Chapter 4

"Old Mr. Qin, please have mercy, be kind. My daughter Ado is still young. Please give us a little more time. We will pay back the ten taels of silver in a month!" A middle-aged woman with a hoarse voice tightly clung to the leg of a burly man, pleading bitterly.

The burly man glared and kicked the woman away, cursing fiercely, "Old beggar, look clearly. It's written in black and white here. Your husband, Li Daniu, used ten taels of silver to pawn your daughter to our Silver Hook Gambling Den!"

"Ten taels of silver? Do I owe you ten taels of silver? Bah!"

As he spoke, the burly man waved his hand angrily, "Hurry up, take the little girl away!"

"Mom... Mom, I don't want to go!" A young voice came from behind.

"What a tragedy, this Li Daniu really messed up a good family because of his gambling!"

"Who would have thought? Little Duo is such a good girl. If she ends up in the Silver Hook Gambling Den, what will become of her?"

"Ah, who can afford to offend the Silver Hook Gambling Den?"

The crowd murmured, and the desperate middle-aged woman suddenly jumped up from the ground, as if she had found a lifeline, and shouted, "Young Master Zheng from the Zheng family said he likes my Little Duo and wants to marry her. You... you can't take my Little Duo away!"

The woman's words seemed to remind the onlookers, and they all started to chime in, "That's right, I saw it too. Young Master Zheng did say he wanted to marry Little Duo!"

"Exactly, Young Master Zheng said he wanted Little Duo to go back to the Zheng family and live a good life!"

"Ah, I can vouch for this too. Why don't you let her go?"

The burly man was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, "You mean that little brat Zheng Ming? Hahaha, a little kid like him, thinking about women?"

"Speaking of his father, our Silver Hook Gambling Den gives him face, but a nobody like him, we don't even care about."

The burly man spoke with confidence, and the people who were about to vouch for her were silenced.

To them, although the Zheng family was powerful in town, the powerful one was Zheng Ming's father. Zheng Ming himself was not even a ranked martial artist.

Their impression of Zheng Ming was of a cheerful young man who liked to help others. Although he was liked, who in town feared him?

It seemed he had only beaten Wu Banshan once, and never hit anyone else!

Seeing that no one dared to speak up, the burly man spat on the ground and said to the men behind him, "Hurry up, take the girl away!"

Just as everyone was stunned, a cold voice suddenly said, "Were you talking about me?"

Hearing the voice, the burly man turned around and saw a young man in a green robe looking at him coldly.

Although the Silver Hook Gambling Den was in another town, the burly man had been to Luming Town many times and naturally knew Zheng Ming.

"Haha, it's Young Master Zheng. Wherever you come from, go play somewhere else!" He grinned and taunted, "This isn't a place for you to do good deeds."

The men behind the burly man also laughed.

Zheng Ming looked at the burly man's laughing face and slapped him hard.

He had long been annoyed by this man, not only because he was taking people on the street but also because he had shown such disdain when talking about him. Most importantly, Zheng Ming was shocked to find that this man's reputation value was over 1,200 and still increasing.

Damn it, he had only gained one reputation point from beating someone, and this guy had 1,200 and was still increasing. How outrageous!

The burly man was clearly stunned by the slap. He never expected this always cheerful young man to suddenly hit him, and in front of everyone, no less, right across the face.

"Brat, you dare to hit me? Today, I, Qin Meng, will teach you a lesson for Chong Xuan!" The burly man, enraged, swung a punch at Zheng Ming.

Although Qin Meng was tall and fierce, he was not a ranked martial artist. His punch was fast, but how could it compare to Zheng Ming's years of training?

Although Zheng Ming had not yet reached the inner strength stage, his Bear Hug Technique was extremely precise. In an instant, Zheng Ming's body slammed into Qin Meng's abdomen like an iron bear crashing into a tree.

This time, Qin Meng was indeed unlucky. If he had taken it seriously, he might not have been able to beat Zheng Ming, let alone now!

The impact didn't knock Qin Meng down, but it left his stomach in excruciating pain. He squatted on the ground, drenched in sweat.

"Brothers, beat him up, I'll take responsibility!" Qin Meng, blinded by anger, shouted at his men.

The men, all tough and fierce, immediately came to life and surrounded Zheng Ming.

Although Zheng Ming practiced the Bear Hug Technique, he was not yet a ranked martial artist. Dealing with one Qin Meng was manageable, but handling so many at once was a bit overwhelming.

However, Zheng Ming had no intention of fighting. He waved his hand and said, "Uncle Li, someone wants to beat me."

As he spoke, over a dozen men in green short robes, each as strong as a mountain, walked over.

The man at the front was named Zheng Dali, the captain of the Zheng family's guard in Luming Town. He was a 13th-rank martial artist, in his forties, with a rough appearance.

