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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 97: The Moon High, The Wind Dark
In the pitch-black night, the sound of crashing waves echoed around. Occasionally, the air that seeped through the car window carried the salty smell of seawater. Xiao Mu, who grew up in Binhai, knew he was at the dock—at a large port that handled hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo daily. In a place like this, a parked car or a few standing people would be as inconspicuous as ants among the towering stacks of containers.
In other words, it was an excellent place for disposing of bodies.
A shiver ran down his spine as he felt adrenaline surging through him. His hands were bound in front of him, and he could reach for his phone with a slight turn of his body. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything outside; he didn’t know if someone was standing by the window or if this was merely a ruse waiting to be exposed.
The Wronged Young Master—this is not what I signed up for; I shouldn’t have to suffer like this.
A flicker of regret rose from deep within him but was quickly replaced by indignation. If he was going to be treated like a Traitor, he might as well die with dignity. But here he was, about to be dealt with before even getting that chance. What kind of situation was this? If there were a ranking system for misfortune, he felt he would undoubtedly be the unluckiest informant.
His heart raced, beating faster than normal before settling back down.
He was tense—too tense—then suddenly relaxed.
Yet inside, it felt as though a piece had been hollowed out, leaving him cold and empty. He didn’t understand where this emptiness came from. After all, those who die for a cause can do so heroically; but what about him? He had been a half-hearted informant, received two months' worth of allowances, and now he might lose his life without understanding why.
It was so unfair—too unfair! He still had plenty of life left to live.
His mind raced through countless possibilities. Should he plead for mercy? No, these villains despised weakness above all else.
But if he tried to act tough and they got angry enough to actually kill him, that wouldn’t be worth it either.
What about Chen Ming? That seemed unlikely; these dim-witted thieves wouldn’t listen to reason.
Running away was out of the question too; in terms of physical ability, he was probably the weakest among them and stood no chance against these hardened figures from the underworld.
The dire situation awakened his survival instincts as he quickly recalled several key points: it was because of Ma Yubing and Mao Shiping being captured, dealing with the Traitor. Just moments ago, a stranger mentioned that Mao Shiping had informed Black Steel, and Black Steel had notified him. One of the two must be a Traitor... Could it be that they couldn't figure it out and were prepared to kill indiscriminately, leaving no one alive?
Something felt off. Dealing with a Traitor should be swift and decisive; this dragging on was more troublesome than a woman changing her sanitary napkin. It just didn't add up.
Moreover, the dock didn’t seem like the best place to commit such an act.
Xiao Mu thought to himself that if he were in charge, he would definitely choose a secluded spot, dig a hole to bury the evidence, or load it onto a ship and toss it into the sea to feed the fish. Wouldn't that be more efficient? Why linger here?
It seemed there was another intention at play.
Xiao Mu's heart gradually calmed down as he pondered whether he qualified enough to be silenced. At most, he knew about some stolen goods; beyond that, he had committed offenses far worse than Old Cripple or Ma Yubing. If they could find Culinary School, they should know that today alone he extorted over eleven thousand. This could land him in prison for several years... Damn it, after all this trouble, why didn’t they consider him one of their own?
He thought about it and realized that no matter how he looked at it, there wasn’t enough reason for them to silence him.
“Bluffing, playing this game with me,” he mused, his mind settling somewhat, though the fear in his heart still lingered...
Outside, several observers found this person unexpectedly calm.
For a full hour, the driver leaned against the railing by the sea, occasionally glancing back at the car. He was both puzzled and astonished by the behavior of the person inside. If he had been scared enough to wet his pants, that would have been easier to accept; instead, this demeanor was something he couldn’t comprehend.
After just over an hour, he beckoned Old Cripple and another person over to a distance. Silently lighting a cigarette with his fingers cupped against the wind, he took a puff as the flickering flame illuminated his handsome face. He turned to the two approaching him and asked, “What do you think?”
"Not like that," another one shook his head.
"I told you, it can't be him," Old Cripple concluded.
"Heh heh, I know it's not him. But this person gives me a strange feeling," the driver said.
"Strange? What could possibly make Brother Wu feel strange?" another one asked with a laugh.
"Too calm. It's not easy for us to reach this level, right?" the driver replied, clearly perplexed by this aspect.
Old Cripple chuckled, "This guy is audacious enough to gather all of us from Suzhou and Hangzhou into this area, specifically to extort hotels. I heard from Xiao Hong that they collected eleven thousand in a single day. When we went there, they were distributing money at a gathering."
"Haha... I've heard Panzi mention it too," another chimed in.
The driver asked Old Cripple, "So tell me... how did he manage to get everyone to leave?"
Old Cripple gestured as he explained the intricacies: infiltrating hotels, secretly filming, then using the footage to blackmail. Each attempt was successful. What struck him most was that those street thugs who could only scrape by were now organized and committing crimes under his direction.
"This kid is a bit wicked, but I like it," another said appreciatively after hearing the story.
The driver pondered for a moment before flicking away his cigarette butt. "There's something off about him. He's the son of a billionaire; I find it hard to trust his motives for running the streets."
