"The Mortal Chapter Of Qing Zhuan" - Chapter 9
A Mystery in Yancheng
“Oh, Young Master Long, please, no more. I can’t drink any more. I really can’t…”
Young Master Long looked at the beautiful young woman, her eyes glazed over, and felt a rush of delight. He felt like his whole body was on fire. Amidst the flashing neon lights, he cornered her against the back of the sofa.
Accompanied by the pulsing music of the dance hall, Young Master Long moved with a rhythm of his own. The screams and rises and falls in the hall finally came to a climax the moment the music ended, and Young Master Long completed his mission with satisfaction.
He patted her behind contentedly. “Xiao Ya, you did great. Keep it up!” Then he sat back on the sofa, crossing his legs and lighting a cigar.
Qin Shaojie had run all the way here and came to this dance hall to blow off some steam. He accidentally bumped into Young Master Long, who cursed at him, “Are you blind?”
Qin Shaojie ignored him and went straight to the bar to order a drink.
Young Master Long, who was used to getting his way, had never been so brazenly ignored. He strode over, and his henchmen grabbed Qin Shaojie, ready to beat him up. Qin Shaojie clenched his fists, ready to fight back.
Just then, Luan Qingfeng rushed out to smooth things over. “Young Master Long, I’ve just mixed a new drink. Would you like to try it?”
Young Master Long raised an eyebrow and put his arm around him. “Really? You’ve worked so hard, Ah Feng! A new drink for me to sample? But still, one thing at a time! Do you know this man?”
Luan Qingfeng quickly said, “No, Young Master Long, I don’t know him. But since he’s ordered my drink, he’s a customer of mine. Please let him go.”
Young Master Long gave a vulgar smile, ran a finger across his cheek, and pinched his chin. “In that case, I’ll let him go for your sake. But he was so rude to me, and now I feel awful! How about this…”
Young Master Long beckoned for a drink, dropped a pill into it, and swirled the glass. He then pushed it in front of Luan Qingfeng and teased, “Be a good boy. If you drink this, I won’t hold this against you!”
Qin Shaojie, seeing this, wanted to act, but he caught Luan Qingfeng’s eye. Luan Qingfeng shook his head, motioning for him not to do anything rash.
Luan Qingfeng then picked up the glass. “A drink from Young Master Long is, of course, a drink to be had!”
He was about to down it when Qin Shaojie firmly held down the glass, saying coldly, “You drugged this drink!”
Young Master Long gave him a look of disdain. “What, do you want to drink it too?”
Qin Shaojie could no longer contain his rage. “The drink you mixed for yourself, you should taste yourself!”
He snatched the glass and splashed every last drop onto Young Master Long’s face. Then he grabbed Luan Qingfeng and ran.
In the corner, Sun Youwei and Zhao Fangshuo were watching with glee. Sun Youwei said, “Go, go! There’s a show to watch, hahaha!”
Zhao Fangshuo chimed in, “This guy is amazing! Where did he come from?! He dared to go head-to-head with Young Master Long! We’ve been here for half a month and didn’t even dare to look him in the eye. Interesting.”
The two of them, the “Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix,” were having a great time watching the show, not knowing they were about to get beaten up.
Young Master Long, with a face full of alcohol, stared in disbelief at the two men running away. He roared, “Guards! Kill those two!”
The music in the hall was too loud, and his bodyguards just stood there dumbfounded. Young Master Long yelled even louder, “What are you standing around for?! Go after them! Do you think I’m paying you to do nothing?! Bring them back! I’m going to kill those two sons of bitches!”
The two innocent bystanders, who were still enjoying the show, watched as the two men ran straight toward them. Their eyes went wide as they stood there with their mouths open, staring at the two runners. As Qin Shaojie and Luan Qingfeng passed them, Qin Shaojie grabbed the drinks from their table and threw them on the three bodyguards.
This move made the bodyguards think that the four of them were together, so they started beating up the two onlookers. The two struggled and finally managed to escape.
When they got out of the dance hall, they found themselves surrounded by the club’s thugs. They quickly jumped into a slop bucket. Just then, an old man came to pick up the slop barrels, and he hoisted them onto his truck, unknowingly taking the two with him.
Outside the city, the four men finally dared to climb out, only to find that all four of them were in the slop buckets.
