Chapter 42: Bringing Fire Upon Oneself

The next day, we arrived at work very early. We needed to rush before the noon opening to repair whatever could be salvaged from yesterday's wreckage and replace what couldn't. Through the collective efforts of everyone, we finally finished completely by eleven-thirty. Just as everyone was taking a short break while waiting to start work, Leopard Brother found me. First, he handed me a cigarette, and then he stuffed an envelope into my hands.

"Leopard Brother, what is this?" I asked.

"Yesterday, I told the Big Brother the exact sentence you spoke. The Big Brother asked me to give this to you. As for why, he didn't explain. He only said that once you see this, you will understand what it's all about," Leopard Brother said.

I took the envelope, opened it, and was surprised to find it stuffed with hundred-yuan bills.

A rough glance showed there were a full two thousand yuan.

Last time, pretending to be a ghost with the paper offerings got me two thousand yuan.
This time, speaking the underworld slang got me another two thousand yuan.

Four thousand yuan was an astronomical figure to me.

I could only sigh and think that the underworld of the lower nine streams really makes money!
Relying on my salary, I would have to go ten months without eating or drinking to earn this much money.

I quickly tried to hand the envelope back to Leopard Brother and said, "Merit should not be rewarded without service; I cannot take this much money."

Leopard Brother refused to take the envelope back. He waved his hand and said, "Kid, I've already looked at what's inside the envelope, and I'm also curious about what kind of power your sentence has that made my Big Brother give you this much money. But you must take this money; I won't help you return it. This is a task my Big Brother gave me."

After saying this, Leopard Brother turned and walked away, leaving me standing there in a daze.

Between me and the Big Brother that Leopard Brother mentioned, we had simply exchanged two sentences of underworld slang.

His line was: *A friend from another mountain comes to pay a call, dare I ask if you seek ginseng or just travel?*
Which was actually asking about my purpose in coming here.

My reply was: *Mountains, rivers, and lakes are always linked; across the four seas and eight wastes, let no one idle. A visitor newly steps upon this precious ground, halfway seeking ginseng, halfway playing around.*

It meant I had no special purpose in coming here; if I could win some money, I'd win some, and if I couldn't, I'd leave.

I replied this way because I wanted to get to know this person and use the opportunity to understand the situation in the third-floor casino. But I never imagined what he meant by giving me two thousand yuan—was he trying to pay me off to get rid of me?

I thought about it for a long time without figuring it out, so I tucked the envelope into my pocket and prepared to go to work. Just as I reached the door, I saw Finance Brother with several men staring straight at me. He crooked a finger at me and said, "A-Cheng, come here."

Looking at his expression, I had an ominous prehension.

Still, I braced myself and walked over. As soon as I arrived, he turned and walked outside. Just as I was about to move, his lacklings grabbed me and hauled me out toward the door. Reaching the back of the hotel, several men pinned me down. Finance Brother fished the envelope out of my pocket. Seeing the money inside, he spun around and slapped me across the face.

Then, patting my cheek with his hand, he said, "Little bastard, A-Bao called you over for a chat after the cards yesterday—was it to split the loot? You got a flush and accurately guessed he had three of a kind? Almost had me thinking you really were a gambling god."

That slap left half my face burning. I stared at him and said, "Finance Brother, do you think A-Bao and I teamed up to rig a game and scam you?"

Finance Brother delivered another slap.

He cursed, "Still denying it? If not, why did he give you two thousand yuan? In this building, did you really think anything you do could escape my eyes?"

"I've only been here two days total. Played cards twice, and I'm not even close with Leopard Brother," I said.

"If you hadn't put it that way, I wouldn't have suspected your cousin Chen Jianjun either. I've always suspected dog A-Bao of rigging games, but I could never catch any evidence. Turns out there was a traitor among our own people. Xiao Li, go call Chen Jianjun over here. See if I don't cripple these two dog pups today," Finance Brother said.

Just as Finance Brother's voice faded, my cousin came running over in a panic. Seeing me pinned down, he anxiously said, "What's going on, Finance Brother? Isn't this just a case of friendly fire between our own?"

Before he could even pull out a cigarette for Finance Brother, Finance Brother delivered a vicious kick straight to his crotch. At that single kick, my cousin's face turned white, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead. Gritting his teeth, my cousin asked, "What did we two brothers ever do to wrong you?"

Finance Brother flicked the two thousand yuan in his hand and said, "After the cards yesterday, A-Bao called your cousin to the backyard to split the loot, and today he gives him another two thousand yuan. Your cousin must be very close with A-Bao, huh? Chen Jianjun, do you take me for a fucking fool?!"

Right as Finance Brother moved to strike my cousin Chen Jianjun, I violently shook off my restraints.

I lunged forward, grabbed Finance Brother by the hair, yanked his head down, and delivered a direct knee strike straight to his face. Finance Brother actually had quite a bit of strength; in that instant, he shoved me away hard.

His thugs reacted then, charging over to rain a flurry of fists and kicks down on me. My cousin desperately lunged inward, but how could the two of us withstand a group beating? Just as the two of us were struggling to cope, Wang Chuyi rushed in carrying two table legs.

With his glasses on and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he first smashed a club onto Finance Brother's shoulder, then tossed the other club to me, shouting, "Brother Cheng, let's smash them!"

Those table legs were made of solid wood and carried quite a bit of weight in hand.

With weapons in hand, the battle instantly reversed. Although Wang Chuyi was thin and frail, he fought with ferocious intensity. Basically, every swing of his club was accompanied by someone's wailing. My cousin also grabbed a brick in the panic.

Yesterday's restaurant brawl had merely been all show—all thunder and no rain.

When the waiters and kitchen staff fought yesterday due to the conflict between the two bosses, it was safe to say they were just swinging wildly.

But today, the three of us were cornered and fighting for our lives.

Three minutes later, the ground was littered with bodies. My cousin's eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed the downed Finance Brother and roared, "When the hell was I a traitor?! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated, do you know that?!"

At that moment, everyone else in the restaurant had also rushed over upon hearing the commotion. The other waiters didn't know what was going on; wanting to help Finance Brother but seeing the three of us acting like rabid dogs, they didn't dare step forward. The kitchen staff, naturally, loved a good spectacle. When Leopard Brother saw that Finance Brother had taken a severe beating, he could barely suppress the grin at the corner of his mouth.

Still, he widened his eyes and put on a show: "Jianjun, A-Ceng, Chuyi, that's enough! No need to hit your own people this hard!"

While speaking, Leopard Brother winked at me. Just then, I saw the boss, A-Wang, storming over in a fury. Following right behind him was the same tall, thin man in a suit who had accompanied him yesterday.

Today's conflict was completely unexpected and had disrupted almost all of my previous plans. However, seeing A-Wang and his men approach, I knew things might head in an even worse direction. I immediately walked over, grabbed Finance Brother, and said to A-Wang, "Boss, we were the ones being bullied. It was self-defense. Let us leave."

No matter what, Finance Brother was Boss A-Wang's brother-in-law. Seeing A-Wang arrive, he cried out practically in tears, "Brother-in-law, cripple them!"

A-Wang's eyelids drooped slightly.

The tall, thin man with a scar on his temple standing behind him stepped forward.

A murderous aura instantly washed over us.