Trafford's Trading Club

Officer Ma took off Jiang Chu’s white doctor’s coat, then rolled around his hands to hide the handcuffs. He warned, “You have 5 minutes.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Chu choked his sobs back.

Officer Ma called out two of his partners and ordered them. “Take care of him, take him back to the office when the time is up!”

“Yes, sir!”

Officer Ma nodded, watching them to take Jiang Chu away while he grumbled about something and walked off in another direction.

He had not gone far, when his cellphone rang. Officer Ma answered it and kept nodding after listening to the report. “You brats did a good job this time! Catching him in such a short time!”

Someone said on the phone, “That guy rushed to the back alley of the hospital. When we caught up to him, we found him kneeling on the ground. Seems like he was hit by falling flowerpot from upstairs!”

Officer Ma was stupefied.

First, a criminal committed suicide by biting his own tongue, then this guy was hit by flowerpot… were these retributions they received from the heavens?

…

After walking out of the lift, the room of his son was the second one after the turning the corner. Jiang Chu looked down, while the two plainclothes policemen followed him on both sides.

The people walking pass him occasionally in the corridor would throw strange gazes at him---the cover over his hands was merely a way to comfort himself. With two such people following him, it was easy to imagine the situation just by thinking a little.

Jiang Chu had even seen a familiar nurse in the hospital who wanted to talk with him. However, he shook his head to deter her.

He smiled bitterly to himself. He had walked down this corridor many times but had never felt it to be so long.

“Officers, can I walk go in alone? I promise I won’t run away… anyway, itʼs not like I’m able to escape,” Jiang Chu turned to them and implored.

One officer thought for a second, then nodded. It was the seventh floor, plus with handcuffs, it was impossible to flee.

Right at that time, a cleaner with a handcart approached from the front. The two officers took Jiang Chu aside to give way.

However, unexpectedly, the cleaner suddenly slammed his handcart against the trio furiously. He waved his sleeve and a dagger appeared immediately.

He caught the dagger instantaneously before thrusting it at Jiang Chu.

Nevertheless, at this point, a bottle of water was thrown and struck his head severely. The power was equivalent to a hard blow.

The cleaner was assaulted by a sense of dizziness. He recovered a moment later but by that time, the two plainclothes had pinned him onto the ground, immobilizing him.

Officer Ma came up and sneered. “F*cking idiot! I knew you would do this! Did you think I would release him without any thought?”

The arrested cleaner stared at Officer Ma without a sound.

Officer Ma sneered, cuffing his hands behind his back. He then called another cop to watch over the cleaner together.

“You… take this guy over there… let him go in alone,” Officer Ma ordered.

Jiang Chu gratefully glanced at the officer who swore frequently, lowering his head and walking to the end of the corridor silently.

Officer Ma lit up a cigarette while keeping an eye on the cleaner.

“Officer Ma, this is the hospital…”

Officer Ma gave a start before putting out the cigarette restlessly. “You’ll die! Bastard! You’d better cooperate with us!”

The cleaner then smiled bizarrely, “Officer, you’re so clever, you even knew we had one more trick.”

Officer Ma sneered, “I’ve way more experience than you guys!”

The cleaner said, “But what if we had two tricks?”

Officer Ma stared blankly, a sense of foreboding slowly arose. It was then that all the lights simultaneously extinguished instantly!

Officer Ma reacted quickly and immediately pounced onto the cleaner, but was kicked in the stomach, then his partner collided into him. The two of them fell down at the same time.

The blackout happened so quickly, but it the lights came on again after several seconds. However, the cleaner had gotten away within this period!

“There is the third criminal! F*ck!!!” Officer Ma cursed in rage while he stood up before heading to where Jiang Chu was.

When he arrived at the end of the corridor and turned the corner, the only person he saw was his subordinate lying on the ground. He was clasping his hands against his stomach while bleeding copiously. Jiang Chu was missing.

Officer Ma gazed around with an annoyed and blank expression on his face.

Where had Jiang Chu went?

…

Jiang Chu didn’t even know where he was, He only felt an unprecedented terror surrounding him. This was obviously the rooftop of the hospital!

Yet, he clearly remembered being in the corridor of the seventh floor.

Just as he was about to enter his son’s sickroom, his surroundings became dark. He then heard the pained voiced of the policeman behind him.

At this moment, it finally dawned upon Jiang Chu, Mr. Sun definitely wouldn’t let him slip away so easily.

Perhaps he would be facing the grim reaper the very next second.

He was so close to his son, only separated by the door, but still couldn’t meet him. A strong sense of grief and indignation, plus hopelessness burned within Jiang Chu, reaching an unprecedented level.

Nevertheless, his eyes suddenly lit up when he found that he had arrived at the rooftop of the hospital.

This wasnʼt the only weird event that occurred. For instance, at this moment, a freak appeared in front of Jiang Chu… He wore a clown mask and held a black cane, and seemed to have been waiting here for a good while.

“Who are you? Are you with Mr. Sun?” Jiang Chu looked at him in horror.

