Chapter 8: Aftermath_1

At home, Zhang Cai and the others had already tidied up, and everyone was sitting in chairs waiting for them, including the old lady lying in bed who had gotten up. Guo Sufei hurriedly instructed Zhang Xiaolong to speak to his grandmother, explaining that his arm was not a significant problem, and only then did the old lady feel relieved to return to her room to rest.

Zhang Cai saw Zhang Xiaolong's arm bandaged and entered the house, knowing that there was no serious problem, his heart relaxed. Only then did he feel the pain all over his body and extreme fatigue. So he hurriedly urged Guo Sufei to arrange accommodation for the two girls. This posed a problem for Guo Sufei because the house was already cramped, with Zhang Xiaolong and his two brothers squeezed into one room. Seeing Guo Sufei's dilemma, Liu Qian feeling the situation said: "Madam, we can make do with just one night, please don't feel troubled." Guo Sufei thought about it, then vacated her own room, letting the two girls stay with her, driving Zhang Cai to Zhang Xiaolong's small room, while Zhang Xiaohua slept with her grandmother. Luckily, they finally all had a place to stay.

Watching the two girls enter the room to sleep, Zhang Cai brought out the medicine for wounds given by Wen Wenhai, and the three brothers, Zhang Xiaolong, Zhang Xiaohu, and Zhang Xiaohua, took the medicine, and then they applied the external medicine for wounds. Finally, Zhang Cai let the three brothers go to bed.

When the children returned to their rooms, Guo Sufei finally pulled Zhang Cai aside to ask about their situation. After Zhang Cai told Guo Sufei, in detail, what had happened during the day, Guo Sufei was so frightened that her face turned pale. Her body trembled, and she sobbed quietly, saying repeatedly, "My child's father, we almost couldn't see you again, just going out for the New Year market and encountering such a thing."

Zhang Cai comforted her, saying: "It's all right now, isn't it, child's mother? You should quickly put away the token and the banknotes. When it is daylight, send the two girls home and share half of the money with them." Guo Sufei replied, "There are so many silver coins that we may never see such an amount in our lifetime. Maybe it is better to return it to the rightful owner."

Zhang Cai seriously said: "We don't know who they are, and besides, the benefactor is right that if we recklessly return it, they might want to take our lives as well. The lives of us peasants are not worth much. If they come to take it, we will give it back." Guo Sufei nodded in agreement.

After the conversation between the old couple, Zhang Cai took the internal medicine and let Guo Sufei apply the external medicine for wounds for him. He then slept in Zhang Xiaohua's place. After Zhang Cai lay down, Guo Sufei went to check on the three brothers, who were all asleep, before returning to her room.

The two girls in the room were exhausted after a day of fright, and they fell asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow. They did not know when Guo Sufei entered. Guo Sufei looked at the peaceful faces of the two girls, smiled kindly, and then seemed to think of something, pondering.

 

Speaking of the afternoon, after Wen Wenhai left the medicine for Zhang Cai and the others, he and his junior sister traveled lightly for a while, and as they approached the main road, the two stopped. Wen Wenhai said, "Junior Sister, we are about to reach the main road and can no longer use our lightness skill. We have been busy rescuing people this afternoon, even leaving our horses in town. What should we do about the road ahead?"

His junior sister replied softly, "As the senior brother arranges." Her voice was still pleasant, but indifferent.

Wen Wenhai laughed bitterly, pinching his nose and saying, "Junior sister, normally you are indifferent to everything, but in the afternoon you insisted that I rescue people. You even left your token behind. What if those peasants use it for something bad? You wouldn't be able to explain it to Master.".

His junior sister replied, "Thank you, senior brother, for intervening this afternoon. I will report the matter of the token to the Master, I believe he will understand me."

Wen Wenhai said, "Forget it, we'll go back and see the master together. This afternoon's matter, I should have intervened. It is our duty as martial artists to help the weak against the strong. It's just that we are on duty and otherwise, I would have intervened early on and didn't let Zhang Cai and his family get hurt."

His junior sister smiled and said, "I knew my senior brother had a kind heart and would not ignore them."

Wen Wenhai said, "You little girl, you have always had a cold temperament but a warm heart. We've grown up together, how could I not know your thoughts? However, it's still early now, and according to the Xiao Er from the restaurant yesterday, there is quite a distance from here. We can't delay any longer, we still have to go to pick up the horses and ride on our way."

His junior sister still had the same reply, "As the senior brother arranges."

Wen Wenhai thought for a moment and said, "Junior sister, you have to wear a veil, which attracts attention. Just wait here while I go to the inn in town to find the horses." When he finished speaking, he didn't wait for his junior sister to speak and walked towards Lu Town. His junior sister's reply of "As the senior brother arranges" was not spoken.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, she heard hoofbeats from the main road, and his junior sister looked up to see Wen Wenhai riding a horse towards her. When Wen Wenhai's horse reached her side, his junior sister took the reins he tossed over, stepped on the stirrup, turned over and rode up, shook the reins, and rushed out like an arrow, quickly disappearing down the main road. Wen Wenhai shook his head, smiled, and followed her on horseback.

