Le roi des pilleurs de tombes

Chapitre 19

So, does that mean they're going to run away?

After spraying some water, adjusting the angle of the hair ends, and trimming the sideburns, Xiaofen finally blew away the stray hairs from the scissors and triumphantly brushed the dandruff off the gangster's face with a brush.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Fen picked up a large mirror and placed it next to the back of his head, exclaiming, "All done!"

The gangster then opened his eyes.

The person in the mirror was completely different from the person who had just stepped into this place.

An hour ago, he was an imposing underworld boss, capable of giving someone a heart attack with just a glance, without uttering a word. Now, a slight smile plays on his lips, as if he were subtly probing the other's capabilities. But if he were to speak, it would be a street battle involving ten gangs.

Now……

After being subjected to a hundred knife wounds, the person in the mirror looked exactly like a dropout trying to pick up girls in Ximending.

"How was it?" Xiao Fen laughed, "You look thirty years younger in one go!"

The proprietress and Sister Juan's legs went weak. Oh no, they didn't even have the strength to crawl out of the shop anymore.

The gangster stared at the familiar-looking stranger in the mirror.

"This is the feeling I wanted."

He nodded firmly, a satisfied smile on his face.

That laugh really scared the proprietress so much that she fainted, but luckily Sister Juan caught her in time.

"Great, I'll help you take a sip."

Overjoyed at receiving the praise, Xiao Fen began to help the gangsters flush the water.

She poured warm water into her hands, then ran it through the man's hair, washing countless strands of hair into the trough.

I applied a little shampoo and washed my hair a second time, and it was much cleaner.

"In your line of work, is it true that the fiercer the better?" Xiao Fen was in a great mood and started chatting.

"Most of the time, it's better to make money by being friendly," the gangster casually replied.

"Oh yeah, that's not how it's portrayed in movies. They always show you thugs fighting and killing each other."

"Let alone murder, even fighting is troublesome. If things get out of hand, the police will come in and deal with it. Then you either have to draw lots to find someone to hand over, or you have to scrape together a sum of money to ask the district to suppress the matter."

"Wow, I know that. It's when the younger brother takes the blame for the older brother, right?"

“…Yes.” The gangster’s expression was a little strange.

"You older brothers are really terrible! You should take responsibility for your own actions. Why should your younger brothers go to jail for you? Being an older brother means taking on all the burdens!" Xiao Fen bluntly went straight for the jugular.

"...That's not quite right." The gangster's expression was as if he had been stabbed in the stomach again.

"It's so great to be the eldest brother, why would anyone want to be the younger brother?"

"Sigh," the gangster sighed, "Every boss started as a henchman."

"Right?"

"Every underling has taken the blame for their boss. If you haven't taken the blame, it's really hard to get promoted."

"Higher position?"

"It's about being the eldest brother."

And so, Xiao Fen and the gangster started chatting over a pile of sticky foam.

Whether they were missing a screw or simply didn't find the man scary, the two, who were twenty-five years apart in age, chatted quite enthusiastically, like a junior reporter interviewing a gangster star in a rapid-fire Q&A session.

"By the way, you ended up going to the hospital by yourself that night, didn't you?"

"No, I guess those bastards also sent people to wait for me in the emergency room of a nearby hospital. I just called a doctor I know and went to his house to get it done."

"So cool!"

"So-so," the gangster said casually. "If that stab hadn't been so deep, I could have just gone home, applied some disinfectant, and slept with a woman! And then I'd wake up the next day..."

The gangster realized he had misspoke as soon as he said it, but luckily Xiao Fen didn't seem to care, or perhaps she simply didn't hear him.

"When you were attacked that day, was it by your own underlings or by another gang?"

"They're from another gang, but we've known each other for a while. It's precisely because we know each other that they're so ruthless when they fight."

"Did you take revenge?"

"Revenge? It would be too rude of me to wait for revenge. The next day, they handed over all ten little fingers and had the henchman who cut me off bring them over, kneeling on the ground and saying it was all a misunderstanding."

"How terrifying! I've seen this in movies!" Xiao Fen exclaimed in amazement. "So what are you going to do?"

"After all this, wouldn't it be disrespectful not to treat it as a misunderstanding? Haha!"

"Wow, so you're on the side of justice?"

"Well... how should I put it..." The gangster paused, looking rather troubled. "Let me think about it."

"Are all thugs bad people, just some are more wicked and some are less so?"

"You could say that. Everyone has done something bad to some extent."

Most of the time, Xiaofen asked a series of rather impolite and strange questions, like a machine gun. While the questions weren't actually strange, they were just too direct—so direct that it made one hold their breath in suspense. The gangster's responses were a mix of amusement and exasperation; he wasn't truly angry.

What was supposed to be a simple second shampoo took another twenty minutes.

Starting from that somewhat eerie dusk, Xiao Fen completed her apprenticeship.

The next day, she bought her first pair of hairdresser's scissors—the entry-level, cheapest kind.

