Free Web NovelChapter 251: Chapter 213: A Snowy Night at the Tang River Ferry Crossing (Part 2)
But unexpectedly, it was this man who came forward to diffuse the situation.
The blind old man began to play his erhu. As a festive melody filled the air, the little girl opened her mouth and began to sing.
The little girl sang a celebratory tune, its lyrics filled with the usual wishes for good fortune and great wealth for the person who had requested it.
But it was clear the little girl had a fine voice. Though a little thin, it was quite sweet.
Soon, the song was over. The little girl looked at Wu Liangchen, a little timid.
Wu Liangchen nodded. "You sing well!"
With that, he took out a handful of copper coins and offered them to her.
The little girl was shocked.
Normally, she and her grandfather would earn two coppers at most for a song. But the amount Wu Liangchen had just handed her had to be at least a hundred.
"This... this is too much!" the little girl stammered, waving her hands and not daring to accept.
"Just take it. It’s a reward from Master Wu," Xu Kai quickly interjected, smoothing things over.
Only then did the little girl take the money with trembling hands. Overcome with emotion, she gave Wu Liangchen a deep bow.
"Thank you, Master Wu!"
Wu Liangchen smiled, then called out to a nearby waiter, "Bring them a few bowls of chicken and shredded pork noodles. Put it on my tab."
It wasn’t that he was stingy with the money and ordered them something cheap.
Rather, he could tell from their appearance that they had been starving for a long time. Giving them rich, heavy food right now wouldn’t help them; it would actually harm them.
The same principle applied to the money.
Wu Liangchen’s bag was full of silver coins, yet he had only given them a handful of loose coppers.
If he had given them too much, they wouldn’t have been able to protect it. They might have been robbed the moment they walked out the door.
"Right away!" The waiter, also moved, said to the blind old man.
"You’ve met a truly kind person today."
The grandfather and granddaughter were so moved they were speechless. The blind old man looked as if he was about to kneel in gratitude, but Wu Liangchen stopped him.
"Eat up. Once you’re full, head home and get some rest."
With that, Wu Liangchen rose and left the dining hall, heading for his room on the second floor.
Xu Kai followed behind him. It wasn’t until they were back in the room that he suddenly spoke.
"Master Wu, you’re a truly admirable man, but there are so many people like that grandfather and granddaughter. Can you... can you really help them all?"
"I can’t," Wu Liangchen said calmly. "But does that mean I shouldn’t help anyone at all?"
"What I gave was an insignificant amount of money. It means nothing to me, but to them, it could be the hope they need to survive this cold winter’s night."
"And what happens when the money runs out?" For some reason, Xu Kai suddenly felt bold enough to ask.
"Like you said, that’s a problem for later. For now, at least, they’re alive. And as long as you’re alive, there’s hope."
"’As long as you’re alive, there’s hope...’ Xu Kai murmured the words, a distant look in his eyes.
Wu Liangchen returned to his room. After washing up, he began his daily training.
Outside, a fierce wind began to blow, making the windows RATTLE.
Even with the Earth Fire Dragon heating the room, the drop in temperature was still palpable.
Let alone what it was like outside.
But then, a thought struck Wu Liangchen.
’At this temperature, the Tang River will probably freeze over soon. If that happens, I won’t need a ferry, will I?’
Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly heard a faint sound from the street below.
"Are you cold, little one?" an old voice asked.
"Grandpa, I’m full! I’m not cold at all now!" the little girl said cheerfully.
"Sigh. We were lucky to meet such a kind person today. The first thing we’ll do is buy you a proper padded jacket. How can you survive this weather in just those thin clothes?"
"But Grandpa, your clothes are even thinner than mine. If we’re buying one, it should be for you."
"I’m an old man. I don’t feel the cold!"
"That’s still not right... Oh! Grandpa, it’s snowing!" the little girl exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, it’s snowing," the old man sighed. "It’s as if Heaven itself won’t give the poor a chance to live."
To poets and scholars, the blanketing snow might be a beautiful sight, but to this grandfather and granddaughter, it was a death sentence.
