Two days later, on a high-speed train.
"Passengers, the train has arrived at XX station, please all travelers..."
With the announcent coming from the front, Su Xiao, who was napping in his seat, opened his eyes.
After returning to the real world, the ferocity and sharpness in Su Xiao’s eyes had disappeared. He realized that most of the ti the real world was quite safe, and blending in by disguising as an ordinary person among the crowd was the best choice.
"Bu Bu, we’ve arrived at the station..."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke up, he rembered that pets weren’t allowed on high-speed trains, so Bubu Wang had been sent as cargo. Thinking about the shipping scene made him want to laugh.
After getting off the train, Su Xiao headed straight for the cargo carriage.
When Su Xiao presented his ticket and ID to see Bubu Wang, Bubu Wang looked completely hopeless; the silly dog had gotten carsick.
Exiting the station, Su Xiao released Bubu Wang from the cage. Looking at the bustling crowd in front of the station, he felt a familiar wave of emotion wash over him.
Last ti he had fled this city and was wanted by the police, but this ti he had returned with a legal identity—how mysterious fate can be.
Su Xiao was familiar with this city where he grew up, so he headed straight for the corner of the station, finding several "private cars" parked by the roadside.
These were not private cars but black market taxis that specialized in ripping off outsiders who couldn’t use apps to book a ride or find regular taxis.
Su Xiao sat in the front passenger seat of one car, while Bubu Wang leaped into the back seat.
"Hey, I don’t take dogs in my car, you see..."
"Guangming Road, add ten bucks."
"That’ll be 25 bucks total."
The driver started the vehicle with a normal expression; he picked up on Su Xiao’s local accent, so the addition of ten bucks for a total of 25 wasn’t out of the ordinary.
Su Xiao chose this kind of black taxi mainly because of Bubu Wang; regular taxis wouldn’t allow pets, but these black taxis were different—they’d carry anything as long as they were paid, even stranger things than pets.
The car slowly drove off. Although the city was not small, it was not bustling. There weren’t many vehicles on the streets, allowing free flow of traffic.
The black taxi driver drove while seated in the driver’s seat, and Su Xiao opened the window of the front passenger seat, lighting a cigarette.
"Thank you, little brother, I’m not used to smoking good cigarettes."
The black taxi driver declined the cigarette offered by Su Xiao, smiling while opening the ashtray for him, which was filled with cigarette butts.
"Little brother, just got back to the city, huh?"
"Yeah, just arrived."
Returning to his hotown, Su Xiao was in a good mood, so he engaged in conversation with the driver.
"Little brother, went out of town for work?"
The smoke in the driver’s cab triggered the black taxi driver’s own craving, and he pulled out a cigarette, puffing on it.
"Not for work, it was to evade police pursuit."
"Hahaha."
Hearing Su Xiao’s words, the black taxi driver burst into laughter.
"Little brother, you’re so humorous! From your looks, you don’t seem like a desperado. I’m not going to lie; I once actually gave a ride to a fugitive. At first, I didn’t know he was a murderer until he got off the car; that look in his eyes... tsk tsk."
The black taxi driver shook his head with lingering fear.
"Oh? What kind of look?"
Su Xiao flicked the ash from his cigarette, smiling as he looked at the black taxi driver.
"You wouldn’t understand, it’s like, how should I say it, uh~ it’s hard to describe."
The black taxi driver appeared worldly, seemingly recalling harsh mories.
In the back seat, Bubu Wang couldn’t help but roll his eyes at their conversation, seemingly conveying: "Driver, compared to the guy in the front seat now, a murderer is as cute as kindergarten kids."
"Little brother, the city hasn’t been peaceful lately, especially where you’re going on Guangming Road. If you aren’t born and bred there, it’s best not to go. That street has been raided multiple tis, and it’s in a remote area. Our little city on the fringe only appears to have stable security on the surface. It’s said that a gang has risen on Guangming Street, led by soone called Bu Qing..."
