Chapter 1129: Three-Pronged Approach to Conquer the World (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Please, kind sir, grant me a bite to eat..."
"Ah—a thief!"
As a loud shout rang out, pedestrians instinctively checked themselves for anything missing. A burly, bearded man with a fierce appearance reached for his waist and found that the hidden pocket where he kept his money had been slashed open with a sharp weapon. His clothes were torn, and his belongings were gone.
He spotted a shadowy figure in the crowd.
Approaching in two steps at a time.
Sensing danger, the shadowy figure made a move to push the crowd aside.
Before he could escape two steps, he was grabbed by the back of his collar.
His body was pulled backward by a tremendous force, causing him to stagger and fall heavily to the ground, scattering several pieces of silver from his pocket. Seeing this, the burly man with the thick beard's eyes flashed with ferocity: "You lowly wretch, stealing from your grandfather? Bah! If I don't beat you to death today, will all my years in the underworld have been for nothing!"
After saying that, he started raining down punches the size of sandbags.
Several punches landed, making the thief's eyes gleam.
The excruciating pain sent several broken teeth flying, mixed with bloody saliva, flying a great distance. No one who witnessed it thought the blow was too heavy-handed; instead, they all clapped and cheered, wishing they could punch them a couple of times to vent their anger—these thieves are despicable; they not only steal, but they also rob in broad daylight. Just yesterday, an elderly woman selling vegetables was robbed and pushed to the ground, her head hitting the ground, bleeding profusely, and she died instantly!
Until someone shouted, "The yamen runners are here!"
In an instant, the crowd scattered like birds and beasts.
The thief lay in a pool of blood, his limbs twisted in a bizarre position, his exposed skin covered in dark purple wounds, almost unrecognizable as its original color. Judging from the weak rise and fall of his chest, he was clearly exhaling more than inhaling, and wouldn't live much longer.
The yamen runners, who arrived late, were not surprised by this. After finding out that the thief had been caught red-handed stealing from someone, which led to the victim beating him, they decided not to get involved any further. They simply ordered the thief to be thrown into an alley by the roadside with an indifferent expression.
Another, younger constable turned back before leaving, looking back with pity, and said, "Boss, are we just going to leave it at that?"
"How are we supposed to manage this? Find him a doctor? You'll pay for it? He's so badly injured, even a miracle doctor couldn't save him! He deserves to be beaten to death for stealing!" The old constable had seen too many of these kinds of things. The younger constables didn't dare say anything more.
After the officials left, the crowd returned to normal.
Occasionally, someone would catch a glimpse of the thief on the ground out of the corner of their eye, then quickly look away with a disgruntled expression; some with more explosive tempers would even spit before leaving. The thief's struggles grew weaker and weaker, the light in his eyes gradually began to fade, and the surrounding noise seemed to come from the distant horizon before his consciousness sank into endless darkness.
Before losing consciousness, he seemed to see a pair of feet approaching him.
After an unknown amount of time, consciousness gradually returned.
He vaguely heard people talking around him.
"...You want me...to bathe this wild boar?"
Please call it 'Wild Boar Boy'!
"You want me to... to bathe this wild boar?"
"Yeah, is there a problem? Don't you think it smells a bit strong? What if you don't give it a good wash and its odor overpowers me? I'm telling you to wash it, so go wash it. Why are you talking so much nonsense? Do you think you're some kind of saint that I'll indulge?
Then something fell to the ground.
After a while, he heard the sound of something being washed, occasionally mixed with the grunts of livestock. Accompanied by the rhythm of the scrubbing brush, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, he finally mustered enough strength to open his eyes—because one of his eyes was swollen and his vision was blurred, he could only see with his other eye—and what he saw was a house roof with a hole in it.
He endured the excruciating pain and turned his head slightly.
Only then did he realize that he was lying on a haystack.
Was I brought back by someone?
Just as he was about to speak, the childish female voice came from outside: "Don't move around once you're awake. If the newly set bones get stuck in your internal organs, you can only blame your bad luck. You'll die for nothing. I don't have the patience to save you a second time, understand?"
The person's voice was unfamiliar; I probably didn't recognize them.
Clang—
It sounded like a wooden item had fallen to the ground.
A figure strode in from outside. As the figure drew closer, he gradually saw the person's face clearly. His open eye showed surprise as he said, "How could it be you?"
"Zikuan, you're finally awake!"
Shen Tang leaned against the threshold, watching the two of them.
Most ordinary people are illiterate and choose their names arbitrarily, let alone using a character like "Zi Kuan".
This means that both of them came from good backgrounds before they fell on hard times.
