4 Chapter 4: Thief!

Silang: Silang is a 22 years old beggar who lived on the streets with his younger sister, Xiu'er, and her pet monkey, A'Li. Him and his sister are an inseparable sibling that always watches over each other's back. Even though he is the oldest, he lets her make all the decisions.

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Xiu'er played the innocent victim and accused him of stalking her. If he doesn't want revenge on the orange then why else would he be here. And what's the point of capturing A'Li?

Kun Shang calmly explained to them that he presumed a monkey had stolen his money from earlier. Xiu'er used the public to her advantage and accused him of lying to bully the weak. How could he accuse her of something without evidence?

Kun Shang threatened Xiu'er to call the authorities on her if she didn't admit to the crimes of the monkey as its owner. Surrounding people in the market were starting to gather around them, curious to see what this chaos was. A shocking thought appeared in Xiu'er's head for her to create a disturbing scene that would make him look bad on his end.

This might be the most disgraceful act I'm about to play. She clenched her lips tensely.

Xiu'er got down on her knees and started banging her forehead on the ground in front of Kun Shang, begging him that he had overstepped his privilege to harass her, a helpless homeless. Then, she grabbed onto one of Kun Shang's legs and wrapped both her arms around it. To take it up a notch, she let out a loud fake cry that was very believable to the audience. Xiu'er winked at her brother to go along with the act and he too, went down on his knees. Pretty soon the crowd got on her side to point fingers at Kun Shang. The gossiping abruptly spread among the crowd before a couple of them started to demand he let the monkey go.

Kun Shang looked behind him at the skinny man to show confidence that he got the situation under control. He looked around him and spotted a knife on the sugarcane stall next to them. As soon as he took hold of the knife, the entire crowd gasped in disbelief. The tall skinny companion suddenly turned a doubtful expression on his face.

"Brother Kun, you don't have to do this!" Xiaogua begged. He had a hand on Kun Shang's arm, the one holding the knife. "The crime does not fit the punishment. We are accusing them without any evidence other than the furry tail we saw earlier. It could've belonged to any cat or maybe some other animal."

"That's right." Xiu'er looked up from the ground with hope in her eyes as she tried to find a hint of slack in his. "I beg of you, Mister! Although you are not in your right state of mind to reason at the moment, you should listen to this kind man before resorting to force." In a more quiet voice that only the two could hear, she whispered from his leg, "Unless you want me to shame your face in front of all these people."

Kun Shang sucked in a breath to stabilize his temper from hearing her blackmail. How dare she threaten him? Has anyone ever taught this young lady some manners? He exhaled and looked around him. The public was bashing him more openly and suggesting he provide his evidence.

"The evidence is right here." He held out the monkey's tail. He had no intention to actually harm the animal, but to scare the beggar into admitting her crime. "Xiaogua, there is no doubt that this was the same tail I saw earlier escaping through the store's window. But there is only one way to be sure. I'll have to cut its tail, then we'll see if I'm right!"

He swung the knife above his head while some ladies in the crowd closed their eyes for the bloody scene to come.

Just like before with the orange, Xiu'er took the split second when Kun Shang expanded his chest to raise his arm higher, and leaped up at lightning speed from the ground to seize the terrified A'Li from danger. Kun Shang didn't realize the monkey was gone until they were safe at a distance. Next to his surprised face, Xiaogua relaxed his eyebrows with a sigh of relief.

Kun Shang noticed something on the ground and averted his attention to see that it was his grey money bag, the only one with that specific koi embroidered on it. He bent down to pick it up and waved it in her face, demanding an explanation as to where she got it from.

"You dropped it yourself, no need to make a fuss about it." Xiu'er rolled her eyes while petting the monkey's frightened fur to stay down. "You don't have any evidence that I took your money but yet you blame me. Even now you don't have evidence that it was I who dropped the bag and you still blame me. If you want to frame me, go ahead! But everyone here is my witness that you, a well deserving man, is accusing a helpless beggar. Not even that, you tried to hurt my little brother."

Kun Shang blinked in confusion until he realized that she was talking about the monkey.

Xiu'er had made the crowd believe that Kun Shang had dropped the bag himself to create a misunderstanding between the two. The crowd started to dissipate soon after that. When the crowd was gone, Kun Shang turned to glare at her, and it was obvious that she knew he was staring at her but chose to ignore it anyways. She continued to cuddle with the monkey.

"With the crowds gone now, it's even easier if I arrest you for pickpocketing." Kun Shang bent his neck down towards her. The short and skinny beggar girl didn't say a thing and was about to turn to leave when he grabbed her by the arm.

Almost immediately, the monkey started growling again and the brother pushed him in the chest.

"Eh, Mister Long Legs! Do not touch my sister." Silang puffed out his chest at Kun Shang. Xiaogua took a step forward, but Kun Shang held out his arm and he stepped back slowly.

He examined the brother from head to toe. Silang was wearing approximately the same kind of dirty rags as Xiu'er. His posture though, was strong and tall, just barely an inch shorter than Kun Shang. Kun Shang spotted the tips of some red tassels that were sticking out by his hip. He quickly snatched the hidden object from underneath the rags, startling the surprised Silang.

Kun Shang examined as the red tassels were attached to a rather large green jade carved in with the picture of a dragon. The rectangular jade was the size of a man's palm and fit perfectly in his hand.

"Hey!" Silang and Xiu'er both said at the same time.

"Now you're just stealing in broad daylight, brother." Silang exclaimed. "At least put some dignity and effort into it. Now give it back."

"I see you probably stole this jade from somewhere else. However, I will return it back to you as long as you promise to admit what you have done wrong. It doesn't feel good to be on the receiving end of these sorts of actions, does it?"

Kun Shang had expected them to be a little more rebellious, knowing Xiu'er's personality a bit. Surprisingly, this time it was the opposite. She was quick to take the full blame that she did indeed command A'Li to steal his money bag when they were in the clothing store. But she added that it should be understandable to him why she did it. It was in exchange for surviving on the street as beggars. They only live day to day and would never know when the next meal was going to come.

Xiaogua took pity on her and begged Kun Shang to at least treat the beggar siblings to a meal before they left. As an orphan himself, Xiaogua knew how it felt like to go on days on an empty stomach. A long stare happened between the two men before Kun Shang finally agreed, adding that no more stealing beyond this point for the beggar siblings.

Kun Shang returned the jade to Silang. He led them to the tavern where he and Xiaogua were originally intending to stay at and eat brunch. From there, he intended to ask more information about the beggar siblings and their monkey.