Capítulo 6: Chapter 6 The Grudge of the Hijacked Ship_1
Scabby Zhang was a bully, picking a fish from this family's basket today, from another's tomorrow. Not much, but enough to disgust you.
In Yixing City, there wasn't a fisherman he hadn't harassed or a widow he hadn't taunted, becoming a universally loathed scabrous disease.
No one dared to say anything to his face, but privately, Li Libo also expressed his disdain.
Liang Qu's expression shifted and he asked, "Beaten up, when did this happen?"
"Maybe this morning? Anyway, when I saw him, he had a huge black eye and was limping. He got beat up pretty bad."
"Who would dare to hit him?"
"I don't know." Li Libo shook his head and then added softly, "He's not that tough, really. He was kicked out of the martial arts school after just two days for causing trouble. What good could he have learned? He probably can't even put up a decent fight, but no one has bothered to expose this paper tiger."
Liang Qu glanced at him, "Based on what you're saying, why don't you expose him?"
"Even if he's a paper tiger, he's still physically imposing." Li Libo gave a sheepish grin, "But today he sneaked out on his boat. I bet he's worried about someone seeking revenge and plans to hide out on the lake to recover. If I hadn't happened to be taking a dump in the reed marsh, nobody might have noticed. You're the second person I've told."
Liang Qu understood.
"Are you done asking? I've told you so much. This meat..."
"It's all yours."
"Ha, how generous! It's been so long since I've had meat at home, trying to save money, heh heh."
"Wait." Liang Qu held onto the plate.
"What now?"
"Never mind, it's nothing. Go ahead and eat."
Li Libo was puzzled but didn't question it, and ate the meat hungrily.
Liang Qu shook his head. He had wanted to keep the news to himself, but then thought better of it. It was needless effort, overestimating his own importance.
Jianghuai Zeye Marshland.
A small sampan boat lay still on the lake surface, with Zhang Tieniu lying inside, his face full of warts particularly noticeable.
The once fierce-looking Scabby Zhang now lay like a plucked chicken, listless, the bruises around his eyes almost laughable.
"Damn it, I was fine yesterday, how could I have come back to life so suddenly? Shiiit, that Zheng Xiang, he went too far, my back..."
Zhang Tieniu clutched at his waist and belly, his face etched with misery.
Having done too many despicable things, he didn't dare to recover at home for fear of retribution. Instead, he rode out in his small sampan boat, hiding on the lake.
Zhang Tieniu sighed, "This might be the only safe place."
"Not necessarily."
Zhang Tieniu's heart stopped abruptly. He was about to stand up when a splash of water hit his face, feeling like it was alive, desperately trying to fill his lungs. Caught off guard, Zhang Tieniu inhaled sharply and felt his lungs fill with water, struggling to breathe.
Then he saw a figure clamber over the side of the boat, untidy hair flipping as the person rolled into the boat and quickly stood up, kicking him hard in the groin, sending indescribable pain coursing through him.
Facing the swollen-faced Scabby Zhang, Liang Qu didn't hesitate, veins on his hand holding a rock stood out as he mustered all his strength and slammed it onto the wart-riddled head.
Bang!
Zhang Tieniu's eyes rolled back as he passed out.
Seeing him motionless, Liang Qu dropped the rock, which clattered against the wooden boat planks before rolling into a corner.
Just... just like that?
Scabby Zhang, who strutted around the village and had been to the martial arts school, was downed by a mere strike?
Gasping for air, Liang Qu stared at his hands and the patch of water gradually dissipating from Scabby Zhang's face.
He had made thorough plans before coming, but it was surprisingly easy to carry them out. Finding the right timing had taken some time, and he had even prepared for the possibility of getting hurt, carrying a piece of lotus root in his chest and warming up with hot water poor Unable to Move, stealthily hiding underwater.
In the end, none of that was needed!
The ability to control water was like a specialized weapon against ordinary people!
As long as he could obscure their breathing with water when they were caught off guard, all their skills were useless.
Looking at the 'corpse' of Scabby Zhang, Liang Qu took a hemp rope from his waist and tied up both the hands and feet of the man, searching his body to find, surprisingly, two ounces of silver—an unexpected windfall.
After straightening the sampan, Liang Qu picked up all the sharp objects and found a rope to secure it a second time, finally steering the sampan to a secluded patch of reeds.
