Chapter 186

Bei Qiao had met her once, but wasn't particularly familiar with her. This girl wasn't ranked particularly high, nor was she particularly low, within the Qiuhua Sect. Her middle position always made her seem unremarkable. Furthermore, she wasn't very talkative, seemed introverted to the point of being autistic, and her appearance wasn't particularly striking, which made her leave even less of an impression.

"Huh, thank you..." Seeing the other party take the initiative to distance himself, the girl breathed a sigh of relief, raised her head and glanced at Bei Qiao quickly, then quickly lowered her head and continued to introduce herself with her eyes downcast.

Don't be fooled by her timid look, she is actually quite capable in fighting, otherwise Qiuhua Sect wouldn't dare to send this disciple who finds it difficult to communicate with others out to gain experience.

The girl wasn't a talkative person, nor did she like to take credit. Because the mask on Bei Qiao's face was different from before, and his demeanor had also changed slightly, the girl didn't recognize Bei Qiao as the man she had met briefly at the Chamber of Commerce and who had helped Qiu Huamen. After stuttering and giving a somewhat unsuccessful self-introduction, she walked away, her head hanging low against the wall.

According to the normal process, the girl should have introduced her own sect and see if she could establish some connections, but that was her personality and she simply couldn't do that. This unsuccessful self-introduction was already her social limit, and she couldn't hold on any longer if she said a few more words.

Seeing that the girl didn't recognize her, Bei Qiao didn't say anything to remind her. Unlike the protagonists in martial arts novels who loved making friends, she preferred to observe others from the sidelines. Of course, as someone who stood out even with a mask, she was also the subject of observation.

"Hey, you! Yes, it's you!" Just when Bei Qiao was about to change his observation point, a man who walked unsteadily suddenly stood up and blocked Bei Qiao's way: "It must be you!"

Oh, trouble is coming. I don’t know whose spare tire or bootlicker this person is... Bei Qiao slowly raised his head, oh no, he lowered his head to look at the other person, raised his eyebrows behind the mask, without saying a word, looking at the other person calmly: Go ahead, I’m listening.

This man's features were quite attractive, and his build wasn't too thin, making him a decent-looking guy among ordinary people. However, when he stood across from the taller Bei Qiao, his attractiveness became ordinary. Even more disastrous, he was wearing the same color clothes as Bei Qiao, making him look like a failed buyer's show at first glance.

Realizing that he was not as tall as Bei Qiao, and his aura was not as strong as Bei Qiao's, the man covered his mouth with his fan and gritted his teeth. Then he straightened his back and continued to look at Bei Qiao: "You are really pretending to be wearing a mask at this hour!"

Bei Qiao lowered his head again and looked at the fan that was constantly waving in the other person's hand, with a blank expression: Fanning in such a cold weather, who is pretending to be...

From beginning to end, Bei Qiao remained silent, only bowing his head twice. However, it was this behavior that infuriated the self-important yet ineffective man: "What do you mean by this? Are you provoking me?"

What do you mean? Bei Qiao tilted his head, and without waiting for the other party to make any other reaction, he turned around and left on the spot: No way, no way, no one would think that I would follow the plot of a martial arts novel. Be rational and reasonable, be angry and slap in the face. Sorry, it doesn't exist... I don't even bother to care!

"Fuck you...ah!" Seeing that Bei Qiao wasn't fazed by him, the man got hot-headed and leaped over to punch him. Bei Qiao, already on guard, dodged sideways and grabbed the man's wrist. He twisted it, threw him, and finally kicked him. The man screamed and was thrown out, sliding ten meters along the deck.

"Look, look, someone's fighting..." Nearby passengers heard the noise and quickly gathered around, attempting to watch the fight. However, Bei Qiao didn't seem to have any intention of continuing the fight. He simply knocked the man down and left. The man wasn't much of a fighter, either. He yelled as he flew out, then lay motionless after landing. It wasn't clear if he'd fainted or was too embarrassed to stand up in public.

"Ah, this... this person couldn't be dead!" The staff member passing by Bei Qiao couldn't help but mutter.

"No, the major artery in his neck is still beating, and his eyes are moving under his eyelids." Bei Qiao mouthed to the staff in front of him, and his former captain said: He's pretending to be fainted.

"Oh, that's all right," the staff member nodded and stepped forward to help the man up. Seeing that his eyes were tightly closed, the staff member knew he was trying to continue pretending to be unconscious. He didn't point it out, but pretended to be unaware and made attempts to wake him up. Seeing that he refused to wake up, the staff member called another colleague to get a stretcher and carried him away on the spot.

Why didn't they fight anymore?... Everyone watched with regret as the man left on the stretcher. Yes, it wasn't just Bei Qiao; the onlookers who were standing close by could tell he was feigning unconsciousness. The onlookers weren't familiar with the man, nor with Bei Qiao. So, unlike the stories in the novels, they weren't incited to embarrass one side or the other, acting as the so-called rationalists. Instead, they happily watched from the sidelines, occasionally commenting.

