Chapter 31: The Thief King's Apprentice

Wang Yang glanced down at Wen Xiaocheng, who was sitting on the kang, and smiled. “That’s hardly an issue. There are a few real strongholds in Dongfeng Town! Next time, I’ll take him around for a visit—he’ll get to know everyone soon enough.”

After giving his instructions, Tai Hu waved Wang Yang out and continued, “With things like this, there’s no use begging for help—you’re better off relying on yourself. The crowd Wang Yang knows aren’t exactly saints, either. If you don’t want to get pushed around, you’d better toughen up! Aren’t you guys about to go on break? Once school’s out, come by more often—I’ll teach you some skills. You’re too scrawny as you are!”

Wang Yang, who had just stepped out, pushed the door open again, looking disgruntled. “Master, I’ve been pestering you for over half a year, and you never even hinted at teaching me anything. Now this kid’s barely sat down ten minutes, and you’re already taking him as a disciple?”

His words made Tai Hu burst into laughter. “I haven’t taught you because I’m worried you’d use your skills carelessly! Alright, alright, you can train together when the time comes!”

And just like that, with a few words, the matter was settled. Wen Xiaocheng felt a bit miffed—he thought: Did anyone bother to ask my opinion about this?

Tai Hu truly had no intention of consulting Xiaocheng. He went on, “This afternoon I’ll prep some materials. Isn’t tomorrow Sunday? Bring your grandma’s tricycle over, I’ll have half a day free to fix it up for you. The sooner she can use it, the sooner she’ll have it easier. Don’t wander off during the break—later I’ll let the old lady know, and you’ll stay here with me. With a whole summer, I’ll make sure you come out tougher!”

Xiaocheng was about to say something when a noise came from outside. A Buick slowly pulled in through the gate, the window rolling down to reveal a middle-aged man with a receding hairline who called into the house, “Anyone home?”

Wang Yang hurried out to meet him, eyeing the car and the man. “Boss, what’s wrong with the car?”

With business at the door, Xiaocheng didn’t want to get in the way of someone making a living. He stood to leave. Tai Hu called out from outside, summoning Wang Yang. “Wang Yang, drive Xiaocheng home, and while you’re at it, get to know his place—make a round and spread the word to all those riffraff in Dongfeng Town. This afternoon, you get half a day off!”

“Uncle Hu, I rode my bike here. No need to drive me,” Xiaocheng protested.

But Wang Yang, delighted at the chance to drive, wouldn’t hear of it. He shrugged off his jacket, quickly washed his hands, threw an arm around Xiaocheng, and headed out. “What’s a bicycle? Just throw it in the trunk! Giving you a lift is one thing, but getting to know your place is the main deal, right?”

There was only an old Santana parked in the yard, looking well past its prime. Wang Yang enthusiastically shoved Xiaocheng’s battered bike into the trunk. They both got in, and the kid threw it in reverse, gunned the engine, and backed straight out of the garage. At the entrance, a quick turn straightened the car. Tai Hu’s voice trailed after them: “Don’t drive too fast, you brat! If you dare speed, you’ll never touch a car again!”

With the engine roaring, there was no way his master’s warning could be heard. There wasn’t much traffic on the county road, and as soon as they hit the asphalt, the Santana shot up to 120 km/h—clearly, it had been modified.

“Thrilling, isn’t it?” Wang Yang said excitedly.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiaocheng couldn’t share the driver’s joy. With the windows down, the wind howled so loudly they had to shout just to hear each other.

“Slow down, I can’t hear a thing!” Xiaocheng called out.

At that, the speed dropped. Clearly, Wang Yang was also in the mood for conversation. He turned his head and asked, “Didn’t expect Old Scholar’s son to be this grown up.”

“I just found out my dad’s nickname in there is Old Scholar.” Truth be told, Wen Xinwu was only in his forties—not exactly old. “What’s your nickname in there?”

Wang Yang paused, then countered, “How’d you know I did time?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You said you pestered Uncle Hu for half a year to teach you, but he only got out two months ago. If you spent half a year together before that, you must have met in there. And you know my dad’s nickname—easy to guess.”

Wang Yang nodded, then laughed. “They called me Shadow in there. I always called Old Scholar big brother—by rights, shouldn’t you be calling me uncle?”

“You call Uncle Hu master, so you’re from his generation. If Uncle Hu takes me as a disciple, that makes us equals. And since I’m his disciple after you, by seniority, I should be your senior brother!”

Wen Xiaocheng wasn’t about to lose out.

Wang Yang curled his lip, the wind blowing his hair straight up. “Even if we’re equals, I started earlier—you think you can be my senior?”

“When master said he was taking me as a disciple, you were still protesting. That means you hadn’t officially become a disciple yet, so technically, I started first!”

“You’re just a kid! If I’d known, I’d have sworn brotherhood with your dad back in the joint!”

Xiaocheng wasn’t offended. “You can’t be much older than me, can you?”

“I’m nineteen. You may be tall, but you’re only about fifteen or sixteen, right?”

“Yeah, just turned fifteen.”

Wang Yang said, “Little brother, how about I teach you some real tricks too? Call me master, what do you say?”

The moment he called him “little brother,” Xiaocheng noticed Wang Yang’s hand leave the gear stick, as if to scratch his head. But when his hand reached near his own pocket, two fingers deftly pinched something inside. By the time he said “real tricks,” the visitation slip from Xiaocheng’s pocket was already in his hand. The whole thing happened in a flash—if Xiaocheng’s senses hadn’t become so keen recently, he’d never have noticed. But even noticing was useless; his hand was too far from his pocket to stop him in time.

“You went in for pickpocketing, didn’t you?”

Wang Yang cursed under his breath. “That was a frame-up! But how did you know it was for pickpocketing?”

“Come on, you just lifted my visitation slip. How could I not know?”

Looking dejected, Wang Yang handed back the slip and frowned, “You noticed? When did I do it?”

“When you said ‘real tricks,’” Xiaocheng replied.

Wang Yang was astonished. Even though the car’s confined space and their fixed positions made things easier, he was extremely confident in his skills. Those two fingers had been trained by the King of Thieves himself. He’d started at fourteen, gone five years without a single miss. Forget a fifteen-year-old kid—even seasoned anti-theft officers had never caught him red-handed!

“Kid, you’re good!” With that, Wang Yang pulled a hundred-yuan note from his pocket and handed it to Xiaocheng. “Hold onto this. If I can’t steal it back before we part ways, I’ll admit I lost to you!”

Xiaocheng grinned. “Thanks! I’ll take that as a tip.” He promptly took off his shoe in front of Wang Yang, stuffed the bill deep into his sock—making sure to wedge it under his instep—then put his shoe back on.

Wang Yang felt bitter. No matter how good a thief, no one could sneak money out of someone’s sock! That hundred was as good as gone.

“You trying to drive a thief to despair?”

Xiaocheng laughed gleefully. “Looks to me like I’m helping you reform!”

———

The supporting cast’s interaction had its effect. A character who was meant to be ordinary became a lot more interesting thanks to the connection with the readers. Like now: seeing someone with such a miserable, exasperated face, forced to hand over two bucks, Old Dao felt completely satisfied!