(1)
The rod is not for everyone.
But it is certainly useful.
The rod is more arrogant than the sword. When the rod comes swinging down, it tends to have a specific purpose.
If the sword is unsheathed, it need only exploit a fatal weakness.
Especially this sword.
Unsheathing this sword comes at a price, sheathing this sword also comes at a price; by gold the sword is drawn, by blood the sword is sheathed.
(2)
More than an hour had past, the Golden Lion and the person dressed in black were still sitting there, Big G and friends were also still sitting there.
They were reluctant to leave, they couldn't leave.
If Big G pulled out his gold ingot to pay for the bill, wouldn't that amount to admitting he was the thief?
The Rod finally returned, only then did Big G get a good look at his face.
His face was like bones wrapped in skin, expressionless, with no substance.
Golden Lion: "So?"
The Rod: "His last name is Song, not Gao. He used to keep accounts for a cattle and sheep ranch in Liaodong province, stole a sum of money from the owner and fled here, that's why he wanted to keep quiet about losing the gold."
The Golden Lion sneered, "That sounds just like him, to steal from people that he has found dirt on."
The Rod: "Not only that, it was exactly the same as the previous cases, smooth and clean, the windows and doors were untouched, but the gold gone."
Golden Lion: "When did it go missing?"
The Rod: "Last night."
The Golden Lion: "When he makes a move, there is going to be at least thirteen big cases, which is his customary ritual."
The Rod: "Other than Song, I identified five other houses."
Golden Lion: "These five other houses, were they also running from a past crime?"
The Rod: "Correct. One of them was a former ring leader for the Earth Dragon before he left the business, he is married with kids now."
Golden Lion: "After running into you, they finally got what was coming, but you should just let them be."
The Rod was silent, he just look at his hands and smiled grimly.
The Gold Lion let out a laugh, "Knowing you, there is no way you let them off easy, anyone with connections to the Earth Dragon is unfortunate to come across you. But you should be careful, if you really did run into the Earth Dragon and that poisonous viper, you would be the miserable one."
The Rod was still smiling grimly, he didn't say a word.
Golden Lion: "No matter what, it looks like our source is reliable, he has been hiding out here all these years."
The Rod: "They have always been reliable, otherwise why would we have paid ten thousand taels?"
Golden Lion: "Since he has been hiding out here for seven to eight years, why did he suddenly make a move?"
The Rod: "It's called itchy fingers."
They were not concerned about being overheard by others, and Big G obviously didn't miss a word.
He had to admit that The Rod did have some real skills.
But the "He" that they kept mentioning, who was this person?
"Since he made a move last night, he certainly is hiding out in this town. I questioned everyone leaving the town this morning, other than some odd street performers, nobody else stood out," the Rod sneered.
Golden Lion: "What if he had the street performers carry the loot outside of the city?"
The Rod: "No way, judging by the dust on their feet there was no way they could be carrying more than five hundred grams of silver."
The Golden Lion suddenly revealed a hideous grin, "That means, he must still be in this town."
After hearing all of this, Big G couldn't help but think to ask them, "How do you know he didn't slip out through a small path? How do you know that he didn't slip out just now?"
Big G obviously couldn't ask.
Fortunately he didn't have to, The Rod was already saying it.
"When he makes a move, he is going to steal at least five hundred kilograms of gold, I have already arranged hidden checkpoints all around the town, there is no way someone could sneak through with that much gold."
The Golden Lion: "He is definitely not willing to give up what he stole. This person values money more than his life, he would swallow anything worth taking, bones and all, and would rather die than spit it back out."
The Rod laughed callously, "I always knew that this old weakness of his would be the death of him."
Golden Lion: "He truly is cunning, a master of disguise, he can also change his height by adapting his bone structure, there is no way for sure we will be able to lure him out of his hole."
The Rod suddenly slammed the table, "If he gets away this time, I will change my family name."
Golden Lion: "Did you find any leads?"
