Duan Tianbao came over and tugged at my sleeve, saying with difficulty, "Team Leader Xiao, it's only right to contribute to the country, but our matter..."
I said, "Don't worry, I'll bring people to invite your cousin tomorrow."
After Duan Tianbao and the field agents left, I looked up at room 803, where the light was still on, and asked Lao Fei, "Is that all?"
Old Fei chuckled and glanced up, saying, "Of course not, there are consequences for doing wrong."
I said, "Exactly. At least let them know that what they have is fake. Otherwise, I'm really afraid that those yellow-haired bumpkins will hide my ashtray like it's a treasure."
Fei Sankou nodded and said, "Yes, that's the idea. We can't suffer in silence and let them think they've succeeded. After the Qin King's Ding arrives in Beijing, we'll spread the word that the national treasure has successfully arrived in Beijing from F country. We can also send them an official document to express our gratitude for their 'cooperation' during the Qin King's Ding's stay in F country. Let's give them a piece of our mind."
I pouted and said, "That's not enough to satisfy our anger. Can we send people up there right now to raid them, lock them in a dark room, handcuff the radiators, and then throw them into the cell of prisoners with special interests? That would be perfect!"
Old Fei said, "We could have done that when the real antique was in their cabinet. But now they only have two fakes. They can say they made them for appreciation out of their love of antiques. We couldn't use force before because we weren't sure what kind of antiques they had locked in their cabinet. That's a contradiction."
I nudged Wu Yong: "Strategist Wu, think of a way to deal with them."
Wu Yong awkwardly waved his hand and said, "I'm not very good at this."
I rolled my eyes at him. He couldn't even cause trouble; what kind of strategist was he? But thinking about it, he was right. The most troublesome person on Liangshan was actually Song Jiang. Speaking of punishing harm, I suddenly remembered a patriarch of harm-doers: Qin Hui!
I told Lao Fei, "Wait for me, I'm going to make a call for help."
I went to a tree and called Qin Hui. The old man was incredibly bored, but my call immediately perked him up. I started by telling him our story of the day. Qin Hui listened with great interest and asked, "And then?"
I said, "Then I want to teach the people who stole our things a lesson."
Qin Hui chuckled sinisterly several times. He asked, "How did you manage to get the treasure back?"
I said, "Nonsense, didn't I tell you everything in detail? We went through countless hardships..."
Qin Hui interrupted me, saying, "No, no, you clearly retrieved the treasure successfully with the help of someone inside and outside."
Me: "What do you mean...?"
Qin Hui emphasized, "A coordinated attack from within and without!"
I finally understood a little, and asked hesitantly, "You mean... to sow discord among them?"
Qin Hui said sinisterly, "It's so obvious! They still lost the item despite such tight security. What will their leader think? If you 'guide' the narrative a little, the Emperor of F country won't be able to disbelieve it. F country will definitely send people to investigate them. In the meantime, have your people stir things up, and then you don't need to worry about the rest. Just wait and see their own people killing each other."
I couldn't help but shudder. This whole scheme—framing someone, watching from the sidelines—was incredibly insidious. The worst part was that it left those four foreigners speechless, and in the end, they either died unjustly at the hands of their colleagues or were forced into lifelong exile.
I couldn't help but curse, "You fucking bastard!"
Qin Hui said aggrievedly, "Didn't you tell me to say that?"
As a human being, I despise Qin Hui; as a Chinese person, I also despise Qin Hui; but as a Chinese person who urgently needs to avenge his class enemies—I still despise Qin Hui, although his methods seem really quite good.
So after I hung up the phone, I excitedly told Lao Fei about this despicable method. Lao Fei pondered for a while and then laughed, "This method is absolutely brilliant for dealing with foreign spies. I've even thought of the details—we just need to leak the hotel's video footage. It'll be almost impossible to deal with it. Everyone will be able to see Shi Qian openly carrying the suitcase and following him into the room. It seems we really don't need to worry about the rest."
Actually, Fei Sankou had a lot more to say, but I can imagine that his decision to use this method wasn't because he hated those four people or wanted them dead. In fact, being a secret agent is a very strange profession. When an agent is cornered and forced into a corner by his own country, he might very well do some very strange things. They might not know too much, but they certainly wouldn't know too little…
Let us pray or mourn for the four agents from Country F (some readers have summarized them as the F4). To be betrayed by the same people who plotted against Yue Fei and meet a similar end is probably the only thing they could be proud of in their lives.
This incident led to a feud with Duan Tianlang. Without Duan Tianbao's help, even a highly trained agent couldn't have cooperated so perfectly with Shi Qian. The two now share a deep friendship, and we quite like this timid yet somewhat comical chubby guy, but Duan Tianlang is really not a very likable person. Due to their promise, Lu Junyi and Wu Yong accepted the task of inviting him. The tentative candidates also include Lin Chong and his four teammates who participated in the competition. Li Kui and Hu Sanniang are strictly prohibited from accompanying him.
I originally wanted to invite Xiang Yu to show my sincerity, but as soon as Xiang Yu heard the name, he said that the person he hated most in his life was someone who would fight with a woman, so I gave up on that idea.
