We all turned around, only to see seven or eight grown men storming toward us aggressively. Weren’t they the same people who had their steamed buns stolen just now?
“Damn, you guys are really persistent—chasing us around all this time just for six steamed buns?”
“I’m not about to let some brat mess with me without paying the price.” One man clenched his fists so hard they cracked. He was the very one I’d thrown a bun at earlier.
The Little Bandit, seeing they outnumbered us and that our side was full of kids and old men who couldn’t run, hurried forward a few steps to block their way. “Everyone should take responsibility for their own actions. It was me who stole it, not him…”
Before he finished, I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. His large gray eyes stared at me, clearly confused about what I intended to do.
“We ran before because we couldn’t win, but now it’s different,” I said triumphantly.
“What’s different now?”
“We’ve got backup. Old man, charge!”
The old man glanced at the men glaring fiercely at us, then took a few steps forward and kicked me hard in the butt. “What trouble are you causing me now, boy?”
“It’s not me! They’re the ones looking for trouble! They’re the ones who wanted to extort money before.” I rubbed my sore backside, feeling wronged.
The leader of the ruffians noticed the old man’s gaze shift to them and wasn’t about to back down. He stepped up and sneered, “What are you looking at, old geezer? Looks like you’ve made quite a bit of money… I’ve changed my mind. Six buns, five hundred coins. Plus your kid just hurt me, so throw in another thousand for the doctor.”
Then he reached for the money in the old man’s hand.
Sigh, some people are alive but might as well be dead.
But the old man’s hand holding the money didn’t move. With a single kick, he sent the thug flying to the side, clutching his stomach and collapsing to the ground, unable to get up.
A brief silence followed. Nobody expected this old man to be such a fighter. But seeing their comrade downed, the others, relying on their numbers, shouted and charged forward.
I won’t bother describing the swift defeat of these small fries. The men were beaten into a sorry mess by the old man, sprawled on the ground begging for mercy.
The old man approached the first fallen thug and looked down at him. “Say it again—how much for six steamed buns?”
The thug had recovered enough to speak but was still trembling with fear at the sight of the old man. He quickly waved his hands. “N-no need for money, grandpa. I didn’t recognize a big shot like you…”
“How much? Say it!”
“Uh… six steamed buns, ten coins is fine.”
“Fine.” The old man pulled ten coins from his pocket and placed them in front of the thug. Then he turned to me, standing nearby watching, and said, “You brat, that comes out of your allowance.”
I instantly felt like my day had been ruined—like being struck by a thunderbolt. “Why me?!”
But the old man ignored my protest, turned around, and picked up the remaining twenty jin of Deer Meat. He walked over to the kid who was still frozen in place, mouth agape, and asked, “Kid, can you carry this?”
The kid snapped out of it and hurriedly replied, “Uh… yeah, I can carry it.”
The boy was surprisingly strong, hoisting the twenty jin of Deer Meat onto his shoulder. Then, noticing me kneeling on the ground, wailing over the loss of ten coins, he searched his body and pulled out a white Bracelet.
“Here, Little Brother, this is for you.”
“What’s this for? If it’s for paying off debts, forget it. You said it was a gift.”
The Little Bandit shook his head. Seeing I hesitated, he handed it over directly. “It’s not for paying debts. You’ve done me such a big favor, how could I just walk away? That said, I don’t have much to repay you now… but I’m going to become a Jianghu Bandit someday. When I’m a big shot, you just come find me with this Bracelet, and I promise I’ll repay you properly.”
Watching him so serious made me smile. Holding the Bracelet in the sunlight, I asked, “Did you steal this?”
“No, I didn’t… Seriously, Little Brother, you don’t think I steal everything, do you? This Bracelet belonged to our Xiao Gu. When I found her, she only had this Bracelet on her.”
“Isn’t that a valuable item? It doesn’t feel right for me to keep it.”
The Little Bandit waved his hands repeatedly. “No need, it’s not worth much. If it were, I would’ve traded it for food already. Xiao Gu doesn’t want to see this Bracelet either. It reminds her of being abandoned.”
“If that’s the case, then fine. I’ll keep it.”
“Yeah, but don’t lose it. Otherwise, I won’t recognize Little Brother anymore.” He smiled brightly, waved goodbye to us several times, bowed repeatedly to the old man, then hurried off with the Deer Meat. I guessed he was worried his younger siblings would go hungry.
After watching him leave, I looked at the Bracelet in my hand and suddenly remembered something.
“Ah, I forgot to ask his name.”
Oh well… I wasn’t really expecting any repayment anyway…
A Jianghu Bandit, huh… kinda dramatic.
But come to think of it, this Bracelet is tiny… looks like something meant for a baby for good luck. Not that an adult couldn’t wear it, but only if they were really skinny…
“Do you want to wear it? Looks like it might fit your thin arm. Although it’s a pretty cheap trinket…” I turned to Leng Yu and asked.
Leng Yu seemed caught off guard by the sudden question but quickly snapped back and said coldly, “Young Master, are you really giving something someone else gave you directly to another woman? Men truly are no good.”
What’s with that tone? Sounds like a bitter wife who’s long resented her husband’s every move.
“Ah no, such a tiny thing would be easy to lose no matter where I put it… I figured it’d fit you perfectly. But if you think it’s cheap, then forget it…”
Hmm… giving away such a cheap thing isn’t really great. Since she didn’t want it, I was about to take it back.
Before I could, Leng Yu had already taken the Bracelet from me.
“You said you didn’t want it?” I said, annoyed.
“I’m not taking it for myself, just keeping it safe for you. Something so fragile wouldn’t last long in the hands of a rough man like the Young Master. Properly treasuring gifts is a matter of etiquette. I’m reluctantly holding it for you to preserve your dignity.”
The seemingly meek little maid suddenly turned proud and aloof. I could only smile wryly and nod.
The old man then pulled some coins from his pocket, counted them, and placed them in my hand. “Here, you worked hard all day. This is for you.”
I hurriedly took them and counted. “Two hundred ninety coins? Old man, you really deducted ten coins from me?”
“I always keep my word. Here, Yu’er, this is your three hundred coins.”
Leng Yu took the money and bowed to the old man. “Thank you, Master.”
“What for? Working half a day only to earn three hundred coins… barely enough for a cloth shirt.” I toyed with the coins in my hand, thinking about how to divide the money.