A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 26: Narrow Alley
Tang Wanhong thought like this and turned to look at Guan Kui, as if he was looking at a piece of wood.

Tang Wanhong glanced at the painting of a lady on the coffee table and said coldly, "Put the painting away and put it on the desk in the inner room. Don't disturb me if there is nothing else! I want to take a good look at this painting."

“Yes… yes…” Guan Kui timidly rolled up the scroll and went into the inner room.

Tang Wanhong glanced at Guan Kui's back with disgust.

In fact, he had made a profit by purchasing the painting for eight hundred taels, and he also used it to confirm that Duan Rong was not only well-versed in ancient paintings, but also in artifacts.

This is when we planned to make further friendships.

The artist of the painting of a lady that Duan Rong brought was named Fan Yunlin, a rare young genius who unfortunately died young.

There are not many of his works left, and this painting of a lady is a masterpiece among them.

For painters of the same status, the rarer the works, the higher the price they can be sold for. He sold this painting of a lady for at least 1,200 taels of silver.

Duan Rong walked out of Guyuezhai in a very good mood and couldn't help humming a little song from his previous life.

With this money, he won’t have to worry about cultivation resources for a period of time.

As long as he makes good use of the ability to devour weapon spirits, this antique street will be his treasury.

Duan Rong was dreaming of becoming rich when suddenly someone bumped into him on the shoulder.

This antique street is narrow to begin with, so it was no big deal if someone bumped into something while passing by.

But the man who bumped into him was not only strong and sturdy, but the bump was also very heavy. If Duan Rong had not already had some basic skills in standing meditation, he would have been almost knocked down.

Duan Rong immediately covered his chest with his shirt. There were eight hundred taels of silver in the inner pocket of his shirt. How could he know if the man who bumped into him was a pickpocket?
Duan Rong rubbed his body through his clothes and confirmed that the banknotes were still there, and he felt relieved.

Duan Rong looked at the man, and the man actually stopped and looked him up and down.

The man had a square face, a broad nose, and was strong and sturdy. He was half a head taller than Duan Rong. He was wearing a tight suit with his trouser legs wrapped around his waist, but he was not carrying any weapon.

Although he didn't bring any weapons, Duan Rong could tell at a glance that this man was a martial artist.

The man glanced at Duan Rong's badge, smiled, showing his yellow teeth, and said, "Sorry, little brother, I left in a hurry!"

Duan Rong glanced at the man, said nothing, and turned away.

The man stood there, looking at Duan Rong's back, and said coldly, "You have some basic skills in lower body. At this age, it seems that you have put a lot of effort in standing still."

Duan Rong was walking along the street when he suddenly saw a stall selling miscellaneous books. He immediately walked over and started browsing the books on the stall.

The original owner grew up in a poor family and was a loner by nature. Although Duan Rong inherited his memories, he didn't know much about this world.

He had long wanted to read some miscellaneous books to broaden his horizons, but since his soul traveled through time, he had no free time and no spare money.

But now, the money for buying books is just a drop in the bucket for him.

Duan Rong squatted in front of the bookstall, selected seven or eight books that interested him, bargained for the price, and paid. The stall owner stacked the books together, tied them up with a hemp rope, and gave them to Duan Rong to carry.

Duan Rong was holding a few yellowed books in one hand and a sheathed oxtail knife in the other, preparing to go to the herbal medicine shop to get some deer antlers before returning to the escort agency.

Duan Rong was walking when suddenly a figure flashed past him and his hand holding the book suddenly felt lighter.

Duan Rong looked carefully and found that only half of the hemp rope was left in his hand. The hemp rope in his hand had been cut by someone.

Duan Rong was furious. He looked up and saw a thin figure holding his bundle of books. It looked like a child. The figure scurried around in the crowd like a loach. After a while, the figure entered the alley beside the Antique Street.

"Fuck! Where did this little jerk come from!"

Duan Rong cursed and immediately chased after him.

But the crowd here was a bit crowded, hindering his figure.

When Duan Rong jumped into the alley, the child had already run quite a distance.

Duan Rong saw from afar that the child's clothes were tattered.

"Isn't he a little beggar?"

Duan Rong thought so and shouted, "Little beggar, stop! I'll give you money, and you return the book to me!"

But the little beggar turned a deaf ear to him and went into another alley. Duan Rong was afraid of losing him, so he quickened his pace and turned in as well!
As soon as Duan Rong entered the alley, he felt something was wrong. There were high windowless walls on both sides, and the alley was narrow.

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat. "Walk into the trap!"

