112 The Great Bluffer

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Tokyo, Embassy District.

It was currently tea time. The clean, straight streets were filled with small groups of white-collar workers. Seventy percent of the men worked in the embassy district, but over sixty percent of the women accompanying them for afternoon tea were locals.

However, that was not the point. The point was that foreign diplomats were present.

This was the only requirement for the solution Yang Tang had devised. If he couldn't even achieve this, then even if He Jiani and the others were successfully returned, they would likely face kidnapping, assassination, or similar incidents.

This was no alarmist exaggeration. Heaven knows how vast the human trafficking syndicate actually was; even petty thieves operated in gangs, and it was quite possible that the two ninjas Yang Tang had eliminated were merely the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, he had no desire to be a hero saving the world. After all, reality was vastly different from Marvel movies. If Yang Tang had simply released He Jiani and her fellow captives, they might not have had a good outcome—they could easily have met with a series of "accidents." Yang Tang was only one man; he couldn't be everywhere at once to protect them, nor did he have the energy or the obligation to do so.

Thus, after much deliberation, Yang Tang had to resort to this "inferior plan."

"Two tigers, two tigers, running fast, running fast. One has no ears, one has no tail, how strange, how strange..."

Wearing a pair of grimy gloves and humming the little tune, Yang Tang parked the van at the entrance of the United States Embassy.

To be honest, Yang Tang, a middle-aged man at heart, hadn't quite adjusted to the "notion" that China was the world's leading superpower. So, he "logically" parked the van in front of the American embassy. Besides, the gap between this second-ranked superpower and China wasn't as vast as the gap between the U.S. and China in his previous life.

"Screech!"

The van came to a halt.

The guard inside the US embassy gatehouse, who had been drinking mocha and reading a newspaper, froze. He didn't immediately step out to stop the person in the Donald Duck mask, perhaps because the blood-stained mask was too terrifying, or perhaps because the guard was curious about what this man in the Donald Duck mask would do next.

The strange little tune stopped.

The surroundings became so quiet there wasn't a whisper of sound. Even the swaying had ceased.

Fear began to flood into Xiao Xiao’s heart once more.

It was at this moment that she felt the world spinning. A sliver of light—blindingly bright—appeared in the darkness below, and then she felt herself, along with countless warm or cold hands and feet around her, tumbling toward that gap of light.

Yang Tang operated the van, dumping out a pile of people as if they were trash. A third of them clearly lacked signs of life, clad in tattered rags or completely naked. Many of those bare bodies bore massive, jagged, and nauseating wounds that were visible even from a distance, causing the American guard to spray his mocha everywhere.

"Pfft!"

As the guard spat out his drink, Yang Tang drove the van away at full speed. Immediately after, the alarm connecting the gatehouse to the US embassy began to blare raucously: "Do-ah, do-ah, do-ah..."

Once the alarm sounded, not only the security personnel of the US embassy but those from several neighboring embassies rushed to their own gates, fully armed.

They then heard a faint female voice coming from the mountain-like pile of people: "Help... help me."

***

Yang Tang abandoned the van, disposed of the gloves and the Donald Duck mask, and hailed a taxi at an intersection to return to Disneyland. He believed that He Jiani and the others would be properly protected by the various embassies. Regardless of whether the trafficking syndicate was just the tip of the iceberg, this incident would certainly force the nations to take precautions and perhaps even launch a joint crackdown. Regardless, he had done all he could in this matter.

Just as the taxi started moving and hadn't even left the block, Yang Tang received a call from Wan Hailiu, saying that the purest hot spring had been found.

Yang Tang was noncommittal, simply instructing Wan Hailiu to send someone to pick him up near Disneyland.

Back near Disneyland, Yang Tang dismissed the taxi. After weaving through the crowds, he ducked into a police station on a side street and made a loud, noisy report about He Jiani’s disappearance.

The local police were accustomed to tourists going missing and were long since unfazed. They perfunctorily recorded the details of the case as described by Yang Tang and politely escorted him out of the station without taking any substantive action.

In reality, Yang Tang didn't need them to take action; he only needed those idiots to be able to testify that he had indeed reported the case. That was enough. Afterward, Yang Tang contacted the person sent by Wan Hailiu, got into the car, and headed toward Toshima Ward.

Japan had many things: many "compensated dating" girls, many earthquakes, and many hot springs—and, well, many volcanoes! Therefore, even in the highly developed Tokyo area, there was no shortage of hot spring hotels and private hot spring villas.

Located in Toshima Ward was a secluded, small hot spring manor called "Whispering Shallow." After searching, Wan Hailiu felt this place was the most suitable and bought it. Ordinarily, the procedures for purchasing such real estate in Tokyo were quite complex, but Wan Hailiu, relying on his status as an ethnic Chinese and the power of double the gold, managed to finalize the deal in less than ten hours.

