BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 171 Silencing

“I’m really sorry, brother, but I just happen to like this, I can’t part with it.” The man didn’t even turn his head. He kept eating noodles, dipping them in garlic, and continued speaking: “If it’s something like gold bars, worldly possessions, I could give you fifty taels or so. But this pickled sugar garlic? No chance…”

Hearing his voice, Che Qianzi suddenly turned around and said, “Your voice sounds familiar… turn around and let me take a look. Forget it, even if I see you, it’s useless. I didn’t see his face last night…”

As he spoke, the little Taoist suddenly grabbed an empty beer bottle beside him and smashed it toward the back of the man’s head. At the same time, Sun Desheng also jumped up, using his bulky body as a weapon, crashing toward the noodle-eating man.

At that moment, the man suddenly turned around. With a light flick of his chopsticks, he deflected the beer bottle, sending it crashing squarely into Sun Desheng’s head. The fat man didn’t even get a chance to groan before collapsing unconscious onto the ground.

Che Qianzi thought Sun Desheng had been killed by him, and the alcohol immediately sobered him up. But the wild, reckless temper in him flared up again, and he lunged once more at the noodle-eating man.

The man still held a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. Seeing Che Qianzi rush in, he gently tapped forward with the chopsticks toward his forehead. The little Taoist had already closed in too quickly to defend himself—the chopstick tip was about to strike his skull. Something as small as chopsticks could pierce his head clean through…

Just as Che Qianzi was about to die, a shadow suddenly appeared behind the noodle-eating man…

At the same time the shadow appeared, the man lost interest in Che Qianzi. He abruptly turned around, and the chopsticks in his hand transformed into two thin poisonous snakes, striking toward the figure.

The shadow exhaled lightly. The two snakes instantly exploded and reverted into a pair of broken chopsticks that fell to the ground. The shadow then stepped back slightly and said, “Do you really want to keep fighting me? Wu Rendi followed Shao Yiyi back. Guess where he’s going to send Tu An?”

Only then did the noodle-eating man see the shadow’s face clearly—it was none other than the recently missing Kong Dalong.

The old man still wore the same smile as when he had left, looking at him calmly as he continued, “He was right. When you lose your judgment, you’re nothing more than a simple executioner.”

“I’ve lost my judgment?” the man sneered. “We arranged to meet Wu Rendi privately. What can’t be said openly that must be done in secret? If it’s not to deal with me, then what is it? You even sold out your client for peace, handed over fifty gold bars. And now that the gold is taken, you still want to get rid of me…”

He had originally been a cautious and meticulous man, but anything involving Wu Rendi clouded his judgment. Combined with past conflicts with these people, and despite expressing goodwill in his own way, he still feared Sun Desheng might use Wu Rendi to eliminate him. Learning that Wu Rendi had met Sun Desheng and the others privately, he had already assumed the worst.

Kong Dalong smiled and shook his head, then pulled out an ashtray from behind him. Inside were the ashes of burned paper. He blew gently, and the ashes reignited. In the firelight, the words “Gao Dalang” could be seen on the ashes…

“See that? That’s not your name,” Kong Dalong said. He blew again, scattering the ashes everywhere, then continued, “Feeling a bit more rational now? Realizing you were wrong? How much gold do you still have at home? Bring it all out—I’ll help you smooth things over…”

“It’s not coming for me…” the noodle-eater fell silent for a moment, then said, “If things have already reached this point, why shouldn’t I just kill you all to silence you?”

“Because I’m here,” the old man said, his smile fading. After a pause, he added, “Your techniques are above mine—so what, are you planning to silence me as well?”

Before Kong Dalong could finish speaking, two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance of the noodle shop—one with white hair, one with red. It was none other than the Great Masters Guang Ren and Huo Shan.

Seeing them, the man’s face turned ashen, and he no longer even dared to speak.

“I heard someone talking about killing to silence others…” Guang Ren stood at the entrance, expressionless, glancing at the noodle-eating man. Then he turned to Kong Dalong and said, “Is this the reason you called us here? To kill him and silence him?”

“I’m not on your execution list. You can’t do anything to me,” the man said, letting out a long breath. “Besides, I’m not a Fangshi, and I have no personal grudge against you…”

Before he could finish, Huo Shan suddenly frowned. “Wait! The doctor who was blown up in that hospital—wasn’t that you? That incident dragged me into trouble. Now I’ve got a personal grudge.”

As he spoke, Huo Shan looked at Guang Ren. Seeing that his master showed no intention of stopping him, he stepped into the noodle shop and walked toward the man.

“What else do you have? Make your last struggle.”

The man knew there was no way to escape. He stepped back, trying to find a way out of the situation—when suddenly, the shop owner behind the counter stood up.

“Great Master, please show mercy,” the owner said to Huo Shan. “This man is working for me. For my sake, let it go.”

But the voice coming from the owner’s mouth was not his own.

Guang Ren recognized it immediately. “Zuo Pan, you still haven’t given up? Listen to me—let it go.”

“You misunderstand, Great Master. It’s not that matter,” the owner replied expressionlessly, glancing at Huo Shan. “This man is working for Yanjun. He was originally supposed to report back by now. Since he didn’t, I came up to check—and didn’t expect to be held up by both Great Masters.”

Guang Ren understood now: the one occupying the shop owner’s body was Zuo Pan.

After a moment of silence, he turned to Kong Dalong and said:

“Let it go.”