Chapter 142: The Objective of the Fifth Imperial Brother, the Crown Prince?

This money is for you to use along the way, it's the rules! Since you, kid, dared to step up and take the blame, you must have heard the veterans talking about the rules of "taking the fall" in the streets. Ordinarily, for a minor incident like this, there shouldn't be any "meal allowance." But considering you're taking the fall for our Seventh and Little Madman, these five thousand yuan are from me personally for you to spend, not taken from the Thirteen Princes' common funds! Fifth Brother's face darkened, and speaking in underworld slang was indeed rather intimidating. Even Fourth Brother and Lin Jia and the others didn't dare to speak.

Although I think you have some sense of loyalty and I'm letting you do "business" with me, you aren't considered one of the Thirteen Princes' people yet. Once you're locked up, keep your tongue tightly in check and don't get the itch to show off. If I find out you've disgraced me inside, then you can go sell your ass inside! Fifth Brother intimidated Little Monkey, then swept a glance over the eager Black Bear and Fifth Brother Chen Biao on the side, and chuckled lightly. I really don't know how those two darlings of ours, Seventh and Little Madman, managed to hang out with a bunch of punks like you without going bad. Looking at you guys, you seem to be the "leaders" of the kids in this neighborhood, right? What? Want to roll with me? Black Bear and Chen Biao both nodded excitedly. For small-time hoods like them who engaged in petty brawls all day, being able to rely on a backing like the Thirteen Princes seemed like a huge honor. The very reason Little Monkey had rushed to take the rap and go to prison was precisely for this—he just wanted to latch onto the massive ship of the Thirteen Princes, rather than out of any genuine loyalty.

Fifth Brother jokingly remarked with a smile, The waters in today's society are very deep! If you want to follow, then follow! Just don't regret it when the time comes! Lin Jia could tell that Fifth Brother had no intention whatsoever of taking Black Bear and his crew as his subordinates; he was simply half-jokingly humoring these "kids" of the streets. Don't think that underworld organizations are that easy to join. You think it's really like in TV dramas, where kowtowing to a boss makes you a gangster? Their organizational structure is hardly much different from a regular military unit! Even joining the Party requires writing an application letter. How could becoming a gangster be as simple as just opening your mouth and saying a word? If it were that easy, there wouldn't be any gangsters left in society—they'd have all been double-crossed and wiped out like in Infernal Affairs.

Fifth Brother looked at Lin Jia and the others and said, I've issued the gag order. Those hooligans who started the fight won't shoot their mouths off either. You two remember this as well: go back and be your good little boys! Don't be so impulsive when doing things in the future! I've smoothed things over for you, so go figure out what lies to tell at home yourselves!

Lin Jia and Fourth Brother were stunned. What lies should we tell at home? Fifth Brother pointed cluelessly at the bruises on their bodies and said, Don't tell me your parents won't ask when you go back looking like beaten black-and-blue pigs?! Lin Jia and Fourth Brother exchanged glances, only then realizing that their entire bodies were beginning to turn black and blue from the beating. Only now did the pain start to set in, and Fourth Brother shrieked, Big Brother! Why hasn't that bone-setting doctor you called arrived yet?!

Hissing in pain, Lin Jia moved his fingers; his hands were already completely numb. Enduring the pain, Lin Jia said, Fifth Brother! Thank you for today! Consider the money you spent as a loan from me! I will definitely pay you back when the time comes!

Fifth Brother was amused and exasperated. Pay me back? Pay back my ass! Even though those four guys lying in the hospital aren't as terrifying as I made it sound just now, their medical bills still come to over 40,000 yuan! Even if you only shoulder 20,000, let alone the fact that you, Little Madman, are currently an unemployed vagrant—even if you eventually get a job at the steel mill, you'll still just be a damn poor worker making less than a thousand yuan a month. You'd have to save every penny without eating or drinking for two or three years just to pay it back! Don't forget, I'm a gangster! You better watch out or I'll calculate a thirty-percent usury interest for you, and you'll still be owing me money even in your next lifetime! If you still consider me your big brother, stop saying such disgusting shit! My money doesn't come from clean sources, so I don't feel any heartache spending it. If you really want to pay me back...

Fifth Brother's snake-like gaze flickered across Lin Jia and vanished. Half-jokingly, he suggested, Why don't you just come work for me? I guarantee you'll make more money than a poor worker! Lin Jia let out a dry, awkward laugh as a layer of cold sweat broke out across his back. He had no idea why Fifth Brother kept trying to recruit him into the underworld. He was just a punk with no skills or special talents—which exact trait of his had caught Fifth Brother's eye? Could it just be because he dared to fight with the intent to kill? Fifth Brother had plenty of underlings who actually dared to take lives. A raw, reckless rookie like him was worth nothing!

Lin Jia's failure to understand didn't mean Fifth Brother didn't understand. A slick veteran rolling around in this society would know what you were thinking the moment you took a heavy breath. Seeing Lin Jia's unnatural expression, Fifth Brother immediately changed the subject: Anyway, what on earth were you guys fighting others for? And fighting so viciously?

Boss Xu Fangfang finally found an opportunity to chime in, and with great indignation, he told Fifth Brother what the long-haired punk had said to insult their group of brothers. Hearing this, Fifth Brother almost jumped to his feet: You guys nearly beat someone to death just because of this trivial crap?! Earlier, when Fangfang told me you risked your lives fighting people to protect two young ladies, I even praised you for acting like men! You fought a bloody battle with people over some damn worthless game?! You two are absolute morons!

