Chapter 21: Japanese Merchants

  After that monster disappeared, Liangzi turned around and asked me: "Did you see what it was?"

  "I have no idea where to go, recently there are more and more strange things happening, can't even let people live." The two of us immediately turned around and continued searching in the attic, Liangzi holding a mop handle and I holding a flashlight. After checking all corners, we confirmed that there were no other monsters, and then we went down to the bedroom one after another.

  I quickly went to find the cause of the power outage, and when I walked to the circuit breaker, I found that the main power switch had fallen down for some reason. I don't know if it was human error or something else. I quickly restored the circuit breaker to its original position, and the lights in the bedroom and living room came back on immediately.

  With the light on, the two of us slightly reduced our tension. Liangzi plopped down onto my bed, lit a cigarette and took two hard puffs before saying: "I think things are getting weirder and weirder, it must have something to do with that painting of yours, let's find a place to get rid of it as soon as possible!"

  "Ah, the painting, right the painting...", I thought to myself and quickly reached under my pillow to feel around, then found that the painting was still there, and let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed this monster wasn't here to steal the painting.

  I lit a cigarette to relax my tense nerves, and then said to Liangzi: "Alright, this time I'll listen to you. Tomorrow we'll let Lao Lu find some customers for us, no matter how much money it is, we'll deal with it first and talk about it later. I don't dare to keep this painting on me anymore, otherwise it will bring disaster upon myself."

  Although we all want to know the truth, the problem is that this painting is too strange and can't be left unattended. Neither of us slept anymore, smoking continuously until dawn. I looked at the streetlights outside the window and they were all extinguished, so I urged Liangzi to quickly call Old Lu.

  It's estimated that at this time Lao Lu should still be asleep, so Liang Zi chatted with him for a few words and then hung up the phone, telling me to just wait for Lao Lu's news.

  The two of us sat and chatted for a while, looking at the watch it was almost eight o'clock. In order to prevent any accidents, I used tape to stick the painting firmly on Liangzi's chest, wrapping many rounds until it felt like it couldn't be pulled off before feeling relatively at ease.

  We immediately went downstairs to take a taxi and arrived at Liu Bao's restaurant. Liu Bao also seemed to have just gotten out of bed, seeing him collecting newspapers at the door. He was also surprised to see us two, and smiled and asked: "What's going on? You two won't be here for free food so early, will you?"

  "Hurry up and bring it down, now everything tastes flavorless to me. If you're a bit later, you won't see us two brothers anymore." Liang Zi said exaggeratedly.

  Liubao didn't know what was going on, so I simply told him about what happened last night. Liubao listened and also had an incredulous expression. The three of us went into Liubao's bedroom and sat down. Liubao asked the kitchen to prepare some breakfast, but I didn't have an appetite to eat. After forcing down a bit of porridge, I just sat there in a daze.

  Then I watched TV bored, waiting for Lao Lu's news. Until it was almost noon, Lao Lu rushed over excitedly and shouted as soon as he entered the door: "It's done! I called according to the business card, at first the other party didn't want to talk to me, but after hearing that I'm a 'ashtray' seller, they immediately changed their attitude. I told them there was treasure to be sold, and we agreed to meet at 2 pm to inspect the goods."

  I looked at the time and there were still a few hours left, so I called out to Liangzi to sleep some more. Liangzi had a painting tied around her stomach, and even lying down made her feel uneasy, so she leaned against the headboard and started humming. I was also very tired, so I fell asleep on Liu Bao's bed too.

  When I was woken up by the old road, it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon. As soon as I got up, I saw Liangzi and Liu Bao using newspaper to wrap a few knives, so I asked them what they were doing?

  "Get ready, guys! We've encountered so many strange things in this painting. This time, we must be prepared." Liangzi said without turning his head back.

  I would have said they were fooling around again, but now it seems that preparing some weapons isn't a bad idea either. After the four of us each chose a kitchen knife and hid it behind our waists, we went downstairs and hailed a car to head to the address Old Road had given us.

  I found it quite amusing on the bus, if the driver knew that each of us had a vegetable knife hidden behind our waists, he would probably abandon the vehicle and run away as soon as he opened the door!

  The taxi drove for more than half an hour, and when I arrived, it was a three-story small villa. I thought to myself that this boss must be quite wealthy, but I didn't know what his identity was. Maybe this time I could really sell it at a high price.

  A few people got off the car and walked to the old road, then knocked on the door. The one who opened the door was a young man in his twenties. After asking about our purpose, he led us into the living room on the first floor and said "Please wait for a moment" before going upstairs.

  We sat on the solid wood chairs in the living room, looking around, and I felt that the decoration style of this villa was very unique. Although it can't be said to be Western-style, it's different from most rich people in our area, and it doesn't look particularly luxurious, but it exudes a sense of oldness from inside out.

  A few people were whispering to each other when they heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. I looked up and saw that young man and a man who was probably in his sixties or seventies walking steadily down the stairs. He was not tall, but had an air of arrogance on his face, making him look like a leader from some organization.

  I thought to myself that this must be the one who bought the old road's 'ashtray', and at this time, I saw the old road hastily get up and welcome me with a smile: "Ah ah ah Mr. Takashi, it's been a long time since we met, you're even more spirited than before!"

