WHF Ch 55 – Unlucky Boss

At this moment, all the gangster movies Xiu Ma had envisioned in his mind came in handy.

A golden arowana, a wooden screen, and in front of them, two waiters dressed all in black, one on each side, pulled open the reddish-brown doors. It was like the vault door deep inside a bank; once you go in, there is no coming back.

He raised his gaze, trying to calmly adjust his sunglasses, hiding his suspicious eyes. The person beside him remained as composed as ever, as if this was not the enemy’s lair, but his own home.

Cooperate with Yu Tianbai’s acting, this was what Yu Tianbai had requested. Although he had witnessed Yu Tianbai’s so-called acting before, and Xiu Ma had no reason not to believe him, from “I fell in love with a woman from the same village” to “I am his uncle,” Xiu Ma understood that in order to cooperate with Yu Tianbai’s acting, some things must be sacrificed, such as dignity, logic, and factual basis.

The door opened, and the inside was more spacious than imagined. Facing the wide road in front of the station, with landscaping all around, a small bridge over flowing water, it gave a sense of openness, like finding a mountain at the end of a river source.

As for this mountain, it was the fatty sitting in the center of the room.

Up close, he was even more massive than imagined. And his massiveness was not just in his fat, but seemed to have penetrated deep into his bones. Just sitting, he was almost taller than the underlings beside him. To call him a mountain was truly no injustice.

However, unlike their first meeting, Fatty Lin’s face was filled with a brilliant smile, as if they had known each other for years.

“Hello, hello.” He cupped his hands, performing a martial arts world greeting.

“Please sit, please sit.” He extended his hand, gesturing to the auspicious seat beside him.

Xiu Ma could not help but begin to suspect that in this establishment, not speaking like a normal person was a corporate culture.

In fact, after stepping into the restaurant, Xiu Ma understood what this group of people, who seemed to have come straight out of Hengdian World Studios, were performing—he and Yu Tianbai were being treated as big clients from afar. Compared to him, Yu Tianbai immediately accepted this identity setting.

The great Boss Yu sat down briskly, responding with a comfortable smile: “No need for ceremony.”

So now the question was, as so-called big clients, what exactly were they going to buy or sell?

The two sat down, and the fatty struck first: “How did you find the few samples we sent over?”

It seemed they were here to buy.

Yu Tianbai crossed his legs, draped his arm over the back of Xiu Ma’s chair, and replied: “Barely satisfactory. I thought your establishment would have better goods.”

As his words fell, the underlings beside the fatty shifted their gazes. Xiu Ma was also taken aback. Someone dared to ask, and Yu Tianbai dared to answer, regardless of life or death, in short, he would break rocks and split wood.

However, the fatty was, after all, an old hand who had been through the wringer of the martial arts world. Faced with Yu Tianbai’s insolence, he remained calm and composed: “It is indeed our fault for not satisfying you. I, Lin, apologize to you.”

After saying that, he put on a troubled expression: “But you also know that our goods are not something that can be displayed in public. It’s not that we don’t treat you as one of our own, but we are afraid of walls having ears and word getting out.”

Whoa, an expert.

If it were not for the six eyes of the three people across from them staring, Yu Tianbai would definitely have turned to have a good eye-to-eye exchange with the young master. Looking at it now, the things sold in this restaurant were not just sea cucumbers, abalone, and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The real big stuff was still hidden inside.

But what was this big stuff?

Murder and robbery, illegal immigration, rare and exotic beasts, trafficking of cultural relics—the criminal law, constitution, and international laws played out in succession. Behind this glass tank of law and order with the arowana, was Fatty Lin’s face, as round as a full moon.

Since they dared to do it, why were they afraid to say it directly—did they only dare to act it out like a stage play?

“No.” Yu Tianbai tilted his head, his Beijing accent lazy and at ease. “You’re not giving us face—treating us as outsiders, are you?”

He had not expected the big client to have not only a big appetite but also a difficult mouth. Fatty Lin was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, saying:

“It’s not that I, Lin, don’t want to show you, but—”

Before his words could land, Xiu Ma suddenly shot up, turned and took a step, and with a single move, drew out the decorative sword from the console table by the entrance. After the sword flipped a few times in his hand, with a clang, it plunged accurately into the pearwood table in the center of the room, sinking in a good inch or more.

And the young master who had accomplished all this was expressionless, not even breathing heavily, as he stood there and slightly adjusted his clothes.

Deep enough, accurate enough, scary enough.

The entire room, everyone, was stunned by this sword in the stone for a few seconds before Yu Tianbai was the first to stand up. He made a gesture to stop Xiu Ma, a troubled look on his face: “Young master, don’t be hasty!”

Xiu Ma’s expression changed.

Young master, young master, it’s that damn young master again!

For some reason, he was extremely disdainful of these two words. In comparison, “young master” sounded better. “Young master” really sounded like an ignorant and incompetent wastrel who only knew how to race cars outside the fifth ring road, the hopeless kind. But his sudden action was originally to cooperate with Yu Tianbai’s acting. How to round it out depended on his acting skills.

Yu Tianbai, standing opposite him, understood. He turned to face the room and explained: “This is my capable general, a direct disciple of a martial arts family. He came here today precisely because he is interested in the goods in your hands, Boss Lin.”

As he spoke, he turned his face to the main seat. The fatty’s expression was not as good as it was at the beginning. It was pale and he was breaking out in a cold sweat. It seemed this reverse Hongmen banquet was quite effective.

