Chapter 13: Fire Element Insanity and Banditry (2)

  This "pan-er" is a skill in the "Rong Xing" school, which is very particular. It's about being given a deep-bottomed plate, either ceramic, wooden or metal, with a certain number of pearls inside, no more than 50. A person who can "pan-er" must hold the plate and let the pearls rotate or move, then judge how many pearls are in the plate. They must guess correctly at least nine out of ten times, without being off by even one or two pearls. If they can do this, it's called being able to "pan-er". This skill requires a combination of heart, hand and ear, with a clear mind, steady nerves, sensitive tactile sense, accurate movements, and sharp hearing. To be able to "pan-er", one must have a natural talent, a calm mind like ice, and a perfect coordination of heart, hand and ear, which is extremely difficult.

  So Huo Xiao said he would take the plate, that is to say, he at least had the skill of breaking nine whips, and blowing whistles, following the wind, and pinching Wang Er were nothing!

  To know a thief, the ordinary emphasis is on being bold, meticulous, energetic, stable, quick-handed, sharp-eyed, bright-eared, and having a keen nose. If you go up to a higher level, then you need to "unify". The skill of holding the plate is one of the methods of "unifying".

  Hei San Bian didn't believe it because when he was "taking the tray", he was already 25 or 26 years old, which is considered very fast in the "Rong Hang". But now this little devil Xiao Yao is only 15 or 16 years old and follows Qi Jian Er, a "master" who can't even get on stage, how could he possibly "take the tray"?

  Huoxiao Ye was also young and didn't understand the subtleties, hearing Hei Sanbian's tone of voice that conveyed a hint of disbelief, he became slightly anxious and said: "I really can play with the plate! If Grandpa Hei doesn't believe me, I can show you!" According to the rules of the "Ronghang", this kind of thing couldn't be said like that. Huoxiao Ye, as a junior, even if he could play with the plate, had to say that he only slightly understood it. In front of Hei Sanbian, such a great thief, boasting about his abilities was likely to lead to disaster. Usually, Huoxiao Ye would only meet people like Liu Sanzhi who knew their roots and were familiar with their line of work, but he never thought he would encounter someone like Hei Sanbian, so it was understandable that he didn't know the rules.

  As expected, Hei Sanbian heard Huo Xiao Xie say this and cursed in his heart: "How dare you! No one has dared to be so presumptuous with me for so many years! I think you don't want to live anymore!" Hei Sanbian thought to himself, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and snorted: "Good! I'd like to see you play around!"

  Huo Xiao Xie, this little thief, had sharp eyes and was very good at observing changes in people's gazes. Seeing Hei San Bian's gaze change, he knew that his previous words were inappropriate and must have provoked Hei San Bian to the point of wanting to kill him. Huo Xiao Xie knew things weren't going well, so he quickly softened his tone and said: "Hei Grandfather, please forgive this young one for being ignorant."

  "Hei San Bian chuckled twice and said: 'No problem! No problem! Let's have some fun!'"

  Sanzhi Liu was very familiar with Hei San Bian, knowing that he had already made up his mind to kill. If Huo Xiao Ye really wanted to play around, the moment the plate was brought out would be the moment of his death!

  Sanzhi Liu smiled and said, "Hei brother, let's forget it. This little shoe's plate, I've seen it before, he can only play seven or eight beads, but he does have some talent. I think he can play seven or eight beads, I once gave him a bell. The little kid doesn't know what the plate is all about and hasn't seen the world, his mouth is a bit too big. Let's focus on discussing important matters!"

  Hei San Bian heard Liu say this, and his anger dissipated. He thought to himself: "I reckon this little brat's skills are at most worth seven or eight pearls, heh heh, forget it!"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè had long been too afraid to speak, Hei Sān Biān saw Huǒ Xiǎo Yè also being honest and said: "Alright! We won't play today! However, Huǒ Xiǎo Xié, seven or eight pearls are not simple, you're quite accomplished at a young age!"

  Huo Xiao hurriedly replied in a low voice: "Thank you, Hei Grandpa, for your praise!"

  "Hei San Bian said: 'You four kids, not bad! Hei Ye is very happy! In the next few days, you will listen to my orders! Tonight, you can stay here! Without my command, you cannot leave this place one step!'"

  Sanzhi Liu nodded and shouted: "Wang Ma!"

  The old woman came in from outside and said: "The master has ordered."

