BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 15 A Near Success Ruined at the Last Moment

“Then it depends on what you want. Name your price yourself…” Fatty Sun pulled out a pack of cigarettes, handed one to Che Qianzi, and lit one for himself. After taking a drag, he continued, “Not to brag, but since you know I’m Sun Desheng, you should also know there aren’t many things in this world that Sun Desheng can’t get…”

The old man knew very well how influential Sun Desheng was. Although he was no longer the Director of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations, he was still the true boss behind it. More importantly, the person backing this fat man was someone even the King of Hell would not dare offend.

Besides, the longer that treasure remained in his possession, the greater the danger. After Sun Desheng’s commotion tonight, if he didn’t get rid of it soon, it might bring a catastrophe down upon him.

After hesitating for a long time, the old man finally said, “Fine. Then I won’t be polite. Three drops of Stone Dragon Blood, Judge Zhong’s Life-and-Death Memorial from the Underworld, and ten thousand taels of gold. Director Sun, that’s already a very reasonable price.”

Fatty Sun nodded.

“Whether it’s reasonable or not, I honestly don’t know. But I don’t have a single one of those treasures. Don’t get angry yet—hear me out. I’ve never even heard of Stone Dragon Blood or that Life-and-Death Memorial. As for ten thousand taels of gold, do you know how much gold costs per gram these days? Ten thousand taels is five hundred thousand grams—over two hundred million yuan! Hell, I only make eight thousand a month…”

Hearing Sun Desheng begin his shameless bargaining, the old man trembled with anger. After barely suppressing the urge to kill the fat man, he forced himself to speak calmly.

“Director Sun certainly knows how to calculate. You don’t have this, you don’t have that. If you can’t even come up with ordinary gold from the mortal world, then why ask me to name a price? Fine! I’ll return the Guangyuan Nether Mirror and cancel the deal!”

Then he shouted:

“Camel! See our guests out!”

Hearing the summons, the hunchback guarding the entrance stepped inside.

“Gentlemen, it’s late. Please leave.”

“What’s the rush? Unlike you people, I’ve got plenty of time.” Fatty Sun ignored him and smiled at the old man.

“Come on, is this how you do business? You let me haggle, but you get to ask for the moon. We really don’t have Stone Dragon Blood or the Life-and-Death Memorial. If I sold the Bureau’s headquarters, maybe I could scrape together a thousand or two taels of gold. Think of something else—something even more valuable. Don’t be shy. As long as the Bureau has it, I won’t bargain.”

The old man had to admit that Sun Desheng had a point. Perhaps the Bureau really didn’t possess those treasures.

After a moment’s thought, he said:

“One hundred Phoenix Feathers and a Black Tortoise Shell.”

“Nope. Next.”

“…The Inner Memorial from the Map of Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains, plus the Dharma Ridge Sutra copied by the Buddha himself.”

“Never even heard of them. Next.”

“Cangshan Stone Gall.”

“What’s that? Something like a cow bezoar? How about another one?”

The old man finally snapped.

His face turned crimson with rage. Grabbing a nearby bucket, he hurled it at Sun Desheng.

“Swap your grandmother’s ass! Get out! If you dare breathe in front of me again, I’ll scatter your soul and—”

Before he could finish cursing, the bucket flew back along the exact path it had taken.

The old man never imagined Sun Desheng would fight back. Completely unprepared, he took the bucket squarely in the face.

Blood immediately poured from his nose.

The old man was a major figure in the Underworld. He couldn’t reveal his true identity, so he had borrowed the body of a living person to come here. His powers were greatly reduced, but even so, things shouldn’t have turned out like this.

Wiping away the blood, he finally realized that it wasn’t Sun Desheng who had thrown the bucket back.

It was the young man beside him.

“You little bastard! You dare strike me?”

Enraged, the old man prepared to form a spell seal and annihilate the youth body and soul alike.

But before he could react, the young man was already standing in front of him.

Che Qianzi grabbed one of the old man’s fingers and slapped him across the face.

