Chapter 178: Money before life

Tian Qingyuan woke up dazedly.

He found himself lying on the ground. His head ached.

His vision was spinning.

Everything was blurry.

He could barely remember who he was.

He looked around in confusion. After struggling for a long time, he gradually regained some memory.

Damn it!

I've been set up. I've been knocked unconscious.

He quickly checks his body.

Sure enough, all his valuables are gone.

Damn it!

Despicable Chinese!

Always taking advantage of a situation!

Backstabbing!

What kind of hero are you!

If you're so capable...

'Ah...'

He lets out a muffled groan.

But he's so angry that his head starts to throb again.

He cautiously reaches behind his head. It's better not to touch it. But as soon as he does, it burns.

Even the slightest touch causes unbearable pain!

"Ah...'

'Despicable Chinese...'

'Ah...'

He gets angrier and angrier.

Then the pain gets worse.

It's so bad that tears come to his eyes.

Fortunately, it's late at night and there's no one around.

Otherwise, he's afraid he might die on the spot.

After all, he was the chairman of the Commercial Bank and a member of the upper class. When had he ever been in such a sorry state?

He had been knocked unconscious.

He had been abandoned by the roadside.

What misery!

Just then, a figure appeared next to him.

He was so shocked that he thought it was a robber and turned back. He was almost suffocating. Then he looked again. He realised it was Kitakata Taro.

'Hagya! What are you doing here?' Tian Qingyuan was instantly infuriated.

The other person had come at the worst possible time.

He arrived at the most embarrassing moment for himself.

He saw his most embarrassing side.

Damn it!

You son of a bitch!

Can you shut your damn eyes?

What are you looking at?

'Me, me, you, you...' Kitakata suddenly looked at Tian Qingyuan in surprise, "You were ambushed too?'

'I..." Tian Qingyuan couldn't hold back anymore.

'Oh, ha ha!' Kitakata suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

He had been in China for many years, and his language and mannerisms were no different from those of a Chinese person.

His reaction was completely that of a Chinese person.

Fortunately, Tian Qingyuan had also been taken advantage of.

To put it bluntly, Kitakata Taro was gloating.

He could see that Tian Qingyuan had also been knocked unconscious and robbed.

In his joy, he burst out laughing.

'Baka!'

Tian Qingyuan was furious.

This bastard, laughing!

You're still laughing!

'Kikuta-kun, how much were you robbed of?'

'Not as much as you!'

'I know it wasn't as much as mine. But how much exactly?'

'What do you want to know for?'

'I'm curious. How much exactly?'

'Haha! Don't ask what you shouldn't ask! You're in no position to ask that question!'

'Kikuta-kun, you weren't robbed of more than I was, were you? Haha! Haha!'

Kitakata Taro started laughing again.

For real.

A reckless laugh.

Because he was happy.

He had come to Tian Qingyuan feeling very uneasy.

After getting his hands on the 30,000 silver notes for the second time, he was inexplicably robbed again, and at one point, Kitakata Taro was so depressed that he wanted to commit suicide.

But in the end, he was defeated by his strong desire to survive.

He couldn't die. How could he commit suicide so easily? Even ants are greedy for life...

He decided to come to Tian Qingyuan again. And ask Tian Qingyuan for money again. He was prepared to be humiliated.

Who would have thought that he would see Tian Qingyuan in such a miserable state.

Heaven is helping me!

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but laugh out loud on the spot!

"Damn it!'

'I was robbed of 40,000. How much were you robbed of?'

'Hagya!'

Tian Qingyuan was furious. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong.

What did you say? 40,000?

Wait. The 30,000 I gave you later...

Was that also robbed?

'Hagah! Hekata Taro, how dare you lie to the Empire of Japan!'

'I'm not lying. I was robbed twice!'

'Hagah!'

Tian Qingyuan almost fainted on the spot.

This useless piece of shit!

Robbed twice!

Why don't you just die!

The first time he was robbed of 10,000 silver dollars!

The second time he was robbed of 30,000 silver dollars!

Do you think silver dollars just fall from the sky! You can have as much as you want!

How long would it take to earn 40,000 silver dollars?

What could you do with 40,000 silver dollars?

Heck!

You good-for-nothing!

However, there was nothing he could say to teach the other person a lesson.

Why? He had been robbed himself. Although it wasn't much. It was still robbery.

And Kitakata Taro had seen his sorry state.

The pot calling the kettle black.

'Damn it! Do we have anyone at the police station?'

'What do you want that for?'

'I want to catch all the thieves and robbers and hang them!'

'It seems not!'

'Ahhh...'

Tian Qingyuan suddenly crumbled.

After all, that idiot with no brain! He didn't even have someone planted in the police station!

What a waste!

'Are you still in pain?' Kitaoka Taro asked feigning concern.

'Hagah!' Tian Qingyuan really wanted to slap the other person.

You idiot!

How could it not hurt? Are you in pain?

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This is going to kill me!

The bricks were incredibly hard.

If a big one had fallen on his head, it would have crushed his skull!

He was lucky to be alive...

Tian Qingyuan was both anxious and angry. He remembered his business and said, 'What are you really doing here?'

ADVERTISEMENT

'I've been robbed...'

'Baka! You should commit hara-kiri! The Empire doesn't need trash like you!'

'What about you?'

'You!'

'Kikuta-kun, it's no use getting angry now. Let's seriously consider how to complete the task!'

'Baka! You're useless! You've got me into trouble!'

'Regardless of the facts, Kikuta-kun, don't you have some responsibility?'

'Baka! What responsibility do I have?'

Tian Qingyuan (Yosuke Kikuta) was almost going crazy. How dare the other person accuse him!

Is it because he saw that he was also hit with a club?

