Free Web NovelChapter 332: Chapter 286: Seven Days, Huang Sanbing
Before they could get close, the dark iron gate of the hotel vibrated suddenly, followed by a creak, and a small door embedded on the right side of the large gate opened.
There was no one behind the door. Yang Xiao hesitated for a moment but still walked in with his cash box in hand. Inside was a rather large courtyard, decorated in an antique style. From the details everywhere, one could tell that it had been carefully maintained. A colored goose egg stone path led towards the direction of the guest rooms.
Yang Xiao was not worried about getting lost because along this path, every ten meters, there was a lamp lantern with the characters "Yuan Character Room No. 7" on it that were very conspicuous.
After crossing a small wooden bridge over a pond in the courtyard, Yang Xiao entered a lead-gray building and, following the guidance of the lanterns, finally arrived in front of a guest room.
Looking up at the wooden sign engraved with "Yuan Character Room No. 7" beside the door, Yang Xiao knew he had arrived. He looked left and right and saw a few similar rooms, though they were quite far from each other. At the moment, all the doors were tightly closed, and it was exceptionally quiet around him. He had no idea if there were people inside or not.
To the right of the room’s door, there was also a wooden cabinet about half a person’s height, with the characters for "storage" written on it. Yang Xiao smiled. This hotel was indeed very polite. What storage? It was clearly asking them to leave their money behind. The hotel wanted to check the funds before conducting business.
Very cooperatively, he opened the cabinet door and placed his cash box inside. Yang Xiao stood up, took a deep breath, and with a light push of his hand, the door in front of him opened.
No, that wasn’t quite right. He had opened the door himself. Yang Xiao noticed that it was very thick, extremely thick, and he seemed to have heard the sound of mechanical operation just now.
The room inside was still antique in decor, not overtly luxurious, but very tasteful. At a glance, nearly all the furniture was made of wood, without any electronic products. There was a faint elegant fragrance lingering in the room, apparently from incense that had been lit in advance.
A softer noise came from behind, and Yang Xiao, who had already entered the room, turned around to see the heavy door had already closed. He went over to try and turn the handle, and sure enough, it could not be opened. The door was locked from the outside; he could only leave after the transaction was over.
From entering the Peace Hotel to entering this Yuan Character Room No. 7, Yang Xiao had not seen a single living person the whole way, and it was very quiet here, uncomfortably quiet, a kind of quiet that unsettled the heart.
Fu Qingzhu had told him about the rules here before coming, and Yang Xiao quickly calmed down. He found a mechanical-style black box embedded in the wall on the right side, which had a similar heavy style to an old-fashioned mechanical password box, with the character "Yuan" written on the door of the box. Yang Xiao wasn’t clear if this character was just a label or had some special meaning. Fu Qingzhu hadn’t explained it to him.
Opening the box door, there were two holes inside—one to the left sloping upward and one to the right sloping downward, both about the size of a tea cup’s mouth. Yang Xiao leaned in close to the one on the right that sloped downward and peered inside, but it was pitch black, not showing where it led.
The hole on the left was marked with "out," and the hole on the right was marked with "in." Following what Fu Qingzhu had said, Yang Xiao soon found a wooden table near the black box, with paper and pens neatly placed in the middle, and to the right, a brass censer spreading a faint elegant fragrance.
Near the censer was a small jade plough and a finely crafted bamboo tube. The lid of the bamboo tube could be unscrewed, and it was hollow inside.
Yang Xiao opened his backpack, took out a portrait of a man with the surname Huang that he had prepared in advance, as well as a drawing of the Resentful Eye on the wooden stick. He also used the paper and pen on the table to write down his question. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
He wanted the specific information about the man who possessed the Resentful Eye.
After writing, he took the bamboo tube, rolled up the two drawings inside, along with the paper with his question, and then walked over to the black box. He put the bamboo tube into the right hole marked with "in," which sloped downward.
The only thing left to do was wait. Roughly half an hour, perhaps even less, passed when clinking and clanking sounds came from the wooden box. Moments later, the bamboo tube fell out of the hole on the left side, landing perfectly in the groove below the box.
