The Dangerous Cultivator - Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Change
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“Slow down, slow down, Old Zhou. I was the first to see this Giant Green Carp, so I’m buying it. Don’t say that I’m not ungrateful to you!”
With that, the black robed teen tossed the Giant Green Carp to his bunch of green robed followers, and ordered them to carefully pack it.
Head Zhou gave a wide smile. “Look at you, why the need to be so courteous. So what if it has reached the fish market, I’ll let you have it out of respect!”
“Alright! You do have a way with words!”
The black robed teen delightedly patted Head Zhou on his shoulder. At the same time, he fished his hand into Head Zhou’s wallet, grabbed a few coppers and silver pennies, and tossed them to the ground. “There, old man, the money for your fish!”
Uncle Mu stood motionless in stunned silence. The scattered silver pennies and copper coins added up to less than two taels of silver.
If the Giant Green Carp were sold to the fish market, it would at least fetch a price of a hundred silver taels.
“That can’t be right! Two silver taels isn’t even close to enough for this Giant Green Carp!”
A fisherman with a long face could not stand the injustice and spoke out for Uncle Mu.
With that one starting complaint, hundreds more joined in. All of them were in the same trade. All of them knew how tough it was. Seeing Uncle Mu’s hard earned Giant Green Carp being taken like that, his fellow fishermen could sympathise with his plight, and all joined in to speak up for him.
“Oho, if any of you dares to say another bloody word, I won’t be taking any of your fish today!”
Seeing the black robed teen’s expression turn sour, Head Zhou became afraid and immediately shouted at the crowd.
He had been in charge of the fisheries for many years, and was experienced in keeping the fishermen in line. As soon as those words were spoken, the fishermen went silent.
But the moment Head Zhou managed to control the fishermen, a loud bang was heard. The long faced man who had first spoken up for Uncle Mu was struck by the black robed teen and sent flying. With a crash, he landed on the cobblestone and was lying in a pool of his own blood. The image was terrifying.
“Let me ask one more time. Two silver taels for this Giant Green Carp, is that enough?”
There was a faint smile on the black robed teen’s face, and he gave off an intimidating aura. The crowd were under pressure, as though they were being crushed under a mountain, and none of them dared look him in the eye.
But a cold stare stood out like a lone tree standing tall while all the others were blown down by a harsh wind.
Uncle Mu’s head of white was still held high as he stared coldly at the black robed teen. “If you want the Giant Green Carp, you don’t even have to bother about the two silvers. You can just take it and have it for free. What gives you the right to hit people!” he retorted in a hoarse voice.
“What gives me the right? You old coot, you must be insane to dare speak to the Young Master that way. Who cares about rights? You’re next!”
With that, the sound of a slap rang in the air as Head Zhou struck Uncle Mu across the face with a vicious slap.
Uncle Mu’s hardened expression remained as cold as a rock; he took the slap without even flinching. Then, with a swift motion, he plucked out the short fish spear from his waist, and threw it from under Head Zhou’s armpit.
Head Zhou was standing right in front of Uncle Mu, and the sleeves of his robes were large and wide. Uncle Mu’s spear was thrown extremely suddenly, and with a flash of black, the iron spear flew across the sky, accurately piercing through the head of the Giant Green Carp, pinning it to the cobblestone.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden change in the situation.
Giant Green Carp was delicious and pricey, but the preparation for cooking it also required it to be killed and cooked fresh.
But right now, with the fish’s head pierced right through, the Giant Green Carp could not be any more dead. How could it still be used to serve the black robed teen’s guests?
“Old Man Mu, you’re asking for it!” Head Zhou screamed in anger, the hairs on his head almost standing on end.
“That fish was caught by me. I’m not happy, so I’m killing it and eating it on my own. Is that a problem?”
Uncle Mu spoke, sternly standing his ground.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The black robed teen clapped slowly, maintain his faint smile. “A hero of the fisheries indeed! But we still don’t know how capable of a hero you are. Old Xiong, get a few of our brothers and test him out.”
Immediately, eight green robed men got into a formation, surrounding Uncle Mu.
They were this cautious because Uncle Mu’s flying spear which had landed on its target so cleanly. The group of fighters were wary of being on the receiving end of that spear.
But in fact, their caution was unnecessary. The flying spear was simply a product of Uncle Mu’s long years of practice as a fisherman. If evaluated as a martial arts practitioner, Uncle Mu was clearly someone who had not even entered the Body Forging stage, and was merely a relatively fit but impoverished old fisherman.
Facing a whole group of fighters all at once, Uncle Mu was powerless to retaliate and was easily beaten down to the ground. With that, a vicious beating began.
“Enough, don’t beat him to death yet. I still have not heard an apology.”
The black robed teen raised his hand and commanded them to stop.
At that point, Uncle Mu was lying on the ground, covered in blood, his chest rising and falling slightly. However, his white head, which was now drenched in blood, was still held high and did not cower.
Seeing the defiance in Uncle Mu, the black robed teen’s smile grew wider. He spoke gently to Uncle Mu. “Old man, give me three loud kowtows and I’ll let you off. Or else, be prepared to see yourself at the bottom of Dragon’s Beard Creek!”
Uncle Mu did not answer. Though curled up on the ground, his neck remained straight and his head did not cower. Like a decrepit dried branch, broken but still tough.
“A hard old man indeed! Men, tie this old man to a rock and send him to the bottom of the river!”
The black robed teen was annoyed, and he was tired of wasting time on this broken old man in front of him.
“Young Master, we’re in public, this might not be the best!”
Head Zhou quietly tried to convince him otherwise.
Furong Town might be small, but it was still within the territories of the Dayue Imperial Court. The laws of the Imperial Court would not turn a blind eye to harming a person’s life in broad daylight.
When the rich and powerful bullied the common folk, even they would resort to scheming and underhanded means without acting this openly.
The black robed teen laughed out loud. “In public? So what if it’s in public? It’s not just this tiny little Furong Town. Even in Guang’an City, I can wipe out anyone who I don’t like. Who’s to stop me?”
With that, his glare turned to the group of men in green. He coldly ordered, “What are you bloody waiting for, sink him in the river!”
The moment those words left his mouth, the expressions on the faces of the fishermen changed. Viciousness and rage covered their faces.
“What the BLOODY HELL are you all doing? Trying to rebel? Do you know who this Young Master is? You should have heard of the Black Dragon Hall right? This Young Master is the Young Hall Master of the White Horse Branch Hall. Before you pick a fight, bloody look at yourself and see if you’re even in the same league.”
Head Zhou did not really care if this bunch of fishermen lived or died. However, if they really kicked up a fuss and were all beaten up by the black robed teen, they would be unable to work. Without manpower in the port, it would affect his business.
The moment the three words Black Dragon Hall were uttered, it felt as though a bone chilling wind had swept across the crowd. All the anger and resentment was swept away by this evil wind just like that.
“Why bother with these peasants? Is the name of Black Dragon Hall even fit for their ears?”
The black robed teen gave Head Zhou a reserved glare. Within his eyes was a look of pride.
At that moment, a young girl in white rushed through the crowd. Her small frame only as tall as a grown man’s legs. Wearing a plump little face and a small schoolbag on her back, she ran towards Uncle Mu with tears streaming from her face.
“Grandpa, grandpa, what happened? What happened to you, waaah…”
The little girl threw herself by Uncle Mu’s side, shaking him and crying with all her might.
