffin! Yang Jiehe caught a glimpse of my dark, ferocious face and was so frightened that he curled up, looking like a fat shrimp hiding in a corner.

Dodge was useless. I calmly rolled up my sleeves and punched his soft stomach...

"Stop hitting him! Brother Mao, if you keep hitting him, he'll die!" Suddenly, Fourth Brother hugged me tightly from behind, the steaming late-night snack wafting its aroma on the table. Die? No way. I knew the weight I was carrying. How could I let the most precious hostage in the world die before I got the ransom? I spat out the saliva in my mouth. To prevent myself from getting too excited earlier, I had clenched my teeth with great effort, and my gums still ached.

"No, it's not my fault!" Although he took a few punches, Yang Jiehe's body was much more resilient than I had imagined. "Besides, my wife has no reason to harm me! Comrade, why don't you call again...?"

I glared at him hatefully, and swallowed the rest of what the hostage was about to say.

"What should we do, Brother Mao?" The fourth brother was, after all, inexperienced.

"The usual!" I said through gritted teeth. Actually, I learned this trick from TV. "Cut off his ear! Send it to his wife and see if she'll pay for it!"

"No!" The one who let out the scream was, of course, the chairman. He nervously covered his ears, trembling with fear. "My ears, which bring me wealth and fortune! I'm only rich because of them!"

"Then my finger will do!" Seeing the once-glorious tycoon so disheveled and disgraceful, I couldn't help but feel a sense of vengeful satisfaction. I kept looking him up and down with my wolfish eyes. "Or, would it be better to cut off your annoying tongue?"

"Brother Mao, cutting his hair or something will do, right? His wife will definitely recognize him anyway." The fourth brother secretly tugged at my clothes. "Too much blood... I'm getting a little dizzy."

"Yes, yes, yes, the hair looks great!" Yang Jiehe nodded hurriedly, wishing he could grab the fourth brother's hand to thank him.

I pulled out a switchblade and flicked it lightly with my finger. That single action silenced the noisy, shameless, and audacious Yang Jiehe. "I heard you're often troubled by having too many women," I chuckled, probably displaying unprecedented ruthlessness and cunning in the eyes of the richest man. "I think I should do you a favor and cut off your 'root of trouble,' how about that? That thing," not only me, but even the fourth brother chuckled lewdly, "must be very familiar with your wife, right?"

"Wait!" Yang Jiehe desperately covered his lower body, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. "I have something to say, about my wife!"

"Actually, I had a premonition..." he began.

In this city alone, Yang Jiehe kept six mistresses, one for each day of the week, from Monday to Saturday, each with their own specific role. Sundays were for his hunting trips. When he frequently traveled for work, he ensured at least one mistress was always at his beck and call. Despite his insatiable lust, he believed he hadn't strayed from his "rich man" ways, and that the number and quality of his mistresses far surpassed those of some high-ranking officials and nobles. He considered himself to have treated his wife well; even though she had aged and lost her beauty, he hadn't discarded her, but instead pampered her with good food and drink, providing her with a life of luxury unattainable for ordinary housewives. He naively believed that this way, he could "keep the home fires burning while having affairs outside!"

"I never expected this, I never expected this..." He repeatedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, "A woman who seemed so honest on the surface could be like this behind the scenes..."

"Do you think she's been thinking this way for a while...? She'd love for me to die so all my assets could be passed on to my children? I'm the one who was kidnapped, yet she could just hang up on your call as if nothing happened! We've been married for so long, how could she be so heartless? Isn't she just pushing me into a fire pit?"

Yang Jiehe pitifully begged the two kidnappers for help.

"Do you think she wants to use the two of you to get rid of me without saying a word?"

Short Story Collection: The Unluckiest Kidnapper in the History of an Absurd Country (Part 3)

"No way?" The fourth brother cried out in despair, like a squashed duck. "We can't be that unlucky, can we? We finally caught a big fish, don't play this kind of joke on us, okay? You two, why can't you resolve your conflicts privately in the future? Why do you have to give up now? This is just setting us up!"

This is definitely not good. My mind raced. If Yang Jiehe's words were true, his vengeful wife might actually seize this opportunity to pretend there was no kidnapping at all, quietly waiting for us to kill the hostage. Or perhaps, her actions just now were meant to provoke the kidnappers, hoping we would hurry up and send Yang Jiehe to his death?

But I couldn't help but have my doubts. From Yang Jiehe's description, his wife seemed to be an unambitious, mediocre housewife who spent her days watching TV and playing mahjong; she didn't seem like a cold-blooded and calculating person. If she wasn't quick-witted, how could she have so quickly planned the next steps after receiving the kidnappers' call?

Perhaps it should be said that she had planned this all along...

I kept tapping my forehead, pacing back and forth under the anxious gaze of my fourth brother. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of getting rid of Yang Jiehe for the richest woman? I needed to calmly analyze the situation. The Pan-Atlantic Construction Group was almost entirely supported by Yang Jiehe. Without his shrewd strategies and ruthless methods, it's hard to imagine this cobbled-together group succeeding in the fierce business competition. Compared to the fortune he would leave behind after his death, every day he lived would see his wealth snowball – clearly, the latter was far more worthwhile. I had done my research beforehand. Although Yang Jiehe was lustful and greedy, he doted on his wife's two children, sending them abroad for further studies, spending millions annually on tuition and living expenses alone – an astronomical figure for ordinary people like us, but a drop in the ocean for Yang Jiehe. He had previously said he didn't want to divorce his wife; perhaps that was also for the sake of his children?

However, only Yang Jiehe himself was so certain that he wouldn't divorce her. Did his aging wife have the same confidence? An idea popped into my head: a wife who fears being replaced might, to ensure her own and her children's future happiness, not hesitate to poison her philandering husband—this is not impossible.

"Besides your wife, there must be other relatives, right?" I thought of a desperate solution. "Tell them you've been kidnapped, then your wife won't be able to hide it from you."