Unable to wait, he picked up the bamboo tube and opened it. The drawing and question inside were gone, replaced by a small rolled-up note. Unfolding it, the note bore the number 500,000, printed by a machine, leaving no trace of handwriting. Below the figure were two small boxes, one marked "yes" and the other "no," simple and easy to understand. To agree to the price, one would check the box for "yes," and to disagree, "no."
Without a doubt, Yang Xiao checked "yes," and then stuffed the note back into the bamboo tube and dropped it back into the hole in the box.
This time, the process was much quicker, taking roughly only 2 minutes. Accompanied by a familiar clinking and clanking, the bamboo tube appeared once more.
Suppressing his excitement, Yang Xiao picked up the bamboo tube and sat down at the table. After opening it, he found not only the two drawings and the question he had previously sent but also several more pieces of paper.
He drew out the papers and, by the light of the lamp, began to read them carefully. The hotel hadn’t found anyone exactly matching the person in the drawing, but they had confirmed the identity of the wooden staff named Resentful Eye, and found its current owner, a man surnamed Huang named Huang Sanbing, 43 years old, leader of the Liehu Gang, who hangs around Xiliu Fort. Known as a local tyrant, he was a ruthless and crafty character with a poor reputation.
Recently, due to conflicts of interest, the Liehu Gang and another local gang, the Hailong Club, had been at each other’s throats, with casualties on both sides.
The intelligence report specifically mentioned that recently, the leader of the Hailong Club had privately offered a hefty reward to two high-level martial artists to assassinate Huang Sanbing, but not only did they fail, both had gone missing. When they reappeared several days later, they were found at a market under the control of the Hailong Club. They were alive, with no visible injuries, but they had become senseless and foolish, acting as helpless as newborn babies, completely unable to take care of themselves, even for the most basic needs. Even after being taken to the hospital, no ailment could be found. freewebnøvel.com
The intelligence was fairly detailed; unfortunately, it lacked any description of the staff named Resentful Eye’s abilities. It was unclear whether they hadn’t discovered this information or if the money provided was only enough for the information obtained.
Regardless, Yang Xiao had finally confirmed the man’s identity. The photos not matching perfectly was not a major issue; the primary objective was to get hold of Resentful Eye.
As he was contemplating, the clinking and clanking sound came again, and another bamboo tube fell down. Yang Xiao walked over, somewhat surprised, and opened it to find another note inside.
"Dear Guest, Mr. Huang Sanbing, whom you have inquired about, is the subject of a bounty. Someone wishes for Mr. Huang Sanbing to leave this world within half a month and is willing to pay a reward of 5 million for this task. Should you be interested, you may make your choice."
Below the note were the same yes and no options, but this time, beneath the box for "yes," there were additional lines of small text: If you choose to accept the mission, to secure the legal rights of the sponsor, you are required to take a photo with the corpse at the scene of the killing (wearing a mask), or if circumstances are inconvenient, you may opt to cut off the corpse’s left ear and bring it back to the Peace Hotel. Upon verification, the promised reward will be paid to you immediately. The Peace Hotel treats everyone with sincerity and deceives no one.
Yang Xiao knew without a doubt that this bounty was offered by the Hailong Club leader, and the price was definitely more than stated. The Peace Hotel was sure to take a large cut, but Yang Xiao didn’t mind, as he had already decided to kill Huang Sanbing and saw taking on the mission as an opportunity to make some extra profit.
Yang Xiao quickly checked "yes," but after a moment’s thought, added a line to the note: Could you please ask if I can photograph myself standing on the corpse, and if I bring back Huang Sanbing’s head to the hotel, how much would that mysterious person who posted the bounty be willing to pay?
After writing this, Yang Xiao placed the note back into the bamboo tube and sent it back. This time, after only a 10-minute wait, he received a response. The mysterious client readily agreed to an increase in the payment: 1 million extra for a photo standing on the corpse, and another 3 million for bringing back the head, totaling 9 million including the original promised 5 million. Considering the inconveniences of carrying cash, the client was willing to make the payment in any form, including but not limited to an equivalent in gold, offshore bank accounts, real estate, stocks, or funds.
"Damn, that’s bloody satisfying..."
Yang Xiao wrote back swiftly: Tell that mysterious unnamed client to have the money ready, within seven days, I’ll bring back Huang Sanbing’s head.