The car arrived at the manor.

Personally welcoming Yang Tang inside, Wan Hailiu said with a hint of showing off, "Master Yang, do you think this place is not bad?"

Yang Tang scanned the surroundings, noticing the exquisitely trimmed flowers and towering trees in front of the house, and catching glimpses of the deep courtyard within. These things alone told him the previous owner must have been someone who truly knew how to enjoy life. He nodded immediately. "Hmm, it's not bad. To find such a quiet and comfortable place in a developed area like Tokyo, you’ve really put in the effort."

"If what Master Yang said on the plane still holds true, I can gift this estate to you after the matter is accomplished!" Wan Hailiu was clearly not a stingy person; he cared more about his own life.

Yang Tang feigned memory loss. "Did I make any promises on the plane?"

"Master Yang, you..."

Yang Tang waved his hand. "Enough. I can only stay in Tokyo for another thirty hours; let's get down to business!"

Wan Hailiu suppressed his desire to press the issue, gestured with a bow, and said, "Please, this way."

As they walked toward the inner courtyard, Yang Tang instructed, "While it's still light, send everyone else here away, except for your own men. Tell them to come back to work tomorrow."

Hearing this, Wan Hailiu felt a surge of excitement but dared not show it on his face. He replied in a muffled voice, "I will do so immediately." As he spoke, he relayed Yang Tang's order through his earpiece.

Consequently, twenty-some caretakers and maids were each given a ten-thousand-yen bonus and sent away.

Ten minutes later, in the largest hot spring pool of the Whispering Shallow Manor.

Yang Tang and Wan Hailiu were sitting in the middle of the pool, stripped down to their bathing towels.

Rubbing the smooth, fine sand at the bottom of the pool, Yang Tang remarked, "The person who built this pool must have put a lot of thought into it."

"Master Yang, the sand at the bottom of this pool is indeed excellent; it's one of the most expensive types. But will soaking in this environment really improve my illness?" Wan Hailiu asked, looking somewhat worried.

Yang Tang couldn't help but smile. "Old Wan, you really are a mood-killer. When I bought that Guanyin statue a few days ago, I thought you were an open-minded person. I didn't expect that you were actually worrying about your cancer every single moment."

Wan Hailiu gave a bitter laugh. "I have lymphoma, and it's already at stage four. How could I not be worried!"

"Alright, alright. Since you're so worried, let's just get this cancer sorted out first, shall we?"

"Thank, thank you! Thank you, Master Yang!" Wan Hailiu became agitated. "What do I need to do now?"

"Tell your men to bring a tea bowl and teapot."

Soon, a brand-new set of tea bowls and a teapot were brought to the side of the hot spring.

"Take an empty tea bowl."

Wan Hailiu hurriedly complied.

"Scoop half a bowl of hot spring water."

"Half a bowl?"

"Just do it."

Wan Hailiu didn't dare hesitate and followed the instruction.

"Bring the tea bowl over to me."

Wan Hailiu moved cautiously, and a few seconds later, he was right next to Yang Tang. "Master Yang, what now?"

Yang Tang looked up at the sun, then used his right hand to support the hand holding the tea bowl. "When you drink the medicine, you must be devout. From beginning to end, keep your mind on the years of life I promised you. You must not be greedy; if you think of more than what I promised, it will certainly not be effective. Conversely, if you think of a shorter time, you’ll only be left with regrets later. So, you can lie to heaven, to earth, and to me, but you cannot lie to yourself. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Master Yang. But the divine medicine..."

"Isn't the medicine right in my left hand?"

Wan Hailiu turned his head to look. Sure enough, at some point, Yang Tang was holding a small, transparent glass in his left hand—a tiny cup that could hold at most half an ounce of liquor—filled with a liquid that was neither green nor blue.

"Master Yang, is this the divine life-extending medicine?" Wan Hailiu’s eyes widened, unable to fathom where Yang Tang had pulled the glass from. After all, when they entered the villa, they were only wearing towels. He didn't know that Yang Tang had long ago emptied a storage slot for this purpose; in his ring, one slot held gold coins, two held large bags, and the remaining one was now empty.

"It is not yet. I’ve said it before: sincerity is the key. The most important thing when taking this medicine is that your thoughts must be devout!" As he spoke, Yang Tang poured the colorful liquid into the tea bowl in Wan Hailiu’s hand, while his right hand, supporting Wan Hailiu's, activated the "Immortal Sound Purification." "Alright, devoutly think of the years I promised you, and drink the bowl clean!"

Wan Hailiu held the bowl without sniffing the "divine medicine," instead muttering to himself, "Ten years, ten years, ten years..." Then, he suddenly downed it in one gulp, leaving not a single drop of the strange liquid behind.

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