Chapter 7 of Yunding Tiangong: Pan Zi

Pan Zi and I sat in Uncle San's shop for an afternoon, telling each other about our own situations. It turned out that Pan Zi had regained some consciousness before I went to Hainan, but I left in a hurry and only left a cell phone at the hospital, so they couldn't find me after I went out to sea.

Pan Zi had a very good physique and recovered quickly, but he still stayed in bed for nearly a month. When he was able to get out of bed and come to see us, we couldn't get in touch with anyone. I should have been in Shaanxi at that time, and Uncle San was even worse. The whole world was looking for him.

I saw Pan Zi wearing a black veil on his arm, so I asked him why. He said that Da Kui was his brother, but he missed the first seven days of his death, so he felt better now. When I mentioned this to him, I thought of the days in Shandong, and I felt sad. After all, that incident was caused by me. If I hadn't mentioned it at that time and showed the silk book to Uncle San, our current situations would be very different.

Seeing my expression change, Pan Zi guessed what I was thinking, patted me on the shoulder and said, "Young Master San, in our line of work, we can't escape what's coming, so don't blame others."

I sighed and thought to myself that it's easy for you to say that, it wasn't you who killed Da Kui.

After sighing for a while, I told Pan Zi about some of the recent situations on my side, which made him frown. When he heard our speculation, his face changed, and he shook his head and said that he had known Uncle San for so many years, and he was sure that Uncle San was definitely not that kind of person, and told me not to listen to other people's nonsense.

Pan Zi has been with his uncle for many years and has a deep relationship with him, so naturally he can't listen to some of his words. I didn't say anything more, changed the subject, and asked him what his plans were.

Pan Zi thought about it and said that he had originally planned to go back to Changsha to continue making a living, as his uncle's business was still there and he knew everyone there, so he wouldn't be afraid of having nothing to do if he went back. But now after hearing what I said, he felt that this matter was not simple and he might have to investigate further before he could feel at ease.

I nodded. Although I had basically checked everything here, the relationship between Pan Zi and Third Uncle was not ordinary. There were many relationships involved that I didn't know about. It would be best if he could check it out.

Pan Zi made several calls, but the other party always told him to wait for news. I thought I would have to wait for ten days or eight days, but I didn't expect that they all called back in just five minutes. After listening to me, Pan Zi frowned and said to me, "Master San, I'm afraid you have to go with me."

I was stunned, wondering what was going on. Could something have happened?

Pan Zi continued, "The Third Master is looking for someone in Changsha and left a message for you. But I have to speak to you in person. The person on the other end asked me to take you there."

"Uncle San left a message for me?" I almost jumped up. It's not like I haven't contacted Changsha before, why has no one ever mentioned this to me?

Pan Zi's expression was very serious. He didn't want to explain to me. He said to me, "It's urgent over there. What do you think? When can we set off?"

Pan Zi was very anxious. I vaguely felt that the matter was not simple, but I did not expect him to be so anxious. As a result, I got on the green train to Changsha that night without explaining anything.

After getting on the train, I asked Pan Zi, if you were in a hurry, why not take a plane instead of taking the train? Isn't this a joke?

Pan Zi was absent-minded, he just patted me and said we would know in a moment. I saw sweat on his forehead, which made me feel even more strange, wondering why he was so nervous.

The train departed from Hangzhou and arrived at another train station in Hangzhou before arriving at Jinhua Station three hours later. At this point, I was a little impatient and wanted to ask what was going on, but the train suddenly stopped.

It is common for green trains to stop temporarily. When I bought the ticket, I thought that for such a long distance, if you don't take a plane, you should at least take an express train. Why buy a green train and sit hard? But Pan Zi's mind was not on this at all. Now that the train has stopped, I am gloating in my heart - you are anxious, right? The temporary stop will make you anxious to death!

Unexpectedly, as soon as the car stopped, Pan Zi clapped his hands and motioned for me to follow. I stood up and wanted to ask him where he was going, but he suddenly rolled over and jumped out of the car window.

When I saw this, I was like, what the hell is this? The people in the car were also shocked and stood up to look. Pan Zi shouted from outside, "Young Master San, what are you waiting for? Come down quickly!"

I looked around and everyone stood up and looked at me. I thought to myself that this would be on the headlines of the Metro Express tomorrow, so I gritted my teeth and got out.

The green skin was very high, and I fell down and fell on the road pillow. Pan Zi helped me up and pulled me to run.

We ran into the field next to us, climbed up a ridge, and then onto the road, where a pickup truck was waiting for us. Pan Zi pulled me into the pickup truck and started it immediately.

I was so exhausted that I was out of breath. I didn't catch my breath until we drove onto the provincial highway. I cursed, "What the hell are you doing with this plane?"

Pan Zi was also exhausted. Seeing my expression, he smiled and said, "Don't be angry. This is the first time I've been so embarrassed. I don't know when I provoked you. I don't know if I can get rid of you."

As he said this, he looked behind the car. It was pitch black and it seemed that no one was chasing him.

