Chapter 48

Challenges are sometimes equivalent to provocations, another way of saying that someone is annoyed by you and wants to beat you up. At least, this is how Hu Lai understood it. Duels and contests could only happen between good friends or people of similar status, just for fun and to liven up the atmosphere. There was no point in comparing when there was a difference in status, unless there was a grudge, and one wanted to use the name of a duel to attack the other or humiliate them in front of everyone.

Hu Lai's challenge to Liang Xiao earlier fell into the former category, while today, Tu Niu'er's challenge to Hu Lai belonged to the latter.

So Hu Lai felt very uncomfortable and embarrassed, and he didn't hide it at all, showing it in his tone.

Tu Niu'er, who was slow to realize, only knew that he would have a fight with Hu Lai soon. He rolled up his sleeves and spat into his palm. This spit was like spitting in Hu Lai's face, making Hu Lai even angrier, his nose almost smoking.

Seeing Hu Lai angry, Liang Xiao was secretly delighted. It seemed that taking the initiative was effective; at least Hu Lai was not prepared. He deliberately glanced behind Hu Lai. Feng Ji was not there, but a few young maids were serving nearby, and there were no shortage of giggles and sighs in the corner.

The woman surnamed Li was among them. When she saw Liang Xiao's gaze, she instinctively lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

Liang Xiao looked around, taking in everyone present, and felt even more confident. Most of these young men belonged to the Northwest Gang, from relatively good families, but not everyone was a close friend of Hu Lai. They still had a sense of fairness and justice. On Jin Kui Mountain, many had expressed disdain for Hu Lai's actions.

After all, they were all around fifteen or sixteen years old, the age when they dreamed of keeping promises and wandering the world with a sword, not yet burdened with too many worldly concerns.

Even Hu Lai, who had been fighting Liang Xiao to the death, was mostly driven by anger.

"Yes, I want to challenge you," Liang Xiao put away his smile, staring at Hu Lai with a look of contempt, and said slowly, "Hu Lai, I remember after the battle on Jin Kui Mountain, you said that the enmity between us was settled, and we no longer owed each other anything."

Hu Lai was extremely embarrassed, his eyes darting around.

The young men around them listened, many putting down their cups and pricking up their ears. Even the burly youth in the corner, who was fondling a Hu family maid, withdrew his hand. They all sensed Liang Xiao's intention; Tu Niu'er's challenge was not just about a fight.

Having successfully attracted everyone's attention, Liang Xiao was not about to let Hu Lai get away with it. He raised his voice and asked, "Hu Lai, is that true or not?"

In front of everyone, Hu Lai could not deny it and had to nod.

"Since that's the case, why did you send an assassin to kill me?" Liang Xiao said loudly, "Repaying kindness with kindness and enmity with enmity is the way of a true man. Sending an assassin, what kind of hero is that? Hu Lai, since you speak insincerely, let's settle this today, once and for all."

Only then did everyone understand why Liang Xiao was here, and they could not help but look down on Hu Lai's actions. Breaking one's word was already shameful, but sending an assassin was not just dishonorable, it was despicable. Even those who were usually inclined towards Hu Lai were displeased.

For a moment, all eyes in the room turned to Hu Lai, making him feel utterly humiliated.

Hu Lai was at a loss, stammering, "What assassin? What are you talking about?"

Liang Xiao raised an eyebrow, "You don't know?"

In his panic, Hu Lai did not notice the trap in Liang Xiao's words. Hearing that Liang Xiao was not so determined, he immediately followed Liang Xiao's lead. "Of course, I keep my word. Since I said we no longer owe each other, that's the case. I won't go back on my word, and I certainly won't send an assassin."

"Really?" Liang Xiao's tone was even more hesitant.

"Really," Hu Lai's face turned red, but he patted his chest and said loudly, "A man's word is a promise that even four horses can't drag back. These friends can all witness that, though I may not be a hero, I dare not break my word. Liang Xiao, the enmity between us is settled, and the assassin has nothing to do with me."

Liang Xiao scratched his head awkwardly, looking a bit uneasy. "Then I might have misunderstood you."

Hu Lai finally breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily, pretending to be generous. "You did misunderstand me. But now that it's out in the open, let's put it behind us. Liang Xiao, since you're here, why don't we sit down and have a drink?"

Hu Lai was just being polite, but Liang Xiao was prepared. Even if Hu Lai didn't invite him, he wouldn't leave. He said a polite word, and Liang Xiao immediately took the opportunity, sitting down and saying loudly, "That's right. Since our enmity is settled, let's drink together and laugh it off."

Hu Lai's face twitched, but he couldn't take back his words, so he signaled the maid to bring wine. Liang Xiao looked around and naturally beckoned the woman surnamed Li. "This one is good, let her pour the wine for me."

Maids were the property of their masters. Being teased or even arranged to warm the bed was a common occurrence. At that time, the Wu Chu region was open-minded, and it was not unusual to give away a concubine, let alone a maid. Liang Xiao's interest in the maid and his request for her to pour wine was not considered impolite.

Although Hu Lai was uncomfortable, he could not refuse, so he gave a signal for the woman surnamed Li to pour wine for Liang Xiao and Tu Niu'er. Liang Xiao held his wine cup in one hand and lightly pinched the woman's waist with the other, grinning. "This little waist is really nice. Hu Jun, my family is short of a maid to warm the bed. Would you be willing to part with her?"

The woman surnamed Li blushed but did not dare to react.

Hu Lai was not surprised by Liang Xiao's eagerness, just pursing his lips. "She is a pledge in my family. If you want her, it's not impossible, but you need to pay off the debt she owes us. It's not much, just five thousand coins."

A pledge was a hostage. If someone owed money and couldn't pay it back, they would become a pledge in the creditor's family. If they couldn't pay within a specified time, the pledge would become a slave or, if lucky, a son-in-law. In the Han Dynasty, a son-in-law and a slave were not much different, both looked down upon. A slave's price was between ten thousand and twenty thousand coins, so five thousand coins was not expensive.

"So much?" Liang Xiao was surprised, reluctantly letting go. "I don't have that much money. If I had that much, I'd rather buy your white horse and practice archery."

"Horse?" Mentioning the white horse, Hu Lai's spirits lifted. He raised his eyebrows. "That's a genuine Tianshui steed, worth over a hundred thousand coins, much more expensive than her. Such a good horse is rare in Guangling. Even if you wanted to buy it, I couldn't sell it to you."

"Is a person not even worth a horse?" Liang Xiao glanced at the woman surnamed Li, who lowered her head even more.

"What do you think?" Hu Lai did not notice Liang Xiao's provocation, laughing proudly.

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Please recommend and collect.

The recommendation votes haven't been very good these past two days, and Old Zhuang is on the verge of tears.

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