Translator:
Exodus Tales
Editor:
Exodus Tales
Complexion turned grim, Kanaja clearly recalled that he had just concluded the negotiation with Tang Xiu and thus cleared out all the enmities between both sides. Yet now Tang Xiu proposed such a request? Isnât this equal to going back on his commitment?
As a shrewd and experienced man, however, he didnât let his rage take over and instead stared at Tang Xiu deeply and asked instead, âFirstly, may I know whose lives you wanna buy, Mr. Tang?â
âAll who know the existence of Spectre here besides yourself,â answered Tang Xiu. âIf my guess is correct, aside from your lieutenants and trusted men, that would also include Songzanâs men.â
The request made Kanaja abruptly get up and cry out in shock, âBut why, Mr. Tang?â
âKanaja, the fact that you can hold your ground to mix and stir the turbid water in Bangkok is the evidence of your power and resourcefulness, meaning that you also have your own reliable intel network,â said Tang Xiu with a dead serious face. âBased on that, you must have heard the incidents regarding what happened to the #1319 max-security prison in Israel that detained a large number of highly dangerous convicts all over the world, right? And you shouldâve guessed the mastermind behind it, which is me.â
âIt was really you?!â Kanaja trembled, both surprised and shocked.
âYouâre a smart man, so donât tell me youâre unable to draw out the conclusion that it was my doing given the presence of Spectre here,â said Tang Xiu indifferently.
âIt was your friend, Young Master Bai, who reminded me about it. I myself wouldnât have come to this conjecture otherwise.â Kanaja forced a wry smile and said, âBut how does it have anything to do with buying my menâs lives?â
âWell, only dead men tell no tales,â said Tang Xiu apathetically. âYou may be able to keep your mouth shut about the appearance of Spectre, but speaking the same for your men is hardly a guarantee. I give you my word that I wonât hold you accountable for the previous issue, yet the more important issue still remainsâthe trace of Spectre and the rest of the convicts. Now you think for yourself, if anyone who is concerned with the whereabouts of Spectre and the rest learn about this, would they just give it up? Instead of letting all these convicts go to Bangkok to deal with this problem themselves, itâs better for you to take a stand and save yourself the trouble.â
With his scalp tingling, Kanaja felt a chill run down his spine. Just Spectre alone already made him a bit scared. What if hundreds of those dreadful convicts came here later? It was definitely better for him to commit suicide right here and now.
But then again, while he couldnât care less about Songzan and his men, the rest under him were men he had trained to be his trusted confidants. Erasing all of them would be too much of a loss for him.
Seeing that it was difficult for Kanaja to decide on the issue, Tang Xiu then spoke again, âYou may have to lose some of your men, but I think obtaining my friendship is still a very good deal should you take my offer. Thereâs also something else you havenât learned of yet. Singluen will become the Patriarch of the Dark Shaman clan, which Iâm sure is an entity you have some knowledge about. With a clan with such deep heritage and Singluen who is my good friend at the helm, you will not only obtain my friendship, but will also secure Singluenâs friendship. Hence, I think having his friendship will be of great help to you should you want to develop and expand further in Thailand later.â
âSingluen is going to be the Dark Shamanâs Patriarch? How is this possible?â asked Kanaja in shock. âTo the best of my knowledge, the current Head of this clan is still in his prime, while Singluen also has a big brother called Singkuo.â
âBe it the current Head of the Dark Shaman clan, Singluen, or Singkuo, they are nothing but ants in my eyes. Removing them from existence is as easy as turning my hand.â sneered Tang Xiu. âBut Singluen is a young man with aspirations. While the power he controls is recognizable, itâs absolutely easy for him to be the Dark Shamanâs Patriarch with my help.â
Kanaja instantly understood Tang Xiuâs intention and also grasped Singluenâs plan in extension. He quickly analyzed all the variables in mind and, after weighing the pros and cons, he got up and put on a dead serious face, asking, âAre you really sincere in offering me your friendship, Mr. Tang?â
âWe, Chinese, have a saying that the more friends we have on the road, the better the voyage.â Tang Xiu also got up and said, âI, Tang Xiu, am a very formidable man myself. Itâs unlikely for me to offer my friendship to those unworthy of it. Itâs now your call whether youâll take the offer and get it.â
Eyes gleaming with killing intent, Kanaja responded with a nod and said, âThen Iâll need assistance to do that with Spectreâs hands. I... I canât do it by sending my other men to kill them.â
Tang Xiu clapped and said, âThose who are not stuck at trifles are bound to achieve great things. Youâve proven yourself worthy and deserve to be the Godfather of Bangkokâs underworld, Mr. Kanaja. I believe you can go further in the future while having much more loyal and powerful men under you.â
Kanajaâs eyes were as though blazingâa sign of the flame of his ambition. Then he said, âThis is a big gamble as I see it, Mr. Tang. But Iâm willing to bet on you. However, do you mind answering my question?â
âDo ask,â said Tang Xiu.
âWhat did you want to achieve by enacting such a prison break from the #1319 labor camp?â asked Kanaja.
