Chapter 478 Blackmail
Someone outside the alley seemed to be looking over here with suspicion, but just took a quick glance and walked away.
Mu Qing warned, "If you scream again, I'll cut off your tongue!"
The young man shrank his neck, not daring to say another word, but still glared at Hu Xin'er angrily: "Don't be so arrogant, I have people outside. If you don't let me go in time, my partner will report me to the police, and then you will be in big trouble!"
After Hu Xin'er finished reading, she threw the book in front of him and said, "We should report this to the police, right?"
"Okay, go report it!" The young man shouted with his neck stiffened, but his eyes clearly showed guilt.
Hu Xin'er understood immediately: "You've been pirating books for a while now, haven't you? Have you ever been arrested by the government before?"
"You're the pirate! Your whole family is a pirate!" The young man jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I'm selling genuine books, worth a fortune. It's you thieves who want to steal books without paying that should be arrested by the authorities."
Hu Xin'er was so angry at his stubborn attitude that she almost laughed: "It's worth a thousand gold, are you sure?"
The young man nodded vigorously. "Everyone who has seen it says it's great. Even the out-of-print collections in the capital are being sold for a hundred taels of silver per set! The government convicts people based on value. You stole so many books, enough to put you in jail from this life to the next!"
It is true that the price of a set of them was raised to 100 taels of silver.
Hu Xiner thought to herself, it seems that what the young man said about having been to the capital city is not unreasonable. At least he understands the market situation of comic books in the capital city, instead of just printing and selling them randomly.
So, this means that the crime was committed by an organized and planned gang?
This must not be missed!
She boasted bluntly, "The original version of this comic is naturally worth a fortune, but your pirated copy is so crude and low-quality that I wouldn't buy it even for ten cents."
"You're talking nonsense!" The young man couldn't help but curse after hearing her insult his book again and again. "Even if it costs more than 10 cents, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand."
"If I don't understand, no one in this world will understand." Hu Xiner snorted.
The young man, grabbed by the collar by Mu Qing, suddenly slowed his struggles upon hearing this. He looked Hu Xin'er up and down. "I finally understand. You're not really interested in buying comics. Who are you? Who sent you here?"
The boy thought that it was his competitor or enemy who sent people to suppress his business.
Unexpectedly, Hu Xin'er raised her eyebrows and said, "I am the author of this book!"
The boy was stunned: "Are you Hu Xin'er?"
Hu Xin'er suddenly remembered that she couldn't reveal her identity, so she quickly changed her words and said, "The author...is a subordinate of the Princess Chang, her best friend."
The boy was speechless: "Why are you acting so high and mighty? Aren't you just working for someone else?"
Hu Xin'er confidently made up a story: "I am a subordinate of the eldest princess. I have come to various places to investigate the business environment. If you pirate my books, I will sue you and make you lose everything."
The boy muttered quietly, "I was wondering why she was dressed so well but was so stingy."
"What did you say?" Hu Xiner frowned.
The young man's expression changed instantly, and he said with a smile, "Nothing, I just said that I didn't pirate it. I just bought it from another bookstore and then sold it casually."
"Take me to that bookstore now," Hu Xin'er emphasized, "It's the one called Mu Xin Comics Store."
"Hey, what's so good about that shop?" The boy shook his head. "I know a better shop. Let's go there."
Hu Xin'er denied: "Let's go to this place!"
She wanted to see who dared to impersonate her own comic book store.
The young man didn't expect that he would be so unlucky. He could run into the real owner just by selling comics.
Under pressure from the two men, he led them through the alley dejectedly.
Hu Xiner was ready to try. She felt that it would be impossible for her to close the comic book store on her own.
However, she could ask the comic book store to change its name and reopen, or threaten to sue the authorities and extort money from them.
In short, she planned to use the power of the eldest princess to make a fortune from the unscrupulous pirated merchant.
Thinking about this, her mood suddenly brightened and she even started humming a song.
The boy in front of me was wearing a bulky fur coat that didn't fit his body shape, so he walked in a funny way with a swaying gait.
He had a delicate appearance, the most striking feature of which was his pair of gorgeous almond-shaped eyes, with a small mole under his eye. He looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, but he was quite tall.
Every time he glared at someone, his stubborn and unyielding look made him look like a little phoenix. If a lustful rich woman saw him, she would inevitably want to keep this young man as a treasure and pamper him.
Thinking of this, Hu Xin'er couldn't help but smile. Where did a phoenix come from in such a small place like Qingzhou? This young man was at best just a gorgeous pheasant.
"Are we almost there?" Hu Xiner couldn't help but feel a little doubtful as she saw them getting further and further away from the bustling streets.
The young man didn't even turn his head, but growled at Mu Qing in annoyance, "Don't pull me!"
Mu Qing said coldly: "Be honest."
His hand was grabbing the boy's sleeve to prevent him from running away.
The young man was looking around all the way. He said he was looking at the road, but who could know what his intentions were?
However, he seemed to be very afraid of Mu Qing. Every time he was threatened, he would quickly look up at Mu Qing and then shrink back. More often, he would hunch over and not dare to look up at all.
After hearing Mu Qing's light rebuke, he really became obedient, but the resentment around him became even stronger. "This place is still far from the comic book shop. You two idiots, you chose to go far away instead of the closer one, making me suffer the cold here."
Since the journey was still long, Hu Xiner slowed down and prepared to chat with the young man.
"You don't look very old, why do you choose to do this job?" she asked curiously.
The young man didn't want to pay attention to her at first, but after being glared at by Mu Qing, he finally spoke reluctantly: "That's it."
Hu Xiner looked at him a few more times and felt that judging from his appearance alone, this young man was definitely not someone who had no future and could only be a pirated bookseller.
"It's quite good that you've experienced so much at such a young age." She then asked, "But you're so delicate and tender. If conditions permit, you should go back to school as soon as possible."
It was unknown what triggered this young man's reaction, and he angrily said, "I don't want to study!"
After saying this, he never said another word.
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