They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Zhao Fangshuo laughed, “Seriously… Sigh! This is too funny!”
Sun Youwei quickly interrupted him, angrily questioning Qin Shaojie, “You! You almost got us killed! We have no beef with you, so why did you do that to us?!”
Luan Qingfeng quickly stepped in. “Hey, hey, hey, that was me. I told him to do it! I was scared and didn’t have anything to fight them with. You two happened to have drinks on your table, so we threw them. As they say, you get to know people through a fight. We’re now comrades in a life-and-death situation, right?”
Qin Shaojie’s face was grim. He didn’t say a word and was instead carefully surveying the surroundings.
After a while, the truck stopped. Qin Shaojie warned, “Someone’s coming. If you want to live, cooperate with me!”
Zhao Fangshuo and Sun Youwei looked at Qin Shaojie’s sinister face and nodded repeatedly.
Qin Shaojie gestured to Luan Qingfeng to distract the driver. Luan Qingfeng quickly understood. He showed his face and started talking to the old man. Qin Shaojie then took the opportunity to knock him out. The other two followed, jumping off the truck.
Zhao Fangshuo looked at Qin Shaojie with admiration. “Wow, Brother, you’re amazing!”
Just then, Luan Qingfeng struggled to pick up a large rock and brutally smashed it on the old man’s body. Then he smashed it two more times.
This shocked the other three. They never intended to kill anyone!
Luan Qingfeng, his face splattered with bl00d, slowly turned around. Sun Youwei, horrified by the sight of bl00d on his face, backed away, covering his mouth.
Even Qin Shaojie frowned and took a deep breath. “He was already knocked out. Why did you have to kill him?!”
Luan Qingfeng gave an evil smile. “Don’t be afraid, brothers. I’ll take full responsibility for what I did today. I will not implicate any of you. From now on, if you need help in Yancheng, you can find me at the dance hall.”
Sun Youwei shook his head repeatedly. “Oh my god, that’s too scary! We can’t stay in this dump for long! You offended Young Master Long. Can you really go back? Those men must be looking for us everywhere!”
Qin Shaojie asked, “You killed him. Can you really go back? Why don’t you leave this place with me! If you trust me, if I have meat, you’ll have soup!”
Luan Qingfeng looked at him. “Thank you, Brother. But killing him was a wish I’ve had for years! If he hadn’t trafficked me, how would I have fallen so low and gotten sick? Just thinking about it makes me angry! He thought that by covering my eyes and mouth, I wouldn’t know who kidnapped me! But he forgot that I could hear! I could hear his voice. He was my ‘Uncle Six’ from the same village. I thought he wasn’t here anymore! All these years, every time I had a customer, man or woman, my hatred for him grew. I finally got this chance today! I also have to thank you brothers!”
After hearing his story, the three men sighed. Sun Youwei said, “Sigh! We’re all outcasts in this world! In that case, why don’t we four do something together? What do you think?”
Qin Shaojie frowned, as if considering something. There was a long silence. Finally, he lit a cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and asked Luan Qingfeng, “Who is that Young Master Long?”
Luan Qingfeng gave a cold laugh and wiped the bl00d from his face. “Long Yan, the eldest son of the Long family here in Yancheng. Besides the Lin family, the Long family is the most powerful.”
He seemed to have guessed Qin Shaojie’s thoughts and gave him a wicked grin. “It won’t be easy to take him on. We can’t do it with just the four of us.”
Sun Youwei was horrified and muttered, “What?! You want to go back?! Aren’t we just going back to die?”
Qin Shaojie cleared his throat. “How do you know we can’t do it if we don’t try?”
He then looked at Sun Youwei and Zhao Fangshuo. “Brothers, it was my fault for getting you into this mess. But now we’ve been pushed to this point. Even if we run, what are our chances of getting away? Why don’t we do one big job? I’ll give you a bigger cut of the money. What do you say?”
The two of them, being cowardly, hesitated. Qin Shaojie then spoke directly, “Since you have nothing to say, it’s settled. Let’s find a place to stay and plan our move!”
And so, Sun Youwei and Zhao Fangshuo were unknowingly pulled into a new crime. They followed Luan Qingfeng through a forest to an abandoned temple. Luan Qingfeng asked, “Now that we’re all working together, may I know your names? My name is Luan Qingfeng.”