After resting in the reeds for a while and crunching on a few lotus roots to replenish his energy, Liang Qu once again poured water over Scabby Zhang's face.
"Ugh..."
Zhang Tieniu slowly came to consciousness, his vision shaking with a few reed leaves, with the setting sun burning the sky red in the distance.
He coughed a few times, choking out a lot of water, and seemed to have aggravated his wounds. Excruciating pain emanated from his lower body, completely overshadowing all previous injuries. His mind was dazed for a good while before Zhang Tieniu realized what had happened and looked around with bloodshot eyes.
"It's you!"
Facing the glare, Liang Qu kicked Scabby Zhang's lower abdomen, nearly causing him to lose his breath.
With the severe pain in his abdomen, Zhang Tieniu finally realized his situation. This was clearly the marshland, rarely visited by anyone. If the other person killed him here, nobody would know. He hurriedly changed his tune, "Brother Shui, Brother Shui, I was wrong; you have every right to beat me."
"I still prefer how defiant you were before."
"Brother Shui, you're joking, right?" Zhang Tieniu forced a smile on his face, aghast in his heart.
He never expected that the one attacking him would be Liang Qu!
A worthless man who couldn't even fill his stomach, what on earth had happened for such a dramatic change to occur?
He clearly looked like he was on his deathbed just two days ago!
And that lively water, could it be demon magic?
Liang Qu sat at the bow, kicking Scabby Zhang's head with the tip of his shoe, "Tell me, where's my Wupeng Boat? What happened to it?"
Zhang Tieniu hemmed and hawed until Liang Qu lifted his foot as if ready to kick, then he spilled, "I... I sold it."
"Sold it?" Liang Qu quickly inquired, "Sold to who?"
"The fishing corral..."
Damn!
Liang Qu wished he could drown Zhang Tieniu in the water right there. Selling to any fisherman would have been fine, but he had to sell it to the fishing corral. To put it harshly, that place was like a gang for people like Scabby Zhang!
The fishing corral rented out fishing boats and gear at exceptionally high prices. Many who rented the boats had to work for the fishing corral all their lives, exploited by it. Otherwise, without renting, there would be no livelihood and they would starve in a matter of days.
In Yixing City, the situation was still tolerable. In other places, the fishing corral was outright oppressive. You had to rent whether you wanted to or not!
Seeing Liang Qu's threefold rage, Zhang Tieniu quickly begged for mercy, "The boat was hard to sell, and I was desperate for money to drink; I had no choice but to sell it to the fishing corral at a lower price."
"How much did you sell it for?"
"Four... four taels."
"Your mother, selling a Wupeng Boat at the price of a sampan!?" Liang Qu kicked him fiercely twice more.
A sweet, fishy taste rose up his throat, and Zhang Tieniu wanted to say something, but Liang Qu didn't give him the chance to speak. After the beating, Zhang Tieniu gasped for air before he could speak.
"There's... there's still two taels... in my... in the pocket of my pants."
Damn, so those two taels of silver originally belonged to me!
Liang Qu thought about the silver he had found on Scabby Zhang and was overwhelmed with stifling anger. It felt like being fleeced from his own wool.
"And what about the matter at Zhao Manor?"
"That, too... was my doing..."
Liang Qu's suspicion was correct. It really was Zhang Tieniu who had leaked the information!
After stealing the boat, Zhang Tieniu noticed that Liang Qu was a good-looking man, and knowing that Old Master Zhao had a fondness for men, he thought it would be a lucrative deal and went straight to inform Zhao Manor's steward, Zheng Xiang.
Afterward, Zheng Xiang paid a visit. Upon seeing Liang Qu in person, he found that Zhang Tieniu's description was accurate. But Liang Qu mentioned that he needed to think it over.
The deal fell through, and Zhang Tieniu did not receive a reward, but Zheng Xiang did not want to make a wasted trip. He hinted broadly that Zhang Tieniu should "help" Liang Qu make up his mind sooner.
Zhang Tieniu, eager for the reward, went to Liang Qu's home and took away the few buckets of rice Liang Qu had left, figuring out the best timing to report back to Zheng Xiang.
As a result... Zheng Xiang felt cheated and found Zhang Tieniu that night, beating him senselessly.
Though just an ordinary person with no remarkable physique, Zheng Xiang was a man from Zhao Manor. How could Zhang Tieniu dare to fight back?
After the incident, he could only retreat to his sampan to hide and heal, giving Liang Qu the chance he was looking for.
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