Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Cessacioun shrugged, also threw a gold coin into the girl’s basket, and picked up a flower. He turned and pointed at Han Jin and Sunier with a smile. “Girl, they will definitely buy flowers from you too. Quickly now; don’t let your customer escape.”
Seeing that Cessacioun was as generous as the others, the girl’s face turned red from excitement. Han Jin and his group had obtained a number of high-grade magic crystals from the Tarasha Mountains, and aside from the one from the Thunderbird which was reserved for Yalina, the rest had all been sold. The coins from the sale were split among everyone equally – basically the first time they had received wages. However, Moxinke and the rest were too busy cultivating lately, and since Winston took care of their living essentials, they really had nowhere to spend their money. The few gold coins they gave out were out of sympathy and really meant nothing to them, but for the girl, a gold coin was how much she could earn in a month – no doubt a great boon to her.
“Thank you.” The girl bowed shyly at Cessacioun, turned, and ran toward Han Jin. “Little… big brother, would you like a flower?”
Of course Han Jin had to buy one; after all, Sunier was expectantly staring at him from the side! He wasn’t sure when he had showed off his ‘audacity’ that one day; who knew if Sunier believed him or not?! But as time had proved, he held an important place in Sunier’s heart, since Sunier had completely given up on her mask by now and only had a blue headband on her head to cover the marking on it. In terms of appearance only, Sunier and Yalina were equally beautiful, but maybe because of the different attitudes they had, Sunier appeared more charming – a sign of her hope for a better future.
Han Jin threw out two gold coins without any nonsense, picked out a flower that he deemed satisfactory, and handed it to Sunier who smiled sweetly as she accepted it.
Two gold coins?! The girl almost jumped up and cheered. Since Han Jin was the most generous, she felt like she had to say something. After a pause, she spoke in a light voice, “May you be happy forever.”
“Thank you.” Sunier nodded with a smile.
Often times, suffering came from comparison. A man suffering from cold and hunger would suffer as he stared at a rich man enjoying a life of debauchery, but if he looked upon a man about to be executed, he would feel lucky; at least he could still live.
The girl stared dumbly at Han Jin and Sunier’s fading shapes. She was grateful for these generous lords, but also jealous. Especially Sunier; why did she have a strong shoulder to lean on, while she had to muck about the street in the cold?!
Just as the girl was deep in her thoughts, a fat hand reached toward her flower basket. The girl immediately reacted and dodged to the side. “You… Master Dauncy…”
“Business seems to be good.” The man named Dauncy wasn’t tall but still wore a thick layer of cloth as if he was allergic to the cold. The thick layer of fur coats and hats, combined with his round belly, made him look like a complete fur ball.
The girl’s face turned pale and took two steps back, her eyes occasionally glancing to her sides.
“Pay the taxes from the past few days.” Dauncy extended his hand.
“Master, my mother has been sick for many days. Could you wait…”
“Damn it!” Dauncy’s face immediately turned and he roughly cut off the girl’s plea. He grabbed the girl’s collar with one hand, while he reached for the flower basket with the other. “No more excuses!”
The girl struggled, but she was too weak to break free. Out of desperation, she slammed her head toward Dauncy’s face.
Dauncy didn’t think she would dare resist and was hit squarely in the face. WIth a cry of pain, he fell to the ground with his hands holding his nose.
The girl immediately turned and ran, but her shoes were too old and didn’t fit her. Eventually, she decided to throw them away to run with her bare feet in the snow.
“Catch her…” Dauncy waved his arm.
The few thugs behind him finally reacted and started to chase her with a clamor of insults. Even though the girl had a lead, she was still a weak girl whose body had been numbed by the cold. Before she could cover a hundred meters, the thugs were onto her, and one of them slammed his foot into her back. With a desperate cry, the girl fell down rolling into the snow. By the time she stopped, she was covered in snow. Another thug charged up and lifted her up by the hair.
Dauncy arrived while gasping for air, then heavily slapped her in the face. “You fucker! Why don’t you run now?!”
The girl was too thin, and the slap made her fall once again into the snow. A few strands of black hair remained in the thug’s hand, tainted by slivers of blood.
“Young Master, you drew blood…” the thug whispered.
“So?” Dauncy smiled viciously. Blood had appeared on the corner of the girl’s mouth, but he was nowhere near satisfied.
“Young Master, what I mean is… you are bleeding,” the thug said wearily.
Dauncy blanked then wiped his nose. Sure enough, his palm was tainted with red. Instantly enraged, he charged up to the girl and tried to slap her again. However, unlike last time, the girl wasn’t being held. Out of pure instinct, the girl closed her eyes and ducked down. With loud bam, Dauncy’s hand landed squarely on her head.
