Under the fist

Chapter 56 Bait, Big Fish

……

"Damn, where did this kid come from? He's so good."

He rubbed his other ear, his expression shifting between light and dark, glancing back fearfully as he walked, terrified that someone was following him.

He walked quickly, passing through four or five carriages in one breath, squeezing through the scattered crowds, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he arrived at the sleeper carriage.

On one side of the carriage sat a middle-aged man wearing an animal skin vest and a melon-shaped hat. The man had his hands in his sleeves, a thermos at his feet, and a mustache. He leaned against the swaying carriage, seemingly dozing off, but his narrow eyes were glancing sideways at the uneasy One Ear.

Seeing One-Ear wink at him, the man shook off the peanut shells from his clothes, got up, and walked to the innermost wooden door, knocking gently.

"Eighth Master, Fourth Master is back."

"Let him in."

A soft, low voice came through the door.

Upon hearing this, One-Ear hurried over and squeezed through the crack in the opened door.

There were two people in the carriage. One was the little old lady, and the other was huddled in a thick quilt with his back to them. There was a lot of food on the table next to him, including meat, dried fruit and all kinds of other things.

"Can you tell who they are?"

The old woman's eyes turned sinister. "I didn't realize it. That kid's methods are strange, and he moves like lightning. Our people fall down with just a touch from him. He's incredibly powerful."

The person on the bed was silent for a few seconds, then asked One-Ear, "Fourth Brother, what about you?"

Sweat beaded on one ear's forehead. "When he touched me earlier, I felt like my limbs wouldn't obey me, like I was drunk and couldn't stand up straight."

The man on the bed hesitated for a long time, as if he had given it much thought, until the train arrived at the station, when he slowly said to the door, "Did he get off?"

Before long, they heard people walking quickly outside the door. "No, but he handed those kids over to the uniformed guys. It seems he's keeping an eye on us. The woman didn't get off the bus either. She probably guessed that we had brothers waiting for us at the station. She's very clever."

The person in bed didn't get up, remaining lying down. "If a child is lost, you can bring them back; if a pig is lost, you can bring it back..."

"Eighth Master, how about we..." The old lady narrowed her eyes and made a gesture of cutting.

Just as the three were talking, a hurried footstep came from outside the door. "Eighth Master, I have something important to tell you."

"You come in."

The wooden door was pushed open, and a half-grown child crawled in, still panting.

"Eighth Master, we can't let that person go."

The old lady's face twitched, and she was about to scold him when she heard the man on the bed say with a smile, "Why?"

The child was dirty, like a poor family’s child, his face was pale, but his eyes were very bright. He said excitedly, “Second Grandma, Fourth Brother, after you left, I saw that man take something out of his pocket. Guess what it was? Good heavens, it was a pearl the size of a longan... And I saw that his bag was bulging, so he probably had other good things in it.”

The old lady's eyes widened suddenly. "A pearl the size of a longan? Are you sure you're not mistaken, young man?"

The dirty child said confidently, "I swear, and it seems that there are gold threads embedded in the bead, just like the beads on the emperor's hat in the museum."

The person on the bed finally threw off the covers, leaned against the pillows, sat up, and casually picked up two candied fruits from the table and put them in their mouth.

But this Eighth Master never revealed his true face. He wore a knitted hat, sunglasses, and his collar was turned up, so only his mouth and nose were visible.

"This is Dongzhu! Could that kid be a tomb raider?" Eighth Master took a deep breath and made a quick decision. "You guys go and get all the brothers who are waiting at the station to come up here."

The child's face flushed with excitement, and after responding, he hurriedly ran out.

One-Ear asked with a hint of doubt, "Could it really be true?"

Eighth Master rubbed the ring on his finger and glanced at the other man with some disdain. “In terms of kung fu, that kid may not be your match, but when it comes to eyesight, ten of you can’t beat him.”

After saying that, the Eighth Master sighed deeply and said, "That's a pearl from the East. In the past, the swallows that once graced the halls of the wealthy and powerful would now fly into the homes of ordinary people. When Heshen died, one of his crimes was the unjust possession of a pearl from the East. It was a precious item reserved for the Manchu imperial family. Just that one pearl is a treasure." The old lady hesitated and said, "That boy doesn't seem to be stupid. Why did he have to take it now of all times?"

