Chapter 133
The boy's voice was childish, but the matter-of-fact tone he used when uttering the insidious method completely erased that childishness, making him seem like a colorful venomous snake. Just by standing there smiling, he sent chills down one's spine.
Although the words were addressed to Xie Xubai, they intimidated the others. Several thugs seemed to suddenly remember something, their faces paling slightly, and their hands and feet, which were about to grab Xie Xubai, slowed down.
Xie Xubai glanced over and saw the fat man's face fall, staring at the boy with apparent apprehension: "What are you doing here?"
The boy casually touched the heater, his laughter laced with sarcasm: "Uncle Mo, that's a strange thing to say. I didn't see your name on this yard. Why can you come here, but I can't?"
It was obvious that the two didn't get along, so much so that they were so engrossed in their verbal battle that they ignored Xie Xubai on the side.
Xie Xubai took the opportunity to catch his breath, calmly surveyed his surroundings, and began to think of a way to escape danger.
With his mental energy restricted, his calls to the gold-rimmed glasses and the small tentacles went unanswered, leaving him with no choice but to rely on himself to resolve the crisis.
He arrived suddenly, and no one knew what the fat man wanted to do with the child in this body, but it probably wasn't anything good.
The boy was a ruthless character; he didn't even blink when he talked about breaking the fat man's legs. He was also a troublemaker, always eager to stir up trouble for the fat man.
The courtyard was full of people, and the gate was surrounded by burly men. With his frail body, it was simply a pipe dream for him to break through alone.
...The time Xie Xubai had to think of a solution was so short it was almost gone.
He suddenly lowered his eyelashes, swayed, and pretended to stagger a few steps due to exhaustion.
The servants were on edge, afraid of being blamed, and their attention was focused on the fat man and his companions. Then, in a flash, the boy who had disregarded everyone dodged left and right, and somehow managed to leap past the careless thugs and pounce on the proudly standing youth.
"Big brother, were you captured too? Run! That beastly villain isn't even human! He eats children!"
What's wrong with this child?
Didn't he hear that guy say he was going to break his legs? How dare he still come closer and pounce on him?
The dramatic scene of them fleeing straight into the wolf's mouth stunned everyone. They stared at Xie Xubai in bewilderment and shock, and even the boy's fake smile showed a strange expression.
The boy disliked being touched and felt there was something wrong with the child. He immediately took a step back, lowered his eyes, and looked over coldly, reaching out to pull Xie Xubai away.
Who would have thought that I would touch a patch of burning hot skin.
The boy was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xie Xubai's face. His cheeks were flushed with an abnormal redness, his lips were blue, and his pupils were unfocused.
A knowing glint flashed in his eyes.
It turns out she was delirious from the fever and didn't hear what he said, mistaking him, who was not much older than her, for a good person.
There was a reason for this illness: a group of children had been imprisoned in a desolate courtyard for who knows how long, and it was early autumn and cold weather. They were dressed in tattered clothes and were thin and frail, with hardly any flesh left to keep warm.
Adding to Xie Xubai's sweat from dodging the thugs, the wind chilled him to the bone, and he inevitably fell victim to their attack.
Xie Xubai's situation became more difficult, but it also gave him the opportunity to gain the boy's trust, because no one would regard a sick and weak child as a threat.
Sure enough, the moment the boy noticed his fever, the boy looked at him with less wariness.
Xie Xubai pressed his advantage, raising his head, his eyes glistening with tears, his hoarse and urgent voice moving everyone who heard it: "Really, big brother, you have to believe me! His mouth is foul and fishy, his nails are long, and he always tries to touch my body, he's just an old monster in human skin! Big brother, you're so handsome, if you don't run away, he'll eat you! Ugly monsters in stories only eat pretty children! They're jealous!"
When facing off against an opponent, the biggest fear is losing face, points, and being at a disadvantage. But Xie Xubai did just that, tearing his face off and stomping it in the mud, while turning around and indirectly praising Lü Jiu!
The fat man was furious!
These words pleased Lü Jiu greatly. Originally, he only had a spectator's mentality towards Xie Xubai, but now he immediately had more appreciation for him.
As I always say, he's extremely happy when his nemesis is unhappy.
Lu Jiu laughed at the fat man: "Uncle Mo, look at what that kid is saying. He should just do a little self-care! It's only because the brothers are so tolerant. If this went out into the world, how many people would laugh at him?"
"Grab him! I'll tear his mouth apart! If you can't catch him, I'll tear your mouths apart!" The fat man was extremely ashamed and angry, and ordered his thugs to immediately grab Xie Xubai.
Lu Jiu grabbed Xie Xubai and tossed him behind him, saying with a smile, "Hey, hey, Uncle Mo! We're all old men, we can't just get angry because a kid spoke the truth, can we?"
His provocation only added fuel to the fire. Under the fat man's repeated orders, the thugs reluctantly stepped forward, while the guards beside the boy immediately stepped forward, glaring at him with equally imposing manner.
The scene became chaotic again.
Xie Xubai took the opportunity to dart behind Lü Jiu and calmly glance at the other's neck.
