Chapter Ninety-Three Mistaken

At the seam between the train cars.

This corner was already nearly deserted.

Aside from the occasional smoker who wandered there, hardly anyone ever lingered in this place.

But Xu Fei knew those two men were probably splitting the spoils here.

And sure enough.

By the time he and Zhang Mingyang pushed open the second door, they saw the two men standing by a side door, about to open Li Sixi’s money pouch.

“What are you doing?”

Xu Fei stepped out through the door at once.

The two of them were startled by his sudden appearance.

“You?”

The one holding the knife was fairly tall and seemed to be acting as the muscle.

“You looking for trouble?”

As he spoke, he advanced, one hand already buried in his trouser pocket.

Xu Fei did not move.

Behind him, however, Zhang Mingyang rushed forward with an empty beer bottle in his hand.

Crack!

The man never managed to pull his hand from his pocket.

Zhang Mingyang’s bottle struck him squarely on the head, splitting it open on the spot.

Xu Fei gave the man on the ground a kick with his foot.

The man did not stir at all.

“You, you...”

Xu Fei turned to the man holding the newspaper.

“Hand it over.”

“I... you... this...”

While he stammered helplessly, Zhang Mingyang pointed the broken half of the bottle at him.

The man immediately handed Xu Fei Li Sixi’s money pouch.

Xu Fei glanced at it and said, “You haven’t opened it, right?”

“No, no. We hadn’t even looked yet before you came, right?”

“Humph.” Zhang Mingyang glared at him. “If we hadn’t come, you would’ve split it between you, wouldn’t you?”

The pickpocket grinned and nodded.

“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare. Since the two of you have taken the goods, we...”

Xu Fei looked at him.

“We’re taking this, but you two...?”

The man glanced at Xu Fei and said, “Brother, I only took this bag of money from that old hat. Nothing else, I...”

“All right, all right, I get it. But what if you try to get back at us later?”

“Huh?”

The man froze.

“How dare we? We’ll get off at the next stop. That should be enough, right?”

Xu Fei nodded.

“All right. Since you said it yourself.”

He glanced at his watch.

“Five minutes until the next stop, right?”

“You, you know that?!”

Smiling, Xu Fei pulled a train timetable from his pocket.

He had taken it from the wall of the carriage just after arriving.

He opened it.

“Wolf Mattress Station, eleven thirty.”

Xu Fei looked at the other man with a cold smile.

“You’ve got guts, brother. Can you give me your number?”

The other man had actually spoken in underworld slang.

Xu Fei’s expression darkened.

“What, you really want to get even with us?”

“Wouldn’t dare. It’s just that in the future, if we’re still mixing around that side of the road, then when this day is brought up, we ought to know what kind of god we ran into.”

“Enough. Stop babbling that useless nonsense.”

Zhang Mingyang pointed the broken bottle at him.

Apparently, even this man feared Zhang Mingyang’s ruthlessness.

“All right, all right, I won’t ask.”

Just then, sounds came from the door behind them.

Zhang Mingyang glanced over and saw the conductor entering with a key in hand, clearly having come to unlock the door.

“You lot!”

Seeing Xu Fei, Zhang Mingyang, the one lying on the ground, and the two pickpockets standing at the doorway, the conductor first looked stunned, then his face darkened.

“What are you doing? Fighting? I...”

“Enough, shut up!”

Xu Fei cut him off sharply.

The conductor looked terrified.

“Don’t think I don’t know what kind of person you are.”

“What kind of person am I?”

The conductor stared at Xu Fei and asked.

“You’re with them, aren’t you?”

That single sentence drained the swagger from the conductor at once.

“You, you, you’re talking nonsense.”

Xu Fei gave a cold laugh.

“Talking nonsense? Fine. When we reach the next station, are you brave enough to go with us to the station police office?”

The conductor’s eyes rolled.

“What right do I have to go to the police office with you?”

“Then stop putting on airs in front of us. Understand?”

Zhang Mingyang jabbed a finger hard at the conductor’s nose.

At that moment, the train slowly came to a stop.

“Open the door.”

Xu Fei pointed toward the exit.

Wolf Mattress Station was only a tiny stop, with almost no one getting off here. It paused for barely a minute.

The conductor had no choice but to steel himself and go to the door.

The carriage door opened.

“Carry him off!”

The pickpocket glanced at his companion lying on the floor, then looked at Xu Fei in embarrassment.

“Brother, with a man this big, I... I can’t carry him!”

“You, together with him.”

Xu Fei pointed at the conductor.

“I? I won’t!”

The conductor stood on the step below, twisting his body away.

“What, do you want me to report this to your superiors?”

“You!”

The conductor was genuinely frightened by that.

He could only work together with the pickpocket to carry the big man off the train.

Then, from the direction of the locomotive, came the sound of a whistle.

Xu Fei waved at the conductor.

“Get back on.”

The conductor glanced at the pickpocket still standing there.

“Useless,” he muttered under his breath.

Then he got back on board.

As the door closed, Xu Fei looked at him and said, “Do you not feel ashamed doing things like this?”

“Hmph.”

The conductor snorted.

“Ashamed? I’ve got the old to support, the young to feed. If they can’t eat, who am I supposed to ask? Who would give me anything?”

Xu Fei frowned.

The conductor pointed at them.

“Don’t let me see you again.”

Smack!

Zhang Mingyang showed him no mercy and slapped him hard.

The blow sent him straight to his knees.

“Who are you talking to like that, you little punk?”

Zhang Mingyang demanded, pointing at the conductor.

“I... I...”

“You still want to glare at me, do you?”

Zhang Mingyang kicked him again.

By now the man had been thoroughly cowed.

“Stop, stop hitting me, brother. I was wrong, all right?”

“Hmph.”

Zhang Mingyang snorted coldly.

“Listen carefully. Cut out this kind of rotten business. There are plenty of honest ways to make a living in this world.”

“Yes, yes...”

“Damn right, and don’t think I won’t see you. Listen to me: I’m coming back on your train when I return. I’d like to see what you can do to us.”

Zhang Mingyang said it and kicked him again, sending the conductor straight into the corner.

“All right, Third Brother, let’s head back.”

Xu Fei knew the matter was, for the most part, settled.

If they pushed too far, after all, the man was railway staff.

If he turned the tables later, accusing them of assaulting railway workers and disrupting train operations, that was serious enough to get them detained.

Cursing all the way, Zhang Mingyang followed Xu Fei back to the carriage.

When they returned to their seats, Li Sixi still hadn’t woken.

“Old Four, this guy really can sleep, can’t he?”

Zhang Mingyang was about to reach out and shake him awake.

Xu Fei stopped him.

“Third Brother, forget it. Let him sleep. We can tell him tomorrow morning.”