The mountain breeze whispered through the trees, accompanied by the chirping of birds and insects.
Liuzi didn’t understand those fancy literary words, but he felt utterly content at this moment. If only things could stay like this forever—no more sleeping rough, no more hiding in fear, just a virtuous wife, a chubby baby, a vegetable patch by the door, and a few chickens and ducks...
"Waaahhh!!! It’s all your fault!! I want to go home!!! Waaahhh!!!"
A shrill cry pierced the air.
"Ahhh!! How dare you kick me?! Just wait till I get loose—I’ll beat you to death! When we get back, I’ll tell my father to sell you off!"
"I’m just a cousin staying with your family, not your servant! What right do you have to sell me?!"
"You useless idiot! You didn’t even protect me—now I’ve been kidnapped! I’ll tell my father not to ransom you, just leave you out here for the wolves!"
"Hah! Maybe it’s your family’s evil deeds that brought this on! You might die before I do!"
"My father loves me! We’re rich! I’ll give him a thousand taels to let me go!"
The wailing grew louder.
"Waaahhh!! I want to go home! I want my mother!!"
Liuzi had been listening with amusement, but now the crying erupted like an earthquake.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He slammed the door viciously.
"Shut the hell up! Whoever keeps crying gets sold first!"
The crying stopped for a few seconds—then started up again, even louder.
"Damn it all! Good thing I kept a spare key. Once I get in there, I’ll beat the shit out of you!" Liuzi’s head throbbed from the noise. He glanced around cautiously and pulled out the key.
Then he remembered Third Brother’s warning—no opening the door—and hesitated.
Third Brother wasn’t someone to cross. If he found out Liuzi had disobeyed… just the thought of his methods made Liuzi’s hair stand on end. There’d been a guy in the gang who wanted to quit, and Third Brother had smiled and agreed—only for the man’s head to end up hanging at the entrance of the hideout the next day. Nobody dared mention leaving after that.
"Stop your damn howling, or I’ll gas you! Breathe too much of that stuff, and you’ll turn into idiots! Then nobody’ll want you except to sell your asses! You little brats brought this on yourselves!"
Liuzi kicked the wooden door twice, spat out his threat, and resumed his post. If only the buyers didn’t prefer their merchandise unspoiled, he’d have drugged them into silence already.
Inside, the kids exchanged glances. Their plan hadn’t worked.
Liuzi wet his finger with spit, poked a hole in the paper window, and peeked inside.
The children huddled together, trembling. Nothing seemed amiss, so he decided to patrol around the shack.
But after a few steps, voices drifted from inside.
"Quick, he’s gone! Let’s think of something!"
"Shh! Keep it down, or he’ll come back."
Liuzi frowned, crept back, and crouched by the window. He’d hear what these brats were scheming.
"Second Brother, when that big-bearded guy carried me up the mountain, I was actually awake. I heard him say he wasn’t like Er Lai Zi from the village—no swapping fates, it’s all destiny. He also said that blind monk’s fortune-telling was spot-on—he was due for great luck, and after this, no one would ever hear of the Xiangma Gang again. What did he mean?"
"The guy outside called him Third Brother, right? Maybe with the first and second bosses captured, he’ll take over."
Liuzi’s heart skipped a beat. That did sound like Third Brother.
Er Lai Zi had come from the same village as Third Brother. Every time they split the loot, Er Lai Zi would save some to take home for his brothers, saying they helped care for his wife and kids. Then one day, he went back and found his wife in bed with one of those brothers—and the kids weren’t even his. In a rage, he killed the man, got hauled off by the clan, and was executed. Third Brother always said, Look out for yourself, or heaven will strike you down. He’d never be as stupid as Er Lai Zi.
And that blind monk? Half a year ago, Third Brother had robbed him on the road. The old coot predicted Third Brother would have a windfall later that year and told him to do good deeds. Skeptical but intrigued, Third Brother let him go—the monk had nothing but a tattered robe and a wooden bowl anyway. Only the gang knew about that.
Was Third Brother really abandoning the first and second bosses? But this haul was worth a fortune—Liuzi stood to get a hefty cut!
Wait. Liuzi still knew about the Xiangma Gang. Third Brother must be planning to keep it all for himself!
His heart pounded. Swallowing his panic, he kept listening.
"If I tell my father to pay him, he could buy a bunch of servants and be the boss!"
"You think everyone cares about money? Maybe he just wants power."
"That’s ridiculous. Who doesn’t like money? You’re just too poor to know what to do with it. See this jade pendant? It’s worth a hundred taels at any bank. Clueless."
"I’m hungry… I want sweet soup."
"I want chicken legs!"
"I want jadeite porridge!"
...
These brats hadn’t even grown all their teeth—no way they’d hatch a real plan. Soon they were just listing dishes. Damn it, Liuzi hadn’t even heard of half this food!
Third Brother would be back by sundown. What should he do? Imagining Third Brother’s ox-like strength, Liuzi’s mind became a battleground.
One voice said, Don’t listen to these brats. Third Brother would never betray the gang.
The other snapped, Quit lying to yourself! With this money, you’d never want for anything again. Who’d say no to that?
"Don’t cry, little brother. The sun’s setting—that big-bearded guy will bring food. He won’t let us starve if he wants to sell us."
Liuzi’s thoughts spiraled. Right—Third Brother would return before dark. What now?
He didn’t notice how eerily quiet the shack had become.
The children now stood on either side of the door, armed with whatever they’d scavenged—firewood, stones from the stove, even a wooden chair raised high by Yingge, who’d trained in martial arts.
Click. The key turned.
Lu Chao grinned. Success! He glanced at the others and nodded sharply. Get ready.
The chubby kid’s palms sweated around his firewood club.
Creak.
The door opened a crack as Liuzi peered inside.
Where’d they go? Crawled off somewhere?
He stepped in, about to lock the door behind him—
THUD!
Blackness exploded across his vision as something smashed into his forehead. Pain seared through his skull, then his gut and ribs took brutal hits. But the worst was the little bastard who kicked him between the legs.
Liuzi crumpled, curling into a ball, drenched in cold sweat.
"Yingge! Hit him here!" Lu Chao yelled, delivering another vicious kick to the man’s groin before pointing at the chair-wielding Yingge.
Yingge hesitated—but swung the chair down with ruthless precision.
"AAARGH—!" Liuzi’s scream cut off as he passed out.
"Let’s go!" No one noticed Yingge’s flushed cheeks.
The kids, giddy with victory, fled like triumphant little soldiers.
"Ahhh! We won!"
"We’re amazing!"
"Lu Chao, how did you know that the robber would come in after hearing what you said?"
"Did the bearded man really say those things?"
Lu Chao raised a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture.
"Find a place to hide first. I’ll explain later when there’s a chance. That bearded man will definitely come looking for us. Everyone, stay alert."
