Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

Looking at He Jinyin, who was smiling broadly, Li Xin thought to himself, "I can't let my benefactor go to his death."

He was not optimistic about the duel between He Jinyin and the senior brother of "Broken Water Flow". It was not a matter of nine out of ten chances of survival, but a matter of ten chances of survival. The senior brother of "Broken Water Flow" had been practicing martial arts since he was a child, while He Jinyin had only been practicing for a month. How could he catch up with the senior brother's many years of hard work?

Or, after I finish what I'm doing here, I'll secretly cripple that "Water-Cutting Flow" senior brother!

Li Xin thought unkindly.

Although interfering in someone's life-or-death duel is against the rules of the martial arts world, the problem is that Li Xin is not strictly speaking a member of the martial arts world. He is just a country boy who just wants to make money. What are the rules of the martial arts world? He only knows to help his own people, not those in the right.

Back at the villa, Li Xin found Ueyama Hiroji and told him about the "Nine Chrysanthemums School".

Hiroji Ueyama showed no surprise upon hearing Li Xin's words; his expression simply became more grave.

After a long while, Hiroji Ueyama sighed and said, "I originally wanted to keep it from Mr. Oshin, but since Mr. Oshin already knows, I can no longer hide it from him."

He showed Li Xin a photo of the ninja's corpse from before, but the ninja in the photo had his shirt removed, revealing his bare upper body, and there was a chrysanthemum-shaped tattoo in the center of his lower abdomen. Li Xin looked at Hiroji Ueyama with a puzzled expression.

"With the sixteen-petal chrysanthemum pattern, there is no doubt that this is a ninja from the 'Nine Chrysanthemums School,' but it is unknown which branch of the 'Nine Chrysanthemums School' he belongs to."

Hiroshi Road up the mountain.

Li Xin already knew from Ghost King Da that the "Nine Chrysanthemums Sect" was called a "sect" but in reality it was more like an alliance of evil magic practitioners from the same source. In its early years, it was divided into four gates, nine chrysanthemums, twelve altars and thirty-six societies. After acquiring the inheritance of many foreign evil magics, it gave rise to more branches. Not to mention outsiders, even the members themselves probably didn't know how many branches there were.

Hiroji Ueyama said with a worried expression, "'Kujuku' faction has a huge influence in Japan. Even our Yamaguchi-gumi leader has to give them some respect. It is rumored that some of Japan's most famous conglomerates and gangs have been secretly controlled by 'Kujuku' faction."

"So, you're planning to give up on Mr. Gao?"

For the first time, Li Xin looked at his employer with hostility.

"No!"

Ueyama Hiroji's eyes hardened: "The hatred for killing one's father is irreconcilable. Even if the 'Nine Chrysanthemums Faction' is powerful and hinders my revenge, I will never give up, even if it costs me my life! But Mr. Oshin, you don't need to get involved with us!"

Ueyama Hiroji had no way out. Whether it was to avenge his father or to restore the prestige of the Ueyama family, he had to win the bet with "Gambling King" Chen Jincheng, which meant he had to find Gao Jin. But Li Xin had no need for that.

This commission was commissioned because Ueyama Hiroji misjudged the level of danger, dragging Li Xin into this quagmire. Even if Li Xin manages to extricate himself, Ueyama Hiroji will not blame him at all, and will not even try to get his deposit back.

"No, it's absolutely necessary."

Li Xin said calmly, "This is two million US dollars. No matter how great the danger, it can't stop me."

"Mr. Ashin!"

Hiroji Ueyama was deeply moved, thinking that Li Xin was being loyal to him. Little did he know that Li Xin was not only being loyal, but also considering the "money brother" (a metaphor for someone who earns money).

After a moment of contemplation, Ueyama Hiroji said to Li Xin, "Mr. Xin, I will try my best to talk to the people of the 'Nine Chrysanthemums Faction' to see if we can get them to let Mr. Gao go. You should stay in the villa for now. If they don't want Mr. Gao to participate in the gambling, then besides killing Mr. Gao Jin, they will probably use other means, such as kidnapping Mr. Gao Jin's girlfriend and cousin to threaten him. Therefore, we must also pay attention to the safety of Miss Janet and Mr. Gao Yi."

