Chapter 1513: Traitor
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhong Dapao asked, “Young Master Li, has this rock piqued your interest?”
Without waiting for Li Du to respond, someone who was standing aside laughed. “Judging by your accent, you’re Chinese. As your fellow countryman, I feel like I should warn you not to buy this rock. The value will only dip with another cut.”
Upon hearing this, Li Du turned. Earlier, the teen noted that the rock had cuts and cotton in it, which turned out to be true. Li Du was intrigued and wanted to approach him, but the crowd had washed him away. It must be fate that they’ve met for a second time. Li Du smiled good-naturedly. “So what do you think of this one?”
The teen pursed his lips. “You must be blind if you think this is a good one. This isn’t worth a single cent!”
Right after he finished speaking, someone kicked him from behind. The teen crawled up and spun around angrily, but calmed down when he looked at the violent faces and physically imposing men who were crowding behind him. Feeling wronged, he asked, “What’s wrong with you? Why did you kick me?”
One of the men pointed and him and said, “Get lost. If you continue to hinder our boss’ business with your rambles we won’t be that gentle anymore. We’ll come for your neck.”
Hearing this, Liu Zi responded before the teenager could, “F*ck, what kind of bullsh*t is this? You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, are you Chinese?”
The man didn’t know where he was from, so he was more careful. “No, I’m not. Why?”
“Your Chinese’s not bad,” Liu Zi spat out reluctantly.
The man laughed, “I was Chinese, but I moved to the Empire of j.a.pan some years ago.”
Liu Zi cut across him, “Why the f*ck would you serve the j.a.panese? You’re sullying the name of our ancestors, and you still dare to speak Chinese?
The man’s face darkened. “You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…”
At this, Liu Zi jumped into action. The big man did not expect Liu Zi to strike so suddenly and he could not move quickly enough to defend himself. He was sent sprawling to the ground from the blow. The remaining men raised their hands, ready to strike before the security team hurried over. They had batons in their hands and choppers hanging off their waists; some of them even had guns behind their backs. Like this, without physical intervention, the two parties separated immediately.
“What’s going on here?” The head of the team asked.
Liu Zi spoke before the other man could, “He a.s.saulted us, physically and verbally. My friend here said the rock wasn’t good and that guy kicked him down. Look, there’s still mud on my friend’s clothes!”
The huge man retorted angrily, “What do you mean ‘friend’?! You don’t even know each other! That fool deserved the beating. He was going around telling everybody our rocks were worthless, so don’t you think he deserves it?”
Indignant, the teenager piped up, “This d*mned rock—”
Li Du shushed him. “Either you deal with them yourself or keep your mouth shut. We’re settling this for you because you’d be screwed otherwise!”
The teenager stomped his feet and kept his mouth shut, albeit reluctantly.
The security head could not be bothered to keep up with the exchange. He said, “Alright, that’s it, stop stirring up trouble. Dapao, look after your people. I’m not letting you off this easy the next time something happens.”
Dapao laughed, “Sure thing, Ah Wei. As long as they don’t bully us, we won’t start anything.”
The owner, visibly displeased, marched over when he noticed the commotion. He asked in English, “What’s going on?”
Li Du responded, “I’m interested in this rock. I was looking to buy it, but then my friend persuaded me not to. As we were discussing this, one of your men kicked my friend and scolded us.”
This angered the owner a great deal. He turned around to the subordinate in question and slapped him. “You were too rude! You fool, come over and apologize to the gentlemen!” He bellowed harshly.
Shame flooded the man’s face. He bent in a bow and said to his boss, “Mr. Yos.h.i.+da, they lied to you. They had no intention of buying the rock. All they did was spread rumors and say that our rocks were not worth a single cent! They’ve been destroying our booth!”
Li Du caught the honorific that the man used to refer to his boss, and his body filled with so much anger. Just his luck to run into a traitor. From the moment he started learning about this, the one thing he hated the most was traitors, especially those who served the j.a.panese. This tied in with his family upbringing – his great-grandfather was beaten to death because he tried to protect his own crops.
Li Du fished out his credit card without hesitation, unable to tolerate this anymore. “How much for this rock?”
Yos.h.i.+da noticed the Morgan Stanley logo on Li Du’s card and his lips curved into a slight smile. “My asking price is a million dollars.”
The teenager did not know much English, but he understood enough to catch the price that Yos.h.i.+da was offering. He laughed coldly, “F*cking sc.u.m, this isn’t even worth a hundred dollars!”
Li Du ignored the boy. “A million dollars? Alright, then. I’m not going to bargain with you. I can buy this, but I have a stipulation.”
Yos.h.i.+da’s smile seemed more genuine now. “And what would that be?”
“I have a colleague who likes martial arts,” he said. “Just now, when your subordinate got violent, it really interested him, and he said he wanted to exchange blows. Within reason, of course.”
Yos.h.i.+da did not have the faintest idea what triggered the confrontation, but he knew more or less what Li Du was planning. He glanced at his subordinate, then said, “I think there’s no need for that. After all, fighting is forbidden within this s.p.a.ce.”
Li Du kept his card with a pa.s.sive face. “Then I’m not buying it. Also, you j.a.panese are a bunch of cowards, half-a.s.sing everything, whether it’s the cutting of the stone or fighting.”
Yos.h.i.+da’s face twitched at Li Du’s sneer. “Sir, how dare you insult the Yamato people?”
“You can prove me wrong. Cut the rock completely and I will apologize to you, or have your subordinate demonstrate just how good you j.a.panese are,” Li Du retorted.
Yos.h.i.+da waved, “A million dollars. You take the stone and my subordinate will spar with yours. But you take the blame if anything goes wrong.”
Li Du sneered derisively, “Are all you men of the Empire of j.a.pan such cowards that you don’t even dare shoulder some responsibility?”
Heaving a deep sigh, Yos.h.i.+da responded, “I was talking about legal responsibility. There’s no need for you to get agitated, sir, I just don’t want any trouble.”
“Let’s do it this way then, and leave it to the court to decide who deals with any legal repercussions,” Li Du said and he handed his credit card over.
Yos.h.i.+da took his card and said to the men behind him, “I’ve caused you trouble, Moris.h.i.+ge-kun. Also, I’ll leave this to you.”
The hulky man seemed confident of his sparring capabilities. He bowed to Yos.h.i.+da. “Mr. Yos.h.i.+da’s too kind. I won’t be the one to damage the reputation of the Empire of j.a.pan’s martial arts.”
He removed his suit jacket and gestured to Liu Zi. “Kickboxing?”
Li Du restrained Liu Zi and said, “Yes, kickboxing. Guys, come on out here!”
A group of people who had been sipping soda at the teahouse opposite the public market marched out. It was too crowded at the auction earlier so Li Du did not let someone as big as G.o.dzilla in. He had him stay with Brother Wolf at the teahouse instead.
When they came charging out, Brother Wolf followed out. “Boss, do you want me to go?” He asked Li Du.
Li Du said, “One-on-one, no killing. Which one of you is the best at that?”
Madman laughed. “G.o.dzilla, obviously. The weight cla.s.s is just too different!”
Li Du waved. “G.o.dzilla, you’re up!”