Influence, Request and Assistance

Liang held his sister, Liao, close to his chest.

The two of them had been living in the streets for a while, but this was the first time they had managed to get themselves in such trouble.

Liao was constantly shaking as the Dong Family's servant shouted at them and even slapped them.

Liang just seemed ashamed and frustrated, he was too weak to defend his little sister, and he hated himself for that.

But what he hated more were the people that had gathered around them, just looking on and laughing or intrigue, as if their predicament was nothing more than entertainment. 

His sister's tears... No one seemed to care for them. They never did. 

'When I grow stronger... I'll slaughter all of y-'

Before he could even finish his hate-fueled thoughts he appeared in front of them. A wild-looking but kind man in golden sleeveless robes. His large back and wide shoulders couldn't help but make others feel safe. 

With the staff on his back and some strange beads around his burly arm, he seemed to be nothing like the weak children he was protecting, a completely unrelated bystander.

Liao seemed to be immediately taken with him, fascinated by him as he forced the servant to bow to them in forgiveness.

But Liang was still worried, he didn't trust the young man who was assisting them yet.

And yet, despite his distrust, even he was eventually shocked when seeing their perceived benefactor bring the arrogant noble whose carriage had almost killed his dear sister.

When seeing that he was standing up for them. Even Liang couldn't help but stand behind the wild men, getting closer to him alongside Liao. 

They were both scared when they saw the Enforcers trying to apprehend their benefactor, but there was nothing they could do aside from trembling behind him.

Thankfully... It seemed that the identity of their saviour was also not simple. 

"Great Sage Mo?! What's she talking about?" 

"A sage? This is the first time I've heard about this!?"

"Isn't that the greatest title a scholar can receive from the King? There hasn't been one in centuries..." 

Murmurs spread out all across the crowd as the Monk sighed.

'Good thing I stopped trying to act low-key, the King would've ruined that for me pretty quick...'

By then, Captain Mao of the Enforcers also realized what type of trouble he was getting himself into.

Someone like Mo Qiao would not lie to them out of the blue, especially not about such an illustrious title like 'Sage' which only the king could impart upon someone. 

Hell, lying about what the king said or did was oftentimes considered treason, the Enforcers were the ones called upon when such things happened. 

So, Captain Mao had no choice but to take Mo Qiao's words for granted. Mo Yangling had done something of large enough significance during the Grand Family Gathering that he was recognized by the King... 

'Shit! The Dong Family's financial support isn't worth angering the king...'

Even a Martial Grandmaster like him was nothing in front of their King's wrath. His influence and connections wouldn't be able to save him. 

"W-well, I must apologize. I was not aware of Sage Mo's title earlier, I was merely acting on reports. Of course, I planned to interrogate all parties accordingly." 

Dong Dong was immediately filled with rage when hearing that the Captain who worked so closely with his family was backing off from the matter. 

But he refrained from commenting, especially since he finally understood the status of the one pissing on his parade.

'Shit! I hope Father doesn't beat me up for this...' Messing with any of the Great Families would usually get him beaten, but messing with a sage? That was a whole new experience even for the Dong Family Young Master. 

So, Dong Dong quickly moved on to damage control. 

"I am also sorry for causing trouble to you fine officers of the law! This has been nothing but a misunderstanding." 

Still, he felt uncontrollable anger and humiliation just having to bow his head towards the Enforcers. It was even worse, as he could feel his face stinging from his earlier altercation with the monk.

He had been faceplanted into the ground without even receiving any punches, that alone was humiliating enough to make him want to crawl into a hole and die. 

'Fuck... Who do I blame for this?!? It's gotta be this Mo Yangling's fault! That's right, why would someone rich like him stand up for some poor people? That just doesn't make sense...' 

Still, Dong didn't let the anger and frustration welling up inside him to surface.

He first needed to understand who he was dealing with properly, otherwise his father would truly beat him to death. 

So, for now, he took the humiliation and turned around towards Mo Yangling as well.

"I am sorry for attacking you so suddenly, Sage Mo..." He brought his hands together in a martial salute, but one could easily hear his tone slightly trembling when speaking Mo Yangling's title.

"Haha~ Amitabha, rest easy. I wouldn't call that an attack... But it's fine. You can get into your carriage and fuck off."

"Pfft-" To the side, Mo Qiao stifled her laughter as she watched one of the most prominent troublemakers of the middle ring just bow his head and beg for forgiveness from a man he had attacked. 

The Young Master's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, his eyes narrowed a bit before he bowed one last time.

"T-thank you, Sage Mo..." 'You will pay for this humiliation one day! I swear this on the name of the Great Dong Family!' 

The Dong Family Young Master then immediately ran back into his carriage, and Captain Mo's Enforcers started shooing the crowd away, making way for him and his servant to fuck off.

Captain Mao's brow filled with sweat as he could feel the Young Master's frustration as he had departed.

'Shit... Here's hoping I won't get in trouble with the Dong Family either... I guess I could arrest the beggars that got in his way.' 

