Chapter 168 22

Chapter 168 22

After seeing Shen Xi off, Cha Xin didn't immediately leave the Green Bud Bar; instead, he turned back inside.

He walked to the most secluded private room and pushed the door open. Inside sat Pan Na, her left cheek visibly swollen and bruised.

At that moment, Pan Na was sitting on the sofa, gazing at herself in the mirror. Although she had applied makeup to conceal it, the distinct slap mark and severely swollen cheek were impossible to hide completely, revealing the immense force Cha Xin had used when he struck her.

Upon Cha Xin's entry, Pan Na turned away in displeasure, deliberately avoiding his gaze. She continued to stare at her reflection, her expression a mix of resentment and indignation.

Cha Xin, unfazed by her attitude, approached her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and coaxed, "Alright, don't be angry. It was just for show. That pink diamond necklace you mentioned liking last time—I'll buy it for you."

"Hmph." Pan Na wasn't swayed. She snorted, twisted her body, and still refused to spare Cha Xin a glance.

Cha Xin didn't get annoyed. He lit a cigarette for himself and fell silent. After a while, Pan Na turned back on her own and grumbled at Cha Xin, "What exactly are you plotting? Now look—the goods didn't come through, and I was publicly humiliated. Just look at how swollen my face is! How am I supposed to show myself in public like this?"

The more Pan Na spoke, the angrier she became. If Shen Xi were present at that moment, even stabbing him twice wouldn't suffice to quell her fury.

"Enough, enough," Cha Xin said, patting her shoulder to soothe her.

After several deep breaths, Pan Na finally regained some composure and asked Cha Xin again, "So what exactly are you thinking? I still firmly believe there's something off about that man—and it's something significant. The more flawless he appears, the less trustworthy he is."

Cha Xin sneered, flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, and stomped it out fiercely. "So what if there's something off about him? What I want are the goods. I'll let him off for now. Once the goods are in our hands, whether Shen Xi lives or dies will be entirely up to us here in Pearl City."

Hearing this, Pan Na's eyes lit up, and her tone couldn't hide a hint of excitement. "You mean… use him first, then kill him once he's served his purpose?"

Cha Xin picked up the glass of wine on the table and drained it in one gulp. "He can only use the same trick once. I was careless this time, giving him an opportunity to take back the goods. Next time, it won't be so easy for him."

Only then did Pan Na's anger completely subside. She refilled Cha Xin's glass and asked, "Sounds like you have a plan?"

"Don't stay idle lately. Get things moving. Whether this Shen Xi is genuine or fake, or whose man he is—once the goods are in our hands and the business is back on track, he's as good as dead." After saying this, Cha Xin touched Pan Na's swollen left cheek with a hint of pity. "When the time comes, we'll seize his connections, and we'll make sure Shen Xi understands who truly calls the shots in this deal. As for then, I'll hand Shen Xi over to you first. You can do whatever you want with him—vent all your anger. How does that sound? That pretty little face of his will be very popular with a lot of people."

.

Meanwhile, when Rong Qing returned to the hotel, it was almost dawn. He forced himself to take his medicine, changed clothes, and went to shower. Only when the warm water flowed over his body did he feel somewhat alive again.

He wiped the water from his face with his hand, the crescent-shaped nail marks still visible on his palms from how tightly he had clenched his fists.

Even though he had heard about it and was mentally prepared, what he witnessed that night still shocked him deeply. Those human traffickers didn't treat people as human beings at all.

But people are human.

They can be beautiful, intelligent, talented; they can be gentle, righteous, hardworking, kind. Every person in this world is unique.

Those people shouldn't have to suffer such things, much less become someone else's commodities.

To suppress his disgust and anger during the negotiation, he had to smoke a cigarette. The bitter taste of nicotine filling his mouth seemed to act like a sedative for his emotions, allowing him to calmly deal with Cha Xin.

After all, Cha Xin was a seasoned operator. Even though he seemed to trust him, he still held back. Although they discussed the transaction plan once, many details were not disclosed by Cha Xin. Rong Qing could only rely on scraps of information to guess, probe, and extract more clues.