Chapter Fifty-Seven: Past Events
The next day, I got up early and rushed to Yucai. After having breakfast with the heroes, we prepared to set off. We didn't want to go too early, and we were waiting for Lin Chong.
Before dawn, the 300 boys were dragged out of the tent left behind by the old 300 by the iron-faced instructor Xu Delong. He was carrying a ladle of cold water, and anyone who was a little slow would be subjected to his "baptism." Fortunately, the 300 boys were all from farming families, with a habit of getting up early and thick skin. Most importantly, they knew that this opportunity was hard-won, so none of them complained.
That wasn't all. After getting up, they had three minutes to wash up at the cold water tap in the corner, then they had to come back, dismantle and hide the tents, and line up. Waiting for them was Lin Chong, who seemed kind but showed no mercy. Lin Chong would lead the way, teaching them basic boxing techniques, while Xu Delong would walk around the ranks, monitoring those who were slacking off and correcting those whose movements were not standard. The soldier and the bandit were very in sync at this point. Lin Chong was the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, and Xu Delong was the only remaining highest-ranking administrative officer of a battalion in the Beiwei Army's special operations force. I knew they were both used to leading elite troops. One wanted a mighty army, and the other wanted a fighting army, but the problem was... I only wanted an army that could fight in competitions.
I don't want these kids to turn into cool-headed, ruthless little killers in a month or two. I need them to be able to win in the ring, not like the old 300 who would just grab an opponent's neck and kick their crotch.
I said to Yan Jingsheng beside me with a worried expression, "We need to strengthen ideological and moral education—" I also don't want a group of rogue soldiers who will wreak havoc on the village in a few years.
After morning exercises, the children went on a 5-kilometer cross-country run led by Dai Zong. Lu Junyi, Wu Yong, Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, and I, along with four other people who had participated in the martial arts tournament, a group of seven, rode in my old van to Duan Tianlang's residence.
I drove to that deserted guesthouse. A disciple of Duan Tianlang, seeing our car from afar, quickly slipped inside. Wu Yong asked in surprise, "What does this mean? Is Duan Tianlang planning some kind of trick against us?"
Lin Chong said, "It's alright. Duan Tianlang is injured, and his disciples are not a threat."
I said, "If things go wrong later, you should protect Brother Junyi and the strategist and retreat first. I'll use bricks to seal the door."
Lu Junyi chuckled and said, "It's important that you protect the strategist. Although I, Old Lu, am old, I'm not called 'Hebei Jade Kirin' for nothing!" I turned to look at him and saw that the old man was full of swagger. He must have been quite a big shot back in the day.
I stopped the car at the entrance. Zhang Qing picked up a few stones, then followed us into the guesthouse courtyard with his hands behind his back, acting as if nothing had happened.
We were all dumbfounded when we entered the courtyard. Duan Tianlang stood calmly in the middle, with Duan Tianbao smiling beside him. On each side of them were about ten disciples, lined up in a row. Although they looked imposing, they didn't seem to have any intention of making a move.
Before I could even process what I'd just witnessed, Duan Tianlang approached, cupping his hands in a fist salute and saying, "Team Leader Xiao, I apologize for not greeting you sooner." Not even a greeting sooner? Any further and he'd be at the entrance of Yucai School! I had no idea what he was up to with his politeness, so I followed his directions upstairs. Duan Tianbao and Shi Qian walked together warmly. The disciples of Tianlang Martial Arts School also flocked to greet the heroes, who could only return the gesture with clasped hands. Although it all seemed a bit perfunctory, at least it looked good on the surface. Only Zhang Qing remained silent, clutching his two hands full of stones, looking quite embarrassed.
We all followed Duan Tianlang into his room, while only Duan Tianbao from their side came in. After everyone was seated, tea was served by a disciple, and everyone sipped their tea in silence, creating an awkward atmosphere. Logically, Duan Tianlang, as the host, should have spoken first, even if it was just a polite greeting or something like that. But Duan Tianlang was not only extremely arrogant but also not good with words, and Duan Tianbao wasn't exactly a sociable person either. Or perhaps we, Yu Cai, as the ones "asking for something" from Duan Tianlang, should have spoken first, but Old Lu and Wu Yong were like mute people at this moment. Ultimately, they were both江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world), and these two looked down on Duan Tianlang, but since they had agreed to visit, they had already done so, and given him face. Everyone understood the situation, so they let it go; they wouldn't say any more pleasantries.
I realized I had to break the ice, so I put down my teacup. Before I could even get into position, Duan Tianlang turned to me and said, "Team Leader Xiao, do you have something to say?" Apparently, he couldn't sit still either.
I could only say, "Master Duan, our two families are destined to meet at the martial arts tournament, so it's only fair that we fight..."
Duan Tianlang interrupted me, saying, "Is Team Leader Xiao here to offer me a teaching position at your esteemed school?"
What's going on here? I was about to say a few polite words.
Since he brought up this completely unrelated topic, I could only say something completely irrelevant: "...Ah, yes, that's right."