At least at the level of being able to afford to study.
"You Rong? You're still alive?"
"It's a long story. Take good care of yourself, and I'll tell you all about it later." The young man was filled with relief. When he and the Northern Monkey Spirit were squatting by the roadside looking for the thief, they heard passersby say that there was a commotion ahead and someone was beating up a thief. He never expected to see an acquaintance.
At first, he didn't want to go and join in the fun.
The clever monkey from the north refused: "Even thieves have their sphere of activity. If we can't find this spot, we must have chosen the wrong place."
She completely ignored the young man's opinion.
The two walked for most of the street, but the hustle and bustle had long since dissipated.
The cunning monkey from the north bent down and glanced at the thief, a hint of pity in his voice: "He's been beaten so badly, he's unrecognizable. Even his own parents wouldn't recognize him if he went to see the King of Hell looking like this."
The young man then cast a glance at him out of the corner of his eye.
At first glance, the corpse on the ground looked familiar!
He rushed forward to examine it closely, and was instantly flustered.
The clever monkey from the north asked him: "Do you know him?"
His gaze darted back and forth between the young man and the thief a few times, then he clicked his tongue and said, "Too bad we're too late. He's going to die."
The young man, his eyes bloodshot, gripped the thief's hand and asked in a trembling voice, "Can you save him? You can definitely save him, right?"
Whether this person is a monkey spirit from the north or some other strange creature from some remote corner, only she can save Zikuan now!
Shen Tang said, "I don't do business without risk."
The young man resolutely replied, "I'll give you my life!"
Shen Tang asked the young man with a complicated expression: "Why? Who is he to you? Is he worth risking your life to beg me to save him?"
The young man said: "[Closest friend!]"
Shen Tang squatted down next to the thief and pondered for a while.
He murmured softly, "Sigh, every guide has their unrequited love, their cherished memory. Oh well! I'll save this person for you."
A look of surprise flashed in the young man's eyes: "Thank you!"
Shen Tang snorted: "Don't thank me, thank Yuan Liang instead."
The young man naturally did not know who Yuan Liang was.
Why should I thank him?
Shen Tang said, "[He had a close friend who died before his eyes. I've thought more than once that if that person hadn't died, Yuan Liang's temper certainly wouldn't be as volatile as it is now. Your entrance is somewhat similar to his, and coincidentally, you also have a critically injured close friend, so I'm willing to save you.]"
Her words contained a lot of information, some of which the young man couldn't understand, such as what "莞莞类卿" meant. However, considering the context and the current situation, he could understand most of it. Simply put, he was benefiting from the influence of that person named "元良".
Okay, thank you, Yuanliang!
For an ordinary doctor, the thief's injuries would have meant certain death, but for Shen Tang, they were merely a matter of being somewhat troublesome. She used her martial energy to protect his heart meridian, then meticulously examined each broken bone and bleeding internal organ. She wasn't a medical practitioner, and the healing power of her martial energy was limited, giving her only a 30% chance of saving him. The thief's successful awakening was thanks to his unusually wide meridians and the strength of his internal organs and bones, far exceeding that of ordinary people! There were traces of cultivation everywhere, but his dantian was completely empty, showing no signs of either literary or martial energy.
Moreover, many of the meridians near the Danfu point are damaged.
This situation reminded her of Wu Hui.
Shen Tang gave the two space and went out to give the wild boar a bath. She had only rinsed him a couple of times when the young man came out of the house.
Without looking up, she said, "Why don't you spend more time with your friends?"
The young man said, "I don't know what to say."
He took the wooden brush from Shen Tang's hand. The wild boar lay comfortably on the ground, occasionally humming a little, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Did you two have a fight?"
"No..." Perhaps because Shen Tang had saved her friend, the young man was much more friendly towards her. "Zi Kuan used to be the student most praised by the academy's teachers, but now he's fallen from grace. He might not want to see me. What can we talk about now? The past? The present? Or the future? You're also a martial artist, you noticed that when you were healing Zi Kuan, didn't you..."
Shen Tang nodded: "Break the mansion and inflict extreme punishment."
The young man let out a long sigh: "Hmm."
He did not say why his friend had suffered the most severe punishment in the palace.
"...Zikuan was originally a chosen one of heaven, but he suffered the most severe punishment in the broken mansion, and now he has encountered this... He probably doesn't want to see me." The young man's mood seemed to sink even lower as he said this, "...Someone like you probably can't understand this feeling..."
He didn't have much contact with the Northern Monkey Spirit, but he could tell from the other's strange singing voice that the other was an open-minded person.
How could a carefree monkey understand human suffering?
