Tranxending Vision - Chapter 72

Chapter 72

He's A Dog

Xia Lei went to the bank to withdraw 200,000 the next day and brought it to Thunder Horse Workshop . The employees had already started working earnestly though they were just some small orders .

Zhou Xiao-Hong did not listen to him and was not resting . She was holding a painting brush and metal ruler, drawing on the steel plate for Ma Xiao-An and the others, making it more convenient for them to cut the materials and save time .

Seeing her work hard reminded Xia Lei of the situation last night when he was bandaging her wound for her . That white thigh, that gap that appeared because of the bandaging…

'I really need to find myself a woman . It's not good for me to be so sensitive all the time . ' Xia Lei shook his head and smiled wryly as he chased the images in his head away . This wasn't the first time he'd thought of getting himself a woman but it seemed to be just a mantra . It was easier said than done to find a woman to love and to be with .

He thought of Shentu Tian-Yin for no apparent reason; that haughty, queen-like woman . He smiled wryly again, and thought 'I keep thinking of her for no reason . Does this mean that she is the woman I want? What a joke . I really should know my limits…'

Zhou Xiao-Hong was the first to see Xia Lei enter the workshop and she got to her feet, "I'll make you tea, Big Brother Lei . "

"Didn't I tell you to rest? Why are you working?" asked Xia Lei .

Zhou Xiao-Hong gave a small laugh, "Nah, I'm not doing heavy work . I'm just drawing . It's no different from resting . "

"Be careful . Don't get hurt again," Xia Lei cautioned .

"Mm," Zhou Xiao-Hong made a sound of agreement and went to make tea for Xia Lei .

Ma Xiao-An and the others greeted Xia Lei and he smiled as he greeted them back . What had happened yesterday definitely affected them but life was life . They were people who needed to earn money for their families so work was most important; they didn't care so much about other things .

Zhou Xiao-Hong made tea for Xia Lei, then went back to the metal board to draw .

Xia Lei's phone rang before he could take a sip of tea .

The call was from Qin Xiang . His voice was soft but sharp and very sissy, "Xia Lei, I'll wait for you at Ju Shan Garden Teahouse . "

"Okay . I'll be right there . " Xia Lei hung up and went straight out .

Ma Xiao-An came over and pulled him by the hand, then spoke in a low tone, "Lei, what are you doing?"

"Nothing," said Xia Lei .

"Tell me if something's up . We can handle it together," said Ma Xiao-An .

Xia Lei smiled as he said, "There's really nothing . You just have to help me take care of the workshop . I've actually been busy registering us as a company . We won't be just a workshop in the future . "

Ma Xiao-An paused, then said in delight, "Really? That's great! You have to appoint me as Workshop Director or I won't let you off . "

"Is that all you want? Just Workshop Director? I'll make you a Deputy Head," smiled Xia Lei .

Ma Xiao-An shook his head instead, "I'm not cut from that cloth . I'll be a Workshop Director . "

Xia Lei patted Ma XIao-An on the shoulder, "Let's not talk about this yet . We can tell them when there's a positive outcome or we'll be laughed at if it doesn't work out . "

"I know . Don't worry, I won't tell . I'm not a blabbermouth," said Ma Xiao-An .

Xia Lei nodded and left the workshop .

Ma Xiao-An sent Xia Lei out the door, and turned around, guffawing, "You guy know what? Lei is preparing to start a company! We're going to to be founders and doyens of the company!"

Cheers sounded from Thunder Horse Workshop and it was very lively .

Xia Lei watched Ma Xiao-An and the others cheer as he sat in the ratty-tatty Polo . He shook his head, then started the engine and entered traffic, heading towards Ju Shan Garden Teahouse . He did not tell the truth to Ma Xiao-An but it was for his own good . It was a dangerous affair to go up against He Lao-Qi so he did not want Ma Xiao-An to get involved . Lying to him was for his own good; it was a kind lie .

Xia Lei received another call before he got to Ju Shan Garden Teahouse . It was not from Qin Xiang but from an unknown number .

"Hello? Mr Xia?" It was a woman's voice, gentle and pleasant .

"Yes . Who is this?" Xia Lei could not tell who it was and he was curious .

"Can't you tell? I'm Liang Si-Yao . Remember me?" said the woman .

"Oh, so it's Miss Liang . Of course I remember . Hello . What did you call me for?" Xia Lei found it surprising that Liang Si-Yao would call him .

"Nothing much . Just wanted to ask why you didn't come to the school to practice today," said Liang Si-Yao .

"I'm sorry, I'm busy with something at my workshop and I can't make time . I'll be there tomorrow," said Xia Lei .

"Mm, okay . Oh right, have you thought about what I'd talked to you about yesterday?" said Liang Si-Yao .

Xia Lei remembered Liang Si-Yao calling him to Liang Zheng-Chun's office to ask him to consider giving up his workshop and concentrate on Wing Chun before he left the school . This seemed to be Liang Si-Yao's true motive in calling him . He thought for a bit before replying, "This isn't a small matter . How about this, Miss Liang – let me think about it some more and we'll talk at another time, okay?"

"Mm, okay . I won't disturb you any longer . See you tomorrow," said Liang Si-Yao .

"Goodbye, Miss Liang . " Xia Lei hung up .

Saying that he would think about it was just polite talk . He'd never thought about becoming a true practitioner of martial arts .

Xia Lei was no stranger to Ju Shan Garden Teahouse . He had followed Li Qing-Hua from Ju Shan Garden Teahouse and recorded a compromising video of him . That was also his first time using his X-ray vision to solve a problem .

