Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 924: Chapter 168: The Snake Swallows the

“Thank you!”

Song Da quickly nodded to a passerby in front of him, because he had just learned about Yuna’s whereabouts from this passerby—she was in a hodgepodge-like teahouse up ahead.

Finding someone is a difficult task, but Yuna’s characteristics are very clear, so it becomes less difficult… Song Da hurriedly walked into this teahouse.

As soon as he entered, Song Da heard the chaotic sound of gongs and drums… which unworthy opera troupe is trying to scare people here?

Song Da frowned a bit disdainfully, his eyes scanned around the hall, and soon he saw Yuna sitting in a small private room on the second floor.

He hurriedly climbed the stairs, heading towards this small private room.

At this moment, a teahouse attendant came walking towards him pushing a dining cart, seemingly bowing his head slightly, and Song Da didn’t pay much attention and just quickly walked by, then swiftly entered the room where Yuna was.

This young teahouse attendant turned his head at this moment, then disappeared without a trace after revealing a smile… Luo Qiu.

…

“Finally found you.”

Song Da lifted the beaded curtain and saw Yuna silently eating something, apparently relieved but also somewhat reproaching.

He frowned slightly as he sat down, instinctively said, “It’s quite dangerous for you to come out like this, you know?”

Yuna froze for a moment, suddenly recalling the image of this big man wearing an apron yesterday, thinking he was probably a very responsible person, right?

“I’m fine.” Yuna shook her head slowly, saying, “At least I’m feeling better now… It’s amazing, I clearly didn’t do anything, just ate a bit, and it feels different.”

Song Da opened his mouth, disturbed his head, not knowing how to continue — despite Song Er and Song San’s expertise with women over the years, Song Da has never been involved romantically.

One reason is due to his cultivation technique, another reason is that he is naturally awkward with women, not knowing how to interact.

“Well, eating indeed can improve one’s mood, especially when you’re hungry.” Song Da nodded, “I remember following the master during cultivation, often being punished without dinner for being too stupid. Whenever that happened, my mood never improved… Actually, I wanted to say, you really should eat something, anything, considering you haven’t eaten since yesterday, you’ll eventually starve.”

“Probably.” Yuna replied lethargically.

Even now, she still has no appetite, yet strangely, she can eat these few snacks… Maybe it’s because of what that young guy said.

Actually… he didn’t really say anything.

Yet, he miraculously changed some of her thoughts… thinking about this, Yuna suddenly felt this young guy was somewhat mysterious.

She instinctively glanced at the teahouse hall downstairs, but didn’t see the young guy… Yuna put down her chopsticks, suddenly looking at Song Da, “Are there any other things you need from me?”

She used the word ‘other’.

To Yuna, Song Da brought news of Natasha’s death, and not only did she feel nothing about it, but she also felt resentment… perhaps if Song Da hadn’t appeared, she might never have felt that kind of pain.

However, she herself had no reason to blame him — thus she used the word ‘other.’

Song Da didn’t seem to pick up on the meaning behind her words, directly saying, “It’s like this, I brought a friend over, he’s really good at treating illnesses. I thought, let him take a look, maybe he can help you recover.”

Mr. Blind truly is amazing! Song Da thought at this moment.

Yet Yuna did not show the joyful expression Song Da imagined, instead, she was not very interested, and frowned, “Why would you want to help me?”

“Because…” Song Da stammered. He really couldn’t express the real situation, but coming up with a reason temporarily is also not his forte.

He suddenly became speechless.

Yuna coldly said, “Are you Natasha’s colleague?”

Song Da shook his head.

Yuna asked again, “Then are you her friend? Or were you present during the disaster and couldn’t save her, are you feeling guilty?”

Song Da continued to remain silent… He never imagined this physically challenged woman to be so perceptive, almost guessing the truth.

Moreover, Yuna’s words became increasingly sharp.

“I’m just physically challenged, not completely disabled, I can take care of myself.” Yuna said calmly, “I don’t need sympathy or compassion because these are things others cannot provide for a lifetime. So… don’t interfere with me. But for bringing back Natasha’s belongings, I express my sincere gratitude.”

