Chapter 1325 — New Arrivals
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Oh?" the gaunt man said, betraying nothing. "The Heavenly King covers the earth tiger!"
The earlier phrase was the common password of the tomb-raiding trade; this one was the signal agreed upon for this particular raid. If you could not answer it — well, then, sorry: the short man had only to flick his hand, and those submachine-gun-toting men would fire without hesitation.
Someone who could match the first phrase but not the second was very likely a man of the Thief Sect as well, who had caught wind of things and come to fish in troubled waters for a share of the spoils. The gaunt man would never let such people cut themselves a slice.
"Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li!" Chen Yuxuan said, calm and unhurried. This countersign he had read in the Husband-and-Wife Thieves' work journal — a signal even Liu Bojia did not know. The couple had perhaps feared forgetting so temporary an agreed password, and so had set it down in their journal.
When Chen Yuxuan and Qiu Lingshan first saw that signal, they had both nearly laughed. At the words "the Heavenly King covers the earth tiger," most people's first reaction was "the precious pagoda quells the river demon" — but to blurt that out as glibly as it came to the tongue would be a terrible mistake.
"A friend comes from afar — and which road might he be from?" The gaunt man's expression eased somewhat; he knew these visitors must be the party that had been agreed upon.
"Old Hei, you son of a bitch, don't you even recognise me anymore? Nattering on with your endless questions — believe me, I'll have him run you over!" Before Chen Yuxuan could speak, Wei Zhao shoved open the car door in displeasure, jumped down and jabbed a finger at the gaunt man, cursing him out.
According to Chen Yuxuan's information, this Old Hei was the leader of the Red Pagoda tomb-raiding gang, and the man who had discovered this ancient tomb.
The Husband-and-Wife Thieves, though, were of a strange temper, and confident in their own great skill they often held their peers in contempt; so ordinarily they were not much liked. Yet when it came to an ancient tomb as difficult as this, there was no choice but to invite him over.
So Wei Zhao imitated the male thief of the Husband-and-Wife Thieves, cursing the moment he stepped out of the car.
"Male Thief, still that hot temper of yours. This is for safety's sake — the fewer people come to carve up this ancient tomb, the greater our own share! Isn't it only that I fear someone catching wind and coming to join the fun?" The short, thin man called Old Hei shook his head somewhat helplessly, seething with anger yet with no other way about it.
"Hmph!" Wei Zhao snorted coldly. "Where are the others? Are they all here? My time is limited!"
"Brother Keng and Haoye, and James too, have all arrived. They're over there resting!" the short, thin man said.
"Everyone's here? When do we start?" Wei Zhao asked. The material showed that only five parties had come to raid this tomb, and one of them — the Husband-and-Wife Thieves — was now himself. The remaining four parties had all arrived.
"We're waiting on one guest. Without Liu Bojia, we could only invite one outsider. This ancient tomb is too dangerous; even you aren't sure of it, so I have no choice but to be careful," the short, thin man said.