Lu Xingmin, meanwhile, leisurely picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and smiled. "Abacus Song, don't rush into the big matters. One thing at a time. You and Xiao Wu clashed in Tanlong Alley today, and your man fired a gun. He nearly took Xiao Wu's life. I'm afraid we can't just let that go."
Lu Xingmin raised his eyes and gave Abacus Song a genial look. "Let's settle this family matter first. Then we can talk about the Dragon King Society. What do you say?"
Abacus Song's heart tightened.
Lu Xingmin was putting him in his place.
He was doing it to back Qin Geng.
He also wanted to use this matter to see just how sincere Abacus Song was.
If Abacus Song couldn't get past Qin Geng, there would be no question of making amends by earning merit later.
"Yes, yes. Shopkeeper Lu is right."
Without the slightest hesitation, Abacus Song turned to Qin Geng and bowed deeply.
"Fifth Master, I failed to recognize a great mountain when it stood before me today. I was blind as a dog and offended you and Master Zhu Xin. I'll take whatever beating or punishment you see fit, without a word of complaint."
He straightened, his face piled high with a fawning smile. "The year's nearly over, Fifth Master, and this is when you need money. A martial artist burns through his reserves. You can't do without it."
"The position of Boss in South City is vacant, isn't it? Starting tomorrow, you can run that territory. I'll prepare twenty brand-new rickshaws for you as well."
"How you use the proceeds afterward—whether you keep them or use them to win people over—is entirely up to you. And once the Dragon King Society falls, you'll have a business to put down roots in Ping'an County Town."
It was no small offer.
A Boss's position, twenty new rickshaws, and complete control of the proceeds: he was handing Qin Geng a goose that laid golden eggs.
Then he took a bank draft from his coat and presented it to Qin Geng with both hands.
Qin Geng looked at it. Across its face, a line of large vermilion characters read: "Tianjin Rishenglong Exchange House."
Beneath it ran a dense row of anti-counterfeiting marks. The draft seemed to exude wealth as weighty as a mountain.
"And... Master Zhu Xin had a fright, and his health isn't good. Here are a hundred silver dollars as my apology to him, to help support him in his old age."
The room fell silent.
Zheng Tonghe and Daoist Miaoxuan exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of surprise in the other's eyes.
This was a substantial apology.
It showed just how determined Abacus Song was.
The Dragon King Society was involved in a matter that could mean the confiscation of entire households and the execution of whole families. Abacus Song was genuinely afraid.
"Heh, heh."
Third Master Cao grinned. "All right. That's sincere."
He turned to Qin Geng. "Xiao Wu, let's consider this settled. Little Song knows which way the wind blows. Let's get down to business."
With that, he had accepted the apology on Qin Geng's behalf.
Qin Geng had no objection.
"Let's hear it. Tell us what you know. The Snake Corpse, and anything else behind it—every last detail."
Third Master Cao's expression turned grave, and the authority of a government official emerged in his bearing. "I am the Earth Official Chief of the Directorate of Astronomy, after all. Ping'an County Town is under my jurisdiction. If you really haven't had much to do with anything that offends heaven and reason, we can count your cooperation as merit toward atoning for your crimes."
"Done!"
With Third Master Cao's assurance, the stone weighing on Abacus Song's heart finally dropped.
He steadied himself and began to lay out everything he knew.
"Tianjin has plenty of mountains, plenty of waterways, and plenty of tombs from the Former Dynasty. From what I know, those foreigners seem to be searching for something handed down from ancient times."
"Treasure?"
Lu Xingmin set down his teacup and frowned. "What does that have to do with raising corpses?"
"A great deal."
Abacus Song explained, "For one thing, the foreigners have a few Disease Cultivators working for them who know their trade. They want to study how people around here reach higher levels, to see if they can find a shortcut. The Snake Corpse is their test subject."
"For another, that thing is powerful and fears neither injury nor death. They can keep it around as an enforcer. It's useful whether they need to guard a place or get rid of someone in the way."
He paused, lowered his voice, and revealed the most crucial point.
"And most important of all, it's meant to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. If this blows up and the Great Xin authorities investigate, the trail will lead, at most, to the Dragon King Society colluding with Wicked Cultivators to refine evil things in the mountains."
"Who would imagine a shocking treasure hunt was hidden underneath it all? The Snake Corpse is a smokescreen, a scapegoat they can throw out to take the blame."
"Finding that treasure accounts for eighty percent of it. Everything else amounts to twenty percent at most. The foreigners are mainly after the treasure. You'd never have guessed if I hadn't told you."
Abacus Song thumped his chest.
"What treasure is worth going to so much trouble for?"
Third Master Cao pressed.
"I don't know exactly what it is."
Abacus Song shook his head. "Why would that old fox Jiang Hailong tell me? Maybe he doesn't know either. But the foreigners leading this definitely know what they're looking for."
"Hmm..."
Third Master Cao considered it for a moment, then nodded. "All right. From today on, you'll stay in the Dragon King Society. If you catch the slightest stir, keep Xiao Wu informed. Understood?"
"Understood, understood."
Abacus Song nodded like a pestle pounding grain. He looked at Qin Geng gratefully, cupped his fists again, and said, "Fifth Master, from now on, I'm placing my life in your hands."
"Fine."
Qin Geng nodded his acceptance.
Third Master Cao stood and stretched. "All right, that's enough for today. We should be going. Little Song, remember what I said. Contact Xiao Wu whenever anything comes up. You're both in the rickshaw business, so meeting should be easy enough."
"Xiao Wu's a clever lad. Don't try any tricks on him. Otherwise, I won't even need to lift a finger—he'll sort you out himself."
"Understood, understood. I wouldn't dare. Absolutely not."
Abacus Song gave a helpless, bitter smile.
He saw it clearly now. Qin Geng looked young, but in cunning and methods, he was no worse than an old hand like Abacus Song, who had spent his whole life in the underworld.
That was talent.
Some people reached a higher level and immediately became shrewd as foxes. At the first meeting of wind and clouds, they turned into dragons.
Today, Qin Geng had summoned every big shot, laid everything bare face-to-face, and left no room for evasions. He had seen through all of Abacus Song's little calculations and given him not an inch to bargain with.
Abacus Song genuinely admired that nerve and judgment.
"One more thing..."
After seeing them to the door, Abacus Song still could not help asking, "Gentlemen, when you came over today, nobody... nobody saw you, did they?"
He asked with great care, afraid Jiang Hailong's side might have noticed something.
"What a question."
Third Master Cao looked back at him with a mocking glance, as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.
"This is what we do for a living. Do you really need to ask?"
"What, have you been scared out of your wits?"
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