Chapter 595: Change the appellation
There was a square clay platform in the sumo gym with no guard ropes enclosing it. It was the traditional sumo wrestling ring known as a “dohyo,” and it was about a half-meter high with steep, sloping sides. The ring comprised a circle a little over three meters in diameter, marked by thick straw ropes half-embedded into the flat clay surface. Two large men, wearing nothing except loincloths, were fighting inside the circle. Their bodies were enormous and pear-shaped, and they easily weighed over 250 kilograms. As they grappled and pounded into each other, their ample flesh quivered wildly.
Strong as an ox!
Xiao Luo couldn’t come up with a better term to describe them.
All around the dohyo, the crowd was shouting and cheering excitedly, and most of the audience were young people of both s.e.xes. On the far side, there was an extra large-sized sandbag hanging from the ceiling. A Ri nation man, standing a full six feet in height and wearing boxing shorts, was working out on the sandbag. He was a powerful man, and he threw powerful punches with both hands, accompanied by fierce grunts. He must have been working the bag for a long time, for his lean, muscular body was soaking in sweat. His entire back and arms were emblazoned with green tattoos depicting dragon motifs, which made him look intimidating.
When Miyazaki Ronjin and Xiao Luo arrived, someone immediately reported it. They saw a man whispering a few words in the ear of this Ri nation man who was at the sandbag.
The man stopped and turned around to welcome Miyazaki Ronjin with a smile. “Miyazaki-san, what brings you here? Please take a seat!”
There was a mat on the floor next to him, and in the center of the mat, there was a sandalwood table. A traditional tea set sat on the table and a rich scent of its wood wafted in the air. The large man’s subordinates hurriedly brought a black kimono for him to put on.
Miyazaki Ronjin did not stand on ceremony. He took off his shoes, stepped onto the mat, and kneeled in their customary fas.h.i.+on.
Xiao Luo followed the custom and kneeled in a similar style. He straightened his back and relaxed his shoulders.
“I need you to help me find a car,” Miyazaki Ronjin said, going straight to the point.
“Find a car?”
The man was a little taken aback by the request and chuckled. “Aren’t these the kind of cases that you guys are good at? Why are you asking us for help instead?”
As he spoke, he poured tea for Miyazaki Ronjin and the others around the table.
“Not always. There’re times the police might not be as effective as the Yakuza,” Miyazaki Ronjin said.
“Yakuza?”
The man put on a mock frown and pretended to be astonished. “Please don’t joke about such things, Miyazaki-san. How can we be the Yakuza? If we were, you would have thrown us all into jail.”
“Hmph.”
Miyazaki Ronjin did not respond to him. Instead, he got up with a light snort, walked over to the sandbag, and tugged at the lacing with a sudden jerk.
What they saw shocked them, for there was a man inside the sandbag. They bound his hands tight and strung him up from the ceiling. The sandbag was merely used to cover him while the large man used him as a punching bag to practice boxing. He was in terrible shape, covered in blood, and m.u.f.fled with a paper ball in his mouth. His breathing was shallow, and it seemed like he could die at any moment.
The two sumo wrestlers suddenly stopped fighting, and immediately the shouting crowd around them quietened down. They gawked at the tortured victim in horror, and the whole sumo gym instantly fell into silence.
Miyazaki Ronjin looked at the large man, and his expression changed slightly. “Suzuki Ikuo, are you still trying to deny what your Inagawa-kai truly is?”
Suzuki Ikuo smiled and raised his teacup to his lips. “Just ignore what you’ve just seen, Miyazaki-san. Come on, let’s have some tea and talk about the car,” he said.
“Cut him down and send him to the hospital for treatment immediately. If he dies, all of you will rot in jail,” Miyazaki Ronjin scowled at a member of the Inagawa-kai next to him.
“Just follow Miyazaki-san’s words. Bring him down and send him to the hospital. Give him the best treatment and get the best doctors to treat him, quickly!” Suzuki Ikuo bellowed.
“Got it.”