Lin Jia and Fourth Brother didn't dare to raise their heads under Fifth Brother's scolding, and Lin Jia was filled with regret. Still, what that long-haired guy had said was a bit too offensive, and a young man's impulsiveness was somewhat inevitable. Fortunately, at that moment, the driver arrived with an old bone-setting practitioner, whose medicated wine rubs caused the victims to howl like cats and chickens.

Strangely enough, despite being beaten by so many people, not a single bone in either of their bodies was broken. Aside from universal bruising, at worst they had a few deep-tissue injuries that would take time to heal, meaning a few months of inevitable pain. In addition, the joints on Lin Jia's hands were severely scraped and skinned, and his wrists had suffered sprains from overexertion, making a few days of weakness and swelling unavoidable.

The most magical part was that neither of their faces had a single scratch on them. If they put their clothes back on, their fathers and mothers back home probably wouldn't even notice a thing! Boss even joked that they must have desperately shielded their faces during the brawl to preserve their handsome looks!

That reminds me... Fifth Brother asked with keen interest, Is that damn Legend game you guys play really that fun? Just for a piece of equipment in the game... what was it called again?

Frost Sword! Boss hurriedly chimed in.

Oh right, Frost Sword! Fifth Brother said with amusement. Just for a Frost Sword in the game, which according to you guys isn't even worth much, you could actually fight like that? If it were that 'Purgatory' treasure Little Monkey mentioned, wouldn't a whole bunch of people die?! Now that's truly bizarre. Tomorrow I'm going to go in and play it too, just to see if anyone dares to mess with me!

Lin Jia, Fourth Brother, and Boss didn't dare to make a peep. Mess with you? Forget about you being a gangster; even if the US President went in there, people would still beat him up just the same! Once you enter the game, you're just a level-one nobody! Ghost knows that you're Fifth Brother of the Thirteen Princes!

Perhaps drawn in by the description of the game Legend given by Lin Jia and the others, Fifth Brother took a strong interest and began chatting with them about it. Fifth Brother chuckled: I'm bored out of my damn mind all day anyway. Hearing you guys say this game is so much fun, I'll go in and pass the time too. Who knows, maybe playing this game will make me turn over a new leaf one day—that would also count as a good deed! He even asked for their in-game IDs and jotted them down in his cell phone, saying he would come find them in the game whenever he had time, which left Lin Jia and the others somewhat dumbfounded.

To suck up to Fifth Brother, Little Monkey excitedly chattered away, telling Fifth Brother all sorts of interesting anecdotes inside Legend—things like leveling up, hunting for gear, PK killing, chatting up girls, and so on. Fourth Brother and Boss chimed in from time to time as well. Fifth Brother and Black Bear—who didn't even know how to use the internet—listened in utter bewilderment, and the driver standing nearby who didn't even have a name tag also listened with rapt attention.

Because Lin Jia's entire body was aching fiercely and he had no energy to interject, he simply watched as the bone-setting practitioner massaged the injuries of Fourth Brother—who was sprawled on the opposite sofa and repeatedly shrieked in agony whenever the distracted practitioner pinched too hard. Beads of cold sweat broke out across Lin Jia's forehead as he thought to himself that his group of brothers might have just dragged some monstrous character into Legend...

After burning through the night and fighting a massive brawl, everyone was exhausted. Fifth Brother arranged for them to rest at his home, though only Boss, as a female, had a bed to sleep in. Although Fifth Brother's apartment had plenty of rooms, they were mostly empty; aside from his own master bedroom, only a single guest room was prepared, leaving Lin Jia and the others to sleep on the living room sofa.

Once everyone had fallen asleep, Lin Jia remembered that he still needed to call Meimei, who was presumably still at the internet café. Twisting in pain on the sofa to find the most comfortable position, he reached out and grabbed the phone from the coffee table beside the sofa. Staring stupidly at his own hands, which were wrapped like carrot sticks, and then looking at the tiny buttons on the phone, he very wisely picked up a slipper and hurled it across the room at Fourth Brother on the opposite sofa. After hitting him and eliciting a shriek of pain, Lin Jia watched Fourth Brother crawl over to punch in the numbers for him.

Ignoring Fourth Brother's murderous glare—since Fourth Brother was also wrapped up like a zongzi—Lin Jia comfortably reclined on the sofa to call Meimei. Uncle Zhao answered the phone. When Lin Jia identified himself, Uncle Zhao excitedly asked over and over if they were alright. Before Lin Jia could even answer, Meimei's voice, choked with tears, came through the receiver, making it clear that she had snatched the phone away.

Lin Jia gently consoled Meimei for a few moments, telling her that he and his brothers were fine and were currently sleeping at Fourth Brother's cousin's house. Meimei asked half-doubting questions for a long time, and only after confirming that Lin Jia didn't seem to be locked up in a police station did she finally put her mind at ease and hang up the phone.

Hanging up, Lin Jia clutched the telephone receiver as he lay on the sofa, his mind a tangled mess of confusion. Fifth Brother's favor had now been incurred; even though Fifth Brother claimed Lin Jia didn't need to pay him back, Lin Jia still felt uneasy inside. Owning a favor to an underworld figure was no good thing. But if he did want to pay it back, where on earth was he supposed to conjure up twenty or thirty thousand yuan?

In particular, Fifth Brother's cryptic gaze kept Lin Jia's heart hanging anxiously in midair. What on earth did he actually mean?