"Bu Qingsheng?"
Su Xiao flicked the cigarette butt from his hand.
"Yes, him. That guy’s not really into the black market, he’s in the gray at most. These days, it’s the gray zones that survive. This guy has real influence now—little brother, you know him?"
"Heard of him."
The Bu Qingsheng the black taxi driver ntioned, Su Xiao had encountered once before. The last ti he saw him, the guy was on his knees in front of Su Xiao because, under the influence of alcohol, he had co with a woman to smash Su Xiao’s store. Filled with hatred, Su Xiao had been ready to decapitate the man and dispose of the body—he even had the body bags prepared. The guy had wet his pants in fear.
Amid the casual chat with the taxi driver, the car stopped in front of a store at the end of Guangming Road.
This store was in an isolated location, firmly closed with its roller shutter door plastered with small advertisents.
After paying and getting off, Su Xiao stood in front of the store with its tightly shut door—this was the shop he had opened before to conceal his identity.
Since the shop served as a guise, it couldn’t attract too much traffic, so Su Xiao had opened a boutique that sold items like rosewood accessories, amber jewelry, and jade products.
Su Xiao only sold genuine items, and high-level goods at that, so the prices were enough to shock anyone—the 8,600 yuan rosewood bead bracelet was rely an ordinary item in the store.
Considering the product prices and the shop’s scale, it was apparent that from its opening until now, no item had ever been sold.
Initially, a few custors occasionally ca in, but half a year after opening, basically no one ca—the adjoining Wreath and Funeral Clothes Store even fared better business.
Speaking of the nearby shops, Su Xiao’s insight and the jewelry store’s feng shui are worth ntioning.
The jewelry store was flanked on the left by a Wreath and Funeral Clothes Store and on the right by a Flower, Bird, Fish and Worm Shop, while opposite stood an antique shop.
All four shops were doing extrely poor business, almost as if saying, "We’re not closing down, let’s see who lasts the longest!"
This street was located in a remote area, leading to a dead end without even a main road—being in the suburbs as a ’dead end street’ had few passing vehicles, making it quiet and more suited for living unlike a bustling city.
For this reason, starting a business here would inevitably lead to poor sales; shop after shop closed down, yet these four remained staunchly here—the jewelry store had been dormant for so ti but now ca alive again.
A bored local news reporter once ca to interview these four ’persistent’ shops, but failed to secure interviews.
The Wreath and Funeral Clothes Store owner’s response: "Scram."
Flower, Bird, Fish and Worm Shop: "Go cool off."
Jewelry Store (Su Xiao): "No ti."
Antique Store: "... (Stared intently at the female reporter’s chest, she fled in fright, nearly calling the police)."
Yet that female reporter didn’t give up and started staking out nearby the four stores, suspecting that it might be a newsworthy story, as the people running these stores might not be good.
What this female reporter found shocking was that, over an entire day, the combined foot traffic to these four stores equaled two—and that accounted for two grandpas buying fish food, sparking further curiosity on how these four stores stayed afloat.
Su Xiao knew exactly how they stayed afloat; his jewelry store didn’t need business because he wasn’t short on money.
The Wreath and Funeral Clothes Store next door was run by a middle-aged fat man, a con artist posing as a ’Feng Shui Master.’
The Flower, Bird, Fish and Worm Shop was a bit storied—through secret online channels, the guy sold weapons like crossbow arrows and controlled blades, though nobody dared publicly sell firearms.
As for the antique shop across, the old man running it was a Tuhaozi—essentially, a tomb robber.
This made it even more interesting: the four stores were run by an assassin, a swindler, an arms dealer, and a tomb robber—of the four people, three were desperadoes, while the swindler and arms dealer were brothers.
Standing outside the roller shutter door, Su Xiao pulled out a set of keys, and just as he was about to insert the key into the lock, he was surprised to find the keyhole sealed over, with a little ad stuck on the side: ’Locksmith Call 159xxxxxxxx.’
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