Xia Lei found Qin Xiang in a private room after walking into the hall . The way Qin Xiang was dressed made Xia Lei speechless – he was wearing womens' pencil-trousers, matched with a ripped T-shirt . The two little pink dots on his flat chest were stood out like sore thumbs . This way of dressing and his made-up face, which was more beautiful than a woman's, really accentuated his existence as a tranny .

Xia Lei stopped using his X-ray vision and walked into the private room QIn Xiang was in .

Qin Xiang looked at the bulging leather bag in Xia Lei's hands . "You've really brought the money . "

Xia Lei sat opposite Qin Xiang and put the leather bag on the table .

"Have you thought about it? If I take your money and don't help you then your money would be lost, you know?" said Qin Xiang .

Xia Lei pushed the money to Qin Xiang and spoke indifferently, "I've promised to give you 200,000 . I'm not afraid that you'll con me . I wouldn't give you the money either if it wasn't for your mother's treatment . If you want to con me, you can take this money and leave right now . I won't stop you . "

Qin Xiang pulled the string of the bag open and looked inside . He didn't say anything and lifted the bag, headed towards the exit .

Xia Lei just sat there, not even looking at Qin Xiang .

Qin Xiang walked to the doorway of the private room, then suddenly turned back . He sat himself on the sofa, smiling, "You really can hold it in, huh . Not worried I'll take your money for nothing?"

"You'd be an unredeemable fool if you did that . I'm helping you, not using you," said Xia Lei .

Qin Xiang pursed his lips and smiled, "You're really special, aren't you? Thanks for your money . It's important to me . "

"Take it for your mother's treatment . She's the one who needs it most," said Xia Lei .

"Don't worry about that . This money is for saving my mother's life . I won't spend it frivolously . " After a pause, he added, "I thought about it the whole night yesterday and I've sorted it out . We are indeed in the same boat . I'll help you . What do you want to do?"

"Tell me about He Lao-Qi first . I'd like to understand more about him," said Xia Lei .

"He's the Gu clan's dog," said Qin Xiang .

Xia Lei was surprised . He'd thought that He Lao-Qi was working for the Gu Ke-Wen because she paid him . He did not expect that He Lao-Qi would be related to the Gu clan in this way .

Qin Xiang continued, "If you want to talk about He Lao-Qi, you have to start with the Gu clan . You know that the Gu clan is one of the most powerful families in Jing-Du, right? The Gu clan controls North Group, which is worth billions and has a wide reach . What you don't know is that the Gu clan actually started here in Hai-Zhu . Gu Ke-Wen's grandfather, Gu Ding-Shan is actually a figure in the underworld too . Nothing in the Gu clan's coffers is clean . The Gu clan has always been vicious . Anyone who goes up against them would have a bad end . "

Xia Lei thought of Liu Ying – she was also one of the victims of the Gu clan's capital expansion . He didn't understand why a rich young lady like Gu Ke-Wen used such underhanded methods to snatch Liu Ying's company and patent away back then but he understood now after hearing what Qin Xiang said . Gu Ding-Shan was a man of the underworld who stepped on the corpses of his opponents to reach higher – would his descendents be good, kind people?

Qin Xiang went on, "He Lao-Qi's father was an underling of Gu Ding-Shan's back then and he took a bullet for Gu Ding-Shan and died . From then on, He Lao-Qi became the Gu clan's dog and ran errands for them . Nobody dares to disrespect He Lao-Qi here on Hai-Zhu territory because he has the backing of the Gu clan . He runs rampant here, terrorising and oppressing people . "

"Can the police do nothing to him? He's been committing evil crimes for so many years," said Xia Lei .

Qin Xiang smiled wryly, "The police need evidence to make an arrest . What can they base their arrest on without evidence? He Lao-Qi is very slippery . He's never done bad deeds personally and always sends his underlings . Like me . He has dirt on me . I had to go steal Liu Ying's patent because he told me to . Would I dare say that he had instructed me to steal it if I got caught?"

He Lao-Qi's way of doing things seemed to have come from the Gu clan . When Gu Ke-Wen wanted something bad done, she made He Lao-Qi do it so that she wouldn't get into any trouble herself .

Xia Lei was silent for a while before he spoke, "What dirt does he have on you?"

Qin Xiang looked at Xia Lei, seeming to be observing him .

Xia Lei smiled, "Aren't we sort of friends now? You can just not tell me if you don't trust me . "

Qin Xiang sighed . "Telling you is better than He Lao-Qi holding onto my strings . " He paused, then said, "I'm a burglar . Two years ago, I burgled a gold shop – I didn't know it belonged to He Lao-Qi . I was recorded on a well-hidden camera when I did it and he managed to track me down even though my face was covered . He didn't report me to the police, though . He gave me a copy of video . He's been sending me to steal whatever he wants ever since . "

"You're quite skilled . Didn't you think of stealing that video?"

Qin Xiang smiled wryly, "Would that help? He knows it's me . He'll send someone to kill me . Living and being used by him is better than death . "

"Where does he live?"

Qin Xiang didn't say anything . He took out a piece of copy-paper from his gaudy handbag and held it out to Xia Lei .

Xia Lei glanced at the paper – He Lao-Qi's address, family members' names, age and schedules of some bodyguards were written on it . It was quite detailed .

"How do you want to deal with him?" probed Qin Xiang .

"I have no plan now . Let's leave it at this first . I'll contact you if I need your help with anything . " Xia Lei put the copy-paper away .

"Okay . I'm going to the hospital to pay the fees . Bye . " Qin Xiang took the leather bag and left .

Xia Lei still sat in the private room, thinking deeply .

He Lao-Qi was actually the dog of the Gu clan . They were one entity . How can he fight them?