Chapter 8: Aftermath

At home, Zhang Cai and the others had already tidied up. Everyone was sitting on the chairs waiting for them, even the old lady who was lying in bed had gotten up. Guo Sufei quickly asked Zhang Xiaolong to speak to his grandmother, explaining that his arm was not seriously injured. Only then did the old lady feel reassured and go back to rest.

Seeing Zhang Xiaolong's arm bandaged and entering the room, Zhang Cai knew there was no major issue and felt relieved. He then realized how much pain he was in and how exhausted his body was. So, he quickly asked Guo Sufei to arrange a place for the two girls to stay. This posed a problem for Guo Sufei, as there were not many rooms in the house, and Zhang Xiaolong and his two brothers were already sharing one room. Seeing Guo Sufei's troubled expression, Liu Qian said, "Auntie, we can manage for one night, don't worry about us." After some thought, Guo Sufei decided to clear out her room and let the two girls stay with her, while she sent Zhang Cai to the small room where Zhang Xiaolong and his brothers were staying. Zhang Xiaohua would sleep with her grandmother. Fortunately, everyone had a place to stay.

Watching the two girls go to sleep, Zhang Cai took out the medicine given by Wen Wenhai and gave it to Zhang Xiaolong and his two brothers. He also applied external medicine to Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua before letting Zhang Xiaolong and his brothers go to sleep.

After the children went back to their room, Guo Sufei pulled Zhang Cai aside to ask about the situation. When Zhang Cai recounted everything that had happened during the day, Guo Sufei was so frightened that her face turned pale. She started to shiver and cry softly, saying, "My dear, I almost didn't see you again. Just going to the market for the New Year's festival, and we encountered such a thing."

Zhang Cai comforted her, saying, "It's all over now, my dear. You should quickly put away the token and the silver bills. Tomorrow, we'll send the two girls back and give them half of it." Guo Sufei replied, "There's so much silver, more than we've ever seen in our lives. Perhaps we should return it to them."

Zhang Cai said seriously, "We don't know who they are, and as our benefactor said, if we return it rashly, they might even take our lives. Our lives as farmers are not worth much. If they come to claim it, we'll give it to them." Guo Sufei nodded in agreement.

After the old couple finished talking, Zhang Cai took the internal medicine and had Guo Sufei apply the external medicine to him. He then slept in Zhang Xiaohua's place. After Zhang Cai lay down, Guo Sufei checked on Zhang Xiaolong and his brothers, who were already asleep, before returning to her room.

The two girls, after a day of fright, were already exhausted and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. They didn't even know Guo Sufei had come in. Guo Sufei looked at their peaceful faces and smiled kindly, then seemed to be deep in thought.

In the afternoon, after leaving the medicine for Zhang Cai and the others, Wen Wenhai and his junior sister used their lightness skills to walk for a while. As they approached the main road, they stopped. Wen Wenhai said, "Junior sister, we're almost at the main road. We can't use lightness skills anymore. We were so busy saving people this afternoon that we left our horses in town. What should we do now?"

His junior sister said softly, "I'll follow your lead, senior brother." Her voice was still pleasant but also cold.

Wen Wenhai smiled bitterly and pinched his nose, saying, "Junior sister, you usually don't care about anything, showing a coldness to everything, but why did you insist on going to save people this afternoon? You even left your token. If those farmers use it to do something bad, what will you do? You won't be able to explain to our master."

His junior sister replied, "I thank you for your help this afternoon. I will explain the matter of the token to our master, and I believe he will understand."

Wen Wenhai said, "Forget it, let's go back and tell our master together. I should have helped this afternoon. It's our duty as martial artists to help the weak and fight the strong. If we weren't on a mission, I would have acted earlier, and Zhang Cai's family wouldn't have been injured."

His junior sister smiled and said, "I knew you were a kind person, senior brother, and wouldn't just stand by."

Wen Wenhai said, "You little girl, you've always been cold on the outside but warm on the inside. We grew up together, so I know your thoughts. However, it's still early. According to the waiter from yesterday, it's still a long way to our destination. We can't delay any longer. Let's go get the horses and ride there."

His junior sister still said, "I'll follow your lead, senior brother."

Wen Wenhai thought for a moment and said, "Junior sister, you're wearing a veil, which draws attention. Wait here, and I'll go to the inn in town to get the horses." Without waiting for her to speak, he walked towards Lu Town. His junior sister didn't say, "I'll follow your lead, senior brother."

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the sound of hooves could be heard from the main road. His junior sister looked up and saw Wen Wenhai riding a horse. When his horse reached her, she took the reins he threw, stepped into the stirrup, and mounted the horse. She flicked the reins and shot off like an arrow, leaving a trail of dust on the main road. Wen Wenhai shook his head, smiled, and followed her.

