Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Fate and Enmity, Haicheng's Solitude

  With a rose in one's heart, there is always fragrance. This is a very high state for a person to be in. A person's good intentions can change their perspective on the things around them. At this moment, Li Huqiu sat beside Da Pangzi, his expression calm and unruffled. The foul body odor and the strange smell from the urine bag seemed to have no effect on him, as he maintained his usual smile, occasionally even cracking jokes with Da Pangzi.

  Just now, Li Huqiu reported the police for him, but the result was not ideal. The old thief disappeared into thin air, and the police searched the entire train according to everyone's description, but couldn't find any trace of the old thief. The old man who replaced Xiaozhang sat here earlier seemed to be unable to bear Dabaozi's smell, got up to smoke in the aisle, and never came back. There were many people standing in the carriage who could fall asleep, but none of them were willing to sit there. Li Huqiu smiled and returned to his original seat, his warm expression and earlier kindness earned him a lot of points in Dabaozi's heart. Dabaozi rarely nodded at him.

  The broadcast on the train reminds all passengers that hot water has been boiled for everyone, and those who eat instant noodles for breakfast are asked to soak their noodles now. The stove used to boil water has been turned off and will not provide hot water again before noon.

  At that time, there was no large bowl of noodles. Experienced people would prepare a large tea container before getting on the train, which could be used for both drinking water and soaking noodles. It was indeed a top-grade magic weapon with Chinese characteristics for railway transportation travel. Li Huqiu's large tea container was handed over by Lao Miao before he got on the train. The tea stains were mottled, but there were a few warm memories of Li Huqiu on it. He picked up the large tea container and filled it with hot water, but his heart was hesitant. Lao Miao had always been advising him to be good, but now he wanted to use the large tea container as a prop to steal things from others, which made him feel somewhat guilty towards Lao Miao's kind heart.

  Just as Li Huqiu was hesitating whether to make a move on the fat man, an old lady walked by Cold's side and suddenly tripped over something when passing by their seat. She fell into the fat man's arms, spilling the entire cup of 70-degree "boiling water" from her white ceramic cup all over him. The fat man let out a loud yelp as he jumped up, scalded. The old lady hastily grabbed a handkerchief to wipe away the water for him. Li Huqiu's eyes narrowed into a slit as he thought to himself: "Great minds think alike, this old scoundrel is quite skilled, able to disguise himself so thoroughly with such great effort."

  That old lady was indeed the cunning and crafty Crab Claw. As a seasoned great thief, the more challenging the job, the more it piqued his interest. He had made a bet with Li Huqiu, he wanted to win the honor of being the greatest thief in China, and with Li Huqiu's help, it would be equivalent to eliminating one competitor and gaining an assistant. But the premise was that he must win this bet. If Li Huqiu made excuses about Fatso still having money on him and refused to admit defeat, wouldn't all his previous efforts have been in vain? So he took a risk and came back again. This time he succeeded. With just a few swift moves, the thing at Fatso's waist fell into his hands.

  Li Huqiu saw that he had succeeded, and the three sections of plastic bags contained at least 600,000 yuan, still short of Li Huqiu's estimated one million yuan.

  Born as an orphan, lived so big, life is all given by heaven, living is starting to lose. But being able to afford to lose does not mean that you can easily admit defeat.

  Half an hour later, the fatty let out another tragic wail, this time so sad that it moved everyone in the car to tears. It was still Li Huqiu who helped him call the police, and they searched for half a day but couldn't find anything. The fatty muttered to himself, "This is terrible, what kind of thief is this? Doesn't he know that I have a lot of money on me?" Li Huqiu heard this and broke out in sweat, knowing that the fatty still had a lot of money on him, but the fatty's current state made him unsure whether or not to make his move.

  The fat man quickly made up his mind for him.

  It can be confirmed that Da Baozi held a high position in his original unit. In those northern regions where it was still the era of who had fat children and the whole family was proud, there were very few people with such a physique as him. A person who is used to being arrogant will not easily give up if they suffer a great loss. Once they erupt, it's like Fu Hongxue's Bright Moon Knife, which doesn't return without drinking blood. What's more, they may also vent their anger on others. Da Baozi scolded for a while and suddenly felt that the young man in front of him was very suspicious. Everyone else avoided him, but this young man didn't seem to notice the smell on his body, which made him even more suspicious. In fact, these were not the most important things. What attracted Da Baozi to Li Huqiu was his youth and kindness, which seemed easy to bully. Da Baozi had nowhere to vent his anger, so he grabbed Li Huqiu to vent it on him. He opened his mouth and scolded Li Huqiu as a thief and a jinx. This was the result of human nature's downward tendency. However, this gave Li Huqiu an excuse to take action against him.

  Li Huqiu's rivers and lakes guardian is the chivalrous spirit of "thieves also have a way". He didn't have the tolerance to endure humiliation, and he slapped the fat kid with a loud slap without hesitation. The fat kid was in pain and scolded him as a little rascal, Li Huqiu grabbed his collar and gave him a fierce stare that made people tremble with fear. A person who has decided to kill someone may not necessarily have less murderous aura than someone who doesn't intend to kill but has accidentally killed before. The fat kid finally understood that in the northeast where tigers and wolves roam, even a small youth is not someone to be trifled with. Li Huqiu noticed the police walking over at the door, let go of his hand and viciously warned the fat kid to shut up, slapping him again.

  The fat man was taken away by the police to make a record, and he never came back. In the middle of the night, on the passageway between two train cars, Crab Claw, who had removed her makeup, came looking for Li Huqiu.

  Crab claw: "How's it going? Are you willing to admit defeat?"

  Li Huqiu: "What you took away was just a small thing, the big stuff on his body is still intact, don't tell me you can't see that he has something tied to his leg."