The Rod: "I will line them up one at a time, even if I have to question them for months, I will find a way to drag him out of his hole."
The Golden Lion glanced sideways at the person in black, he seemed to be frowning, "Are you really going to question every person in this town?" he asked.
The Rod: "I know this method is stupid, but stupid methods always have a way of being effective."
The Golden Lion sighed, "Where do you plan on starting?"
The Rod: "Right here."
His eyes were suddenly fixed on Big G.
Most people at this point would have a guilty conscience, even if they were not frightened by such a stare, their facial expression would at least have a change of color.
The Rod was The Rod, no matter who he came across, they only had one option: to speak the truth.
Big G was still smiling happily, without a care.
He had always been carefree, not to mention his belly was full of aged bamboo wine.
The Rod was expressionless, he kept staring at Big G's eyes and then slowly stood up and casually began walking over to him.
His expression darkened, eyes gloomy, if a coward came across this gaze during the night, he not only would be forced to speak the truth, and he might even have the piss scared right out of him.
He was just about to say, "This person should be called The Zombie, not The Rod," he almost got the words out—you should definitely not make the mistake of thinking he didn't dare, when his belly was full of wine, the concept of "didn't dare" ceased to exist.
Dash and the rest of them didn't care. If you were willing to be friends with Big G, you had to be prepared to get into a fight for him at all times.
To them, fighting was perfectly normal.
Even Forest wasn't an exception.
The Rod wasn't staring at Big G, Forest was glaring at the Rod.
If Big G said something wrong, or The Rod asked the wrong question, a fight could erupt at any moment.
"There is no point in questioning them," the Golden Poodle suddenly interjected.
The Rod: "Why?"
"If they were hiding something, why would they have been talking about my nose?" he replied laughing.
It turned out he not only had a sensitive nose, his ears were also very sharp.
"You heard everything?" Big G couldn't refrain from laughing.
Golden Lion: "In this line of work, you not only have to observe your surroundings, you have to listen to everything as well."
Big G: "You're not mad?"
The Golden Lion laughed: "Why would I be mad? Even if a big nose doesn't look that great, there is nothing to be ashamed of."
Big G immediately had a good impression of him, "Not only is there nothing to be ashamed of, it doesn't look bad. Men should have big noses, the bigger the better, wise women know how to appreciate a man with a big nose."
"Your nose isn't small either," Golden Poodle replied laughing.
Feeling his nose, "It's not bad, good enough," Big G said laughing.
Golden Lion: "Do you all live in this town?"
Big G: "Nope, on the mountain."
Golden Lion: "Is there many people living on mountain?"
Big G: "Only us four alive, but there are a lot of dead people."
Golden Lion: "Dead people?"
Big G: "We live beside a cemetery, it's called Prosperity Villa, if you have some free time you should stop by for a drink or two."
Golden Lion: "We will be sure to pay you a visit."
He suddenly stood up, "Boss, the bill, we will take care of this group's bill as well."
Big G jumped up, "Come on, we should be hosting you, you really should let us treat you."
He not only loved making friends, he loved treating people even more.
Nobody made friends faster than Big G, and he was always the first to pay for the bill. But this time, he put his hand into his pocket, and it was stuck there.
There was no way he could pull out that piece of gold in front of them.
Who would have thought that the Golden Lion didn't even try to refuse, "Well if that's the case, it is better to accept than to decline courteously, thank you so much."
The Rod suddenly patted Big G on the shoulder, "The town will be in a bit of chaos for the next couple of days, I recommend you stay at home, make sure you stay out of trouble," he said coldly.
Without letting Big G speak, he pushed down on his shoulder forcefully, "No need to send us off, stay seated."
"I am tired of sitting, need to stand up," Big G said grinning.
The Rod was pushing down with most of his strength, but there was not the slightest reaction. He looked Big G up and down, and without looking back he walked out.
The Golden Lion suddenly asked, "Do you all know the person across the street?"
A grey-haired old man, with a hunched body, carrying a bucket of dirty water was walking out of the door across the street, he threw the dirty water into the street with a splash.
