Chapter Twenty-Nine: Three Steps Forward

Fatty Dong was quick-witted and agile; he grabbed her hand and snatched the watermelon knife away.

"What the hell are you doing? Getting blood everywhere at the drop of a hat—I haven't even digested my last meal, don't make me puke!"

Ji Xiaoyao said, "Brother Fatty, do you look down on me? Let go..."

I tossed the watermelon knife directly into the trash can.

"Xiaoyao, if you really feel guilty, do us a favor."

She was stunned for a moment.

"What favor?"

"Help me deal with an enemy."

"Who?"

"Xiao Sanpi from Jiguang Pharmacy."

"..."

Ji Xiaoyao looked a bit confused.

I briefly explained how I had almost been killed by Xiao Sanpi a few days ago, how I had planned to find a martial artist today to help me handle him, and how I had coincidentally run into her.

Finally, I stared at her with burning eyes.

"He didn't just almost kill your master; he is my enemy too. Do you have the guts to do it?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Xiaoyao picked up a water glass, gulped down several mouthfuls, wiped her mouth, and her small face turned cold and resolute.

"I may not have much talent, but I know how to repay a debt of gratitude! Never mind dealing with that bastard; even if I had to go through a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, I might cry, but I wouldn't blink an eye!"

What kind of expression was that?

I smiled and ruffled her hair.

"All right! Go look after your master first, and I’ll call you when the time comes."

She nodded solemnly, turned, and left the restaurant. Just as she stepped out the door, she came back and scratched her earlobe.

"You two, I still don't know your names."

"Meng Xun!"

"Dong Chuan!"

Xiaoyao bowed to us.

"Brother, Brother Dong!"

Fatty Dong’s eyes widened.

"Wait... why is there a difference in how you call us 'brother'?"

Xiaoyao glanced at me, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I don't know, it just feels more natural that way."

After she left, we drove the tricycle back to Yingshang. By the time we took a taxi back to the incense and candle shop, it was already ten o'clock at night.

A person was sitting at the entrance of the shop—pointed-faced, with a long, scraggly beard, looking like a giant, evolved rat. He sat with his hands tucked into his sleeves, leaning against the door soundly asleep, his snoring thunderous.

Fatty Dong walked over and gave him a kick.

The man let out a howl and bolted upright. Seeing us, his face was full of annoyance.

"You damn Taoist, can't you just call a person? Why go straight to physical violence?!"

Fatty Dong chuckled.

"Old Guan, how did the job go?"

Old Guan retorted, "Don't talk nonsense! Would I dare to see you if I hadn't finished it?"

Fatty Dong said, "Couldn't you have just called? Sleeping here in the middle of the night, I thought I’d run into a ghost!"

Old Guan looked speechless. "Can your damn phone even get a signal?"

Fatty Dong took out his phone, glanced at it, then threw an arm around the man's shoulder and walked into the room with a laugh.

"Sorry, the battery died. I'll treat you to snails another day. Let's go in and talk."

The underground informant had arrived!

This guy was someone Fatty Dong had met while working as a private investigator. He specialized in finding people, digging up clues, gathering information, and brokering deals for his clients.

According to Fatty Dong, Old Guan was highly skilled but had a foul temper. If he didn't like someone, he wouldn't take the job no matter how much money was offered. But if he was in the mood, he’d help for free. Although the fat guy hadn't dealt with him much, they had hit it off immediately, as they were two of a kind.

This time, I wasn't planning on just scratching the surface while taking down the Jiguang Pharmacy, a subsidiary of the Jiuyou Hall. If we were going to play, we were going to play big.

Early this morning, I had asked Fatty Dong to find a local "old hand" to scout out Jiguang Pharmacy, so he had called Old Guan.

Old Guan lit a cigarette and pulled a hand-drawn map from his pocket.