This won’t do… Song Da gritted his teeth, if he washed his hands of Yuna now, he felt he would fall into turmoil — he had thought about this matter thoroughly last night.

“You… you wanted to be back on stage again, right?” Song Da said seriously, “Right now there’s a chance in front of you. If you get treated, you could pursue your dream again! But even if it doesn’t work out, it can’t be worse than now… Why not give yourself a chance?”

Yuna was silent for a moment, eventually shaking her head, “Because… you haven’t given me a reason. That makes it impossible for me to accept. For me, this world is full of countless difficulties, I don’t have the confidence to overcome them all, so I don’t want this inexplicable help. Because I don’t know what price I’ll eventually pay for receiving such help.”

“No need, healing your condition, you don’t have to pay anything,” Song Da promised at this moment, “Once you recover, it’s just that simple, nothing needed.”

“That makes me even less willing to accept it.” Yuna shook her head, hurriedly stood up, then picked up her cane, “Sorry, I’m leaving. Please don’t come looking for me again.”

“This… please consider!” Song Da quickly stood up.

But at this moment, Yuna coldly looked at Song Da, “Also, just because you helped me doesn’t mean you can rummage through my privacy, too disgraceful.”

Song Da once again became speechless, he indeed peeked through Yuna’s writings a few days ago.

Turns out there could be such a day when all the martial arts can’t measure up against a few words… This time, Song Da didn’t chase after her, he just suddenly recalled the words spoken by the old monk in the temple during his apprenticeship.

Words are the most powerful force within this mundane world.

Song Da sighed heavily, then quietly glanced at the few steamers on the table inside this small private room, thinking: at least this woman is willing to eat.

He took out his phone, dialing Mr. Blind’s number.

Song Da felt a bit defeated, “I say Blind Man, should we temporarily head back?”

…

…

— “Great king, heading into battle today, how goes the victory or defeat?”

——”The spear slew several generals of the Han army, but sadly, we were outnumbered and couldn’t win. This is the curse of heaven on Chu, not the fault of battle.”

——”Victory and defeat in warfare are commonplace, why worry? We have wine prepared, let’s drink a few cups with the Overlord to dispel our frustration.”

The sheng and dan roles were performing a piece called “Farewell My Concubine” on stage, the gongs and drums accompanying intermittently, and a tragic atmosphere was spreading from the stage through the music.

“Bravo!”

Suddenly, from another private room in the teahouse, came a low cheer… The applause was from a middle-aged man in a white suit with gold-rimmed glasses.

This middle-aged man in a white suit was none other than Bai Shuitang, the president of the Zhonghua Street Chamber of Commerce.

At this moment, accompanying Bai Shuitang was a lean man around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old—in fact, this lean man also had the surname Bai, he was Bai Shuitang’s cousin, named Bai Zhan.

More often than not, Bai Zhan wouldn’t directly call Bai Shuitang brother, but instead, like everyone else, he would address him as President Bai.

Actually, this teahouse originally didn’t feature opera, it was just because Bai Shuitang liked to listen, so Bai Zhan catered to his preference by bringing in a troupe from within Hua Country.

Soon after, a man with a panicked expression was escorted in… This panicked man was holding a medium-sized suitcase.

At this moment, when the panicked man saw Bai Shuitang sitting there, he immediately knelt down, his panic turning to terror, almost stammering, “President Bai…”

“You, the Accountant, I heard you planned to travel, is that right?” Bai Shuitang leisurely picked up a teacup, slowly steeping tea leaves, and suddenly turned to gaze calmly, “Is there any place you recommend? I’ve been thinking of taking a break too recently.”

The man called You, the Accountant, crawled to the table in fear, “President Bai, I was wrong! I really was wrong, please let me go, I beg you to let me go… let me leave! Otherwise, the Song Family won’t spare me!”

Bai Shuitang said calmly, “With me here, why wouldn’t the Song Family spare you?”

At this point, You, the Accountant, grasped Bai Shuitang’s leg, pleading, “President Bai, Miss Ying sent someone for the accounting books two days ago, demanding all receipt and expenditure proof…”

“So what?” Bai Shuitang took a small sip of tea, then put down the cup and turned towards You, the Accountant, “Your accounts have always been in good order, haven’t they?”