Li Xin assured him, "Yes, Mr. Shangshan, I will take responsibility for protecting them."

Gao Jin has already made a mistake once; Li Xin cannot afford to make another one this time.

Hiroji Ueyama nodded, still trusting Li Xin's assurance.

Suddenly, Hiroji Ueyama remembered something and said to Li Xin, "Mr. O-Shin, your partner has arrived in Hong Kong and is now in this villa."

"Really? Then I'll go see him first!"

Li Xin was secretly delighted. He hadn't seen Crocodile for so many days and actually missed his cheeky face.

After saying goodbye to Hiroji Uesugi, Li Xin went to find Crocodile Man and, as expected, found him watching TV in the living room of the villa.

"Crocodile!"

Li Xin called out, and Crocodile turned around upon hearing the voice. After seeing that it was Li Xin, the remote control slipped from Crocodile's hand.

"Oshin!"

Crocodile Man stood up from the sofa and strode towards Li Xin, his pace quickening. When he got close, he leaped up and grabbed... no, he grabbed Li Xin by the neck, his face contorted with rage. "Xin, you little brat! I'll tear your heart out! Why didn't you tell me beforehand that Shibali Village was in such a remote and impoverished place?! I walked for a whole day and night to get there, my shoes are worn out, and I have two layers of blisters on my feet!"

The crocodile, who was only a little over 1.5 meters tall, was grabbing Li Xin, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, by the neck. The scene looked ridiculous no matter how you looked at it, but the crocodile didn't care about that. He just wanted to vent all the grievances he had suffered these past few days.

“Walking for a whole day? It doesn’t take a whole day. Half an hour is enough for me. Even other people in our village only walk for two hours to get to the junior high school in town.”

Li Xin didn't believe Crocodile's words, thinking that Crocodile was exaggerating. Although Crocodile was short and had short legs, it shouldn't take him a whole day to walk, right?

"Shut up, don't think I can't tell you're making fun of my short legs!"

"The crocodile man said viciously."

However, after speaking with Li Xin, Crocodile's anger subsided somewhat (mainly because choking Li Xin felt like struggling against an iron pillar, he couldn't budge him at all). Crocodile got off Li Xin and said to him, "Next time, even if you kneel down and beg me to go to your village, I still won't go!"

Li Xin didn't care. After Crocodile came down, he asked, "Crocodile, did you give the money to Secretary Wang?"

At this point, Crocodile Man suddenly froze, then became very awkward. He gave Li Xin a deep look and asked, "Xin, tell me honestly, your village's Party Secretary, his... isn't there something wrong with him?"

As Crocodile spoke, he twirled his finger toward his head.

"How to say?"

Li Xin asked.

Crocodile Old Man sat back on the sofa, opening his mouth several times to speak but stopping each time. Finally, under Li Xin's impatient urging, Crocodile Old Man said, "The money was given to him, but he didn't use it to build houses for the people in your village."

"Huh? What did you do with it?"

Li Xin asked.

"It has been handed over to the city's disaster relief team."

"That's what the crocodile man replied."

He followed Li Xin's story of "returning home to find relatives" and what the village secretary said. The money was also given under the guise of helping with disaster relief. Even if Secretary Wang embezzled half or more of that money, Crocodile could understand, after all, he had seen too many of these kinds of things. But the problem was, he never expected that Secretary Wang would actually hand over all of that money! Hand it over!

"Since it's for our disaster relief purposes, it should naturally be handed over to the organization so that the organization can make overall plans."

This is how the village secretary answered Crocodile Man. After explaining, he went with the other villagers to work on the post-disaster reconstruction. At this time, it had been less than a month since Li Xin left Shibali Village. The flood had just receded, and the post-disaster reconstruction work was in full swing. Apart from the elderly who were unable to walk, even the young boys in Shibali Village had to participate in the reconstruction work with their parents.

