Chapter Eight: Gong Bao Nan

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Jiang Xiaodao paused for a moment, and a word instinctively popped into his mind: disguise technique!

“You... you can’t be that big gap-toothed guy, can you?”

Gong Baonan frowned, baring his teeth. “You’ve got the wrong person. You’re the big gap-toothed one!”

“No way!” Jiang Xiaodao swore confidently. “Otherwise, how would you know about what happened the night before last?”

“I’m too lazy to argue with you.” Gong Baonan directly stretched out his hand. “Give me the money pouch.”

Jiang Xiaodao was naturally unwilling to be brushed off so easily. Even if this guy wasn’t the big gap-toothed one, he must be connected to him somehow.

“If I give you the pouch, can you tell me where the big gap-toothed guy is? He still owes me money!”

“Do you think you’re in a position to bargain?”

“Then I won’t give it to you!”

“Smack!”

Without a word, Gong Baonan slapped him hard.

Jiang Xiaodao’s body swayed immediately, dizziness hitting him, blood flowing from his nose and mouth.

“Hand it over.”

Jiang Xiaodao still clenched the pouch tightly in his palm, holding it close to his chest for protection.

“If you don’t talk, I won’t give it!”

“Smack!”

Another slap, his jaw tingled painfully, his head buzzing, and even his molars felt slightly loose.

“Hand it over.”

“Fuck you!”

“Hey!” Gong Baonan was both annoyed and amused. “Kid, you really want money more than your life, huh?”

Jiang Xiaodao clenched his teeth and said fiercely, “This is what I deserve! I gave you the tip, we agreed on a fifty-fifty split, and you only gave me forty wen. Are you a human being?”

“Still spouting nonsense? Fine!” Gong Baonan raised his arm. “I’ll slap you to death and see if you still dare to be cocky!”

Jiang Xiaodao, on the verge of passing out, immediately opened his eyes wide and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

“One slap won’t kill me; if it did, you must be my father!”

“You brat, never learned your lesson, huh!”

Gong Baonan raised his hand again to strike.

At that moment, someone suddenly came running down the alley, shouting, “Old Seven!”

The newcomer looked about the same age as Gong Baonan, both in their twenties, but he was slightly shorter, with prominent brow bones and a short chin, his run bouncy and uneven.

“Guan Wei?”

“Call me Sixth Brother!”

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“Son!”

Guan Wei didn’t want to argue. He glanced down at Jiang Xiaodao, who had blood smeared all over his mouth, cheeks swollen high, tears at the corners of his eyes, and couldn’t help but click his tongue.

“Old Seven, you really laid into such a little kid, huh?”

Gong Baonan snorted coldly. “This brat’s got a foul mouth and a stubborn temper. If you don’t hit him, he won’t learn. Better he suffer now than later.”

“Twisted logic!” Guan Wei ignored him and squatted in front of Jiang Xiaodao. “Hey, little brother, you okay?”

Jiang Xiaodao sneered. “The son hit the father; I’ll be back sooner or later.”

Hearing this, Gong Baonan immediately flared up and raised his hand. “Brat, I don’t believe I can’t beat you!”

But before he could strike, Jiang Xiaodao’s head drooped; he had already fainted.

Guan Wei scolded him immediately. “Old Seven, you really went too far! Big Brother still has a use for him! Now what do we do?”

“He’s not dead yet.”

“Stop messing around. There are too many people around here. We need to think of something fast.”

“What else can we do? Take him home.”

“Oh, in broad daylight, all the neighbors know him. You want to take him home?” Guan Wei teased. “Do you need me to beat a drum and clear the way to make a bigger fuss?”

Gong Baonan scratched his head. “How about we take him to our place first?”

Guan Wei sighed. “That’s all we can do now. Got a sack?”

“Go buy one at the rice shop.”

“Me?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll go.”

Gong Baonan lazily stood up and reached to grab the money pouch from Jiang Xiaodao’s hand.

Unexpectedly, though the kid was unconscious, his hands still gripped the pouch firmly. Gong Baonan twisted and pulled for a long time but couldn’t pry it loose.

Guan Wei raised his hand and flicked them both. “You two are really alike! Why do you have to keep fighting with this kid? Just go already!”

Only then did Gong Baonan reluctantly let go and turn to leave the alley.

After a short while, the two had stuffed Jiang Xiaodao into a sack, slung it over their shoulders, and headed west toward the city.

Along the way, bickering and arguing had already become a normal routine between them.

Halfway there, Gong Baonan suddenly asked, “By the way, how’s Big Brother?”

Guan Wei replied casually, “He went back with the people from Changfeng Escort Agency.”

“What about Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and Fifth Brother?”

“Don’t you care I call you brother or not?” Guan Wei cursed. “Second Brother went with Big Brother to the escort agency. Third, Fourth, and Fifth haven’t shown up. Probably sneaking along behind, afraid something might happen.”

“So we don’t need to go?”

“No need.”

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“Good! Good!” Gong Baonan immediately brightened up.

Guan Wei weighed the sack on his shoulder. “You know, this kid really has some fate with us! There are so many people in the streets, and he doesn’t steal from just anyone — he specifically targets Big Brother. Strange.”

Gong Baonan curled his lips. “What fate? That kid’s just got that personality!”

“What personality?”

“Always wants to get everything at once, a born gambler!”

“What do you mean?”

“Others start out small, stealing petty things to practice. Once their skills improve, they go after bigger targets. But this kid, no apprenticeship at all, the first day he steals, he goes after Wang Youcai — the richest man in South City! Just now, at the crossroads, Big Brother was the best dressed on the street. Of course, the kid chose him as his target!”

Guan Wei thought for a moment and smacked his lips. “You know, there’s some truth to that.”

Gong Baonan looked at the sack. “Maybe he’ll become someone important someday.”

Guan Wei shrugged. “In this world, let’s just live to see that day first!”

“Speaking of which, Big Brother really is something. An old hand like him, and yet he got pickpocketed by such a rookie.”

“Everyone has their specialty! Big Brother used to be a brawler, wild and unrestrained — not the kind of business we do. Also, he’s a sucker for storytelling. Anything like Water Margin, Sui and Tang, or the Three Heroes and Five Gallants — he’s listened to them eight hundred times and never gets tired!”

Gong Baonan smiled. “Sometimes he’s like a child.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Big Brother later.”

The two chatted as they walked.

By midday, they arrived at a residence in the west city.

The west city was more rundown, without bustling markets or much commerce. Beyond this boundary, westward lay vast stretches of farmland, with no villages or shops nearby.

As soon as they entered the gate, an honest-looking elderly couple dressed as farmers came out to greet them.

“Old Six, Old Seven, back so early today?”

“Whoa! What have you got there?”

“Picked up a donkey!”

Gong Baonan joked as he greeted the couple, then hurried back inside to sleep.

Guan Wei had to explain to the old couple, “Nothing much, just a kid.”

The old woman immediately squinted, smiling warmly. “Oh? Whose seedling did you tie up? Must be worth quite a bit.”

Guan Wei waved his hand. “Aunt Zhao, I already told you, Big Brother came here on someone else’s business, not for trade.”

“Oh, then... should we put him in the pigsty first?”

Guan Wei didn’t dare decide on his own and said, “Let’s just tie him up with a rope and put him in the warehouse for now.”