BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 7 Three Months Apart

As the newly arrived white-haired man spoke, he glanced at Che Qianzi, the only person in the office who was still sitting down.

The moment their eyes met, the white-haired man’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

Then he jerked his chin toward the young Taoist and said to Sun Desheng:

“So, you were reckless when you were younger too? Looks like the consequences of your youthful mistakes have come knocking on your door.”

This man called Director Wu was most likely the Wu Rendi that Sun Fatty had mentioned.

He looked thin and frail, the type who probably couldn’t withstand more than two swings of a shovel.

Hearing the implication that he was Sun Fatty’s illegitimate son, Che Qianzi became annoyed.

Back in his hometown in Northeast China, people treated him like a living deity. Even those who had come to collect debts had never dared speak to him this way.

Never one to lose a battle of words, Che Qianzi rolled his eyes in imitation of Director Wu and replied in an equally sharp tone:

“You’ve got it backward. I’m here looking for my son.”

“That unlucky kid took his mother’s surname, Wu. I was a little drunk when I named him.”

“Didn’t know any better and ended up calling him Wu Rendi.”

The moment those insulting words left his mouth, the office fell completely silent.

A mixture of shock and fear appeared on the faces of Sun Desheng, the white-haired man called Lazi, and Secretary Yang.

The three of them hardly dared breathe, as if they were waiting for a devastating storm to arrive.

Yet Director Wu’s reaction was even stranger.

He didn’t immediately lose his temper or attack.

Instead, he simply stared at the young Taoist with an odd expression.

Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, Secretary Yang quietly slipped out of the office along the wall.

Only Sun Desheng and Lazi remained.

Seeing that Director Wu still hadn’t moved, Sun Fatty scratched his head and leaned toward Lazi.

In a voice barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz, he whispered:

“How about you talk him down?”

Lazi’s lips moved.

In the end, however, he didn’t dare say a word.

Scratching his own head, he whispered back:

“Great Sage, do you really think I’m immortal?”

Hearing that even Lazi didn’t dare intervene, Sun Fatty sighed.

Then he forced a smile and said to Director Wu:

“Well… this used to be my office after all.”

“I’m just saying, don’t hit him too hard.”

“If blood ends up splattered everywhere, it’ll be a pain to clean up.”

Watching the two men act so timidly, Che Qianzi sneered.

He completely ignored all three of them.

Since childhood, whether facing humans or something else entirely, he had never lost a fight.

Someone like Wu Rendi?

Even three or five of him tied together might not be enough.

The only problem was that this was their territory.

If things got too noisy and everyone else in the building rushed in, escaping unscathed might become difficult.

As for that personal assistant job paying one hundred thousand yuan a month…

That dream was probably over.

At this point, Che Qianzi had already devised a battle plan.

If the pretty-boy surnamed Wu dared make a move, he’d grab the desk lamp first.

Knock the pretty boy unconscious.

Then take care of the white-haired man called Lazi before he could react.

As for Sun Fatty…

That would be easy.

What surprised him was that Director Wu showed no intention of attacking.

After carefully studying Che Qianzi’s face for a while, he finally asked:

“You came here looking for me?”

Che Qianzi misunderstood.

He assumed the pretty boy was scared and trying to find a graceful way out.

Being naturally competitive, he immediately pressed the advantage.

Tilting his head, he said:

“That’s right. I came to see my so—”

Before he could finish the sentence, darkness engulfed him.

He knew nothing more.

In the final instant before losing consciousness, he vaguely heard Director Wu say to Sun Desheng and Lazi:

“Did you bring him here just to annoy me?”

“Did Xu Fu send him?”

When Che Qianzi opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in an ICU ward.

His body was covered in tubes.

Although he had regained consciousness, he was wrapped from head to toe in bandages.

Pain wracked every inch of him.

Even moving a finger caused cold sweat to pour down his body.

He tried opening his mouth, but no words came out.

His mind was blank.

After struggling to remember for quite some time, he finally recalled who he was and how his loose tongue had landed him here.

