Chapter 480

I only saw a few blurry figures before me; those blurry figures before my eyes seemed to be that middle-aged newly rich man and his bodyguards. The middle-aged newly rich man, hands on his hips, shouted at me, spitting and cursing fiercely. As for what exactly he was scolding, I couldn't hear or see clearly. At that moment, besides the pain and dizziness and the loud roaring in my ears, my brain felt nothing else.

The middle-aged newly rich man cursed for a while, then led his two bodyguards away. I, leaning against the wall, rested for a while before I came to.

Staggering while leaning on the wall, I walked toward the alley's exit. I knew I could no longer follow them; the middle-aged newly rich man and his two bodyguards had already misunderstood me. If there were a next time, I probably wouldn't be so lucky.

As I hunched and ran out of the alley, a man walked toward me from the same direction. Unprepared, my head struck his stomach. Instinctively, I raised my head and said sorry to him.

The man said nothing, sidestepped me and kept walking. Only when he passed behind me did I suddenly snap to, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He wore a gray fur coat, his belly round and protruding, one hand covering his face so his features were indistinct; even if someone bumped into him, he remained silent.

This man, how could he be exactly like the Masked Beast in Pangzi's story?

I broke out in a cold sweat, and without thinking I shouted at him, "Stop!" As I turned, a fat hand grabbed my throat tightly; instantly my vision went black, and the hand's owner flung me against the wall, my head slamming hard into it, even drawing bright red blood.

After that, the violent impact knocked me unconscious, and I passed out completely.

……………………………………………………………………………………

When I woke up, I found myself lying in a hospital again. Pangzi sat on another bed, wearing a worried frown as he kept watch over me. Seeing me open my eyes, his furrowed brow finally relaxed.

"You're awake!" Pangzi exclaimed anxiously, rushing over and fumbling with the kettle lid to pour me a cup of water.

I patted my still‑foggy head; after a moment I came to, took Pangzi's water, gulped it down, and only then felt a bit of strength return.

"I've been hit (run into trouble), beaten up by the bodyguards using Israeli martial arts, and then framed by a dead‑fat guy like you." I set down the water cup, looked at Pangzi, and gave a wry smile.

"Sigh… I've been hit too!" Pangzi rubbed his forehead, and under my puzzled gaze he said slowly, "Framed by a bald guy just like you."

I: "……" Full of black lines, I looked at Pangzi and weakly said, "I'm not joking with you."

Pangzi likewise stared at me with deep eyes and said, "I'm not joking either—that dead bald guy hangs a sheep's head to sell dog meat; I ate the dog meat and now I'm temporarily deprived of my magic, boo‑hoo……"

Pangzi's meat‑like body lunged at me like a tiger, grabbing my sleeve and roughly wiping his nose: "You say people nowadays are so unscrupulous—I trusted him, and I kept helping him bowl after bowl, eight big bowls in a row."

I: "……"

"Why not say it's your gluttony that caused the trouble!" After being speechless for a while, I harshly looked down on Pangzi. Perhaps I should swap places with him—let him go find the gambling den while I guard the market; that would be the wise choice.

"By the way, yesterday a few suited tough guys came to see you. Who are these burly men? They all seem to be from the military; the leader, though clean‑cut, has an extraordinary bearing. Rumor has it he's the manager of some gambling den!" Pangzi sliced open an apple, took a big bite, and casually asked me.

My heart tightened; I hurriedly asked him, "The gambling den people—what are they doing here? They didn't cause you trouble, did they? Those gambling den folks are no pushovers!"

Pangzi didn't take my tension seriously, biting the apple and speaking unclearly: "Nothing much, they just asked about some of your situation, and also mine, then left."

Seeing me tense up, Pangzi patted my shoulder and comforted, "Don't be so nervous, it's just a lousy gambling den."

"A lousy gambling den? This gambling den's background is terrifying—comparable to, or maybe even stronger than, Chen Zheng of Macau!" I retorted.

"No matter how scary a gambling den is… it's still just a gambling den!" Pangzi rolled his eyes, not caring at all.

At the same moment, a sudden thumping knock came from outside the ward, interrupting my and Pangzi's chat. As Pangzi just opened the door, several burly men rushed in. Then, a middle‑aged man 1.8 meters tall and powerfully built entered, accompanied by a secretary in a suit.

I and Pangzi froze at once, for this middle‑aged man was no one else—Yao Yirong's brother, Yao Wenju.

"Hello, Wenju Ge, long time no see, I've really missed you. I never expected you to be so thoughtful, rushing all the way from Guangdong just to see us." Pangzi happily grabbed Yao Wenju's shoulders and gave him a hearty bear hug.

"Right, Wenju Ge, are you here to force a marriage, or to force a marriage? Are you here to discuss Hai Sheng and your sister? If you have anything to say, just tell me—elder brother is like a father, I can decide for Hai Sheng. As for the dowry, that's flexible, but the Yao family has only one daughter; you can't be too stingy, or people will gossip, and that's not good." Pangzi rattled on, fingers flying, spit flying, making Yao Wenju's stern face twitch.

