I stared at Lao Pan and slowly said, "Really, there aren't any left, Lao Pan."
Perhaps it was that last call that made him sense my panic and sincerity. Old Pan waved his hand at Jissbon and said, "It seems there really isn't any left here. Goodbai, take him to see the boss. The boss has a way to deal with him. We'll wait here. It's not only safe here, but his wife and these friends are here too. I don't think Xiaoqiang will act impulsively. The boss has always said he's a man of great loyalty, hasn't he, Xiaoqiang?"
Goodbai gave me a push from behind and said, "Please, Mr. Xiao." He then beckoned to another muscular foreigner, who escorted me out. Baozi jumped up and shouted, "Where are you taking him—he can't even remember our family bank's PIN! Take me with you!" Jissbon patted her shoulder but immediately withdrew his hand. Wu Sangui and Ersha were both glaring at him with murderous intent. Most importantly, Baozi was glaring at him too; he probably hadn't seen anyone as ugly as himself.
Liu Bang said loudly, "Don't worry, Xiao Qiang. With my extensive experience of being kidnapped, I think we'll be fine this time."
Everyone: "..."
After the three of us went outside, Goodbai got into a Volkswagen Santana and drove it himself, leaving the big guy to watch me. As Goodbai started the car, he turned back to me with a smile and said, "Mr. Xiao, to show our sincerity, we won't put handcuffs on you. But we hope you won't try to resist. The guy next to you is a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo, and his punch weighs 180 pounds."
I quickly clasped my hands in a gesture of apology to the big man and said with a smile, "My apologies."
Good said, "As far as we know, Mr. Xiao is not simple either. He is the Sanda King in the Martial Arts Tournament, right?" Judging from his tone, it seemed that he knew my background. Kongkong must have told him.
The big guy clenched his fists so hard they cracked, glanced at me sideways, and said in broken Chinese, "Sometimes, you and I can have a spar."
I was filled with indignation, and with a forced smile, I mumbled, "Fine, let's have a match, a match with your mother's ass."
The big guy scratched his head and asked, "What do you mean?"
I quickly replied, "You're being praised."
Goodbai naturally understood my swearing, but he just smiled slightly and started the car.
The car took the back roads, and soon arrived at the same kind of large roadside inn as the one where Baozi was kidnapped last time. Goodbai parked the car and said, "Get in."
Located on a deserted beach, and with it being daytime, the entire hotel was almost deserted. Footsteps echoed eerily in the hallway. Upon reaching the third floor, Goodbai gently knocked on a room door, then stepped aside, saying, "Mr. Xiao, please come in."
Although the room was dilapidated, it was still a two-bedroom apartment. When I went in, a man was sitting on the sofa in the living room smoking, surrounded by a cloud of smoke. I only glanced at him before I jumped up in surprise: "It's you!"
Old Hao, the owner of "Several Numbers" pawnshop, sat there calmly. When he saw me, he gave me the same friendly smile as always: "Xiao Qiang."
I turned around and glanced at Goodbai, who was standing with his hands at his sides, and exclaimed in surprise, "You're their boss?"
Old Hao laughed and said, "What's wrong? Is it not allowed?"
I smiled wryly and said, "The boss of a famous international mafia is Chinese. I really don't know whether to be proud or ashamed." Actually, ever since I met Lao Pan, I had vaguely thought of Lao Hao, but there was always an obstacle I couldn't overcome. That is, I never thought that a little old Chinese man could become the leader of an international mafia.
Old Hao said leisurely, "There's nothing strange about that. In this world, money talks, and I happen to have some money. Besides, in addition to Chinese citizenship, I also have citizenship in three other countries."
I lit one of his cigarettes and said, "No wonder you're willing to support me. First, you don't care about the money, and second, you need a cover. Opening a pawnshop is the best excuse."
Old Hao casually lit my cigarette and said, "Actually, there's another thing. I really like you, young man. If this hadn't happened, I would have been willing to support you for the rest of my life. I was just thinking of giving you a raise before you resigned."
"Stop talking nonsense, tell me what you're going to do with me?"
Old Hao suddenly waved his hand and said, "Xiao Gu, go out and see how things are over there."
Goodbai nodded and said, "Yes, sir." After he left, the big guy took his place and stood behind me to keep an eye on me.