Shen Tang said quietly, "So, you've decided I'm a monkey spirit from the North? Why don't you call me the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?"
The young man was greatly alarmed.
Did he unconsciously reveal his true feelings?
Shen Tang said, "Mind reading is a good thing."
He hadn't even realized he had a nickname until now. The thought of a monkey covered in fur while he was bald filled him with resentment. The young man was shocked: "You're not a martial artist?"
Shen Tang sneered, saying sarcastically, "Since I am a monkey spirit from the North, then I am not human. What business is it of yours whether we monkeys are warriors with courage or scholars with a literary heart? And you, the Dragon King of the East Sea, are meddling in such matters!"
youth:"……"
Shen Tang changed the subject: "Moreover, you said something wrong—I can understand, and not only can I understand, I can also feel sorry for you."
youth:"……"
Shen Tang said, "Wu Hui also suffered such injustice back then."
Although Chu Yao never mentioned how hard his life had been back then, Shen Tang could guess: "...For Wu Hui's sake, I can protect your friend for the time being. Oh, by the way, didn't you just say that he was the academy's chosen one?"
Shen Tang couldn't help but give herself a thumbs up for her ability to pick people up.
Here comes the worker who helped her start from scratch.
The young man desperately wanted to ask if Wu Hui was a monkey, but he had a premonition that if he asked, this clever northern monkey would kill him. He couldn't even bear to think about it, let alone ask. The young man nodded and said, "In my eyes, Zi Kuan truly deserves the title of a prodigy!"
If it weren't for this misfortune, things wouldn't have come to this!
Shen Tang said with relief, "That's good then."
The young man frowned, wondering what Shen Tang was planning.
Seeing the doubt in the young man's eyes, Shen Tang said, "To be honest, I ran away from home to start a business, intending to make a name for myself and then return home in glory. You can't build a business from scratch by yourself! You've already risked your life for me, and your friend is in a situation where he has nowhere else to go. After he recovers from his injuries, why don't you let him stay and help me? I can't promise much, but if I get a bite of meat, he'll get a sip of soup!"
The young man hadn't expected Shen Tang to have this idea.
"I can't make decisions for him."
"Could you ask him for me?"
The two didn't lower their voices, so the person inside could hear them. However, his injuries were too severe, and he fell into a deep sleep again shortly after waking up. When he woke up a second time, he could see the stars through the holes in the roof, and a campfire was burning not far away. The pain in his limbs wasn't as sharp as it had been during the day; it was more of a dull, almost numb ache, and his whole body felt weak and powerless.
"You're awake? Have some porridge."
The young man brought over the rice porridge that had been kept warm.
The thief was starving but had no hurry to eat.
"You Rong, who was that lady during the day?"
The young man succinctly explained the cause and effect, including some of his speculations about Shen Tang: "Zikuan, in your opinion—"
"Since we're here, let's make the best of it."
Whether it's a human or a clever monkey, it doesn't matter.
The young man, sensing the situation, didn't press further and brought up the events of the day. He remembered how Zikuan had been nearly beaten to death, mistaken for a thief. Others might be driven to desperation, but Zikuan was definitely not one of them. Even the thief sighed at the matter.
It's not complicated at all.
The old woman who had been taking care of him died yesterday.
Despite still recovering from his injuries, he ran out, only to alert the thief. He was mistaken for the thief and beaten by the bearded man when he tried to apprehend him. It would have been better if he had just been beaten to death, but fate played a cruel joke on him.
He actually survived.
If I didn't die this time, then it must be fate.
He was about to say something when the young man gave him a wink.
There are footsteps approaching this way!
With a creak, as the two were on high alert, the dilapidated wooden door was pushed open, and a bald man with a sallow complexion walked in.
Chen the Bald: "...Who are you calling bald?"
The two young men: "..."
Shen Tang didn't bother arguing with these two future working-class people and tossed the medicine into the young man's arms: "This is his medicine, twice a day."
The young man opened it and found that it contained only the finest medicinal herbs.
Where did you get the money?
Shen Tang said, "I found it."
I'm not kidding, I really did find it.
Shen Tang couldn't catch thieves during the day, nor did she have the opportunity to double-cross them, so she had no choice but to find another way out. She planned to go back to her old profession and find some painting work, or ask if the tavern would buy alcohol, since she had a lot of it in stock! When she passed by the pharmacy, she overheard them buying safe contraceptives at high prices, spending lavishly.
She had a flash of inspiration!
She can do that.
He immediately told the shopkeeper that he had a secret recipe.
However, this is a secret technique that is not to be passed on to outsiders!
|ω`)
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