Chapter 84: Unexpected Disaster [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
"Stop—why are you smashing my stall?"
Shen Tang stepped forward and stopped the group of burly men's violence.
"Get out of my way!"
Reality isn't a TV drama; people won't stop because of Shen Tang's "brave" action. Instead, they'll become even more furious.
The burly man at the head of the group thought she was in the way and prepared to grab her shoulder with his large, fan-like hand and throw her aside, but luckily Shen Tang dodged quickly. However, her wine stall suffered a major misfortune; it was kicked over, and the wine jars on the bench shattered with a crash.
Zhai Le threw the wine jar at the thug who was raising his foot, and shouted angrily, "My wine! You people are really wasting a good thing!"
As the liquor splashed, a strong aroma wafted through the air, and Shen Tang was even splashed on half her face, making her dizzy and lightheaded.
She shook her head, suppressing the discomfort.
The stall was overturned, and the burly man at the head of the group waved his hand.
"Beat those two pretty boys' legs off!"
"good!"
He immediately grabbed the wooden stool and stick.
The vendors had already packed up and fled far away when the group of burly men appeared, fearing their stalls would be affected. Seeing that the situation was about to escalate out of control and turn into a bloody and violent incident, the timid passersby and stall owners screamed and covered their heads. Some hid, some fled.
A completely bewildered Shen Tang: "..."
Zhai Le flitted about like a black butterfly flitting among flowers, dodging the attacks of the burly men. Sometimes he leaped into the air, his clothes fluttering, sometimes he used his toes to propel himself forward, twisting and turning in mid-air, leaving passersby dumbfounded and cheering wildly.
It's as slippery as a loach.
The burly men didn't even get a touch of his clothes; instead, Zhai Le seized the opportunity to make them look disheveled and utterly humiliated.
Shen Tang: "..."
Good heavens!
Are you fighting or dancing?
Why did I have to make an exception and wipe her bottom with gauze?
Gu Chi: "..."
Shen Tang's complaints were quickly interrupted by the people surrounding her, after all, she was also a target of this group of burly men. However, these were just ordinary people, and Shen Tang didn't understand the whole story, so she couldn't bring herself to kill them.
The nausea and dizziness kept rising.
Dodging was somewhat difficult.
But she quickly came up with a solution.
"Brothers, look at me! I'm just a weak woman who can't lift a finger or carry anything heavy. I sell wine at the counter to earn a little money to help support my family..." Using the wall as a foothold, she leaped and dodged the flying wooden block, not forgetting to say, "You've hit the wrong person!"
Shen Tang's voice was clear, loud, and penetrating. When she shouted at the top of her lungs, it was estimated that half a street could hear it.
Qi Shan, watching the commotion from a private room on the second floor: "???"
Gu Chi chuckled: "Shen Lang is handsome, with feminine features, so it's easy for ordinary people to mistake him for a woman. However, it's a bit unseemly that he's surrounded and attacked but doesn't try to escape. Instead, he pretends to be a woman and begs for mercy from these people."
Qi Shan's face turned dark instantly.
Is this some kind of dark-skinned young man being shown to his face?
“Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles.” Qi Shan glanced at Gu Chi and said in a deep voice, “I don’t think this is ‘begging for mercy.’ If You Li wanted to, he could kill everyone in a few breaths with just his sword, but was it necessary for him to do so? Aren’t all the people below ordinary people?”
This is clearly an act of kindness!
Do you even know what "physical advantage" means?
If appearance can resolve conflicts, it's a form of "bloodless victory." What's wrong with pretending to be a woman? It's a look and advantage bestowed by one's parents; how handsome can a boy be with feminine features! What does a sickly-looking, ill-fated person who's considered unlucky even on the street know!
Gu Chi's lips twitched slightly: "I heard that."
Qi Shan snorted, "I know you heard me."
Gu Chi: "..."
