Volume One – The Hundred Coffins Mound Chapter Twenty – The Miserable Assistant

At this moment, the clerk’s legs swung wildly in the air as he clung desperately to Li Kun’s arm, trying to pry himself free. But with his frail, skinny frame, how could he possibly overpower Li Kun? Realizing he couldn’t break free from Li Kun’s iron grip, the clerk began to shriek, yelling loudly, “You two dare to cause trouble in the Flowing Clouds Inn? Are you tired of living? Do you even know who our boss is?”

Hearing this, I smiled faintly and stepped forward, stopping before the clerk suspended in midair. Looking at him, I smiled and said, “Your boss’s name is Xu Tian, isn’t it?”

The clerk froze for a moment, then shouted, “You know who our boss is and you still dare to make trouble here? Our boss is upstairs right now, you... you…” His voice shrank as he spoke, for he remembered what the boss had told him that morning: around noon, two men would arrive, and one of them would be Liu Jie. If they showed up, he was to report it immediately.

Thinking of this, the clerk glanced nervously at Li Kun and me, then asked in a low voice, “May I ask which of you is Mr. Liu Jie?”

Li Kun loosened his grip, and the clerk dropped heavily to the floor, groaning in pain as he landed, then hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

I said, “I am Liu Jie.”

The clerk’s face turned pale with terror. He bowed deeply to me, stammering, “Mr. Liu, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was you. It’s all my fault for running my mouth. Please, be magnanimous and treat what I said as nothing more than hot air. Please don’t tell the boss, or… or…”

Before he could finish, a raspy voice echoed from the staircase on the second floor, “Zhou, what are you doing down there? Why so noisy?”

Li Kun and I looked toward the stairs, where a man dressed in a crisp white suit descended.

Seeing me, the newcomer hurried over, stopping in front of me and saying, “Brother Liu, you’re finally here! Ha ha!”

He then turned to the anxious clerk, and Xu Tian spoke in a low, stern voice, “Didn’t I tell you to notify me immediately when Mr. Liu arrived? What were you doing just now?”

Li Kun, standing at my side, said, “Your clerk has quite the temper. We hadn’t even stepped inside before he cursed us. Seems you don’t welcome us here.”

Xu Tian glanced at Li Kun—a burly, imposing man—and his brow furrowed slightly before he turned to me. “Brother Liu, who is this?”

I replied, “This is my brother, Li Kun. Old Li, this is Xu Tian I spoke of.”

Li Kun, still brooding, snorted and said nothing more.

Xu Tian, seeing our displeasure and recalling the commotion downstairs, immediately understood the situation.

Xu Tian turned to the nervous clerk behind him, raised his hand, and slapped him hard across the face. With a harsh tone, he said, “You can’t even handle a simple task. Go upstairs to Li Hui and collect your wages for this month, then get out of my sight.”

Afterward, Xu Tian smiled apologetically at Li Kun. “Brother Li, I’m terribly sorry. This clerk is new and doesn’t know the rules.”

Then he turned to me, “Brother Liu, what do you think?”

He knew I wasn’t bothered; the real issue lay with Li Kun, and Xu Tian had clearly recognized how important Li Kun was to me, hence his apology.

I patted Li Kun’s shoulder. “Enough, Old Liu.”

Li Kun nodded, then glared at the clerk, who, seeing Li Kun’s gaze, scrambled away in a panic.

Xu Tian said, “My apologies, gentlemen. Let’s head upstairs and talk.” I nodded, and followed Xu Tian up to the third floor.

Arriving, I saw not an office but a small room, simply furnished yet complete with everything necessary.

Li Kun, Xu Tian, and I settled onto the sofa. Xu Tian poured tea for us and turned to me. “Brother Liu, will you both be going into the tomb this time?”

I nodded. “Yes. Are all the preparations done?”

Xu Tian replied, “Everything is ready.”

He raised three fingers and formed the sign for ‘eight’. “This item is ready too, but I didn’t know it would be two of you, so there’s only one.”

I nodded. “One is enough.”

Turning to Li Kun, I said, “Old Liu, let’s check the site first.”

Xu Tian interjected, “Brother Liu, is it at Leishan?”

I nodded, then stood up. “Old Xu, we’ll go take a look. Once we’re back, we’ll touch base again.”

Xu Tian rose. “It’s nearly noon. Why don’t we have something to eat first, then you two can head out?”

I shook my head. “Time is tight. Best to observe while it’s still daylight.”

Xu Tian thought for a moment but didn’t press further. “Alright, then I’ll await your triumphant return.”

With that, Xu Tian clasped his hands to Li Kun and me in a gesture of respect; we returned it, then turned and went downstairs.

Xu Tian handed me a key and pointed to a van parked in front of the shop. “Everything you need is in that van. Just take it.”

I thought to myself that Xu Tian certainly knew how to handle things. Li Kun said, “Brother, you’ve thought of everything. Thanks for your hard work.”

Xu Tian smiled. “It’s nothing. When you return, the three of us will drink until we drop.”

Li Kun laughed, and we walked over to the van.

I opened the door and took the driver’s seat; Li Kun sat beside me. Behind our seats was a deep gray cloth, covering something. Both of us knew there were things inside best not seen, so we suppressed our curiosity and refrained from peeking.

I started the engine. Li Kun, his expression tense, said, “It’s finally happening.”

I smiled. “Relax, you’ve got me with you.”

Li Kun nodded. I drove along the roadside, circling back and forth. Li Kun watched me, puzzled. “Old Liu, what are you doing? Are you worried someone’s tailing us?”

I rolled my eyes and said helplessly, “You’ve watched too much TV. I’m looking for a shop that sells incense.”

Li Kun was taken aback. “What do you need an incense shop for?”

I kept scanning as I drove. “Don’t worry about it now. You’ll understand later. Just help me look. Let me know when you spot one.”

Li Kun nodded, still doubtful, but said nothing more. The two of us continued searching, eyes scanning the streets.