Chapter 29: Making a Gamble
A hoodlum like this, having seen all sorts of people, has honed his understanding of human nature through years of experience. He can tell at a glance whether someone is easy to mess with or not, and how to control them. He's most soft-hearted when it comes to a simple and innocent young woman like this.
This kind of soft-heartedness can be manipulated by morality.
The more generously he says that it doesn't matter if it "interrupts work" and that he will "wait" with the young woman for "safety," the more guilty she will feel. Her sense of trust will surge as she feels guilty, and she will let down her guard in the unfamiliar environment, thus falling into his trap.
Just as the man expected.
The young woman lowered her eyes and asked him timidly, "Are you sure it's alright?"
The man plopped down next to Chen Tang.
He deliberately stretched out his feet, revealing his toes covered in black mud and frostbitten so that Shen Tang could see his worn-out straw sandals. He said cheerfully, "It's no big deal. At most, the shopkeeper will deduct a few copper coins. If that young man hadn't seen you go over, he probably would have come over too."
Shen Tang's expression changed slightly, her pupils shifting as if she were having an internal struggle. The man secretly rejoiced at this sight.
Why does he dare to say that?
Because he knew Qi Shan wouldn't be back so soon!
They are not worried about their lies being exposed.
He remained calm and silently counted down to "fifteen." The young woman, who had been sitting obediently on the small stool, stood up and said softly, "Since Yuanliang sent you to find me, we should hurry up and meet him. If we are late, not only will it delay your work, but he will also scold me... Please lead the way."
Success!
The man was secretly pleased, but quickly said, "It's my duty, no trouble at all, you're too kind, young lady."
"Young lady, let's go this way." The man pointed in the direction Qi Shan had left, pretending to lead the way while also taking the motorcycle rope that Shen Tang was holding. He added, "Fanghua Inn is a bit of a distance from here. Would you like to ride it, young lady?"
Throughout the entire process, the man behaved very politely and with great tact, which subtly increased Shen Tang's trust in his identity as a "helper at Fanghua Inn." Shen Tang, unsuspecting, laboriously and clumsily climbed onto the motorcycle. The man glanced at the motorcycle out of the corner of his eye, and while holding the reins, chatted casually with Shen Tang: "This doesn't look like a horse?"
The gentle young lady answered all her questions.
"A motorcycle is a mule."
"A mule?"
The man secretly wondered how much he could sell this mule for.
Although it's a mule, not a horse, this mule named "Motorcycle" is handsome, pure white, and as tall as an average adult man; it looks quite valuable. I could find a way to resell it and maybe get a high price.
The man was leading the motorcycle, his back the only thing visible to Shen Tang. He wasn't worried about her seeing his expression; his smug greed was practically overflowing. The merchants who had been secretly watching the situation sighed and muttered amongst themselves—some people are just asking for trouble, you can't stop them.
This young lady is doomed if she falls into the hands of such thugs.
There was a butcher shop and a tavern separated by two rooms.
Seeing Shen Tang foolishly follow the thugs, the butcher's expression changed several times. He gritted his teeth, slammed his boning knife onto the chopping board, and grabbed another pig-slaughtering knife. Before he could even step out of the butcher shop, his elderly parents, who were working there, grabbed him and gave him a fierce look.
The butcher didn't struggle; he just watched as Shen Tang's back gradually shrank into a small ball, finally turning into a long sigh.
"What a terrible thing!" He wiped his face with his greasy hands, suppressing his urge to meddle, and spat out, "What a lousy world!"
I don't know if I'm cursing that thug or myself.
After adjusting his mindset, he went back to work in front of the butcher shop.
A customer who came to buy something suddenly said something.
"That young man will be alright."
The butcher was taken aback: "Huh?"
The guest repeated with a smile.
"The young man will be fine, but the one who lied is in grave danger."
The butcher opened his eyes wide in surprise, still holding his knife, and gestured angrily, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting, you old geezer?"
Unfazed, the guest calmly smiled and said, "How about we make a bet?"
The butcher breathed a slight sigh of relief when he heard from the customer that Shen Tang was alright, but then he thought again that the customer was talking nonsense.
What young master?
The woman who was taken away was clearly a pretty young lady.
He scoffed, "You old scoundrel, your eyesight is failing, your head is muddled, you just spout nonsense to deceive people, you can't even tell if someone is a man or a woman. You say you're into gambling, then tell me how you gamble?"
Guest: "That young man will be back safely in half an hour. If I win, you'll pay for my swimming today."
The butcher agreed without hesitation.
It's just a few pounds of unwanted offal; the gamble isn't huge.
He knew this customer well; he was a kitchen helper who had been bought by Yuehualou. Every time he came, he would buy some unwanted offal. The butcher noticed that he was different from the other people in Yuehualou. He didn't have any obsequious or fawning manner. Instead, he was like a scholar with an indescribable elegance, which made him feel very good. Every time he weighed the offal, he would give him a little more.
I came as usual today, but I didn't expect him to talk nonsense.
The butcher said, "What if I win?"
Customer: "I'll buy an extra pound of offal."
The butcher said irritably, "If I sell an extra pound of offal, how many coins will I earn? Fine, let's gamble!"
After a while, the butcher chopped up half a pound of bone fragments, wrapped them in lotus leaves, and put them together with the offal. Pointing at the meat counter, he said, "If the person comes back, you can have this half pound too."
Although there's not much meat in the broken bones, they can still make a decent stew.
The customer was so thin he was practically skin and bones. The butcher felt a pang of sympathy and sincerely hoped that the customer would win and that the young woman would be safe, which would be a way for him to accumulate good karma and make him feel better.
The guest bowed with his hands clasped and said, "Thank you."
The butcher muttered, "These movements are quite convincing."
What is Yuehua Tower?
A place for men and women to seek pleasure.
This customer claimed to be a kitchen helper doing rough work, but he was actually a slave bought by Yuehualou, which, to put it bluntly, was the lowest of the low. This person tried to act like a scholar, and was often ridiculed; even the butcher thought he was putting on airs.
But the butcher didn't laugh.
Simply because the guest had a really good presence.
It's comfortable talking to him.
Half an hour later, the butcher grew impatient, glancing every now and then in the direction where Shen Tang and the other person had disappeared. He asked the customer, "Old man, why did you say that was a young man? It was clearly a girl."
The customer didn't take the butcher's impolite address to heart at all, and instead smiled and pointed to the area around his waist.
The butcher asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Does your back hurt?"
The guest said, "Wenxin Huaya."
The butcher was taken aback: "Huh?"
Guest: "That person has a literary monogram. Although it is not as good as that of an ordinary martial artist, it is enough to deal with an ordinary person."
Butcher:"……"
As an ordinary person, even if he had never seen a "Wenxin Huaya" (a type of monogram), he had heard of it and naturally knew what it meant to possess it.
"How come I didn't see it?"
The butcher could only recall that pretty face.
The guest said, "That monogram is colorless and transparent like crystal; it is very easy to overlook if you don't pay special attention."
Because of their literary and martial spirit, it is currently fashionable for men to wear monograms or tiger tallies when going out. Distinguishing between ordinary monograms and literary monograms is difficult, and ordinary people often cannot tell them apart at first glance.
(End of this chapter)
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