Chapter Thirty-Eight: Council

Ping'an Village. The sky was ablaze with stars.

In the small courtyard of Stone's house, six stout men had gathered.

Lu Kun had hurried over as soon as he received the news.

“Haha, brothers, here—we each get a pack.” Lu Kun had gone out of his way to buy a carton of Red Tower Mountain cigarettes from the little shop at the village entrance.

At this time, these cigarettes were considered quite decent—they ran over ten yuan a carton.

Since space inside Stone’s house was tight, they had simply set up a table in the courtyard.

They had barely arrived, hadn’t even begun any work, and already each man had received a pack of cigarettes. Their impression of Lu Kun improved considerably. After a few polite refusals, everyone accepted the gift.

In these days, when you needed help from fellow villagers, a few cigarettes would suffice for small favors. For bigger jobs, one had to prepare proper food and drink.

They had all come at Stone’s request, not expecting any payment. Now, with the cigarettes in hand, they felt even more motivated to help.

“I get one too?” Stone grinned as Lu Kun handed him a pack.

“With the friendship between us, what’s a pack of cigarettes? Your brother gives it, you take it,” Lu Kun said, stuffing the pack into Stone’s pocket, feigning annoyance.

“Alright then. I know you’ve made a good fortune lately,” Stone laughed heartily, giving Lu Kun a light punch to the chest.

Looking at his childhood friend, who had finally emerged from the grief of losing his young son and was on the verge of better days, Stone was genuinely happy for him.

“Hey, fellas, for the next few days, my brother here is our boss. If he needs us for anything, none of you better hold back,” Stone said, clarifying his relationship with Lu Kun and giving the others a gentle nudge.

“Don’t worry about how we work, Stone. Besides, Brother Kun here is a man of loyalty!” a tall, muscular man said, his voice booming like a gong even though he tried to keep it low.

Behind him stood two men who looked almost identical. They tugged at the big man’s sleeve, whispering, “Stone said we’re supposed to call him ‘Boss’.”

“Haha, no need for such formality—just call me Brother Kun,” Lu Kun replied with a smile.

The two brothers, likely twins, each had a cherubic face. They tried to appear aloof, but the contrast only made them more endearing.

Lu Kun hadn’t run with rough crowds for many years.

Ever since Liu Liping had safely delivered their daughter, he had stayed away from trouble. After their son was born, he spent his days and nights searching for ways to cure the boy’s illness.

He didn’t actually know Stone’s current crew.

Fortunately, Stone took the time to introduce each of them.

The tall, strong man who had spoken first was Li Changfu. Years ago, Stone had bested him in a fight, and since then Li had sworn brotherhood and learned to brawl under Stone’s tutelage.

As for the twins, Stone explained that their fighting skills were average when alone, but together, they were a force to be reckoned with. Even Stone himself could only hold out a hundred rounds or so without losing.

They were, in a word, formidable.

The brothers seemed to share an unspoken connection. When they fought two against one, few could withstand them.

“Wait, so how did you get them to swear loyalty to you?” Lu Kun asked, scratching his head in confusion.

“Well… uh…” Stone’s face flushed red. He stammered, unable to give a straight answer.

Lu Kun glanced at the twin brothers, who ducked their heads like two quails.

“What do you mean?” Lu Kun was puzzled.

“We… we didn’t have a fight,” Stone replied, his face now nearly crimson.

“Then how did it happen?” Lu Kun pressed, still perplexed.

“We… we had a contest to see who could pee the farthest!”

“What?!” Lu Kun was left speechless, as if caught in a gale.

He looked over at the twins, who immediately squatted down, covering their faces, their ears turning scarlet.

Well, if Lu Kun himself had to compete with these single, strapping young men now, he would certainly lose.

He reminisced about his younger days, when he could pee three meters against the wind—those days were long gone.

Now, he sighed—even a gentle breeze would leave his shoes wet.

“Snowflakes drifting, the north wind wailing…” (melancholic)

Well…

“So what about the other three? Did you compete with them to see who was the most well-endowed?” Lu Kun asked, his gaze turning sly as he looked at Stone and the remaining men.

“Of course not…” The three men hastily waved their hands, denying it outright.

“What goes on in your head?!” Stone snapped, giving Lu Kun a punch.

His chest thudded, but instead of pain, Lu Kun actually felt his previous aches and stiffness ease a little.

“Actually, among the five of them and Stone, none is bigger than me,” the lanky man among the three said proudly.

Suddenly, all seven pairs of eyes turned to him.

If looks could kill, the lanky man would have been torn to pieces by Stone and the others.

A chorus of knuckles cracking filled the air as Stone and the rest surrounded him.

The lanky fellow, now like a sheep among lions, crouched down with his hands over his head, wailing, “I was wrong!”

A collective sigh rose from the six as they turned to discuss the next day’s plans with Lu Kun.

“I shouldn’t have spoken the truth…” the lanky man muttered, still clutching his head in remorse.

“You son of a—” The six pounced.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The blows landed hard.

When the lanky man finally stood, his face was bruised and swollen, tears of pain welling up in his eyes.

“Is it a crime to tell the truth these days?”

A sudden rumble of thunder rolled through the sky. The previously clear night was now veined with lightning.

The lanky man shuddered and dared not speak again, muttering inwardly, “Even Heaven bullies the honest.”

“Serves you right!” the others chorused.

Lu Kun: …

Stone’s choices—could these men really be counted on?

They looked more like a troupe of clowns than a team of helpers.

Lu Kun pulled Stone aside, gesturing covertly at the men and whispering, “Stone, are you serious about these guys? They seem more like comedians than workers.”

Stone: …

“It’s not that. The point is, these guys can keep secrets and they can fight. Any one of them could take on two of you at once,” Stone replied, his lips twitching.

His glare was deadly.

Lu Kun: …

Well, it was too late to change anything now.

Seeing Lu Kun’s face, utterly resigned to his fate, Stone could hardly restrain himself from throwing a punch.

Glancing back at the group, eating and drinking at the table, his anger only deepened.

Such a disgrace!

Utterly shameful!

After Stone’s introduction, Lu Kun was sure of it.

This was a bunch of oddballs.

A muscle-bound brute whose brain was likely all brawn.

Twin brothers with baby faces who competed in peeing contests.

An honest, lanky fellow.

And two others—one who specialized in “Iron Head” techniques, the other in “Iron Palm.”