Otherworldly Merchant

Eventually, we found where Boss Ma’s had gone to. It was a watermelon orchard. I saw him secretly enter a shed inside the orchard, but he didn’t stay there for long.

After he left, Li Mazi and I got in to check.

Li Meng was inside the shed. Both his hands and feet had been tied, and he was unconscious.

Li Mazi’s heart twitched after seeing Li Meng’s condition. He stormed forward and gently held his son, trying to wake him up. Li Meng woke up relatively fast, but he was still confused. He recognized his father, but he fell unconscious again.

I frowned and asked Li Mazi to carry Li Meng on his back. We needed to get back soon.

Qin Yu was awake when we got back. San Bao had kept him in a hotel room.

“San Bao, how’s Qin Yu?” I asked.

San Bao felt helpless. “He doesn’t want to eat, drink, or sleep. He’s desperate, and killing himself is the only thing on his mind. He tried to commit suicide earlier, but I’ve managed to stop him in time. If not for me, he would have died already…”

I peeked at Qin Yu through the door slit. His face was pale, and his body was slumped in a corner like a lump of mud. He sat still, crying.

“Everyone betrayed me! Does friendship still exist in this world?!” Qin Yu lamented.

San Bao asked me, “Do you know how to deal with this?”

I pondered for a while, but I didn’t have any good solutions to offer. We could only use the ‘a tooth for a tooth’ approach.

“Everybody, let’s have some rest,” I said. “I need to think about this matter carefully.”

I entered the room without giving them a chance to protest. Then, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

It was early morning when Li Mazi shook me awake.

Li Mazi sounded worried as he said, “Something bad has happened. You should check if any of your belongings is missing.”

I smiled. “Did your son grab your money and run off?”

Li Mazi was startled. “How do you know that?”

“I just happen to have a gift for foretelling. By the way, Li Meng also stole my fish-skinning knife and my Sirius Whip.”

Li Mazi’s eyes widened after hearing my reply. “Did you see my son stealing your things? Why didn't you stop him?”

“Because there was no need to,” I smiled and said. “Don’t panic. It’s all part of my plan.”

Li Mazi was even more shocked. “Tell me, what’s your plan? Will my son be in danger?”

“Don’t worry,” I comforted him. “Your son and the various items will come back in a few days. All we need to do is wait.”

Li Mazi looked at me in puzzlement. I just smiled at him. “Don’t overthink it. I’m going to sleep some more.”

I went back to bed after saying that much. Li Mazi stood by the door and stared blankly for quite a long time. Eventually, he had no choice but to leave.

Night fell once again. There was still no news about Li Meng, and Li Mazi was very worried. He didn’t eat or drink, and he looked much older after just one night.

I had no idea how to reassure him. Although I felt bad seeing him in such a state, I had to let him suffer for a while. It was all for the sake of my plan.

At around 9 PM, I allowed Qin Yu to leave.

Qin Yu hated us to the bone, and he wished he could kill us all.

I didn’t go out in the following days and stayed at the hotel. Even after three days, there was no news, which almost made me doubt my plan.

However, something happened on the fourth day.

After receiving a mysterious call, I said to Li Mazi and San Bao, “Guys, follow me.”

Li Mazi was already at his limit, and he couldn’t wait to rush out of the hotel and look for his son.

We went directly to the city’s financial district and stopped by a nice villa.

I knocked, and the door was quickly opened. The owner of the house was obviously Boss Ma.

He was startled by our sudden appearance. “Why are you here?”

I smiled and said, “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to see how much time you had left.”

“What do you mean?” Boss Ma was enraged as he looked at me.

“Just wait and see. You’ll understand soon.” I didn’t say anything else and directly entered Boss Ma’s villa.

It was indeed a rich man’s house, lavishly decorated, just like a majestic palace. The place made me feel somewhat inferior…

However, I quickly cast aside that thought. There was no need to be amazed as this luxurious villa wasn’t a property that Boss Ma had earned with hard work. He had probably bought it with his shady funds. He might be rich now, but his life would be greatly affected once his luck ran out.

“What do you want?” Boss Ma gritted his teeth as he gazed at me. “Get the out of here, or I’ll call the police!”

“I just want to see how you react when your friends betray you. I want you to feel what Qin Yu has been feeling for the past days.”

Qin Yu had been deluded into thinking that everyone had betrayed him. He had lost all of his friends and family members. He was so desperate that he wanted to kill himself. This sort of pain wasn’t something a human being could shoulder for a long time.

Boss Ma frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Come here.” I smiled and snapped my fingers. Shortly after, two people showed up by the door. They were Li Meng and Ah Yan.

Boss Ma was shocked by their unexpected visit. “Little Meng, Ah Yan, you should leave. There’s something I have to take care of.”