I didn't understand what he said, it seemed like he had planned all these things, so I hurriedly asked him what was going on. He lit a cigarette and said in Changsha dialect: "There's a police tone on the car, Third Grandpa is not here, Changsha is in chaos, and there's a ghost in the farm."

What this means is that there are policemen on the train. My third uncle is not in Changsha, and business over there is in a mess. There may be policemen among the helpers doing the work.

When he spoke, he glanced at the driver. I realized that this driver might be a temporary hire and couldn't reveal too much, so I stopped asking. But I felt very confused, thinking, what am I now? Am I a fugitive?

My grandpa, what happened this year? A few months ago, I was a small vendor, and suddenly I became a tomb robber and a diplomat with Zongzi. Now I am a fugitive. Life is so exciting.

The car drove to a small county town near Jinhua, and we got off the car and paid. Pan Zi took me to buy a few smaller suits of older styles to change into. When I looked in the mirror, I felt rather shabby. Then we rushed to the train station and bought tickets for the car we had just jumped off. The car had stopped temporarily and had only arrived at this station now.

We got back on the train and bought sleeper berths this time. Pan Zi looked at the carriage and was obviously relaxed. He said, "The police should have gotten off at Jinhua Station. There are checkpoints at both ends of the expressway and provincial highway. They definitely didn't expect us to get back on the train."

It was my first time as a fugitive. I didn't know what to do with my hands and feet. I was almost shaking with nervousness. I asked softly, "What's going on? Why are we being targeted by the police? I didn't do anything—oh no, I should say that the things I did are not discoverable to ordinary people, right?"

"I don't know either." Pan Zi said, "I called our underground bank in Changsha this afternoon, but when the boss heard my voice, he only said two things. One was that he asked me to take you to Changsha right away because my uncle had something to say. The other was that something happened in Changsha and he told us to be careful. Then he hung up. This boss has been my uncle's partner for 30 years and is absolutely reliable. I thought about it. I'm not familiar with Hangzhou and something might happen if I stay there for too long. I have to go back to Changsha first."

Seeing my worry, he continued, "I found a few plainclothes officers as soon as I got on the bus, so I contacted a friend and called a car, asking him to try to follow the tracks. We stopped temporarily just now, and I saw the driver signaling us, so I knew the opportunity had come, so I dragged you off. The driver didn't say a word the whole way, so he must be one of us in the underworld. You can't say too much in front of such a person.

But these police didn't arrest us, which means we have little to do with Changsha's affairs. It must be that some big boss in Changsha was arrested. We small fry are just the ones who are caught. You don't have to be too scared. It has nothing to do with what you did. At most, it's just a case of selling stolen goods."

I felt a little better after hearing that. Just when I was about to say thank God, he continued, "Once something happens in Changsha, it's complicated and the Third Master is definitely involved. The boss didn't explain clearly, and we don't know what it is. In fact, we have been very restrained in the past few years and have hardly been directly involved in the fields. It's impossible for the previous things to be turned up so big. I really don't understand."

"So what are your plans now?" I asked tentatively. I don't want to be on the run.

Pan Zi said, "We can't go directly to Changsha. We will get off the bus after leaving Zhejiang, and then take a long-distance bus to the mountains near Changsha. The Third Master has a few antique collection points outside. There are people there to make contact, and the money bank owner will come over when the time comes."

I nodded. At this time, the train arrived at another station and started to pick up passengers. Another person came into our sleeper compartment. Pan Zi winked at me and I immediately changed the subject.

As we chatted, I unknowingly brought up the story of Chenpi Ah Si. This man was quite famous in Changsha. Pan Zi had heard of him and said to me, "He also had his own business in our area. I heard that he stopped doing business after he became blind. After the Cultural Revolution, he took in several apprentices to resell antiques to foreigners. This man is very sinister. Several of his earliest apprentices were almost all shot, but he is still at large. There are many rumors. It is best to keep a distance from him."

I thought about Chenpi A'Si's appearance. He didn't look blind, and it seemed even more strange.

Following Pan Zi's plan, we went through many twists and turns and finally arrived at Fushou Mountain near Changsha. It was indeed a good place with charming scenery along the way. Pan Zi had been active in this area for many years and was used to it. We came to a grocery market in the town. Just like the underground party members in the old society, we went around and around and came to a shop that was obviously not going to have any business. The shop sold old computers outside. Pushing open the back wall inside, there was a small room. Going inside, it suddenly became clear that there was a gap between two shops back to back, which could accommodate two people walking side by side. Now the rain cloth was pulled up above, and there were rows of shelves on both sides inside, all of which were newly unearthed funerary objects.

Several people were picking up goods there. The person in charge knew Pan Zi. When he saw him coming, he put down his things and said to Pan Zi, "Why are you here so late? The basic things are ready. When are you leaving?"

"Things? What things?" Pan Zi was stunned for a moment, looking confused.

The man was also stunned: "You don't know?"

Pan Zi looked back at me. I glared at him and thought, "It's your territory. Why are you looking at me?" He turned around and asked, "What are you preparing for?"

The man said, "The Third Master ordered five people to equip and do the work? Don't you know?"