Big G smiled, "Of course we know him, he is the old pawn broker from Profiteers, and we call him Skinned Alive."
There was a spark in his eyes, the Golden Lion was staring at the old man until he turned around and went inside, only then he started to smile, "Sorry for interrupting, we shall take our leave now."
He caught up to The Rod, they whispered amongst themselves and then headed together for the pawnshop.
The person dressed all in black slowly stood up, slowly walked in front of them.
They all kept drinking with their heads down, no one looked at him. Every time they looked at him, they felt an unexplainable discomfort, as if looking at a poisonous snake.
Without stopping, the person in black suddenly said," Yellow as Jade, hello."
They sat there puzzled, nobody had any idea who he was talking to.
By this time, he was already out the door.
Big G shook his head, "What's wrong with that guy?" he muttered.
Forest was looking at the long sword on his back, "That sword is more than four feet long."
Swally: "Good eyes, you must have some experience with swords?"
It was as if Forest hadn't even heard him, "Based on what I know, in the world of martial arts there are only three people who use that kind of long sword," he said.
Big G: "Oh, which three?"
Forest: "Someone named Yilang Ding, I heard he was the secret child of a Fusang rogue named Peach Wood Santaro and Li Ding, a swordswoman from the Yellow Mountain. Santaro is from the Fusang 'Cloaked Blades' sect, so Yilang Ding's swordsmanship is a deadly combination of the 'Cloaked Blades' sect and the Yellow Mountain sect."
Swally was watching him intently, "I never imagined that you knew more than I do about the world of martial arts."
Forest hesitated for a moment, "I heard it from someone else."
Big G: "Who are the other two?"
Forest: "The second person is Blush Gong, the only disciple of Changhong Gong's sword skills."
Big G: "Blush Gong? That is sure to be a women's name."
Swally: "Yes she is a women, do you really think that women aren't capable of handling such a long sword?"
Big G laughed, "All I am thinking is that person dressed all in black is certainly not a women."
Forest: "I heard that Yilang Ding has made the long journey to Fusang to look for his father, so, there is no way that he is the one dressed all in black."
Big G: "And the third person?"
Forest: "They call him the 'Sword of Lost Souls,' Hideous Nangong."
Big G: "The Sword of Lost Souls? Isn't that an insult, why would he choose that name for himself?"
Forest: "Many years ago, an eccentric person entered the world of martial arts, called 'Crazy Sword Cross,' not a single person survived an encounter with him. At that time even the famous 'Three Friends of West Mountain,' and the 'Top Sword South of the Yangtze,' were killed by him. Only Hideous Nangong managed to flee with his life, since he was proud of himself, he chose the nickname Sword of Lost Souls."
Big G laughed, "He was actually proud of losing, seems like an interesting character."
Forest: "This person is not interesting, he is extremely boring."
Big G: "Why?"
Forest: "I heard that he loves to kill people, sometimes he kills people just to cheer himself up. Sometimes he will kill people for money. Even though he was lucky enough to survive his encounter with Sword Cross, there is a large cross shaped scar across his face, so he isn't willing to let people see his face."
Big G: "Sounds like the person dressed in black must be him."
"Not necessarily," Dash interjected.
Big G: "Not necessarily?"
Dash: "How do we know it isn't a women, that it isn't Blush Gong?"
Big G: "It clearly isn't."
Dash: "Why? Did you see his face? Did you see his hands? Did you see his feet?... There is not an inch of his body that you have seen. All you could see were his black clothes, since men can dress like this, why couldn't a women?"
Big G thought about it for a while, "If it was a women, which would be interesting, I really want to see what she looks like," he said smiling.
"As long as it's a women you would find it interesting," Swally said word by word.
Big G laughed, "Most women are quite a bit more interesting than men, of course too ugly or too old would be an exception."
Swally sighed, "This guy still claims he isn't a horny bastard, if he isn't than who is?"
