chapter 22
I neither agreed nor disagreed, choosing not to continue with that topic. Instead, I changed the subject, “If they come to you for help saving people later, what will you do?”
“Save people?” Iron Head was stunned for a moment, then laughed, “How could I have the ability to save anyone? It’s all thanks to your blessing!”
I asked him, “So, will you help or not?”
“Well…” Iron Head scratched his head, hesitating, “If I could help, I’d actually like to…”
“You want to help, huh? You’ve got a kind heart,” I said with a smile.
“Not really,” Iron Head blushed, “Actually, I know all those people. They’re all from tough backgrounds, otherwise they wouldn’t be here risking their lives.”
“Alright, if you want to help, then help,” I nodded, “But you can’t do it for free.”
Iron Head suddenly understood, slapping his thigh, “I get it! I need to ask that Liu for money!”
“More or less. How much are you planning to ask for?” I asked.
“How much do you think is appropriate?” Iron Head’s eyes sparkled.
“Twenty,” I thought for a moment.
“Sounds good! When Liu comes up later, I’ll ask him for two hundred thousand!” Iron Head said excitedly.
I looked at him in confusion, “Is your family running a charity hall?”
“What charity hall?” Iron Head asked, puzzled.
“Is a human life so cheap? I mean twenty thousand per person!” I said, annoyed.
“Ah?” Iron Head was shocked, then nodded repeatedly, “You’re right, it’s a life after all. Even twenty thousand is too cheap for them!”
He counted on his fingers, then exclaimed, “That adds up to several million, doesn’t it?”
“He should be able to come up with that money, right?” I asked.
“He should!” Iron Head replied confidently, “This Liu Hao is highly valued by the Cao Family. Even without considering other assets, he should have millions in savings. Letting him use that money to buy so many lives is already a bargain!”
I said that sounded about right.
“Yes, yes, you’re right!” Iron Head agreed.
“They should at least have something left for funeral arrangements,” I added.
“Yes… huh?” Iron Head nodded instinctively, then suddenly froze, eyes wide, stammering, “Fun… funeral arrangements?”
As we spoke, we vaguely heard voices approaching, and soon saw a group of people walking toward us.
“That Liu is coming!”
Iron Head squinted in that direction, instantly energized, his face breaking into a wide smile.
Liu Hao’s group was following Wei Dongting, who was holding a Luo Pan, scanning the surroundings as if searching for something.
Seeing us standing by the Lotus Pond, Liu Hao said something to Wei Dongting, then hurried over to us.
“Here he comes, damn it, he really came!” Iron Head was excited.
“Stay calm,” I reminded him.
“Yes!” Iron Head replied, immediately putting on a stern face.
Liu Hao hadn’t even reached us before he was already smiling, calling out from afar, “Boss Lin, I apologize for earlier. Please accept my apology.”
I ignored him.
Iron Head coughed, blocking Liu Hao’s path, and said coldly, “What are you here for again?”
“Well… I’d like to ask Boss Lin to save those dozen or so brothers,” Liu Hao said, letting out a long sigh, “If something happens to them, their families will be devastated.”
“Devastated for sure, but first your Liu Family will be smashed to pieces!” Iron Head said.
I saw Liu Hao’s face stiffen, but he was good at hiding it. He quickly put on a smile and chuckled, “You’re joking, brother. But please, Boss Lin, for the sake of heaven’s virtue of cherishing life, save these brothers. I, Liu Hao, beg you on their behalf!”
As he spoke, he gave a deep bow.
“You want to save someone, right? Hand it over!” Iron Head spread his hand in front of Liu Hao.
“What?” Liu Hao was momentarily stunned.
“Money, four hundred thousand!” Iron Head shouted, “Listen carefully, it’s four hundred thousand per person!”
“This…” Liu Hao was taken aback.
“What, you damn well think you can get it for free?” Iron Head glared at him.
“No… of course not.” Liu Hao frowned, thought for a moment, and said with difficulty, “It’s only right to pay a reward, but this is really too much.”
“Too much? Then go find someone else!” Iron Head yelled.
Liu Hao gritted his teeth. “I can pay, but the price still needs to be negotiated.”
After some bargaining between the two, they finally settled on two hundred thousand.
I secretly laughed to myself-Iron Head sure had a few tricks up his sleeve.
“We can save them, but transfer the money first!” Iron Head said.
“Pay thirty percent as a deposit first!” Liu Hao said grimly.
Iron Head glanced at me. Seeing that I had no objections, he nodded, “That works too, hurry up.”
Liu Hao had no choice but to turn and leave to gather the money.
“Didn’t you say there’s something wrong with this pond? In a bit, shout out loud,” I whispered to Iron Head.
“Alright!” Iron Head replied, understanding.
“Don’t overdo it, make it believable.”
“Got it!”
Iron Head prepared himself, then pointed at the Lotus Pond in shock and shouted, “What… what’s going on here?”
His eyes were wide open, his expression spot on-he really put on a show.
His shout successfully drew the attention of Wei Dongting and the others.
“What are you making a fuss about?”
Wei Dongting shot us a cold glance, then turned to look at the Lotus Pond.
After a few glances, his expression changed. He squatted down and stared intently at the surface of the pond.
Liu Hao, who was about to leave to gather money, saw this and hurried back, asking anxiously, “What’s going on?”
The others also gathered around.
I looked at the crowd and saw Zhou Xiang standing there with a hunched back, his expression numb. Even as everyone crowded around the Lotus Pond, he only twitched his eyelids.
He seemed utterly indifferent to everything around him, like a walking corpse.
“Two of you, get down there and take a look!” Wei Dongting shouted.
Liu Hao immediately assigned two people, who took off their shirts and jumped into the pond bare-chested.
There was a splash, but strangely, despite two grown men jumping in, barely any water splashed up from the surface.
The inky black water of the pond was like thick, dark ink, instantly swallowing the two men.
After that, the surface of the pond returned to calm, without a single ripple.
“What’s going on?”
“Where are they? Where did they go?”
The onlookers were filled with shock and uncertainty.
Someone else shouted into the Lotus Pond, but there was no response.
Logically, the water in the Lotus Pond shouldn’t be very deep, but now, after the two men went in, they vanished without a trace. This immediately caused panic among the crowd.
“Quick, bring a Bamboo Pole!” Liu Hao shouted.
Soon, two people found two long Bamboo Poles and poked them into the Lotus Pond.
The Lotus Pond wasn’t that big, but strangely, after poking around for a long time, they couldn’t touch anything. The two men who had gone in seemed to have evaporated into thin air.
“Gho… ghosts!” Everyone turned pale with fright, backing away from the Lotus Pond, not daring to get any closer.