Kind-hearted lady

The owner laughed, stroking his beer belly, ''You came here at your own wish but you cannot leave without my permission. Such a pathetic little beggar. Do you think you are worthy of making a deal with me?" He stared at her back disdainfully, ''Hit her… Hit her till she knows who she should not mess with. Kick her till her she bleeds to death. Hmph!" he scoffed while ordering his servants.

Just as his words dropped, two servants started hitting her back with the sticks in their hands and the other two kicked her body mercilessly.

Ah Luo fell forward, her chin hitting the ground. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she dug her fingers inside the mud through the gaps between the rocks.

She was used to pain. When her grandmother was alive, she used to hit her too. Sometimes she would treat her well, sometimes she would beat her endlessly.

So, Ah Luo thought she could endure it.

But it took her a few moment to realize that the beating from an elderly woman and four grown men was very different.

The pain was too much for her.

As she looked at the people witnessing the sight without moving to help, she closed her eyes and bit her lips.

No.. No… She must not cry. If she cried, it would hurt more.

The delicate skin of her lips broke and blood trickled down her chin.

As the owner saw a few bystanders approaching to save the beggar, he looked at a servant who sneakily stole the medicine bottle and put it inside his robe.

The owner smiled at the people amicably, ''This little thief wanted to steal my dumplings. If she had asked me for it, I would have given it to her. But how can I let her steal it? If I let her do it, there would be someone else doing the same thing tomorrow.''

The few people who could not watch the child being beaten stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.

''This child is a thief.''

''Right. We were even pitying her.''

''No, no. If you let her have a taste of stealing once, she would get back here to do it again.''

Hearing the whispers, the owner pitifully lowered his head yet no one noticed the glint in his eyes.

He pretended to be nice as he picked up two dumplings and threw it to the ground, ''No matter what, you must never steal. Zi Shulin kingdom's reputation will be ruined by people like you. Since you are hungry, consider this a favor from me.''

The servants stepped to the side as they stopped beating Ah Luo upon receiving the owner's signal.

The crowd dispersed while praising the owner for his kindness.

Ah Luo slowly stood up only to end up falling again.

She gritted her teeth and endured the pain as pushed herself to her feet and looked at the ground. The bottle of medicine was gone and two dumplings laid there, dirtied by the mud.

She turned to look at the stall owner, her eyes blank.

The man was still stroking his belly happily when he felt a chill creeping down his spine.

He looked at the girl only to find her staring at him emotionlessly. For some reason, a hint of dread rose in his heart but when he saw the beggar's dirty appearance, he felt disgusted again, ''You… What are you glaring at me for? Do you want me to dig out your eyes?"

Nobody noticed a thread-like delicate needle that pierced into the owner's beer belly.

Ah Luo averted her gaze.

Did she… deserve this for asking for one dumpling from his huge stall?

She approached the dumplings that were half buried in the dust.

Just as she squatted to pick them up, they were gone.

'Woof!'

Ah Luo was stunned. She glanced at the dog who started running away with the dumplings in it's mouth.

She ignored the pain in her body and limped after the dog.

''How pathetic. Wash this place clean,'' The owner scoffed disdainfully, ''That beggar dirtied my stall,'' As he spoke, he felt an itch so he rubbed his belly.

Just as he was about to sit back on his chair, a beautiful face came into his view. He put on a flattering smile and glanced at the lady whose appearance screamed 'wealthy'. His business was probably getting more famous.

''The elixir bottle,'' the beautiful lady said, her voice was soft like a breeze.

Nanny Qin who was following after her sighed. Their Madam was too kind as always. She asked the carriage to turn after they had gone to a little distance. If she had not stopped her, then Madam would have rushed to save that girl when she was being beaten. If that happened, someone from the crowd might have recognized her. So, Nanny Qin stopped her until the crowd dispersed.

The owner was startled and his hand trembled a little. He wanted to deny it and rebuke the woman but he held back when he noticed the carriage and trail of guards behind her. She did not seem to have an ordinary background.

Madam Xiao removed the jade bangle from her hand and handed it to him, ''Take this instead."

The owner glanced at the pure green jade, startled. But then his eyes shone with greed. If it had been an ordinary person, he would have snatched this jade bangle and kept it along with the elixir. But this lady did not seem to be someone who should be offended.

If he accepted it, she will probably remembered his kindness. Moreover, the jade bangle did not seem to lose to the grade-2 elixir given it's pristine green color.

Ah Luo had no idea what happened after she left the stall.

She kept running until she managed to chase up to the dog. Every part of her body was aching.

The dog looked at her defensively when it was cornered near the alleyway.

Ah Luo panted with her tiny palms pressed on her knees. She slowly squatted and glanced at the dog quietly.

The dog looked back at her. It was a black dog, particularly skinny as his wide eyes stared at her as if she was out to steal his food. But Ah Luo felt like his gaze was very kind unlike the people she came across earlier.

After a few moments, Ah Luo extended her hand towards him, a hint of hesitation remained in her eyes, ''You have two of them. Can you… Can you… give one to me?"