Luo Qiu seemed very calm under the mask, “Doctor Jiang, you should know who I am.”

Jiang Chu stared blackly.

Luo Qiu waved his cane. From Jiang Chu’s doctor robe on his hands, a black card slipped out, then flew into Luo Qiu’s palm.

Jiang Chu seemed to realize something. “The club… Transaction… Did you come looking for me?”

Luo Qiu shook his head. “It isnʼt I who was looking for you, but you that hoped to see me. This black card sensed your deepest desires, so it brought you to me.”

“Can you help me?” Jiang Chu shivered.

In just a couple of seconds, he had reached to the rooftop. The sudden change, the freak with a clown mask, and the black card that flew out…

Inconceivable matters were happening to him now.

“Can I buy whatever I want?” Jiang Chu swallowed saliva.

Luo Qiu answered impassively, “Of course. As long as you can afford the goods you need.”

Jiang Chu hesitated. “What if I say, I hope for my son to be healthy? Can you help make it come true?”

Luo Qiu said, “Yes.”

Jiang Chu said after falling silent for a moment. “What do I need to pay?”

Luo Qiu answered, “What do you think?... Um, I can give you some hints. Initially, if you hadn’t been taken away by the black card, theoretically you should be dead now. Of course, you are a VIP customer of the club and it’s our obligation to protect our customers, so we won’t charge you anything for that.”

Luo Qiu saw nervousness on Jiang Chu’s face, so he said frankly, “Yet you should know, Doctor Jiang, you’re a person that is going to die. After death, you donʼt own anything.”

“Stop talking.” Jiang Chu took a deep breath abruptly. “You’re demons...ever since the voice appeared, I realized-- you’re demons. The most valuable object-- is my soul, right?”

“Absolutely, that’s the most important object an ordinary mortal possesses.” Luo Qiu didn’t avoid this subject.

Jiang Chu showed a bitter smile, “Only you guys would want this hideous and dirty soul of mine… Hahaha!”

He knelt down on the ground, watching his trembling hands in handcuffs with empty eyes, saying hoarsely, “I knew… from the beginning… ever since I cut apart the first person’s body, I knew I wouldn’t have a good ending. The elderly, men, women, and vagabonds, even orphans… one after another, I can never ever forget the looks on their faces.”

He hid his face in his hands, crying bitterly, “I had to do it!”

“They promised to give me the appropriate bone marrow!”

“I can’t see my son die, he’s only 11 years old! And hasn’t begun his life yet!”

“Even if my hands were covered in blood, I’ll make a brand new life for my son! I would do anything, even if it means going to hell!”

“Mr. Sun lied to me… They! Lied!!!”

“This is my retribution!! Hahahahaha!!!!”

“If you want my soul, take it! I don’t know how many I have hurt, and I’m not sure I would be able to compensate them even with my death! I just hope that the innocents can still live their lives.”

Luo Qiu said, “Say what you need.”

Jiang Chu said in a despair, “I want my son… no, my son and his mother to be safe. I don’t want them to be harmed. Furthermore, I hope you can bring Mr. Sun and his group to justice.”

Luo Qiu replied after a brief silence, “Sorry, your soul is not worth that much. The former or the latter one?”

Jiang Chu forced a smile, “Really? This dirty soul really is too cheap… Alright, I choose the former one. As long as they can be safe.”

Even if he didnʼt make a deal with the club, he would have been lost all his reputation. Furthermore, if he was caught by Mr. Sun, they wouldn’t forgive him. Those people were infinitely resourceful and were capable of getting revenge even if he was in the jail. His son might be dragged into this as well.

His ex-wife would also get grief due to his son’s death.

It would be the worst result.

Therefore… no hesitation was necessary if he could exchange for something helpful with his soul.

He watched the clown. “Can I take one last look at my son?”

Luo Qiu nodded.

With a swing of the cane, the two of them reached to a sickroom from the rooftop. Luo Qiu knocked on the shoulder of Jiang Chu’s ex-wife. Jiang Chu became nervous, so he said, “Doctor Jiang, don’t you think your farewell should not be disturbed?”

Jiang Chu nodded without words, merely approached the sickbed and grabbed his son’s palm, putting it on his cheek.

Just looking at him affectionately like this.

Luo Qiu didn’t urge him. Instead, he waited silently with patience.

Finally, Jiang Chu stood up. With red eyes, he gave his son a soft kiss on his forehead, then whispered, “You’ll have a good life, you know? Your father is useless and he did too many terrible things, sorry.”

He took a deep breath and looked at Luo Qiu, saying calmly, “May I walk around this hospital for one last time?”

“Yes.”

Luo Qiu nodded.

Jiang Chu was walking down the corridor in the hospital but the weird thing was, no matter who the passersby were, it seemed like that they could not see him, even though he went past them.

He knew this was an ability from the ‘demon’, so he didn’t care much about it.

