Chapter 20: Predicament

In the courtyard ahead, Brother Ma stood beside a young man named Patong. Patong offered Brother Ma a cigarette, and after Ma took a puff, Patong asked, “Brother, any news about Tan Wei?”

Brother Ma shook his head.

Seeing this, a flicker of light shone in Patong’s eyes, and he added, “Could it be that he’s dead?”

Brother Ma slowly exhaled the smoke, squinted his eyes, and was silent for a moment before asking in return, “Do you think Old Pu is trustworthy?”

Patong was taken aback, cautiously scanning Brother Ma’s face before carefully responding, “Brother, what exactly do you mean by trustworthy?”

Brother Ma looked at him with surprise.

“So, you’re saying this Old Pu usually has some issues?” he inquired.

Patong gave an awkward smile. “How should I put it... maybe ‘issues’ isn’t the right word, but you know Tan Wei has quite a few flaws. Old Pu, working under him, must have been pretty frustrated. I heard once when Tan Wei was drunk, he even beat up Old Pu!”

Tan Wei beat up Old Pu?

Brother Ma was surprised, and his suspicion of Old Pu deepened.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Patong, “Call Old Pu. Tell him to bring everyone over. Also, you personally take some men and go to Ding’an Temple again. Find out for me whether Tan Wei really went there last night.”

Patong sensed something was off and, recalling Brother Ma’s earlier questions about Old Pu, felt uneasy. Instinctively, he asked, “Brother, do you suspect that Tan Wei’s trouble is connected to those few Chinese men?”

Brother Ma’s face darkened. “Don’t pry into things that aren’t your concern! Hurry up! The sooner you leave, the sooner you return!”

Patong grumbled but said, “Alright, I’m off!”

“Mm,” Brother Ma replied indifferently.

Patong called two men and they quickly got into a car and left.

Watching the car drive away, Brother Ma lit another cigarette.

At that moment, a young man approached quietly and stood beside him, whispering, “Brother Ma, it’s been confirmed—Zhong Yuan and the others’ identities are genuine.”

Upon hearing this, Brother Ma’s expression turned grim.

Their genuine identities meant one thing: Zhong Yuan and his group had a background far from ordinary.

---

So the question arose: what was Zhong Yuan and his companions’ purpose in coming to Lanta Island?

According to the information Tan Wei and the others had gathered earlier, after Zhong Yuan and his brother Zhong Da arrived on Lanta Island, their days were filled with eating, drinking, and basking in the sun—completely in vacation mode.

But if it was just a holiday, why establish a foothold on the island?

Recalling how calm Zhong Yuan remained when intercepted at sea, Brother Ma had an uneasy premonition.

Although the Buddhist Hand Gang had a sizable operation, if political matters were involved, no matter how large their territory, it would pale in comparison. If things escalated, the higher-ups might sacrifice their people to keep things quiet!

This thought irritated Brother Ma.

Frankly, he didn’t care about whether Tan Wei lived or died. In fact, if Tan Wei died, it might even be better—he wouldn’t have to keep cleaning up after him. But Tan Wei was lucky, with a powerful backer who was not a man to be trifled with. Brother Ma had to investigate, or else he wouldn’t get any good outcome from this.

So if it really was Old Pu behind this, that would be ideal!

At the thought, a gleam flashed in Brother Ma’s eyes.

Indeed, that would be the best outcome!

Brother Ma took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled slowly, and a cold, sinister smile curled at the corner of his lips.

---

Inside the bungalow behind, Zhong Yuan was still unaware that Brother Ma had already thought through the outcome of this matter. The question from Xiao Hua earlier left him troubled.

What next?

Honestly, Zhong Yuan had no concrete plan and could only take things step by step. When he took the risk of using Old Pu as bait on the ship, it was a gamble that paid off—he successfully stalled Brother Ma. But after disembarking, the enemy’s vigilance was tight, and escape was difficult. Most crucially, Dong Cuo had been badly injured, and Xiao Hua’s skills were lacking. With only Zhong Yuan and Zhong Da left, breaking through the encirclement with the two injured men was nearly impossible.

Zhong Yuan pulled out a cigarette, handed one to Xiao Hua, then lit his own.

With a snap, a flame flickered from Xiao Hua’s hand. Zhong Yuan leaned in, lit his cigarette from the flame, and inhaled slowly.

As the smoke curled upward, Zhong Yuan pondered before saying, “Call Da Zi and ask about Dong Cuo’s condition.”

Xiao Hua nodded and took out his phone to call Zhong Da.

Dong Cuo’s injuries were severe—one eye remained shut, at least a few ribs were broken—but his internal organs were reportedly unharmed, so his life was not in immediate danger. However, his left shin bone was fractured.

Such an injury meant Dong Cuo couldn’t engage in strenuous activity. If Zhong Yuan intended to break out, Xiao Hua would have to carry Dong Cuo.

---

Zhong Yuan suspected that Dong Cuo’s injuries were deliberately inflicted by Brother Ma.

The wounds were neither too light nor fatal, but severely limited Dong Cuo’s mobility, effectively restraining Zhong Yuan’s group.

He sighed. Brother Ma was indeed a clever man. This was evident from how he exploited their desire to cross the sea, only to trap them several kilometers from the shore before striking.

Moreover, despite his clear advantage, Brother Ma showed no arrogance. He brought many men, almost all armed, revealing not only intelligence but extreme caution.

He was truly a formidable opponent.

In contrast, Zhong Yuan had underestimated them. The useless Tan Wei and Old Pu’s insignificant subordinates gave him the false impression that the capable members of the Buddhist Hand Gang were not in this area.

And since Tan Wei had only recently gone missing, even if the Buddhist Hand Gang dispatched reinforcements immediately, they might not arrive in time.

This illusion led Zhong Yuan to decide to leave Lanta Island quickly, crossing the sea before the enemy arrived.

Unbeknownst to him, this decision handed their entire group into the enemy’s hands.

As the old saying goes, know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

They were short on manpower here, and their knowledge of the Buddhist Hand Gang was limited to what Zhong Da had learned through Dong Cuo and Xiao Hua. The lack of information led to a fatal misjudgment.

Fortunately, the situation wasn’t the worst—Dong Cuo was badly injured but alive.

As long as they lived, there was still hope!

Zhong Yuan lowered his eyes and brooded for a long time. Glancing at the time, it was still before noon, not even twelve o’clock. There were six or seven hours before nightfall.

That was plenty of time for Brother Ma to determine whether Old Pu was loyal or traitorous. It seemed they couldn’t wait until nightfall.

Thinking this, Zhong Yuan walked to the window and looked outside.

On the open ground, a table had been set up where five men sat playing cards.

All of them had guns holstered at their waists.