The Fatty said, “My name is Zhao Fangshuo, and my friend here is Sun Youwei, hehehe.”
The Skinny Man laughed self-deprecatingly. “Sun Youwei… and I have nothing to my name!”
Qin Shaojie said, “Qin Shaojie. Brothers, from now on, we’ll help each other out! The world today forces good people to become criminals. Since the world is unjust, we’ll turn it upside down!”
Luan Qingfeng said righteously, “The abuser always knows the victim’s pain better than the victim. I want to pay him back a million times over!”
He then began to lay out their plan:
“In Yancheng, there are two major powerful families, the Longs and the Lins. These two families have been famous and influential clans here for centuries. And as it happens, they have been fighting for over three hundred years. Now, with the government’s plan to develop Sandmouth Mountain, the two families are clashing again.
“Sandmouth Mountain was originally the Lin family’s territory, but now that the gold sand found there has become famous, the Long family wants a piece of the action. Since both are powerful families, they can’t lose face, so they’ve been fighting behind the scenes.
“I overheard a conversation between Young Master Long and his men at the dance hall and learned all this. I want to use this as bait to get the Lin family to deal with Long Yan for me! That pervert has tortured me both physically and mentally for years. I’ve wanted to kill him for a long time! But I’ve never had a good opportunity. This coincidence is a happy accident.
“I won’t let this chance to get rid of him pass. We want these two tigers to fight, and when they do, there will surely be casualties! We will just sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight and enjoy the spoils.”
Luan Qingfeng took Qin Shaojie to see Young Master Long’s arch-rival, Lin Fengnian. He told him that Young Master Long was trying to take his territory at Sandmouth Mountain. But Lin Fengnian didn’t fully believe him, as he didn’t know Luan Qingfeng’s motive for giving him this information.
Lin Fengnian sat up straight and asked, “Who are you? Why are you telling me this?”
Luan Qingfeng started crying. “Because he killed my godfather! My godfather was an honest villager from Sandmouth Mountain. He drove his truck to the dance hall every day to pick up slop. But yesterday, just because he accidentally spilled some on Young Master Long’s shoes, and because Young Master Long knew my godfather was from Sandmouth Mountain, he started to stir up trouble, saying bad things about Young Master Lin. My godfather kept defending you, and so Young Master Long’s bodyguards beat him to death. Before he died, my godfather coughed up bl00d and told me to come to you, Young Master Lin, and find a way to make a living, sob, sob…”
Luan Qingfeng had found Lin Fengnian’s weakness—his sense of justice and care for his community—and started to spin a story.
With over ten thousand villagers at Sandmouth Mountain, not to mention the coming and going, how could Lin Fengnian possibly remember who everyone was?
He only knew that someone had defended his honor before he died. This, combined with the existing rivalry between the Long and Lin families, naturally directed his anger at Long Yan.
Then, Qin Shaojie and the others took advantage of the night to sneak into Young Master Long’s home. They ambushed two of his guards, changed into their clothes, and went to Sandmouth Mountain to cause trouble for the villagers. They yelled loudly, “Our Young Master Long wants this land! If you don’t move in two days, he’ll burn the whole place down! What if you’re under the Lin family’s protection? You’ll still be trampled by our Young Master Long! Be smart and get out, give up this land, and you might even get a reward from our Young Master Long!”
Zhao Fangshuo and Sun Youwei were also busy. Their main job was to deliver information. They secretly watched the villagers of Sandmouth Mountain to see if they were actually going to the Long family for a reward and took pictures of them in front of the Long family’s mansion.
Luan Qingfeng looked at the photos in his hand and patted Zhao Fangshuo’s shoulder, praising him. “Good job! Let’s go get a drink tonight!”
Then Qin Shaojie and Luan Qingfeng took the photos to the Lin family’s home. They happened to find the villagers complaining at the Lin family’s gate. “Young Master Lin, what should we do? You have to help us!”
To fuel the fire, they added more.
Luan Qingfeng exaggerated, “Young Master Lin, look at these photos. A few days ago, I heard people say that the Long family would reward anyone who moved from Sandmouth Mountain. I secretly followed them and took these pictures. Although this wasn’t a good thing to do, I’m not afraid to die to let you know the truth!”
