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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter: The Interesting Beggar
Fire Lion glanced at the shabby beggar and said, "Is this person a Fugitive?" Fire Lion expressed doubt; the beggar looked unremarkable and frail, leading Fire Lion to think that even an ant could crush him.
Killer explained, "Master, don't be deceived by this beggar's appearance. I had the same thought as you, but we lost seven men before we could catch him."
Ji Zichen was astonished upon hearing this. The Sand Bandits were all as strong as oxen; how could such a weak beggar have killed seven of them?
Seeing Killer's serious demeanor, Fire Lion asked, "What crime has he committed?"
Killer replied, "Recently, the Desolate Central Plain has been rife with conflict. This beggar specializes in highway robbery. We encountered him yesterday on the Yellow Sand Plain, and the lord of Qingyang City has issued a bounty for him."
Initially misled by the beggar's appearance, Ji Zichen felt a twinge of pity for him. However, with Prince Huixin having placed a bounty on him, it became clear that Killer was not lying.
Killer was bold, and Ji Zichen figured he wouldn't dare fabricate such a story.
Fearing that Fire Lion might not believe him, Killer produced the bounty notice for Fire Lion to examine. Fire Lion did not take the notice; if this beggar were a guest, he would certainly welcome him, but he would not sympathize with a Fugitive.
Upon mentioning the bounty notice, Fire Lion's gaze inadvertently flickered towards Ji Zichen. He said, "Since he is not a guest, then I have no business with him. Please carry on, everyone."
Killer coldly stared at the shabby beggar and said, "You managed to break free despite being hungry. Come on, this time make sure to tie him up tightly!"
"Yes!" several Sand Bandits responded in unison.
As the two holding the beggar prepared to escort him out, the beggar suddenly kicked backward into the groin of one of the Sand Bandits holding him. The Sand Bandit's face turned pale in an instant as he clutched his groin and cried out in pain. The beggar then elbowed the Sand Bandit in the face, causing him to fall over. The beggar swiftly struck at the neck of another nearby Sand Bandit.
The second Sand Bandit felt a sharp pain in his throat and tears sprang to his eyes. In an instant, the beggar broke free from his restraints but did not flee; instead, he dashed into the hall and sat down on a chair with a pained expression. He said, "I may have committed a crime, but you can't let me starve to death! If I die of hunger, how will you take me to exchange for the reward?"
No one could have predicted that this beggar, held down by two people, would still manage to break free. Everyone was astonished. Killer's expression darkened as he shouted, "You're asking for death! Quickly capture him!"
The beggar leaped onto the table, alert and wary, his gaze fixed on Fire Lion. "You're the master here, right?"
Fire Lion looked at the beggar with interest. "That's right."
The beggar replied, "Give me something to eat, anything will do. I'm most afraid of going hungry. You can surely afford a meal for me. I promise that once I've eaten, I'll go along with them peacefully. If we start fighting here, just look at these tables and chairs; they clearly are valuable items. It wouldn't be worth it to break them."
Seeing this, Fire Lion laughed heartily. "You really are an interesting beggar. Of course, I can afford a meal, but I personally dislike treating guests. If you want to eat, you're welcome to—just make sure you can pay for it."
The beggar pointed at Killer. "I certainly have money, but he took all my cash. You should ask him for the meal money!"
Killer roared in anger, "I'll kill you!"
With that, Killer extended his fingers and lunged toward the beggar. His fingers transformed into claws as they approached within half a yard of the beggar. The nails glimmered with a dark light before suddenly turning pitch black and elongating to four feet long, resembling five sharp swords aimed at the beggar.
This was yet another type of magical weapon; Ji Zichen had no idea what kind of artifact could turn nails black.
Seeing the deadly claws coming at him, the beggar didn't dare hesitate. He leaped backward off the table just as the claws struck where he had been standing, splitting the table into five pieces in an instant.
Xia Zhou and Lin Chuyu were still seated in the private room. Upon witnessing how sharp those claws were, Xia Zhou exclaimed in surprise, "This person is truly hiding their strength!"
As the table shattered into five chunks, Killer kicked a central piece of wood toward the beggar. With his momentum in mid-air, the beggar couldn't evade it; the wooden chunk struck him hard in the chest. He felt a painful thud in his chest as his internal energy surged like crashing waves. Unable to control his body, he crashed directly into Xia Zhou's private room.
Xia Zhou's eyes widened as he grabbed Lin Chuyu and retreated to a corner. The beggar smashed through the partition door and toppled over the table in the private room.
He fell to the ground with a groan of pain, unable to rise.
Xia Zhou took the opportunity to pull Lin Chuyu out of the Private Room. Ji Zichen approached with a worried look, glancing at both Xia Zhou and Lin Chuyu, and asked, "Are you okay?"
Xia Zhou shook his head and chuckled lightly, "I'm fine."
Looking at Fire Lion, Xia Zhou said, "This meal at Fire Cloud Residence is quite interesting."
Fire Lion smiled in response and said to Killer, "It seems you're not too satisfied with my decor. Are you thinking of helping me redecorate?"
Killer's face turned a mix of colors as he retracted his claws without answering.
The table, overwhelmed by the stench of the beggar, creaked ominously.
The beggar slowly stood up while clutching his painful chest and coughed lightly a couple of times. "Cough cough, I was already hungry, and getting hit in the stomach made me even hungrier."
Xia Zhou looked at the beggar and smiled, "I've never seen a starving ghost, but I imagine it looks something like you."
