Chapter 81: Death Bringer

Sensing things were about to go south, I knew brute force wasn’t an option. This was their turf, and if it came down to a fight, we didn’t stand a chance.

So I forced an awkward smile and said, “Big bro, boss, we’ve never met Qian Chuan’er before. We’re just here to ask him about something. Don’t get the wrong idea, we’re not here to cause trouble.”

Maybe it was the honest, clear look in my eyes that did it. I didn’t look like a seasoned thug, so after I finished speaking, Baldy signaled for his men to ease up.

He rubbed his shiny head and asked, “What do you want to ask Qian Chuan’er about? People who come looking for him are usually debt collectors or street punks looking to brawl. Which crew are you with? Name it.”

Crap. I’d been a little too honest. Judging by their setup, if He Yu and I couldn’t come up with something convincing, they definitely wouldn’t let us walk out of here. But if we told the truth, it’d be like baiting a hook and jumping on it ourselves.

“What’s the matter? Can’t tell me what you’re asking about?” Baldy grinned slyly.

But then he snorted and walked past us, heading back to the stall he’d been manning earlier. Leaning against the mud wall, he said, “Whatever business you had with him, you’re too late. He went up the mountain alone before dawn yesterday and fell into a ravine. Dead.”

I was stunned. “Dead? How could he be dead?”

Baldy sneered at my reaction. “Dead is dead. What do you mean how? No one knows why that loser wandered into the mountains in the middle of the night. When he didn’t show up this morning, we went looking. Someone found him in the stream. Whatever you came for, you won’t find him now. Go home.”

“You’re sure he’s dead?” He Yu asked.

Baldy exhaled a puff of smoke and chuckled. “Of course I’m sure. His head was already half rotted. Who knows how he ended up there.”

That made me anxious. Right now, our only lead to Qiao Sangui was this Qian Chuan’er. With him suddenly dead, there was no point in playing tough anymore.

I decided to come clean, but as the words reached my lips, I twisted them slightly. “Actually, bro, you can probably tell we’re in the same line of work. To be honest, we came here because we’ve been hearing some things lately—”

He Yu gave me a sharp tug. It was subtle, but I exaggerated my reaction on purpose, waving him off right under Baldy’s nose before continuing.

“We’ve been hearing things about that item, and since we’re not familiar with Yunnan, we figured we’d ask around. We pulled some strings and got connected to Qian Chuan’er. He said he knew Third Master Qiao. He was supposed to meet us here today and take us to see him.”

“You’re here for that item? To meet Third Master Qiao?” Baldy’s expression turned serious. He muttered, “Word’s spreading fast.”

He believed me completely. That little test had worked better than I expected. Seemed like the Nine-Ring Jade Casket was already making waves in Yunnan’s underground. I shot a glance at He Yu, who immediately caught on and nodded, jumping in to back me up.

“Man, what a mess. How does a guy just drop dead like that? Guess we won’t be seeing Third Master Qiao after all. Shame about that casket though. Now that it’s in Ying Gan Hall’s hands, who knows where it’s gone? We’ll be lucky to even get a whiff of it!” He Yu patted my shoulder, signaling me to leave.

But just as I took a step, Baldy called out, “Hold up! Pretty boy, you said that thing’s with Ying Gan Hall now? You sure about that?”

Well, that was a quick change of tune.

I turned back, pretending to be a bit annoyed. “You’re not Third Master Qiao. Why should I tell you anything? We just came from Henan. This is first-hand info.”

I lifted my foot to leave again, but Baldy quickly jogged out from behind his stall, grinning obsequiously. “Of course, of course. Don’t let Qian Chuan’er fool you. He was a nobody, probably never even met Third Master Qiao. You two want to meet him, right? Come to me. If your info’s legit, I can take you to him right now.”

I feigned sudden interest and turned back. “Oh? You know Third Master Qiao? You’re not trying to scam us, are you?”

“Come on, now. This place is Third Master Qiao’s operation. Eight out of ten people here pay him a cut. You think I’d dare lie in his territory? You guys free now? The old man just got back from Guangdong a couple days ago. I can take you to him right away,” Baldy said.

He Yu and I exchanged a glance, then nodded at Baldy. So this antique village was just one of Qiao Sangui’s fronts. He himself wasn’t here.

Whether Baldy was lying or not, the village was full of his people. Getting out of here was the smart move. Once we were outside, even if we were exposed, he wouldn’t be a match for the two of us alone.

Baldy led us around to the back of the village, where a few mud-splattered, beat-up motorcycles were parked haphazardly. He tossed us a set of keys, then confidently mounted his own bike and told us to hop on.