The Dong Family was among the richest within the Captial City, their expansive wealth and many businesses were said to even match the Great Families.

So it was no wonder that a lowly Enforcer Captain didn't want to get in trouble with them. His best hope at pacifying them was at the very least getting rid of the ones that had started that whole incident, somewhat gratifying the Dong Young Master's reasonings...

"Young Sage Mo! Thank you for your forgiving attitude and understanding!"

The Captain bowed slightly to the Sage, though he had no clue how such a young man received such an illustrious title from the king, he was not in the position to question any of their leader's decisions.

"It's a small matter, Captain Mao... You can take your leave now." Mo Yangling smiled as he turned to his cousin and gave her a smirk.

"Seems like you were able to benefit from my teachings..." The Monk immediately eyed and judged his cousin's improvements. He couldn't help but nod in appreciation.

"I was only able to comprehend so much... But I'll ponder more on your words, 'Sage Mo'... Haha~ That title sounds a bit silly, doesn't it?" Mo Qiao smiled as she openly 'disrespected' the Sage favoured by the King.

Yet, she was one of the few people that could knowingly get away with that. 

The Monk smiled and nodded, also finding it hard to get used to his new title. But at the same time, he could take it in stride, especially since it offered plenty of benefits. 

At his legs, Liang and Liao both continued to stick close to him, almost as if they were holding onto a lifeline. 

The Monk didn't stop them either, the two brats reminded him of the many orphans he had helped train(and beat up) over the years. He was planning to speak to them more after finishing his conversation with Mo Qiao though. 

But before he could ask his cousin how much she had really understood from the excerpt of the Diamond Scripture he had mouthed, Captain Mao interjected. 

"S-sage, before I leave, shall I take these two beggars away? They seemed to have stained your golden pants with their dirty paws..." 

Both Liang and Liao seemed to shrink further behind the Monk, their hands trembling as they continued to hold onto the hem of his pants.

'... To think people in this world are so heartless. Treating innocent children in such a way.' 

The Monk's muscled neck shifted as he turned his head towards the Captain who was addressing him.

"Amitabha, you're still here? I'll make things simple for your monkey brain to understand... I just went through the trouble of helping these two children. If you touch them, I'll kill you." 

Captain Mao immediately shrunk back in shock when hearing the Monk's words. Despite his obvious aggression, he sounded happy whilst speaking, almost as if he was inviting his friend out for some Baijiu and Wine. 

"I-... Umm..." The enforcer Captain, as well as his subordinates behind him, were all too shocked even to speak.

'How dare you?!? Even if the king recognizes you, a mere scholar like you dares to speak like that to a Martial Grandmaster?! A captain of his majesty's enforcers no less?!' 

Captain Mao's mind raged as he clenched his fist, before bringing his hand to the hilt of his sheathed sabre.

Mo Qiao immediately took a step back, a look of concern on her face as she also placed her hand on her exquisite blade. 

'Shit... Seems like things'll get violent. I may not be able to help much with my cultivation, but Cousin Mo may just be able to hold his ow-' 

But before Mo Qiao could even finish her thought, the monk's bead-covered fist was already bending through Captain Mao's jawline. 

Mao didn't even have the chance to react, he was immediately sent flying to the side above a few buildings as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

His enforcer blade seemed to unclasp from his belt and also fell in some random alleyway or rooftop.

The monk lightly blew on his smoking fist, the wooden beads that covered it were slightly stained with the Captain's blood.

Both Liang and Liao had to hold on tight to his legs to not get blown away just from the sheer shockwave of their benefactor's fist.

They looked up at Mo Yangling with stars in their eyes.

'Would we... Will we ever be able to grow that strong?!' 

Both of the Enforcers still present seemed to tense up as soon as the Monk's gaze landed on them. 

"Well?! What are you waiting for?! Get the fuck away from here you chicken shits!"

They didn't need to hear more than that. They weren't even Martial Masters, they stood no chance. So they immediately ran away to retrieve their unconscious Captain, while Mo Qiao just laughed her ass off to the side. 

"Bwahahaha~ Our Kingdom's greatest sage is truly unfathomable!" She couldn't help but laugh mockingly at the backs of the retreating Enforcers.

Mo Yangling just smirked at her antics before turning towards the children, who took a step back and looked up at him with reverence as he reached over and patted their heads. 

The monk couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly when seeing the boy tremble a bit, but the girl seemed to be completely relaxed.

'One is more careful, especially after seeing me spill someone's blood, but still seems to respect me. The other one seemed to have become attached a bit too fast... Children with rather deep issues, both of them.' 

He sighed and slowly squatted, his head tilted as he lowered himself to their eye level and decided to extend a helping hand.

"Say, kids... Would the two of you happen to be looking for employment?" 

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Hello there!

Hope you liked today's chapters! I'll be honest, forgot to upload the second chapter yesterday, so I'm doing it now.

Anyhow, have a great day!

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