*******
Cheng Nuo was at his stall while secretly watching Bai Rui. Bai Rui was finally able to sell a few more items.
Liu Guang and Chang Chun came back.
Although Bai Rui’s manner was still cold, he was now able to speak a few words when people asked him about his merchandise. He’s a handsome boy so it was easy for people to get a good impression of him.
Cheng Nuo noticed that he had put away the little basket and couldn’t help but laugh to himself. Just as he was laughing, Bai Rui eyes swept over him. Those eyes were very sharp and Cheng Nuo felt like he was being stabbed by their coldness. He immediately moved out of Bai Rui’s line of sight.
Things were selling more and more smoothly. Cheng Nuo happily placed all of the money he made in his little purse. His was smiling so much that his eyes were like two crescent moons. Perhaps he should consider opening a small business here?
In his mind, he was already trying to figure out what kind of small business would be suitable for him. In fact, the fee for a temporary booth wasn’t low. It was eight level one energy coins for one day. Scooping out this amount of money from his purse was really going to hurt him.
Liu Guang saw that Cheng Nuo was smiling a lot and the boss’ heart wasn’t happy because Cheng Nuo never smiled that much when he was with Liu Guang … he secretly decided to find ways to get some money.
By noon almost all of their items were sold. They collected the baskets and were going to eat when Cheng Nuo saw some tall men with long swords on their waists walking in from the other side of the market. It was the two martial artists they had met earlier in the morning.
Cheng Nuo didn’t want to face them so he touched Liu Guang’s arm and pointed at an alley: “Let’s go this way. I remember there are many shops there.”
Liu Guang glanced at those men sideways then followed Cheng Nuo to the alley. Then Cheng Nuo stopped — those men actually surrounded Bai Rui.
Bai Rui was a bit taller than Liu Guang, but he was only a ten-year-old child. He looked really small when he was circled by those men. Thinking of Bai Rui’s socially flawed personality, Cheng Nuo felt a little worried.
Liu Guang asked: “What’s wrong?”
He followed Cheng Nuo’s line of sight and gloated a little when he saw the situation. Whenever another resident of the slum was being bullied in the outside world, he would normally help them out, but if it’s that Bai kid, he would just clap his hands. Cheng Nuo’s look of concern made him feel very dissatisfied. Why does he care so much about that Bai boy?
He pulled on Cheng Nuo’s sleeve, trying to pull him away. He said impatiently: “Let’s go!”
Cheng Nuo planted himself firmly and wouldn’t allow himself to be moved. He kept his eyes on Bai Rui and said: “Xiao Guang, wait.”
The man who looked like their leader went through the herbs inside Bai Rui’s basket, messing them up. Frowning, he asked: “What’s with all this junk? … Ah, but this Zhu You Cao is rare. Kid, how much for this Zhu You Cao?”
“Fifteen level one energy coins,” Bai Rui answered calmly.
One of them laughed: “You dare?! This thing is worth five energy coins at the most.”
Bai Rui said indifferently: “No deal.”
That person said: “This kid is very interesting … You don’t bargain with customers, do you think you control this market?”
Cheng Nuo listened heard them talking. Impulsively, he dropped the basket he was carrying and took out some herbs. He tossed the basket to Liu Guang, who automatically reached out to catch it. Then Cheng Nuo was walking away into the crowd.
Liu Guang gnashed his teeth. That d***ed female! After this, he mustn’t be allowed to touch this Bai boy again!
Cheng Nuo squeezed in and stood beside Bai Rui. He said innocently. “Does big brother want to buy Zhu You Cao? Finding this grass isn’t easy. However, if big brother buys it, you can boil it to make a decoction for your wife to drink. This herb makes skin very fine and smooth like water.”
Liu Guang had also sold a Zhu You Cao. This grass can be used to nourish the blood and beautify the face. It’s a favorite among females so it is considered a very precious herb. They had sold it for eighteen energy coins, meaning Bai Rui’s price was quite reasonable.
It’s just that some people don’t bother getting along with others. A strong dragon cannot repress a snake, not to mention that Bai Rui is just a child.
(TN: 强龙不压地头蛇 – a strong dragon cannot repress a snake. Meaning a local gangster who is above the law.)
The big man laughed and said: “This little kid can really talk … I’ll add three more. How about eight energy coins?”
Cheng Nuo looked up and smiled, revealing two tiger teeth: “Eight is better but it’s not easy for us to come all this way … Well, I’ll throw in this Hong Ying for big brother. It’s best to cook the Zhu You Cao with black chicken. The price is fifteen energy coins, okay?”
He took the Zhu You Cao from the basket and handed it over along with the Hong Ying in his hand, looking at them expectantly.
The big man was uncomfortable looking at that bright smile. He finally took the herbs and gave him the money: “Okay.”
Cheng Nuo didn’t count the money. His eyebrows curved as he smiled: “Thank you, big brother.”
He waited for them to leave before he counted the money. He tried to hand it to Bai Rui: “Here you are. When you meet this type of people, it’s better to smile.”
Bai Rui’s eyes swept over his palms. His speech was concise: “Meddlesome.”
“… Can you change that way of speaking?” Cheng Nuo saw that Bai Rui made no move to take it so he reached out and put the money in the basket. He smiled and said: “Please be careful.”
Cheng Nuo walked back and saw the furious expression on Liu Guang’s face. He was biting his lip with his snow-white teeth and staring at Cheng Nuo. His eyes almost burst into flame. The other children were puzzled by his anger and stayed silent.
