TDU Chapter 269
Chapter 269 Former Matters
Song Seven's eyes widened in surprise as he quickly rushed forward and covered Chen Junnan's mouth. "Don't say that name!" he said, his face full of shock as he looked at the man in front of him. "Wait, who are you?"
"What the hell..." Chen Junnan impatiently swatted Song Seven's hand away. "Why are you covering my mouth? I'm not even f*cking a Calabash Brother[1], calling your name won't get you imprisoned."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Jiajin felt something was off and said, "Junnan, I think you’re referring to the Golden Horned King[2]."
"Oh? Really?" Chen Junnan thought for a moment, then added, "{Do you dare to answer when I call your name?} Isn't that from Calabash Brothers?"
"Cala—Calabash Brothers? What's that?" Qiao Jiajin asked in confusion. "Isn't that something the Golden Horned King says?"
"Hey, ole Qiao, it's been a while since I updated you on some knowledge!" Chen Junnan laughed and patted him on the back. "Come on, let me tell you. Calabash Brothers is our cultural treasure! The story goes..."
"Wai–Wait a minute…" Song Seven felt something was off with these two. "Are we really discussing the story of the Calabash Brothers and the Golden Horned King right now?"
"Oh, right…" Qiao Jiajin suddenly recalled something. "Someone just mentioned looking for me… Explosion lou, are you looking for me?"
"I…" Song Seven helplessly shook his head. "A xiōngdì needs help at {Terrestrial Goat} venue…"
"Damn!" Qiao Jiajin shouted, "Did Swindler lad get beaten up?"
Chen Junnan was also taken aback. "What? Ole Qi got taken down?"
"No…" Song Seven felt like communicating with these two was nearly impossible. "That xiōngdì needs assistance, and he specifically requested {Qiao Jiajin} to help him."
"Alright, I’ll head over right now." Qiao Jiajin nodded, preparing to leave immediately.
"Hold on a second." Chen Junnan grabbed Qiao Jiajin, paused in thought, and then asked Song Seven, "Did that little brat win or lose?"
"He won," Song Seven replied.
"Won, yet still needs help?" Chen Junnan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Exactly," Song Seven nodded.
"Then I understand." Chen Junnan patted Qiao Jiajin on the back. "Ole Qiao, go with Xiao Chu and grab two sacks."
"Sacks?" Qiao Jiajin paused, confused. "Why do I have to go? Why don’t you go instead?"
"You’re not even wearing a shirt, hurry up, and go grab them," Chen Junnan sighed.
"Uh…" Qiao Jiajin looked down, realizing he hadn’t put on his shirt. "Damn…"
As he ran off, Chen Junnan called out from behind, "Ole Qiao, while you're at it, grab a couple of handy weapons too."
"Huh? Alright, I got it!"
Song Seven looked at Chen Junnan in confusion and asked, "You… have we met before?"
"Before?" Chen Junnan pondered for a moment, then replied, "No, isn’t this our first time meeting?"
"First time…?" Song Seven was perplexed. "But you just called me by my real name… how did you know?"
"I calculated it through divination." Chen Junnan said flatly. "This young master did a little finger-divination[3], and it turns out your five elements lack {Míng}, your fate is troubled by {Huī}, so your name is {Sòng Mínghuī}."
"What nonsense…" Song Seven felt his head spinning trying to make sense of this conversation. "But how did you even know my surname is {Sòng}?"
"Because lǎozǐ felt like it was," Chen Junnan replied, growing a bit impatient. "Xiao Song, don’t ask too many questions, don’t meddle in matters of society."
With doubt still clouding his gaze, Song Seven looked once more at Chen Junnan. This man was an enigma, and no matter what was asked, not a single straight answer could be drawn from him.
In no time, Qiao Jiajin returned, dressed in his outerwear. Tucked beneath his left arm were two freshly snapped iron pipes, the break edges still sharp and clean—like water pipes recently torn from their fittings. In his right hand, he carried two grimy woven sacks.
"Junnan lad, I’m back," Qiao Jiajin said with a smile. "Are we going to knock someone out and haul them away? I specifically picked two big sacks."
"Any size will do," Chen Junnan replied with a grin. "We’re just here to do him a huge favor." Then, he turned to Song Seven and asked, "Did that brat say {no one but Qiao Jiajin should come}?"
"No, he didn’t," Song Seven shook his head.
"Then that’s settled," Chen Junnan said. "Ole Qiao, I’ll come with you. Let’s go."
"Alright," Qiao Jiajin nodded.
The two men had Song Seven lead the way while they followed behind.
Song Seven felt something odd, sensing a certain {Cats}-like aura about the two of them… he just wasn’t sure whether such individuals would be willing to join their cause.
