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墨書 Inktalez
The person I had seen before stood beside the hospital bed. The sunglasses had been removed, revealing a deep scar that slanted across his eye. It was so deep that his eyes resembled those of a dead fish, no wonder he wore sunglasses.
The room was filled with a variety of people; some looked ordinary, others appeared menacing, and a few carried an almost imperceptible aura of Yin Qi, seemingly coming from an Ajan Master. To my surprise, among this group, I spotted Barulan, the Half-Blood Dark Sorcerer. He stood near the head of the bed, expressionless, like a zombie.
Second Uncle communicated with these people in Thai, and I couldn't understand anything, so I naturally didn't dare to interrupt. Qin Zhenzhen seemed a bit anxious and quietly asked me if these people were here to cause trouble and if we should call the police. I shook my head and told her that these were acquaintances of Second Uncle, so there was no need to worry.
Qin Zhenzhen glanced at Hu Xiaoyi in the corner of the room, seemingly wanting to call him over but hesitating to do so.
At that moment, Second Uncle finished speaking, and more than half of the people in the room left. As they passed by me, they smiled and greeted me, and I hurriedly returned the gesture. Once most had departed, I placed the food I had bought on the table and looked at the remaining four or five people, casting an inquiring glance at Second Uncle.
Second Uncle acted as if he hadn't seen me; he took out his breakfast and insisted on eating more to nourish himself while inviting us to join him.
Clearly, something was about to happen, and I had no appetite for food. Hu Xiaoyi and Qin Zhenzhen were even more unsettled; they were scared and didn't want to stay in this hospital room any longer. The oppressive atmosphere emanating from Barulan and the others was palpable.
After finishing breakfast, Second Uncle wiped his mouth with a tissue and then asked me to bring him his trench coat. I asked what he needed it for. He smiled and said, "Come on, Uncle will take you for a walk."
A walk? I was too naive to think that Second Uncle genuinely just wanted to take a stroll.
To my surprise, once we left the hospital room, he led Hu Xiaoyi, Qin Zhenzhen, and me into a car. If it was just a walk, there would be no need for a vehicle. Unable to contain my curiosity any longer, I asked Second Uncle what he really intended to do.
Sitting in the car, Second Uncle remained cheerful and smiling as he said, "If someone got beaten up, there has to be an explanation; you don't really think I'm going to let it go quietly."
I asked about the people who had just come in. Second Uncle said they were nothing special—just some local power brokers from around Pattaya. They had all done business with him before and had some rapport with him, which was why they came to help. Although Second Uncle made it sound simple, from what I observed, those people showed him great respect. Business partners wouldn't typically exhibit such an attitude.
In fact, I had always doubted my grandfather's claim that he had distanced himself from the gang after borrowing money from a leader who died—was that really true?
Could someone who had truly cleaned up their act dare to buy off the life of the Metropolitan Police Chief? At least from my perspective, such things seemed unlikely. Only those who still controlled some power and weren't afraid of official authority could pull off such brazen acts.
Thinking about this made me feel somewhat excited and inexplicably thrilled.
No one likes to be beaten up, I don't like it, and Second Uncle wouldn't like it either. But we indeed got beaten up last night, and we almost lost our lives. The humiliation and fear were enough to make one's anger soar to the highest point in a short time. Given Second Uncle's character, it would be strange if he didn't seek revenge. After all, he is someone who dared to take Ajan to Cambodia to confront drug dealers!
What I didn't expect was that Second Uncle didn't go looking for anyone; instead, he had the car driven to the entrance of a hotel.
He took us into a VIP room, where the manager brought over a pot of tea and greeted us in Chinese. Second Uncle introduced him as the son of a comrade of Grandpa's from years ago, someone he had kept in touch with over the years, making him one of the few friends we had in Thailand.
Hearing this made me feel fond of the friendly-looking manager, and I quickly stood up and called him "Uncle."
The manager smiled and waved his hand, telling me not to be so polite. He seemed to understand why Second Uncle was there, so after chatting for a bit, he took his leave.