I'm so, so happy.

4

The next day, around dusk, the gangsters reappeared in the shop.

The two burly men, who looked like gatekeepers, didn't come in with him; they only saw their elder brother to the door before disappearing into the distance.

When the gangster came in with his messy hair, the proprietress and the two hairdressers on duty were still startled, even though it probably wasn't malicious. No one dared to go up and greet him.

"Are you getting a haircut today?" Xiaofen stood up instinctively.

Even though she was supposedly a master, the proprietress still didn't give her any customers all day and kept asking her to wash her hair.

That's true. Before someone even less skilled than her comes in, she'll have to take care of all the hair washing, in addition to cutting hair. Besides, Ah Fen hasn't really received any complicated training in hairdressing, nor has she ever had her friends cut hair for the seniors to judge. Saying she's a master is probably just a temporary expedient.

Ah Fen is very responsible and understands her place, but the thought of the scissors she just bought still makes her eager to try them out.

"Let me dye my hair." The gangster touched his mismatched hair, looking a little shy.

"What color do you want to dye it?" Xiao Fen walked over automatically. She was the only customer who approved of her.

The gangster chuckled inwardly, "Oh... I thought you'd made the decision for me again."

With a grin, Xiao Fen grabbed a handful of shampoo and smeared it on the gangster's hair.

As usual, I'll cover myself with a blanket and wash my hair comfortably first.

"Then I'll dye it for you in a bit... I'll try out the hair color I saw in a magazine."

"You... try adjusting it?" The gangster's eyelids twitched.

"Or are you scared? If you're scared, then forget it!" Xiaofen's tone was a little unhappy.

The gangster obediently shut his mouth, letting Xiao Fen skillfully push bubbles on his head.

With a series of flicks, grabs, and presses, the ten fingers danced flawlessly, and the gangster closed his eyes in comfort.

Xiaofen was very talkative, and the two chatted casually.

It was only tonight that she learned that the gangster's name was Atai.

Of course, not everyone can call him Ah Tai. His underlings respectfully call him Brother Tai, while closer friends call him Boss. Brother Tai holds a high position in the underworld, being the head of all the underground casinos in the area, and also has a stake in a few brothels. He has a lot of money, and in recent years, his underlings have grown significantly. His gang has separated from the main gang to form its own force, but it still maintains a good alliance with the original gang.

In his youth, Brother Tai had fought his way up the ranks, displaying considerable skill. He once set a record by single-handedly defeating six opponents at the Tonghua Night Market. Such ruthlessness naturally led to trouble. During the government's "Two Clearances" campaign, Brother Tai was arrested and imprisoned on Green Island for three years. After his release, he directly took charge of a major branch of the gang.

After turning forty, he could no longer fight. No matter how fierce he was, he could only run away when he saw the other party pull out a gun. Tai started to keep a low profile and expanded his influence no longer with his fists, but with money.

“When it comes to using money, it’s more efficient than adults.” Tai’s brows furrowed slightly.

"I don't understand, but not fighting isn't necessarily better, is it?" Xiao Fen picked at the foam stuck to Tai Ge's eye with her fingernail and said bluntly, "If you don't dare to fight, but he does, the side that dares to fight will definitely win in the end!"

Very fresh.

This was a novel idea, and it was also novel to be criticized like this. Tai Ge couldn't help but laugh.

"People who go out into the world aren't usually motivated by a natural desire to fight; they're all in it to make money."

Tai patiently explained, "If we can make money together, we'll agree on how to share it. Sometimes you'll give way to me, and sometimes I'll give way to you. When we give way back and forth, everyone saves face and doesn't fight."

"Oh." Xiao Fen's voice didn't sound like she was really convinced.

"In addition, my son just got into university this year, and he even got into a teachers' college to become a teacher. He always feels ashamed to have a gangster father like me, and he wishes I would be arrested and locked up again. For my son's future, and for my image in front of him... I try not to look like a gangster."

"It doesn't matter, you have your underlings now anyway, if anyone gets locked up, it'll be them, not you."

"...Hehe." After being spat on again, Tai could only manage a wry smile.

"Which department?" Xiaofen changed the subject.

"He majored in Chinese literature. He's always wanted to be a writer since he was little, but I hope he'll actually become a teacher. The income and life are more stable, right? Being a writer gives people a feeling of being unrealistic, doesn't it?"

"Being a gangster means you're even less grounded."

“...Well...you’re right.”

Having suffered a series of setbacks, Tai Ge had absolutely no chance to retaliate.

"Is there anywhere else that needs improvement?"

"Ah, no, no."

Rinse off the foam and blow dry briefly.

Before getting her hair dyed, Xiao Fen looked at Tai Ge's hairstyle from left to right and muttered, "It looks a little strange, doesn't it?"

"What's strange about it?"

"I'll fix it for you for free."

Before Tai could react, Xiao Fen excitedly picked up the scissors and launched a new offensive.

This cutting just kept going on and on.