"Enough chatter! Here’s the situation: Xiao Sanpi lives on the second floor, east bedroom of Villa 18 in Bishuiwan. No wife or kids. He likes to go to Lidu Bathhouse to 'cool off' and occasionally gambles at No. 8 South Street. But for some reason, he’s been acting strangely lately; he hasn't been home at all. He’s been running all over the city with his henchmen, seemingly looking for someone. I can't pin down his regular resting place."

"As for the goods: Jiguang Pharmacy has three locations—the main store in Liantang and two branches at East and West Lakes, mainly selling fake herbs. They used to store all incoming herbs at the main store and transfer them as needed. But with the road construction near Liantang recently, vehicles can't get in and out, so he rented an old machinery warehouse on Yanjiang Road. All the herbs are piled up in there right now."

"One day was too tight, but I managed to get this much. Is it enough?"

I picked up the map and was amazed.

The structural layout of the villa and the pharmacy, the outdoor plumbing and electrical pipelines, the orientation of the doors, the number of sales and security staff, and their work schedules were all marked clearly. He had even drawn red lines indicating the weak points for infiltration.

A real talent!

I gave him a thumbs-up.

"Awesome! That’s more than enough!"

Old Guan preened, stroking his beard with a smug grin.

"Good. I'm leaving."

Fatty Dong grabbed his arm.

"Don't you want your payment?"

Old Guan grabbed an opened pack of Hongmei cigarettes from the table and shook it at Fatty Dong.

"Taking a pack of smokes is enough. Save the money for your own coffin, you broke slob!"

With that, he walked off without looking back.

I said, "That guy’s not bad."

Fatty Dong scratched his head.

"He's a good guy, but his personality is a bit twisted..."

"Little Meng, our goal is to drag Xiao Sanpi out and beat him to a pulp, but he’s been frantically looking for you lately and isn't staying home. No matter how detailed the map is, it’s useless if he’s not there!"

I countered, "Why go looking for him? Why not just let him come to us?"

Fatty Dong: "..."

I pointed to the map on the table.

"The plan has three steps: Uproot the nest, cut off the supply, and crush Sanpi!"

Fatty Dong asked, "What the hell does that mean?"

I explained to him.

"First, the fake herbs are currently piled in that old machinery warehouse on Yanjiang Road, which is an old-style tiled building. The weather report said there’s a heavy storm coming tonight or tomorrow. We’ll go over there, pull up the tiles, and let the rain soak everything. That will completely destroy Xiao Sanpi’s nest!"

Fatty Dong’s face twitched.

"Damn! That’s ruthless!"

I continued, "Second, don't you know some troublemakers? Tomorrow, hire fifteen of them. Put five at each store, all dressed in mourning clothes, and have them block the doors claiming that the fake medicine killed someone. If the shop tries to stop them, they run, then come right back. Be as annoying as a sticky plaster until they can't do any business."

Fatty Dong frowned.

"For how long? Even low-level punks need at least a hundred bucks a day for tea money. That's fifteen hundred a day. We can't afford that for long."

I shook my head.

"It won't take long! With the warehouse flooded and business halted, as long as Xiao Sanpi isn't a complete idiot, he’ll know an enemy is stirring up trouble. Since he’s desperate to find me and Liao Xiaoqin, he won't have time to waste and will be dying to resolve this!"

Fatty Dong nodded.

"And how do we crush Sanpi?"

I took a sip of water.

"That’s the third point. Tell the punks that when they block the doors, they should give out my phone number, claiming I’m a newly risen boss and that the person who died from the fake medicine was my subordinate. I just got this number, so Xiao Sanpi doesn't know it. He’ll definitely contact me. When he does, I’ll arrange to meet him somewhere, and when he shows up, we’ll beat him into the ground!"

After listening, Fatty Dong patted my shoulder with a wicked grin.

"You're so malicious; I love it!"

I threw my cigarette butt on the floor and crushed it with my heel.

"No time to waste. Let's go!"