The Mystic Nine (7) Banjie Li

Birth of a son.

Ordinary people said that he was so cruel, he didn’t have a bottom line. But who knew that he was also gentle and tender? No matter how ruthless or furious he was, it seemed that he couldn’t resist being wrapped around those soft fingers.

“Let’s play a game of chess for two or three hours. If you don’t find something to do, how do you expect to get through it?” Xie Jiu lit some incense and fanned it. He seemed a little dissatisfied with it, but he didn’t want to change it.

“No.” Banjie Li said. He glanced at the incense and then slapped it to the ground, smashing the porcelain plate it sat on.

The man behind Xie Jiu stepped forward to attack, but Xie Jiu waved his hand to stop him. After thinking about it, he felt that the atmosphere wasn’t very good with his men here. He waved two fingers, and all the men withdrew from the patio.

“You don’t want to drink tea either?” Xie Jiu picked up the debris from the ground, glanced at them, and then buried them in a nearby flowerpot. His heart ached a little because the plate had been broken.

“No!” Banjie Li said. “I don’t want a damn drink.” He glanced at Xie Jiu’s expression again and asked, “What, is that plate so precious?”

“It’s from the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It’s not very expensive, but I really like it.”

“My warehouse is full of that kind of stuff. You can just go there and find one another day.” Banjie Li spit in contempt, as if he thought Xie Jiu was being a little stingy.

Xie Jiu sighed, “This plate belonged to my mother. When I would cry as a child, she used to hit two of these plates together and sing to me.”

“Your mother’s relics are also piled up in my warehouse. Take them back as soon as possible!” Banjie Li didn’t buy it at all.

Xie Jiu sighed again. His mother really was extravagant. These kinds of relics were piled up in Banjie Li’s old house because they got in the way when the room had to be clean. Who would have thought he and Banjie Li would be living in two big houses so close to each other?

If he didn’t live nearby, he wouldn’t even be here.

“As I said before, Third Master, you can’t rush this kind of thing. Instead of being so anxious and hurting your body, you might as well do something else to distract yourself.” Xie Jiu reiterated as he finished burying the plate and paid his respects to it.

“I can’t beat you at chess, and I can’t drink tea. Aren’t you afraid I’ll throw everything in your face?” Banjie Li asked angrily. As he spoke, he grabbed the blanket and went to get out of the chair.

“What are you doing?” Xie Jiu asked.

“I want to go in and have a look.” Banjie Li responded.

Xie Jiu immediately came up to stop him and said, “You’re too angry. Didn’t Old Ba tell you not to act rashly?”

“If I stay here like a fool, I’ll suffocate. And it won’t be good for anyone. Moreover, Old Ba, that bastard, is full of nonsense. I don’t believe him.”

“You don’t believe in Old Ba? Do you remember when Fo Ye didn’t listen to him? What happened then?” Xie Jiu continued, “This matter is nonnegotiable. If you try to make a move, it will involve too many people. It’s not easy for you to live a good life, so think about it clearly.”

Banjie Li took a deep breath and thought about it. Then, his eyes showed a fierce light, “Little Jiu, no one’s dared talk to me like this before. I don’t like it. You’d better stop talking.”

Xie Jiu gave a slight smile. He wasn’t afraid of Banjie Li at all. He knew that this man was cruel, had no bottom line, and thought things like brotherhood, trustworthiness, and the underworld’s rules were all bullshit. He was more ruthless than Chen Pi Ah Si, but others associated with him more because he had an absolute weakness.

If you got hold of that weakness, the wicked master would become a particularly safe neighbor.

As he looked at Banjie Li’s expression, Xie Jiu wanted to jump up and shout, “I’ll keep talking, I’ll keep talking! What can you do to me?” But his character still made him appear completely unruffled.

“Fine, but don’t go in there.” Xie Jiu finally said.

Banjie Li sat back, apparently calm now. His whole state suddenly changed and he became very quiet, as if the anxiety had completely disappeared.

This was the most terrible thing about Banjie Li. Xie Jiu knew that the man was out of control, and would use this state to isolate himself from the outside world, so as not to do anything irrational.

Xie Jiu didn’t bother worrying about him, but he didn’t dare sit next to him either. He knew that this man might suddenly snap and stab him with a knife. He went to the center of the patio and looked at all the strange plants before quietly glancing at his pocket watch. He really didn’t want to endure it any longer.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Xie Jiu had almost stared those plants to death when he suddenly heard a cry come from the back room in the distance.

Xie Jiu immediately looked up and turned to Banjie Li, only to see the disabled person fly out like a rabbit. With a bang, his figure quickly disappeared, and the door he had knocked open dangled to and fro.

Oh, no! He thought to himself. He immediately rushed over, ran two steps to the back room, and saw that the door of the delivery room had been opened. The midwife had just come out with a child in her arms, but when she saw Banjie Li practically panting at the door, she was so scared that her hands shook and she actually dropped the child.

Xie Jiu gave a “tsk” and thought, after this, not to mention whether anything will be wrong with the child, but I’m afraid the midwife’s family, myself, and Old Ba will be in a lot of trouble. He was too far away and his skills weren’t that good, so he knew he would be too late.

At almost the exact moment the child touched the ground, Xie Jiu suddenly saw a shadowy figure shoot out from behind a nearby porch pillar, grab the swaddled child, and then put it on the ground.

The shadow quickly jumped into the yard and then stopped. It turned out to be a big black dog.

Banjie Li rushed in. It had all happened so fast that he didn’t know what had happened. There was suddenly only the frightened midwife, the wide-eyed Banjie Li, the stiff Xie Jiu, and a big black dog left at the scene.

