Tiger said, "Just let me know if you need anything. Everyone knows the Lei family is dishonest; if they dare go too far, we'll teach them a lesson!"
"Thanks, Brother Tiger, I'm really grateful for your kindness." Tiger's words touched me deeply. We were just casual acquaintances, but for him to say something like that at this crucial moment meant he truly considered me one of his own.
I put down the phone and said to Xiang Yu expressionlessly, "Lei Ming is Lei Lao Si's son."
Wu Sangui said, "Now I understand. He's using the steamed buns to give you a warning, and also to probe your capabilities."
Qin Shi Huang said with a smile, "Xiao Qiang's skills are not very good, but that guy surnamed Lei touched the wrong place."
Xiang Yu asked me, "Xiao Qiang, what do you plan to do?"
I stubbed out my cigarette in the ashtray with a vengeance: "What else can we do? Beat him up!"
Xiang Yu and Hua Mulan both laughed. Wu Sangui exclaimed, "Good, just like me!" I glared at him fiercely.
Qin Shi Huang was absolutely right; my foundation is indeed shallow. I have no grand ambitions, and I'm content to suffer minor losses as they come—what can I do? I'm just a nobody. Although I've befriended a large group of bandits, outlaws, and highly skilled soldiers, I've never considered unifying the underworld. I'm quite content with my current life. I don't want to take advantage of others; I don't have the skills or the ability, and I'm afraid of falling and getting myself hurt.
But their biggest mistake was bullying Baozi. I've said it before, my motto is simple: never touch my woman! If I swallowed this insult, wouldn't I be even worse than that old traitor Wu Sangui? Xiang Yu and his men certainly wouldn't consider me human either. They wouldn't even glance at my head if it were smashed to pieces, but offending Baozi was suicidal. Baozi took care of the five-person group, including later Mulan, their daily needs. They were like brothers and sisters, and Baozi was like their mother to them. You see, the difference between your little brother getting into a fight with other kids and your mother being bullied is completely different.
Xiang Yu asked, "What do we do now?"
I marked all six locations on the city map and said, "Let's find Lei Ming first."
Mulan, holding the map, said, "Let's think this over carefully first. If we're going to do it, let's do it cleanly this time, so they won't dare to do it again." I was taken aback. I never expected that Mulan, who seemed as gentle as an older sister, had another side. But thinking about it, it makes sense. Back then, she led her troops and fought 12 battles against the fierce Xiongnu. Wasn't her goal to deter them from invading the border?
Xiang Yu looked at the map and asked, "Where is Lei Ming?"
I said, "I don't know, we can only look for them one by one."
Wu Sangui said, "If we have enough manpower, we can surround all six places together and not be afraid of him escaping to the heavens."
I said, "There used to be enough, but now none of them are around."
Xiang Yu said, "Think about it, are there any capable people left in the talent pool?"
I shook my head: "Apart from Xu Delong, they're all old scholars—do you think Liu Xiazhi could lend a hand?"
Xiang Yu frowned and said, "Don't look for that kind of person. I can't stand him."
Wu Sangui studied the map for a while and asked, "How many garrisons are there in each of these places?"
Xiang Yu chuckled and said, "This isn't a military outpost; it's just a place for people to have fun. Even if the Lei family is powerful, each place would only have a few dozen guards, right?" Xiang Yu had been there for a while, and his analysis was quite logical.
Wu Sangui immediately said, "Then what are we waiting for? We have enough men to feed us."
Xiang Yu said, "I understand what you mean. But I'm afraid of alerting him. If we raid one place and fail to catch the kid, won't he just get away?"
Wu Sangui laughed and said, "It seems that back then, there were no such things as gangs. If a war broke out, these people wouldn't just run away; they would have to follow orders from above, just like soldiers." Wu Sangui picked up a pen and slowly drew small crosses on the marked places. "If these were all your strongholds, and they were being taken down one by one, what would you do?"
Xiang Yu resolutely replied, "Of course, we should gather our superior forces and wait for the final battle at the last point."
Hua Mulan said, "That depends on how many troops the enemy has. If we know we can't hold them off, retreat is still necessary."
Wu Sangui gave her an approving look and continued, "If it's just the few of us going, after we take down one or two of their places, they will definitely gather at a certain location to discuss how to deal with us. So—even if we take them down one by one, we will still be able to catch that kid Lei in the end."
Then a voice came from behind and said quietly, "All you need to do is know where he is. Leave the rest to me."
When we turned around, we saw that Jing Ke had somehow appeared behind us.
Wu Sangui said, "Which of us is skilled in close combat? This time, unlike large-scale battles, a few people will suffice."
Hua Mulan laughed and said, "I'm volunteering myself. I may not be able to help much, but I won't hold everyone back."
Wu Sangui asked hesitantly, "You?"
Xiang Yu said, "I haven't introduced you yet. This is Hua Mulan. I heard from Xiao Qiang that she was a general."
Wu Sangui was slightly surprised and looked at Hua Mulan with her long, wavy hair, saying, "My apologies."
Jing Ke stared intently at Wu Sangui and said, "I'll go too!" He then introduced himself, saying, "I am Jing Ke!"
Wu Sangui felt uneasy under his gaze and quickly greeted him, "So you are the greatest righteous man of all time!"
Ying the Fat Man complained, "I really don't like hearing that!" Although he and Jing Ke were now very close, people always implied that Jing Ke deserved to die when they praised him. Wu Sangui quickly became polite to Qin Shi Huang again. Finally, he turned his gaze to me and said, "Xiao Qiang, you must be pretty good at fighting too, right?"
What... how should I put it? To paraphrase Mulan: I definitely won't be of much help; in fact, I'll probably just be a hindrance.
Xiang Yu laughed and said, "Don't worry about him, he's just responsible for leading the way!"
I'm speechless. Whose business is this anyway? But Xiang Yu has the right to say that, after all, Baozi is his great-granddaughter from who-knows-how-many generations ago.
Seeing Wu Sangui so full of vigor since the incident, acting as if he were the commander of this operation, I said indignantly, "And you? Are you all talk and no action?"
Wu Sangui laughed heartily: "Aren't the Manchu soldiers brave? This old man can take on ten men in no time!"
I glanced at him sideways and said, "You got beaten down in no time?" Just like our classmate's older sister. She's in Beijing, and said she'd met Zhang Yining, even played a game of ping-pong with her. She came back and bragged to us, "I only lost 0-3 to Zhang Yining!" We were all incredibly impressed. Then it dawned on me: if I played against Zhang Yining, I could also lose 0-3!
Wu Sangui ignored my mockery and said, "I'm helping you because I think you're a bit like me back in the day, 'rushing to the death for a beauty.' Hehe, back then I was full of youthful vigor and in the prime of my life!"
Xiang Yu murmured, "'A crown is lost in a fit of rage for a beauty'? How well said."
Hua Mulan was deeply moved and sighed, "A woman who marries a man like Brother Wu should be content with her life."
I'm so annoyed. What kind of moral standard is this? Wu Sangui has become a hero? But speaking of which, did my hair really stand up just now? Hmm, it probably did. My buzz cut is always standing up.
Before setting off, I pointed to Baozi's bedroom and asked Wu Sangui, "If Chen Yuanyuan grew up to look like her, would you still be willing to lead the Qing army into the pass for her?"
Wu Sangui was stunned for a moment, and after glancing at the photo of Baozi again, he said with a sigh, "To be honest... you are better than me."