Chapter 165: Boss Tang

Old man Ma stepped forward and shoved the door open. A heavy, pungent wave of alcohol surged out; the room itself was the source of this potent stench.

"You really haven't changed a bit, kid. Getting this drunk right after nightfall—aren't you afraid you'll drink yourself to death one of these days!" Old man Ma strode into the room.

I quickly followed behind him.

The room remained as dim and gloomy as ever. A plump old man was slumped over the edge of a table, upon which sat several empty white liquor bottles. This fat old man was remarkably round, looking thoroughly out of place in such a dilapidated room. Heaven only knows what he ate to grow so enormous.

The chubby old man cursed and swore, "You old dog! You've ruined me, damn you! Get out, get out, get out! Get the hell away from me!"

Old man Ma walked up to the table and said unceremoniously, "It seems your guts have grown just as fat as your body! How dare you speak to your grandfather like this!"

"He's drunk and his temper is fierce; please excuse him," chimed in the parrot from inside its cage.

A thin, lanky young man stepped forward, gathered up the empty liquor bottles, and gestured to us, indicating that we should talk at our leisure before carrying the empties out the door.

Old man Ma pulled up a stool, snatched the half-bottle of liquor right out of Boss Tang's hands, tilted his head back, and took a swig.

"What do you think you're doing! Why are you snatching my booze? If you want to drink, go buy your own! You're such a big shot, making all that money—can't you even afford a little wine of your own?" The fat old man made a motion to grab it back.

His body swayed unsteadily, all that excess flesh wobbling along with him. It was painfully obvious that he was completely plastered.

"All right, look at the state you're in. It's just a mouthful of liquor, isn't it? With that potbelly of yours, you certainly live quite comfortably. Was that young man just now one of your juniors?" Old man Ma asked, clutching the bottle.

Boss Tang gave up on trying to snatch it back, slumped back onto his stool, let out a loud hiccup, and breathed heavily. "Junior, my foot. Young people nowadays don't want anything to do with this trade. Ah-Zhou is just working part-time for me, helping out around the shop and managing the stock."

"With a dump like this, you actually managed to find someone willing to work here?" Old man Ma questioned skeptically.

Boss Tang let out another hiccup. "It's precisely because he's mute, lacks higher education, and couldn't find a job anywhere else that he ended up working for me."

So that kid was mute. No wonder I hadn't heard him utter a single word from start to finish.

"What a shame. He's good material, far better than this good-for-nothing kid!" Old man Ma shot a look of utter disdain in my direction.

This old geezer—if he wanted to lament, fine, but why did he have to take a jab at me? Just how much contempt could he possibly hold for me?

Boss Tang followed his gaze and looked me over.

Old man Ma said, "I might as well introduce you two. This good-for-nothing is my newly taken disciple, Wang Luo. Luo, come and pay your respects to Boss Tang."

A wave of intense irritation washed over me. Exactly how many times did he have to say "good-for-nothing" to fully convey his disgust? Was I really that pathetic in his eyes?

"Hello, Boss Tang," I mumbled.

Up close, Boss Tang looked even more astonishingly fat; the wrinkles on his face were practically smoothed out by layers of flab, forming a stark contrast to Old man Ma's lean appearance.

That round, chubby face looked me up and down, and finally, he furrowed his brows and said with undisguised contempt, "Why on earth did you take on a disciple like this?"

Damn it! Was my aptitude really that poor? Putting my hand on my heart, while I might not be a supreme genius, I certainly didn't consider myself stupid. Why did everyone look down on me so much? Old man Guo, that old coot, had done the same thing before—though back then I had a limp and my appearance was admittedly atrocious, so I let it slide. But now I had all four limbs intact, completely healthy and sound. Exactly which part of me was lacking?

Boss Tang still refused to let it go. He shook his head, clicking his tongue as he evaluated me. "You old codger, it's hard enough for you to finally take on an apprentice, yet you picked a kid like this. One look at him and you can tell he doesn't have the stomach for this line of work. With his looks, even families holding funerals wouldn't want to hire him."

"Sigh, do you think I wanted this? That stubborn brat Old Chen forced him on me, even handing over the ancestral divine seal to him. What else could I possibly do?" Old man Ma said with a helpless shrug.

Listen to him talk! Who was the one who practically tricked and conned me into entering this profession in the first place? And besides, what was so wrong with me? That kid Ah-Zhou was even thinner and more frail than I was, so why was he considered good material, while I was supposedly unhirable for funerals?

I was beyond pissed. Old man Ma clicked his tongue in disgust once more, turned back to Boss Tang, and asked, "Has the matter I entrusted to you been settled?"

Hearing this, Boss Tang's fat face instantly crunched up. His brows shot up, and his expression underwent a drastic transformation. "Settled? As if it's that simple! You old bastard, you've gone and offended so many people, yet you still wander around blindly. This wave is churning up a thousand ripples—do you take me for a miracle worker?!"

"Hmph, they're nothing more than a bunch of crooked, heterodox rabble, birds of a feather. Why should I be afraid of them?" Old man Ma said dismissively.

"Enough, Old Ma. Times have changed. There aren't that many black-and-white, righteous-versus-evil matters anymore. If we can't afford to provoke them, we simply can't. You ought to behave yourself and keep a low profile, lest you drag this disciple of yours down with you."

"No matter how the times change, justice and righteousness never do—unless this damn world is coming to an end!" Old man Ma retorted.

Turns out this old man was quite the stubborn old firebrand.

Boss Tang waved a hand. "I'm not going to argue philosophy with you. In short, I can't smooth this matter over for you."

Old man Ma stared at Boss Tang, and Boss Tang didn't look away, locking eyes with him.

A moment later, Boss Tang sighed. "I'm not getting any younger. Nowadays, I'm just an ordinary shroud shop owner with no real weight or influence in the circle. The people coming after you this time are no simple characters; I genuinely cannot help you."

Hearing this, it was clear Old man Ma had indeed asked Boss Tang for help in resolving his previous troubles.

Old man Ma said, "If you truly have no way, I won't force you. These grudges were forged by my own hands, and sooner or later, they have to be settled."

He cast a complex, lingering look in my direction and added, "This disciple of mine has a fated tribulation in his life. From now on, I'll have to ask you to look after him."

What was the meaning of this? That tone sounded entirely like someone leaving behind their final dying words! What on earth was this old man planning to do? Did he actually consider me his apprentice or not? All this time he had kept me completely in the dark, and now he was randomly planning to dump me on someone else's doorstep? Did he take me for some three-year-old toddler?

Extremely displeased, I opened my mouth to speak, only to hear Boss Tang say, "It hasn't reached that point yet."

"I knew you'd have a way out. I'm not afraid of those juniors, but the timing isn't right yet." The gloom on Old man Ma's face vanished instantly, his wrinkled old visage revealing a trace of crafty cunning.

This old bastard hadn't been genuinely worried from the very beginning! He had bet from the start that Boss Tang would have a way to handle it! And here I was, actually thinking he was preparing to go off and die somewhere!

Boss Tang also wore a fleeting look of contempt before continuing, "I can't smooth this over myself, but I can ask a friend to help. He carries enough weight; with a single word from him, those people won't dare come looking for trouble with you for the time being."

"You certainly have broad connections. What kind of background does this friend of yours have?" A cunning gleam flashed in Old man Ma's eyes.