What a lucky world!

Chapter 30: A Serious Father (Part )

Wan'an County, Qingshui Township.

Niu Fa climbed up from the woman's body and pulled up his pants.

He glanced at the woman on the bed. Her body was covered with scars from her own beatings. Without the pressure of Niu Fa, she curled up into a ball, tightly grasping the patched thin blanket, trembling constantly, tears falling silently.

"It's a pity that he is a mute, so his screams are not as soul-stirring..." Niu Fa muttered and walked out of the house.

Outside the house, a thin man was tied to a wooden stake. When he saw the cow coming out, he kept struggling and yelling in anger.

Niu Fa kicked the man hard in the stomach, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. Niu Fa snorted coldly, "If you look at me like that again, I'll dig out your eyes."

After saying that, Niu Fa took out a dozen copper coins from his purse and threw them in front of the man.

"Look, I'm not playing for nothing."

"Your house is priced at this price..."

"Next time, let her take it off herself, so I don't have to bother..."

After saying that, Niu Fa walked away with a swagger. This was just an ordinary day for him.

Humming a tune, Niu Fa returned to his home and was planning to change his clothes and go to the county to gamble, but as soon as he opened the door, he was kicked hard in the heart and flew out, falling to the ground.

Niu Fa's internal organs were churning, and before he could get up, the man who attacked him rushed out of the room and kicked him against the earthen wall, knocking down a section of it.

Then, the man stepped forward again, grabbed Niu Fa's collar, and lifted him up. Looking at the terrified Niu Fa, he sneered and was about to hit him again. Niu Fa suddenly shouted, "Brave man! Brave man!"

"Let's talk it over, let's talk it over! How did I offend the warrior?"

He Yun stopped his fist and said coldly, "So that you can die with a clear conscience."

"Does the owner of Zuiyue Tower still remember?"

"That man once gave me a meal. Today is the time for me to repay him."

The person who came was the escort who caused the trouble, He Yun.

When he learned from Zhang Mu that there might be other hidden secrets behind his leader's death, he immediately volunteered to find Niu Fa, the village bully.

As for the words of "repaying a favor", they were naturally taught to him by Zhang Mu.

Sure enough, after hearing He Yun's words, Niu Fa was obviously shocked for a moment, and then shouted: "My goodness, it's a misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding!"

Seeing that Niu Fa had softened his stance as Zhang Mu had expected, He Yun felt happy, but his expression remained grim as he asked, "What misunderstanding?"

When Niu Fa heard what He Yun said, he quickly said, "We're not really going to exchange for Zuiyue Tower, that was just a show!"

"We are just putting on a show for Boss Wang!"

"If you don't believe me... go back and ask him!"

"Acting?" He Yun's eyes lit up. Zhang Mu was right. There was something fishy going on.

"Yes, yes, it's acting." Niu Fa nodded quickly, "If you don't believe me, go ask Wang... go ask Niu Hehua!"

"Niu Hehua? Who is she?" He Yun continued to ask.

"It's Mrs. Deng from the Deng Family Embroidery Shop in West Fourth Alley in the county town."

He Yun frowned: "Why is it Niu Hehua and Madam Deng again? If you don't explain clearly, I will blow your head off right now!"

"I'll tell you." Niu Fa quickly explained, "Niu Hehua is my cousin. When she was little, she was sold to Madam Deng from the Deng family embroidery workshop as an adopted daughter. She was renamed Deng Cuiping, the current Madam Deng."

"She found me and asked us to pretend to force the store to redeem it. Boss Wang was there at the time and gave me ten taels of silver as a reward..."

Seeing that He Yun seemed to be still hesitating, Niu Fa said again: "Good man, what I said is true, I can't lie..."

"That Deng Cuiping and Boss Wang are having an affair... no, they're having a private affair... Aren't you trying to repay Boss Wang? We're all family..."

Upon hearing this, He Yun felt that the matter was becoming more and more complicated and he couldn't figure it out for a while, so he directly hit Niu Fa on the neck with a palm, knocking him unconscious, then carried him on his shoulder and walked out.

……

Escort agency, guest room and courtyard.

Zhang Mu is still staying here for the time being. He is currently meditating in the room, planning to break through the second meridian.

