Chad’s Good Luck
“I knew it.” I could smell the abnormality in Hangzhou’s air. I shut my eyes and bobbed my head. “I knew it.”
“What?” Tang Ye, bewildered, visually surveyed the surroundings.
While some would debate how magnificent, Tang Ye was able to spot something praiseworthy every inch he swept his gaze high and low. The roads were not packed or rowdy, but the relaxing atmosphere and freedom offered was visible at first glance. Of course, the capital was superior in certain ways, but that did not make the residents of Hangzhou feel as though they were missing out; they were visibly content with life in Hangzhou.
“Isn’t it nice and peaceful?” asked Tang Ye.
“That’s precisely the problem,” I mumbled.
“Why is that a problem?”
“Why is nobody stopping me?”
Tang Ye nodded. “If you want, I can go hit the drum at the magistrate’s office to announce your arrival, buy a few blank canvases to write…”
I put the brat on his bottom. I genuinely suspected if he deliberately provoked me so that I could improve his durability to physical damage.
A new generation, a new conman out for me. I’m too old for the pugilistic world now.
As I stomped on Tang Ye, I caught a glimpse of people out of my peripherals. “Brother Kenan, do you think they’re deliberately trying to get us to approach them?”
Squeezing out a tiny space to turn his head from under my foot, Tang Ye took a look at the people I was looking at. The woman chasing the guy, as breathless as she was, kept crying, “Stop him! He’s a pickpocket!” Judging from the golden pattern on the purse the pickpocket was holding, she had to be from a fairly well-off family, so the money within and the purse itself were definitely enough for him to survive a few months – and possibly visit a gambling den. Tang Ye eventually answered, “I think she just ran into yet another pickpocket.”
“Cut the tripe. Are we going to intervene or not?”
“Of course. We’re const-”
“Stop. Don’t you think you’ve fallen for their ploy? That’s all it took for you to get involved. Don’t you agree it’s a splendid tactic?”
“…” Using his left hand, Tang Ye flicked a true qi dart, striking the back of the pickpocket’s knee.
“Stop! Why are you intervening?”
Tang Ye’s finger flicks used to be tiny pills that he could fire with extreme precision, although he could not cover much distance. In close-quarters combat, he could have relied on it to dismantle anything thrown at him without breaking a sweat. After he started consuming unknown pills, the volume of true qi he stored in his dantian multiplied beyond what he was used to. As a result, he struggled to control his output; light attacks were heavy, and heavy attacks were heavier. Besides gaining experience, he probably immediately agreed to join me in Hangzhou in hopes that I could teach him how to control it.
Since he had increased his volume of true qi, Tang Ye was confident that his true qi darts could now travel farther – far enough to subdue the pickpocket. Far enough it was, except it was sharp enough to dismember the guy’s leg. Consequently, I had to intervene. That said, I could not just knock someone down without physical contact in public, not when there were plenty of skilled martial artists in Hangzhou now.
The boot I threw reached the thief’s back before Tang Ye’s qi dart could, knocking him out cold. Yes, the person who knocked out the thief was the weirdo lying trapped underneath my boot. Left with no better option, I used Shadow King Threads to throw Tang Ye’s boot at the thief. Although Tang Ye was left in a compromising posture, that was better than me being embarrassed.
“What are you looking at? No need for thanks. Just pay me two silver taels for assisting you.”
“Big Bro, we’re brothers.”
“That’s why I helped out. If it was my old man, I would’ve charged him three silver taels.”
Tang Ye sighed and then went with me to fetch his boot.
“Stop sticking your nose into unrelated affairs. We need to find an inconspicuous place to settle down and plan. I can sense countless eyes watching me already when we’ve only just entered Hangzhou.”
Tang Ye nodded. “Considering that numerous martial artists arrived before us, it’s virtually impossible to find a place that isn’t packed out, not to mention all their spies. Where are we going to lodge?”
We had a vast network in Hangzhou, so asking a friend to shelter us was not a challenge. The problem was, the same applied for Shifu, not to mention he was the one who formed Night Fortress. If I sought out someone I was acquainted with, that was the same as announcing to Shifu that I had arrived.
“Excuse me…”
I snapped out of my thoughts and looked to my side. The girl I just helped out, blushing as she clutched her purse tightly, expressed, “This is my young mistress’ purse. The pickpocket tried to take advantage of the fact that there were few people around to steal. Thank you for helping me.”
“He Xiang. He Xiang…” called the young mistress, huffing and puffing as she caught up. Though she looked feeble, she definitely had the hallmarks of a wealthy family’s scion.
The young lady bashfully eyed us after hearing He Xiang explain what transpired. It was understandable for her to be enamoured with our good looks, but I had to keep a low profile for the meantime in Hangzhou. I, therefore, tugged Tang Ye’s sleeve to signal to him that he should take the credit so that I would minimise the attention drawn to myself. Before he could speak up, though, she had conveyed, “Thank you for helping me.”
What?! I was the one who put the pickpocket out of commission! He didn’t do anything!
“Losing money is a minor matter, but my mother sewed this purse for me. If he stole it and blemished my name, I cannot imagine the ramifications. Thank you once again.”
It was me!
Tang Ye responded, “You need not thank me. I did not do anything.”
Exactly! So why did she take you as her saviour when you hadn’t even said anything?! Just because you’re handsome?!
“This one and his friend were looking for lodging, and it is getting dark, so we must be on our way.”
“You are seeking lodging in Hangzhou? How about staying at our place?”
“Miss, you…”
The maiden smiled as she lowered her head. “My father is… has… a somewhat successful career. He likes to make new friends, so he would be glad to befriend my benefactor.”
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