Fearing being dragged into the reconstruction work by the village secretary, Crocodile handed over the money and made an excuse about having family matters to attend to, preparing to run away. Fortunately, considering that Crocodile had donated a large sum of money, the village secretary did not make Crocodile walk back, but instead used a car... a bicycle to take Crocodile back to town.

“More than three million yuan! If it were used in your own village, every household could move into a new house, though not a very nice one. But your village secretary, Wang, actually handed all the money over to that disaster relief work group... There are so many villages in your area that have been affected by the disaster. How much money will your village get?”

Crocodile felt increasingly sorry for Li Xin. The money Li Xin had worked so hard to earn was being wasted like this. Crocodile couldn't stand it anymore!

Crocodile Man thought Li Xin would be greatly shocked to hear about this, but to his surprise, Li Xin did not react at all after Crocodile Man finished speaking. After Crocodile Man called him a few times, Li Xin smiled and said, "Hmm, it is indeed something Secretary Wang would do. It seems that you did deliver the money."

"Ah-Xin, don't you feel sorry for him?"

Crocodile looked at Li Xin with unfamiliar eyes.

Those were bright blue RMB notes (in 1995, the fourth edition of RMB notes circulated in China, and the 100-yuan note was blue), and they were all handed over—what a waste!

Li Xin pushed up his sunglasses and said, "What's there to feel sorry about? It's all going to the villagers anyway, so what's there to feel sorry about?"

Don't be fooled by the fact that there have been armed clashes between Shibali Village and the surrounding villages. Those clashes were over water resources, not because Shibali Village and the surrounding villages had a bad relationship. On the contrary, the wives of people in the surrounding villages all came from the surrounding villages, so everyone is related. Blood is thicker than water. This is why Li Xin was so angry when he found out that Lao Liu had cheated the people in the neighboring village. It's possible that the people in the neighboring village who were cheated were related to Li Xin for generations!

Therefore, Li Xin was willing to accept the money as long as it could be used for disaster relief and did not feel it was a waste.

"But then your village chief's new house won't be able to be built!"

Crocodile Man spoke to Li Xindao.

"So what? Just keep making money!"

Li Xin said calmly.

Chapter Fifty-One: An Unintentional Success

Thanks to the efforts of a certain spendthrift village party secretary, Li Xin was even more motivated to make money. However, for the next week, there was no news from Shangshan Hongci and Long Wu, leaving Li Xin and Crocodile Lao anxiously waiting at the villa.

That day, in the villa, Crocodile and Li Xin sat on a stone bench in the villa garden. Crocodile whispered to Li Xin, "Xin, I have something to tell you."

"what's up?"

Li Xin asked the crocodile man.

"That Gao Yi is not normal."

Crocodile Man spoke to Li Xin in a very low voice.

"Gao Yi?"

Li Xin thought of Gao Yi, who had been cursing and throwing tantrums for the past few days, and said dismissively, "His cousin and boss has gone missing. It's normal for him to be anxious and irritable."

Crocodile Man shook his head slightly and said to Li Xin, "That's right. In the first two days, he was indeed like that, but in the last two days, he's a different story."

"what's the situation?"

Li Xin asked, puzzled, "I haven't noticed any change in Gao Yi these past two days. If there's anything, it's that he's become increasingly annoying."

Crocodile Man explained, "For the first two days, he was anxious because Mr. Ko Chun was missing, which we can understand. At the same time, although he always yelled and lost his temper, it was actually more like he was hiding his fear."

When Gao Jin went missing, everyone else, including Li Xin, Ueyama Hiroji, and even Gao Jin's girlfriend Janet, was tense, or at least their main emotion was tension. But Gao Yi was the only one who felt more fear.

As for the reason, Crocodile Man speculated that it was probably because he was worried about losing his job.

Although Gao Yi's job may seem like just being an assistant, it's important to know that he's the "God of Gamblers'" follower, a job that not just anyone can do. Gao Yi's abilities are only considered decent, and the reason he became Gao Jin's assistant is because of his blood relation as Gao Jin's cousin. It's also because of Gao Jin's connections that even important figures like Ueyama Hiroji treat Gao Yi with utmost respect and dare not show any disrespect. Others who want to ask Gao Jin for favors also need Gao Yi as their assistant to act as a go-between. He's guaranteed to make a good living and gain a lot of influence.

