Chapter Sixty-Three: Cigarettes Are Best Enjoyed in Turns

We turned our heads and saw that the fat man was already awake, holding an unlit cigarette and looking at us with a thoughtful expression.

"When did you wake up? Damn, you startled me," I said.

"You two wouldn't stop jabbering over there. It's a wonder I wasn't woken up by your noise," the fat man replied, stretching lazily.

My father grinned at him, "Cao Jin of the Cao family, I saved your life today. How do you plan to thank me?"

The fat man walked over and sat down. "Come on now, Sixth Master. With your status, my meager belongings can hardly interest you. But if we really make it out, I promise to treat you to drinks first."

"That's settled then," my father laughed heartily, then started coughing again.

I quickly helped him get his breath back and turned to the fat man, "What did you mean by what you just said?"

The fat man rubbed his cigarette and thought for a moment before speaking. "It's nothing really. I just listened to your reasoning and then thought about my own experience, and—well, it seems the timing doesn't quite match up."

"What timing?" my father asked.

"You said that two days after you made the phone call, the Earth Dog gang came looking for you, right? Do you remember which day that was exactly?" the fat man countered.

My father seemed to recall this clearly. Without hesitation, he answered, "It was the fourth of June."

The fat man slapped his thigh. "Exactly! If it was June fourth, then your theory doesn't hold water."

"What does the date have to do with anything?" I asked, puzzled.

"You've forgotten—Earth Dog and his crew came to Beijing to find me in person," the fat man explained. "They found me on May thirty-first. After I agreed to help them, they asked me to find them a place to stay. I wanted to learn more about what they were planning, so I stuck around with them for a few days. I got the feeling they were waiting for someone. Then, on the morning of June fourth, they told me they were going to meet a friend. When they returned in the afternoon, they gave me a way to contact them and then left by train. You said that Tan Wei learned Sixth Master had arrived in Beijing only on June second, but Earth Dog and his crew got there three days earlier. This means Earth Dog must have known you were coming to Beijing much sooner."

My father and I were both stunned. We hadn't expected things to play out like this.

"This is strange," my father's expression grew grave. "In the days before going to Beijing, I was holed up in Douli. How could Earth Dog have known I was headed to Beijing?"

The fat man continued, "I think they knew you were coming to Beijing, but not the exact time. Otherwise, they wouldn't have arrived four or five days early. Whoever leaked your whereabouts, I suspect it wasn't who you think."

He finished with a satisfied smile. I couldn't help but feel this man's mind was sharper than it appeared; you could never tell from his looks. Still, I didn't really care about who leaked the information. Whether it was Tan Wei or not, I didn't want to discuss him now.

My father quickly shook off his doubts and turned to the fat man with a smile. "Cao Jin, you seem quite capable. How about joining me?"

My father really was something—trying to recruit followers at a time like this, when we still weren't sure if we could get out. Though the fat man was clever and skilled, I always felt he was a bit eccentric. Being around him left you feeling unsure.

"If Sixth Master asks, of course I'll consider it. But I'm a free spirit, and your family rules are too strict for me," the fat man said, surprisingly polite out of respect for my father.

My father wanted to say more, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he started coughing again. I quickly urged him not to speak further. After all the commotion, he clearly didn't have the energy to talk anymore and soon fell asleep against the stone wall. I wondered how he had managed these past few days. Now that we had found him, if we didn't get him to a hospital soon, something else might happen.

Qin Feng returned, glanced at the fat man, and sat down beside my father.

"Hey, you were the one who ran over to save me, right? I'm Cao Jin. May I ask your name?" The fat man's tone was very different now, casual and not particularly polite as he cupped his hands to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng saw his manner and simply turned away. "I didn't save you. It was that young fellow."

The fat man didn't notice Qin Feng's annoyance at all. He glanced at Peanut, who was sitting with his back to us, and shook his head. "That guy's on another level. Even if I thanked him, he wouldn't care." With a few words, he brushed the matter aside.

"By the way, why weren't you controlled by that thing just now? Weren't you unconscious?" I suddenly remembered and asked him.

"Unconscious? With my constitution, do you think I'd faint so easily? When that thing had me in its grasp, I was pretending the whole time. I knew struggling was pointless, so I just went limp. When it tried to shove that thing into my stomach, I caught it off guard and yanked it out. That's what I call tactics," the fat man said, shaking his head smugly.

"Big talk, but in the end, someone else still had to save you," Qin Feng snorted at him.

The fat man wanted to retort but found himself at a loss for words, so he glared at Qin Feng in annoyance.

Watching the fat man's expression, I sensed he was going to butt heads with Qin Feng, and couldn't help but find it amusing. At that moment, Peanut, who had been standing silently nearby, suddenly walked over.

The three of us looked up at him, thinking he had discovered something. But Peanut just squatted down and stared at the fat man without saying a word.

The fat man felt a chill down his back under Peanut's gaze and shuffled closer to me. "Comrade Xiao Hua, this is an ancient tomb—a place of dignity and honor. The spirits here are watching. Don't try anything funny with me."

"Give me a cigarette," Peanut said.

I almost dropped my jaw to the floor.

"I have some," I said, reaching into my pocket, only to find my cigarettes were gone. Qin Feng checked himself and shook his head as well. Then we found ourselves in a predicament that was especially tough for people like us—there were no cigarettes left.

The three of us looked at the fat man in unison.

"Come on, share it," I said with a smile.

The fat man jumped up. "Share what? This is my last one. Haven't you noticed I've been reluctant to light it?"

Peanut grinned, "I'll just take a puff... or two."

I hadn't planned on it, but Peanut's suggestion made me want a puff myself. So I put on a serious face and said, "Fatty, we still have to rely on Peanut to get out. Don't risk your life for a cigarette."

The fat man looked back and forth between us. "Fine, you all have your eyes on me... Alright, there are more of you. Go ahead." He sat down, took out his lighter, and, with a look of heartbreak, lit the cigarette.

The four of us gathered around and finished the cigarette, each taking a turn. It felt strangely special—every puff was taken with intense concentration, as if we were determined to draw out the essence as if it were a luxury brand. I had never found smoking so enjoyable; I used to think about quitting, but then I realized this was our first time gathered together, and after that, so many things happened, so complicated, that the feeling never returned.

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(Some readers might think the smoking scene is a bit filler, but Old Bei had to write it. I'm sure brothers will understand—time never returns once it's gone.)