…
Qi Xia was truly at his wit’s end.
The woman in front of him, Qin Dingdong, refused to leave no matter what. From the very beginning, her goal had been to get close to him.
Qi Xia had considered countless dangerous scenarios, but he never imagined she was after Chen Junnan.
This complicated situation was impossible to resolve, it was like facing off against another {Terrestrial-grade} entity…
Who knew what that punk Chen Junnan had done in the past?
If Chen Junnan were to arrive, things would spiral out of control. Qi Xia could only hope he stayed far away.
"Seven years..." Qin Dingdong gritted her teeth, "That bastard has been avoiding me for seven long years!"
Qi Xia silently pressed his forehead, hearing the same words for the umpteenth time. To divert the conversation, he turned to the long-haired man beside him. "Xiōngdì, how should I address you?"
The long-haired man politely nodded towards Qi Xia and replied, "Ge, I’m Liu Twenty-One."
‘Liu… Twenty-One?’ That name struck Qi Xia as a bit odd. He couldn’t quite understand what kind of parents would give such a name.
But then, he recalled that the earlier man had introduced himself as {Song Seven}… Could it be that neither of them was using their real names?
Their clothing was also quite similar—was it possible they were part of some kind of organization?
Qi Xia soon discovered that the man with long hair had little interest in talking, leaving no room to divert the discussion. He had no option but to lapse into silence. The air hung heavier than during the unsettling game with Terrestrial Goat.
Before long, Song Seven returned.
When Liu Twenty-One saw Song Seven, he silently nodded, then stepped aside.
Qiao Jiajin followed shortly after, holding his pipe, and cautiously scanned the surroundings.
There were only four individuals present—the Goat-headed man, a leather-clad man, Swindler lad, and a leng-mui jie.
Qiao Jiajin couldn’t help but feel a bit {lost, holding his pipe up without a target}.
Who exactly was he supposed to knock out?
"Ole Qi... let this young master see what you—" Chen Junnan strode in, speaking with his usual swagger, sack and iron pipes in hand. But the moment he stepped through the door, his voice cut off abruptly.
No one even caught a proper glimpse of him—just the sack and pipe crashing to the ground as he turned tail and bolted out of sight.
"Bastard! Chen Junnan!!" Qin Dingdong shouted furiously, then immediately chased after him. Just as she reached Qiao Jiajin's side, her expression changed, and she quickly put on a smile.
"Well well, A’Jin, long time no see. You’re still looking as strong as ever."
"Ah?" Qiao Jiajin froze for a moment. "You are...?"
Before Qin Dingdong could respond, her expression shifted again, and she snarled, "Chen Junnan, you motherf*cking cowardly ostrich!"
Then, in a flash, she darted out of the building.
The few people left inside the room were a bit stunned.
"Swindler lad... what was that about?" Qiao Jiajin was still trying to make sense of it. "What was that thing that just ran out?"
"Probably a person," Qi Xia shook his head. "Fists, come over here for a moment, I have a task for you."
TL Note: Again, please read up on the Calabash Brothers, it’ll get another mention in the future.
Footnotes:
[1] Calabash Brother - Calabash Brothers (葫芦兄弟; Húlu Xiōngdì) is a Chinese animation TV series produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. It was extremely popular when it aired on TV in 1986-1987. The story centers around seven brothers who were each born from a magical calabash (gourd). Each brother has a unique power, and they must work together to defeat an evil snake demon who kidnaps their grandfather. The youngest, purple Seventh Brother has a calabash that can suck up anything at his will.
[2] Golden Horned King - The Golden Horned King (金角大王) and the Silver Horned King (銀角大王) are a pair of yaoguai brothers serving as minor antagonists in the 16th-century Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. They use disguises to capture Tang Sanzang, and manage to pin down Sun Wukong under three mountains. With help from the local deities, Sun Wukong frees himself and uses trickery to save his master, robbing the yaoguai of their five magic weapons, and using it against them.
One of the five stolen magic weapons is known as the Purple Gold Red Gourd. This magic gourd would suck in someone who responded to their names after being called, then dissolve them into soup within hours.
The phrase {Do you dare to answer when I call your name?} is from Journey to the West, but both Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan are incorrect as it was the Silver Horned King who asked this question.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Journey_to_the_West_characters
[3] finger-divination - or in this case, Xiao Lu Ren (小六壬), is similar to Palmistry, but instead of reading the palm, it's about calculating with the phalanxes of the left hand. It’s a folk-level divination system used for quick fortune-telling (you only need to use your left hand). I'll attach a video, there's ok subs on it, but I'm not an expert on finger-divination, so don't ask me anything lol