He went pass the emergency room. “That time, I had not graduated yet and was assigned to this place as an intern. The old director picked me out, so I came here directly after graduation. That piece of calligraphy on the wall is my work… So many years have already passed but it has still hung there.”

Jiang Chu smiled, looking and talking, as if trying to ensure Luo Qiu, the person accompanying him at the end of his life, wouldn’t be too bored.

Luo Qiu asked suddenly, “Doctor Jiang, if you had a second chance in life, would you still assist Mr. Sun?”

Jiang Chu stopped, saying after thinking for a while, “Yes, I would! But I would check if the marrow matched, rather than believing it blindly.”

Luo Qiu merely gave a nod. “Time is up.”

Jiang Chu nodded as well and took a deep breath. He had no more worries left.

All of a sudden.

A nurse rushed in, hurriedly asking, “Is Doctor Chen here? Doctor Chen?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Doctor Huang made a mistake while performing his operation due to the unexpected power cut! He was too nervous and fainted even though the power has been restored… The director said the operation cannot be halted, Doctor Chen?”

“Me? I, I’m just an intern… I…”

“It’s too late, and besides, the patient’s relative has agreed to allow you to continue!”

“But… What about Doctor Jiang?”

“We can’t find any other doctor! Hurry up! Be quick! It’s extremely urgent!”

The nurse scrambled to pull a young doctor out of the room, before leaving in a flurry.

Jiang Chu saw the entire scene unfold in front of him. He forced a smile, “Have I… harmed another one?”

“That should be your operation.”

Jiang Chu stared at Luo Qiu. An unprecedented impulse made him blurt out a sentence. “Can I have another 5 hours… no, 4 hours?”

…

…

“Director… I really can’t.”

The young Doctor Chen felt disconcerted at old director’s side. All the director could do was reassured him. “Just do it bravely, or the patient will definitely die. She’s in danger now and I have no other choice…”

[So I have to be the one that takes care of this awful mess?] The young doctor heart was full of anger--- There should be at least one or two other doctors in this hospital besides the missing Jiang Chu.

“Let me do it.”

Suddenly, a deep voice came out from nowhere. Jiang Chu wore a white doctor coat as he walked over. His face looked pale, but his eyes shone brightly, the brightest the old director had ever seen throughout all these years.

“Jiang Chu, you, haven’t you…” The old director seemed to realize something, looking at Jiang Chu in surprise.

Jiang Chu walked to the director and said softly, “Teacher… Now, I am only a doctor. May I continue?”

The patient’s relatives didn’t want a young doctor that lacked experience to continue the operation; however, they had no other choice due to the hospital’s system. The patient’s grandfather had almost turned against his old friend after he knew a young doctor was the substitute.

Now, when he saw the doctor that was originally suppose to perform the operation, Jiang Chu, he only said, “Doctor Jiang, I’m sorry to hear your son’s incident! But if you can save my granddaughter…”

Jiang Chu waved his hand. “I am responsible for saving the patient only, don’t say any more. If possible, please let me in.”

As Jiang Chu walked towards the operating room, those nurses wearing surgical gowns made way for him and also said hurriedly, “Doctor Jiang, let me sterilize you first!”

In the operating room.

Everything seemed so familiar.

Jiang Chu was holding the scalpel, without a single tremble. Instead, his fingers were strong and powerful. He had never felt so focused and alert before.

He couldn’t remember the last time he was so focused, like now, while performing an operation.

Thinking of nothing, merely hoping every incision would be placed at the most accurate location.

Like a sharp sword, the scalpel severed the rope that was pulling the little life to death.

One after another, he had lost all sense of time.

It was quite silent in the operating room.

Until a ‘Ting tang’ sound was heard, which came from the metal tools that collided on the disc that Jiang Chu dropped on.

Jiang Chu heaved a long sigh. “Stop bleeding… and start stitching the wound.”

“Doctor Jiang… you’re really… amazing! Amazing!! Doctor Jiang? Doctor Jiang?”

Jiang Chu fainted and collapsed onto the ground gradually, with a hint of smile on his face, full of serenity and satisfaction.

…

…

“Is this Jiang Chu’s soul? How beautiful, I thought it wouldn’t be as pure as this.”

You Ye held a crystal box with both hands in the club.

There was a lump of light in the shape of a ball emitting a pink glow in it, without even the slightest impurity.

Luo Qiu looked at the photo in Jiang Chu’s cellphone and said in a low voice, “Perhaps because he was saved at last.”

“Looks like we’ve earned a lot.” You Ye smiled faintly.

Luo Qiu agreed, “Yeah… it was not enough though--- but for now, it’s adequate. It’s too bad we didn’t explain clearly before he entered the transaction.”

He shook his head. “It might have been his fate.”

While saying this, he dialed a number in the phone; however, was only greeted by a sentence.

“Sorry, the number you have dialed does not exist.”

Luo Qiu mumbled, “How fast.”

Shaking his head, he stood up and then grasp the crystal box in both hands.

You Ye asked, “Master, are you going to tribute it?”

“Storage.”