Xu Yi didn't understand Duan Hu's good intentions.
When he heard Duan Hu say, "It won't be cheap," he assumed it would cost a lot, so he set the silver dollar he had left on the counter.
Duan Hu smiled.
"That's not a small amount, but it's nowhere near enough."
Xu Yi placed the half-stick of Fox Incense he had left on the counter.
Duan Hu froze.
He glanced suspiciously at Xu Yi.
Then he reached out with his right hand, pinched the incense between two fingers, and held it to his nose to sniff—
His expression suddenly changed! He swiftly covered the incense with a book, then looked toward the shop entrance.
Only after confirming that nobody was coming in did Duan Hu relax. The way he looked at Xu Yi had changed.
"Little junior brother, little junior brother... Your big brother underestimated you!"
In Duan Hu's eyes, the fact that Xu Yi could calmly take out half a stick of incense was proof enough of his abilities!
Duan Hu recognized the Fox Incense as Spirit Remains, but he neither asked where it came from nor how Xu Yi had obtained it. He only said:
"If you've got any more of this stuff, little junior brother, bring it here. I'll make sure you get a good price!"
Xu Yi said:
"Of course.
"Since second brother says so, I take it this stick is enough for the job."
Duan Hu didn't beat around the bush.
"Of course. We're family, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. This stuff doesn't have a set price, but it's very valuable. It's not just enough for this job—it's more than enough!"
Xu Yi clasped his hands, his words sincere.
"Second brother, you've treated me with such honor and righteousness. You're my own brother! What's one stick of incense compared with our brotherly bond? Take as much as you need!"
Duan Hu was clearly delighted by those words. He valued brotherhood and honor above all else, and at Xu Yi's words, a smile spread across his stern face.
That smile erased the sternness and slight suspicion Duan Hu had shown moments earlier.
"Good brother, I'll take care of this for you!"
"Go get yourself ready. I'll find a few reliable helpers too. Come back to see me at sunset."
Xu Yi said goodbye to Duan Hu and left.
Xu Yi went to a small teahouse and study in the back section of 38th Shop District's main street, probably behind house number 123. He paid two copper coins for a pot of tea, found a book of strange tales, and spent the afternoon reading.
Ever since Xu Yi had arrived in this world, he had spent all his free time at this teahouse and study.
In the blink of an eye, the sun was sinking toward the horizon. Xu Yi glanced at the darkening sky, said goodbye to the teahouse owner, and returned to Duan Hu's Peacekeeping Hall.
It wasn't even six in the evening, but the Peacekeeping Hall was already closed.
Unlike other businesses, the Peacekeeping Hall only closed when it had work to do.
Xu Yi knocked three times, then once. The door opened a crack, and he slipped inside. In the cramped Peacekeeping Hall, he saw two people besides Duan Hu.
The two men were plainly dressed and utterly unremarkable in appearance. Seeing Xu Yi's outfit, they recognized him as a Green Gang enforcer and immediately showed him respect. They clasped their hands and exchanged a few underworld code phrases with him, which Xu Yi answered in kind.
In the public imagination, Green Gang enforcers were reckless hotheads who feared nothing. They were the most ruthless people in the underworld, with the least regard for morality and the greatest loyalty to their bosses.
They fought like their lives didn't matter. And when they did bad things, they felt no guilt because they had no morals to begin with. That was how they became gang enforcers and put on those "black dog skins" that made them unrecognizable to their own parents.
The underworld's code was incredibly complicated. It was a secret language gang members used to identify friend from foe. Xu Yi had learned some of it from Mr. Ye Hai, but he still hadn't gotten the hang of it.
From their coded words, Xu Yi gathered that the two men belonged to another Green Gang hall. They were close to Duan Hu and had worked with him before; they had been through life and death together.
38th Shop District covered a vast area. Because it ran along the banks of Green Shore River, it stretched a long way inland. Even the Green Gang had more than just Golden Orchid Nunnery in the district.
There was plenty of room for all kinds of other gangs, big and small.
Duan Hu had already scouted the place and made a plan during the day. After explaining the situation at Lingtong Hall, the four of them took advantage of the night and made their way along the street to the Big Factory District behind house number 56 in 38th Shop District.
They walked a hundred meters along the second road into the Big Factory District, where they spotted a low factory building made of blue bricks.
The factory had two floors and a traditional Chinese sloped roof, covered in black machine-made tiles. The walls had been painted with yellow limewash.
Puxi was rainy, and the factory had stood through years of wind and rain. The paint on its walls had faded badly and was almost white.
"It looks sturdier and larger than an ordinary home, but it's nowhere near as impressive as the big factories on the Bund."
Plantain and goosegrass grew thick beneath the walls, while dark green moss covered the corners. Beyond the walls, mosquitoes buzzed above low, waterlogged ground, and frogs croaked without pause.
The air was thick with the smell of machine oil and some unknown industrial discharge. Only the hardiest weeds could thrive in such conditions.
As they had agreed, Xu Yi would find a way into the second-floor office and steal the factory's lease, business contracts, and company seal.
Duan Hu and the other two helpers would enter through the factory's front door and make a scene, buying Xu Yi time.
Xu Yi approached the back of the factory under cover of darkness and, just as Duan Hu had said, found the back entrance—
Behind the factory's blue-brick walls stood a badly rusted folding staircase. One end was anchored in the concrete, while the other led straight up to the second floor.
Xu Yi moved quietly, climbing the stairs under the cover of the nearly pitch-black night. He crept onto the platform outside the second floor.
He listened. In less than three minutes, shouts and curses were already coming from inside the factory.
Duan Hu and the two helpers had started.
Xu Yi edged up to the security bars outside the second-floor platform and carefully peered through the window.
Inside the glass window was an office with three desks and not many documents on them.
A metal bookcase along one wall was packed with complete sets of books. Their covers were still unopened, and they sat neatly arranged on the shelves. They were obviously there for show; nobody had ever read them.
Xu Yi moved toward the other side of the window, and a figure came into view.
It was a woman. She sat beside the desk at the far end, but he couldn't make out her face. He could only see that she wore a fitted qipao embroidered with golden threads and red flowers. She was leaning back in a brown leather executive chair, her legs propped up on the desk. Beside her bare feet sat a locally made Yamei 1651 radio.
Xu Yi could faintly hear a melody. The woman must have been listening to music.
She was only a woman. He could charge in, subdue her with his fists and feet, then search for the company seal and the business contracts.
He took a step forward, trying to see into the corners and make sure the woman was alone.
The moment his foot came down, the metal platform let out a piercing creak.
The woman immediately lifted her head and looked out the window.
Xu Yi darted out of sight, hiding behind the wall before she could see him.
The woman rubbed her eyes. Seeing nothing outside, she assumed a cat had wandered onto the metal walkway on the second floor.
She lay back down, closed her eyes, and went back to enjoying the music on the radio.
The woman hadn't seen Xu Yi, but Xu Yi had seen her.
Once he saw her face, he leaned against the wall, his mind suddenly going blank.
The woman was none other than Ji Xiao, whom he had already refined into Fox Incense!
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