Oey Souw threw a single word carved on a board that read "kill," and the decision was made to behead Tiat Liong-san.
The execution was carried out at dawn the next day. "Oh, now I understand." Suddenly, Tu Liong seemed to have an epiphany.
"Leng Taiya wrote a misleading letter, so the hand he used to write was cut off.
Hui Taiya claimed to have seen with his own eyes that Tiat Liong-san killed a soldier, so his eyes were gouged out. Uncle Tan confessed to hearing that Tiat Liong-san wanted to defect, so his ears were cut off....
Oey Souw has died, so his son atones for his sins, and he got a wound near his mouth... the way Thiat-yan exacts revenge is truly remarkable.
But he hasn't taken action against Cu Taiya yet," Tu Liong interjected. "Perhaps Thiat-yan doesn't know that Cu Taiya was the one who suggested harming Tiat Liong-san," Wie Kie-hong suddenly spoke up.
"Tu Toako, what Uncle Tan said is not wrong.
Perhaps Miss Yan didn't know that Cu Taiya was the one who proposed harming her biological father." "No!" Tu Liong's voice was filled with certainty. "She must have known." "How could she know?" Tan Po-hai countered.
"Tiat Liong-san has brothers and sisters, as well as many close friends.
Wouldn't all the people around him question and seek out the truth of what actually happened? You and Hui Taiya testified in court; everyone would surely know about it.
But Leng Taiya had written a misleading letter; surely others would have been aware of this.
Miss Yan would also undoubtedly know about this.
If she knew this, how could she not know other things?" "But why hasn't she taken action to kill Cu Taiya yet?" "Cu Taiya possesses high martial arts skills; he won't be easy to deal with, unlike you guys.
Moreover, Cu Taiya is the mastermind behind all these matters.
Miss Thiat-yan will surely punish him in the most brutal way." "Tu Liong, logically, Miss Thiat-yan should kill Cu Taiya first.
That way, she would achieve a more satisfying result.
But now she's taken action and injured us, her henchmen; isn't this akin to 'beating the grass to startle the snake,' making everyone increase their guard against Cu Taiya?" Tu Liong appeared very confused.
He said, "This is indeed a strange matter.
Behind it all, there must be a story, but no matter how much I think about it, I can't figure out what the story might be." Wie Kie-hong spoke again, "From my perspective, it seems like Thiat-yan intentionally wants to frighten Cu Taiya...." "Why?" both Tu Liong and Tan Po-hai asked simultaneously.
"Of course, she has a motive.
At the very least, we know one thing: she wants to get the item stored in the leather case." Tan Po-hai stared at them, confused.
It was clear he had no knowledge of this leather case.
But Tu Liong didn't want to discuss the leather case issue with Tan Po-hai.
So he quickly turned his face away and changed the topic: "Uncle Tan, regarding the Hui Taiya issue, do you have your own opinion?" "It seems he couldn't endure the pain.
Having your eyes gouged out must be far more painful than having your ears cut off." "I suspect he committed suicide because he feared Thiat-yan would continue her revenge," Tu Liong said slowly, observing Tan Po-hai's reaction to his comment.
Then he continued, "Perhaps this is just the beginning of Thiat-yan's revenge.... Uncle Tan.... what do you think?" "No...." Tan Po-hai replied confidently, "now my sins have been atoned for.
Thiat-yan told me when she attacked me that all of this was over.
As long as I don't seek her out, she won't seek me either.
That's why I feel relieved....
I've been having nightmares for years; finally, I can wake up and regain consciousness." From Tan Po-hai's words, it can be concluded that not only does he harbor no resentment towards Thiat-yan, but he is also grateful that all his past debts have been settled.
Wie Kie-hong glanced at Tu Liong, but Tu Liong said nothing more.
The two of them then bid farewell and left.
After exiting the door, while continuing to walk, Wie Kie-hong said to Tu Liong: "Tu Toako, you're on the wrong path now." "Wrong?" "Yes, wrong. Among the five of them, Tan Po-hai is the one with the least power.
We can't expect much information from him." "Kie-hong, I have another feeling....
Ugh, I'm always talking about feelings...., I sense that among them all, Tan Po-hai is the most likely to leak secrets." "True, he doesn't seem capable of keeping secrets.
