"Ellie, Raghaf misses you. He's prepared a lot of interesting props for you. Hopefully, you can stay this calm later."
The dark-skinned middle-aged man licked his lips, staring at Benjamin with the eyes of someone looking at a lamb to the slaughter, as if trying to pierce through Benjamin's jacket.
Benjamin's calm expression displeased him, he was furious!
He would much rather see these loan sharks crying in terror, begging for mercy. That would give him a surge of superiority.
A lowly porter kneeling on the ground, weeping and kissing the earth, was more befitting of his caste.
Calmness required status and position.
The dark-skinned middle-aged man's anger flared.
He reached out to grab Benjamin's jacket, intending to drag him along, forcing him to properly kiss the ground.
The middle-aged man's gaze made Benjamin feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Perhaps you should learn some manners!"
Benjamin slightly dodged the dirty hand, then swiftly reached back with his right hand.
The wrist of another thug who was still blocking his way was grabbed, and Benjamin, gripping his wrist, slammed it into the face of the dark-skinned middle-aged man in front of him.
*Thud, crack! *
Two sounds of bones breaking rang out simultaneously.
The dark-skinned middle-aged man's nose was shattered.
He screamed, clutching his face, and crouched on the ground, blood dripping from between his fingers, staining the soil a vivid red.
Another local ruffian with yellow braids also covered his right hand with his left, placed it on his abdomen, and bent over, crying out in pain.
"I'd be happy to teach you how to be polite!"
The villagers passing by quickly lowered their heads and walked around him.
Some couldn't help but glance back briefly before hurrying on, clearing a four-meter-diameter no-man's-land.
A British soldier at the entrance of an office building in the distance saw what was happening and quickly waved towards the entrance.
In the blink of an eye, another soldier emerged.
The two men leaned against a pillar by the door, lit cigarettes, and took turns puffing while watching and commenting with interest, clearly having no intention of interfering.
Benjamin, watching the two still screaming in pain, said:
"Have you learned it? If so, lead the way!"
"You only have three seconds. You both still have an intact nose and a right hand. Maybe you want to switch roles?"
Hearing this, the dark-skinned middle-aged man, enduring the pain, quickly got up.
He tried to wipe the blood from his nose with his sleeve, but accidentally touched his shattered nose, letting out another cry of pain, tears and snot flowing again.
The middle-aged man with the yellow braid suppressed a cry of pain, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something.
But seeing the gruesome state of the dark-skinned man, the words he uttered became,
"No...we've learned to be polite...Mr. Ellie, I'll take you to Raghaf right now."
"You...come with me."
The middle-aged man with yellow braids panicked and tried to bend down to clasp his hands in a salute, but his fractured right hand could only tremble and weakly meet his left hand.
He quickly pulled the swarthy middle-aged man with his left hand, gave him a look, and turned around to lead the way.
This look, which was full of the implication of settling scores after the event, naturally did not escape Benjamin's sharp eyes, but he didn't care.
The two led Benjamin through the streets and alleys, arriving at a single-story house with red bricks and blue tiles.
The ordinary red brick house, however, appeared somewhat noble against the backdrop of the surrounding dirty, old black stone houses.
"Habib, did you test the hardness of the British Army's car with your face? Is the car alright?!"
A thin, bony young man with dyed, mottled hair asked with a grin, seeing the dark-skinned middle-aged man's miserable state.
"Qiya, stop talking nonsense, where's Boss Raghaf?"
The dark-skinned middle-aged man's eyes were filled with resentment.
"My uncle is in the room, and you can just go in."
The thin young man waved towards the door, looking mockingly at Benjamin following behind him.
He knew there was going to be a good show.
"Come with me."
The yellow-braided man's tone towards Benjamin was no longer respectful.
The dark-skinned middle-aged man and the yellow-braided man didn't say anything more, leading Benjamin through the two guards at the door into the house, their backs straightening as they walked.
"Boss, Ellie's here! He not only refused to pay the interest, but he also injured us! Look!"
The dark-skinned middle-aged man pointed urgently to his crooked nose and blood-covered face the moment he saw Raghaf.
"Yes, Ellie doesn't intend to pay back the money."
"Boss, aren't we short of donkeys for transporting tobacco? I think he'd be perfect."
The man with the yellow braid added.
"Alright, I've arrived. You two hurry up and get your injuries treated. Here need you later."