“They say that noble people have big tempers, and my young master is no exception. He and I grew up together. When something happens, I can still hold him back a little, but the young master is particularly interested in today’s goods, so—”

At this point, Yu Tianbai deliberately paused. If he had a folding fan in his hand, he would definitely have fanned it a few more times to be mysterious. Then, he turned the conversation back to the fatty.

“If you spoil the young master’s mood today, I’m afraid he might throw a bit of a tantrum.”

Hearing this, the fatty immediately tried to stand up. However, limited by the space and his body shape, he ultimately only trembled in his armchair, then shouted: “Young master, calm your anger!”

Behind his sunglasses, Xiu Ma’s eyes closed, and he cursed Yu Tianbai ten thousand and eight thousand times in his heart.

“This matter was due to my lack of consideration. I failed to understand your interest in this beforehand. I truly deserve to die a thousand deaths!”

Following his repeated apologies, the heads of the underlings on both sides also lowered. Just as someone was about to snatch the decorative sword to commit seppuku, the so-called “young master” raised his hand and interrupted everything. He calmly uttered a few words:

“The goods, just take them out for a look.”

A few simple words were earth-shattering, drawing a line under this farce. Yu Tianbai stood aside impassively, already giving a standing ovation in his heart. The young master was too outstanding today, both in terms of courage and timing. Most importantly, his acting was really not bad.

He had truly inherited his skills.

Yu Tianbai smiled with satisfaction, lowered his head, his mission accomplished. As he reached up to adjust his sunglasses, he saw the fatty reach into his voluminous robes. It seemed this “goods” should be something not large, small and exquisite.

He had not expected the fatty’s hand to come and go, and pull out an old-fashioned Browning pistol from his robes.

Could it be that the negotiations had damn well broken down? He instinctively took half a step back, but the fatty held it slowly, his hand not on the trigger. It did not look like he was about to do anything.

“Gentlemen, look,” he pushed the gun onto the table. “This is the paperweight I usually carry with me.”

Whose paperweight would also set off firecrackers for fun? Yu Tianbai put down the hand that was pushing his sunglasses, thinking to himself that this fatty really knew how to joke.

Of course, the fatty also knew that his so-called “paperweight” was just for the ears of the walls. He smiled slightly and ejected a few small, golden objects from the Browning’s chamber.

Bullets.

He spread his hands, with a “see for yourself” expression.

“The best goods I have on me are right here. If you are still not satisfied, there’s nothing I, Lin, can do.”

It was not a model he had seen in the army, but it looked somewhat familiar. Yu Tianbai pushed his sunglasses down a notch and silently retracted the leg he had just stepped back with. But he had not expected that as soon as he stood firm, the underlings on both sides would suddenly crouch down.

It all happened in a flash. The fatty immediately shouted at his left and right guardians: “Don’t be hasty!”

After saying that, he adjusted his long gown again and said nonchalantly: “This is the instinctive reaction of us martial artists. It’s not aimed at you two. Please forgive us. But—”

He deliberately dragged out his voice, then brought his five fingers together and gestured to Yu Tianbai’s feet: “Just stand there and look. Our samples are very precious. If they get fingerprints on them, the sound they make won’t be as crisp.”

It seemed this Hongmen banquet was not one-sided, but two-sided. It could be considered a back-and-forth, a mutual respect.

Yu Tianbai had no intention of moving forward, but now that he had said that, his rebellious spirit immediately kicked in. He pushed the sunglasses he had pulled down back up and replied:

“No need to look.”

Since they were bullets, the possibility in Yu Tianbai’s mind was confirmed. Now all that was missing was an opportunity to get the samples.

The smile on the fatty’s face vanished, replaced by Yu Tianbai’s elation. He raised his hand and said directly: “Give me a ton!”

This could be considered a wild boast.

The surrounding underlings were stunned. The fatty also took a moment to react before realizing that the deal was done, in a way that no one had ever dared to try. He hurriedly smiled apologetically: “Brother, that’s not how you do business. Besides, we don’t have that much on hand—”

“Then order it. However much you have, I’ll take. Contact me when it’s done. You won’t be short a single penny.” Yu Tianbai pursed his lips, signaling the fatty to put away the so-called precious samples, then straightened his clothes. “A pleasure doing business with you. I’ll come to you again in the future.”

After finishing his words, he stepped forward and politely extended a hand. The fatty also understood. This time, he finally stood up and shook hands solemnly with this big business client. Although he did not play by the rules, a big client was a big client after all, and generous.

They shook hands for a long time. Yu Tianbai even patted the fatty’s arm like an elder concerned about a junior.

He left after accomplishing his mission, walking towards the door with his blond-haired subordinate. A few steps away from the mahogany door, a person suddenly stumbled in.

“Boss!”

The newcomer was none other than the waiter who had struck up a conversation with Xiu Ma in an affected tone. He was running so fast his glasses were crooked. He first glanced at the two big clients here, then hurried to his boss’s side, lowering his voice to whisper something in Fatty Lin’s ear.

After he finished speaking, the fatty’s expression changed. But when he turned to Yu Tianbai, he tried to suppress his expression and said as calmly as possible: “My big client is at the door, just parked his car.”

Yu Tianbai had his hands behind his back and silently tightened his cuffs.

The fatty flew into a rage, his hair standing on end on the spot: “Then who are you—who on earth are you!”

This was the moment. Yu Tianbai turned half his face to Xiu Ma and shouted: “Run!”

At twelve noon, the main dining hall of the seafood restaurant was bustling with customers. And in the boss’s office, it was equally lively. Xiu Ma followed behind Yu Tianbai’s figure, cursing him for the ten thousand and eight thousand and first time.