Chapter 2

Yang Ning could tell that Old Tree Bark was a rather honest person. Beaten to this state, a simple apology was enough for him. Since even the victim didn't care, there was no need for him to dwell on it further.

He walked a few steps to Monkey, who, seeing Yang Ning approach, his face changed drastically, and he endured the pain to shout, "I... I've already apologized, you... you have to keep your word...!"

What a wimp.

When he was beating people, he was all bravado, but now with just one arm dislocated, all his arrogance was gone. Yang Ning didn't waste words, reaching out to grab Monkey's broken arm. Before he even moved much, Monkey let out a pig-like scream.

"Little Weasel...!" Old Tree Bark exclaimed in shock. The other beggars, seeing this, immediately decided to run.

"Stop howling," Yang Ning said irritably, "I'll set your arm. If you keep howling, I'll make this arm useless."

His mood wasn't good, and Monkey's screaming was annoying. During the early days of his special training, he often had his arms dislocated, but he never felt like the sky was falling.

Monkey, after all, was just a monkey and quite obedient. Yang Ning's words immediately stopped his screaming. Yang Ning tugged a few times, and Monkey's forehead broke out in sweat, his face contorted in pain, and he groaned. Yang Ning then withdrew his hand.

"Try to move it yourself," Yang Ning said, turning around and sitting on a pile of hay in the corner.

Monkey, half-believing, half-doubting, still moved his arm slightly. Although there was still some residual pain, his arm could move freely.

The other beggars, who were about to flee, saw this and returned. They saw Monkey suddenly kneel before Yang Ning, his voice becoming very emotional, "Little Weasel, from now on... from now on you're our leader, we'll all listen to you, if you tell us to go east, we won't go west...!"

Yang Ning was taken aback. The monkey's change of heart was too quick, making him uncomfortable.

What surprised him more was that the other beggars, seeing Monkey's actions, all rushed forward and knelt before Yang Ning, saying in unison, "Little Weasel, from now on you're the boss of the land temple, we'll all listen to you."

Yang Ning raised his hand, "Don't rush, let me think." He took a deep breath and asked, "This is Huize City, and you're all members of the Beggar Gang...!"

"You are too!" Monkey insisted that Yang Ning be on the same level as them.

Yang Ning glared at Monkey. He didn't like being interrupted, "What dynasty is it now? And who is the emperor?"

The beggars looked at each other, clearly not expecting such a high-level question from Yang Ning.

"Dynasty? This... Huize City is a county in the State of Chu, so we should be... in the Chu Dynasty," Monkey said cautiously, "We don't know who the emperor is."

A cold sweat broke out on Yang Ning's forehead, but he soon calmed down. If this was indeed ancient times, communication was extremely backward, and the emperor remained mysterious, never giving TV speeches. Ordinary people might not even know who the emperor was.

He asked a few more questions and, from their half-baked descriptions, got a rough idea.

He was called Little Weasel—at least in this era, that was his strange name. He was now in a small, not-so-peaceful county in the northern part of Huainan Prefecture in the State of Chu.

The county was not peaceful because just over a hundred miles to the north was the Huai River, and the Huai River was not peaceful because there had been ongoing battles on its banks for several years.

The State of Chu occupied a large area south of the Huai River, but to the north, it was the territory of the State of Han. The two countries were in opposition, facing each other across the river.

According to the unreliable information from these beggars, although the State of Chu was south of the Huai River, it had long controlled two prefectures north of the river, like a dagger in the heart of Northern Han. This threat naturally made Northern Han uneasy, so three years ago, Northern Han sent 200,000 troops south.

They fought for over two years, with smoke and fire everywhere along the Huai River, and the people on both sides were torn apart, fleeing their homes to seek refuge elsewhere.

Huize City, just a hundred miles from the Huai River, naturally became a refuge for refugees. Fortunately, although Northern Han had once reached the south bank of the Huai River, they were driven back before reaching Huize City, so the city did not suffer from war.

However, just a few months ago, the two countries ceased hostilities, and the nearly three-year-long Huai River War finally came to an end.

Although the war was over, the refugees in Huize City did not leave immediately. The small county was now overcrowded and congested.

Yang Ning had never thought he would one day travel through time, let alone become a member of the Beggar Gang.

Born into an ordinary family, he had worked hard to become a police officer, undergoing strict training. After retiring, he chose to go into business, starting from scratch and achieving some success.

