Chapter 29: The Gold Bars Are Gone

  Kojirō quickly took over his leather bag, put his hand in and searched for a while, and only when he confirmed that the gold bars were still there did he let out a sigh of relief. After patting off the dust on his body, it seemed that he was not injured anywhere, and Kojirō, who was in a good mood, generously gave the rickshaw driver a big dollar bill, and then carried his own bag under the applause of the crowd. He walked out of here. Not seeing any rickshaws, Kojirō had to walk out of this street first and take a rickshaw back to the store, after all, carrying so many gold bars outside was risky.

  "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!" The rickshaw driver, who had received a large silver coin, kept bowing and thanking the back of Xiao Cilang, but no one noticed the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. The rickshaw driver pulling Xiao Cilang was Meng San in disguise, and the rickshaw was also rented with money. The number on the back of the rickshaw had been changed long ago, so he wasn't afraid that Xiao Cilang would find a policeman to investigate the origin of the rickshaw.

  Meng San, disguised as a rickshaw driver, had been hanging around Xiao Zilang's store all day, just to lure the old man out and see where he was going. In case Zhao Zhi and his men lost track of Xiao Zilang, Meng San would be Zhao Zhi's eyes. The plan to bring Xiao Zilang to this street and have an accident was a temporary decision made by Zhao Zhi, and it was also Zhao Zhi who had put the wooden stake under the rickshaw wheel. However, he did not expect that Xiao Zilang would be so lucky and escape unscathed after the rickshaw overturned.

  Meng San exchanged a glance with Zhao Zhi, who was hiding in the crowd. Meng San's left hand made several subtle gestures to Yu Da Zhi, and once Yu Da Zhi understood what he meant, Meng San completed his task and walked away, pulling his broken cart with a limp. Looking at his back, it was clear that he had added a few more touches of despair and sadness, making him look like a miserable wretch who had just lost his rice bowl. Zhao Zhi couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head. This Meng San, who loved to show off, couldn't even stop pretending for a moment. However, if Meng San could really use his acting skills for himself, he would definitely be a great asset.

  Kojirō still held the leather bag in his arms, carefully avoiding pedestrians on the street. Where had this damned rickshaw driver brought him? The more Kojirō walked, the more anxious he became, feeling as though everyone on the street was sneaking glances at him, especially with the gold bars hidden in the leather bag in his arms. But since he was already halfway down the street, turning back was no longer an option. With a sense of trepidation, Kojirō carefully made his way through the crowded street, clutching his precious bag tightly to his chest.

  Finally going to leave this street, far away, Shōjirō saw the front of the street and couldn't help but feel a thrill in his heart, letting out a long sigh, and his tense heart finally relaxed. This won't do, next time when I go see Miyamoto Kento, I must bring a handgun for self-defense, if something unexpected happens, it's good to have something to defend myself with.

  Just as Xiao ZiTeng was about to walk out of the street, a sudden change occurred. A group of children holding sugar people laughed and swarmed in from the street corner, avoiding pedestrians on the wide road, but instead targeting Xiao ZiTeng who was carefully dodging them. "Ah" a painful cry burst out, followed by another voice, "My purse, that's my purse!" The previously intact Xiao ZiTeng was now knocked to the ground by the children and loudly shouting while pointing at the black purse that had fallen on one side.

  "Dog egg, you've made trouble again. Just wait and see I won't go tell your dad." A man wearing a short sleeve shirt helped Xiao Cilang up, scolding the few children with a stern face. The kids obviously knew this man, all of them lowering their heads and not daring to speak, only using those lively eyes to glare fiercely at Xiao Cilang. If Xiao Cilang didn't behave himself, they wouldn't mind throwing him down again.

  Kojirō, covered in dust and dirt, smiled wryly, today was really not his day. His mediocre martial arts skills had already gotten him thrown twice, he was truly unlucky. "Excuse me, sir, is this your bag?" The man wearing a short sleeve shirt picked up the black leather bag from the ground and handed it to Kojirō, his honest face made one trust him for no reason at all.

  "Thank you, this is my bag." The crowd was too big, Xiao Zilang didn't want to open the bag to check if the gold bars were still inside, he just weighed the bag, it's okay, the weight felt about the same as before, the gold bars should still be there. Following the Chinese way, Xiao Zilang clasped his hands together in thanks and limped away from the crowd with his bag, let those kids off for now, Xiao Zilang was sore all over, he had to hurry back to the store to apply some medicated oil.

  "Rickshaw, rickshaw!" It was easy to get one out of the street corner. Xiao Zilang hastily hailed a rickshaw. As soon as the vehicle left the street corner where they were just now, Xiao Zilang didn't care about the soreness on his body and quickly opened the leather bag in his arms on the rickshaw. He wanted to make sure the gold bars were safe. "Ah!" Xiao Zilang stared blankly at the open leather bag, the glittering gold bars were gone, replaced by a half-brick that weighed about the same as the gold bar.

  "Stop, turn back, it's where I was just sitting!" Xiao Cilang's eyes were bloodshot, his feet stomping hard on the rickshaw pedals as he loudly yelled at the driver to turn back. He wanted to find the lost gold bar. The sweaty driver silently cursed in his heart, but simply turned the vehicle around and headed back along the original route to the previous street corner.

  Kojiro, sitting in the rickshaw, couldn't figure out how the gold bars in his bag had turned into half a brick. Similarly, Zhao Zhi, who was also holding a gold bar, didn't know how Yu Dazhi had done it. When those kids knocked Kojiro down earlier, Zhao Zhi had been watching from the side. Yu Dazhi, disguised as a bystander, came forward and struck up a conversation with Kojiro, scolding the children - all of this was seen by Zhao Zhi. But when did this guy switch the contents of the bag?

  Zhao Zhi didn't know that Yu Da Zhi could get his hands on it, and the credit should go to Meng San, who was disguised as a rickshaw driver. When Xiaoci fell off the car, Meng San quickly picked up the briefcase and opened the latch while pretending to help him up. After taking a quick look inside, he found that there were only gold bars in the briefcase. Meng San then secretly remembered the weight of the briefcase and conveyed this information to Yu Da Zhi through his gestures when handing over the briefcase.

  Those children holding the sugar people were all hired by Yu Dazhi, with the purpose of bringing down Xiao Cilang and separating him from the leather bag. Before Yu Dazhi chatted with Xiao Cilang, he had already exchanged the gold bars in the leather bag for a brick of similar weight to the gold bar, using the children as cover. By the time Yu Dazhi handed the leather bag over to Xiao Cilang, the gold bars were already in his specially designed waistband, and what was left in the leather bag was just bricks. Yu Dazhi had been doing this kind of thing since he was a child, if he couldn't even do this well, how could he be called "Ghost Hand" by people in the underworld?