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he saw a sturdy and tall figure blocking the alley. It was the man who had just bumped into him. However, the big man was holding a broad-bladed ghost-head knife in his hand and looked at him with a cold look...

Duan Rong looked back to the other end of the alley and saw two people standing behind the child holding his bundle of books.

The two men held a tattered shield and a fork in their hands!
And when he looked more closely, he found that the person who stole his book was not a child at all.

Although the child was only as tall as a human waist, he had a beard and was actually a dwarf!
The person behind the dwarf was someone Duan Rong had seen before in Guyue Zhai. He was the tall and thin man who brought the copper furnace into the room.

"This has provoked a den of thieves!"

The tall and thin man held a fork in one hand and a shield in the other to protect the dwarf behind him, shouting, "Brother Ming, this guy ruined our business in Guyuezhai!"

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat.

After all, he had just traveled through time not long ago, and many of his behaviors were still subconsciously based on the habits of his previous life.

For example, exposing the fake incense burner would not be a big deal in the rule of law society of the past, and it could even be considered an act of exposing the evil and promoting the good.

Duan Rong, following the habit from his previous life, pointed it out directly!
But, this is Kyushu Continent!

In the Kyushu Continent, martial arts prevailed, robbery was common, and there were countless unsolved cases in the government offices. It was not the peaceful world of the previous life...

Duan Rong looked at the rather ferocious broad-faced ghost-head knife. His heart, which had been beating wildly in annoyance, calmed down instantly. He clasped his fists and said loudly, "I am an escort from the Yuanshun Escort Agency. Brothers, which profession are you from? Please tell me your name!"

The sturdy and strong man with a broad nose sneered, "Who are you trying to scare with Yuanshun Escort Agency? With your limited skills, you haven't even mastered the first level. I think you are at most an intern escort. Besides, I will kill you and leave far away. Will Yuanshun Escort Agency still hunt me down for a trainee escort like you?"

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat. This man seemed to know a lot about the internal affairs of Yuanshun Escort Agency.

"Hand over the money in your pocket as soon as possible! Our stuff is fake, yours is real, right?" The broad-nosed man sneered, "You ruined our business, so you have to compensate us. This deal is reasonable!"

"Hand over the silver and I will spare your life! If you don't want to, I can take it myself, but the result will be different." The broad-nosed man said as he turned the blade in his hand and his eyes suddenly froze.

Duan Rong was so angry that he laughed and said, "Fuck you! Do you think I was scared?"

Duan Rong knew very well that even if he handed over the silver, they would never let him off. After all, he was a member of the Yuanshun Escort Agency. After robbing such a large sum of silver, wasn't he afraid of being held accountable later?

Ever since he walked into the alley, it had been a life-and-death situation.

Apart from killing, he had no other choice.

Duan Rong drew out his oxtail knife, took a step forward and slashed horizontally, then attacked the broad-nosed man!
The broad-nosed man's eyelids twitched, and he said angrily: "Since you don't know how to be shameless, I will send you to death!"

The broad-nosed man shook his wrist, swung his blade diagonally, and aimed it towards Duan Rong's blade.

With a crisp bang, Duan Rong's palm shook and the weapon almost slipped out of his hand.

Duan Rong's eyelids twitched and his heart sank slightly. This man's internal energy was deeper than his. Even if he hadn't achieved the first level, he was probably not far away.

And he had only practiced his internal skills for a day or two, and had only just begun to develop combat prowess!

The broad-nosed man forced Duan Rong back with one move, and then he attacked Duan Rong with great force and ferocity.

Duan Rong's heart was as calm as water. He skillfully resolved several attacks from the broad-nosed man.

His internal strength is indeed not as good as that of the broad-nosed man, but his martial arts skills have reached the level of mastery!
As long as he doesn't fight this big man head-on, he is far superior to this broad-nosed man in terms of the sophistication of his moves.

This time he wants to use cleverness to defeat force!

The broad-nosed man chopped down with his sword, and the wind from the sword broke through the air, but Duan Rong's sword tip suddenly emerged from the back of his sword and stabbed him in the face. The broad-nosed man was so frightened that he had to withdraw his move and retreat.

Duan Rong's eyes were cold, and a calm and cold light like a wild beast flashed in the depths of his pupils from time to time.

He countered every move!
Duan Rong seemed to have found flaws in all the attacks from the broad-nosed man and neutralized them one by one.

Duan Rong often acts later, but when he attacks, he must rescue!
The broad-nosed man felt more and more out of breath as the fight went on. The blade of his broad-faced machete kept slashing against the high walls on both sides, causing brick chips to fly everywhere.

But he didn't even touch the corner of Duan Rong's clothes...

(End of this chapter)