Chapter 0084 Becoming an Amulet Dealer
Frank Fang propped up Kanzy's limp body, shaking him violently and screaming his name. But there was no response. Kanzy's eyes remained open, fixed in a stare of lingering defiance, as if he himself were bewildered by the inexplicable impulse that had driven him to jump.
Brother Yao spat out a curse. "Useless! What kind of 'Master' dies the moment he starts? He just ruined my plans!"
Frank Fang flared with rage. "Do you treat everyone like dogs? He did your dirty work without question, and you curse him even in death?"
Brother Yao raised his pistol, aiming it directly at Frank's forehead. "Who the hell do you think you are, talking back to me?"
Just then, two bodyguards rushed over, panic-stricken. "Brother Yao! Over a dozen cars are coming this way. It looks like Fat Dong's men!"
Brother Yao's bravado vanished. "Are you sure?"
"It has to be. I recognize the cars Fat Dong's brothers drive. We need to hide, now!" Brother Yao didn't hesitate. He gestured frantically, ushering the young wife and his guards into the cars, and they sped off into the night.
Frank Fang used his hand to gently close Kanzy's eyes. As he did, the roar of engines echoed from the street corner. With a heavy heart, he left Kanzy's side and sprinted into a dark alleyway across the street.
Several cars screeched to a halt in front of the nightclub. While most continued the pursuit of Brother Yao, a few men stepped out of the lead vehicle. From his hiding spot in the shadows, Frank saw them clearly. Among them was Master Chen Gui from the Dawu Mountains.
The men approached Kanzy. Master Chen Gui knelt down, peeled back Kanzy's eyelids, and began murmuring to the man beside him. Frank was too far away to hear, but the sight chilled him to the bone. Fearing he would be caught, he didn't dare stay a moment longer. He turned and slipped away into the darkness.
Back in Pingtung, Master Chen Gui had already questioned Frank about Kanzy. Frank hadn't told the truth then, but it was clear the Master had been suspicious. Now, seeing Kanzy's body, Chen Gui would undoubtedly inform Fat Dong. Fat Dong wouldn't just be hunting Brother Yao; he would be scouring Taipei for Frank Fang.
Flight to the Land of Smiles
Frank didn't dare linger in Taiwan. He gathered all his cash and secured a clandestine passage back to Southeast Asia. He agonized over where to settle. Vietnam was too chaotic, Cambodia too impoverished, and Malaysia was a no-go for him. Singapore's strict laws made it too easy to be exposed, and Indonesia and the Philippines had a history of anti-Chinese sentiment.
That left Thailand.
It wasn't as poor as its neighbors, it was resource-rich, and the legal environment was relatively lax. It was also a place where a man with his "talents" could thrive. While gambling was technically illegal, underground dens were everywhere, and the sex industry was booming. After drifting through several countries, Frank Fang finally arrived in Thailand.
He spent time scouting various cities—Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Bangkok, Rayong, Khon Kaen—before deciding on Pattaya. It was perpetual summer there, the scenery was beautiful, and the massive influx of tourists made it easy to hide his identity. He settled into an apartment complex and set about reinventing himself.
Frank Fang possessed the survival instincts of a cockroach; he knew exactly how to adapt to any environment. Since Thai and Cantonese share some linguistic roots, he became conversational in Thai within three months. Leveraging his sharp intuition, he quickly mapped out every gambling den, KTV, nightclub, and sauna in the surrounding streets.
He didn't dare return to Guangdong; he was still a wanted man for the murder years ago. The money he had would last him a few years in Thailand, but Frank wasn't one to sit still. He frequented an underground gambling den near his home, and within two months, he was on first-name terms with the owner and the regulars.
The Gambling Tattoo
Frank was a skilled gambler, but he noticed a regular named Sangchai who, despite having mediocre skills, won consistently. Frank lost a significant amount to him and suspected cheating, but he could never catch him in the act.
One night over drinks, another gambler whispered the secret: Sangchai had visited a powerful Black Robe Ajarn. The Master had tattooed a "Wealth-Attracting Secret Incantation" on Sangchai's back.
