Chapter 141
"It seems that these old clothes are prepared for bandits." Bei Qiao did not get closer and took a detour to leave the street: the village chief probably wanted to reduce the chances of players confronting bandits head-on, so he gave clothes to the bandits in this way to induce them to continue pretending to be ordinary tourists.
Of course, it doesn't matter even if the bandits don't plan to continue pretending to be tourists. You can use any of the Thirty-Six Stratagems and there will always be one that can take them down. If that doesn't work, you can use a chain of strategies. Anyway, there is no need to be ethical when dealing with bandits.
What were the bandits doing now, now dressed in their new clothes? They were browsing the food court. The familiar routes they'd used to raiding the villagers were completely gone. Now, all they could see was the food on the street, and nothing else caught their eye...except for the glittering silver.
The food street was packed with people and delicious food. Though still focused on attacking the village, the bandits, seeing the delicious food lining the streets, could no longer care about anything else. They just sniffed and followed the crowd. The bandit leader walked at the front of the group with a fierce look on his face, raising his arm and rubbing his mouth, which had been covered several times, with his sleeve. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong and turned his head to look behind him.
"Boss"
"...It's okay." The bandit leader looked again and again, but found nothing unusual. There were still so many people around, noisy and crowded, making people dizzy and irritated: Could it be an illusion?
Unbeknownst to the bandit leader, in the direction he was looking, in an alley behind the crowd, several people were using oil-paper umbrellas to cover themselves as they dragged away several fallen bandits. A constable, wearing the same old clothes as the bandits, brushed past them, head bowed as he walked into the crowd, trailing behind the bandits at a distance. At first glance, he looked like a lone bandit, though so clean that he looked a bit out of place.
The bandit leader, not noticing anything unusual, turned around and continued walking in the middle of the street. Although he was confused, he still had things to do and couldn't care less for the moment.
The bandit leader was intent on doing his business in the food court, but the bandits were restless, unable to move, attracted by the aroma of food. A few bolder bandits even ignored the situation and broke away from the group, pushing past other customers at the food stalls to grab the food and start eating.
"Hey? What are you doing?" The out-of-town tourist, squeezed out of the way, stumbled to steady himself, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to start cursing when his companions stopped him: "Calm down!" Can't you see the knives behind their backs? Keep your distance, leave them room to escape first, then start arguing.
"Hey, what are you doing? You haven't paid yet!!" Xishi grabbed the metal basket on the table and waved it fiercely to drive away these bandits.
"Wow, the boss lady is so awesome!" The tourist's companion pulled the person back and gave a thumbs up: Let's not say who should calm down. Normally, you can't see it when it's placed on the table, but it turns out that this steamer is so big. The noise when it is swung is really scary!
"Give me money, sir. I never pay for food! After I finish eating, I'll eat you, little bitch... Damn it, you dare to hit me!"
"I'm going to hit you! How dare you come to my stall to make trouble!" Xishi pulled out a carrying pole from under the table: "Please wait a moment, guests. The next basket of buns will be out of the oven soon." There are so many delicious foods on the street, why do these bastards have to crowd in front of her bun shop? Do they think she, the bun Xishi, looks easy to bully?
"Oh, okay, okay..." The tourists in front of the stall took a few steps back and waited aside, watching the fun: I didn't know before, but the boss lady's beating movements were so beautiful, just like dancing.
Oh, the timing is just right... Bei Qiao, who had just arrived, jumped to a high place: Let's wait until she has had enough before helping her. This angle is indeed suitable for watching the fun.
Xi Shi wielded the carrying pole across the table with great vigor, and for a moment she looked like a lone man standing against ten thousand. Although the bandits were armed with weapons, their machetes were not as long as the carrying pole, so they didn't hit anyone, but they took a lot of beatings.
"They're just trying to make a fool of themselves." Seeing his men being beaten, the bandit leader had no intention of standing up for them. He simply glanced back and continued walking forward, not caring if anyone followed him. He didn't care whether these men could succeed or not. This time, he had his own goal: to become the head of Yuanshan Village.
Massacring the entire village was the act of a reckless man. As long as he replaced the village chief, the entire Yuanshan Village would fall into his hands. Then, he would no longer be a bandit hated by everyone, but a legitimate village official. If he grew tired of being a village official, he could wait outside on the road, intercept a few of the entourage of the prefectural and county magistrates about to take office, seize their positions, and continue his upward climb.
Hundreds of years ago, even the prefects and county magistrates themselves would have been targeted. However, as similar incidents were exposed one after another, the identity verification procedures for new officials became much stricter. County towns with abundant resources even used magical instruments to verify a person's bloodline, making loopholes essentially impossible.
