As six or seven people were found dead in the hospital and we were roaming around the murder scenes, of course, the police wanted to take us to the bureau to be interrogated.

We were taken to the police bureau, but we didn’t even have time to warm our seats when the rich woman’s lawyer bailed us out.

Fortunately, the hospital’s surveillance cameras had recorded everything. It was made evident that the deaths of those victims weren’t related to us. And, we didn’t make the effort to explain where the golden-armored warrior had come from.

Once we left the police bureau, the lawyer passed us the rich woman’s message. She said that her tycoon husband’s brother had found a grandmaster from Hong Kong to deal with us. She asked us to be more vigilant as we worked.

We saw her off, but we laughed when we turned around. A grandmaster from Hong Kong? It was understandable that Shen Hongbin would find someone to help. I guessed that this ‘grandmaster’ from Hong Kong was none other than Chuyi. That was why we had almost met him back in the hospital.

However, for obvious reasons, it wouldn’t be convenient for him to show up. And we didn’t plan to tell the rich woman this little detail… 

We took a taxi and returned to my antique shop. I changed my clothes while Yin Xinyue ordered takeaway food as it was around lunch time. Our lunch was rather simple.

Li Mazi took a nap on the sofa after eating. Yin Xinyue wanted to go to the nearby Starbucks, but I excused myself, saying that I had something to do and that she should go alone this time.

I continued reading the journal my grandpa had left me. Shortly after, I found something about that ‘General Yaowu.’ Back then, Yuan Chonghuan purchased eight ‘generals’ to guard Liaodong. They were the eight Red Barbarian Cannons.

Amongst those eight cannons, one was the most special since Yuan Chonghuan had used his blood as sacrifice to worship it.

There was a time Yuan Chonghuan had been besieged by the Qing army for three months. His city couldn’t contact the other cities, and their ammunition was dwindling.

Yuan Chonghuan was so worried that his hair had turned white.

One day, Yuan Chonghuan was very tired after returning from the front line. He dozed off on his table and had a strange dream. In his dream, he saw a golden-armored warrior kneeling in front of him, speaking confidently, “I’m willing to lead a troop of elite soldiers to break this siege and kill Nurhaci!”

[1]

Yuan Chonghuan agreed to his proposal, but he wondered how many soldiers he would need since there weren’t many soldiers that he could mobilize in this city.

The warrior in golden armor answered indifferently, “Eight are enough.”

Then, Yuan Chonghuan woke up. He couldn’t help but sigh as it was just a dream.

Suddenly, there was mayhem outside. A soldier came and reported that there were eight warriors in golden armor attacking the Qing army’s camp. Yuan Chonghuan went to the city wall to watch. The eight warriors were riding horse skeletons, carving a bloody path amidst the enemy’s formation. The leading general held a big, imposing banner which read ‘General Yaowu.’ Yuan Chonghuan finally understood. The eight Red Barbarian Cannons on the city wall were gone!

At night time, the Manchurian Emperor Nurhaci was killed by a cannon round that came out of nowhere. Since their emperor had been killed, the Qing army was in disarray; they soon decided to retreat. Yuan Chonghuan opened his ammunition storage and found the eight cannons that had just disappeared, with some extra dents on their surface. 

From that day on, he held the eight cannons in high esteem. He even asked his generals to offer incense and fruits and worship the cannons every day. 

However, in the end, Yuan Chonghuan was plotted against and sliced into pieces. There was nothing left of his remains. Only one of those cannons had his blood.

On the day the Qing army got through the country’s pass, Yuan Chonghuan’s soldiers and generals buried the cannon named ‘General Yaowu’ together with Yuan Chonghuan’s clothes, considering it his cenotaph.

Li Mazi’s phone rang right after I finished reading the story. He was startled by the sound, jumping up from the sofa with a quick motion. After the call, he said, “It was the rich woman.”

“Why did she call you?” I asked. 

“She said Sheng Hongbin had fetched her husband from the hospital. We must go there. She will send a car to pick us up soon,” answered Li Mazi. 

“Tell her to come in half an hour. I need to prepare something first!” I frowned.

I gave Li Mazi a list of stuff I needed. “Can you find these things for me?” 