“Old bastard! You dare hit back? Who taught you that bad habit?”

The old man had never suffered such humiliation in his life.

The slap split his lip, drawing blood. Worse still, his finger was locked in the young man’s grip. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t free himself.

Ironically, the slap cleared his head.

This wasn’t an ordinary person.

Perhaps this was the powerful backer behind Fatty Sun, disguised as a young man.

Still, having been beaten, he had to say something threatening.

Staring at Che Qianzi, he growled:

“If you’ve got guts, tell me your name! Do you dare say who you are?”

“I’m your father!”

As he spoke, Che Qianzi smashed a fist into the old man’s nose.

Before the old man could recover, Che Qianzi drove a knee into his crotch.

The sound that came out of him no longer resembled anything human. One hand clutched his groin while his entire body shook uncontrollably.

Even then, Che Qianzi wasn’t finished.

Grabbing him by the crotch, he lifted the old man upside down and slammed him headfirst into the ground.

Bang!

The old man foamed at the mouth and collapsed, twitching uncontrollably.

The entire fight had happened in the blink of an eye.

By the time Sun Desheng and the hunchback recovered from their shock and tried to intervene, it was already over.

Che Qianzi had achieved a complete victory over the sixty- or seventy-year-old man.

“Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused? Just wait…”

The hunchback knelt beside the old man, nearly crying as he rubbed his chest and back.

“Wake up… Elder, wake up…”

At that moment, another rooster crow sounded from outside the shed.

Dawn’s first light began to appear.

The old man inside suddenly seemed like a completely different person.

He burst into tears.

“It hurts! It hurts so much! Where am I? It hurts! Somebody help me! Take me to a hospital!”

Even his tone and manner of speaking had become those of another person entirely.

Seeing this, the hunchback hurriedly carried him outside, apparently rushing him to a hospital.

Sun Desheng no longer cared about the old man.

He grabbed Che Qianzi and said:

“Brother, I know you were standing up for me. But he didn’t even hit me! If you’d endured just a little longer, we would’ve had him. Before the rooster crowed, they were definitely panicking. At that point, I could’ve made him hand over the Guangyuan Nether Mirror and pay us extra for taking it!”

“I just can’t stand old geezers like that. Whether you were here or not, I was going to beat him up.”

Che Qianzi spat toward where the old man had been sitting.

Then he pointed at the scar on his face.

“See this? When I was five, an old bastard like him did that to me. His grandson bullied me, and I fought back. Then the old man hit me with a stool. If it had gone any deeper, I would’ve lost this eye. Ever since then, whenever I see an old bastard like that, I beat him.”

“That old fool had some nerve! Brother, this isn’t over. When we get back, I’ll help you settle the score.”

Only then did Sun Desheng understand why Che Qianzi had exploded so suddenly.

Although it was a pity they had failed to obtain the Guangyuan Nether Mirror, the young Taoist before him was far more valuable.

This was Gao Liang’s legacy.

“My master already got revenge for me. That very night, he burned down the old man’s house.”

After saying that, Che Qianzi felt somewhat guilty for ruining Sun Desheng’s plan.

He coughed awkwardly and added:

“My fault for messing up your business. Let’s come back tonight.”

“Too late…”

A familiar voice sounded from outside the shed.

Moments later, the white-haired Yang Xiao walked in.

Seeing the chaos scattered across the ground, Old Yang forced a bitter smile and said to Sun Desheng:

“If I’d known things would turn out like this, I should’ve let Ouyang Pianzuo handle it instead. Great Sage, you owe me an explanation.”

“Wait a second!”

Che Qianzi suddenly remembered something.

“You’re the one who beat me up in the hospital. The one who made me wish I were dead—that was you, wasn’t it?”

The moment the young Taoist recognized him, Yang Xiao didn’t waste a single word.

He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

The blood transformed into a crimson mist before him.

Then Yang Xiao plunged into the blood mist.

Right before Che Qianzi’s eyes, he vanished without a trace.