Regardless of whether they were right or wrong, their evaluation of this man was not good: not only did he provoke her, but he also pretended to be unconscious. Not only did he pretend to be unconscious, but he also didn't act like one at all. He has no character, and his brains are not good either. Sigh...

"I told you she would hit people, but you still rushed forward. How stupid." On the other side of the deck, the woman who had previously tried to flirt with Bei Qiao but failed, wrapped her cloak tightly around her body and quietly rolled her eyes at the man who was being carried away: This dog is a bit stupid, should we replace it?

Bei Qiao, who was not far from the woman, said: No one cares about this. It seems that he is not a spare tire, but just a bootlicker.

The man who jumped out to provoke but failed became the new topic of conversation among the passengers. During dinner, in addition to discussing the gold-selling ship they encountered today, they would occasionally complain about the bootlicker who failed to pretend to be cool.

I don't know who coined the term "licking dog," but after it became widely known, everyone thought it was quite useful. In life, many people have more or less seen or heard of licking dogs. People who have a good relationship with licking dogs will probably try to persuade them, but those who can't persuade them or don't know them at all will just watch it as a joke.

The indigenous children were more interested in the players. They didn't understand how these people could resist the bad guys outside, but they envied the players' skills and courage: "How did you do it?"

"How did you do that?" The player who was chatting enthusiastically with his sworn brother looked at the child in confusion.

"That's it, hey ha!" The child spread his legs and made punching and kicking movements.

"Oh, fighting. I paid someone to teach me." The player waved his hand and said, "Practice hard every day. After that, it all depends on your talent."

"Can I be a thug on the ship like this?" the child said with anticipation.

"If thugs are needed on board." The player picked up the teacup and took a sip of water: Anyway, the official ship does not need native thugs.

"Then when will they need thugs?" the child persisted in asking, only to be forcibly silenced by the adults next to him: "Shut up and eat your food... Sorry, ignore him. He just doesn't like that he couldn't see you fighting during the day, so he's looking for trouble here!"

"No!"

"It's not what it is! You're still stubborn!" The adult glared at the child: "You want to be a thug, right? Then do horse stance after dinner! Don't just talk! You..."

"Hmph!" The child angrily threw his chopsticks under the table, jumped off the stool and ran away.

"This... aren't we going to pursue this?" The players at their table looked at the child, then at the child's parents: How did it suddenly become like this? Should I try to persuade them?

"No need to chase, there is only so much space on the boat, you can't run away... Ouch!" The other party was still trying to be stubborn, but after being kicked by his wife, he immediately put down his bowl and chased after her.

After the departure of the Gold-Smelting Ship, the ship remained much the same as before, save for the absence of a familiar figure at the mahjong table. Although officials like the county magistrate were aboard, there was no official bullying of the people, nor was there a third person attempting to harm the magistrate.

As night fell, the ship became even more bustling. At its current speed, the ship would arrive at its next port tomorrow, Bei Qiao's destination: Chuzhou City. As long as the information on the forum was correct, Bei Qiao would be able to find an official chamber of commerce there that functioned as a bank.

"I hope I can gain something." Bei Qiao twirled the knuckles of the puppet she had hung below her fan. "I almost forgot. The original purpose of playing 'Another World Martial Arts' was to pan for gold. Now that I'm on the road, I keep getting distracted by random things. During this time, apart from a few hundred taels of silver, a small courtyard, and a security company, I haven't made any real money. It's a bit of putting the cart before the horse."

Other players still struggling in the Novice Village: Listen, is this human language? Get lost, Versailles!

At night, the boat, which had been bustling all day, gradually quieted down. The child who had previously vowed to run away from home and was daydreaming of returning home in glory on the stairs was coaxed back into the house by his parents with a sugar painting, and was punished by standing there happily with the sugar painting in his mouth.

Both the natives and the players went back to their rooms to rest. Only some night owls stayed in the entertainment area and refused to leave. It was not until several parents with children came downstairs and scolded them that they reluctantly moved and ran to the cabin with their mahjong.

The stowaways also wanted to sleep, but the crackling sound of the mahjong tiles was too loud. In the end, the stowaways who couldn't stop them simply joined in: since they couldn't sleep anyway, they might as well stay up all night.

Once the cabin door was closed, the mahjong noises became much quieter. The child who was woken up was coaxed by his family to continue sleeping. Just when he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard the faint sound of the window opening.

"Mom, there's a sound over there at the window..."

"What's that noise? You rat dare, go to sleep."

"It's true..." The child pulled the quilt and looked out the window: "It's not the courage of a mouse! I really heard it!"