Chapter 95 Chapter 100 Fire Gate Three Passes (1)

  "The sixth... Guangdong, Jia Ding Yi..." The shopkeeper continued to read out loud, and the crowd suddenly burst into a murmur of shock, turning their heads to see who was Jia Ding Yi. It turned out that this Jia Ding Yi was a mysterious figure who had been active in the Guangdong thieves' circle for several years, shaking the name throughout South China, but no one had ever seen his face. Every time Jia Ding Yi succeeded in a heist, he would leave behind a red paper flower with the words "Jia Ding Yi" written inside, so the thieves' world called him Jia Ding Yi. And what made Jia Ding Yi so famous was not that he stole something or had some skill, but that he specialized in stealing things from other thieves, which meant that everything Jia Ding Yi stole was stolen goods. For this, Jia Ding Yi offended countless thieves in Guangdong, all of whom gritted their teeth and hated him to the bone, wishing they could get rid of him as soon as possible. But Jia Ding Yi always appeared and disappeared without a trace, leaving only red paper flowers appearing everywhere, without revealing any clues, and was a mystery in the South China thieves' circle.

  The crowd of thieves looked on for half a day, but no one came forward. The shopkeeper held the sixth number plate in his hand and said, "A Ding Y, if you are not convenient to come out, then wait until we have distributed all the number plates..."

  The shopkeeper's words had just fallen, when a black awning rolled down from above, brushing against the signboard and wrapping it around. With a whoosh, the signboard was swept out of the shopkeeper's hands, passing over the heads of the thieves, and disappearing into the darkness of the Qingyun Inn, as if swallowed by a muddy pit, without making another sound.

  The thieves were greatly shocked and retreated one step at a time, stabilizing their bodies and concentrating their spirits to guard against unexpected events.

  The shopkeeper sighed: "We only have eighteen guests staying here, you can't hide it, once the name tags are distributed, everyone will know who you are!"

  "Hahaha." Three loud laughs, a thin old man walked out of the crowd, his eyes bloodshot, and said with a gloomy smile: "I am indeed the sixth one, but I am not Jia Ding Yi! Because I have already died!" The thieves were shocked, staring at the old man. The old man laughed loudly, tore off a band-aid from his forehead, revealing a deep, blood-red character that seemed to be carved into his bone. He shouted: "I came to Qingyun Inn and reported Jia Ding Yi's name, but Jia Ding Yi is not me! Don't be afraid, if you are afraid, you can cancel this trial of the Fire Gate Three Passes! Otherwise, Jia Ding Yi will definitely become a disciple of Huo Wang! Let's see what you'll do then? Hahaha!" After finishing speaking, the old man suddenly rolled his eyes back, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell to the ground, convulsing twice before seemingly dying.

  This dead old man, Huo Xiao and Zheng Zedao had only seen him once at the Qingyun Inn, but he was alone, behaving strangely, and hastily left, with a pair of blood-red eyes that made people feel uneasy, leaving a deep impression.

  The shopkeeper's face was stern, staring at the old man's corpse on the ground, his face twitching involuntarily. He instructed the shop assistants in a low voice: "Take away the body and find a place to bury it properly."

  The two shop assistants responded and came up with two people to carry away the old man's body.

  The gangsters were all silent, feeling that this matter was extremely strange. Huo Xiaoxie saw the way these people died and felt a chill in his heart, thinking: "This is terrible! They actually used human shields! Say die and die! Who is this Jia Dingyu? His methods are so ruthless, could it be that Jia Dingyu has a grudge against the Huo family?" Huo Xiaoxie turned to look at Zheng Zedao, who was also solemn-faced with layers of killing intent in his eyes, no longer the smiling face of everyday. Huo Xiaoxie thought: "I'm afraid this is going to be big trouble!"

  The shopkeeper watched the old man's body being carried away, and smiled stiffly. He spoke into the darkness: "Jia Ding Yi! If you can pass through the three gates of fire, the Fire King will definitely see you! But if you make a mess in there, you'll never leave the Qingyun Inn! Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

  The shopkeeper composed himself, puffed out a few mouthfuls of air, and said: "Next, the seventh one, Red Clown from the borders of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan."

  Just now Jia Ding Yi made such a fuss, and all the thieves were quiet, not saying a word.

