Chapter 72: Beaten

"Respect for elders? Who’s an elder? You? Pfft! You’re not even worth considering as one.

Don’t forget, you personally asked the clan leader to sever ties the day your son got a good future. Stop trying to claim kinship with me!

So hurry up, either go see the magistrate, or hand over the money now!"

As she spoke, Zhou Qing leaned toward Zhou Huaihai, her tone calm but firm, "Or are you waiting for me to read out every single word on this paper for everyone to hear?"

Zhou Huaihai shuddered instantly.

"I don’t have any money on me!"

Zhou Qing rolled her eyes and stood straight. "Cut the nonsense, hand over the money!"

Gritting his teeth, Zhou Huaihai glared at Zhou Qing as he reluctantly took out some silver from his clothes.

Zhou Qing snatched it from him immediately.

"That’s 300 taels!" Zhou Huaihai protested urgently.

Zhou Qing weighed the silver in her hand and caught it, "That extra 100 taels is for teaching you a lesson! Stop spreading malicious gossip!"

After saying this, Zhou Qing walked toward the crowd, quickly unfurling the paper once again.

"Everyone take a good look! It’s all written in black and white. Every time Zhou Huaihai slanders me or my father, he owes 100 taels in compensation. I’m not extorting him!"

Zhou Huaihai almost spat blood in rage.

"Zhou Qing, you’re going back on your word!"

Zhou Qing sneered, "I said I wouldn’t read it aloud, but I never said I wouldn’t show it to everyone!"

"You…"

But in front of so many people, he couldn’t do anything. 

His eyes brimmed with venomous hatred as he stared at Zhou Qing, knowing he had to get that paper back.

Zhou Qing, however, couldn’t care less about his expression. She pocketed the 300 taels, called to Shen Li, and prepared to leave.

The two of them got on the mule cart, heading to deliver fish to the shopkeeper of Yunhai Bookstore.

Seeing how delighted Zhou Qing was, Shen Li asked, "Not angry?"

Zhou Qing chuckled, "Angry? Why? Making a fortune depends on him now. Who can stay mad at money?"

Shen Li couldn’t help but smile, reaching out to pat her head.

"Have you deposited the money?"

"I did. Together with the previous 700 taels, it’s now 1,000 taels."

At this, Zhou Qing’s eye twitched slightly.

She and her father’s path to wealth was a bit... unconventional!

To get to Yunhai Bookstore from Shunfeng Ticket Office, they had to pass through a quiet, winding alley. 

The alley was lined on both sides with high walls of two large estates, but there were no gates along the walls, making the path quite isolated.

Barely a few minutes into the alley, their mule cart was forced to stop.

At the head of the group stood Zhou Huaihai, backed by eight or nine burly men, all wielding thick wooden clubs. Ever since moving to the city, Zhou Huaihai had hired some skilled men as his guards.

Standing at the front, Zhou Huaihai’s expression was dark as he fixed his gaze on Zhou Qing. "Hand over that paper."

Zhou Qing quickly turned to Shen Li, asking, "You said yesterday that you knew martial arts, right?"

"Mm."

"Can your martial arts only catch fish, or can you fight too?"

He could do more than fight—he could kill.

Seeing Shen Li smile, Zhou Qing rolled her eyes in mock despair.

"I’ll hold them off while you run to report to the authorities. You’re faster than me, so you can save us some time!"

Saying this, Zhou Qing grabbed a wooden club from the mule cart, standing in a stance that seemed ready to take on the world alone. She hoisted the club onto her shoulder and jumped off the cart.

"What, didn’t you learn your lesson earlier?"

Zhou Huaihai’s eyelid twitched. Without wasting time on words, he signaled with a wave of his hand. "Beat them!"

The strong men immediately advanced.

Aren’t villains supposed to talk a lot first? Usually, they’d ramble on, and before they even started fighting, reinforcements would arrive.

You’re not following the script!

Seeing the thugs rush at her, Zhou Qing closed her eyes and steeled herself, swinging her club as she charged forward.

"Go!" she roared to Shen Li, offering what she thought might be her last words.

But just when Zhou Qing thought she was about to face her first ever pummeling, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air beside her.

The scream was so intense it nearly shattered her eardrum.

Zhou Qing suspiciously opened her eyes, only to see Shen Li soaring above the heads of the thugs.

Before she could even process what was happening, Shen Li kicked one of the thugs to the ground with a single blow, leaving him howling in pain.

The moment the thug hit the ground, Zhou Qing didn’t even have time to be shocked. She brought down her club on him like she was smashing a mole in a game.

As Shen Li took one down, Zhou Qing followed up with a club strike.

In a matter of seconds, a series of smacks and thuds filled the air, and before she knew it, the thugs were all lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

Wide-eyed, Zhou Qing watched the defeated men littering the ground. Trembling slightly, she glanced at Shen Li, who was staring back at her calmly. 

"Stop him!" Zhou Qing commanded as Zhou Huaihai attempted to flee.

With a light tap of his foot, Shen Li vaulted into the air, landing squarely in front of Zhou Huaihai.

Zhou Huaihai’s attempted escape came to an abrupt halt.

"What… what do you want?" he asked in terror, staring at Shen Li. He never imagined that the young boss of the calligraphy shop could know martial arts!

He had planned to steal back the paper and get rid of Zhou Qing and Shen Li right here. But now…

Shen Li crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, looking over at Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing strolled forward with her club, "What do you think? We're going hiking!"

Zhou Huaihai quivered, "Don’t come any closer! I’m your uncle! Let me tell you, Yuan is currently serving in the Imperial Guard. He’s on the emperor’s payroll!"

Zhou Qing didn’t even look at him, swinging her club hard. With a sharp crack, Zhou Huaihai’s arm was nearly broken.

Zhou Qing extended her hand toward him, "Hand over the money."

Are you a bandit?

Given the circumstances, what else could he do?

There was nothing he could say except hand over the money quickly and try to leave.

But even after handing over the money, he didn’t escape.

As he attempted to run, Zhou Qing grabbed him by the collar.

"Can you give him a beating that doesn’t kill him, but ensures he can’t walk for two months?" she asked Shen Li.

Having witnessed the fight just now, Zhou Qing realized that Shen Li’s skills were far from ordinary.

"I’ll try."

After all, when he used to fight, most of his opponents ended up dead. Even when sparing someone’s life for interrogation, they were often left crippled.

With a swift exchange, Zhou Qing watched in awe as Shen Li quickly incapacitated Zhou Huaihai without breaking a sweat.

"That fast?" she asked.

"Mm."

Admiring his skill, Zhou Qing turned to Zhou Huaihai, "I don’t care who your son is. Let me warn you—mess with me, and I’ll beat you every time I see you!"

She wore an expression of shameless triumph.

Shen Li got on the cart and drove them away.

When he had fought, Shen Li had carefully made sure all the fallen men were lying along the wall. This way, they wouldn’t block the path, and anyone passing by wouldn’t easily notice them.

As Zhou Qing counted the silver notes she had taken from Zhou Huaihai, she asked Shen Li, "How much is this?"

Shen Li glanced at it, "One thousand taels."

"Wow! That much? Now I’ve got two thousand taels saved up!"

Happily flicking the silver notes, Zhou Qing carefully tucked them away.

"Are you going to deposit it?"

"No."

"No?"

"If Zhou Huaihai reports us to the authorities, even though we’re in the right, his son’s got a good position in the capital. If we deposit the silver notes, they’ll become evidence of what we just did. If we don’t deposit them, no one can prove those injuries were our doing."

Shen Li chuckled.

"Are you afraid of Zhou Yuan?"