The list included macaque blood, an iron chain, a seven-month stillbirth, iron grains, swine blood, and TNT explosives.

Li Mazi frowned and said, “Little Brother Zhang, half of the things on your list are illegal. Where am I supposed to get them?” 

“Oh, you know the rich woman, don’t you?” I chuckled.

“Yeah, I forgot about her…” Li Mazi ruffled his hair. If it weren’t her, I wouldn’t ask about finding those things.

The Red Barbarian was certainly damaged after so many ghosts had attacked it at the hospital. It would possibly take one or two days for the cannon to recover before it could reappear one more time. I planned to finish it at that time.

I phoned Yin Xinyue and asked her to return. After a while, the rich woman’s cars came. She waved at us from one of the black Roll Royce cars.

The rich woman asked Li Mazi to sit next to her. Neither Yin Xinyue nor I had such treatment. She talked to Li Mazi while dabbing her tears with a handkerchief. It turned out that around noon time, Shen Hongbin had taken the grandmaster from Hong Kong to the hospital. That grandmaster had performed some evil tricks, and all the bodyguards were rendered unconscious. They had abducted her husband after that.

I believed that Chuyi would not assist bad people. Since he had done that, I supposed he wanted to gain Shen Hongbin’s trust!

The cars didn’t go to the hospital but a residential area in the city. It was the place where Shen Hongbin would most likely be. The rich woman was sure that Shen Hongbin would kidnap her husband and take him there.

Sure enough, we saw Shen Hongbin’s sports car parked in front of the villa. 

The rich woman went and knocked on the door. She charged into the house with her bodyguards as soon as the maid opened the door. “Shen Hongbin, get your butt down here!”

Soon enough, Shen Hongbin appeared at the staircase. He shot us a glance, sneering at the woman. “Sister-in-law, which game are you playing? You’ve even joined hands with some outsiders to deal with me. Don’t you think you’re crossing the line?”

“You bastard, don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. You want to trick my husband into transferring his shares to you while his mind is not stable!” the woman boomed.

“Oh, you’re late. My brother has already signed the contract…” Shen Hongbin smiled contentedly.

The rich woman was dumbstruck, just as if she was hit by lightning. She rushed to the second floor, and we followed after her.

Wearing pajamas, the tycoon was sitting on the couch, watching TV in a lavishly-decorated bedroom. The TV was playing the drama ‘Yuan Chonghuan.’ He seemed to be infatuated with the drama as he didn’t notice the people storming into his room. 

That was actually a great trick I should keep in mind. I could use it later on if I encountered some famous historical figures!

“Honey! How could you do that to me?! You’re willing to leave behind orphans and a single mother? You’re heartless… how could you watch us living on the street?” The rich woman sobbed, crying her heart out. 

The tycoon looked at her with disgust. “Someone, come and take this crazy woman away!” As he was Yuan Chonghuan at the moment, of course he wouldn’t recognize his family.

Shen Hongbin made a gesture. The security guards standing at the door came in and were about to make the rich woman leave. However, the bodyguards the rich woman had brought along weren’t pushovers. The two groups pulled back and forth at the door.

In the end, the tycoon smashed a vase and asked everybody to get out. The rich woman wasn’t pleased; she said some harsh words before leaving. 

After she got into the car, she called some people in the company. After the calls, her face had a turn for the better as she said to us, “That rascal fooled me. The company’s equity hasn’t been transferred yet. We still have a chance!”

Li Mazi asked in puzzlement, “Mrs. Shen, didn’t you say that we just needed to help your husband wake up?”

“I’ll pay you more... Grandmaster, you must help me this time. Otherwise, I’ll become a widow and my kids would lose their father. We won’t have a roof above our heads.” The woman sounded pitiful. 

“How old are your children?” I asked.

“The oldest is twelve; he’s in high school. The youngest is only nine, and he’s still in elementary school. They are too young. So far we’ve brought them up nicely, but if I don’t fight to save their wealth, how could they survive later on? Don’t you think so?”

Li Mazi nodded. “Right, right, being a parent isn’t easy.” 

I felt puzzled. Why would she keep spouting things about becoming a widow and the orphans? She sounded as if the tycoon had already died.

Then, I realized something!