I chuckled, "Old man? You've really trained those foreign bastards. But your outfit isn't good enough." As I spoke, I tugged at my wrinkled Adidas clothes. Old Hao has a peculiar habit when it comes to clothes: he only wears designer brands, and he doesn't change them often. He throws them away as soon as they get dirty. Often, a designer brand worth thousands of dollars looks worse on him than a cheap knock-off from a street stall. But those who know him well know that they're all genuine, high-quality items.
I said, "Why are you wearing sportswear? Someone of your status and age should be wearing a Tang suit like those old villains on TV, holding a Zisha teapot. That would be so much more stylish!"
Old Hao laughed and said, "Making money is too tiring, I can't care about appearances anymore. Okay, let's get down to business. Where did you put Xiang Yu's armor and Jing Ke's sword?"
I was taken aback; this was even more formidable than when I first met Lao Hao. I looked at the burly man with suspicion. Lao Hao said, "You don't need to be wary of him. He basically can't understand what we're saying. Actually, even if someone is a native Chinese speaker, who can understand what we're saying right now?"
I asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
Old Hao suddenly clapped his hands at the tightly closed bedroom door and said, "Brother Qin, come out."
As soon as the door opened, Qin Hui poked half his head out, glanced at me, and said with a fawning smile, "Hehe, Xiao Qiang..."
Upon seeing him, I immediately screamed and yanked him out of the door, punching and kicking him while cursing, "You old traitor, a leopard can't change its spots! You're the one who betrayed me!"
Qin Hui clutched his head and ran around the room screaming in agony. I chased after him and hit him for a while before Lao Hao coughed, and the big guy grabbed me and shoved me onto the sofa.
Qin Hui, his face bruised and swollen, sat cautiously opposite me, right next to Lao Hao. Letting out a sigh of relief, I asked him, "Did you tell everyone?"
Old Hao chimed in, "Yes. It's truly amazing. I originally planned to cooperate with you long-term. You'd have a steady stream of antiques, and I'd help you sell them to interested people and governments. Just think about it, if that were the case, not only would you have villas and yachts, but you might even be able to own your own aircraft carrier."
I spat on the ground and said, "Pah, are you stupid? Qin Dynasty chamber pots are valuable now. If we really did what you said, then chamber pots would just be chamber pots. Back then, Shang Dynasty bronze swords would only cost twenty yuan each."
Old Hao paused for a moment and said, "You're right. It seems that it really is necessary to control the quantity. So it seems that our first and last cooperation is a wise move. As for my conditions, since I don't know much about the situation, Brother Qin will discuss them with you."
Qin Hui furtively took the paper and pen, writing while keeping an eye out for my beating. He wrote in beautiful clerical script: 300 ancient swords carried by Yue Fei's army, a stinking leather robe and a Han dynasty imperial staff belonging to Su Wu, Wu Daozi's "Heavenly King Sending a Child," Liu Gongquan's "Diamond Sutra Stone Inscription," Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering"...
With every word he wrote, I cursed him viciously as an old traitor. As my client and having lived in Yucai for so long, he knew me inside and out; basically, everything I had had was taken by him. When I saw "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion," I couldn't hold back any longer and roared, "Are you trying to kill me? Whether or not Su Wu's stinking fur coat can be removed is another matter, but if these latter items were to reappear, wouldn't the world be thrown into chaos? Besides, some of them are already in the Forbidden City!"
Old Hao's eyes lit up as he looked at the names on the paper. He pressed his hand down on me and said, "Don't make a fuss. A genuine work is a genuine work. At worst, I'll pay a high price to have it specially treated, and then I'll just say that the things in the Palace Museum in China are fakes. Then the genuine works I have will be worth a fortune, a fortune!"
I cursed, "No wonder they got together, two traitors!"
Chapter Seventy-Four Jade Guanyin
Old Hao picked up the paper and looked at it for a long time before asking me, "Do you have a problem?"
I said, "What will happen if I don't agree?"
Old Hao chuckled coldly: "We're all smart people, so I don't need to explain, do I?"
See? Whenever someone says that to you, they're always in control. I've been playing the smart one a lot lately—
I took the paper and glanced at it. It contained calligraphy and paintings by Wang Wu Yanliu, 300 weapons, and even prescriptions handled by Bian Que and Hua Tuo. It was all-encompassing, listing everything that could be exploited from Yucai's clients. Qin Hui chuckled evilly, "Xiao Qiang, don't blame me. I was entrusted with this task, so I had no choice but to fulfill my duty."