As for Zhao Quansheng of the Evil Tiger Gang, he led the two short fat men and a group of servants back dejectedly. Many people saw them from a distance and hurriedly avoided them, while others were puzzled by their diminished arrogance compared to the past. The two men were the sons of rich businessmen in Lu Town, and they had done quite a few bad things by bullying men and domineering women. Today, their parents invited prominent people from the town to dine at home, including people from the Evil Tiger Gang, which is why the two of them had the opportunity to sneak out and enjoy themselves. By now, the banquet was over, leaving only the Evil Tiger Gang leader and the rich businessmen sitting idly in the garden. When they saw the fat men return crestfallen, they couldn't help but inquire. Zhao Quansheng saw the two fat men didn't dare to say anything, so he stepped forward to report everything. When Zhao Quansheng mentioned the two of them flirting with villagers, the rich businessmen glared at the fat men but said nothing. Upon mentioning that a few peasant families actually resisted, the rich men frowned and said, "Where did these country bumpkins come from, daring to cause trouble?"

Zhao Quansheng didn't respond to his comment and continued telling the story. When he reached the part about the two martial artists and the white-clothed scholar taking out a token, his hands stopped, and he asked nervously, "What is written on it?"

Zhao Quansheng still looked terrified and replied, "Piaomiao!"

With a "clang~", the teacup in the leader's hand fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces. The rich merchant didn't care much at first but upon seeing his usually calm and collected relative frightened like this, he couldn't help but be alarmed and hurriedly asked, "Brother Zhao San, what is Piaomiao?"

Brother Zhao San didn't answer him. Instead, he stood up, walked over to the two short, fat men, and slapped them across the faces several times in a row. Their faces immediately swelled up, and blood oozed from the corners of their mouths. The two men were terrified but didn't dare to leave. They could only cry out, "Uncle, please spare us!" Brother Zhao San angrily said, "You two good-for-nothing creatures have committed your fair share of crimes, bullying men and women alike. Your father has already provided you with four concubines each. Why aren't you satisfied? Is that village girl very beautiful?"

Seeing that the two men didn't dare to speak, he pressed, "Tell me, is she beautiful?"

The two men replied, "She's not that beautiful. She just looks delicate and innocent, which is tantalizing to our hearts."

Brother Zhao San laughed in anger and said, "Even though she's not beautiful, you still wanted to tease her, didn't you? Your hands are really itchy! They should be chopped off! Do you realize the extent of the trouble you've caused?"

At that point, the rich merchant understood the seriousness of the matter. He hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Brother, is the situation really grave?"

Instead of answering his question, Brother Zhao San squinted his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said strangely, "How did you two come back in such good spirits?" The suddenness of his question stumped the two short, fat men, who didn't know how to answer.

Zhao Quansheng picked up the conversation and said, "Hall Master, this is what happened." He then recounted everything that had transpired. Brother Zhao San sat back down in his chair, closed his eyes, and stopped talking, seemingly pondering the situation. The fat man who had just been slapped grumbled absentmindedly, "He said he was giving us 200 taels of silver, but I didn't count it carefully and ended up giving him 500 taels' worth of silver banknotes. When we have spare time tomorrow, we must find out which rogue peasant is behind this and get them to return the silver."

At this point, Brother Zhao San opened his eyes and slapped the table, shouting angrily, "You scoundrel, don't you dare! From now on, you're not allowed to even think about getting that silver back. That's your blood money!"

The rich merchant came closer and said, "Brother, why do you speak in riddles? You've thoroughly confused me. 500 taels of silver isn't much, but at least you should let me know the reason."

Brother Zhao San said with a bitter smile, "Little brother, you know about Wu Sword Hamlet, right?"

The merchant was puzzled and said, "Of course I know, isn't that the Evil Tiger Group's biggest supporter? Naturally, I know."

Brother Zhao San continued, "Then you must know about the Lotus Escort Agency."

The rich merchant nodded and affirmed his knowledge.

"Among the Lotus Escort Agency and Wu Sword Hamlet, who's more powerful?" Brother Zhao San asked.

The rich merchant answered with a smile, "Both have equal strength; there's no clear winner."

Brother Zhao San gave a bitter smile and said, "You are overestimating us, little brother. Wu Sword Hamlet is far inferior to the Lotus Escort Agency. This is well known in the Rivers and Gardens. There's no need for you to flatter us."

"But what does the Lotus Escort Agency have to do with Piaomiao?" the rich merchant asked, confused.

"The Lotus Escort Agency is just a branch of the Piaomiao Sect's outer hall!" Brother Zhao San's words struck everyone present like a massive blow. The two short, fat men were stunned. They never imagined that simply teasing two unremarkable village girls in the small Lu Town would land them in so much trouble! Luckily, Zhao Quansheng made them pay silver earlier, and although they were extremely unhappy about it, they obeyed. Otherwise, the two fat men wouldn't dare to think about the consequences.