The Lost Tomb : Extras & Special Stories

(Extra Story: 2014 Chinese New Year Special) Chapter 11: Fantasy

I put the teacup down, somewhat stumped by the question.

There was a set of rules in the underworld— such as keeping your distance from each other, and what kind of topics could and couldn't be discussed— that had been tacitly agreed upon for a long time. This kind of mindless chatter wasn't allowed. Who the fuck had the luxury to talk about this? You may never meet each other again after the job was over, so why would you need to know such a thing?

Snake Ancestor had obviously started working in the underworld very early and was used to the dangers. As a result, his lousy attitude indicated that he was more alert than most people right from the start. But he didn't expect that the two Zhangs were on the same level, and that they were so unruly. It would be better to just keep his distance, but the two Zhangs' strength was unfathomable. It seemed ridiculous to sneer and play it cool.

I silently helped Snake Ancestor criticize the two Zhangs over a hundred times.

Seeing that I didn't answer, Pampered Guy continued: "I don't even have to ask to know that people like you are definitely in it for the money. Let me tell you, it's not worthwhile to be a lama for the money. How much can you get this time?"

I was stunned again as Pampered Guy continued, "Oh yeah, you can't tell me about it because of the rules of the underworld. So many of them are fucked up. If Iron Chopsticks takes ten thousand silver dollars, then maybe you can take a hundred. Why bother? There's no future in this business." After that, Pampered Guy said faintly, "I'll take three hundred, and Big Brother Zhang will take two thousand. You certainly won't get as much as us."

I quivered. It appeared Pampered Guy had guessed right. I saw him pull a roll of something that looked similar to a sausage out from his sleeve— it was a roll of silver dollars wrapped in gauze.

This kind of thing had amazing purchasing power in ethnic minority areas. Pampered Guy took out fifty or sixty pieces and threw them to Snake Ancestor: "I'll give these fifty pieces to you if you'll wait a day before informing Smoker and the others. Don't ask anymore questions about us, just follow along, and you'll make some money."

Snake ancestor looked at the silver dollars, hesitated for a long time, then silently put them away in his pocket and asked: "Why is Big Brother Zhang so expensive?"

I couldn't help holding my forehead. This Pampered Guy was really amazing considering he had completely tamed the snake charmer. It basically meant that the three of them were supporting each other now.

"In the evening, you'll know why he's so expensive." Pampered Guy said. "By the way, where are you from? I've rarely seen any snake charmers. Come and socialize, and I'll introduce you to some work in the future. Us brothers are very generous."

"I'm of the Wa people from Binlong, which is now in southern Yunnan. Foreigners burned my village, so I want to buy guns and go back and kill them." I said.

"This is an ancestral craft?" Pampered Guy pointed to the snake around my waist. "If this thing is used well, I wouldn't stand a chance. Will it bite someone's dick?"

"No. Without that bell, you're no match for me." Snake Ancestor said, "What kind of magic weapon is it? Do you know sorcery?"

"I don't know what it is, either. I'm an outsider, but my boss's verbal skills are really bad." He pointed to his tattoo: "You saw that my tattoo looks like this. Although my boss and I are surnamed Zhang, we're not related by blood. I was adopted."

"Adopted?" There was too much information, and Snake Ancestor couldn't accept it. At that time, life here on the southern frontier was very simple, so it was hard to understand complicated things.