If Gao Jin were to die and cease to exist one day, Gao Yi would not only lose his job, but his status would also plummet, turning him into a nobody. No one of Gao Jin's stature would be willing to make him a confidant and allow him to maintain his former glory.

Therefore, it is understandable that Gao Yi would feel fear because of Gao Jin's accident. After all, Gao Jin is not only his cousin, but also his support for the rest of his life.

However, later on, although Gao Yi still seemed to have a bad temper, his fear disappeared. Instead, he became more domineering and acted as if he were the master of the place, which was a problem.

Crocodile is a conman who has seen too many despicable people and shameless scum, so he never tries to guess other people's thoughts from the most malicious angle.

Crocodile Man speculated that Gao Yi's change of heart was most likely due to his cousin's inheritance, including his cousin's girlfriend Janet's ulterior motives.

As far as Crocodile Man knows, although "God of Gamblers" Ko Chun uses most of the money he earns from gambling for charity, his wealth accumulated over the years is still astronomical. When Ko Chun was around, Ko Yee naturally wouldn't have such thoughts, but now that Ko Chun is gone, it's not surprising that Ko Yee would have designs on that money after a while.

Crocodile told Li Xin his theory, and Li Xin was somewhat incredulous: "Really?"

Those were cousins! In Li Xin's simple rural mindset, eating the blood of one's own cousin who had died out was an act worse than that of an animal.

"Of course he is! By my conservative estimate, Gao Jin's assets are at least tens of millions of US dollars, plus a beautiful girlfriend. Who wouldn't be tempted!"

Crocodile Man shrugged.

After hearing what Crocodile said, Li Xin had to admit that such a huge temptation was indeed not something that could be resisted by morality alone. Moreover, judging from Li Xin's observation of Gao Yi these past few days, the guy didn't seem to be very moral.

"Then, what do we do?"

Li Xin asked.

This is, after all, a family matter. Moreover, Gao Yi has only been a bit rude and hasn't taken any action yet. Even if he has some dark thoughts, as the book says, thinking about it doesn't constitute a crime!

Crocodile said to Li Xin, "What I mean is, besides looking for Mr. Gao, we also need to keep an eye on that good-for-nothing Gao Yi, and make sure he doesn't do anything funny."

Li Xin thought for a moment and asked Crocodile, "Crocodile, to be honest, did you say that because Gao Yi called you a 'shorty'?"

Crocodile's mouth twitched, and he looked at Li Xin with a serious expression: "In your eyes, am I really such a person who can't distinguish between what's important and what's not?"

Li Xin thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."

Crocodile Guy: "..."

We can't talk today.

"Forget it, I can't be bothered with other people's business. I'm going to find my daughter! I haven't been home since I came back to Hong Kong, really!"

Crocodile Man got up with a grumble.

Oh, you have a daughter too!

Li Xin was surprised. He had known Crocodile for so long, but he didn't even know that Crocodile had a daughter.

Crocodile rolled his eyes: "What, can't I have a daughter? I not only have a daughter, but she's about your age and very beautiful! But I'm warning you, don't you dare make a move on my daughter. She's a lawyer, and she can't be associated with someone like you!"

"A lawyer? You conman have a lawyer daughter?"

Li Xin was even more shocked.

"What, it's not okay!"

Crocodile said with considerable pride, then added in a low voice, "Although I'm still just a law student right now..."

Li Xin smiled, patted Crocodile on the shoulder and said, "Okay, I understand, go ahead!"

"I'm saying it again, you can't lay a finger on my daughter!"

Crocodile Man said as he walked.

Li Xin smiled. With Crocodile's short and ugly appearance, it would be a miracle if his daughter grew up to be beautiful!

(PS: There should be a neighbor next door, but of course, the innocent Li Xin wouldn't understand this at this point.)

After Crocodile Man left, only Li Xin and Gao Jin's girlfriend Janet remained in the villa. As for Gao Jin's cousin Gao Yi, he was said to have asked a friend to look for Gao Jin and was not in the villa.