At the same time, he had to constantly propose different plans to confuse Cha Xin. If anything went wrong midway, this would buy him the time he needed.

It felt like playing both sides against each other, requiring immense mental effort. As he spoke, he calculated—his suggestions had to convey his willingness to see the deal through smoothly, while successfully concealing loopholes within a seemingly flawless plan. This would buy the police more time and opportunities, increasing the chances of success for the mission.

This would be a large-scale joint operation, with police from both countries attacking simultaneously from several directions.

Both the Green Bud Bar and the transaction site would require sufficient manpower to prevent Cha Xin's people from coordinating effectively, ensuring the rescue of all the captives and the arrest of all key suspects.

Although Cha Xin was holding back, the current situation was the best advantage Rong Qing could secure. On the day of the transaction, he would be present. Once both sides made contact, the rest wouldn't be too difficult.

Lying in bed, Rong Qing finally relaxed and closed his eyes.

Doing business with someone like Cha Xin was like bargaining with a tiger—it inevitably involved repeated back-and-forth. He never expected to succeed in one go.

Finally, having seen the underground level of the Green Bud Bar and gathered enough information, it represented significant progress.

He was delving into the heart of darkness.

Fighting hard to gain every slight advantage and chance of success.

This was only the first step of the mission. There was still much to do, and time was not on his side.

He needed to quickly arrange everything to ensure the mission's smooth completion.

.

Typically, Buddhist ceremonies are held in the morning, but Cha Xin scheduled to meet Shen Xi at 4 p.m., after which they would go together, expecting to arrive by 5 p.m.

The temple they were heading to was a small one called White Elephant Temple, located outside Pearl City. After 4 p.m., the temple had the fewest outside visitors, and the Acharya inside would specially receive them.

The weather in J Country had been very hot lately, especially in the past few days, with bright sunshine and daytime temperatures reaching over 30 degrees Celsius, though there was a slight temperature difference between morning and evening.

When Shen Xi set off, he put on sunglasses and deliberately wore a white shirt with loose dark linen pants. To blend in with the locals, he tied a traditional patterned cloth, a "Groma," around his waist as a belt. Around his wrist, he wore a string of 108 Bodhi beads, and he carried a Chinese-style folding fan.

This fan had appeared multiple times in Shen Xi’s selfies before, and the logistics team had searched for a long time to find the same model.

When he stepped out of the hotel, Cha Xin was already waiting for him at the entrance. Shen Xi politely greeted him, “Boss Cha, sorry to keep you waiting,” while his gaze inadvertently fell on the bodyguards behind Cha Xin. Besides familiar faces like Ruan Cong and Datu, there were a few others Shen Xi hadn’t seen before.

Unlike in TV dramas where bodyguards always wear black suits—which would be unbearable in the summer heat—most of these real-life bodyguards were dressed in local casual wear.

Shen Xi could tell at a glance that they were carrying guns today, tucked at their waists and covered by their clothes.

Summer clothes were thin, and for someone familiar with firearms like him, it was easy to spot.

Shen Xi couldn’t help but remark on Cha Xin’s ostentatiousness—the whole setup looked less like a trip to a temple and more like a prelude to a shootout.

The bodyguard named Datu stood by the car, hands on his hips, asking Ruan Cong, “Any special plans for today?”

Ruan Cong shot him a glance and said, “Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t.”

Cha Xin had saved a seat for him in the main car.

Seeing him approach, Ruan Cong proactively opened the rear door for him.

Perhaps to match today’s attire and the occasion, Shen Xi had dropped the usual casual, carefree smile from his face. Meeting Ruan Cong’s gaze, he gave an almost imperceptible nod before sitting down beside Cha Xin.

Ruan Cong also got in, taking the driver’s seat. Pan Na wasn’t there today, so the passenger seat was empty.

Shen Xi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Cha Xin, guessing that either Pan Na had been given other tasks or her face was still too swollen from yesterday’s slap to be seen in public.

Otherwise, given Pan Na’s personality, after suffering such a humiliation yesterday, how could she resist coming today to make trouble for the one who caused it?

The convoy set off, with one car in front and one behind.

