Chapter 85: Where is Your Treasure (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Have you found those two pretty boys?"
"Boss, we don't have it here."
"Not here either."
"There aren't any in Dongfang either..."
As news from his underlings spread, the burly leader's face grew increasingly ashen. Finally, he could only vent his pent-up anger by pounding the earthen wall. He spat a thick, yellowish saliva at the base of the wall and snarled, "Withdraw! We'll catch you next time!"
The younger brother chimed in with flattery, "That's right, that's right! Xiaocheng is our territory, they definitely won't escape!"
The burly man at the head of the group softened his expression and said, "Brothers, you've all had a hard time making this trip. Let's treat everyone to drinks today."
The other thugs were delighted to hear this good news.
Businesses are slow for merchants, and these thugs who make a living by exploiting vendors aren't doing much better either; they can barely collect any "stall tax." They used to be able to get some snacks to go with their drinks, but now their mouths are practically empty. So, how could they not be happy to be treated to a meal?
Speaking of wine, a clever man brought over two familiar round-bellied wine jars, which were the very same wines that Shen Tang had recently had overturned from his stall.
The burly man at the head of the group: "Didn't you smash everything?"
The quick-witted younger brother replied, "No, I grabbed two jars while the chaos was at it."
Even the cheap rice wine sold on the street wasn't something you could just drink if you wanted to; it would be a waste to smash it all. Wanting to get a bargain, he secretly grabbed two jars before the stall was overturned. Now he was bringing them out, naturally to curry favor with his boss, to get more exposure, and to leave a lasting impression.
In the future, if there are any benefits or good jobs, it might just be his turn. Becoming the boss's second-in-command is not a dream.
This group of thugs would go to their usual taverns together. Wherever they went, vendors would avoid them, afraid of being targeted and asked for "stall tax".
The tavern owner saw them from a great distance.
Cursing inwardly at his bad luck, he saw these thugs who had ripped off seven out of ten times again. Since his business relied on their protection, he had no choice but to put on a fawning smile and greet them. He snarled, "What brings you here, sir?"
The burly man plopped down and waved his hand, "No need for nonsense, bring us brothers some good wine and food, I'll pay today."
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up when he heard that.
After these thugs came to drink so often, he figured out a pattern—other thugs liked to run up debts, which would eventually turn into bad debts, and they wouldn't pay often. But when their boss came over and said "it's on me," they would definitely pay. When paying, they liked to slam the bill on the table one coin at a time and shout "Pay the bill!" in a loud voice that everyone in the tavern could hear.
The shopkeeper said, "Alright, the wine will be served right away."
Despite being called "good wine," it's actually just a very low-alcohol rice wine with a slightly sour and astringent taste. The liquid is cloudy, initially slightly astringent with a hint of sweet and sour, but with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Families with better means wouldn't like to drink this kind of wine.
The burly man took a sip and found it bland.
Then I remembered the bottles of liquor they had smashed and overturned.
The aroma of the wine was strong and overpowering; just smelling it made him feel slightly intoxicated. So he popped the red cloth stopper off one of the jars and took a small sip.
"Good wine!"
Bang--
Almost at the same moment he slammed his hand on the table in praise, a familiar face flew backwards and crashed into the tavern, rolling several times on the floor before finally stopping after hitting a table corner. The thugs, startled by the commotion, looked towards the door. Standing there was a slender young man, accompanied by another young man in black. The former was still holding his sword in his right hand, dragging it along, while his left hand slightly lifted his hem, about to retract his kicking leg.
Clearly, it was the sword-wielding youth who kicked the person.
Upon seeing this, one of the thugs suddenly stood up, pointed at Shen Tang, and said, "This person is dressed in fine clothes! Boss, it's definitely them!"
"Pfft—"
Zhai Le, who was accompanying them, almost burst out laughing.
"Fine, you dare to come looking for death!"
The burly man slammed a ceramic bowl onto the table with his right hand, picked up the shards, and stood up. The other thugs followed suit, and the atmosphere in the tavern instantly became tense. The few normal customers present wisely hid in a corner, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Seeing this, the tavern owner hurriedly came out to smooth things over.
If you're going to fight, go outside and fight, don't fight in his tavern!
Before he could speak, a substantial silver ingot came hurtling towards him—it was thrown by the young man in black. Zhai Le said, "Get down. If you get hurt, don't blame me for not warning you."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll be right there!"
The shopkeeper was quick-witted; he grabbed the silver ingot and ran out of the tavern.
How much do the tables, chairs, and drinks in the tavern cost? Even if you smash everything, the fist-sized silver ingots would be enough to cover the loss. Most importantly, people who throw money around at the drop of a hat are definitely from wealthy families and shouldn't be messed with. Know when to stop and don't spoil their fun.
The burly man at the head of the group spat disdainfully.
"Just the two of you?"
Zhai Ledao said, "To be precise, it's Brother Shen alone."
"Yes, I'll send you all to be reborn as humans. One of you is enough." Shen Tang pointed her sword at them and said calmly, "Will you come one by one in a line, or will you hold hands and go to your deaths together?"
The group of thugs thought they were listening to a funny joke.
One against a whole group?
Do you even want to send them to be reincarnated as humans?
The leader, enraged, laughed coldly: "So young and already trying to act like a chivalrous knight! Fine! Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish! Go, kill them both! If you can't kill them, I'll make sure you're all dead!"
Zhai Le, who was watching the show with his arms crossed to one side, was left bewildered.
He dodged the thugs rushing towards him and shouted, "Why? Brother Chen is going to take on all of you by himself, why are you hitting me?"
Before he could finish complaining, Shen Tang's longsword slammed into the wooden pillar beside him with a thud, almost grazing his nose. Startled, he jerked backward, performing a backflip. The thugs chasing Zhai Le nearly lost control, their swords just a finger's breadth from his neck.
Shen Tang flicked her finger expressionlessly.
The longsword obediently returned to her hand, perfectly positioned to parry the wooden table, stool, and sticks that were hurtling towards her. The thugs, adapting to the situation, grabbed a wine jar from behind the counter and used it as a weapon, smashing it at Chen Tang. Zhai Le shouted, "You have no martial ethics!"
After saying that, he picked up a wine jar and smashed it.
With a loud bang.
The two wine jars collided in mid-air and shattered, spilling murky wine all over the ground. Zhai Le picked up the largest shard and smashed it.
Relying on brute force, he kicked and punched.
Their fighting style was just as chaotic as those of thugs.
Shen Tang: "..."
While fighting, he also "instructed" Shen Tang: "Brother Shen, your way of fighting with a sword is wrong. To deal with these thugs, you should punch them head-on, flesh to flesh, fist to fist. That's what a real man and a real man do."
As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his body, catching the two thugs who were preparing to attack him off guard, causing them to fight each other.
He then rolled to the side and swept his long legs across.
He jumped onto one of them and slammed his huge fist down.
Shen Tang: "..."
She sheathed her sword.
He punched someone in the nose.
The tavern was filled with the sounds of things being smashed and broken.
The commotion startled half the street.
One wine jar after another shattered. The shopkeeper would sometimes frown in heartache, and sometimes clutch his heart and wail in despair—the cruel reality was so cold, and only the large gold ingot in his arms could give him some warmth.
Not only did passersby stop and crane their necks to watch the spectacle, but even residents from the remaining half of the street and the neighboring street came over to see what was happening when they heard that the group of thugs had been taught a lesson.
With a demolition-like commotion, thugs were kicked out one by one, and the crowd applauded and cheered. The bolder ones kept getting closer, hoping to catch a glimpse of the true face of the righteous knight-errant.
(End of this chapter)
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