I thought to myself, what’s he so smug about? It’s just a muddy old bike. He Yu took the keys and climbed on, and I quickly got on behind him. We followed Baldy down the road, the bike kicking up mud all over my backside with no fender to block it.

We rode for about an hour. The bike jolted so much I thought I’d lose my breakfast. From the village to the county, then from the county back into the city—we zigzagged so much I completely lost my sense of direction. Finally, the bike turned into a narrow alley right next to the Wumiao Antique and Jewelry Market.

Maybe it was because it was a weekday afternoon, but the antique market was pretty dead. The shopkeepers lounged around in their stores, bored and enjoying the air conditioning. Most of the doors were shut, barely any stalls were set up, and only a handful of people were wandering aimlessly through the place.

He Yu walked ahead, and I followed him deeper inside. At the very end of the alley, I noticed that the antique shop facing the Daoist temple had its doors wide open. Two small stone lions stood guard at the entrance, and a sign hung above the door: Qiao San Antiques.

I was a bit confused. That name was way too on the nose. Usually, businesses like this kept a low profile, like some kind of secret base. But Qiao San had the guts to open shop in a place that was bustling with people during every holiday. Clearly, the man had some serious clout.

Baldy led us into the shop. A wave of sandalwood incense hit my nose the moment we stepped inside, blending with the cool air from the AC—it felt surprisingly pleasant. The lights were off, and right by the entrance stood a glass table. Wooden shelves were lined with boxes of tea in various colors.

At first glance, the place didn’t look much different from a regular antique store.

“Hey, over here, you two,” Baldy called out. “Third Master usually hangs out in the back, listening to opera or watching the toads in the water jar. He’s got a thing for that kind of stuff.”

Listening to opera I could understand. Big bosses in this line of work often had their quirks. But watching toads in a water jar? What could you possibly get out of that?

Just as I was thinking that, He Yu nudged me and leaned in to whisper, “I heard this Qiao Sangui used to run with Liu Sanshui. That guy was a total freak. Just like the rest of the Liu family—strange as hell. He’d watch toads too. What the hell can you even see with one eye?”

I almost burst out laughing. Qiao Sangui’s antique shop was built much like Fourth Brother’s place—looked small from the outside, but the inside went deep. We passed through the front hall and entered the courtyard in back.

From a distance, I saw a man in his fifties wearing a floral shirt. He was hunched over under a large patio umbrella, holding a magnifying glass and peering intently into a water jar in the middle of the courtyard. I noticed he had only one eye. The other had either been removed or corroded away—hard to tell.

This was the man once known across Guangdong as the “Death Bringer,” Qiao Sangui. Decades ago, he rose to power along the coast under Liu Sanshui’s name. Years have passed since he left Liu’s protection, but he still looked sturdy and well-off, like life had treated him kindly.

“Third Master, these two say they’ve got some information about that thing. They wanted to meet you, so I brought them over,” Baldy said, bowing and nodding as he stepped into the courtyard.

But Qiao Sangui didn’t even look up. He remained completely absorbed in watching the toads, showing no intention of acknowledging us. Baldy glanced back at us, a bit embarrassed, then leaned in to whisper something in Qiao Sangui’s ear.

“What’s he playing at?” He Yu muttered under his breath. “That bastard Qiao’s still putting on airs? No matter how tough he is now, it was Liu Sanshui who made him. If Liu were still alive, would he dare call himself ‘Third Master’?”

“This old bastard’s stubborn. Don’t count on getting anything out of him easily. You’d better come up with another plan,” He Yu added quietly.

Whatever Baldy said must’ve worked, because Qiao Sangui finally folded up his magnifying glass. Baldy, quick on the uptake, stepped forward to take it from him. Then Qiao raised his head and looked at us.

The whole process took at least ten minutes. My legs were sore from standing, and the sun beating down on my head didn’t help. I probably didn’t look too friendly by that point. Qiao Sangui glanced at me and He Yu, then gestured for us to follow.

“If you’ve got something to say, let’s talk inside,” he said. His voice was raspy, like something was stuck in his throat. That one-eyed stare of his made my skin crawl.

I’ve always been detail-oriented, so I noticed right away that Qiao seemed particularly interested in me. He kept scanning me up and down with that single eye. As he passed by, he asked, “Where are you from?”

I answered honestly, “From the Central Plains. I came to ask you something.”

Baldy opened the door for him, and Qiao Sangui remarked, “Henan, huh? That’s pretty far. Has anyone ever told you… you look a lot like your grandfather?”