  Crab pincer's son exclaimed: "Didn't you say that was a urine bag?"

  Li Huqiu smiled and said, "A urine bag is a urine bag, things are things. The fat kid was taken away by the traffic police, when he comes back I'll show you an incredible move!" Crab claw looked at him with suspicion but didn't say anything.

  Abandoned by his parents, he became a thief, but Li Huqiu still lived a happy and persistent life. In his world, apart from the thieves mentioned earlier, there was also the joy of constant challenge and the yearning for the outside world. If drifting and colorful were synonymous, if plainness and stability meant stagnant water, Li Huqiu would definitely choose the former.

  The fat guy was sent back by the police, looking energetic and refreshed! It turned out that he had run to the police's duty room and slept for a long time. In front of the police, it was difficult to make a move at this time, and the difficulty increased by more than a hundred times. Li Huqiu had a smile of youthful arrogance on his face, relying on his high skills and boldness, like an American football player, he rushed into the fat guy, and in an instant, Li Huqiu's hands were like arrows shot out, drawing a circle on the fat guy's body. He seemed to be in a sorry state as he stepped over the fat guy who had been knocked to the ground by him. The whole process took only ten seconds or so. The fat guy was still unaware of what had happened, and Li Huqiu turned around and said "sorry" with a smile at the police officer. Then he walked calmly into the aisle between the cars. He handed over the ten plastic bags emitting a strong body odor from his arms to Lao Zei, who was waiting there. "Get off the bus, this case has blown up, and this bus must be turned upside down." Lao Zei said that they were almost at Gangcheng, and he just happened to have a friend to visit, and he also wanted to participate in the competition.

  The train just arrived at Gangcheng, Liaoning, and Laozei Crab Claw pulled Li Huqiu down from the car together. Crab Claw excitedly said: "Good brother, what's the name of this move? Such a wonderful trick is unheard of and unseen!"

  Li Huqiu took over the valuables on Pangzi's body, weighed them in his hand and said: "Let's go, find a place to spend this money."

  Gangcheng Orphanage, Lao Zei and Xie Zhai'er accompanied Li Huqiu to donate the money. Xie Zhai'er asked Li Huqiu: "Younger brother, didn't you say that your family still owed external debts? Why not repay the debt first after receiving the money?"

  Li Huqiu shook his head and said, "This money doesn't come from a good place. If we waste it or spend it on ourselves, that's even more unjustified. Spending it here, heaven can see, won't blame us. I, Li Huqiu, am an orphan, relying solely on heaven's blessing to survive by eating at many people's homes. Besides heaven, the person who deserves my gratitude the most is man. Life is a play, and spending money within the play is a crucial matter. Don't wait until the curtain call, or all the money will turn into paper."

  Crab paws and his friend made an appointment, and the two of them found a small wine house to wait.

  "My life can be a bit more arrogant, I want to be a poor man who has spent over 10 billion in this lifetime!" Li Huqiu made a loud statement after drinking several cups of wine in the small tavern. At the age of 16 or 17, he was burdened with heavy psychological pressure and looked like an old man, but after a few cups of wine, his youthful recklessness emerged. Crab Claw glanced around and saw two people sitting at another table staring over here, doing a low-key job as a thief, Crab Claw pinched Li Huqiu's hand and said: "You'd better say less, wait for Big Dingzi to come, we'll get on the train, then you can be as arrogant as you want."

  Li Huqiu's eyes suddenly cleared, and he chuckled in a low voice: "At my age, I don't mind being reckless for a while. Otherwise, by the time you reach your age, there will be much less joy even in reminiscing."

  A man with a full head of white hair, but a ruddy complexion and a straight figure, looking to be in his fifties, walked into the small wine shop. He looked around and quickly spotted the table where Crab Claw and Li Huqiu were sitting. He walked over and said to Crab Claw, "Old Xie!" The two men shook hands warmly, without any pretentious greetings. Crab Claw introduced Li Huqiu to him, this was the infamous Da Dingzi, known as the ancestor of the Northeastern thieves. To be honest, both I and your master Hao Cui are his juniors.

  That year, the thief's reputation was somewhat notorious, but if he really had superb skills, it was actually a very capitalistic job. One person, one pair of hands, one set of cowboy clothes, and a journey wandering the world. In Da Dingzi's body, Li Huqiu seemed to see the return of the prodigal son.

  Dà Dǐngzi was very talkative, didn't read many books but excelled in having a wide range of knowledge and experiences. What's more, he could be called a righteous thief. He told Li Hǔqiū about the three principles of not stealing, and Li Hǔqiū found them quite reasonable after listening.

  The elderly, women and children cannot be stolen; Li Huqiu suddenly thought of the evil idea that monks, Taoist priests, and women should not be enemies, and once they are enemies, they must have external means. Da Dingzi explained to him why it was impossible to steal, and Li Huqiu understood from the literal meaning and immediately expressed his understanding.

  In times of crisis and danger, one cannot steal; these four words often concern life and death, and most of the money on such people's bodies is for saving lives. Human life is precious, so one cannot steal.

  People with kindness and virtue cannot be stolen; people's hearts are downward, kind-hearted people are hard to come by, and they will encounter thieves when they go out. Over time, it is difficult to avoid cooling down the heart and extinguishing the charitable spirit, making the world increasingly cold.

  Li Huqiu said that Da Dingzi must be a man with stories, and Da Dingzi just smiled and said it was the last time he went out to work, actually for the woman at home. He told Li Huqiu that if one day there is a woman willing to have children for you, then you should immediately get rid of all wandering thoughts and stay by her side. Li Huqiu didn't think much of this sentence.

  Five days later, the three of them arrived in Shencheng together.