I moved out of my house and into Fatty's place. Fatty's parents were away recently, so it was just his old man at home. I actually enjoyed being with his old man. I remember when I was a kid, his old man used to tell us revolutionary stories. They were more exciting than what the textbooks said. Plus, Fatty's house always had some interesting stuff, like Japanese military blades and antiques. For the younger me, his house was like heaven.
"Shanzi, you can stay in the north room. I've cleaned it up for you. I go to bed early at night, so keep the noise down," his old man was very spirited, but actually not in good health. He had been in multiple battles, with many shrapnel fragments in his body, some very close to his heart. After all the hardships, his perseverance was unmatched.
At night, Fatty, Luo Lao, and I had a meeting. Brother Zhu was not truly part of our group. In essence, our relationship with Brother Zhu was purely based on cooperation. There were many things we couldn't talk about openly - we had to keep them hidden.
"What Brother Zhu said wasn't wrong. We have to find a way to protect ourselves at the bottom. They are all high-level experts with great abilities, and we are just small potatoes. If we don't learn to protect ourselves, we'll be the ones at a disadvantage," Fatty said, looking at me.
I smoked and thought for a moment before saying, "After we get inside, if we figure out the situation, we'll do our own thing."
As soon as I said that, both Fatty and Luo Lao were a bit surprised. In fact, their thoughts were not much different from Brother Zhu's. In simpler terms, it meant following the high-level experts from the Ling Ji Sect to pick up any leftovers. It would be great to find treasure, but if not, we couldn't blame anybody else. I had promised to work with Ling Ji, but when we really got underground, they couldn't keep bringing out the treasures.
"Shan Ge, what do you mean exactly?" Luoyang asked, leaning in.
"I had a deal with Lingxiang in the old temple, but I don't trust verbal agreements. And this time, Lingxiang may not come in person; if his men are greedy and unwilling to share, we may end up with nothing. That would be the best-case scenario. You guys always think that picking up leftovers can make you rich, but that's naive. Lingxiang and Zhu Zi have their own ways of protecting themselves. With their relationship and experience in the Dao, if we pick up their leftovers, they might not bother us. But we're different. We're inexperienced, and if we don't find anything valuable, just escaping unscathed would be a success. But if we do find something valuable and they ask for it, can we refuse? If we can't win, we'll have to submit. Do you understand this logic?"
Fatty and Luoyang weren't as deep in thought as I was. I realized the danger of this circle, not because I assumed the worst of people, but because people's hearts had indeed turned bad.
"So what do you mean exactly?" Fatty put out his cigarette and pressed for an answer.
"We'll follow them in, then find a safe place to leave the group. If Zhu Zi is willing to join us, we'd welcome him. But most likely, he'll stick with Ling's experts, so we'd better not go too deep and look for treasures in the safer underground areas. If we find something worth a few tens of thousands, it could help your uncle."
This was my plan, and I thought it was relatively safe. Fatty and Luoyang exchanged glances; they hadn't initially seen this as a very dangerous situation, but now they were taking it seriously.
"Fine, I think Ling's people will come in a few days, so let's get prepared," Fatty said. Luoyang didn't object, and I nodded in agreement. I stood up from the bench, and Fatty suggested, "How about we go to the morning market tomorrow? We're not well-equipped, your bone knife is broken, and I have three spare ones. They might be useful against ghosts, but not so much against creatures like zombies. We need some serious weapons for self-defense."
I had been thinking the same thing, and after wishing each other good night, I fell asleep until the next morning.
At the morning market for the second time, I noticed that there were more people and stalls compared to last time. We headed towards the right side where the general sellers were, especially the ones selling ironware. The items were covered with black cloth, and if they spotted the police, they prepared to pack and flee immediately.
Fatty and Luoyang split up on both sides to look around. After a while, we bumped into each other.
"I haven't found anything here, only some big machetes, which aren't easy to carry and are rusty," Fatty said helplessly.
I shook my head and said, "I haven't found anything either."
"Heh, I have found something, come and take a look," Fatty grinned and led me to the corner in the south. Not far away, a man in black clothes with his face covered, who seemed somewhat foreign, was squatting on the ground, with several weapons covered in black cloth in front of him.
"A foreigner?" I whispered curiously.
"Yeah, seems like a Middle Easterner. Look at the weapons on the ground," Fatty pointed out. When I looked, I saw three curved knives, not like the ones used by our Chinese nomads. They looked more like a big dog's thigh, with an extra thick part at the tip of the blade, which then tapered towards the handle. There was a twisted part in the middle of the blade, resembling a fold. There was a blood groove on one side of the blade, giving off a fierce and cold aura.
Fatty uncovered the cloth and revealed the knives, leaving me stunned. I couldn't help but exclaim, "What great knives!"
"Hehe, do you know what this is?" The chubby guy turned his head deliberately to show off in front of Luo Qiong. Luo Xiaozi shook his head dumbfoundedly, and the chubby guy proudly said, "This is a Khukuri, the national knife of Nepal. It is generally divided into two types, one is a handicraft, usually smaller, with gemstones and crystals embedded on the handle and blade. The other type is equipped for military use, about the size of a dog's thigh. This type of knife can often deflect the opponent's blade, catch the enemy's weapon at the bent part, and then directly stab the enemy's wrist. It is very tricky and aggressive in close combat. It's really a good thing, I thought it couldn't be found in China. Hey, the morning market is really a good place!"
The chubby guy had a big smile on his face, as if he had seen a pretty girl. I was naturally elated as well, but when the chubby guy asked about the price, my face suddenly darkened.
"What the heck! Two thousand for one, six thousand for three, no bargaining, no RMB or food coupons, only accepting the equivalent amount in US dollars! Why don't you go rob someone!"
These three knives were indeed very good, and they would definitely be a great help to us, but the price was just too high. In the 1980s, there were indeed many foreigners coming to China to exchange foreign currency, and there were also many people in Shanghai selling foreign goods such as cigarettes every day. But I and the chubby guy didn't have access to this kind of trade, and even if we did, it was really hard to spend six thousand yuan to buy three knives. What if we lost them in the underground passage?
"Good stuff, can you give a discount?"
The chubby guy was eager, but the other party didn't budge. In the end, we had to leave empty-handed. It seemed that we couldn't get a good deal every time. After considering it, we could only make do with our animal-bone daggers, better than nothing.
When we returned to the chubby guy's house in the afternoon, we saw an old-fashioned Red Flag sedan parked outside, with two soldiers in green uniforms standing at the door.
The three of us were surprised.
"Chubby guy, looks like a big shot is visiting your house!"
I joked with a smile.
"Damn, look at the license plate!" the chubby guy pointed at the license plate of the Red Flag car and shouted.
I took a look and my expression changed. The license plate was A02-3873.