Chapter 03
Ming Feizhen wiped his mouth with his sleeve, then stretched a hand out to Hua Qing.
“I-I do not have the antidote. They claim it is Tang Clan’s secret formula. I only have common antidotes and poisons. They are not enough to neutralise Tang Clan’s pois-”
“I wasn’t asking for an antidote.”
“… Y-you’re also after it?! You’re after the same thing as them! I will never tell y-”
Ming Feizhen slapped Hua Qing’s anger and disappointment out the other side, replacing it with flashing white lights. “The hell are you on about?”
“What do you want, then?”
Hua Qing’s shifu often watched their neighbour’s stupid son the same way Ming Feizhen monitored him.
Ming Feizhen, index finger and thumb glued, gestured for something to be handed over. “Money.”
“Money?” Hua Qing’s mouth gradually widened. “You want money?!”
“Why are you asking the obvious? Why should I help them, otherwise?” Ming Feizhen made no attempt to hide the fact that he considered Hua Qing a dullard. “There’s a cure for the poisons Tang Clan in Sichuan manufactures. Having said that, like their poison, the antidote costs a hefty sum. Although I have money, are they going to pay me back after I save them? Since you want to save them, who else but you should cover the expenses?”
Ming Feizhen completely crushed the saintly image he built up not long ago.
“Y-y-you…”
“You want to save them or not?”
“What is your asking price?” Hua Qing didn’t expect to be offered the chance to bargain.
Ming Feizhen raised a finger.
“One tael?”
“One hundred taels per person. Take it or leave it.”
“This is highway robbery, you cornhole!”
Ming Feizhen blew the finger he plugged his ears with. “I’m not forcing you; it’s your choice.”
“To save all the passengers, it’d cost me over three thousand, then. I don’t have that much.”
“That’s not my problem.”
Su Li’s eyebrows were locked, body temperature steadily climbing.
“Y-you… Young Hero, since you were kind enough to save me, can you not show the same kindness to others?”
“That’s not going to work. Saving people costs money. They’re neither my family nor friends. What reason do I have to help them? I don’t owe them, either. Plus, aren’t you just antsy because you want to save the lady? If you want to save just her, a hundred taels is enough.”
“… Fine, I’ll pay.” Hua Qing took out over a hundred silver taels out of his own pocket.
“Hmm…” Su Li broke out in cold sweat as her body tried to stave off the poison slowly whittling away at her body.
All the passengers on this ship will die because of me.
Hua Qing turned back to see Ming Feizhen still enjoying his drink. “One hundred taels per head, correct?”
“You heard me.”
“You’re willing to help as long as I pay?”
“Always happy to do good.”
“Make sure to honour your word.”
Hua Qing went through Ma Hanshan’s clothes. The elder likely didn’t carry valuables on him in order to pose as a storyteller. On the other hand, Ma Hanshan and Wei Changfeng had to avoid colleagues and the imperial court so that they could remain off the radar. As such, they would have to take with them items that neither groups could find out about. As expected, Ma Hanshan had two thousand taels in notes in addition to two-hundred-plus spare silvers. Even if Wei Changfeng didn’t have a penny, Su Li and the others would have enough left on them to make up for the remaining three thousand.
Right as Hua Qing began fumbling through Wei Changfeng’s shirt, the latter thrust his left fingers at Hua Qing’s throat. Right before Hua Qing’s arrow found its target, Wei Changfeng used his internal energy to veer it off course, then played possum since. He knew Ming Feizhen could kill him, but he wanted to take Hua Qing down with him. Owing to his lack of experience, Hua Qing didn’t know how to deal with his predicament. Hua Qing suddenly felt a warm splash on his face.
“He looks dead broke. Why are you searching him?” Ming Feizhen pulled his hand out of Wei Changfang’s chest out the latter’s back. “The kill doesn’t count until they aren’t breathing. What the heck is with the half-baked effort?” Ming Feizhen snapped Wei Changfeng’s neck for good measure. “You’ve amassed over two thousand. Keep going.”
Hua Qing had a lot on his mind in regards to Ming Feizhen; however, he had other priorities. He only managed to find another hundred-odd taels, forcing him to search Su Li’s attendant for six-thousand-plus in notes.
Hua Qing passed the money over to Ming Feizhen. “You can save them now, right?”
Smiling, Ming Feizhen replied, “Even chickens and ducks.” He crushed a black shell of a pill he pulled out from his shirt, then tossed the tiny crimson pill into the wine jug.
“What are you doing with the antid-?!” Hua Qing could smell the aroma of the alcohol changing and see red tendrils of gas rise from the jug, disseminating in the cabin.
“One pill is enough for fifty people. On account of you being a broke bum, I gave you a generous discount.
“… The mist neutralises the poison?”
“You think it’s for you to smoke?”
“And it can save fifty people?”
“Feel free to poison twenty more people to find out.”
“In that case… why did you hit me with the chicken bone?!”
“… Were you planning to wake up at the same time as them and then take your sweet time talking about what happened?”
Hua Qing just accepted that he wasn’t going to be able to comprehend Ming Feizhen’s way of thinking.
“Thank you for saving me. I apologise for my unbecoming attitude… May I ask why you saved me?”
Ming Feizhen took another bite of his chicken drumstick. “Why do you think?”
“I keep a secret that I cannot carelessly speak of for the fate of Three Gorges and Central Plain’s martial arts community rides on it. I may not have any authority, but I have a gut of courage and heart of p-”
“Pass me the pork liver.”
“Oh.”
Hua Qing noticed how easy it was for him to stand. In addition to expelling the poison from Hua Qing’s body with the chicken bone, Ming Feizhen also healed Hua Qing’s injuries. That was why Hua Qing could feel a warm flow of energy inside him.
He’s strong and doesn’t seem bad. Maybe he can help me if I share my problems.
“You wish,” Ming Feizhen suddenly said. “I only ended those two because they refused to give me food and even assaulted me. Saving you was only an outcome, not a reason. I can’t help you.”
Given how rare heroes were, nobody should expect themselves to be lucky enough to run into one.
“Those two were stupid. They kept interrogating you, yet they didn’t think of searching you.” Ming Feizhen raised up a small red silk pouch in his left hand.
“When did you?! Oh, you stole it from me when you approached our table during the day!”
“No, I went to your table for the sesame flat bread. I assumed you’d be generous since your face is ugly, but no. Serves you right for failing to woo her.”
Hua Qing always questioned how old Ming Feizhen really was as he had white hair, a young face and carried himself unbearably arrogantly. “Give it back, you runt! You can’t have it.”
“I was never interested in it. Since I’ve picked it up, though, why don’t you tell me how you got your hands on it?” Ming Feizhen looked back at Hua Qing out of his peripherals.
“I refused to yield even when they pulled a blade out on me. What makes you think I’ll yield to you?”
Ming Feizhen shifted his gaze back to the pouch. “Not going to talk?”
“True men don’t go back on their word!”
“I’ll crush it, then.”
“You little…” Hua Qing’s effort to snatch it back was in vain – unless getting kicked into a wall was some sort of accomplishment.
“This thing possesses sentience. I don’t know what the cause is, but it constantly absorbs my internal energy whenever I churn it out. This rare item isn’t something someone in your league can steal. Where did you get it from?”
“I can tell you, but… you have to help me.”
“Stay woke. Nobody does free labour.”
Hmm? Does that mean…
“So… if I pay you…”
“I’m all ears.”
… Serious question: which gang are you part of?
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