Dash yawned, "I have at least one thing in common with horny bastards."
Swally: "What's that?"
Dash: "I think about going to bed at all times, everywhere."
× × ×
Beds.
The five chests of treasure were under the bed.
Even if it was the richest person in the world, they wouldn't casually stick these five chests worth a fortune under the bed and leave the house without locking the door.
But they just had to do it that way.
Because other than themselves, nobody would ever dream that under such a shabby bed was such a big stash of treasure. Not to mention, the room was completely empty, other than under the bed there wasn't anywhere to hide the five chests.
Why didn't they bury it?
Swally had raised the point, but Dash was the first to adamantly disagree.
If we put in all that effort to bury it now, then in a couple days we have to spend all that time to dig it back out again. Since we will have to dig it up sooner or later, we should just not bury it.
Lazy people always have a good excuse for doing nothing.
Dash's reason was obviously good enough.
He was already lying down on his bed again.
Big G was working hard at drinking upside down. He heard that there was a "imprisoned drinking method," and a "zombie drinking method," so he had to master drinking upside down first.
If there was anyone in the world who could drink with their eyes, even if there was only one, he wouldn't admit defeat. He would keep practicing until he could at least drink through his eyes as good as that one person.
Forest was sitting on the stone step by the door, holding his head in his hands, it was hard to tell if he was in a daze? Or was he thinking about something important?
He appeared to be the youngest of the group, but was dealing with the most serious emotional issues.
Who knows where Swally had snuck of to? He had the strangest behavior, always sneaking away by himself and getting up to who knows what.
The night seemed late, but it also had a young feeling to it.
Someone once said: "Time is the Supreme Ruler of everything, only time is forever."
That saying didn't seem to apply here.
The people here didn't really know how to manage their time, but they were definitely not slaves to time.
× × ×
Big G had finished his third bowl of alcohol, when Forest suddenly stood up from the stone step.
He looked excited, but very serious at the same time. He looked like a general about to declare to his subordinates a strategy of the outmost importance, which would win a decisive victory a thousand miles away.
Regardless of how serious the facial expression, if you were hanging upside down, his face would have a way of appearing quite comical. Big G could barely stop himself from spitting out the drink he had just took.
Forest: "I have something to say."
"I can tell," Big G replied holding back his laughter.
Forest: "There is someone in this town who not only possess a very high-level of kung fu, he knows how to change his disguise, adapt his bone structure, and has given the officials major headaches through his numerous unsolved cases."
Big G blinked, "You are not the only one who knows this, I think that I may have heard about this as well."
Forest: "You are not the only one, Sour Plum knows as well."
Big G: "Oh?"
Forest: "She not only knows, they are certainly enemies."
Big G: "Enemies?"
Forest: "But just like us, all she knows is that he is hiding out in the town. She doesn't actually know where is he hiding? Doesn't know what identity is he using for cover? She wants to find him to take revenge, but can't find him, so..."
Suddenly, Forest's face wasn't so ridiculous, he somersaulted down, "So what of it?"
Forest: "So she thought of a way for other people to help her find him."
Big G: "Obviously she knew that under the heavens, The Rod and the Golden Poodle were the best people for the job."
Forest: "She also knew that they were already nearby, so she thought of a way to tip them off, letting them know that this notorious thief was hiding in town."
Big G: "Then she came to this town, and did seventeen to eighteen robberies in one night. She also took care to replicate the methods of the notorious thief, to make The Rod and the Golden Poodle think that they were done by him."
Forest: "That still isn't the most important point."
Big G: "What is the most important point?"
Forest: "Only in this way, would The Rod and the Golden Poodle know for certain that the thief was hiding here, and actually look for him. Two people with that kind of status wouldn't waste effort on chasing rumors."
Big G: "But she would still have a problem."
Forest: "Her problem is what to do with the stolen goods, since she knew that The Rod and the Golden Poodle were already here, there was no time to hide them or transport them somewhere else."