  Sanzhi Liu said: "Take them a few to the woodshed to sleep! With Sun Gaozi together!"

  Wang's mother responded and came over to Huo Xiao and the others, saying: "Follow me."

  Huoxiao Ye and others felt relieved, all knelt down to Liu Dageye and Hei Sanbi, kowtowed, then followed Wang Ma out.

  Hei San Bian's eyes rolled around and suddenly pointed at Huo Xiao Xie, asking: "Huo Xiao, which character is your 'Huo'?"

  He thought he was going to say that he himself was the "fire" character, but at this moment he understood in his heart not to show off, so he honestly answered: "The calamity of calamity."

  Hei Sanbi nodded and asked: "What are your parents' names?"

  "Since I was young, I have never seen my parents."

  Hei San Bian nodded and said: "Let's go!"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé děng rén nuò nuò lián shēng, dī zhe tóu, bìng zhe

  Legs, quickened their pace and followed Wang Ma out of the house.

  Sanzhi Liu and Hei Sanbian saw them leave, then Sanzhi Liu said: "Hei brother, you still have a deep taboo against the Huo family! That 'calamity' character on Xiao Jiao's shoe, you're worried it's a fire character too."

  Hei Sanbi rolled his eyes, a chill on his face, and said: "I've been hiding from the Huo family for ten years... Heh heh, hearing the name Huo still makes my heart skip a beat."

  Sanzhi Liu said: "Are these Fire Family people really so formidable?"

  "Hei Sanbian touched his head, still speaking with a lingering fear, saying: "Awesome! Awesome! Too awesome! Thief King! To them, we are just like chickens in their eyes." After finishing, he seemed to have thought of something else, his expression turned gloomy and he let out a faint sigh."

  Three fingers Liu was silent, also seemed to be deep in thought.

  After a while, Sanzhi Liu slowly said: "I heard my master say that when the five major families of gold, wood, water, fire and earth appear together in the Jianghu, it is a time of great chaos in the world. But I also heard that there is a treasure, whoever gets it can bring the five major families together, and the world will be theirs."

  Hei San Bian said with a sigh, "Ever since I ran into someone from the Huo family ten years ago, rumors have been circulating in our Jianghu that people from the four major families of Jin, Mu, Shui, and Huo have all appeared. The warlords from various regions are all searching for their whereabouts. It's said that as long as you can get close to one of these families and find that treasure that unifies the world under heaven, there's hope! It sounds fishy, but who knows if it's true or not?"

  Sanzhi Liu listened and also thought of something, suddenly exclaimed!

  "What's wrong?" Hei Sanbian asked.

  Sanzhi Liu said: "Hei Xiong, do you think the Japanese will know? Look at our Fengtian City now, it's full of little Japanese devils everywhere."

  "Hei Sanbian said: 'Japanese? What can they do? Do the Japanese devils still want to occupy China and be the emperor of China?'"

  Sanzhi Liu said, "That's not necessarily true! You and I are Han people, so let me tell you something. The Qing dynasty was also taken over by the Jurchen Tatars, who became emperors of our Han people. Now, with tens of thousands of Japanese devils stationed in Northeast China, their intentions are probably not limited to just our three eastern provinces."

  Hei Sanbian burst out laughing and said, "Liu brother, you're still worried about this? We thieves don't care who owns the world, the more chaotic it is, the better!"

  Sanzhi Liu said: "It's also, it's also! When the world is at peace, where can we find food? Don't mention this, don't mention that, those mysterious and abstruse things, we can't understand them either."

  "Hei San Bian said: 'As long as the people from Huo's family don't come looking for trouble with me, that's fine. Hehe!'"

  Two people looked at each other and smiled.

  Sanzhi Liu said: "Hei Xiong, since the Jade Maiden is in Zhang Siye's Buddhist hall, what do you plan to do?"

  "Hei San Bian smiled and said: 'Get started as soon as possible!'"

  Sanzhi Liu said: "These four dolls, can you use them all? If you can't use them, then scatter them."

  "Hei San Bian said: 'It's usable, it's good, excellent dog food.' Hei San Bian finished speaking and burst out laughing!"

  Liu smiled slightly with a hint of curiosity: "Have you, Hei brother, thought of a good plan? The Zhang family is not an easy one to get into."

  "Hei Sanbian said in a low voice: 'Liu Dage, I plan to do it this way, you also give me a hand...'"

  The two of them started whispering to each other.