Just as he was reaping the rewards of his hard work, he woke up from a drunken stupor to find himself a beggar.

The trouble was that he had little memory of this person called Little Weasel. Although he had some fragmented images in his mind, he couldn't piece them together.

"Little Weasel, with your skills, you'll surely achieve great things in the Beggar Gang," Monkey said with a smile, "With your skills, you're already a top-notch expert!"

Yang Ning just wanted to ask Monkey if he had any shame. Although he didn't deny that he had some skills, knocking out a few weaklings didn't make him a top expert. If he, Yang Ning, was a top expert, were these weaklings first-class experts?

"Can you achieve great things in the Beggar Gang?" Yang Ning, still unfamiliar with everything, asked humbly, "What would that be?"

"Still a beggar!" Monkey's answer almost made Yang Ning strike again, "But you might become the boss of Huize City!"

Yang Ning tried to control his temper and asked, "Since it's the Beggar Gang, do we have any branches? By the way, is the leader of the Beggar Gang surnamed Qiao?"

Before Monkey could speak, someone else interjected, "We are part of the Winged Serpent Branch, one of the twenty-eight branches... a sub-branch!" This person, ignoring Monkey's angry gaze, hoped to make a good impression on Yang Ning, "The leader is not surnamed Qiao, but... surnamed Xiang!"

"Do you know the Beggar Gang's staff?" Yang Ning asked with interest, "Have you heard of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?"

The beggars looked at each other and shook their heads, clearly not understanding what Yang Ning was talking about.

"Isn't the Beggar Gang's staff the treasure of the gang?" Yang Ning asked, "Haven't you seen Leader Xiang's staff?"

"Leader Xiang?" Monkey quickly said, "We are just a sub-branch in a small county, under the Winged Serpent Branch. We've never even seen the branch leader, let alone Leader Xiang. And I've heard that Leader Xiang is elusive, and we have no chance of meeting him."

Yang Ning was even more unhappy. Being a member of the Beggar Gang was one thing, but it seemed he was at the lowest level of the gang.

Beggars were already at the bottom of society, and now he was at the bottom of the bottom.

Old Tree Bark, who had been silent, finally approached, holding a small bag and handing it to Yang Ning, "Little Weasel, this is the silver from the jade pendant... it was used to buy medicine. There's some left, you should keep it."

The other beggars, now respectful of Old Tree Bark, moved aside to make room.

Yang Ning was puzzled, "Jade pendant?"

Old Tree Bark, seeing that Yang Ning was a bit confused, explained, "When you were unconscious, Little Butterfly came to see you. She saw you were seriously ill and left a jade pendant. I could tell it was important to her, but to save you, she gave it to me. I had no other choice but to accept it."

"Little Butterfly?" For some reason, hearing this name, Yang Ning felt a sense of familiarity. His head throbbed, and a vague image of a young, pretty girl appeared in his mind. His head ached, and he held his temples.

He wasn't stupid and quickly realized a possibility. Although he had taken over this body called Little Weasel, Little Weasel's consciousness and memories had not been completely erased. When certain people or events were mentioned, Little Weasel's subconscious would surface.

Old Tree Bark, noticing Yang Ning's strange reaction, frowned and sighed, "Little Weasel, you've just recovered from a serious illness. Why don't you rest a bit more? You can forget others, but you mustn't forget Little Butterfly. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't be alive now."

Yang Ning was even more puzzled. According to Old Tree Bark, this Little Butterfly seemed to be his savior.

The wind and rain outside made him feel a chill. He turned to Monkey, "Is there any water? Get some to wash my face."

He needed cold water to clear his head.

Monkey was taken aback, but seeing Yang Ning frown, he hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, I'll get it...!" He turned to the others, "Help me!"

After they left, Yang Ning asked Old Tree Bark, "I had a serious illness?"

"You've been sick for over ten days," Old Tree Bark sighed, "We had no money for treatment, so we could only watch. We thought you wouldn't make it, but a few days ago, Little Butterfly came in the middle of the night, cried for hours, and then gave me the jade pendant to exchange for silver to buy medicine. Little Weasel, if it weren't for that jade pendant, you would be dead by now."

"Little Butterfly... she cried for hours?" Yang Ning smiled bitterly, "Did she not want me to die? But... who is she, and why can't I remember?"

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