Eighth Master said meaningfully, "He's issuing a challenge to us... Fine, since this young brother refuses to listen to reason and insists on drinking the penalty cup, wanting to become the dragon crossing the river, we have to show him some respect and see who he is. Otherwise, if word gets out, how will we survive in the underworld... I want the bead, and I want his life too."

One-Ear said viciously, "He also brought a woman with him. What good are his skills? When the time comes..."

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, Eighth Master slapped him across the right cheek, and a thin line of blood visibly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Eighth Master coldly said, "Don't touch the woman. They didn't call the police, didn't get out of the car, just sat there, and openly issued a challenge. They follow the rules of the underworld, how can we be inferior? This fight is about our methods, about who is more skillful. Besides, with so many of us, to deal with a young man and still have to touch a woman, do we have any shame? ... You good-for-nothing, get out!"

With one ear covering half of his rapidly swollen cheek, he emerged from the carriage with a grim expression, then turned and ducked into the toilet.

"They're getting more and more backward as they get older; even a thief has so many rules to follow."

He muttered to himself, unzipped his pants, but when he saw the urine coming out, his eyes widened in surprise. "Damn it, is this some kind of heat rash? Why is there blood in my urine?"

After a brief stop, the train started moving again.

He grabbed his pants and crawled into Eighth Master's carriage, but when he got there, there was no one in sight. Everything had been packed away and the blankets had been folded neatly.

"Old thing."

He spat out a curse before hurrying toward the carriage where Lian Youming was.

……

The lights outside the window receded into the distance, and the night was as thick as ink.

After glancing around at the many passengers who had taken their seats, Lian Youming smiled and narrowed his eyes. It seemed that the big fish had taken the bait.

He wasn't afraid of these people showing themselves; he was afraid they would disappear without a trace and then stab him in the back, leaving some survivors behind.

The wages of avarice is death.

Since Lian Youming wanted to eliminate any future troubles, Yan Tao and those children alone were definitely not enough. Perhaps the other side wanted revenge, but the one who stepped forward might not be the so-called bandit leader. Therefore, after much deliberation, he decided to throw out a bait.

When he saw a dirty child reappear in his sight, Lian Youming put away the pearl in his hand, put on his coat, and walked straight towards the back of the car with Yan Tao.

He had observed this train before when he was avoiding those railway security incidents. The last few carriages of this green train seemed to be freight cars, and they were dirty. Since it was heading to Shanxi, it was most likely used to transport coal.

It was already late at night, and most of the passengers in the carriages along the way were fast asleep. Apart from the sound of the train rolling over the tracks, there was only the sound of snoring.

Lian Youming walked ahead, with Yan Tao following closely behind.

After walking a few steps, they saw someone close to the aisle stand up, calling out "Make way," while secretly flipping a knife in their hand. Unfortunately, as soon as they raised their hand, Lian Youming grabbed their collarbone and pressed his thumb against their neck, causing them to slump back down without uttering a sound.

Not only were there people in the aisle, but there were also people under the seats with their eyes wide open, flashing knives from their sleeves, trying to sever someone's Achilles tendons.

But as soon as he made a move, Lian Youming raised his foot and swept it out, his instep straight, using his toes to strike the other's chest. A muffled groan was heard, and then the other fell silent.

Without stopping, Yan Tao saw Lian Youming walking at a leisurely pace, his hand moving left and right, grabbing and pulling, and anyone he touched would be paralyzed, the sound of bones cracking was terrifying.

Lian Youming didn't look back until he reached the second-to-last section of the passenger compartment.

When I arrived, the passageways were already crowded with a large group of people, men and women, young and old. Although they looked ordinary, their eyes revealed a fierce determination.

"Wow, there are so many people here, this is awesome."

As Lian Youming continued walking, he beckoned to the group of people, grinned, and spoke silently.

"Come!"

(End of this chapter)