Translator:Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor:Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du’s convoy had since expanded. They had eight cars as of today, mostly to facilitate the transport of goods. The Chinese Village had supplied them with the trucks. The people there had no money for gas anyway, so the cars had just been idling in the village.
The incoming convoy was rather sizeable too, with seven or eight cars. On top of that, this convoy seemed to be rather well organized. The cars that were cruising down were all of the same model, Mitsubishi Pajero.
Li Du asked, “Master Pao, who are those people coming towards us? Seems like you know them.”
Zhong Dapao responded, “It’s the King of Jade, grandson of the King of Old Hpakant.”
Li Du knew about the King of Old Hpakant. He did his research on the locals, and the story of the King of Old Hpakant was one of the local legends. His name was Sonam Wenlong, a name that sounded very traditionally Chinese — the man was half-Chinese with Yunnan Tibetan heritage.
However, that was all that people knew about him. Nobody knew anything else — not his hometown or anything specific about who he was. The King of Old Hpakant led his life the same way he led his men — mysteriously.
About 80 years ago, he arrived here. Back then, the jade market had not been as big as it was now. The Second World War had just started and the people’s needs were primarily food and clothing, so such luxuries had been the least of their concerns.
The jade mining industry had not been as developed as it was now so there were not that many people in Hpakant who picked stones for a living back then, unlike today, when there were easily hundreds of thousands. Back then, there were at most a few thousand people in this trade.
After the King of Old Hpakant arrived, he started out as a polishing master. After he earned enough, he bought some land and started his own mining area. Step by step, he became the owner of the biggest quarry in Hpakant, in only thirty years.
In all the information sources that Li Du had managed to obtain, it mentioned that the King of Old Hpakant had an extraordinarily strong capability when it came to identifying jade. Rumor had it that he could sniff out the good rocks. It sounded ridiculous and far-fetched, but it was actually true. Just by sniffing, he could tell if there was jade in the rock. And just like that, he started his empire with this skill. He was able to pick up the scraps in the jade market that others overlooked.
After that, he honed this skill and he built a reputation for himself. Along with the global economic recovery came the rise of the gemstone industry. The King of Old Hpakant’s wealth grew and grew.
His had also started to become increasingly important. Many of the rich in Southeast Asia who liked collecting gemstones would seek him out, to have him collect rocks for but also to have him use that nose of his to sniff out jade.
All the way until twenty years ago when he passed away, his family business grew steadily. The famous areas like Old Hpakant, Xiangdong and Longken used to belong to him at one point. Back then, the three areas were a single entity called ‘Hpakant’, also known as ‘the old area’.
The King of Old Hpakant had immense sway there and his wealth was immeasurable, and even the government and guerrilla troops acknowledged that much. He lived a long, splendid life that spanned a hundred years.
There were rumors amongst the stalls that said the King was blessed by the gods, which was why he had such an extraordinary ability and lived for so long. This was not mere passing conjecture; it was something the man claimed to be true. He said that he saved a mountain deity when he was young and in return, the deity blessed him with a divine sense of smell and longevity.
For a long time, the King went on very confidently, firmly believing he would live to be a hundred and twenty, so he never wrote a will. Ultimately, he passed suddenly when he was a hundred and one. All things considered, the circumstances of his death were rather unexpected. Right before he died, he had still been at the mining area bounding about, feasting and drinking to his heart’s content. One night, he just died.
The death of the King sent the areas into a frenzy.
A man who had power, money, and a fit body would naturally have a host of beautiful ladies surrounding him, and this was another one of the man’s legends. Throughout his lifetime, he had been involved with so many women that it was difficult to keep track, and he had likely fathered forty- or fifty-odd children. However, living to such an old age also meant that he outlived the majority of his children. His children did not inherit his longevity and the bulk of them died in their fifties and sixties. As such, there was this saying in Hpakant: The King of Old Hpakant lived out the time of his children.
Even though most of his children were already dead, a handful was still alive. Those children had sons and daughters of their own, who also went on to have their own children.
An Emperor’s family knows no affection. Even though the King was but a king, one could argue that he was technically an emperor of sorts. And just like any emperor, the children in his family were on very poor terms with each other. This was something he could forcibly suppress while he was still alive, but things spiraled down quickly after his passing.
The following story was a story of brothers falling out. These people initially capitalized on their own strengths to go against each other and consolidate power. As some people lost power, they started looking outwards to forge alliances and retaliate.
The King might have fathered all his children but he was no father figure. Perhaps it was an issue in upbringing, but all his children were scummy and often much too ambitious compared to how competent they actually were. After a decade of internal fighting, they more or less lost to each other. However, on top of not getting the whole inheritance, they lost a lot of it.
The King spent an entire lifetime building his empire only to have his children squander all of it in a mere twenty years. All that remained now in Hpakant was the legend of the King and his good-for-nothing descendants.
Upon hearing from Zhong Dapao that this was a scion of the King, Li Du became curious. “The King was rumored to have had hundreds of grandchildren. Which one is this?”
Zhong Dapao laughed. “Who else could it be? He might have had many grandchildren but most of them are either dead or have run away. Only one remains in Hpakant, the one who calls himself the King of Hpakant, though I don’t actually know what his real name is. The King of Old Hpakant had so many grandchildren, how can someone actually remember every single name?”
Li Du said, “He must be really strong if he’s the only one of his family left here.”
Zhong Dapao had nothing to say. Liu Zi sneered, “He’s one hell of a bootlicker, that’s for sure. You think he’s here because he chased out his aunts and uncles with his own strength? My ass! He’s a puppet supported by the government, they’re just exploiting his name to transfer his grandfather’s legacy assets.”
The other party charged straight for them. The convoy of Pajeros formed a barricade and several tough-looking men stepped out of the car, their faces expressionless and cold as was expected of bodyguards.
Behind them followed a middle-aged man dressed in a white suit. He smiled and put his hands together as he approached Li Du and the people who were in the car. He spoke slowly, “Good morning, everyone. I’m terribly sorry to disturb you, but could I just ask which one of you is Mr. Mao? Do you have a minute?”
Liu Zi spat out the piece of gum in his mouth and made to step out of the car, but Zhong Dapao stopped him. He pushed Da Mao out from behind and said, “Hey, dude, he’s looking for you.”
Da Mao, the inexperienced teen he was, shivered at the scene that was unfolding before him. “What for?”
Zhong Dapao laughed coldly. “What do you think? You’ve got an eye for picking jade, so they’re definitely looking to recruit you. Go on, don’t keep the King of Hpakant waiting.”