In the afternoon, Pearl City’s downtown was congested with tuk-tuks and street vendors on both sides, making it impossible to pick up speed.

Cha Xin spun the jade ring on his thumb as he chatted with Shen Xi: “When I was younger, I often enjoyed driving myself. Holding the steering wheel felt more purposeful. But now that I’m older, it’s more comfortable to be driven. I leave whatever can be done by others to them.”

Perhaps because there were few people in the car, or maybe because Shen Xi couldn’t be bothered to keep up appearances, he leaned back relaxedly into the seat, fanning himself with the folding fan, and said with a smile, “I’ve heard a bit about Boss Cha’s rise to success—enduring hardship to rise above others. But I’m different. I was born to enjoy life. I relied on my parents before, then on friends, and from now on, I’ll rely on my business partners.”

Cha Xin laughed heartily.

With no outsiders in the car, they returned to discussing last night’s plan, this time with Cha Xin bringing up the topic.

After a night, Cha Xin had made quite a few revisions, and some issues even seemed to have rewound, reverting to the original plan. Very few of Shen Xi's suggestions were adopted; it appeared Cha Xin wanted to keep the initiative entirely in his own hands.

Shen Xi, imitating Cha Xin's posture from the day before, leaned back in his seat and listened to Cha Xin's lengthy monologue, casually responding with a few words of agreement.

Although Shen Xi didn't say much, his dismissive attitude made it clear that he was very dissatisfied with Cha Xin's proposed plan.

But Cha Xin didn't seem to notice Shen Xi's coldness and continued to lay out his plan in full.

"Don't you worry, Boss Shen. I've handled transactions like this at least a dozen times this year alone—I have plenty of experience. Just rest assured that once the goods are delivered, you'll get every cent coming to you."

By this point, Shen Xi was using his fan to prop up his head, eyes closed as if feigning sleep, leaving it unclear whether he had even heard Cha Xin's words.

Just as Cha Xin was about to speak again, Shen Xi said, "Boss Cha's plan is indeed impressive. I only have one question. Do you think our current state qualifies as 'cooperation'?"

Smart people's probes often stop at just a hint.

Cha Xin glanced at Shen Xi sitting beside him and finally relented. With a smile, he replied, "Of course. If there's anything you're unhappy with, Boss Shen, we can discuss it further."

Noting Shen Xi's listless expression, Cha Xin quickly changed the subject to how effective the Acharya at the White Elephant Temple was, mentioning how he had liked coming here to pray since he was young and had even made significant donations to the temple after making some money.

To outsiders, the idea of a human trafficker believing in Buddhism might seem unbelievable, but in J Country, it somehow made sense.

Most people in J Country follow Buddhism, which is the state religion here. Monks, known as bhikkhus, hold a high status. Locals are immersed in this from childhood. Many households have small shrines, and statues of Buddha, particularly the Four-Faced Buddha, Vishnu, Guanyin, and the Buddha himself, are a common sight. Around temples, you can also find various mythical creatures like the Naga, white elephants, and multi-headed serpents.

The temples in Pearl City all have thriving incense smoke, and most are located near the sea, including the White Elephant Temple they were visiting today.

The White Elephant Temple is situated on a small hill by the sea outside Pearl City.

Their car stopped at the foot of the hill, and they had to climb over two hundred stone steps to reach the top.

As soon as they got out of the car, bhikkhus carrying alms bowls and wearing orange robes gathered around, palms together to ask for alms. But Shen Xi could tell at a glance that most of them were fake bhikkhus who congregated around temples or tourist spots.

Some still had stubble on their heads, while others wore sneakers and jeans. Probably afraid of being chased away by real bhikkhus higher up the hill, they stayed at the bottom to scam tourists. If you didn't give them money, they would follow you, making visitors frown in annoyance.

Cha Xin, however, instructed his men below. Datu pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket and handed some to every bhikkhu who approached, real or fake.

This act immediately caused a scramble.

Then Cha Xin led the way and started climbing the hill with the others.

At this hour, there were few tourists or passersby, with only a handful of people remaining at the foot of the hill.

In this environment, Shen Xi's gaze was suddenly drawn to one person...