We can succeed.
Xie Xubai calmly assessed the situation.
Although the boy was taller than him, he was still just a child and not much taller or stronger.
Pei Yuheng had explained the basics of human anatomy to him. Now that they were close enough that no one was paying attention to him, Xie Xubai was 80% confident that he could successfully take the boy hostage and then find an opportunity to escape if he made his move now.
But the moment Xie Xubai glanced behind him, his heart sank again, and he had to abandon the idea.
The roads leading forward from the courtyard are well-connected, clean, and sturdy.
From this vantage point, the view stretches as far as the eye can see, with rows of white-walled, black-tiled houses nestled along every road, huddled together in an eerily quiet atmosphere.
Perhaps it was mealtime, as white smoke billowed from many chimneys, spreading out like a hazy mist that enveloped all the houses.
Xie Xubai felt a chill in his heart.
He originally thought the thieves' den was in the middle of nowhere, untouched by anyone, but he never expected it to be a village of unknown size.
Judging from the amount of smoke rising from the chimneys, the population is definitely not small.
But the gates of the courtyard where the children were imprisoned were wide open, heavily guarded, and made no attempt to hide from people.
What does this mean? It means that the fat man and his gang are fearless and have no fear of others finding out what's going on here!
Could there be other accomplices in this village or town?
Or is the entire town complicit?
An ominous premonition, like layers of dark clouds, descended upon my heart.
Xie Xubai frowned slightly, feeling increasingly troubled.
He was certain that, in his current state, there was absolutely no way he could abduct the boys and escape the town safely, let alone find another opportunity to rescue the children.
Just then, another commotion arose behind them, even louder than when the boy had arrived.
A group of people walked out from the street corner. Lü Jiu was near the gate of the courtyard. He glanced over and saw the newcomers before the fat man did, and his body stiffened instantly.
Xie Xubai noticed that the boy's fingers holding the heater suddenly tensed up, pinching the rim of the heater, his fingertips turning white from the force, as if he was enduring something.
The thugs' reactions further highlighted the newcomer's unusual nature. They had been staring at each other like fighting cocks, but their expressions changed drastically. They disregarded their two masters, the fat man and the young boy, and hurriedly stepped aside to clear the way to the door.
The newcomer walked in unimpeded, followed closely by more than a dozen burly men, filling the courtyard to the brim.
The leader was a man who looked to be in his early forties. He wore a melon-shaped hat, had a thin, long mustache that curled slightly upwards, sunken eyes that made them appear narrow, a hooked nose, and a pointed chin. His eyes revealed a sinister and cruel look.
He simply stood in the middle of the courtyard, and a suffocating sense of heaviness seemed to permeate the air.
Even the sharp-tongued young man, Lü Jiu, fell silent, his head bowed as he stroked the heater, half of his face hidden in the shadow of the eaves, making it difficult to see clearly.
But when he looked up, he still had a smiling face.
The bearded man looked around, his gaze lingering briefly on Xie Xubai.
Xie Xubai shrank back behind the boy, trembling as if too afraid to look up. The boy smiled and said, "Uncle Futu, this kid is interesting. I want to keep him by my side and play with him. You love me the most, so please grant me this small request."
The man with the mustache gave a noncommittal "hmm," then looked away and fixed his gaze on the fat man.
He didn't speak, but the fat man shuddered violently and hurriedly stepped forward, forcing a smile: "Brother Futu, I know you need these goods. I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I just planned to pick a quick-handed kid to take back and serve you..."
"Serve?" The man with the mustache clearly knew what kind of person he was, and sneered, "Knowing that these goods are of great use, you still come here to pick people to serve you. Are all the people around you dead? Or have I, Nie Futu, mistreated you so much that you can't even squeeze out the money to buy a maid or a servant?"
Xie Xubai understood the deeper meaning in their words, and couldn't help but frown, giving the fat man a cold look.
This person actually wanted to grab the owner of this body to do *that*, it's utterly disgusting and outrageous. No wonder the people around didn't show the slightest surprise when they heard him say the fat man wanted to touch him.
The fat man immediately looked as if he had lost his parents, and tearfully begged for forgiveness: "No, please let me explain, I just lost my mind for a moment..."
"Shut up and get out of my way. I'll deal with you later."
The man with the mustache ignored the pale, fat man and waved for someone: "The theater lost a bear by accident and needs to build a replacement. Go and pick out a sturdy one."
Upon hearing the noise, a burly man stepped out, stretched out his arms, and flung away the blanket-like object he was holding.
Xie Xubai looked over and realized something was wrong; his fingers trembled slightly.
The creature was covered on one side with thick, tangled brown fur, knotted in clumps, emitting a strong smell of blood. The other side was bright red and bald, with bits of flesh and tattered fascia remaining—it was clearly a stripped bear skin!
If I heard correctly, the bearded man just said that he lost a... bear?
Author's Note:
Updated! To celebrate the successful completion of the writing project and to thank everyone for waiting, I'm giving away 100 small red envelopes in the comments! I'll continue writing tomorrow and try to update smoothly the day after! (Rabbit cheering)
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