Benjamin said to the two injured men.
"You... Ellie, don't be arrogant! Boss, you saw his attitude!"
Hearing Benjamin's words, the two men pointed at him with strange and angry expressions.
Benjamin's words made them feel both strange and humiliated.
Inside the bedroom, Raghaf stood before a dark wooden tea table, upon which sat a brass tea set. He was pouring water into teacups from a copper kettle.
Raghaf wore loose, golden trousers, his upper body draped only with an orange scarf around his neck.
His forehead was gleaming, with only a tuft of hair at the back of his head, and his stubble was turning white.
Upon hearing this, Raghaf slowly poured himself a cup of tea before turning to look at Benjamin and his two henchmen.
"Go treat your injuries," Raghaf said softly.
The two henchmen quickly nodded and left. As long as their boss saw their battered state, that was enough.
Raghaf looked at Benjamin,
"Ellie, have you decided how you plan to repay the five times principal interest? It was originally only three times, but you injured my men."
"If you're willing to transport tobacco for me five times, I can waive your interest."
Raghaf finished speaking, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.
The doorway behind Benjamin was blocked by four thugs wielding knives.
"Aren't you curious where Vinayak's gold coins came from?"
Benjamin sized up Raghaf, his brow furrowing slightly.
"What do you mean by that? Do you know? Why don't you go find out yourself?"
Raghaf's expression changed slightly.
He didn't understand how someone of such low caste as Ellie would know this, but perhaps he had discovered it by following Vinayak.
"Do you want me to just tell you?"
Benjamin glanced slightly at the men in the doorway.
"Get out, and close the door."
Raghaf waved for them to leave, closed the door tightly, and then turned his gaze to Benjamin.
"Hey, do you guys think the boss will share the gold coins with us?"
"Have you heard the legend of Tumbbad? Vinayak is a descendant of the Rao family."
"That poor kid Vinayak, he's got a concubine now. I bet he found his ancestor's treasure."
A group of people whispered and discussed outside the closed door, their greed for wealth ingrained in their bones.
"Creak"
Less than three minutes later, the closed bedroom door opened again, and everyone looked into the room expectantly.
Raghaf walked to the mirror, frowned at himself, and massaged his face.
"Boss, what about Ellie? Did you get any information?"
A henchman asked cautiously.
"I got information. As for Ellie, well, isn't that her?"
Raghaf nodded towards the corner of the wall.
"Ah, this..."
The four henchmen glanced at the corner of the wall and simultaneously took a step back in fright.
There lay Ellie's body in the corner, and even more horrifying, Ellie's skin was gone, and the blood on her body was almost dried.
Although the four henchmen were puzzled and terrified, their fear of their boss was even greater, and they dared not ask any more questions.
"Boss, we're back after bandaging ourselves. That Ellie..."
The man with the yellow braid and the dark-skinned middle-aged man happened to come in at that moment, bandaged up.
Following the crowd's gaze, they saw the body and stopped.
"That's Ellie."
A kind person next to them explained.
The fear in their eyes flashed for a moment, then a sense of satisfaction at having avenged their family reunion surfaced.
The terror in their eyes flashed for a moment, and then a sense of pleasure from having avenged their great hatred emerged.
"As expected of Boss Rag, I knew Ellie was dead for sure. Thanks for avenging us, boss," said the man with the yellow braid.
"Yes, we're completely loyal to our boss. We wouldn't even flinch if he ordered us to die," the dark-skinned middle-aged man chimed in.
Benjamin, dressed in Raghaf's skin, looked at the two men pledging their loyalty and nodded with satisfaction.
"Hmm, you've come at the right time. Come with me to find Vinayak later."
"Yes, boss."
The two men exchanged a glance, momentarily forgetting their injuries with excitement. Their boss truly valued them.
The other four men cast envious and jealous glances, their expressions revealing a desire to take their place.
"Qiya, gather all the brothers now. I have arrangements, and everyone will receive a large share of gold coins afterward."
Benjamin said to the thin young man who came in from the doorway.
"Yes, Uncle."
The young man paused, then quickly turned and walked outside.
"Now go buy two sturdy ropes, about 10 meters long."
The dark-skinned middle-aged man nodded in agreement and jogged away.
Benjamin reached out and pinched his belly, and Raghaf's rather large belly made him quite uncomfortable.