Big G: "You're right, stolen property would definitely attract a lot of attention, even hiding it wouldn't be easy."
Forest: "Not only not easy, it would take a lot of work, so..."
"So, she needed to find someone to hide the stolen property for her, but she could have of found anyone, why did it have to be me?" he laughed bitterly.
Forest: "Because she knew that you lived here, and knew that not even a ghost would bother coming here, hiding the treasure here, would be like..."
Big G: "Would be as safe as hiding alcohol in your belly."
"This is not even the most important reason," Forest suddenly said.
Big G: "Oh?"
Dash: "The most important thing is that she needed to find someone careless enough to make friends with any stray cat or dog, some muddle headed insect."
Dash not only barely moved, he rarely spoke.
When he did speak, it was normally the conclusion.
But this time, it was Big G who arrived at the conclusion about himself.
Big G sighed, "There is nothing wrong with making friends with any stray cat or dog, but someone who stops thinking around pretty women, that is a scoundrel of the highest degree," he smiled bitterly.
Forest frowned, "Who are you talking about?"
Big G pointed at his nose, "I am talking about myself."
× × ×
Big G wasn't actually confused, it was just that he was too lazy to really think things through. If he only took the time to think, he would understand things better than anyone.
"You made another mistake," Forest said suddenly.
Big G sighed, "Mr. Guo making a mistake is nothing new, and it would be odd if I had done everything right."
Forest: "You shouldn't have just paid our bill with that ingot of gold."
Big G: "If I didn't pay with that gold, was I supposed to pay with my fingers? Remember that just now you drank as much as I did."
Forest: "If The Rod and the Golden Poodle find out that we paid our bill with gold, they will definitely be curious to know where these poor bastard's gold came from. Then there is going to be big trouble."
Big G: "How about I tell you a thing or two?"
Forest: "Sure."
Big G: "First, The Rod and the Golden Poodle are not going to find out, because Old Mr. Barley is not a talker."
Forest: "If there is a first, there has to be a second."
Big G: "Second, so what if Mr. Guo had some gold on him, it wouldn't be the first time, and it's not worth making such a big fuss over something so small. Not to mention, that gold ingot didn't have any markings on it, I already checked. Whoever dares to say that I stole it, will be the first to get slapped around."
Forest: "Anything else?"
Big G: "And, everyone needs to eat, since we needed to eat, then we had to pay the bill with that gold ingot."
"That is the most important part, Sour Plum needed to find a horny, muddle headed insect, and he had to be dirt poor, and he had to be starving," someone said.
× × ×
This was also a conclusion.
This time Swally came to the conclusion, not Dash.
Swally's reappearances happened just as swiftly as when he disappeared.
Big G shook his head, "This person knows how to talk to everyone, but I can't figure out why he always enjoys badmouthing me," he said with a forced smile.
Swally smiled, "If you weren't my friend, I wouldn't have anything to say about you even if you begged me."
Big G: "Dash is also your friend, why don't you say bad things about him?"
Dash laughed, "Everything bad that could be said about me, you have already mentioned countless times, no need for anyone else to open their mouth."
Big G laughed as well, walked over and patted Swally on the shoulder, "So where did you sneak off to this time?"
Swally: "I... ... I went for a stroll."
It seemed that he really didn't like people touching him. Every time Big G touched him, he looked very uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because other than Big G, nobody else ever touched him.
Most people only had to take a look at his clothes, and they were ready to throw up their dinner from last night.
Big G: "So where did you go for a stroll?"
Swally: "Down the mountain, to the town."
Big G: "What's so great about going for a stroll down there?"
Swally: "Who said otherwise?"
Big G: "Anything good down there?"
Swally: "Didn't you run into a beautiful women carrying two baskets last night?"
Big G: "What did you see tonight?"
Swally: "A murder."
Big G: "A murder? Who killed somebody?"
Swally: "The Rod."
Big G: "The Rod killed somebody? Who did he kill?"
Swally: "Suspects."
Big G: "Who were the suspects? What was so suspicious about them?"
