Chapter 82: The Lu Clan’s Obituary

The moment Qiao Sangui spoke, my heart skipped a beat. For an instant, I felt as if I saw a thousand things in his eyes. This man knew me, he knew my grandfather, and he even knew I was coming to find him. He might even know full well that I had someone spread the word about the jade casket in Yunnan.

I stood frozen on the spot, unsure how to respond. When someone’s level is far beyond yours and your every move is already within their grasp, anything you do is futile. Continuing to lie would likely only provoke their displeasure.

He Yu rubbed his nose and chuckled awkwardly at Qiao Sangui. “Come on, old man, what are you talking about? We didn’t quite catch that.”

Qiao Sangui let out a raspy laugh. He walked over to a shelf, picked out a box of tea, and used a wooden scoop from a bamboo tube on the table to ladle some into a porcelain pot. Seeing this, Guangtou quickly stepped forward to pour water and start boiling it.

He Yu still wanted to argue, but I grabbed his arm and shook my head, signaling him to stay quiet and see what the old man was going to do next.

Qiao Sangui pointed to the two lantern-back chairs across from him, then looked at me and let out a cold snort. “You little brat, who gave you the guts to spread that news in Yunnan? Didn’t Chen Si teach you any rules?”

This guy was seriously unstable. Just moments ago, he had been all smiles, and now he was slamming his palm against the glass table with a loud bang. He Yu and I were so startled we didn’t even dare sit down, wishing only to keep a safe distance from him.

“And you, kid from the He Clan, didn’t anyone teach you the rules in the He Clan either? Just one piece of news from you, and my whole pankou is buzzing with motion. Capable or not, everyone wants a piece of the pie. Can you two handle the mess you’ve made?” Qiao Sangui demanded.

I thought to myself, damn it, I just came to ask for information. What does your pankou getting stirred up have to do with me? I’ve seen my share of rough waters, and a couple of lines meant to scare kids aren’t going to rattle me.

So I took the lead and walked around the chair to sit down. Seeing me sit, He Yu followed suit.

I smiled and said, “Third Master Qiao, I’m young and new to the game. If I’ve done anything wrong, I hope you won’t hold it against me. You know far more than we do, so I’m sure you realize this issue came from within the Five Masters. I came here just to ask a few questions. Once I’ve got what I need, we’ll leave without troubling you further.”

What I meant was: Third Master Qiao, you’re a man of stature, so surely you won’t stoop to argue with a junior like me. Besides, I was forced into this situation. If we hadn’t done it this way, we wouldn’t have found this place. A shrewd man like Qiao Sangui couldn’t possibly miss the subtext.

“Kid, you’re oversimplifying things. What do you have to offer that would make me help you find this information?” Qiao Sangui took a sip of tea.

My heart tightened. I knew this old fox wouldn’t give me anything for free. I quickly ran through the money I had saved over the past few years. He was an information broker who had done this business before, so he shouldn’t ask for anything too outrageous.

So I said, “Name your price.”

To my surprise, Qiao Sangui burst out laughing. He was clearly enjoying himself, but across from him, He Yu and I couldn’t laugh at all. Honestly, I really disliked this act of pulling seniority—as if having eaten a few more years of rice^[1] meant he was miles ahead of us in cunning.

“You little brat, this isn’t buying rice or flour. In our line of work, money is the one thing we’re never short of. You’re asking about Chen Si’s whereabouts. Who is Chen Si? He’s the head of your family. If I send a scout after him, they might well get silenced!” Qiao Sangui chuckled. “A human life, how much money do you think can buy that?”

I was stunned into silence by his words. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand, but I just didn’t know how to carry on the conversation.

Seeing me stumped, He Yu lost his patience. “Alright then, Third Master. You’re the master businessman here, so let’s stop playing games, alright? My brother here just wants to know where Chen Si went with the box. Can you help or not, and what will it take? Just give us a straight answer.”

Qiao Sangui chuckled at me, the empty skin of his eye socket creasing into layers of wrinkles. He looked at me and said, “Of course I can help. There’s no one’s whereabouts I can’t track. One hundred thousand yuan, plus one thing I want.”

I could probably scrape together one hundred thousand yuan if I tried, but that second condition was far too broad. If he asked for the stars or the moon, I certainly couldn’t pluck them down.

“What thing?” Alarm bells rang wildly in my mind.

Qiao Sangui pointed at the red string hanging from my neck. “That stone is useless to a kid like you, so why not give it to me? If you’re willing to give me this jade, I can offer you a special price and save you that hundred thousand altogether. How about it?”

Hearing him say that, I only then realized that during the rough motorcycle ride earlier, my legs had been so stiff when I got off that I hadn’t noticed the Luan Bi hanging next to my skin had slipped out of my clothes.

It hit me all at once. Damn it, Qiao Sangui had been rambling on and on with me for half the day just because the old bastard was lying in wait for this!

I immediately shoved the Luan Bi back under my clothes and said, “No way. You need both of these to make a complete piece, and one of them belongs to my friend. He only gave it to me for safekeeping. I can’t give you the jade, so ask for something else instead.”

Qiao Sangui shook his head and sighed. “It seems you still don’t know about this matter. Your Fourth Brother didn’t tell you, which was for your own good as well.”

I was somewhat bewildered and asked him, “What matter?”

“I know who you’re holding this thing for, but I regret to inform you that there’s no need for you to keep it for him anymore. When you all came out of Shennongjia, you split into three vehicles. According to the news I got, Yin Pozi wasn’t in the convoy. So he most likely died in the jungle, or perhaps buried under those ruins,” Qiao Sangui said without hiding a thing.

The moment he said those words, not only was I shocked, but even He Yu was visibly shaken. He stammered, “W-what do you mean? How is that possible?! Yin Pozi is the head of the Lu Clan! Old man, you must be getting senile in your old age. You can’t joke about this. What could possibly trap him down there?”

I suddenly remembered all those phone calls over the past few months since getting out, none of which had ever gone through. When Fourth Brother came out, he never mentioned Lu Ayao to me either, only saying that Hou Jinshan was dead. But I had never believed it, because I had no memory of any of it.

But if things went as Qiao Sangui said and we came out in three batches, then I must have been in the very first one. In that case, something else must have happened after I passed out, but I had no way to verify any of it unless Lu Ayao picked up my phone call right this instant.

Cold air from the air conditioner seeped into my clothes, making me shiver involuntarily as a numbness crept across my scalp.

Qiao Sangui gave a dry laugh, his tone chilly. “The ruins have already collapsed, so there’s no going back to look for a body. But the obituary has already been sent out. Right now, the entire side branch of the Nanjing Lu Clan is running around like headless chickens. Heh, I suppose you two are the only ones left who still think he’s alive.”

“Now that he’s dead, that stone in your hand is useless to you. I’d advise you to pledge the jade to me sooner rather than later so I can start digging up intel for you that much earlier.”