"Did you just say you want to rob me?"
Lu Qing carried a sack on his back, brimming with goods, and looked ahead calmly.
In front of him, there were five or six men blocking the road, wielding clubs and looking at him with malice.
If Ma Gu had been there, he would have recognized these men—they were the ruffians Chen San led, whom he had warned and dealt with before.
At the moment, Chen San and his comrades were looking greedily at Lu Qing and his possessions.
Especially at the sight of the pork in the bamboo basket, they almost drooled.
A fortnight ago, they had been beaten up by some folks at the big market and had spent days nursing their injuries.
They had even spent every last dime they had.
Now, they had not tasted meat for over ten days.
They had initially thought to extort money from one or two unlucky souls they might encounter on the road.
But they hadn't expected such a big fat sheep to show up.
Looking at the meat in Lu Qing's basket, and also at the rice and flour, Chen San's eyes nearly emitted a green light.
How much might all these goods be worth!
Perhaps due to the great changes Lu Qing had undergone recently, Chen San and his gang did not recognize him as the lad they had wanted to rob half a month ago.
He was also the very reason why they had been brutally beaten up at the big market.
"Kid, since you heard us clearly, just hand over your possessions and all your money obediently!"
Chen San said fiercely.
"Right, if you don't want to suffer, put down the goods immediately and scram."
"Otherwise, watch out—we'll beat you up!"
The other minions shouted similarly.
"What if I refuse to hand them over? Would you kill me, throw my body in the wilderness, and then rob everything?" Lu Qing suddenly asked.
Chen San and his men were all stunned.
Had this kid gone mad from fear? They had just said they wanted to rough him up, but when had they said they would kill him?
"Come on, answer me. If I don't want to give you the money, are you going to kill me?" Lu Qing asked calmly.
Seeing the calm on Lu Qing's face, Chen San suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.
He felt that there was something eerie about this lad.
Who reacts to a robbery by calmly asking whether they would be killed?
Shouldn't he be panicking and pleading for mercy?
Could this kid be a madman?
This question couldn't help but surface in Chen San and his group's minds.
But even if he were mad, he was a madman with money!
Chen San's group ogled the goods on Lu Qing, their eyes filled with greed.
If they managed to steal his goods, they could squander it for several days.
With this thought, Chen San's group cast aside the chill they felt inside.
"Right, if you don't hand over the money, believe us—we'll slaughter you and dump you in the river!"
Unfortunately, Lu Qing had already seen through their bluster.
He looked at the information floating above Chen San's head.
[Chen San: A good-for-nothing, ruffian.]
[Makes a living by stealing and scheming, gathers a few minions, frequently sneaking around nearby villages, despised by all.]
He looked at the others; without exception, they were all ruffians and thieves.
He shook his head, somewhat disappointed.
If these guys were truly ruthless, he could act without restraint.
But now, he could only restrain himself a bit.
However, those who needed to be dealt with still had to be handled.
With this crowd wandering nearby, it was ultimately not good for the villagers.
It was him, if today it had been another villager coming to the market, perhaps they would have indeed been robbed by these few.
"A bunch of waste, having hands and feet yet only thinking of reaping without sowing, maggots are more valuable alive than you are."
Lu Qing gently put down the item in his hands, took off his carrier basket, and then stretched his limbs.
"What did you say, kid, are you tired of living?"
Chen San and his group were furious.
However, before they could do anything, they saw a figure flash, and Lu Qing had already rushed in front of them like a whirlwind.
Chen San, standing at the forefront, was startled and instinctively raised the wooden stick in his hand to smash at Lu Qing.
But just as he lifted the stick, he felt a severe pain in his wrist, and he could no longer grip the stick, which then fell.
Then, with a crack, a huge pain struck his chest, a bloody taste rose in his mouth, his vision darkened, and he could no longer stand, collapsing on the ground.
By the time Chen San barely regained his senses from the severe pain and opened his eyes, what he saw was all his underlings lying on the ground, either clutching their hands or covering their feet, painfully howling.
"Chen San, is it? You should feel lucky."
Chen San was terrified in his heart, still unclear about what exactly had happened, when a dark shadow suddenly covered him.
He looked up, only to see Lu Qing standing right in front of him.
His face against the sunlight was somewhat indistinct.
He only heard the voice, carrying a hint of indifference.
"You should feel lucky, that I didn't sense that you had done anything extremely evil."
"Otherwise, you would already be several corpses floating in the river by now."
"Now, disabling a hand and foot from each of you is simply a slight punishment, but if I ever find out that you're still involving in petty theft or harming nearby villages, then it won't be as simple as breaking hands and feet." Find adventures on empire
Chen San looked at Lu Qing with full-hearted fear.
At this moment, he was fully aware that Lu Qing was not the easy target they had thought.
But an existence they absolutely couldn't afford to provoke!
The other underlings also dared not shout anymore, looking at Lu Qing with eyes also filled with fear.
Because they all could hear that Lu Qing was not merely boasting.
If they didn't do as he said, he would indeed slaughter them.
Lu Qing returned to where he had put down his carrier basket and picked up his belongings.
Then he continued towards the village, from start to finish, without glancing back at Chen San and the others.
As if such trash wasn't worth a second glance.
"Remember, don't let me run into you again, or else I'll break your other limbs too."
Watching Lu Qing's slowly receding figure, only when he had completely disappeared did Chen San and the others dare to continue crying out in pain.
"Boss, what should we do?"
One underling cried with a mournful face.
"What else can we do, hurry up and leave, didn't you hear what that devil said, if he sees us again, he'll break our other limbs too."
"But, how can we leave?" The underling already started crying.
Chen San then noticed that the underling's calf was twisted at a strange angle.
"Even if we can't leave, we have to leave, damn it, those of you whose legs aren't broken, get up!"
Under Chen San's scolding, the underlings whose legs weren't broken struggled to their feet.
Lu Qing also seemed to have done this deliberately; of the six people, broken hands and broken legs were distributed equally, giving them the capability to leave.
In the end, the group supported each other, constantly crying out in pain, and left miserably.