Chapter 25 He is a good man, but he meets a demon on the road
"This old man has caught a cold, cough... cough... I hope you will forgive me, sir."
The old man surnamed Zhu chuckled awkwardly, his face full of ingratiation.
On the bed lay a child of about three or five years old, huddled under the covers, trembling and looking at Li Xian and the others with fear.
The house was simple, but it could barely keep out the cold wind. However, as soon as Zhao Dachun opened the door, the cold wind blew into the house, and the warmth that had been painstakingly built up was instantly blown away.
Li Xian closed the door behind him.
The chill subsided slightly, and Zhao Dachun was taken aback, feeling greatly displeased. "This kid is always causing trouble. If we don't let them get a chill, how will they pay their rent quickly?"
"Ahem." Zhao Dachun glanced around, then looked away. "Where's your Xiao Zhu? Where has she hidden away in the middle of winter?"
The old man surnamed Zhu said sadly, "My son... my son... was eaten by a mountain tiger. Only this old man and his grandson are left."
"Father! Father, you died so tragically!" The child on the bed wailed.
"Good child, good child, don't cry, don't cry, cough cough... We depend on each other for survival, you still have your grandpa." The old man hurriedly ran to comfort his grandson.
"I see," Zhao Dachun said with a smile. "That's quite pitiful. The last time I saw him, he was full of energy. I never expected his life to be so short. People can't come back to life. Please accept my condolences."
Hearing these sarcastic remarks, the Zhu family grandfather and grandson were filled with sorrow, but dared not utter a single word in rebuttal.
However…
"Even though the person is dead, the rent still has to be paid. Playing the victim trick with me won't work."
"Hurry up and deliver grain if you have any, or pay money if you don't."
Zhao Dachun said in a cold voice.
"Yes...yes...we've been preparing for this, just waiting for you to arrive, sir." The old man surnamed Zhu took off his shoes and carefully removed a few copper coins.
“Your family rents ten mu of land from the lady. Each mu requires half a shi of grain, so ten mu would be five shi, which translates to two taels of silver.”
Zhao Dachun was illiterate, but he was extremely adept at converting money and grain.
"Yes...yes...this old man understands, understands."
The old man went to the bedside, turned the pillow over, and took out a few pieces of silver from the inner pocket.
After searching high and low in the room, he finally managed to scrape together two taels of silver. All his savings were gone.
"Well, that's pretty straightforward." Zhao Dachun collected the rent, his eyes darted around, but he didn't leave.
“Grandpa…you…” The old man surnamed Zhu looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"I traveled all this way to deliver your rent money, and what? You don't even pay me for running errands?" Zhao Dachun glared at him.
“This…” the old man surnamed Zhu said with difficulty, “But we really have nothing left. We only have some food left for the winter, and the grandfather and grandson are counting on it to get through the winter.”
"No?" Zhao Dachun slammed his hand on the table and stood up angrily. "I think you just don't want to give it to me! Fine, you ingrate, do you think I, Zhao Dachun, am easy to bully?"
"Sir, I'm innocent, sir!" The old man surnamed Zhu knelt down with a thud, begging for mercy humbly, "This old man kneels down and kowtows to you, I really wouldn't dare to lie to you."
"You son of a bitch!" Zhao Dachun cursed. "Your son's dead, what's the point of leaving him that little bit of money for his coffin? Just behave yourself..."
As they were talking, someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder. Zhao Dachun knew it was Li Xian, and since he also harbored some resentment towards him, he immediately cursed:
"Fuck you, I've put up with you for too long!" He shrugged, trying to shake Li Xian's hand off.
Unexpectedly, Li Xian's hand was like a suction cup.
"Well, you little brat, you really think you're something special!?" Zhao Dachun's internal energy surged, and his shoulders trembled again.
But he found that his internal energy had vanished like a mud ox entering the sea. Li Xian exerted a little force, pressing down with his internal energy.
Zhao Dachun's face turned pale and then flushed, and he felt a sharp pain in his heart.
"This kid... his internal energy cultivation is even higher than mine. Could it be... that he has already mastered a certain martial art and reached the minor completion stage?!" Zhao Dachun exerted his strength to resist, his whole body trembling slightly.
I'm speechless.
"Now that you've collected the rent, don't waste time on trivial matters."
"Understand?"
Li Xian asked calmly.