  Mr. Nuo also smiled and replied: "It's great to see Mr. Lu again, I'm very happy too! But I don't know what precious thing Mr. Lu has brought this time, I've been waiting anxiously!"

  I heard the conversation between the two, I reckon Old Lu hadn't revealed what he was selling this time. After a few more pleasantries, Old Lu introduced us to Mr. Tuo one by one. Mr. Tuo politely nodded at all of us, and when his eyes met mine, he slightly froze for a moment before coming over to shake my hand with a smile: "I've heard Mr. Lu mention Brother Qiu many times, and now that I see you in person, you're indeed a talented young man, haha..."

  I thought for sure it was the old routine and someone had been bragging again, so I smiled and welcomed him: "Mr. Takada, you're too kind, please don't mind me intruding."

  I'm actually fed up with this kind of hypocritical courtesy itself, but when encountering such a situation, I have to flatter.

  Mr. Tao looked at me deeply for a while and said, "Mr. Lu only said that there is a treasure to be sold, but I don't know what it is. Can you take it out and let me appreciate it?"

  After hearing this, I gave Liangzi a look, and immediately saw Liangzi start taking off his clothes. Mr. Tuo looked at me with a puzzled expression, and I awkwardly nodded and smiled: "Mr. Tuo, don't be surprised, this thing is too precious, to ensure absolute safety, that's why it's like this."

  I'm actually worried to death, and I still don't know how much this painting is worth. If it turns out that others think it's just an ordinary painting, then I'd really want to find a hole to crawl into.

  Liang Zi quickly stripped down to his underwear, reached out and pulled a few times on the tape, but it was stuck too tightly and didn't come off. He then awkwardly smiled and said: "Ah, Mr. Tuo Lao, do you have any scissors at home? Can I borrow them for a bit?"

  Mr. Tuo just smiled and nodded to the young man beside him, who immediately turned around and went out, then came back with a pair of scissors and handed them over to Liangzi. Seeing Liangzi's clumsy movements, I quickly stepped forward, took the scissors from him, and carefully cut down the painting.

  In the midst of the ripping sound of the tape, I placed the painting on the tea machine in front of everyone and made a gesture of invitation to Mr. Tuo.

  Mr. Tuo walked forward and sat down in the chair, then slowly unfolded the painting. When the painting was opened to about one-third of its full size, I felt his eyes widen in shock. As the scroll continued to unfurl, he suddenly began shaking all over.

  I thought to myself, "No way, is this old man going to have an asthma attack?" Just as I was about to go up and ask him something, Mr. Takada quickly rolled up the open scroll again and then looked at us with a terrified expression, saying: "Everyone, please follow me to the second floor for further discussion."

  Liang Zi immediately snatched the painting back and held it to his chest as soon as he heard that they were going to change places. Mr. Tuo wanted to speak but hesitated, and then shivered all over as he led the way in front of us. We followed him up to the second floor.

  We went up to the second floor and entered a very large study, I saw all sorts of ancient paintings, ancient swords, and some unnameable things on display, it seemed that Mr. Ta was also an absolute top-notch collector of antiques, but I didn't know why our painting made him so nervous.

  This room, although it looks like a study, also has a negotiation area similar to a conference table. After we came in and just found a place to sit down, I heard Mr. Tuo say: "Everyone please wait for a moment, I'll be right back." After finishing speaking, he turned around and went out of the door, 'dang dang dang...' and ran up to the third floor.

  At this time, Liangzi tightly hugged the painting and said to me: "I'm relying on it, this old ghost won't go call people, do we want to withdraw first?"

  I also think it's a bit strange, saying we're not nervous is fake, people like us have been robbed in broad daylight before, so-called "no harm no foul" doesn't apply, but looking at Mr. Tuo's appearance, he seems different from those thugs, so I said to Liangzi: "Don't worry, let's wait and see, we're all carrying our stuff."

  Liang Zishen stretched out his hand to touch his waist and only then did he calm down a lot. We waited for about five or six minutes, when Mr. Ta and a middle-aged woman came in supporting an old man with white hair like a steamed bun.

  That white-haired old man was not tall either, and his age was estimated to be over 80 years old. He wore a pair of reading glasses, but his eyes were still bright and spirited.

  The old man with white hair saw the painting in Liang Zi's arms and immediately pushed away Mr. Ta and the middle-aged woman who were supporting him, taking a few steps forward to grab the painting from Liang Zi's hands. Liang Zi quickly hugged the painting and dodged to one side, loudly scolding: "Hey, what's going on here? I told you, if you act rashly, I'll turn against you."

  At this time, I saw the white-haired old man appear particularly tense, and immediately turned to Mr. Takashi and said a few words that we couldn't understand. I suddenly felt my whole body tighten up, and even a Chinese person without any foreign language experience could tell that he was clearly speaking Japanese.

  Mr. Tak then waved his hand like an old man with white hair, indicating that he should calm down, and smiled at us: "Don't be surprised, everyone. This is my boss, Mr. Yamamoto Toshihiko, a businessman from Japan who has come to China. He's very interested in your painting, and would like to ask you all to let him take a look."