He glanced at the men surrounding Zheng Ming and said coldly, "Daring to lay a hand on Young Master? How dare you! Beat them up!"

As he spoke, his men didn't give Qin Meng's group a chance to explain and rushed over, quickly beating them to the ground.

Qin Meng tried to stand up and speak but was slapped twice and kicked back down by one of the guards.

"Brother Dali, I am Qin Meng from the Silver Hook Gambling Den. I was wrong to offend Young Master. We admit defeat today and will come to apologize to Town Chief Zheng in a few days!"

Although Qin Meng was rash, he knew when to back down. He quickly said to Zheng Dali.

Zheng Dali frowned. Although the Silver Hook Gambling Den was not in Luming Town, it was still a powerful force. Town Chief Zheng Gongxuan had warned him not to offend them.

Although they had the right on their side, he couldn't offend them too much. Since they had admitted defeat, he couldn't be too harsh.

Just as Zheng Dali was about to nod, Zheng Ming said, "Bring out the indenture!"

"Here it is, Young Master!" Qin Meng hesitated for a moment, then took out the indenture. "I thought they were lying. If I had known this was a woman you liked, we wouldn't have taken the indenture!"

Zheng Ming looked at the woman standing behind the middle-aged woman, who was looking at him with adoring eyes, and suddenly realized something: This girl was the one he had planned to bully yesterday!

As he looked at the woman, Zheng Dali, standing beside him, also smiled and said teasingly, "Young Master, you've really grown up."

Grow up my ass!

At that moment, Zheng Ming realized his reputation value had suddenly jumped to 86!

From 1 to 86, just for one slap. This happiness came too quickly. He couldn't let Qin Meng off so easily!

With a determined mind, Zheng Ming smiled and said, "Since the indenture was won by Li Daniu, let's gamble. If I lose, I'll let it go. If I win, you leave the indenture behind. How about it?"

Looking at Zheng Ming, Qin Meng felt a bit uncomfortable but thought the terms were worth it. The worst that could happen if he lost was to leave the indenture.

"Let's flip a coin. Heads, I win. Tails, you win." As he spoke, Zheng Ming took out a copper coin and threw it on the ground.

At that moment, many people held their breath, especially the middle-aged woman. She looked at Zheng Ming with confusion, wondering why he wanted to gamble again.

Qin Meng had already returned the indenture!

The coin fell, and many hearts skipped a beat.

Tails!

Many people's hearts sank, and Little Duo, who had been looking at Zheng Ming with watery eyes, burst into tears and ran to her mother.

"Young Master, I'm truly sorry, I won this time!" Qin Meng was overjoyed, thinking that Young Master Zheng didn't want to offend the Silver Hook Gambling Den and was using this as a way to let him take the girl.

But just as he finished speaking, a slap landed on his face. Zheng Ming, looking fierce, demanded, "Which eye saw it as tails?"

"Both my eyes saw it." Qin Meng, enraged, shouted.

"Then both your eyes are blind. Blindness needs to be treated, don't you think?" Zheng Ming slapped him again.

Qin Meng wanted to jump up, but the pain in his stomach made it impossible, and Zheng Dali's hand was pressing on his back.

The word "blind" made Qin Meng shudder. He looked at the cold-faced young man and felt a chill.

Damn, this sunny young man from the Zheng family is also ruthless!

For a moment, Qin Meng felt a bit of fear.

"Slap!" Qin Meng slapped himself and shouted, "The coin is heads. I didn't see it clearly. I'm blind, hahaha!"

Qin Meng left with his men, his eyes filled with fear and anger. As he left, Zheng Dali quietly said to Zheng Ming, "Young Master, offending the Silver Hook Gambling Den isn't good."

Zheng Ming knew that, but at that moment, he was elated.

"Damn, not respecting me, you deserve a good beating!" As he spoke, he saw Li Daniu, trembling in the crowd.

"Uncle Dali, give him a hundred lashes. Tell him, if he gambles again, I'll beat him every time I see him!"

Zheng Dali agreed and had two guards tie the middle-aged Li Daniu to a nearby tree.

"Young Master, he was just confused. Please forgive him!" The middle-aged woman ran to Zheng Ming and pleaded.

"Madam, if I let him go, he might gamble again and sell Little Duo for gambling money. Such a person needs a good beating to remember the lesson. Don't worry, I'll pay for his medical expenses."

The middle-aged woman hesitated but said nothing. As the guards' whips fell, Li Daniu's screams echoed throughout Luming Town.

The crowd, who had been cheering, gradually quieted down. They looked at Zheng Ming with respect and a bit of fear.

This fear increased Zheng Ming's reputation value rapidly.

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