The midwife was the first to react. She immediately picked up the child, and said to Banjie Li with a big smile, “Good fortune and a strong life. This child will have a promising future. Yes, a very promising future.”

Banjie Li looked at the dog and then at the midwife, his face practically the color of pig liver. If it wasn’t for the midwife holding the baby, he would have definitely gone up and snapped her neck.

Xie Jiu immediately came up to stand between Banjie Li and the midwife, and said to Banjie Li, “Hurry up and ask. Is it a boy or a girl?”

“You ask!” Banjie Li said. Just as he finished speaking, he heard a faint voice from inside the room say, “You’re the father of the child, yet you’re telling Little Jiu to ask. Are you trying to piss me off?”

Banjie Li looked at the room. The door was ajar, and the curtains had been drawn across the bed, making it difficult for him to see anything clearly. “Is everything okay?” He asked. “Are you injured?”

“I’m giving birth to a child, not causing trouble like you.” The faint female voice said. “Look, who does our child look like?”

Banjie Li was very short, so it was only at this time that the midwife put the child down. The child was still crying, and obviously had some congenital deficiencies. He had worn himself out crying, but the tears still fell from one of his unopened eyes. Banjie Li looked at him carefully and suddenly burst into tears as he cried out, “He looks like Big Brother! Just like Big Brother! A son! We have a son!”

“Like Big Brother? This is your son. If he looks like your brother, doesn’t that mean he looks like you?” The female voice inside coughed a few times. “I’m really angry right now. Bring the child in. You can accompany Little Jiu to drink. I don’t need you tonight. The midwife is fine.”

“Yes!” Banjie Li wiped his tears, then turned to Xie Jiu and said, “Let’s go drink! Let’s go!”

Xie Jiu grabbed Banjie Li and resisted the urge to slap him, “The woman you love gives birth to your son and you’re going to drink when she tells you to?”

“If my sister-in-law wants me to die, I’ll die.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” The normally steady and prudent Xie Jiu blurted out such a dirty word. Fortunately, Banjie Li wasn’t in a normal state right now and didn’t hear it. Xie Jiu said, “She’s being sarcastic. At this time, women want you to be by their side to share the happiness. Don’t drink. Just stay here. Take the opportunity and go in there.”

“Yes, yes!” Banjie Li said. “Xie Jiu, you really are a good brother. You’re right to remind me!” Then he raised his voice and said, “I’m not going to drink. I’m staying here to take care of my wife and child.”

When there was no response from inside, Banjie Li turned and looked at Xie Jiu again.

Xie Jiu said, “She must be happy. It seems she’s agreed.”

Banjie Li started laughing and Xie Jiu said, “Then, I’ll drink with you when the child is one month old (1). I’ll take my leave now. It’s not convenient for me to intrude any longer.”

“Ok, I won’t see you off. But take the dog away. It is your dog, right?” Banjie Li asked.

Xie Jiu looked at the black dog and thought, with such a dog suddenly appearing out of nowhere, that guy must be around. He nodded and said to the dog, “Go to your Master Wu. Go!”

When the dog ran away, he followed it all the way to a nearby yard. As soon as the dog went in, he quickly followed behind and suddenly saw Old Ba and Old Dog Wu squatting behind a bush.

“Why are you here? How dare you leave me alone with that violent cripple and hide here by yourselves.”

“The most capable ones do the most work, the most capable ones do the most work.” Qi Tiezui said. “We’d have been stabbed to death early on. You’re the best and most steadfast one here. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Don’t try to flatter me.”

“It’s not flattery.” Old Dog Wu said. “Old Ba was going to let me accompany him, but then he did a calculation and saw disaster that resulted in blood! We calculated yours and saw a surprise, but there wouldn’t be any danger or mishaps.”

“Is it over?” Xie Jiu asked.

Qi Tiezui said, “Third Master has committed too many evils and married his sister-in-law. It’s incest. This baby is facing many dangers, but the first hurdle has really passed. I’ve done some calculations before, Old Jiu. You run a tight ship and you have the wisdom to keep cool even under heavenly pressure. But you could only control the situation temporarily. Old Wu is impulsive and prone to causing disasters. That’s why I wanted you to contain Banjie Li. If you couldn’t do it, I would bet on Old Wu’s unlucky aura and have him help you. Looks like my plans succeeded.”

“Huh? That’s not what you told me before.” Old Dog Wu said. “Didn’t you say that Old Jiu was too slow to react, so you wanted me to help out?”

“It was too risky for you to interfere in other people’s lives, so I naturally didn’t bother telling you.” Qi Tiezui said. “If I did, you might not act, and things would change again.”

“What risks?”

“Maybe your whole body would explode and you’d die or something.” Qi Tiezui said.

“Shit, can’t you mention that earlier next time?” Old Dog Wu smacked Qi Tiezui on the head and petted the black dog beside him.

“Well, it’s not appropriate to stay here for long. Let’s accumulate more merits for Master Three in the future. I also want to do it for the sake of our sister-in-law.”

“Do you also recognize Third Master’s wife as a sister-in-law?”

“Of course! We have to recognize sister-in-law so that she’ll protect us. That way, Master Three won’t put corpses in front of our houses every day!”

The three people looked at the mansion, wiped their sweat, and then looked at each other, “Come on, let’s find a place to go grave robbing and suppress the shock.” With that said, they mounted their horses and went to the outskirts of the city.

<The Mystic Nine (6) Er Yuehong><Table of Contents><The Mystic Nine (8) Er Yuehong’s Problem>

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TN Note:

(1) It’s a Chinese custom to invite friends to a feast when a baby turns one month old.