"It's all those bastards' fault. They have narrowed the path for future generations!" The bandit leader pressed the package in his arms, frowned and walked faster and faster: If you can become a high-ranking official, who would be willing to be a village official living in a remote corner? Isn't this just leaving you with no choice?
The bandit leader swiftly walked through the food court, heading for the village chief's house with a clear goal in mind. The locals he had bribed had drawn a simple map for them, and he knew the locations of several important buildings. Next, regardless of whether he could eliminate the village chief or not, he would go to the stables to steal a horse, rob the bank along the way, and then leave.
"Someone really went after the village chief. That traitor is really good at talking." Behind the bandit leader, several constables wearing the same old clothes as the bandits followed quietly without revealing a single flaw.
"What does he want?"
"Maybe they think the village chief is the most powerful official in our village." The locals are unaware of the existence of players, and naturally, of the unique nature of the Novice Village. The Novice Village chief is more of a loudmouthed nanny than a village official, constantly admonishing players like a mother-in-law, telling them not to take risks, to log in early and log off late, and to be even more of a social slave than a company slave.
The constable player was tracking the bandit leader, and the players in the food street were not idle either. Some of them stepped forward to help Xishi fight, and those who couldn't squeeze in quickly helped the players in other stalls to move their stalls to prevent the goods on the stalls from being damaged.
There were so many players and the bandits weren't enough to fight. Bei Qiao, who had already completed a mission, voluntarily left the encirclement and helped the others move tables. This time, the fight was quite loud and affected a wide area. Except for Xishi's bun stall, all other tables had to be moved to nearby shops, otherwise they would be smashed to pieces by the brawlers.
"It's true that the smell of meat attracts beasts more." The player moving the table sighed as he looked at the unscathed bun stall: "Why didn't they overturn the bun stall? Could it be that bandits also selectively show civility and courtesy?"
"They have to be able to lift it. The table in front of Xishi's house is integrated with the steps in front of the door. Together, they are heavier than two stone lions." Xishi was one of the earliest players in the village. She spent a lot of money to make that table. It can't be lifted or broken, and it is specially made to cure bad tempers.
Zhong Tian: Xishi herself actually has this bad temper, but I dare not tell this to others because I cannot offend big customers.
"I guess I wouldn't be willing to lift it even if I could. The buns made by Xishi are so delicious. Just smelling them makes people greedy. It would be a shame to lift them to the ground...ah..." Tang Suyu, who was moving the table, found a little kid under the table and was stunned for a moment: "Whose child are you?"
The little kid squatting under the table playing with his fingers raised his head and looked at Tang Suyu without saying a word.
"you……"
"Woo, wow wow..."
"No, don't cry!" Tang Suyu was instantly at a loss: "Mom, help me! I'm most afraid of crying children! Why are you crying? I didn't do anything!"
Tang Suyu, whose head was aching from the crying, hugged the table and wanted to run away. Seeing this, Bei Qiao jumped to a high place, looked around, found the little boy's parents and brought them back.
"Woo... Wow! The big black bear is eating children!" Seeing his parents coming, the little boy sniffed his nose to hold back his tears. He got up and was about to say something when a big black hand suddenly reached out from the side, passed over his forehead and took the snacks on Tang Suyu's stall. He was so scared that he ran into his family's arms, opened his mouth and started crying. Bei Qiao, who was standing next to him, could even see his tonsils.
Bei Qiao: Doesn’t your chin hurt from crying like that?
"You beg for food, why are you trying to scare our child?" The little boy's parents were so distressed that they hugged their lost and recovered child and coaxed him for a while: "Be good, don't cry, don't cry, your parents are here, they won't let the big black bear eat you." It has been a long time since I saw such an arrogant beggar. No, it has been a long time since I saw a beggar. This is not a war era. If you have hands and feet, can't you go out and work to earn money to support yourself? How shameless!
"Who the hell is begging? I'm robbing!" Startled by the sudden outburst of the little brat's cries, the owner of the big black hand was a beat too slow to act, and ended up missing out on the sugar cake he'd been craving. As the cake stand was taken away, the bandit angrily threw off his obstructive outer coat, revealing his two thick black arms. He drew the machete from his waist and angrily yelled at the brat's parents, "Don't you have eyes? Who's a beggar?"
"If you don't pay for the meal... isn't that just begging?" The parent hugged the child tightly and said the most stubborn words in a slightly timid tone: Tell me, what's the difference? If you want to eat but don't want to pay, isn't that just begging?
"You actually said I was a beggar! I'm going to chop you to pieces!" The black-faced bandit angrily raised his machete and rushed towards the couple hugging the child, but he was kicked down by Bei Qiao before he even touched them.
"Wow!" The tourists couldn't help but applaud: Such clean and neat fighting moves could not be performed without several years of practice... Hey, wait, are they acting?
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