Swally: "The man The Rod is looking for is approximately fifty years old, and has been here for ten years. So any male who moved here ten years ago is a suspect, any of them could be The Phoenix."
Big G: "Who is The Phoenix?"
Swally: "The Phoenix is who The Rod is looking for."
"Are you talking about The Phoenix they call 'total devastation'?" Forest suddenly asked.
Swally: "That's him."
Big G laughed, "The Phoenix is such an elegant name, why would they give him such a depressing nickname?"
Swally: "Because when he makes a move he completely cleans out his victims. Many people have had their entire family fortune stolen by him, without a single copper coin left behind. Although he never killed anyone, he has forced countless people to commit suicide."
Forest: "I heard he is not only ruthless, but he values money more than his life, he can't even bring himself to spend anything he stole."
Big G: "What if he did a good deed by donating all of the money he stole to help poor people?"
Swally: "This person has done almost everything, except good deeds."
Big G: "So where did all his money go?"
Swally: "Nobody knows."
Big G thought about it for a long time, "How many suspects does this town have in total?"
Swally: "There weren't that many to begin with, and there are even less now."
Big G: "How many has The Rod killed?"
Swally: "Five or six, maybe six or seven."
Big G stared with his eyes wide open, "You just stood there and watched him kill people?"
Swally: "Well now I am too bored to even watch."
Big G was staring at him, suddenly he jumped up and ran out.
Dash sighed, "Why is it that since meeting him, I always have to move?" he mumbled.
× × ×
Although Big G wasn't confused, he was very impulsive.
He should have asked Swally, "What kind of people was The Rod actually killing?"
He didn't ask, because he knew that the people The Rod killed were definitely not good people.
He understood that, but he couldn't help being impulsive. Although it wasn't the best habit to have, it was at least better than those cold-hearted bystanders who did nothing.
(3)
The person dressed in black also had a habit—he would never walk in front of anyone
Obviously it wasn't because he was humbly being polite, it was only that he preferred to face people with his eyes and not his back.
This also wasn't a very good habit, but at least it allowed him to stay alive for a few extra years.
He was walking behind The Rod and the Golden Lion.
They were not worried about him at all, because they knew he would never stab them in the back.
Although his face was wrapped in black cloth, they knew he cared more about saving face than most people.
The streets were calm, only the windows of two or three households still had lights burning.
Arriving at the fourth house on the left of the street, they stopped.
This house was the same as the other houses in town. The structure was simple and crude, a narrow but thick door, small high windows, faint window paper, and dim lights.
The door and windows were tightly closed.
"This house?" the Golden Lion asked in a deep voice.
The Rod nodded.
The Golden Lion suddenly flew up. He had a large build, but was quick and agile, exceptional Qinggong, his foot lightly sprang from the eave, and he was already on the ridge of the roof, out of sight.
The Rod turned his head to look at the person dressed in black, "This is an official case, the residences are to close their doors and stay inside, otherwise they are to die, no exceptions," he said harshly.
Before he was finished speaking, the lights inside were already extinguished.
There was a sound from inside, sounded like someone had broken a back window and was trying to flee.
Unfortunately the Golden Lion was already prepared.
Another alarming cry.
"Where are you going?" the Golden Lion rebuked in a hush voice.
Another shadow appeared on the ridge of the roof, although his Qinggong was on the same level as the Golden Lion, he was much thinner and smaller.
He briefly took in his surroundings and then flew off towards the southeast.
The Rod didn't move.
The person dressed in black appeared motionless.
But suddenly, he was already on the ridge of the roof, blocking the shadowy figure.
Frightened, both of his fists came flying.
It was as if the person dressed in black didn't even make a move.
But suddenly, the shadowy figure who struck first rolled off the roof, falling into the middle of the street.
The Rod slowly walked over to him. With both hands behind his back, he looked down on him.
Cold winds desolating heaven and earth; a solemn killer.
A cold night, his eyes like piercing awls; colder than ice.