The truth is that in Cheng Nuo’s eyes, these children are physically strong but they all need someone to take care of them. Helping Bai Rui was just a show of goodwill, nothing more. Cheng Nuo laughed as if nothing had happened. “Let’s go and see what else we need to buy.”
He stepped forward and tried to hold Liu Guang’s hand. Liu Guang snorted and walked away.
Cheng Nuo chuckled. Liu Guang sometimes had a little girl’s temper. He greeted Chang Chun and the others, talking and laughing with them. Sure enough, after a little while, Liu Guang got irritated. He turned back and shoved Chang Chun and the others behind. Cheng Nuo took advantage of this to hold his hand. This made Liu Guang’s face turn slightly red but this time he didn’t move away.
However, Liu Guang still glared at him and whispered: “You mustn’t talk to that Bai kid.”
“Alright, I’ll take no notice of him.” Cheng Nuo said coaxingly in a child’s voice. He secretly laughed at how jealous the child was. In his heart, Liu Guang was naturally more important than other people.
Although the number of shops in the town wasn’t large, they still sell a lot of things so five people spread out to buy what they wanted. Cheng Nuo and Liu Guang bought a lot of bits and pieces of household goods, as well as food and the like, and the money was soon spent. Cheng Nuo couldn’t help but feel a bit depressed. He wanted to buy clothes for Liu Guang, but he had to wait for the next time.
It was already afternoon when they were ready to go back to their corner stall in the market. As they passed by the market stalls, Cheng Nuo found that many people had left, including Bai Rui. Cheng Nuo didn’t know if his stuff had sold out.
Cheng Nuo’s original intention was to stay for another night and wait until the next morning. After all, it was dangerous to spend the night outside in the mountains and forests.
However, Liu Guang didn’t care. He said: “There’s more than one hour left before it gets dark. I’m not afraid of wild animals. I’ll kill them if we meet any. I know there are caves on the way home. You can relax.”
Looking at the determined looks of this group of children, Cheng Nuo was forced to believe them.
One hour went by and when it was getting dark Liu Guang led them to an empty cave.
The children worked efficiently, cutting branches, collecting firewood, and so forth. Cheng Nuo quickly went to help them. In this respect, his skills were far behind these children
Some of the bamboo baskets blocked the way so Cheng Nuo wanted to move them all to a corner. When he grabbed one of them, he was surprised because it was extremely heavy. He could barely lift it.
Chang Chun’s expression changed when he saw this. He was making a fire but he hurried over to help move the baskets away.
Cheng Nuo hesitated: “This basket is yours?”
Chang Chun bowed his head and said “Yes.” His eyes flitted here and there. Cheng Nuo was puzzled. He was sure that Chang Chun hadn’t sold more than Liu Guang but if Chang Chun’s basket was full of food, where did he get that money? Cheng Nuo had spent 30 energy coins just to buy a small bag of flour.
However, Cheng Nuo didn’t ask for an explanation since he remembered that when he first arrived in this world, he was robbed by Liu Guang.
While he was sleeping Cheng Nuo felt someone pushing him. He opened his eyes and saw Chang Chun leaning over him.
Chang Chun whispered: “Big brother Cheng, I have something to say to you.”
Cheng Nuo’s age was almost the same as these children but Liu Guang made them call him big brother. Since Cheng Nuo was actually nineteen years old mentally, he didn’t think it was strange.
Cheng Nuo looked at Liu Guang who was sound asleep. He carefully turned Liu Guang away to prevent him from accidentally rolling into the fire.
The moonlight was quite faint but Chang Chun held a torch. They went straight outside and Cheng Nuo thought he heard the sound of a beast’s voice. He felt uneasy and lowered his voice: “Chang Chun, if you want to say something, just say it here.”
Chang Chun quickly stopped and bowed his head: “Big brother Cheng, when I buried the two people yesterday, I took something… Don’t tell Big brother Guang, okay? He hates people who lie to him.”
Cheng Nuo breathed a sigh of relief. So that was it.
It’s no wonder that Chang Chun was tempted. These children were from the slums where its a luxury to even eat their fill of food. When he saw those bandit’s belongings, it must have been difficult for him to resist taking them. During the time he had been in the slums, these children had learned their characters from him and he was very fond of them.
He whispered: “Okay, I understand. I won’t tell him. You go back and rest.”
Chang Chun raised his eyes and said: “Big brother Cheng, this is what I took. Come, take a look at it.” He put his hand behind his back then pulled out a small bag as he moved forward.
Cheng Nuo didn’t think much about it. He walked two steps, curious.
Suddenly, a cold child’s voice came from beside a tree: “Your noise is disturbing me.”
Cheng Nuo was so shocked that he almost jumped. He was stunned to realize that the voice was very familiar. It was Bai Rui! Chang Chun was also shocked and turned pale, his chest heaving violently.
Bai Rui bounced a few times on the tree branch very flexibly then quickly landed on the ground a few feet down. Even in the faint moonlight his silver hair still shined and Cheang Nuo could clearly see his beautiful golden eyes.
Chang Chun had already put away the small bag and whispered: “Big brother Cheng, I’ll go back to sleep first.” He bowed to Bai Rui then went straight to the cave.
Cheng Nuo stared at Bai Rui, unable to help himself. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night? Are you trying to scare a person to death?”
Bai Rui gave him a cold look and his tone was very calm: “Stupid.”
Cheng Nuo puzzled: “What?”
Bai Rui jumped back onto the branch and lay down to rest on it, his back towards Cheng Nuo.