Since neither party was a professional, the damage they suffered depended on where they collided. From a biological point of view, the skull was much harder than the finger bones, and hence, although the girl was dizzy from the hit, Dauncy straight up jumped up and screamed in pain. His fingers were numb from the hit, and almost lost all of their feelings.
“Young Master, what happened?!” The thugs quickly surrounded him.
“Fuck off!” Dauncy roared in anger, pushed aside the thug in front of him, and then kicked the girl in front of him. “Not running now, are you?!”
The girl knew that she was in for a bad time, and decided she might as well protect herself by curling into a ball. She was not only protecting her income, but also protecting her life; or, to be more accurate, her mother’s life.
“Why don’t you run now… Why don’t you run now…” Every time Dauncy yelled, he followed with a kick. However, the girl gritted her teeth and didn’t make any noise, which was quite a disappointment for him. Of course, that didn’t stop him from being more and more brutal.
A sudden ‘shing’ rang in the air, and a gleaming greatsword planted itself between him and the girl. Luckily for Dauncy, he was a little exhausted from all the kicking. Had he continued at his original pace, he would have slammed his foot into the sharp blade.
Dauncy froze, then lifted his head. Moxinke was standing there, staring silently at him with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His face was so dark that one could feel the coldness coming from it.
When the girl had clashed with Dauncy, Han Jin and his group hadn’t gone far off yet. Once they had witnessed everything, Han Jin hadn’t intervened despite being the last of the group, because he was dealing with a more urgent matter: saving a life! However, it was not the girl’s life, but Dauncy’s. If he hadn’t been there to stop Yalina, she would have cast a bolt of lightning already!
Dauncy’s eyes jumped. He didn’t want to start trouble with a mercenary, but he couldn’t swallow his anger. He tried his best to soften his voice and said, “Brother, don’t meddle in things you don’t understand. Go do whatever you are supposed to do.”
“Supposed to do? Alright then, if you say so!” Moxinke smiled coldly. “I think I’m supposed to be beating someone up right now!” Before he finished, his immense fist had already landed on Dauncy’s chin.
Moxinke hadn’t planned on causing trouble. He had only meant to first protect the girl, then hand both to the Mercenary Association who was in charge of keeping order. That was all! But Dauncy’s attitude had instantly pissed him off. What more did he want after beating her so badly? To continue?!
Even though Moxinke hadn’t put much force behind his punch, Dauncy’s body still went flying, even leaving an arc of blood in the air. He then landed and rolled far into the distance. The few thugs hurriedly dove toward Moxinke, but even without his greatsword, he was still a warrior. With just his fist, he left every one of the thugs rolling on the ground with a single meaty strike.
Dauncy struggled to get up, then gagged from the dizziness, spitting out a dozen bloody teeth. Just then, someone among the onlookers roared, “What happened here? Make way!”
An old man with a sword, along with ten of his subordinates from the Mercenary Association, entered the scene. The old man looked at Han Jin and his group, blanked for a bit, then turned to look at Dauncy.
Dauncy somehow found the strength to immediately sit up as he saw the oncomer. He called out in a slur with his leaking mouth, “Uncle…”
The old man glanced around and saw the girl covered in blood. Truth be told, anyone with half a brain would instantly know what happened. However, the old man’s face sunk and he coldly asked Moxinke, “Did you beat all these people up?”
“That’s me. So what?” Moxinke said roughly.
“You know the rules of the Mercenary Association. Since you admitted to your crime, no need for more nonsense. Come with me.”
Moxinke almost couldn’t believe his ears. He looked up and down at the old man, and, in a far less friendly tone, said, “Old man, are you drunk?!” Even though he spent most of his time cultivating and rarely went out, on the rare occasion that he did decide to take a break, every mercenary he met would do their best to tout and praise him. Even the upper management of the Mercenary Association had to be polite around him! Did this old man not know who he was?!
“Probably on fake wine at that,” Han Jin continued flatly. His memory had always been exceptional, and he immediately recognized the old man as Cromwell, the one that had forced Little Joseph to spy on them! He had a feeling that the man was scheming something nefarious at the time, but a series of later events forced him to focus on more important matters.
Before, he had quite a lot to worry about, but the Han Jin now was not the Han Jin that had first come to Isolated Cliff City! The carp had leaped through the dragon gate and had become a dragon*! The people that he associated with included Gibran, Winston, and even Captain Dwightsteel of the Dragon Singer Mercenary Corp and Juventus of the Mercenary Association! An errand boy like Cromwell was nothing to him at this point.
Cessacioun and the rest all burst out laughing. Moxinke likewise cracked a smile, his eyes filled with scorn.
The old man’s face became even darker. He ordered coldly, “Arrest all of them!”
Carp crossing the dragon’s gate is a folktale in China which is often used as a metaphor for someone weak becoming powerful through determination.