Instead of answering, Tang Xiu rhetorically asked with a faint smile, âWho cares more about having additional men under their own hands nowadays?â
âYou did that just to find some more men?â asked Kanaja in shock. âBut you also know that these guys are all cruel and ruthless figures, donât you? I admit that Iâm not a good person myself, but comparing me with them will make me look like a saint!â
âEven if they are wicked and evil, what about it?â answered Tang Xiu. âThey are still a bunch of ants to me. For whoever among them who dares to disobey my orders or betray me, I can just easily make them meet their maker. I believe they know what to choose when they are faced with life and death on the stake.â
âArenât you overestimating your own power? These people are...â said Kanaja with a strange expression.
Tang Xiu just shook his head in response. Right after he opened his arms, two flames appeared on his palms and his body began to float while still remaining in his sitting posture.
âYou, you, you are...â Shocked and horrified, Kanaja pointed at Tang Xiu and shouted in alarm, âAre you an ability userâan Elementalist?â
âAbility user? Hmph.â Tang Xiu scoffed and said, âIâve killed too many ability users to count. Iâm not one of them and not even an ounce of my power can be achieved by those ability users. 10,000, or even a million ability users can stand before me, yet they will be thoroughly eradicated should I will it so.â
âAre you kinda invincible under the sun then?â asked Kanaja yet again, unable to find a more appropriate response.
âMe? Invincible? Nobody is invincible in this world!â Tang Xiu shook his head and said, âWhat you know about humans is not much, nor do you have deep knowledge of certain things pertaining to this issue. You shouldâve heard of the top-three organizations in the world, right?â
âYeah, the Pyramid, the League of Archcrusaders, and the Stygian Club. Thereâs also another I know of, the Darkwind Organization,â answered Kanaja.
âYes. You also know how powerful the forces possessed by these three organizations are. They literally boast tons of powerhouses at the ready,â said Tang Xiu. âIâve fought the Stygian Clubâs vampires, their werewolves and even Wingmen. Iâve killed a lot of them. The strength of these people is beyond your imagination.â
Vampire? Werewolf? And Wingmen?
Kanaja gasped. He had also heard that these kinds of species in the world truly exist, yet he never had seen them once. But Tang Xiu claimed that he had killed these terrifying existences? ... Isnât this way too powerful, making him a very terrifying existence himself? Suddenly, he was truly glad that he called Bai Tao, rejoicing that he didnât go as far as tearing all decorum with Tang Xiu. If he did, he wouldâve been turned into a corpse by now, wouldnât he?
Tang Xiu then got up before waving his hand and speaking again, âAlright. I already spoke a bit too much today, so letâs drop it now. Remember to give me the list and Iâll give it to Spectre to deal with it.â
âI understand,â nodded Kanaja with a solemn face.
****
Inside the suite of the Amanda Hotel, Zhang Xinya was somewhat restless as she didnât know how the issue would turn out and be dealt with between Tang Xiu and Kanaja. She didnât wish to see Tang Xiu resort to murder again since she didnât want him to encounter any dangers.
Knock, knock...
The suiteâs door was knocked and she rushed to the door to open it. Her hand hadnât yet reached the doorknob, but it was already opened from the outside. Tang Xiu appeared in her sight beyond the door.
âYouâre back! Are you alright?â
Zhang Xinya hurriedly observed Tang Xiuâs body. After seeing that he looked fine, only then did she finally feel relieved.
Tang Xiu let out a faint smile and shook his head as he paced into the room. There, he took out his phone to dial a number. After his call got picked up, he spoke, âBai Tao, I hope the appearance of Spectre wonât be found out by another soul from your mouth.â
âYou can be sure about that,â assured Bai Tao.
âYouâre really too smart a man, you know that?â Tang Xiu sighed. âYou can correctly guess that I was the mastermind behind the prison break incident of the #1319 labor camp. It seems like I gotta bribe you with some meals and wine once I get back to the mainland just to seal off your mouth!â
âHahaha!â Bai Tao hollowly laughed but then curiously asked, âYou know, Tang Xiu. It still makes curious, though. Why did you incite such a prison break and take them out? Those guys are nothing but murderers who can kill without batting an eye. Can you really contain and have them under control?â
âIâll be frank with you, mate. Iâve been short on manpower, but thereâs one thing I can tell you. I have absolute control over them,â said Tang Xiu with a smile. âThey are now my men and they are simply like lambs before me. I order them to head toward East, they wonât dare to go West; nor will they enter the ground if I order them to fly to the sky.â
âThatâs beyond what I can imagine of how powerful you have become now, Tang Xiu!â Bai Tao incredulously called out, âAlright, brother. Iâll erase everything about this matter from my mind later.â
âWell, itâs settled, then.â Tang Xiu smiled and said, âAnyhow, letâs meet and have some wine later with Chu Yi once I get back.â
âI really didnât expect that Chu Yi turned out to be your cousin back then.â Bai Tao chuckled and said, âYou two are now relatives, but you had better not take advantage of it to pick up on me later.â
âWell, it may happen, though.â Tang Xiu chuckled.
âBah, shameless!â Bai Tao cursed.
They both chatted for a while and ended the call after some time.
Tang Xiu then looked at Zhang Xinya and smilingly said, âIâll accompany you out for a day tomorrow and one of my men will escort you back to the mainland the day after. Thereâs still an important thing I need to tend to in Thailand, so Iâll be staying here for a while.â
âIs it dangerous?â asked Zhang Xinya with concern.
âI already told you nothing dangerous will happen to me, didnât I?â said Tang Xiu with a smile. âBesides, even the leader of the biggest underworld force in Bangkok, Kanaja, must act with respect before me. Who else could bring me danger here?â