At the time, the two white-haired men and Sun Fatty had all been standing in front of him.

He hadn’t seen any of them make a move.

So how had he ended up this badly injured?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

After noticing he had awakened, a nurse called his attending physician.

A lengthy examination followed.

By the time the doctors and nurses finally left, two or three hours had passed.

Moments later, the ward door opened again.

The greasy-looking Sun Desheng walked in.

Seeing that Che Qianzi was awake, Sun Fatty grinned.

Pulling up a chair, he sat beside the bed.

Noticing the agitation in the Taoist’s eyes, he smiled.

“I know you can’t talk yet.”

“So I’ll talk, and you listen.”

“I asked the doctor.”

“He says you’ll need another two months before you can get out of bed.”

“I’m telling you, little brother—there’s one person in the entire Bureau you can never mess with.”

“Director Wu.”

As he spoke, Sun Fatty glanced toward the doorway.

Seeing no doctors or nurses nearby, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

After taking a drag, he continued:

“You actually got off easy.”

“You mocked Director Wu like that and still lived.”

“I’m related to him by marriage, and if I’d said what you did—even indirectly—I’d have been erased into nothingness.”

“You know what nothingness means, right?”

“Then again, you’re a Taoist. You probably understand what ‘nothingness’ is.”

As he spoke, he shoved the half-smoked cigarette into Che Qianzi’s mouth.

Then he continued:

“I’ve suffered through this myself before.”

“A puff will make you feel a little better.”

“Lazi originally thought you’d stay unconscious for a year.”

“Fortunately, Director Wu showed mercy.”

“You were only out for three months.”

Three months?!

Che Qianzi nearly jumped out of his skin.

He had assumed he’d only been unconscious for a day or two.

He never imagined that an entire season had passed while his eyes were closed.

Sun Fatty noticed the shock on his face.

Patting him on the shoulder, he laughed.

“Remember this lesson.”

“Never joke about family relationships with Director Wu again.”

“You got lucky this time.”

“If it happens again, you’ll really end up drinking soup on the Bridge of Helplessness.”

Then he suddenly changed the subject.

“Oh, right.”

“According to procedure, I investigated your background during these three months.”

“So you came looking for Boss Gao because you needed help.”

“You should’ve said so earlier.”

“Boss Gao may be gone, but his business is my business.”

“Wasn’t it just a debt of five million six hundred and ten thousand yuan?”

“I paid it off for you.”

“These are the receipts from your creditors.”

As he spoke, Sun Desheng pulled a thick stack of receipts from his pocket.

Only after making sure Che Qianzi had seen that every debt was settled did he continue smiling.

“Now the debt belongs to me.”

“We’re brothers, but business is business.”

“According to the rules, I’ll only charge twenty percent annual interest.”

“Come on.”

“Let’s put your thumbprint here.”

“You can pay me back slowly.”

“I’m not in a hurry.”

With that, he produced a prepared IOU and an ink pad.

Without asking for permission, he smeared ink over all ten of Che Qianzi’s fingers and pressed them onto the document.

That wasn’t enough.

Right in front of Che Qianzi, he signed Che Qianzi’s name on the IOU.

The handwriting was identical to his own.

Even a professional handwriting expert wouldn’t have found anything suspicious.

“Since you’re not in any condition to do it yourself, I helped you out.”

“No need to thank me.”

“If brothers start saying thank you, we’re getting too formal.”

Sun Fatty carefully tucked away the IOU.

Then he looked at Che Qianzi, whose eyes were practically spitting fire.

Smiling broadly, he continued:

“Now that the personal business is settled, let’s talk about official business.”

“Little brother, your background needs some explaining.”

“I used every method I could think of and still couldn’t figure out who your parents are.”

“Just don’t tell me they’re that fake Taoist Kong Dalong.”

At that moment, Sun Fatty noticed Che Qianzi’s lips moving.

Apparently, he was trying to say something.

So Sun leaned close to hear.

After listening for a moment, he burst out laughing.

“I literally just told you, and you’ve already forgotten.”

“Don’t make family-relationship jokes…”