The member of the Inagawa-kai acknowledged the order. He gestured with his hand to two of his comrades to carry out the task. They immediately brought the badly beaten-up victim down and carried him away for treatment.
Xiao Luo was a little surprised that he didn’t notice that there was a person in the sandbag. He couldn’t help thinking how brazen this yakuza boss was to carry out such a cruel form of punishment.
It shook Kimura Akino up badly, and he quickly realized what a dangerous group of people the yakuza were.
“Miyazaki-san, please do not blame me for that. This only happened because the guy hit my car, but failed to come up with the money to pay for it. I had no other choice but to take him here to practice. Please don’t worry, I have a strong sense of honor and would not have beaten him to death,” Suzuki Ikuo explained. He then offered tea to Miyazaki Ronjin, Xiao Luo, and Kimura Akino, who seated around the sandalwood table.
“If we had not come on time, you would have beaten him to death. Suzuki Ikuo, what kind of beast are you? Why do you need to be so vicious?” Kimura Akino said. Although he was timid by nature, his status as a police officer gave him the courage to stand up and berate the yakuza boss him for his violent behavior.
Suzuki Ikuo snorted and responded, “Kimura-san, you’re just a small fry. In the presence of Miyazaki-san, it’s not your place to speak.”
“You…!”
When Kimura Akino was about to offer his riposte, Miyazaki Ronjin stopped him.
Miyazaki Ronjin took out a photo from his pocket and placed it in front of Suzuki Ikuo.
“Is this the car you want us to find?” Suzuki Ikuo asked, picking up the photo and studying it.
“That’s right!” Miyazaki Ronjin replied. He raised his cup of tea to his lips and took a small sip.
Suzuki Ikuo frowned and said, “It seems this was the car used in the kidnapping of the missing Hua nationals, am I right?”
“You seem to know quite a lot. You are right, it’s the car. We have been looking for it for a week, but so far we’ve got no news about it at all. Since your Inagawa-kai is the biggest underground organization in Dongjing, I believe that if you guys intervene, we might find some clues soon,” Miyazaki Ronjin said.
Suzuki Ikuo frowned deeply. “Miyazaki-san, my father told me that my grandfather was killed by the Hua nationals in the sacred imperial war 80 years ago, so I have no empathy for these Hua nation pigs at all. I wish they would all die. Now you want me to help these Chinese pigs? Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t help you,” he said.
Hua nation pigs?
When Xiao Luo heard those three words, his blood boiled.
He fumed and glared at Suzuki Ikuo. “You are Suzuki Ikuo, correct? I’d advise you to change the appellation you have applied to the Hua nation people immediately if you do not wish to be taught a lesson!”
Suzuki Ikuo was taken aback and stared at Xiao Luo incredulously. He turned to Miyazaki Ronjin and asked, “Miyazaki-san, who is he?”
“He is a man of the Hua nation. His name is Xiao Han.” Miyazaki Ronjin replied, continuing to sip his tea with little bother.
Suzuki Ikuo chuckled. “No wonder he is so mad. It turns out that he is a Hua nation pig as well,” he quipped.
Xiao Luo grimaced, and in his fury, he squeezed the cup in his hand firmly. It shattered into pieces, and the tea splashed over the table.
Everyone present was shocked.
Kimura Akino’s eyes widened, and he was awed by what Xiao Luo had done. “Oh, my, Mr. Xiao Han just crushed a teacup! How powerful his finger strength was!” he muttered to himself.
He discreetly gripped his teacup firmly but found that no matter how hard he tried to break it, the teacup remained intact.
The moment Xiao Luo cracked the teacup with his hand, the surrounding people moved in menacingly. They glared at Xiao Luo with daggers in their eyes and were ready to pounce on him.
Suzuki Ikuo raised his hand, gesturing for his subordinates to stand down. Then he smiled mockingly at Xiao Luo and said, “Chinaman, you are the first Hua nation pig who dared to pull a stunt like that in front of me. You are the first, and you will also be the last.”