"So what should we do? Work together?" another suggested.
This startled Old Cripple, who cautiously replied, "Brother Wu, don't get involved in bloodshed. I really don't think this person is someone who would leak our secrets."
"Being soft-hearted can be fatal. Panzi is already in trouble; if we keep being lenient, we'll eventually be wiped out ourselves," the driver said, his words laced with a long silence.
The two remained silent, the night rain of the Jianghu carrying a sense of tragic despair. To have come this far, who wasn't burdened with wounds and tears?
After a long wait, the driver continued to pace until another vehicle's headlights approached. He finally stopped, waved his hand to let the car dock at the shore, then turned off the headlights. In the darkness, whispers filled the air for a moment before the busy work began. A wooden crate was opened; it was empty and tossed aside. Two hooded figures were dragged out, one pressed down and forced to kneel as the hood was removed, revealing the pale-faced Black Steel and Xu Gang, who looked utterly terrified.
The other one was less compliant, refusing to kneel and kicking back at the person behind him while cursing, "I won't kneel to heaven or earth! Get lost if you don't have anything to do; I'm tired."
This Zhang Quan one didn't fare well; a heavy kick sent him sprawling, followed by several punches that made Xiao Mu yelp in pain as he fell onto the ground. When he saw the flashlight beam reflecting off Black Steel's face, he jolted in shock—was this a setup?
"Big brother, please spare me... I've served Ma Ye loyally for many years," Black Steel pleaded. Despite his large stature, he showed no signs of resistance.
"Don't rush to speak," someone in the darkness said. Xiao Mu recognized it as the driver's voice; it was soft yet authoritative, especially in such an environment. He asked, "Did Mourning Hair inform Black Steel that you had goods arriving? Did you notify newcomer Mulin Shen Pickup... then something went wrong with the company? Which one of you tipped off the police?"
"It was him! It was him!" Black Steel hastily blamed Xiao Mu.
"Spit." Xiao Mu spat in his face and angrily retorted, "You called me at seven-thirty! I arrived there just before seven-fifty! How could I have done anything? Even if I had notified the police at seven-thirty, there's no way they could have mobilized that quickly! That’s out in the suburbs; do you think they had enough time to set up all those police cars and officers? Old Cripple, what time did you notify him?"
"Haha..." Old Cripple chuckled softly and replied, "Half an hour earlier than you."
"Ah?" The logic struck Black Steel like a thunderbolt. He began to kowtow frantically, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded, "Big brother, it wasn't me... there must be some misunderstanding! Lame Brother, please don’t kill me... I didn’t do anything!"
The sound of someone clicking their tongue caught Xiao Mu's attention. Seeing the once fierce-looking Black Steel reduced to this state made even him feel disgusted; under the bright light, it was clear—this guy had wet himself.
"What a disappointing opponent you've turned out to be. You really think with your pig brain that if the police are plotting against me, I can't plot against them? Bribing a corrupt cop is much easier than bribing an informant. Do you understand how you fell into this trap?" The driver’s voice echoed without revealing his presence.
The flashlight illuminated Black Steel's face, twisted in fear as tears and sweat streamed down. He groaned for mercy, begging not to be killed as he nearly collapsed from terror.
"You must be wondering who Brother Five is. Well, now that you've found out, you can rest easy... or rather, you can die." The driver stated coldly.
Black Steel jolted awake, desperately pleading, "Don't kill me, big brother... Spare my life, I beg you... Ah, Lame Brother, please don't kill me. I still have a wife and kids at home."
"Alright, I won't kill you," Brother Five replied, shining the flashlight on the box. "I won't get my hands dirty. I'll seal you in this tea packaging box and load it into a container. In an hour, a ferry will set sail. Let's see if you can escape. If you manage to get out, consider it your lucky day; if not, well, it's up to fate."
With a wave of his hand, several men lifted Black Steel and placed him into the box. With a loud thud, they closed it and hammered in nails—just the right size for a person, resembling a coffin. Inside, Black Steel struggled for a moment before he could no longer move. Xiao Mu was terrified, covered in goosebumps; no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't come up with such a creative method. If they really stuffed him into a container and tossed him onto a massive ship, no one would hear him scream for help. That wasn't leaving it to fate; that was putting his life in the hands of the heavens.
"Throw this one in too," Brother Five said casually as the group turned to leave.
"Damn it! I'm not a Traitor! How can you do this to me?" Xiao Mu shouted angrily, struggling against his restraints.
"Haha, now that you know so much, why should we keep you around?" one of them replied.
"This is still better than dying on the street; at least I have a coffin," another added.
They lifted Xiao Mu and tossed him into the packaging box. The moment they closed it, Xiao Mu shouted with all his might, "I swear I won't die! When I get out of here, I'll come back and kill each one of you!"
With a bang, the lid was shut tight, muffling his voice as they began hammering nails into place. The sounds of struggle inside gradually faded as they lifted the boxes onto the back of a pickup truck. The two vehicles started up and drove away...
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