It's a pity, though, that he doesn't know much about all this..." "What should we do now...?" Tu Liong seemed to be asking himself.
"Tu Toako, didn't you instruct me to always follow your guidance?" "Alright...
in that case, let's divide the tasks.
Now you go back and inform Leng Taiya about the empty leather case." "He has repeatedly instructed me not to be curious, to open the case and see its contents.
How could I tell him this?" "Kie-hong, sometimes in life, one has to lie for the greater good.
Just say that someone snatched the case, and then during the struggle, the case accidentally opened, and you realized that there was nothing inside." Wie Kie-hong said nothing.
"........Just follow my instructions.
I'm sure Leng Taiya will react to your story.
Maybe his reaction will give us a new clue...." "If he asks about the leather case, how should I answer?" "Just say that the case was taken away by an unknown person." "Tu Toako, I've never lied, and I can't lie." "Everything must be learned and tried.... alright, that's the decision I've made.... we'll meet in Bei Hai public park in two hours.
We won't leave until we meet." "Where will you go?" "I'm going to find Bu Tiat-cui." Coincidentally, at the same time, a carriage passed in front of them.
Tu Liong then got on the carriage and sat there.
0-0-0
After some time, the carriage arrived at San-poa alley, the residence of the fortune teller Bu Tiat-cui. Tu Liong did not expect the owner to be present; it turned out Bu Tiat-cui was sitting in the side room waiting for guests.
"Do you want a fortune reading?" "Do you want to know your past?" "Or do you want to learn about your character from your face?" Bu Tiat-cui greeted.
"Mr. Bu! This morning I sent someone here to bring my birth date.
I hoped you could predict based on that date.
But until now, that person hasn't returned and reported to me.
Please help find out where he is now." "Oh.... Alright...
how old is he?" "Over forty years." "I'm sorry! I've never seen that guest before...." "But...." "Honored guest! It's not that I want to promote my work, but I'll help you find him with the help of cards.
How about it?" "Is it accurate?" "We'll know whether it's accurate or not after the reading." Bu Tiat-cui never spoke beyond this matter.
"Alright, then let's try." Bu Tiat-cui took out a wooden box.
Inside, there were many paper scrolls, these were the cards to be used for the reading.
He then instructed Tu Liong to pick one.
Tu Liong chose a scroll at random.
When opened, it had a Mandarin character 'Ci' meaning dusk.
Seeing this scroll, Bu Tiat-cui's eyebrows furrowed.
Tu Liong didn't believe in fortune-telling, especially one based on a single character written on paper, so he wouldn't believe the prediction made by Bu Tiat-cui.
Therefore, he casually asked: "Mr. Bu! Seeing your furrowed brows, is this a bad omen?" "Mmm! Very bad.... very bad...
...." he replied.
"Oh! Why do you say that?" "The evening sun sets in the west.
After that, the earth is enveloped in darkness." While speaking, Bu Tiat-cui took a brush and scribbled something on the paper with the character.
"Look.
The addition of a single line to the character 'Ci' turns it into the character that means evil.
This person is disconnected from you.
This means the matter has changed.
The character (Pian) means change.
You're looking for a person, so that person has disappeared, if the character [Jin], meaning person, is removed, it creates the character [Cit], meaning seven...
then the character is combined with the character to create a character (Si) meaning death.
Honored guest, the person you asked about is dead." Actually, Tu Liong already knew that the person he inquired about was dead.
A steel needle was embedded between his eyebrows; how could he not be dead? But the prediction made by Bu Tiat-cui was indeed very accurate.
How Tu Liong looked when he heard all the explanations just now was hard to tell.
Moreover, he himself had randomly chosen the scroll used earlier.
"Sir! I'm truly sorry; I never expected the fortune I made would be such bad news."
---
**
Glossary**:
- **Cersil**: Abbreviation for "cerita silat," Indonesian term for martial arts fiction.
- **Taiya**: A title used in martial arts novels, similar to "master" or "leader."
- **Toako**: A term of respect, similar to "elder brother" or "senior."
- **Thiat-yan**: Likely a character name or title; "Thiat" often relates to iron or steel in martial arts terms.
- **Pian, Jin, Cit, Si**: Mandarin characters used in the fortune-telling explanation.
- **Bu Tiat-cui**: A character name, likely the fortune teller in the story.