Chapter 777 — We've Got Backup Too

He found it rather amusing. Little silly girl, oh little silly girl — how is it your luck is always this good? Seems your fortunes exploded the moment you met me. Whatever you go looking for, you find!

Earlier, Qiu Lingshan had phoned Wei Zhao and asked him to keep an eye out for the pickpocket gang of Songshan City. Wei Zhao had given her a perfunctory word or two and had no intention whatsoever of actually helping her hunt them down. He had more than enough on his plate every day — who had time to go out of his way to track down some pickpocket gang for Qiu Lingshan? Only someone with nothing better to do.

What Wei Zhao hadn't expected was that barely a day later, the second-in-command of this so-called Songshan City pickpocket gang would deliver himself right to his door! If the second-in-command had shown up, how could he not reel in the big boss as well?

Wei Zhao figured that since they'd crossed paths, he might as well settle the matter for Qiu Lingshan while he was at it. It was no trouble at all, and that Miss Song had been quite obedient lately. He decided to throw her a little extra bonus.

"Well? Scared now, aren't you?" Black Bird Bro took one look at Wei Zhao's expression and assumed he had frightened him. He was instantly smug. "I'll have you know, our pickpocket gang may not be as vicious as the underworld types, but we're still not someone a piddling Flying Swallow Sect disciple can afford to offend! Li Cihua — you know Cihua Bro, don't you?"

"I know him." Wei Zhao nodded. Internally he thought, Li Cihua still owes me three hundred thousand in car reparations — how could I not know him?

"Our pickpocket gang operates under Cihua Bro's protection, so you know what you ought to do, don't you?" Black Bird Bro saw that Wei Zhao knew Li Cihua, which saved him a lengthy explanation. This would be simple enough, then. Since you know Li Cihua, let's see if you still dare offend us!

"Do what? They're the ones who hit me. I don't think I even lifted a hand." Wei Zhao shrugged and spoke with an air of innocence.

"Damn!" Black Bird Bro was stunned. Thinking it over carefully, that really was how it had gone. Wei Zhao had stood there without moving a muscle, and it was his own men who'd gone up to hit him! Which meant it wasn't Wei Zhao who'd done the hitting, but his own men who'd hit him clumsily and injured themselves!

"Who told you to train in that so-called iron armor protective art?" Having invoked Li Cihua's name, Black Bird Bro felt much bolder. He didn't believe Wei Zhao would dare do anything to him after hearing Cihua Bro's name. "I'll give you two choices now. First: apologize to us, host a banquet to make peace, and then casually cough up a million or so in medical fees for my brothers, and we'll call it even!"

"I don't have any money. Besides, this isn't my fault, is it? My body is just like this. Who told them to attack me with their bare fists instead of using blades or some other weapon?" Wei Zhao had listened earnestly to Black Bird Bro's speech, and now he replied with a bitter smile: "So, might I ask what the second choice is?"

Eh? Black Bird Bro was momentarily stunned by Wei Zhao's words. This Wei Zhao really was a fool — he'd actually gone and exposed his own weakness! So he was afraid of weapons and blades! Excellent. I hadn't even figured out what to threaten you with for the second choice, and now I have it!

"The second choice is that with one phone call, I can summon a whole crowd of our pickpocket gang armed with blades, and they'll hack you to pieces! Whatever iron armor protective art you've trained in, you're finished!" Black Bird Bro said threateningly.

Yu Xiaoke was somewhat taken aback. Wei Zhao exposing his own weakness? Telling Black Bird Bro his vulnerable spot? Yu Xiaoke didn't quite believe it. In her view, Wei Zhao was a very clever person — even she had been played by him several times. How could Wei Zhao possibly reveal his weakness to Black Bird Bro?

Moreover, in Yu Xiaoke's eyes, Wei Zhao's so-called iron armor protective art was complete nonsense. It was just that Black Bird Bro had fallen into the misconception Wei Zhao had set up for him from the start, assuming Wei Zhao really had used some kind of bodily rebound to injure those four big men's hands. In truth, Yu Xiaoke felt the real story was not like that at all!

She didn't know how Wei Zhao had done it, but Yu Xiaoke was certain he had pulled some subtle trick.

"Ah, I'm so scared..." Wei Zhao put on a terrified expression. "But I really don't have any money. What am I to do?"

As he spoke, Wei Zhao turned his head to look at Yu Xiaoke: "Wife, how much money is left in our family vault?"

"What money? It's all spent!" Yu Xiaoke hadn't expected Wei Zhao to say that suddenly, but after a brief daze she played along smoothly. She wanted to see just what game Wei Zhao was playing! Clearly, though, this Black Bird Bro was about to have some bad luck!

From what Yu Xiaoke knew of Wei Zhao, he was not a man who took losses lying down. Last time she'd stolen his wallet, and he'd taken hers in return — principal and interest both! And this Black Bird Bro had provoked Wei Zhao so brazenly. How could Wei Zhao possibly let him off easily?

"See? Even my wife says there's no money!" Wei Zhao looked at Black Bird Bro with a hint of helplessness.

"Damn it! You two lovebirds in distress won't shed tears till you see the coffin!" Black Bird Bro naturally didn't believe a word of Yu Xiaoke's. Over the years, just from swindling fellow thieves, she'd raked in more than a hundred thousand, and counting what she'd stolen herself, the total was probably over a million by now!

Now that Black Bird Bro had caught these two, how could he let them off easily? Yu Xiaoke's lightness skill was formidable — if he released her this time, who knew when he'd ever catch her again? And this Wei Zhao was a strange one too, having trained some iron armor protective art. Let him go now, and he'd be hard to catch again next time!

"No, no, Black Bird Bro, look, we really don't have any money!" Wei Zhao spread his hands. "If we had money, we wouldn't be out stealing for it, right, wife?"

"That's right, that's right! We only steal because we're short on cash! Who'd be a thief if they had money? Such a wicked profession — who'd want to do it?" Yu Xiaoke nodded in agreement.

"What the hell! So you're saying I'm rotten, is that it?" Black Bird Bro flew into a rage. "Fine, you've got nerve! If you've got nerve, then don't you run — stand right here and wait for me, why don't you? I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!"

With that, Black Bird Bro pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and said, "Brother Giant Deer, it's me, Black Bird, your number two. I've run into Yu Xiaoke of the Flying Swallow Sect and her man over in Old Tao Alley. The man's a bit of a handful — I'm requesting support. Send ten men with machetes over to chop them up!"

After the call, Black Bird Bro glared viciously at Wei Zhao. "Scared now, aren't you? I'm not joking around here! And don't even think about running — Songshan City is Brother Sparkler's turf. You can't run even if you try. If you don't give me a proper account of yourselves today, you'd better forget about making a living anywhere in Songshan City ever again!"

"Oh, so you're calling for backup? Excellent — the Flying Swallow Sect has people too!" Far from showing any sign of backing down, Wei Zhao watched Black Bird Bro finish his call and said, "The grudge between the Flying Swallow Sect and you lot is nothing new. Today's as good a day as any to settle it once and for all! Let's see who can call in more people!"