Chapter 83: Chapter 83: A Toast
The arrival of this group threw the entire inn into utter chaos.
The few guests who were there all dropped their bowls and chopsticks. Some scrambled upstairs to their rooms, while others bolted for the door. None of them went far, though. After all, who would want to miss a public spectacle like this?
The woman strode into the inn, following a large, bearded man who seemed rather lethargic.
Trailing them were several others, each with a peculiar and distinctive look.
One fiddled with a short knife, another toyed with hidden weapons drawn from his waist, and a third carried a long sword, his face screaming, ’Stay away.’
Just as Jiang Ran was sizing them up, the fierce-faced man hooked a long bench with his foot, pulled it over, and sat down, pulling the woman into his lap.
He looked up at Jiang Ran.
"A dragon from across the river?"
Jiang Ran let out a short laugh.
"And you are?"
"Are you blind?!"
Before the man could speak, the woman shot to her feet.
"This is Master Ma! In all of Benma County, you might not know who the County Magistrate is, but you *must* know Master Ma!"
"I see."
Jiang Ran nodded.
"My apologies, I was not aware. So, what business brings Master Ma here today?"
"Fine. I won’t beat around the bush."
Master Ma stroked his beard and gave Jiang Ran a lethargic look.
"In the martial world, you have your traveling dragons, but every territory has its local snake. Even the strongest dragon can’t crush the local snake."
"Regarding today’s events, my woman was trying to buy the child first. You interfered and snatched the child away second."
"Everything happens for a reason."
"You may not understand the principle of ’first come, first served,’ and that’s fine... Since you didn’t kill anyone, I’ll show you some consideration."
"So let’s leave it at this: you apologize and drink three cups of wine as a penalty."
"And we’ll let this matter drop."
"Master Ma."
The woman was stunned. "You’re letting him off that easily?"
"Shut your mouth."
Master Ma gave her a listless glance. "If you don’t know your place, keep your mouth shut. One more word of nonsense, and I’ll rip out your tongue."
Jiang Ran and Li Tianxin exchanged a look. Li Tianxin sighed.
"I knew it. Anyone who can make a name for themselves somewhere is never a simple character."
"If this were some greenhorn just starting out in the martial world, he’d have already downed the three cups and be buddy-buddy with him by now."
Jiang Ran just smiled without a word, picking up a wine jug instead.
He glanced at the jug, then at the bowls on the table.
With a sigh, he poured a full bowl.
He raised the bowl and finally looked at Master Ma.
"Fine. ’Even the strongest dragon can’t crush the local snake.’ Since Master Ma is the local snake of Benma County, I must show you this respect."
"Drinking three cups as a penalty is only right. But before that, I’d like to propose a toast to you, Master Ma."
"Please!!"
The word "Please!" was barely out of his mouth when Jiang Ran flicked his wrist. The wine bowl went whistling through the air.
Master Ma’s expression darkened. A figure flashed—the man with the short knife was already in front of him, palm thrust out to intercept.
"You think *you’re* worthy of toasting Master Ma—"
He never finished the sentence. The bowl was already in his palm.
With a loud CRACK, the man’s palm caved in. A massive force surged through him, batting his arm aside as the wine bowl slammed into his chest.
The man was sent flying backward, straight toward Master Ma.
Master Ma froze for a second, just as two more figures flanked the man with the short knife, grabbing his shoulders to stop him.
But their bodies trembled as the immense force surged up their own arms and into their chests. They couldn’t help but take a step back, circulating their internal energy to bolster their strength.
But regardless of whether they could neutralize the force from Jiang Ran’s bowl, the man with the short knife couldn’t withstand it.
The wine bowl was crushing his chest, the pressure making his bones CRACK and groan.
Behind him, his two comrades were bracing him.
In that instant, he felt like he was caught between a giant millstone, crushed by immense forces from both sides and utterly powerless to resist.
He couldn’t stop himself from violently coughing up a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, the two men behind him could no longer withstand the force being transmitted through their comrade’s body.
STOMP, STOMP, STOMP. They both staggered back three steps, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
Without their support, only Master Ma remained.
All traces of idleness had vanished from Master Ma’s face. A sharp glint in his eyes, he made a deft motion with his hands, pushing and flicking.
The man with the short knife was suddenly spun aside by the force and sent flying sideways.
He crashed into a nearby table, grimacing in pain.
In doing so, however, Master Ma had saved him.
With the man out of the way, the wine bowl shot onward, unobstructed, straight for Master Ma.
Master Ma channeled his energy and suddenly snatched at the bowl with one hand.
He barely managed to get a grip on it, but the bowl felt as if it were alive, bucking and twisting in his hand.
He instinctively tightened his grip, and there was another CRACK.
He had crushed the entire bowl. Wine splashed everywhere, drenching his head and face, leaving him in a sorry state.
"Master Ma, now you’re just being disrespectful to me."
Jiang Ran’s hand rested on the hilt of his blade as he spoke softly.
"You said I should drink three cups as a penalty, and I agreed."
"I offered you a toast. I could overlook you not drinking it, but to go and crush the bowl..."
"I had originally thought you came here to bury the hatchet. But now it seems I’ve underestimated your magnanimity, Master Ma."
"If that’s how it is... then you and I shall be enemies—"
Before he could finish, Master Ma dropped to his knees with a THUD.
"Great Hero, spare my life!"
Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow. "Master Ma, what is the meaning of this?"
"Your martial skill is far beyond ours. If you wish to kill us, we are no match for you. It was our mistake to come here today. You can beat us or kill us, we won’t have any complaints."
"We only beg that the Great Hero show mercy and spare our lives."
Master Ma was decisive. As soon as he finished speaking, he kowtowed, knocking his head against the floor.
The woman beside him was dumbfounded.
Ever since she’d known Master Ma, she had never seen him act like this in front of anyone.
At that moment, genuine fear gripped her heart, and she instinctively knelt down beside him.
Jiang Ran glanced at them and was about to speak when he caught Mingyue peeking at the commotion out of the corner of his eye. He shot her a glare.
"What are you looking at? Is it really so interesting? More interesting than this lamb?"
"Well... the lamb is more interesting."
Mingyue quickly grabbed a handful of lamb and stuffed it into her mouth.
’At least the lamb can fill my stomach, and a full stomach brings happiness.’
’Just looking at these people for too long is enough to give you nightmares. They’re no match for lamb.’
Jiang Ran nodded, then turned over a few empty wine bowls and said with a smile:
"Master Ma, what are you saying? As the saying goes, ’At home, you rely on your parents; when you’re away, you rely on your friends.’"
"There’s nothing I like more than making new friends."
Master Ma nodded vigorously.
"Me too."
"Excellent."
Jiang Ran picked up the wine jug and began to pour.
"As they say, ’A smile upon meeting dispels all grievances.’ So today, let’s use this wine to dispel our grievances. What do you say?"
"Good..."
Master Ma had barely gotten the word "Good" out of his mouth when he saw Jiang Ran produce a small vial from nowhere and begin sprinkling a powder into each of the wine bowls.
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