You hurry up and die!

'Kikuta-kun, have you forgotten the letter?'

'What?'

'The secret letter you carry with you.'

'What?'

Tian Qingyuan suddenly looked shocked.

Damn it!

He'd lost it!

His mind was seriously not clear!

He'd forgotten about the secret letter! He hadn't thought of it at all!

He hurriedly checked his body.

Where was it?

He suddenly looked dejected and sat down on the ground.

It was as if all the strength in his body had been sucked out.

Everything in front of him seemed to have lost its colour. The world was dark. He wanted to bang his head against the ground.

Higashitake Taro let out a sigh of relief.

Very good. Now everyone was desperate.

Tian Qingyuan could no longer remain aloof. He also had a way out.

'Kikuta-kun, we still have a chance.'

'What chance?'

'Kagasa-kun is unlikely to come to Jinling in the short term.'

'You...'

Tian Qingyuan gradually reacted.

Right. Kagekatsu Shigeaki can't come. He has an important task in Yangcheng. He can't get away.

As long as Kagekatsu Shigeaki doesn't come to Jinling, they will have room to manoeuvre.

They can make up reports and everything.

'But the secret letter...'

'As long as there's money, there's no problem.'

'But...'

'Get someone to forge a copy.'

'What?'

Tian Qingyuan was shocked.

Forge a secret letter?

How can this be?

If the authorities find out...

They'll all have to commit hara-kiri.

'Kikuta-kun, there are many talented people in China. The secret letter they forge will be identical to the real one. Even the person himself may not be able to tell the difference.'

'But, but, the content of the secret letter...'

'For a petty thief, the content of the secret letter is meaningless.'

'But he took the secret letter.'

'He thought it might be useful at the time, so he took it. Once he realised it was useless, he'll just throw it in the corner.'

'But if the secret letter falls into the hands of Chinese agents...'

'Kikuta-kun, do you think the people who set me and you up are Chinese agents?'

'...'

Kikuta Yosuke was silent.

Of course he hoped it wasn't. In fact, it didn't seem to be.

The other party's aim in knocking him out seemed to be purely financial. Otherwise, wouldn't it have been better to just arrest him?

"Definitely not!'

'Kikuta-kun, we haven't been exposed.'

'Chinese secret agents are stupid and are no match for us at all.'

'However, we must admit that there are some capable people among the Chinese from all walks of life. These people are hard to guard against.'

'Our Empire of Japan doesn't have many thieves, so we don't have any experience dealing with them. It's not our fault. At most, it's an unintentional mistake. We still have a chance to make a comeback.'

Kitakata Taro spoke confidently, giving Kikuta Yosuke a peace of mind.

There was no choice, he needed Kikuta Yosuke's money. Without money, it would be difficult to move forward.

Kikuta Yosuke nodded silently.

Right now, this is the only thing he can hope for. As long as he doesn't get exposed, he still has a chance to make a comeback.

'What now?'

'Get the money...'

'You!'

Tian Qingyuan was about to scold the other person again.

All he ever does is ask for money!

He just gave him 10,000, and then he got robbed.

Then he gave him 30,000, and he got robbed again!

Hagah!

Bastard!

'Did you embezzle?'

'I'd love to. But look at my head...'

'Baka!'

Kikuta Yosuke was furious. Then he became depressed.

This was a bad year!

Kitakata Taro had been attacked, and now he had been attacked.

He felt that the other person was definitely not an ordinary petty thief. Maybe they had targeted them. This was really annoying.

'How much do you want?'

'20,000!'

'Baka! You might as well go rob!'

'Kikuta-kun, you need to know that forging secret letters requires a master!'

'Damn it! Don't mention the secret letter again!'

'Okay, I won't mention it again. But, Kikuta-kun, we still have a lot of work to do, and we need money for every step of the way...'

'Wait for me at the usual place. I'll give you 10,000 at most.'

'Kikuta-kun, 10,000 really isn't enough. At least 15,000. Otherwise, the two of us will have no choice but to commit hara-kiri.'

'Do you think I got this money by chance? You've already wasted 40,000!'

'You've also wasted 2,000...'

'Hagya!'

Kikuta Yosuke felt a darkness before his eyes.

Will you stop mentioning it!

There is no greater shame.

However, there was no use in saying anything now. They still had to continue working with Kitakata Taro.

Otherwise, what awaited them would be a punishment worse than death.

Kitakata lost 40,000 taels of silver, and being torn apart by five horses would not have been enough to vent his anger. And he lost the secret letter, the consequences of which were even worse than being torn apart by five horses...

'Actually, I have a plan.'

'Speak.'

'I know a Shanghai mobster called Liu Heizi...'

'That guy is ruthless and not easy to deal with.'

'Oh? Kikuta-kun, do you know the other party?'

'I've heard of this person's name. He once caused chaos in Shanghai. Then he disappeared for some reason.'

'That's great. We can cooperate with this Liu Hezai.'

'He's a guy who values money over his life.'

'Yes, yes, yes, Mr. Kikuta, it seems that you really know him very well. This Liu Heizi really wants money more than he wants to live. But for our business, only this kind of person who wants money more than he wants to live would dare to do it.'

'Mr. Kitakata, what if this guy turns his back on us and swallows us...'

'Don't worry, he only wants money, not to harm people.'

'Okay...'

Yosuke Kikuta reluctantly agreed.

What else can be done at this point? Even though you know it's poisoned wine, you have to drink it and see what happens.

I hope this Liu Heizi really only wants money and not my life.

That said, they have already handed over their lives. To be able to survive is a gain.

Therefore...

I can only cooperate with an asshole like Liu Heizi.

'Achoo!'

'Achoo!'

In the distance, Zhang Yong sneezed a few times in a row.