"Oh, go ahead, I thought you said something else.
The bald-headed leader snapped the earwax from his fingernail and looked at Fang Li with a smile.
'Then speak, where did you hide the land deeds?'
'In the latrine, in the latrine, in the northeast corner there's a stone, it's inside that stone.'
Fang Li, enduring the pain, stammered.
'You two, go look!' The bald-headed leader winked at his henchmen.
The two quickly followed the scent to the latrine.
At the spot Fang Li indicated, there was indeed a large stone.
The stone was intact, and the two couldn't find any place to hide the land deeds. So they lifted the stone out.
'Boss, there's only this stone, no land deeds found.'
The bald-headed leader was furious, 'You dog, you dare to play a trick on me!'
'Come here, pry his hand open! I want to see how many more fingers he has left to be chopped off!'
'No! No! I'll tell you!'
Fang Li, hearing this, was terrified. He backed away with his bleeding right hand, but was grabbed by the two henchmen who had just put down the stone.
*Swish~ Another slash!*
'Ah~~~!'
After a scream of pain, Fang Li fainted from the agony.
Fingers are connected to the heart. In just a moment, four fingers of his right hand were chopped off, leaving only his middle finger.
Fainting was a relief, but this relief was quickly shattered.
He was splashed with cold water by a henchman. In March, the weather was still cold. This bucket of water doused on him made him shiver.
Fang Li, upon waking, looked at the bald-headed leader's gaze, which seemed ready to kill him at any moment, and quickly pleaded.
'Don't, don't, don't chop my hands anymore, I, I'll talk!'
'It's, it's, it's on that stone, there's, there's a stain, it's a disguise, the land deeds are hidden inside.'
The henchmen nearby heard this and walked to the stone to search.
Indeed, there was a dark, sticky substance on the stone. As he was about to pick it with his hand, he was stopped by a companion.
'Don't use your hand, this old guy is really something!'
'What?'
'What do you mean? Didn't you see it's dried feces?'
The henchman: ...
Thinking he almost touched this disgusting thing with his hand, he instantly became furious and walked up to Fang Li, kicking him.
'Damn it! You dog, you dared to trick me!'
'Don't, don't hit me, I, I'll get it!'
Fang Li curled up on the ground, wailing incessantly.
'Hurry up! If you dare to play any more tricks, I'll send you both to hell today!'
The henchman grabbed Fang Li and threw him next to the stone.
Fang Li didn't care about the filth. With his intact left hand, he scraped off the feces on the stone, revealing a circular gap.
Pointing at the gap, he mumbled to the henchman.
'G-good sir, just pry it open with a knife, there's a hole inside.'
The henchman stepped forward, inserted the knife into the gap, and pried it open with force. Indeed, a circular stone lid was pried out.
Inside the hole, a roll of oil paper was clearly visible.
He asked Fang Li to take out the oil paper. The henchman unfolded it page by page, looking at the text.
'Look at your sister, you dog, can you even read?' The bald-headed leader walked over and slapped him on the back of his head.
He took the land deeds back from the henchman, rolled them up, stuffed them into his own embrace, and then looked at the blood-covered Fang Li with a smile.
'Old dog, you were wise enough. This time, I'll let you go.'
'By the way, you're welcome to come play again, but bring your principal. You're not qualified to owe debts anymore!'
After speaking, he waved to the other henchmen, 'Brothers, let's go!'"
Outside the courtyard, the onlookers, the tenants, looked at the stone with utter disgust.
'Damn it, Old Fang really knows how to hide things!'
'Who would have thought that inside that stone, which anyone would mistake for something he used to wipe his backside, the land deeds were hidden?'
'Exactly, he doesn't even find it disgusting.'
'Alas, you say, if Duke Fang knew that Old Fang was so miserable, would he pity him and forgive him?'
'Nonsense! Is Duke Fang that soft-hearted?'
'Exactly, I heard that Duke Fang even built a mound of heads when he fought against Goguryeo and Silla.'
Just then, the tenants who were discussing didn't notice the bald-headed leader stop not far from them, turning his head to look at Fang Li, who was untying Fang Da.
'This guy really has a nephew who's a duke?'
'Boss, what should we do?' The henchman also heard the tenants and asked the bald-headed leader nervously.
The bald-headed leader stood there, thinking for a long time, and then smiled sinisterly.
'Hehehehe, what to do? We can only go all the way!'
'If what these people say is true, killing them is the only way to ensure it doesn't lead back to us.'
'If what these people say is false, no one will pursue it even if we kill them.'
'What about these tenants?' the henchman asked worriedly.
'Let's leave first. If we leave, they'll disperse. We'll come back later!'
'Withdraw!' The bald-headed leader waved his hand, and all the henchmen walked towards the courtyard gate.
As they reached the gate, the henchman glared at the tenants and cursed. 'Scram! What are you looking at! Haven't you seen debt collectors before?'
The tenants were just watching the excitement and didn't want to become part of the spectacle. Seeing the henchmen staring at them, they quickly scattered.
The henchmen left.
Fang Da, whose ropes were untied, had snot and tears mixed on his face. He looked worriedly at Fang Li's right hand, which now had only a middle finger left.
'Dad, you wait at home, I, I'll go find you a doctor.'
'Hehehehehe~~ A doctor, where do we have the money to find a doctor? Those land deeds were our family's last assets.'
'Don't worry, I won't die. Go to the kitchen and get some grass ash to put on it for your dad.'
Fang Li's voice was somewhat manic. His snake-like gaze continued to watch the departing henchmen, saying, 'Hehehe, when Dad gets better, let's see how Dad turns things around!'
'Damn gambling dens, aren't they cheating? I knew their cheating secrets long ago!'
Fang Da was stunned. After a while, he reacted and looked at Fang Li, crying, 'Dad, let's not gamble anymore, can we just stop gambling?'
'Hahahaha, not gamble? How can we not gamble? If you don't gamble, what will Grandpa eat?'
Suddenly, the departing bald-headed leader returned to the courtyard.
These people had not gone far. Seeing that all the tenants had left, they quietly turned back.
This way, if they killed Fang Li and his son, no one would witness it, and the tenants could testify that they had left."