Once the door closed, Second Uncle poured tea for us and said, "Try this premium Tieguanyin tea I specially brought from home. It's fragrant and hard to come by for most people."
I lifted my cup and sniffed; the aroma was delightful. Taking a sip made my mouth water even more. It was indeed good tea, far better than the Huangshan Maofeng my dad bought for twenty yuan a pound. Second Uncle laughed heartily and said, "You're used to bitter tea; can you really drink twenty-yuan-a-pound tea? Take some back later to let him broaden his horizons!"
Hu Xiaoyi and Qin Zhenzhen sat in their chairs, feeling quite uneasy. He whispered to me, asking what we were doing here. I couldn't figure out what Second Uncle was planning either, so I suggested we drink tea first and wait.
A few people who had been guarding the hospital room came in at this point and sat on the sofa with us. Shortly after, seven or eight more people entered, each holding sticks. They were covered in tattoos and looked intimidating. Qin Zhenzhen was so scared she nearly screamed and grabbed Hu Xiaoyi's arm.
Second Uncle waved his hand, telling them to put away their sticks first and said, "Smile; don't be so fierce; you're scaring the kids."
The group chuckled and hid their sticks behind them, standing still at the door.
About twenty minutes later, someone knocked on the door. Then a Thai person walked in from outside. Upon seeing him, Qin Zhenzhen screamed, "It's him! He's the one who brought people to kidnap me!"
I also remembered this person; he had helped plead our case so that Second Uncle and the others could escape. He never entered before but looked somewhat displeased when he saw us now. After hesitating for a few seconds upon seeing the dozen or so people in the room, he spoke up: "Hello, may I ask…"
"Can you speak Chinese?" Second Uncle laughed, waved his hand, and said, "Great! Come on in for some tea."
The Thai person looked hesitant; at that moment, two big men standing by the door stepped forward. One placed a hand on his shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Please have some tea!"
The Thai person’s expression changed as he felt the pressure on his shoulder, realizing that if he didn’t comply, things might not end well for him. Thus, he had no choice but to walk over and sit in the chair as instructed by Second Uncle. Second Uncle neither inquired about his background nor mentioned what happened yesterday; he simply picked up a teacup and handed it to him with a smile, saying, “Please have some tea.”
The Thai person glanced at the teapot, seemingly skeptical. Second Uncle, being quite shrewd, smiled and took a sip from the cup himself before passing it back, saying, “Please have some tea!”
The Thai person no longer doubted; if it were poisoned, Second Uncle wouldn’t risk it himself. He decisively took the cup and drank it all in one go. Just as the cup left his lips and he was about to speak, Second Uncle lifted the teapot again and filled his cup once more, then gestured and said, “Please have some tea.”
The Thai person was slightly taken aback but had no choice but to lift the cup again to drink.
After finishing one cup, Second Uncle immediately filled it again. He didn’t get angry or say anything else; he just kept repeating, “Please have some tea.”
At first, the Thai person could still manage to drink, but after a few minutes, his expression changed. In just a short time, he had already consumed enough tea for five people. Second Uncle shook the now-empty teapot and smiled, asking someone to bring a new pot.
With fresh tea poured in, he continued to fill the Thai person's cup and urged him to drink.
If at first there was fear and confusion, gradually the Thai person began to understand what was happening.
Cup after cup, pot after pot, Second Uncle was like a frog slowly boiled in warm water, instilling fear within calmness. I could see the Thai person's face growing increasingly pale; he could no longer drink. Yet Second Uncle showed no signs of stopping; whether he wanted to or not, this tea had to be consumed!
Eight or so burly men stood nearby, and the Thai person dared not resist. By the time he finished the third pot of tea, he finally couldn’t hold back any longer. Just after finishing another cup, he put it down and said to Second Uncle, “Mr. Shen? What happened yesterday was just a misunderstanding. I didn’t know that young lady was your friend; otherwise, I would have given her this courtesy.”
Second Uncle paused for a moment with the teapot in hand and looked at the Thai person with a half-smile before saying, “This courtesy… Heh heh, thank you. Please have some tea.”
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