Zhao Dachun nodded, and Li Xian withdrew his inner energy, letting out a soft breath. Zhao Dachun felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders and slumped into the wooden chair.
After a moment, he finally had the strength to curse:
“We’re both guards, and we got along quite well before. We’re practically brothers. I’ve never seen anyone like you offend a brother for the sake of a lowly peasant like you.”
Li Xian said coldly, "Since we're not on the same path, why bother with formalities? Let's go."
Zhao Dachun rushed out the door, cursing his bad luck, and found himself in a group with Li Xian.
Li Xian was about to leave when he suddenly saw that the grandfather and grandson were emaciated. One had lost his father at an early age, and the other had lost his son in his later years. Their lives were extremely tragic.
He took out two dry biscuits from his pocket and tossed them to the grandfather and grandson.
Without saying a word, he turned and left.
"The world is a dangerous place, and I am no saint; I cannot help everyone."
"But doing what you can and having a clear conscience is not difficult."
Li Xian strode away. He could go with the flow of the world while still maintaining some personal support.
Foolish kindness is not advisable; Li Xian has his own considerations regarding the appropriate measure.
The grandfather and grandson leaned against the window, watching the figure in the wind and snow.
This security guard... seems a little different.
...
There are more than 100 households in the longevity village. By the time the rent was collected, it was already close to evening.
The group gathered at the village entrance, ate some dry food and drank some water, and prepared to return the way they came.
"Brother Zhao, what's wrong? You look so downcast. Did you not receive your commission?"
Seeing that Zhao Dachun was sullen, Qiao Dashou, out of curiosity, leaned over and asked.
"Sigh, I've met the wrong person, I have nothing to say." Zhao Dachun mumbled, then waved his hand.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but you're too greedy. You even dare to pocket the money yourself."
"Yes, that's against the rules. Don't worry, Brother Zhao, we'll stand up for you."
The guards understood immediately and all looked at Li Xian.
Feng Huo frowned. "The new guy always gets a 30/70 split of the pay, he never embezzles. He should at least give Da Chun a share."
Zhao Dachun said sullenly, "What are you going to give me? I didn't even get paid for the service."
"Confiscated?" Everyone was dumbfounded. Zhao Dachun explained the reason in detail, and after hearing it, everyone looked at Li Xian as if he were an alien.
They all unconsciously took a step back.
Li Xian ignored it completely and didn't care at all.
Charging "transportation fees" is an unspoken rule, a way for the bodyguards to earn extra income, and one of their methods of making money. He knew what he was doing and was aware of the consequences.
"Alright, let's leave it at that."
"It's getting dark, let's hurry back to the village."
Feng Huo glanced at the sky, unwilling to get entangled in the matter, and led everyone on their way back.
After traveling seven or eight li, we passed by a mountainside. I don't know if it was because the mountain was high and the wind was strong, or because the yin energy was thick.
Upon reaching this point, the wind and snow intensified, making the road very difficult to traverse.
It was already dark, and the wind and snow were fierce, stinging their faces. Feng Huo walked at the front, and although he had been urging them on from time to time, he had fallen silent at some point.
The guard named Ye Xiaoluo suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"You bastard, you're just a burden!"
“Hey new guy, you’re strong, carry him on your back.”
Feng Huo said with a hint of anxiety.
Li Xian frowned and looked around. "Headguard Feng...did you hear footsteps?"
"Nonsense! We're all grown men, of course we make footsteps when we walk," Feng Huo cursed.
Li Xian, however, could tell that Feng Huo was afraid. His fear of a sudden blizzard suggested he must have encountered something during it.
At this moment... he was clearly worried about something, but he didn't mention it to anyone.
“My hearing is very sharp; I clearly heard footsteps, but they didn’t come from the eight of us.”
“Something… is following us from behind. With Feng Huo's experience, he should be able to offer some advice. But he pretends to be relaxed, acting as if he doesn't know…”
"This means he prioritizes self-preservation. If I'm not mistaken, he might use this as an excuse to run away." Li Xian narrowed his eyes.
As expected.
"Damn it, I drank too much water and I really need to pee. You guys wait here for a bit, I'm going to take a piss," Feng Huo cursed.
"Self-preservation is the best policy..." Li Xian glanced at everyone and then exaggeratedly shouted, "Oh dear, I need to pee too, Master Feng, wait for me!"
(End of this chapter)
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