Chen Dadong was being led into a police car just as Du Xiaopeng hung up the phone.

While most people would have become jittery from guilt, especially after committing a crime, Du Xiaopeng seemed to be completely unaffected. He calmly started up the car again, then drove his SUV at a normal speed past all the police cars.

Unfortunately for Liu Ergou, he was bound with ropes and was lying down in the back seat, so even though he could see the police through the window, he couldn’t call for help because there was also a piece of white cloth stuffed into his mouth. The SUV drove on and finally stopped again in an area where there were few people around.

When he realized he was in a secluded place, Liu Ergou was sure that the next thing on Du Xiaopeng’s to-do list was to silence him, so he quickly tried to plead for his life. He had a cloth stuffed in his mouth and was unable to say anything that might touch his captor’s heart and convince him to let him go, but thankfully, he had a pair of eyes that spoke volumes. The look in his eyes said more than anything his own mouth could utter.

When their eyes met, Du Xiaopeng suddenly had the same attitude that Song Jiang had towards Lu Junyi in The Water Margin*. He helped Liu Ergou up and consoled the other man, “Look, we’re all in this line of work because we just wanted some money. There’s no need to come to a point where we’ve got to kill each other over it.”

But Liu Ergou had grown up watching police and gangster movies. The gang boss would always say nice sounding things before killing the other person so that the victim would let his guard down. Armed with this understanding, Liu Ergou immediately fell back down on his knees and hoped that his sincerity would move his captor’s heart.

Du Xiaopeng was surprised by Liu Ergou’s actions and removed the cloth from Liu Ergou’s mouth as he said with a sigh, “It’s very rare to come across such an honest criminal like you these days.”

When it came to being honest, Liu Ergou was definitely a very honest one. After being held hostage, he told Du Xiaopeng everything without needing Du Xiaopeng to torture him or anything like that. Initially, Du Xiaopeng had to ask questions to get him started, but when Du Xiaopeng ran out of questions to ask, Liu Ergou threw in other information that he hadn’t even thought about. That was how Du Xiaopeng ended up at Chen Dadong’s apartment and witnessed Chen Dadong’s arrest.

Liu Ergou saw that Du Xiaopeng had not only removed his gag but had also untied him and seemed serious about not killing him. He breathed a small sigh of relief and felt that the idea behind the court giving a lighter sentence to those who came clean quickly and punished those who resisted more severely wasn’t something that only applied in that context. This idea also applied to the way thugs treated each other. But even though he felt that he was off the hook, he still asked cautiously, “Bro, you…you’re serious about not killing me?”

Du Xiaopeng sighed and said quietly, “Your leader has already been arrested by the police and the money is also now with the police. While killing you might help me to vent my frustrations, your death serves no other purpose. There’s no need to kill you.”

Liu Ergou marveled at the robber’s magnanimity and tried to console the robber, “Well, as long as you’re still alive and not caught, you can strike again. If you try robbing a different bank, I’m sure you’d succeed this time.”

Du Xiaopeng shook his head and looked glum as he said, “That’s easy for you to say. You know, I took slightly over a month to prepare for this robbery. I took time to note down the layout of the bank, where their cameras were placed, when their staff change shifts and even how long it would take for the police to arrive after being alerted. Oh, and do you know why I didn’t just drive off when I left the bank and tried to reverse out instead?”

“Why?”

“It was to avoid the cameras, so that they wouldn’t be able to capture my license plate number.”

“I see. But I don’t think you need to feel so upset about that. You could just take another month to prepare to rob a different bank.”

Du Xiaopeng shook his head and said sadly, “It’s too late. I owe loan sharks money and my deadline’s tomorrow. If I can’t return the money by then, they’ll throw me into the ocean to feed the fish.”

Liu Ergou felt like he had just found a friend. “Wait, you own loan sharks money too? We decided to steal some money because we owe loan sharks money as well.”

“You guys owe loan sharks money because you racked up gambling debts too?”

“The place that’s along Liaoning Road?”

“With the bun shop just outside the door?”

As the saying goes, you can always find a friend among a large group of strangers just like how you always run into a fellow countryman abroad.

Du Xiaopeng became emotional and sighed heavily. “I’ve heard that many of our best comrades in illegal activity, regardless of whether they were thieves, swindlers or drug dealers, have all become victims of their own gambling habits. What a pity!”

Liu Ergou thought about the days when he got up early just to steal money from old ladies buying vegetables at the market. He only earned about $50 or $60 a day and he would lose all of it easily after just one round of mahjong. The more he thought about it, the more upset he got. He spat angrily on the floor and growled, “Look at us. It’s taken us so much brain power just to make ends meet, but we all end up getting fleeced by all these loan sharks.”

Du Xiaopeng thought that Liu Ergou was so angry because he owed a lot of money. He quickly asked Liu Ergou how much he owed, hoping that Liu Ergou was in more debt so that he could feel better about himself.

Liu Ergou was very honest about it. “The three of us owe a total of two grand.”

Du Xiaopeng stared at the other man in shock.

Liu Ergou saw how stunned Du Xiaopeng was and thought that Du Xiaopeng had been taken aback by the number. So he returned the question politely, “How many grand do you owe those loan sharks?”

Du Xiaopeng was crestfallen as he replied, “Two million.”

“Two…MILLION?!” Liu Ergou gasped. “You’re a major client of the loan sharks! You must enjoy VIP services when you’re there, right? Gosh, two million…the three of us have never even seen so much money before in our lives.” The more he spoke, the more embarrassed he felt about himself. “We’re really just lowlifes who are treated like scum of society. Even when we want to borrow from illegal moneylenders, we’ve got to line up at the counter and wait our turn.”

Du Xiaopeng had already gone past the stage where any of this mattered. He sighed deeply and said, “Well, since I chose to gamble, I have to admit defeat. I borrowed money, so I have to repay my debt. The two million I borrowed has to be returned eventually.”

Liu Ergou froze. “What do you mean? Isn’t that two million already in the hands of the police? How are you going to return the money to the loan sharks?”

Du Xiaopeng smiled and said, “I used your phone earlier to call Chen Dadong, remember? I knew he was being arrested by the police but I pretended not to know anything and called him to exchange the money for you. Did you think I was just calling him for fun?”

Liu Ergou answered stupidly, “You mean that wasn’t just for fun?”

Du Xiaopeng spat frostily, “Of course I did it with a plan in mind. And I need you to cooperate with me too.”

Liu Ergou exclaimed loudly, “You need me to cooperate with you? You untied me and was friendly to me not because you intend to let me go but because you have other plans?”

Du Xiaopeng cackled and turned to take a bag out from the trunk of the SUV. The bag was clearly labeled with the word “EXPLOSIVES”. He said very calmly, “It looks like I’m left with no other choice but to take this chance.”

TL notes:

*Song Jiang and Lu Junyi of The Water Margin: In the Chinese classic, The Water Margin, these two men were enemies but when captured, Song Jiang was super nice to Lu Junyi because he wanted Lu Junyi to join his side.