Chapter 119: Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: Scholar
Translator: 549690339
Xiling once had a tiny village named Mi Village.
It was founded by a couple at the peak of the Mortal Realm, who gathered over a dozen martial artists from the same realm and established a small village about fifty miles outside Xiling City.
The little village gradually prospered, the couple also had a child, and everything developed in a good direction.
But in the year 1768 of the Longzhou Calendar, an entrance to a fantasy world opened near the village. When Tang Mi family arrived, conflict ensued.
Many of the village’s martial artists asserted that since the fantasy world opened near the village, the resources inside must be shared with the village.
This declaration gained support from many village martial artists, who sent representatives to negotiate with Tang Mi’s household.
The result was tragic – the act was perceived as a provocation to the Tang Mi family. Mi Village was razed to the ground overnight.
All adults in the village were killed, and children over five years old were slain. Only those innocent little children were preserved, allegedly taken to a benevolent place.
Mi Bai hid in a dark room, not daring to breathe. It took ten days for him to emerge.
The thriving Mi Village had become ruins. Mi Bai, aged ten, dug a large hole and buried the ashes.
As a young child, he couldn’t understand why such a disaster would befall the village.
The village was destroyed, his family was killed, but he needed to stay strong and survive.
He, still a child, had come to Xiling City to subsist. It has been ten years already.
Now, he worked as a scribe at a pawnshop, earning forty gold coins a month. Aside from this work, he also set up a stand in Fengqing Alley at the beginning of each year to earn some money by writing door couplets and family letters for others.
This was not for his own sake, but for those pitiful children. After deciding to look after those poor children, his small salary fell short.
Moreover, the price of grains in Xiling had been rising sharply. This may mean nothing to those privileged families, but for an ordinary civilian like him, it was a great burden.
Luckily, his calligraphy was exceptional. During festivals, there were always people who would commission him to write door couplets to celebrate the festivities.
Mi Bai set up his stand in Fengqing Alley, as always. However, this time the visitors were not the usual people requesting his calligraphy, but a group of hoodlums.
In the freezing cold, they wore thin clothes, with their muscular arms exposed. The word “Righteous,” carved with a knife on their left arms, indicated their affiliation with the Righteous Gang.
The Righteous Gang was the largest underground organization in the North City, rumored to be backed by a powerful figure. Even some smaller clans showed them respect. The boss of the Righteous Gang, Gongyangyi, was a skillful martial artist at the peak of the Mortal Realm, and his eight top followers were also martial artists in the Mortal Realm. Their reputation was a force to be reckoned with.
The Righteous Gang controlled all the thieves and beggars in the West City, along with several brothels and gambling dens. In the daytime, West City was governed by the clans, but at night the gang ruled the place.
Every young man who joined the Righteous Gang, would carve the word “Righteous” onto his left arm.
“Mr. Mi!” The gang member Zhang Kuo bowed towards Mi Bai and said, “With your high talents, why do you need to earn money in this alley by writing for others? Just nod your head and you will be rolling in gold.”
As one of those responsible for Fengqing Alley, Zhang Kuo was one of the reliable assistants of Fatjingang. The counterfeit business he managed was one of the main incomes for the Righteous Gang. However, for some reason, the dealer who had always cooperated well with the gang suddenly hanged himself after his wife was killed.
All at once, the counterfeit business ended, and he had been scolded by his boss several times.
Luckily, Zhang Kuo, who lived in Fengqing Alley, saw Mi Bai’s writing during the spring festival.
Smooth as iron yet sharp as a silver hook, his pen flowed like a dragon and a snake. Excited about this, he felt that even without Counterfeit Zhang, having a younger Mi Bai was also very good.
So, he came today to invite Mi Bai to make a fortune.
“I won’t counterfeit for you,” Mi Bai put down his brush and looked at Zhang Kuo earnestly.
His tone was gentle and sincere, but very determined.
Talent in calligraphy and painting were the only pillars supporting this orphaned teenager. There was no doubt about it.
No doubt that Mi Bai was a genius in calligraphy and painting. He knew that he wasn’t a martial artist. Even though he was self-taught, he could combine the strengths of various genres to produce stunning works that you can’t forget once seen. But since he was unknown, his exquisite calligraphy couldn’t sell for a high price, so he could only earn a living by writing letters and couplets for others.
The offer of making a fortune that Zhang Kuo mentioned, Mi Bai could guess without thinking, was to fake calligraphy and paintings himself.
“You bloody ingrate!” Zhang Kuo’s face turned red. He couldn’t believe that Mi Bai would dare to refuse him.
Grabbing the collar of Mi Bai’s outfit with his sturdy arm, he stretched his arm with the scar of “Righteous” in front of his face and said angrily, “Do you know the consequences of offending the Righteous Gang?”
Being grabbed by his collar, Mi Bai calmly repeated, “Death, only.”
Even though he could yield to anything for survival, he could never make the smallest concession in calligraphy and painting. Apart from calligraphy and painting, Mi Bai had nothing else. If he gave this up, he didn’t know what he was living for.
“Great!” Coppery light flashed in Zhang Kuo’s eyes. He snapped back, “Well, I really want to see if you’re not afraid of death!”
If intimidated by a student, how could he establish prestige among his subordinates? Every young leader in the Righteous Gang had a few kills on his hand.
“First, break his legs and let’s see if he is still so stiff!”
A few burly subordinates, hearing their boss’s command, pounced towards the slim young man.
Being held by the collar, Mi Bai clenched his fists and pounded towards Zhang Kuo’s face!
Although he wasn’t skilled in martial arts, the physical prowess of Mortal Realm peak was not fake. One punch could break Zhang Kuo’s nose.
Zhang Kuo didn’t expect a scholar to have the courage to resist and he froze for a moment. By the time he reacted, Mi Bai’s fist was almost touching his nose.
“Smack!” The fierce punch made Zhang Kuo fly out of his place, and the henchmen who were about to pounce on Mi Bai froze in place.
Mi Bai, after the successful punch, turned and ran. He only had the physical power of the Mortal Realm peak, but as he had no martial arts skills, he was just a strong ordinary person. He was no match for these burly men.
“What are you stunned for? Chase him!” Holding his nose with one hand and pointing at Mi Bai’s back with the other, Zhang Kuo hissed with anger.
A falconer, but eventually pecked in the eye by a goose.
If mere bluffing could have scared Mi Bai, this incident had surely kindled his will to kill.
Mi Bai stumbled towards the pawnshop. As the accountant of Qingfeng Bank, he had his own room in the workshop. As long as he could reach the shop, he would be safe.
Because the head of the security guards of Qingfeng Bank was a powerful figure at the peak of the Mortal Realm..
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