You, the Accountant’s face turned somewhat ugly, stammering, not daring to speak—at that moment, one of the men who had brought You, the Accountant, pulled out a gun from his belt, loaded it, and pointed it at the back of You, the Accountant’s head.

You, the Accountant trembled, started slapping his face, crying, “I deserve to die! President Bai, it’s my greed, it’s my fault… I later made some adjustments to the accounts. But… but it wasn’t much, I only took a few hundred thousand dollars, which for the Song Dynasty is not even a drop in the bucket! But… but this Miss Ying is too clever, she found out such a tiny amount. I… I really didn’t mean it, President Bai, you have to help me!”

Bai Shuitang said expressionlessly, “Did you hand over those bills and original financial proof?”

You, the Accountant quickly said, “No! I wouldn’t dare to hand them over! President Bai, you know, don’t you, how much false accounting is in there! Once handed over, none of us can escape responsibility! So I said it needs time to organize, sent the person away, and then…”

“Hm?” Bai Shuitang gave a cold snort, interrupting You, the Accountant.

You, the Accountant immediately corrected himself in terror, “I mean… if handed over, I’m doomed!”

President Bai Shuitang slightly bent over, now barely a palm’s width from You, the Accountant.

He gently patted You, the Accountant’s face a few times, lamenting, “You, the Accountant, I’ve reminded you so many times, when we work for the Song Family, we must do our best, we can’t be greedy, so why didn’t you listen?”

“Yes, yes, I deserve to die, my greed… I deserve to die…” You, the Accountant, bowed his head quickly, not daring to look at Bai Shuitang.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, You, the Accountant, felt a sharp pain on his scalp—President Bai Shuitang had grabbed his hair and slammed his head against the table’s edge.

Bang—!

The impact overturned some items on the table, and Bai Shuitang erupted like a volcano, “How dare you go behind my back?”

This blow left You, the Accountant seeing stars, dizzy, even two teeth knocked out, two streams of blood flowing from his nostrils.

Bai Shuitang wasn’t finished yet, his face twisted fiercely, again grabbing You, the Accountant’s hair and slamming him to the floor, “Why don’t you listen? I’ve told you how many times, how many times, how many times? Why don’t you listen? Speak! Say something!! Why won’t you say something? Huh?!!”

The repeated slamming left You, the Accountant nearly semi-conscious, in a miserable state.

Bai Zhan pulled Bai Shuitang’s arm frantically, “President Bai, it’s no use killing him now, think about how to clean up the aftermath, that’s what matters!”

Bai Shuitang took a breath, stood up, adjusted his clothing, and said calmly, “I’ve already arranged for the cleanup, don’t worry about it. Just make sure to keep an eye on the Zhonghua Street redevelopment project.”

“Understood.” Bai Zhan nodded, then looked at the crumpled You, the Accountant on the floor, “And what about this guy?”

“Didn’t he like to travel?” Bai Shuitang sat back down, sipping tea as he spoke, “Then send him on a trip. Chop him up and throw him into the sea, let him see the world.”

Bai Zhan involuntarily swallowed but quickly gestured, “What are you standing there for, get moving?”

The two men hurried to drag You, the Accountant out.

Now, only Bai Shuitang and Bai Zhan remained in the private room, and Bai Zhan whispered, “Big brother…when you said the aftermath was handled, you meant…”

Bai Shuitang watched the stage below, where Yu Ji was committing suicide, and sneered, “What a performance of Farewell My Concubine… Overlord? Who’s to say who the real Overlord is.”

“This…” Bai Zhan had a faint feeling of foreboding, but he said no more.

This man, though his cousin, had means that instilled dread even in family.

…

——The Han soldiers, they, they, they broke in!

——Let me see…

——Ah! This—!

Yu Ji committed suicide, aided off by servant girls… Curtain call.

In the applause, Luo Qiu, sitting in the crowd, glanced at the teahouse entrance, noting a middle-aged man quietly entering with his head lowered.

Luo Qiu checked his phone… the navigation map’s red dot that had circled around, now moved here.

“Looks like just a backup plan…”

With a thoughtful look, Luo Qiu glanced at the second floor of the teahouse…a certain private room.

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PS: (1/3)