Frank was intrigued. He had dealt with sorcerers before but didn't know the local terminology. "What's an 'Ajarn'?" he asked.
"It just means 'Master,'" the gambler explained. "We call both sorcerers and practitioners 'Ajarn.'"
"And what does 'Black Robe' mean? Is it just their fashion sense?"
The gambler laughed. "Black Robe Ajarns specialize in the Dark Arts and the creation of Shadow Amulets (Yin items). White Robe Ajarns practice the Righteous Path and make positive amulets. Look, I wear a Buddha amulet myself, but it's not as powerful as Sangchai's. It hasn't done much for me." He pulled an amulet from his shirt to show Frank.
Frank looked at it and realized—the late Kanzy had been a practitioner of the Dark Arts. By local standards, Kanzy would have been considered a Black Robe Ajarn.
Frank began to cultivate a friendship with Sangchai. He observed that Sangchai was a typical gambler: shallow, competitive, and easily led. Frank treated him to dinners and saunas, earning his trust. One night, while drunk, Sangchai finally spilled the beans. His father had a connection with a Master who had performed the tattoo. This Black Robe Master, known as Ajarn Pong, lived in seclusion in Ban Bueng, southeast of Bangkok.
Ajarn Pong was highly skilled but rarely saw visitors. Even with the family connection, he had charged Sangchai nearly 100,000 Thai Baht—a fortune back in 1993.
Frank saw his opportunity when Sangchai lost a massive hand and couldn't pay. Frank covered the debt. "It's nothing," Frank said. "But if you introduce me to Ajarn Pong so I can get a tattoo like yours, you don't have to pay me back."
Sangchai eagerly agreed.
The Ritual of Blood and Ash
Under Sangchai's lead, Frank met Ajarn Pong in Ban Bueng. The Master seemed cold toward strangers, but Frank immediately turned on the charm, expressing his "long-standing admiration" for the Master's work. Flattery worked even on a sorcerer.
When Frank asked for a wealth-attracting tattoo, Ajarn Pong mentioned he was developing a new formula for a Dark Magic Tattoo. He warned that its effectiveness was untested, but it would cost 20,000 Baht.
Frank decided to gamble. He agreed to let the Master use him as a test subject. The ritual used a specially prepared liquid containing a horrific list of ingredients: Corpse oil from two gamblers who had committed suicide by hanging, water from rusted coffin nails, the venom of a white-spotted black spider, and oil from a gecko's skin.
Ajarn Pong explained the logic: the white spots on the spider resembled dice, shifting one's luck; the gecko was a "wealth-attracting insect"; and the corpse oil harnessed the desperate, unfulfilled desire of the deceased to win, tethering that obsession to the wearer.
The tattooing itself felt like nothing at first, and the pattern was invisible. But hours later, a searing, white-hot pain erupted across Frank's back. The pattern began to shift in color—from gray to black, then black to a blood-red. Frank spent two days rolling on the floor in agony while Ajarn Pong's disciples doused his back with cold water to keep the fever down.
A New Calling
Once the pain subsided, Frank's luck skyrocketed. He was already a good gambler, but now he was untouchable. Whether it was cards, dice, or tiles, he won every major hand. Eventually, word got around Pattaya, and no one would sit at a table with him.
Frank began to regret getting such a powerful mark. He briefly considered moving to Macau or the Philippines to clean out the casinos there, but he realized he couldn't be the only one with such a charm. Running into a more powerful Master would be a death sentence.
But he didn't need the casinos anymore. He had seen a better way to make money: The Amulet Business.
Nearly half of the gamblers he knew wore amulets or had protective tattoos. Thais firmly believed these items brought fortune and safety. Frank saw a business with low physical risk and high profit margins—as long as you had the right "source."
He struck a deal with Ajarn Pong. The Master practiced the Dark Arts partly out of curiosity and partly for money, but he hated dealing with people. With Frank acting as his "agent" and middleman, they could both get rich.