"You… are you from the gambling den?" After a moment of dazedness, I blurted out.

Indeed, Yao Wenju must be from the gambling den. Those burly men behind him have the same bearing as the bodyguards who ambushed me.

"Well, that gambling den—our Yao family holds some shares." Yao Wenju's words shocked me greatly; although I suspected his status in the den wasn't low, I never imagined the Yao family would be one of the hidden bosses.

To dare open a gambling den that launders black money from stolen goods, even engaging in murder‑for‑hire, it seems the Yao family's background is even more terrifying than I imagined. Still, the Yao family's ties to the underworld come as no surprise. Ask yourself: which prosperous aristocratic clan today isn't linked to the underworld, whose assets aren't shielded by both black and white forces, or which itself harbors people who straddle both sides, handling many troubles they'd rather not deal with personally?

"Oh, I see you're not here to talk about the dowry then? Never mind, pretend I said nothing—carry on, I'm going to eat an apple." Upon hearing that Yao Wenju had come for another reason, Pangzi listlessly sat back on the bed and began peeling an apple.

"This damned money‑grubber!" Looking at Wang Da Pang idly peeling an apple on the other bed, I felt like grabbing a shoe and stamping it on his cheek.

"You came to see me—what's the matter?" I took a deep breath, doing my best to ignore Pangzi.

In my view, Yao Wenju certainly didn't come just to visit me. Based on what Pangzi said, the gambling den people had already seen me once; therefore, his coming to find me must be for something—perhaps…

"Hmm, I heard my subordinates' report and found your names in this matter. Moreover, their description matches you two perfectly. That's why I came specially." Yao Wenju sat beside me, lit a cigar, and said slowly, "The den's boss is dead, including the two escorts—all died in the alley."

"Sure enough," I thought to myself, then asked Yao Wenju without changing expression, "When they died, were their kidneys and intestines dug out?"

"Mm," Yao Wenju replied, lowering his head: "It's said you fainted less than a hundred meters from where they died, and you'd clashed with the den's bodyguards." He glanced at me and added, "With something like this affecting the den's reputation, I can't help but come check."

"I didn't kill them!" I stared at Yao Wenju and slowly shook my head.

Yao Wenju said, "I know it wasn't you who killed them, so I came to get the facts straight." After a pause, he looked at me and said, "Even if you had killed them, it wouldn't matter—you saved Yirong, and the Yao family still owes you a favor."

"But, this really wasn't me who killed him" I said with a bitter face, looking at Yao Wenju. At this moment I also secretly felt relieved. Fortunately, the person in charge behind the casino was Yao Wenju; fortunately he discovered us in time, otherwise I and Pangzi wouldn't know how much trouble we'd get into.

"The murderer, I suspect is……" I paused, then hesitantly glanced at the few bodyguards standing guard in the corner of the ward.

"All of you, get out!" Yao Wenju instantly understood my meaning, his posture unmoving, he casually waved his hand at the bodyguards behind him.

Almost the moment Yao Wenju just lifted his hand, these bodyguards left the ward in an orderly fashion. Only the young man in a suit holding a briefcase, similar to Yao Wenju's secretary, remained behind.

Seeing my eyes glancing around at the bespectacled young man in a suit, Yao Wenju stretched out his hand, pointed at the young man and introduced him to me and Pangzi: "This is the manager of that venue, and also my capable assistant, Sun Miao."

"Hello, both of you, if you don't mind, just call me Xiao Sun!" Sun Miao chuckled, nodded and smiled at us.

"Er, Xiao Sun, you're lacking water in the five elements at birth, right?" Suddenly, Pangzi, who was knocking an apple on the bedside, asked Sun Miao this out-of-the-blue question.

Sun Miao turned around in surprise, looking at Pangzi and said in astonishment: "How did you know that?"

Pangzi flicked the apple, not taking it seriously, and said: "It's simple, that's the folk custom—without looking at the auspicious deity, you judge by what's lacking in the five elements: lacking fire is called Yan, lacking gold is called Xin, lacking wood is called Sen, lacking water is called Miao."

I was about to blame Pangzi for suddenly changing the subject and talking about something unrelated. But after hearing his explanation, I actually ended up asking Pangzi a question, brainlessly.

"Pangzi, names with Yan lack fire, with Xin lack gold, so Silijing's name contains the character Jing—what does she lack?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I hurriedly covered my mouth. Damn, it seems I momentarily had a cheap mouth and said the wrong thing.

Turning my head, as expected, I saw Pangzi's face flushed red, his complexion turned dark, he gritted his teeth and glared at me.

Suddenly, an object traced a ninety-degree arc and flew toward my injured head—it was the half-eaten apple Pangzi had bitten. At the same time, came Pangzi's furious tirade.

"Chen Hai Sheng, you fucking deserve it!"

I: "……"