Chapter 37

After the news of the fall of the Qin Dynasty spread, the Han King Liu Bang and the Western Chu Overlord Xiang Yu engaged in a military confrontation to vie for control of the empire. To avoid the ravages of war, the people of Hanzhong began to flee to relatively safer outer counties. Even a small county like Liaoxi became a coveted destination.

Mr. Zhao, the owner and manager of a newly opened large restaurant in Liaoxi, was a man of unremarkable appearance. Half a year ago, he was a local official in a certain area of Liaodong County. After the earthquake, most of the people under his jurisdiction fled. Afraid of being held responsible, Mr. Zhao, with his family, joined the flood of refugees to Liaoxi County.

When Mr. Zhao was a local official, he ran a restaurant in his area. After a strange encounter, he had accumulated a considerable amount of money. Although he was a refugee, he was far better off than others who had run out of food and were begging in the city.

Within three days of entering Liaoxi County, Mr. Zhao found a restaurant that he liked and bought it. As more and more people flooded into Liaoxi County, although most were poor, there were still quite a few with some means. While other things could be compromised, food was a necessity. Mr. Zhao's business flourished.

One noon, when the restaurant was at its busiest, Mr. Zhao was helping in the kitchen when he saw one of his employees run over and whisper something in his ear. After hearing this, Mr. Zhao's eyes widened: "Damn it, another freeloader? So what if they are refugees? I'm a refugee too! Is there no law in the Qin Dynasty anymore?"

After saying this, Mr. Zhao turned to the two chefs who were busy at the stove and shouted: "Stop what you're doing and come with me to beat them up! If we don't draw blood today, we won't have a business tomorrow!" As he spoke, he picked up a sharp knife, but after a moment's hesitation, he put it down and picked up a piece of unburned firewood from the stove, waving it angrily as he strode to the front hall.

The hall was already in chaos. Mr. Zhao's nephew was pounding the table and shouting: "Do you have any law? You freeloaders think you can eat for free? I'll go and get the local official to arrest you both! Prison food is free, but do you dare to eat it?"

Before Mr. Zhao went out, he heard his nephew's words and felt a bit puzzled. When did this little brat become so talkative? In the past, he would have beaten the freeloaders without a word. Whatever they ate, he would make them vomit it back out. What was wrong with him today? He even talked about getting an official to back him up.

As Mr. Zhao was pondering, he lifted the curtain and entered the hall. He saw two people sitting in front of his nephew. One was blocked by his nephew, so he couldn't see the face. The other was an extremely old, decrepit old man. Mr. Zhao didn't recognize him and he didn't look like he was from the area.

Just an old man, so the other one couldn't be much better. Mr. Zhao felt confident and shouted at his nephew: "Little San, stop talking nonsense! How many times have I told you? If they dare to eat for free, they must be ready to get beaten. Whatever they eat, they must vomit it back out. I've seen tiger-fighting heroes, why should I care about a freeloader? What are you waiting for? Get moving..."

Just as Mr. Zhao was about to finish his sentence, a head appeared next to his nephew. It was the person who had been blocked. This man had white hair and stared straight at Mr. Zhao. Both the white-haired man and Mr. Zhao were momentarily stunned.

At this moment, the two chefs behind Mr. Zhao shouted "Ou!" and rushed over. They wanted to show off in front of their boss, but the effect wasn't great. One of the fat chefs rushed to the white-haired man, waving a kitchen knife. He didn't dare to really attack, just to scare the freeloader away.

As the knife was about to reach the white-haired man, he suddenly extended a finger and touched the blade. A spark flashed across the knife, and with a "bang," the fat chef dropped the knife and flew backward to the back stove, knocking down the other chef and scaring the women watching from behind.

This caused even more chaos. The onlookers scattered, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Mr. Zhao's nephew also took a few steps back, shouting: "He uses black magic! This white-haired man is a remnant of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang! Everyone, attack him..."

Before his nephew could finish, Mr. Zhao walked over, raised his arm, and slapped his nephew hard. The slap made the nephew's nose bleed and left a clear handprint on his face. Mr. Zhao was still not satisfied and said to his nephew: "Black magic, my ass! This is our family's great benefactor. If it weren't for his help, you would have starved to death in Liaodong County."

The white-haired man, as if he hadn't seen this, gave Mr. Zhao a forced smile and said: "What your nephew does is none of my business, but shouldn't we settle our accounts? I left two gold ingots. After the food is paid for, return the remaining gold ingots to me."

This white-haired man was none other than Wu Mian, who had appeared on Yang Mountain a few months ago. The old man next to him could only be Gui Bu Gui.

Mr. Zhao glanced at the onlookers and then said to Wu Mian with a bitter face: "Give me some face, let's talk in the back. It's too crowded here."

To be honest, Wu Mian hadn't expected to see Mr. Zhao here. When they came down from Yang Mountain, he and Gui Bu Gui had nothing left but the clothes on their backs. From Yang Mountain to Liaoxi County, they had been freeloading all the way. Strictly speaking, Gui Bu Gui didn't need to eat, but he had always been surrounded by people, and when he was in power, he had never been so shameless for a meal.

When Wu Mian couldn't stand the hunger anymore and wanted to take Gui Bu Gui to freeload, the old man had a sad face and said to Wu Mian: "Let's make a deal. You can take whatever you want, and I won't stop you. But can you go alone and not drag me along? I don't need to eat, and I'll just slow you down."

Unfortunately, Gui Bu Gui should have realized that Wu Mian wasn't someone who would listen to reason. As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Mian gave him a look and said in his unique tone: "If you don't come with me, who will they take their anger out on? Do you think you can get away with a little lightning strike?"

After saying this, he didn't care about Gui Bu Gui's feelings and dragged him into a restaurant.

Every time Gui Bu Gui watched Wu Mian eat, he would make Wu Mian stay to pay the bill while he walked out. Seeing the angry looks of the staff, the old man could only pitifully say: "If I say I forgot my money, will you believe me?" Gui Bu Gui's pitiful appearance and the fact that Wu Mian didn't eat much meant that no one really cared, and they just cursed a bit and let it go.

Wu Mian and Gui Bu Gui continued this way until they entered Mr. Zhao's restaurant. Mr. Zhao's nephew had a keen eye and noticed something was wrong before Wu Mian finished eating. Because of his keen eye, he realized Wu Mian was not to be trifled with. He sent an employee to find his uncle and started to curse Wu Mian and Gui Bu Gui. Little did he know, this cursing would bring trouble to his uncle.