There was no other way. Without any martial arts skills, he couldn't even break into the Heavenly Secret Ranking. He had nothing to do but continue improving his cultivation. Just as Zhang Mu was about to control his innate martial luck, he suddenly felt someone enter his courtyard, and then he heard Song Yuanqing's voice: "Zhang Mu..."

Zhang Mu stood up and walked out of the house. Sure enough, he saw Song Yuanqing standing in the courtyard. He quickly bowed to him.

Song Yuanqing waved his hand and sat down directly in front of the stone table in the yard.

"Sit down." Song Yuanqing gestured for Zhang Mu to sit down and said, "I just came back from Madam Zhuang's place and told her about the Wang family. I heard you were still living here, so I came to see you."

Then Song Yuanqing clapped his hands again, and saw several kitchen apprentices walk in from outside the yard. They quickly placed several dishes and a pot of wine on the stone table.

"According to my rules, if you join my escort team, I should hold a banquet for you. From now on, when you are escorting goods outside, we will be brothers who trust each other with life and death." Song Yuanqing poured himself a glass of wine and wanted to pour wine for Zhang Mu. Zhang Mu hurriedly took the wine pot and filled it himself.

Song Yuanqing smiled and continued, "But with the Wang family's situation like this, having a banquet would have a bad impact. I'm alone today, so I'll treat you to a drink. We'll do it after the Wang family's matter is over."

As he spoke, Song Yuanqing raised his glass. Zhang Mu clinked his glasses with his, drank it in one gulp, and then said, "You're too polite, Chief Escort."

"Don't call me the escort leader, just call me Brother Song." Song Yuanqing said with a smile.

"Yes, Brother Song." Zhang Mu called out.

"Hahahaha..." Song Yuanqing laughed heartily, "Since you call me big brother, I won't hide it from you. There is something that is bothering me."

"Brother Song, you say."

"I don't know who in the escort agency is, but they're always gossiping about me, Song Yuanqing, and saying I'm henpecked!"

Zhang Mu remained calm: "Nonsense."

"That's right, it's just nonsense." Song Yuanqing nodded, "Brother Mu, as someone who has been through this, let me tell you what the biggest secret to a peaceful home is."

"Oh? What is it?" Zhang Mu asked curiously.

“It’s called winning without winning.”

Song Yuanqing drank another full glass of wine and said, "I look down on those who beat their wives at every turn. They are all trash."

"Look at me, trying to reason with those women. Three words are enough—I was wrong!"

"Still fighting? If you do, there will be chaos everywhere and you won't be able to rest. At this time, just take a small step back, kneel down, and hey, take him down!"

"She still has to do your laundry, cook, and give birth to your children, and you're not angry."

"Just tell me who wins!"

"The Art of War says: 'Conquer the enemy without fighting.' It's also said that the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans. This is exactly the same principle!"

"It's because you followed me, otherwise I would never teach you this secret."

After saying that, Song Yuanqing drank another full glass.

Zhang Mu: (ーー;)
If you say you are tough, you can come up with some twisted ideas. But if you say you are timid, your words are well-reasoned and quite tough.

Song Yuanqing and Zhang Mu looked at each other. After a moment, Song Yuanqing saw that Zhang Mu's eyes were clear, so he said directly: "Anyway, don't spread what you saw yesterday!"

Zhang Mu was immediately surprised: "Ah, what did you see? Didn't we go directly to the Wang family yesterday?"

Their eyes met, and they quickly reached a tacit understanding, and the next moment they both laughed.

This smile made the atmosphere much more relaxed.

At this moment, Zhang Mu suddenly remembered the important matter and asked, "Brother Song, is He Yun back?"

Song Yuanqing shook his head: "I'll treat you to a drink tonight, not to business."

Zhang Mu nodded and raised his glass to toast again.

Song Yuanqing put down his wine glass and said, "I know you've already opened up the Heart Meridian of the Hand Shaoyin. Which meridian do you want to choose next?"

Song Yuanqing received instructions from Madam Zhuang to pay more attention to Zhang Mu's cultivation, so naturally he would ask this question.

Hearing Song Yuanqing mention cultivation, Zhang Mu quickly said, "I was just about to ask Brother Song for advice."

Just as Zhang Mu finished speaking, a guard came running in: "Brother Song, He Yun is back..."

(End of this chapter)