NOVGO.NET Chapter 1397: Side Story: Fan Zijin (13)
Chapter 1397: Side Story: Fan Zijin (13)
Editor: Atlas Studios
When Fan Zijin woke up, he only felt that his throat was dry and he was dizzy. He turned over in discomfort and opened his eyes slightly. In an instant, under the bed, he met a pair of eyes that suggested he wanted to speak but did not.
Fan Zijin snapped out of his daze and sat up with a thump. He glared at the person who had been tied up and thrown under the bed. Then, he subconsciously reached back, grabbed Qi Haoran’s arm, and twisted it ruthlessly.
After letting out a scream, Qi Haoran slapped Fan Zijin’s hand away. He sat up and said unhappily, “What are you doing?”
Fan Zijin’s throat was so dry that he could not speak. He could only point at the person under the bed and glare at Qi Haoran.
Qi Haoran stuck his head out to take a look and immediately lay down without interest. Then, he pulled the blanket over his head and said, “Aren’t they just two little thieves? It’s fine. Go back to sleep.”
’Two?’
Fan Zijin widened his eyes and looked around the room. Only then did he see another tied-up person beside the table.
He rubbed his forehead with a headache and got up to pour himself a glass of water. Only after the discomfort in his throat lessened slightly did he ask hoarsely, “When did you catch these two? Why wasn’t I at all aware?”
When Qi Haoran lifted the blanket and saw Fan Zijin’s “I want to have a long talk with you” expression, he knew that he could forget about sleeping any longer.
He got out of bed and kicked the person under the bed. “They were all caught last night. One came in to steal the money, and the other was guarding outside.”
Qi Haoran snorted. “Do you think I learned my martial arts for nothing?”
Since the money was under Qi Haoran’s pillow, if the thief wanted to steal money, they’d have to take it from under his ear. Wasn’t this courting death?
Fan Zijin exhaled and sat by the bed. “Haoran, I’m sick. You have to get a doctor for me. Also, we have to think of a way to deal with these two people without the people outside finding out about this.”
The two thieves widened their eyes and whimpered as they looked at the two of them pleadingly.
Fan Zijin was startled. Seeing that the thing stuffed in their mouths was quite sturdy and they couldn’t make much noise, he was relieved. He waved at Qi Haoran and said, “It’s almost noon. Hurry up and think of a way.”
Qi Haoran rolled his eyes and made a throat-slitting gesture. “Kill them?”
Fan Zijin nodded solemnly. “Since we ran away from home, we can’t let them find any clues. Therefore, we have to kill these two people!”
Tears streamed down the faces of the two thieves when they heard this. They really only wanted to steal money and they thought that they’d at most be sent to the authorities. What’s all this talk about silencing them?
Qi Haoran laughed in his heart, but he rubbed his chin and nodded. “Alright, we’ll silence them after lunch.”
The two thieves became agitated when they heard this. After struggling for a while, they suddenly smashed their heads against the floor, making banging sounds. The two youths were shocked by their reckless actions. It was Qi Haoran who quickly stopped them and threatened fiercely, “If you make any more noise, I’ll break your necks!”
The two of them immediately did not dare to move.
They were used to stealing and rarely failed. Yesterday, they saw two young men dressed luxuriously and riding tall horses. Yet, they weren’t carrying any bags and even bought clothes, shoes, and socks on the spot. It was obvious that they had a lot of money on them.
Because there were only these two youths, they secretly attacked without calling their companions. Unexpectedly, this round-faced young man was so skilled. As soon as the thief’s hand reached out to touch the pillow, the young man immediately grabbed and pulled. Before the thief fell onto the bed, the young man immediately used his hand to tap on him again. The thief’s limbs immediately went numb, and he was thrown to the ground without being able to speak. The entire process took less than two breaths, and he did not make a sound halfway.
The pale-faced young master who was sleeping outside was still sleeping soundly, and the thief’s companion, who was keeping a lookout, did not hear anything unusual. He watched helplessly as the round-faced youth took out an oil paper bag from under his pillow and stuffed it into his arms. Then, he went out and captured his accomplice, too.
Seeing that the round-faced youth had only tied them up, gagged them, and thrown them aside before continuing to sleep, they thought that the other party was soft-hearted. They had planned to act pitiful the next day and try to get him to let them go. Unexpectedly, the two of them wanted to silence them without even questioning them.
They felt very wronged. They really just wanted to steal some money. This was not a crime that warranted death, right?
Qi Haoran snorted and left them behind, then looked at Fan Zijin.
Fan Zijin slowly climbed onto the bed, pulled the blanket over him, and wrapped himself up. He said to Qi Haoran seriously, “I’m really sick. These two people have to be gone before the doctor comes. We can’t send them to the authorities. Otherwise, my parents will soon know that we’re here…”
The two thieves immediately anxiously whimpered. Seeing that they had something to say, Qi Haoran considered for a moment and said, “I’ll take off the cloth now, but you’re not allowed to shout. You witnessed my martial arts skills last night. Although it will be slower to stuff the cloth back into your mouth, breaking your neck will only take a breath or two.”
The two thieves nodded with tears streaming down their faces, indicating that they would not joke with their lives. Only then did Qi Haoran remove the thing in their mouths.
As expected, the two of them did not dare to shout. Instead, they lowered their voices and begged, “Young masters, I know where to find a good doctor. Why don’t I run this errand for you?”
Qi Haoran sneered at them. Would he dare to send a thief to run errands for him?
The two thieves said with tears streaming down their faces, “Little master, we had no choice but to steal. We have an 80-year-old mother and young children waiting to be fed at home…”
“You’re at most 20 years old. Does that mean your mother gave birth to you only when she was 60 years old?” Fan Zijin sighed lightly. “Your mother is like an old clam producing a
The two of them immediately choked and could not say anything.
Very few aristocrats with good living conditions could live to 80, let alone ordinary commoners.
Therefore, those who could live to this age usually were quite well-off.
Qi Haoran kicked their butts and said, “If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll skin you alive.”
The two of them immediately said, “Masters, please spare us. Actually, we don’t have a mother or even a wife, let alone a child. But we really had no choice but to steal money.”
The two of them were refugees who had migrated here three years ago. They usually did odd jobs for others and occasionally stole.
They belonged to a group of refugees who stole because they were starving. Moreover, they did not dare to steal from the locals, or they would be chased out of the town.
Therefore, they had always been targeting passing tourists and merchants. They would not steal too much each time and would only take a little before leaving. Therefore, although the people who they stole from were angry, they would not deliberately stay behind to pursue the matter. This kind of thing would often be left unsettled.
Their gang only had 16 men in their prime, but they had to support 27 children and eight old people. They didn’t have enough to eat every day, and there were very few odd jobs in the town. Moreover, the locals preferred to hire the locals first and would only hire migrants like them if they had no choice. Their wages would also be lowered to the minimum. In order to survive, they could only steal.
When Fan Zijin saw that Qi Haoran took pity on them, he immediately snorted and said, “The world is vast and you’re able-bodied. Stop making excuses. Regardless, it’s wrong to steal.”
Qi Haoran immediately pulled a long face and said, “I will verify what you said. If it’s true, I can spare your lives. But if you lied…”
Qi Haoran sneered.
Previously, he and Fan Zijin were just scaring the thieves and did not actually intend to kill them. However, if they deceived him again and again, he did not mind punching them a few more times.