  That little short man with a red cloak and green collar walked out, silently took over the number plate, put it in his pocket, and retreated.

  They continued to hand over the tokens, and their speed also picked up. Everyone's thoughts were heavy, and they all walked forward in silence, taking the token and leaving. The hall was quiet, with only the stiff voice of the shopkeeper and the hurried footsteps of the thieves could be heard.

  Eighth, Fujian San Qi Feng, is a slender Han man with thin eyebrows and eyes, wearing a garment sewn with countless pockets, carrying three leather belts on his back, which are also hung with several leather bags.

  The ninth one is Kaifeng Liangba, the bearded big man who was seen by Huo Xiaoyi in the main hall and the sickroom, secretly colluding with Hong Xiaogu.

  Tenth place, Jingzhou's pointed ear, a thin and small Han man with a pointed face, missing half of one ear.

  The eleventh one was Huo Xiaoxie. As soon as he took the token, he turned around and saw that all the thieves were staring at him coldly. His heart skipped a beat, and he hastily put the token into his bosom, forcing himself to calm down and hurry back. The token was made of wood, about the size of a palm, one finger thick, without any holes for hanging ropes. Such a large token, no matter where it was placed on the body, was extremely eye-catching.

  Huoxiao Ye knew that the dozen or so people in front of him, if he randomly picked one out, were probably more formidable than Sanzhi Liu from Fengtian City. In the past, when he met someone of Sanzhi Liu's caliber, they would be so scared that they wouldn't even dare to fart. But now, at Qingyun Inn, where he was rubbing shoulders with many notorious thieves, he didn't differentiate between their Jianghu ranks, and his courage was somewhat different from before.

  The twelfth, Shanxi Guilong, has a huge body shape, with hair on his head like steel needles, wearing a bear skin jacket, revealing a chest full of black fur, bare-chested, not looking like a thief, but rather like a bandit.

  Thirteenth place, Sichuan Pao Hao Wei, is the stolen menu of Pao's kitchen. Before the shopkeeper arrived, he had a fight with Pao's kitchen boy, Little Pao.

  Fourteenth, Harbin Li Liao Zhuo, alias Smoke Worm. This man wore a jacket and trousers, his leather shoes were polished to shine, he had a greasy face and always had a cigarette in his mouth, exhaling smoke without interruption. Xiao Xia heard that this man was the leader of the four great thieves of Northeast China, and the Russian authorities had offered a reward of tens of thousands of dollars for his capture, but all to no avail. Smoke Worm had not appeared in Northeast China for years, and it was unexpected to see him here. The four great thieves of Northeast China were led by Smoke Worm, with Qiao Big Head and Qiao Second Paw, two brothers, ranking second and third, and Hei San Bian ranking fourth.

  Fifteenth, Hunan's Guo Baobao, nicknamed Little Naughty Treasure. This Little Naughty Treasure looks younger than Huo Xiaoyi, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed the same as Huo Xiaoyi, wearing clothes provided by Qingyun Inn, just a slightly lighter color than what Huo Xiaoyi is wearing. He has a pale and tender complexion, very likable, when all the bandits are silent, he can still run out laughing and take the signboard.

  Sixteenth, Nanjing Zhang Jian, nicknamed Yaozi Gou. At first glance, you can tell that he has been hanging out in the brothels for years. He has dark circles under his eyes, a pointed head and beady eyes, sparse hair, and when he smiles, half of his gold teeth are revealed.

  Seventeenth, Zhao Shuncai from Beiping, nicknamed Big Hair, short and stout in build, dark complexion, dressed quite elegantly, no less than Zheng Zedao's attire, but somehow looked like a coal miner who had struck it rich.

  Eighteenth, Hangzhou Yu Juaner, nicknamed Huā Niáng Zǐ (Flower Maiden), was the only woman among the eighteen people who came to the Qingyun Inn this time. She wore a tight-fitting dark red embroidered silk cheongsam with high slits, revealing two snow-white thighs, had curly hair, applied lipstick, and wore a pair of flat-heeled black leather shoes. This attire was extremely unconventional at that time, only prostitutes would dress like this. The woman was just in her early twenties, with a thousand charms and a hundred allurements, her eyes were seductive and captivating.