There was no telling how many of the poor would freeze to death on this cold, snowy night.
As their voices faded into the distance, Wu Liangchen, alone in his room, felt a wave of emotion.
At this very moment, in the Imperial Capital, a treacherous storm of political intrigue was likely brewing. Power, conspiracy, and wealth were all tangled together, pulling countless people into a vortex from which they could not escape.
But Wu Liangchen couldn’t bring himself to care about any of that right now.
’He just felt that this whole world deserved to be destroyed.’
But just then, the sound of several pairs of hurried footsteps interrupted his reflections.
Wu Liangchen froze for a moment, then a cold, murderous intent surfaced on his face.
Snowflakes as large as goose feathers drifted down, quickly covering the ground in a thick blanket.
In this godforsaken weather, the streets were naturally empty.
Several ruffians quickened their pace, finally cornering the grandfather and granddaughter in a narrow alley.
"What... what do you want?" Though the old man was blind, his hearing was sharp. He could sense the ruffians’ ill intentions and pulled his granddaughter protectively behind him.
"Heh heh, old man," the leader, a ruffian with triangular eyes, said with a sinister laugh. "Heard you came into a small fortune tonight. As it happens, my brothers and I are a bit tight on cash. How about you ’lend’ it to us to spend?"
"I earned that by singing! Why should I lend it to you?" the little girl said indignantly.
"Tsk, tsk. The little brat’s got a sharp tongue," the man with triangular eyes sneered. "Don’t worry, I’ll teach you a lesson soon enough."
Sensing the danger, the blind old man immediately took out all the money from his robes with trembling hands.
"Sirs, this is all the money we have. I’ll give it to you now. Please, can you just let my granddaughter and I leave?"
The ruffians exchanged glances, then broke into sinister grins.
Then, the man with triangular eyes chuckled maliciously. "You old bastard sure know your place. Fine, I’ll take the money. But we need a singer to entertain us while we drink, so your granddaughter will have to come with us. Don’t worry, we promise we won’t hurt her. Just have her drink with us for one night, and we’ll let her go in the morning."
The little girl’s face went pale.
"Grandpa!"
Though she was young, she had grown up on the streets. How could she not understand what these ruffians were implying?
The blind old man fell to his knees with a THUD, kowtowing so rapidly his head was like a pestle pounding garlic.
"Sirs, she’s just a child! Please, let her go this once! We’ll leave tonight, I swear! We won’t linger in this town another moment!"
"Are you deaf, old man? Our boss wants to bestow his favor on your granddaughter. You should be honored! Now, get lost!" one of the ruffians snarled, stepping forward to grab the girl.
"Grandpa!" the little girl shrieked, her cry tearing through the night.
The blind old man, driven by desperation, scrambled to his feet, grabbed his granddaughter, and tried to flee.
But the ruffians had already blocked their path. There was no escape.
"Damn it, the old bastard is pushing his luck! Just kill him!" the man with triangular eyes barked.
They may have looked like common street thugs, but they were utterly ruthless.
When the river was navigable, they would pose as merchants, luring wealthy travelers onto their boat. Once they reached the middle of the river, they would demand exorbitant amounts of money.
After robbing their victims, they would kill the men and dump their bodies in the river. The women, they would toy with before killing them as well.
They had gotten away with this for years, relying on the heavy traffic at the Tang River ferry and their practice of exclusively targeting out-of-towners.
But now that the river was frozen and closed to boat traffic, they had lost their source of income and were idle. Coincidentally, someone had witnessed the scene in the inn and reported it to the man with triangular eyes.
And so, the gang had set their sights on the old man and his granddaughter.
At the order, one of the ruffians immediately drew a blade and lunged at the old man.
But in that instant, a streak of white light flashed through the air.
With a wet THUMP, the man with triangular eyes felt a warm liquid splash across his face. He looked over and saw that the head of the ruffian who had just drawn his knife had been blown apart like a smashed watermelon.
What had splattered on his face was brains.
’What just happened?’
The thought had barely formed in his mind when several more streaks of white light shot through the thick curtain of snow, heading straight for them.