“Shut up!” Ah Yan and Li Meng shouted at him in unison.

Boss Ma panicked and dropped his jaw in shock. “What happened to you? Aren’t we friends?”

“Save your breath.” I smiled. “Do you think they’ll do anything you want just because you’ve used some petty tricks to win them over? It was all an act to earn your trust. Everything was part of my plan.”

“What?” Boss Ma was so angry that he almost vomited blood. “Are you driving a wedge between us?”

“Of course not,” I said with a smile. “They have never trusted you. Driving a wedge is not possible when there’s no friendship to speak of.”

Ah Yan said with a smile, “Boss Ma, you left my husband in such a pathetic state. I couldn’t just accept it and move on, could I? That’s why I’ve prepared a small gift for you.”

Then, she threw some papers in his direction.

Boss Ma glanced at the papers and carefully picked them up. His blood surged, and his body shivered when he read the contents. “Y-You slut, where did you transfer my money?!”

“Thirty million to the poverty-stricken areas, twenty million to the One Foundation Group, and another twenty million to an AIDS treatment center…” Ah Yan recited a list of donations she had made on his behalf. “Now you have close to three million left in your balance.”

“What?!” Boss Ma thundered. “Ah Yan, I trusted you completely... I even let you handle my accounts…”

“I had no choice. You went after my family,” Ah Yan said angrily.

Boss Ma closed his eyes in despair. He couldn’t help but vomit blood.

“You… You betrayed me…”

Ah Yan shrugged. “Boss Ma, why not test the waters? Let’s see how many friends you have now.”

Then, she went outside to fetch a suitcase. “This is your last three million. Let’s see how many friends you can earn with this.

“Oh, right. I forgot to tell you something. Boss Ma, I played cards with your best friend Ah Lai on your behalf, and I lost three million and one hundred thousand renminbi. I think you better call him now. I want you to see your friend’s true colors.”

Boss Ma screamed and roared, “Bunch of lunatics! I’m warning you, I will call the police!”

“Fine.” Ah Yan smiled. “Recently, the criminal police have been very strict about drugs. I refused to believe that there are none in this villa.”

“All right, it’s time for me to tell you the rules of the game.” I felt satisfied as I sat on the sofa. “Now you have three million in your hands, and you owe Ah Lai three million and one hundred thousand renminbi. We will let this go if you can borrow one hundred thousand from your friend. If you can’t, we’ll watch as Ah Lai chops you into pieces!”

“Haha.” Boss Ma laughed haughtily and said, “You’re looking down on me! It’s just one hundred thousand renminbi. With my reputation, I, Boss Ma, can easily borrow that money.” Then, he called Ah Lai so that he could collect the debt.

Ah Lai smiled and agreed as soon as he heard that he would receive his payment. He arrived ten minutes later.

“Boss Ma, we haven’t had fun together in ages. I guess you’re pretty busy these days.” Ah Lai arrived with a smiling face, warmly greeting Boss Ma.

Boss Ma faintly smiled. “Yes, I’ve been busy.”

“Boss Ma has a lot of things to manage, so it’s normal that you’re this busy. Oh right, I’ve got a new product here. I’ll be giving you some as a gesture of goodwill.”

“Really?” Boss Ma smiled. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me, we’re friends after all.” Ah Lai handed Boss Ma a small, sealed plastic bag filled with white powder.

“Boss.” Li Mazi said purposely as he came out of the bathroom, “Our company has to declare bankruptcy, and we only have three million renminbi left. We can’t fork out the remaining one hundred thousand to pay for the gambling debt.”

Boss Ma glared at Li Mazi. “I will come up with a solution!”

Half of Ah Lai’s enthusiasm suddenly disappeared. He looked at Boss Ma with clear worry. “Boss Ma… What’s going on?”

Boss Ma lowered his head in distress. “I’ve had some financial difficulties as of late. But don’t worry, I won’t owe you any money. How about you take three million first?”

“So, you’re likely to go bankrupt, and it’s possible that the cops would investigate you… I’m never going to see that money, right?”

Boss Ma’s face was red. “No, that’s not the case…”

“Yeah sure!” Ah Lai was incensed. The enthusiasm he had when he arrived was completely gone. “You were toying with me, right? Don’t think that I don’t know you, Boss Ma. I know your company is done for. Give me back my money! Right now! I want my money!”

Boss Ma was shocked. “Ah Lai, we’re friends…”

“Who’s your friend? You owe me money! I’m no friend of yours!”

"You can take these three million…”

“What three million? It’s three million and one hundred thousand! Don’t forget about that one hundred thousand renminbi. Moreover, you have to pay me in full; not a single dime less!” Ah Lai panted in rage as he snatched back the white powder he had brought as a gift.