Therefore, the scholarly pursuit of mind reading sounds terrifying. It's like this: someone is internally cursing you, you know it in your heart but can't say it aloud. If you do, the other person shamelessly admits it and verbally repeats the curse—isn't that just asking for trouble?
The long street downstairs.
Zhai Le was also taken aback by her shocking statement.
"I had no idea that Brother Shen was so fond of women's clothing?"
Shen Tang: "..."
Good heavens, that one word, "Brother Shen," not only dispelled the burly men's doubts about Shen Tang's gender but also labeled her a cross-dressing master. She stared coldly at Zhai Le's buttocks, which seemed to have a built-in petticoat, and really wanted to kick that spot to see if he dared to spout nonsense again.
Fearing that the matter would escalate and attract the attention of the county government, Shen Tang steeled her heart, grabbed Zhai Le by the collar, and leaped onto the roof. The group of burly men below couldn't climb up and were quickly shaken off. As soon as they were safe, Shen Tang questioned Zhai Le.
"Where did you get involved with these people?"
Zhai Le was naturally optimistic and quick to defend the weak. Thinking of the group of burly men's frustrated expressions at failing to catch their target, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. However—seeing Shen Tang's increasingly gloomy expression, he became a little timid, hiccuped, and silently stopped laughing.
"I was just acting out of chivalry."
Shen Tang blushed slightly, her tone icy.
"You call this acting chivalrously?"
Zhai Le said awkwardly, "I haven't been in Xiaocheng for long. I saw this group of people bullying vendors, demanding some kind of 'stall tax' from the stall owners. If they didn't pay, they would forcibly take it from them. They even harassed the stall owners' daughters in front of them and pushed and shoved elderly people. I couldn't stand by and do it, so I beat them up and took the money they had forcibly collected and returned it to the stall owners... Who knew they had such a good memory? It's been half a month and they still remember me."
Shen Tang looked Zhai Le up and down and nodded.
"If it were me, I could remember you for a month."
Her fists were itching to be used.
This kid caused trouble, and in the end, it was she who got her stall smashed. Running a wine shop to support her family—wasn't it hard for her?
"Because I am handsome?"
Shen Tang sneered: "Because few people are as uniquely beautiful as you. Good-looking people are all the same, while ugly people are all different."
Zhai Le naturally didn't think he was really ugly; he was quite confident in his face. However, he could hear the dissatisfaction and resentment in Shen Tang's words. Driven by his survival instinct, he gritted his teeth and said that he would compensate Shen Tang double for the money lost at her wine stall, ensuring that she wouldn't lose money. Only then did he manage to calm her down.
Having regained her composure, the slight blush on Shen Tang's face blended perfectly with her skin, showing no sign of anything amiss. She lightly touched her brow with her finger: "Tell me, besides levying some kind of 'stall tax,' have these people done anything else that is morally reprehensible?"
Zhai Le asked in confusion, "I don't understand, why are you asking this?"
Shen Tang walked back the way she came and said, "Break their legs! If they commit any other evil deeds, drag them outside Xiaocheng City to punish them on behalf of Heaven. Is this what you call chivalrous and righteous? You just beat them up and that's it? You're just causing trouble for the vendors and stall owners."
Zhai Le: "If I don't beat him up, what should I do?"
Shen Tang stamped his foot and said coldly, "If you don't have the ability to make them repent, you might as well give them a chance to be reborn as human beings!"
Zhai Le was shocked: "!!!"
As the hustle and bustle of the long street subsided, Qi Shan lowered the window.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, a dusty gray carriage came out from the direction of the county government, but the driver was a short boy.
He stared blankly at the ground soaked with wine for a moment, then the old man inside the carriage asked, "Ayan, what happened?"
Ayan shook her head: "No."
As the carriage passed by a restaurant along the main street, the old man inside raised his hand to lift the curtain and glanced at the window of a private room on the second floor. After a short while, he lowered the curtain again and closed his eyes to rest.
My head is throbbing so badly I can't sleep at all... It's killing me.
(End of this chapter)
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