Speaking of Zhao Quansheng of the Evil Tiger Gang, he was walking back with two short, fat men and a group of servants, all looking dejected. Many people saw them from a distance and quickly avoided them. Many others noticed that they were not as arrogant as usual and were puzzled. These two were the sons of wealthy merchants in Lu Town, who had done many bad things, bullying men and women. Today, the two families had invited important people from Lu Town to a banquet, including members of the Evil Tiger Gang, which allowed the two to sneak out. The banquet had already ended, and only the leader of the Evil Tiger Gang and the wealthy merchant were sitting in the garden. Seeing them return dejectedly, the leader was very curious and called them over to ask. Zhao Quansheng, seeing the two fat men hesitate, stepped forward and reported everything. When he mentioned that the two had been harassing two village girls, the wealthy merchant glared at the two fat men but said nothing. When he heard that some farmers had actually resisted, he frowned and said, "Where did these mud legs come from, daring to cause trouble?"

Zhao Quansheng didn't respond and continued his report. When he mentioned that two martial artists had appeared, the wealthy merchant's face changed, and the fat on his face trembled. He looked at the leader of the Evil Tiger Gang, who was his relative and always close to him. The leader frowned but said nothing, taking a sip of tea. However, when Zhao Quansheng finished and mentioned the token the white-robed scholar had shown, the leader's hand froze, and he asked nervously, "What was written on it?"

Zhao Quansheng, still frightened, replied, "Miaomiao!"

With a "clunk," the leader's teacup fell to the ground and shattered. The wealthy merchant, who had not been too concerned, was startled by his usually calm relative's reaction and quickly asked, "Brother Zhao, what is Miaomiao?"

Brother Zhao didn't answer but stood up, walked to the two short, fat men, and slapped them, "slap, slap, slap." Their faces immediately swelled, and blood trickled from their mouths. They were too scared to run and just called out, "Uncle Zhao," begging for mercy. Brother Zhao, angry, said, "You two good-for-nothings, you've done many bad things, bullying men and women. Your father has already given you four concubines, and you're still not satisfied? Were the village girls that beautiful?"

Seeing that the two didn't dare to speak, he pressed, "Tell me, were they beautiful?"

The two said, "Not very beautiful, just looked delicate, and it made us feel itchy inside~"

Brother Zhao, angry, laughed and said, "Not beautiful, and you still harassed them, feeling itchy inside. You should have your hands cut off. Do you know what trouble you've caused?"

At this point, the wealthy merchant realized the severity of the situation and quickly asked, "Brother Zhao, is the trouble that big?"

Brother Zhao didn't answer his question but squinted his eyes, thinking for a moment, and then said strangely, "Why did you two come back so well?" This question was sudden, and the two short, fat men didn't know how to answer.

Zhao Quansheng took over, saying, "Hall Master, it's like this." Then he recounted everything that happened afterward. Brother Zhao sat back down, closed his eyes, and said nothing, as if considering something. The fat man who had just been beaten, without a care, muttered, "They said to give two hundred taels of silver, and I didn't even count it, giving them five hundred taels in silver bills. When I have time tomorrow, I'll find out which mud legs led the charge and make them return the silver."

At this, Brother Zhao opened his eyes, slammed the table, and shouted, "Rubbish, you dare to go! In the future, don't even think about getting the silver back. That's the money you paid for your lives."

The wealthy merchant stepped forward and said, "Brother Zhao, what are you talking about? You're confusing your little brother. Five hundred taels of silver isn't much, but you should at least tell me why."

Brother Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "Little brother, do you know Wu Jianzhuang?"

The wealthy merchant, puzzled, said, "Of course, it's the big backer of your Evil Tiger Gang. I naturally know that."

Brother Zhao continued, "Do you know Lianhua Baoju?"

The wealthy merchant nodded and said he knew.

"Who is stronger, Lianhua Baoju or Wu Jianzhuang?" Brother Zhao asked.

The wealthy merchant laughed and said, "They are equally powerful, neither better nor worse."

Brother Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "Little brother, you're flattering us. Wu Jianzhuang is far inferior to Lianhua Baoju, and everyone in the martial world knows this. You don't need to flatter us."

"But what does Lianhua Baoju have to do with Miaomiao?" The wealthy merchant was puzzled.

"Lianhua Baoju is just a branch of the outer hall of the Miaomiao Sect!" Brother Zhao's words hit everyone like a huge club. The two short, fat men were stunned, never imagining that their harassment of two not-so-beautiful village girls in this small Lu Town would cause such a huge problem! They were grateful that when Zhao Quansheng asked them to pay the silver, they had reluctantly but obediently done so, otherwise, the two fat men didn't dare to think what would happen next.