Though Xia Zhou had not studied any doctrines, he had heard from Jiang the Bearded that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Xia Zhou was an outsider to such teachings and didn't know what a pagoda meant, but it was always a good saying.
"I'll treat you to a meal," Xia Zhou offered.
The beggar's eyes sparkled with excitement. Hearing there would be food seemed to heal most of his injuries. "Then let's have a feast!"
Seeing Xia Zhou meddling in affairs that didn't concern him, Killer shot him a sidelong glance and warned, "If you don't want to die, stay out of it!"
Xia Zhou wore a half-smile on his face. "I'm just inviting him to dinner; what does that have to do with life or death?" He glanced at Fire Lion. "As guests, we should be welcomed, Master. Do you really want to chase your guests away?"
Fire Lion laughed and replied, "I run a business; there's no reason to chase away customers."
"Hey, buddy!" Fire Lion called out.
The waiter approached nervously, and Fire Lion said, "Aren't you going to take the customer's order?"
"Yes," the waiter replied, stepping forward anxiously.
Fire Lion glanced at Killer and added, "As long as he is in Fire Cloud Residence, he is my guest. Once he has eaten and drunk his fill and leaves, I won't interfere."
Killer shot a fierce glare at the beggar before pulling out a chair not far away to sit down, followed by the other Sand Bandits.
"Killer!" he commanded. "Bring tea!"
Another waiter hurried to comply with his order. As one of the waiters passed by Fire Lion, he instructed, "Send someone to clean up, and also fix the platform railing."
After giving his orders, Fire Lion left.
Before long, dishes were served at the table. The beggar opened his mouth wide and began to eat heartily. Xia Zhou, Lin Chuyu, and Ji Zichen sat at the adjacent table. Lin Chuyu leaned over and whispered to Xia Zhou, "Brother Xia, why did you invite this villain to dinner?"
The beggar grabbed a chicken leg and took a big bite, his mouth smeared with grease. "Miss, if you want to talk bad about someone, keep your distance; I can hear you," he said.
Lin Chuyu's face flushed as she fell silent. Ji Zichen glanced at the beggar and asked, "You seem quite skilled; how could you resort to robbing others?"
The beggar finished off the chicken leg in just a few bites and replied, "When have I ever robbed anyone? Am I not allowed to have money? What kind of logic is that?"
Ji Zichen was puzzled. "Then why don't you explain that to others?"
The beggar sneered. "Explain? Who would listen to me?" He then deliberately glared at Killer and Yu Ren, raising his voice to curse, "Those scoundrels are the real robbers!"
Upon hearing this, the Sand Bandit slammed the table and was about to charge forward when Killer shouted, "Sit down! Wait until he leaves the Fire Cloud Residence before dealing with him."
The Sand Bandit, feeling disgruntled, sat back down.
Ji Zichen noticed that Killer and Yu Ren were stunned by Fire Lion. With a smile, Ji Zichen said, "You’re not that impressive; you managed to escape from the Desolate Central Plain to here, but how did you end up getting caught?"
At this moment, the Smelly Beggar became alert and asked, "Why are you inquiring about me? Are you also looking to capture me for the bounty?"
Ji Zichen chuckled and replied, "I’m just curious. If you don’t want to share, I won’t push."
The Smelly Beggar said, "I’m quite reluctant, so I won’t." He lowered his head and continued to eat heartily.
After a while of eating, the Smelly Beggar let out a loud burp. Noticing that Ji Zichen was silent but kept staring at him, he wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve and asked, "Who is the Master here? Why are those people so afraid of him?"
Ji Zichen was taken aback; clearly, he hadn’t expected the Smelly Beggar to ask him that. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "His name is Fire Lion. He’s the leader of the Western Desert Gang. When I was wanted before, he was the one chasing me. I don’t know much about him, but seeing how scared the Yellow Sand Gang members are of him, they must have crossed paths with him before."
The Smelly Beggar was surprised. "You were wanted too?"
Ji Zichen smiled wryly and said, "Yes, that was in the past. Fire Lion treasures this Fire Cloud Residence greatly. As long as you don’t go outside, they won’t be able to do anything to you."
"Go outside? When did I say I wanted to go outside?" The Smelly Beggar found it quite amusing.
At that moment, Lin Chuyu chimed in, "Aren't you planning to leave with those people after you finish eating?"
The Smelly Beggar laughed and replied, "I did say that, but only if Fire Lion invites me. Since this meal isn’t on his tab, my words don’t count anymore."
Ji Zichen found the Smelly Beggar quite entertaining and said, "So you intend to stay here? However, Fire Lion welcomes guests but not freeloaders. You can’t afford to stay or eat here; I think even if you want to linger, it won’t work."
As Stinky Flower was about to speak, he saw Mad Bull walking towards him. Stinky Flower looked at Mad Bull, but Mad Bull asked him, "Have you eaten enough?"
Stinky Flower replied honestly, "I've had enough to eat."
Mad Bull continued, "Have you had enough to drink?"
Stinky Flower said, "Pretty much."
Mad Bull nodded. "Then you should leave."
Stinky Flower smiled and asked, "Are you short on help here?"
Xia Zhou found it amusing. "You want to stay here as a helper?"
Stinky Flower chuckled, "There's food and drink here, and it's safe. If someone is willing to take me in, I could definitely be a helper."
Mad Bull, with a serious demeanor, replied, "We don't need any helpers here."
Stinky Flower inquired, "Then what do you need?"
Mad Bull stated, "We don't need anything." He added, "I'll give you half a stick of incense's time. If I see you still here when that time is up, I'll have to take action and kick you out."
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