The Lost Tomb Vol. 8

Chapter 8: My name is Pan Zi

The previous tension suddenly turned into a kind of helplessness.

All the accounts were written in code, similar to the "Huangsha Chicken-Eye" text message that got me involved in this whole mess. Various code words emerged one right after another, and if I wasn't paying attention, I'd think they were a botched martial arts novel or a rare pedicure book. I could understand the code words since I was also a small boss under Uncle Three and had already learned the whole system.

But looking at the huge amounts of items processed on the ledger, I felt embarrassed and ashamed. I would have been kicked off the list based on my small shop's turnover rate if it wasn't for me being Uncle Three's nephew.

I could fully understand the books, but I couldn't see the problems. The accounts were obviously balanced since they dared hand in the books, but Uncle Three would have been able to see a problem from any number of small details. I obviously didn't have this ability, and could only speculate from some small things. For example, the ink on the entire ledger was very new, which showed that it must have been rushed last night. And the paper inside was very old but the cover was very new, so it must have been changed from the old book to the new one.

In fact, I had done all these things before, but I was a small boss and Uncle Three's clerk wouldn't dare do anything to me. The problems I could pinpoint today were the temporary false accounts made by these players after they had heard the news of Uncle Three's return.

Yesterday must have been a sleepless night, hehe. I didn't know why, but I kept feeling a thrill in my heart.

While looking through the books, I also found something strange.

There was a telephone book at the bottom of the pile. It was the book the fishmonger had handed in (well, was snatched by Pan Zi).

I began to think that this was an account in the form of a phone book, but when I opened it, I found that it was really just a phone book. It had all kinds of numbers, but there weren't any accounts at all.

I quickly recovered and realized that what I had just thought was wrong.

Pan Zi didn't know that the fishmonger wasn't carrying an account at all. This was a ruse Xiao Hua had created.

In other words, Pan Zi just saw that he had a book in his pocket and snatched it for Xiao Hua as quickly as possible. Xiao Hua immediately lied that this was the account book. Other people saw that the fishmonger still brought the book even though he was talking tough, which showed that he was also afraid of Uncle Three. They were probably thinking, "Shit, it's not like what he said before." The others immediately felt that staging a rebellion was unreliable, so they turned to us. By the time the fishmonger had reacted, all the books had been handed in and his plan had failed.

Even though I had used Chen Pi Ah Si to take the lead before, I still had to find the most practical way to deal with these books and collect the money. Letting bygones be bygones was not in Uncle Three's character, and to do so would make others doubt.

I didn't know if I was right, but it didn't matter now. I picked out a few books that seemed to have some problems and got ready to start the show. But the first step wasn't to throw the books, it was to express my extreme dissatisfaction.

In Director Pan Zi's original script, I was to hit him with an ashtray to express my reproach at his inability to preside over the work while Uncle Three was away. I glanced at it before suddenly closing the ledger and slamming it on the table.

The room was already very quiet and everyone's eyes were fixed on me. I picked up the ashtray on the table and threw it at Pan Zi.

According to the script, Pan Zi would immediately catch it. I would then get up, quickly slap the ledgers in the faces of the people who had problems one by one, and then Xiuxiu would take me away. After that, Xiao Hua and Pan Zi would take care of it.

Pan Zi had calculated that if the plan went well, the disproportionate money collected during Uncle Three's absence would basically be returned by half, which was still a large sum.

After this step was completed—and as long as I wasn't discovered during the whole process—the concept of "Master Three has come back" would become a reality. I wouldn't need to appear frequently in the future. I could simply go back to Hangzhou and let Pan Zi slowly stabilize the situation.

Based on the current situation, the two most important points were to not reveal myself and to complete these steps quickly and reasonably so that the others would feel satisfied and wouldn't think that something was wrong with Master Three. These people had followed Master Three for decades and were accustomed to fearing him.

But now was the time for the big show, and our success or failure depended on it.

I had practiced many times last night, so I was right on cue. I looked at Pan Zi and felt all my anger fade away as I waited for him to catch the ashtray.

But something unexpected happened. The ashtray hit Pan Zi square on the head. He didn't even reach for it.

The ashtray fell to the ground and smashed to pieces. My mind stuttered to a halt and I thought to myself, you actually deserted me, Pan Zi. At this moment, Pan Zi went slack and fell off his chair, hitting the ground hard. As the smell of blood reached my nose, I noticed that the whole chair was covered in blood.

The crowd immediately erupted into chaos. I heard a buzzing in my ears and immediately stood up, but Xiao Hua walked past me and gave me a look.

I understood what he meant: don't screw this up. I had to hold back as Xiao Hua took the lead and rushed over. At the same time, all the people below exploded and rushed over.

His wound must have re-opened when he was twisting the fishmonger's arm just now. He went back to the chair and lit up a cigarette to hide the scent of blood. He knew that he wouldn't be able to bear it.

You really don't want to fucking live, I thought to myself. I secretly clenched my fist, suddenly feeling very regretful. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to him again. He had managed to walk out of here with difficulty, and now he was back again, desperately working hard. I was too selfish.

Xiao Hua checked Pan Zi's pulse and immediately lifted him up while shouting to those outside the door. Several of his men immediately rushed over and carried Pan Zi out. Xiao Hua came back in after giving them a few instructions, his suit covered in blood.

Everyone else had been scared off by the scene, so no one stopped them. I thought the fishmonger would attack at this time, but he didn't do anything. Instead, I watched as he and the middle-aged woman looked at each other. They kept exchanging glances as if they were holding a conversation.

I asked Xiao Hua with my eyes: how is it? He came up behind me, bowed his head, and said in my ear, "The wound reopened, but don't worry. My people have taken him to the hospital. Once you hurry and finish things here, you can go see him." He patted me as he spoke, which meant: continue!

When things went wrong, people often had three choices: continue, leave immediately, or remain motionless. Xiao Hua and I had already agreed that he would use several gestures to determine which of the three situations applied.

I was thinking about my previous plan and cursed in my heart. It seemed that under similar circumstances in the past, Uncle Three would ignore Pan Zi and continue to deal with the books. If I left suddenly, it wouldn't be keeping in line with Uncle Three's character and would even make people feel that he was weak.

After thinking this, I decided to start throwing the books down immediately and then leave quickly.

I tapped my finger on the table and all the rioters suddenly turned to look at me. I got up, smiled, and took out the first book. I was just about to throw it in the man's face when I suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.