Luan Qingfeng pretended to be angry. “Young Master Lin, these people… Sigh, they’re so ungrateful! But it seems the Long family has had their eye on this land for a long time!”
Lin Fengnian looked at the photos, clenched his fists, and roared, “This Long Yan is going too far! If I don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll think the Lin family is easy to bully!”
Meanwhile, Long Yan woke up to find two of his bodyguards, stripped down to their shorts, hanging from a large tree in front of his gate. “THE LONG FAMILY IS SHAMELESS” was written in big red letters on their backs. He was instantly furious. “It must be him! Good for you, Lin Fengnian! How dare you challenge me! Guards! Get them! We’re going to the Lin family’s!”
His sister, Long Ting, quickly stopped him. “What are you doing, Little Yan? If you go to him without any evidence, will he admit to it?”
Long Yan, enraged, stomped his foot and yelled, “Then what should I do?! That brat is bullying us now!”
Long Ting crossed her arms and looked at her brother calmly. “This matter is not that simple! Although the Lin family has been fighting with our family for so many years, they are still a reputable clan. Doing something so despicable doesn’t seem like their style. Don’t be so rash and fall for a deliberate scheme of slander and slander!”
Long Yan looked thoughtful and asked his sister, “Are you saying someone is deliberately causing trouble? But who could it be? Who would dare to cross the Long family? Do they have a death wish?!”
Long Ting pondered for a moment, sitting under the shade of the tree and drinking tea. “What was Secretary He’s attitude toward our proposal?”
He Zhenwei was a low-level official in Yancheng, and Long Ting was his university classmate. It was rumored they had a deep connection.
The reason the Long family dared to fight the Lin family over Sandmouth Mountain was because they had secretly gotten his approval.
Long Yan ran over to his sister. “Don’t worry, Sis. Secretary He said he’ll consider it carefully. I think this project is a done deal!”
Long Ting rubbed her forehead and sighed. “It’s too early to be happy. Let’s wait until the approval comes down. If He Zhenwei is hesitant to sign the documents, there must be something fishy going on! What’s the date today?”
The bodyguard standing next to Long Ting bowed his head and said softly in her ear, “Miss, it’s the 15th.”
She shivered and made a soft hmm sound. The sound was captivating. Her sensitive ears were slightly red.
She then replied to Long Yan, “Little Yan, I have to go to the city. Don’t cause any trouble at home, do you hear me?”
Her voice was gentle yet authoritative. Long Yan immediately said obediently, “Don’t worry, Sis. I won’t cause any trouble!”
Long Ting’s captivating foxy eyes darted to him, and she asked coldly, “Oh? Is that so, Little Yan?”
Long Yan’s scalp immediately tightened, and his forehead was covered in fine sweat. His eyes darted around nervously, and he replied with a slight tremor in his voice, “Yes, Sis!”
Long Ting gave a cold laugh, leaned closer, and stared at him. “Let’s hope so. If something does happen, you better not hide it from me! Do you hear me?!”
Long Yan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and replied cautiously, “Yes, okay, Sis, don’t worry!”
Long Ting then turned and left, leaving Long Yan to let out a long sigh. He turned to his men. “Ah Jun, still no sign of those guys?”
Ah Jun nodded. “The brothers are still searching. As soon as we have news, I’ll tell you, Young Master. Don’t worry.”
Long Yan looked at the two poor, defenseless bodyguards. “I don’t pay you to be useless! You’re just a waste of fat! You’re no help when it matters! Guards! Get rid of these two idiots, now! I don’t want to see them again!”
Long Yan glared viciously at the two pitiful bodyguards. As he turned his back, two of his men slit the throats of the two.
Long Yan glanced at the groaning bodies and said to Ah Jun, “Hurry and have someone clean up the floor. Grandma is always praying and eating a vegetarian diet. She’ll get upset if she sees this!”
Ah Jun nodded and replied, “Young Master, don’t worry. I’ll have the men clean it up right away! The Old Madam will never see this!”
Little did they know, the Old Madam’s personal maid had already witnessed the whole thing and, upon the Old Madam’s request, told her everything she had seen.
The old woman, who looked so kind-hearted with her prayer beads in her hand, mumbled, “Amitabha, what a sin! I am willing to bear this karma for my unfilial descendants…”