Translator: Flying Lines
Ding Sheng didn’t sleep well last night, not at all.
With his professional training, he was more alert than ordinary people. The first half of the night was actually okay; but in the second half, he felt someone constantly trying to get closer and nestling against him.
The high and mighty Old Fox wasn’t very high and mighty in his sleep. Not that he was ungentlemanly, well, he just kept pushing himself on Ding Sheng.
At first Chen An slept with his back towards Ding Sheng and gradually edged closer to him; in the second half of the night though, he turned around and wrapped himself around Ding Sheng like an octopus.
Well, Ding Sheng could handle a bit of cuddle. Yet the Old Fox didn’t stop at that; he kept rubbing against Ding Sheng, not with his back this time, but with his cheeks. The young man was driven to the edge of his mental reserve and could in no way fall asleep even when he shut his eyes. When finally he was about to fall asleep, it was already morning.
“What were you up to last night, with those dark circles under your eyes?”
The perpetrator had no idea he was the reason for Ding Sheng’s lack of sleep. With his fair share of food, drink and sleep, master Chen stretched his neck, extended his limbs and got off bed with a big yawn.
Ding Sheng bit his tongue and said nothing. If he’d known that Chen An was in the habit of cuddling people in sleep, and rubbing his cheeks, his legs, or his arms against people, he’d have taken the floor without a second thought.
After they had a simple breakfast in their room, Chen An asked Hehua to bring him two local outfits. He and Ding Sheng changed into these clothes, and except for the short haircut, they would do very nicely in a martial arts movie.
The haircut was a problem. Chen An thought for a moment, seeing it was nearly autumn outside, he again asked Hehua to bring them two cloaks. They could cover their head when they go out and pass as former monks who had newly resumed secular life.
“Uncle Chen, are we leaving?”
Ding Sheng asked curiously when he saw Chen An packing up their belongings; they’ve only stayed in the town for less than 24 hours.
“Didn’t they say the Kill-All General was coming to town? We’ve attracted too much attention here; everyone now regards us as gods with divine powers. If the General comes, there’s bound to be trouble. So we’d better leave before trouble knocks on our door.”
Ding Sheng nodded and helped Chen An with the packing.
As saviors of the townspeople, Chen An and Ding Sheng could easily get most of the supplies they needed. They asked the merchant for a horse and carriage, loaded it with water, food and other necessities.
The most important two items for travelers: friends and money.
In this place, the bank cards and credit cards they carried with them were no use at all. And without friends, they needed to bring as much money as possible.
“Where shall we find the money?” Ding Sheng also knew they needed money, but he had no idea where to get it.
The townspeople had been pretty much milked dry before, and Ding Sheng didn’t have the heart to accept their silver, so among all the gifts they sent yesterday, he only took the fruits and other food.
“Hehua, where’s the corrupt official’s house?” Chen An didn’t plan to take the people’s money either, and there wasn’t much fun in taking the merchant’s money, so he was going to focus on the official.
“Savior, take the road on the left when you go out of the gate, take the first turn and then follow it until you can see a house with stone lions in front. That’s the official’s house.” Hehua replied respectfully.
Chen An told her not to address them as gods but only as saviors because, according to him, their identity was to be a secret.
When Hehua heard, she nodded knowingly without suspicion: Grandpa told her that the immortals would want to travel incognito when they came to earth; they would indeed.
“Do saviors want to go to the official’s place?” Hehua asked in a small voice.
“The damned official dared to prey on the people for the past years because he had a demon in his house. I’ll go in and subdue the demon; otherwise it will harm the people even when you get rid of the official.”
Chen An had a knack for making up such stories. Hehua was horrified on hearing there was a demon in the official’s house; she, together with the merchant, took Chen An and Ding Sheng to the official’s door.
Upon arriving, the others avoided the house in fear that they might be eaten by the demon; only Chen An and Ding Sheng remained.
“Sa…savior! Is the demon in this house powerful?” asked the funny looking merchant, who waved his chubby white fingers and pointed at the closed gate.
Yesterday the official and the bandits were captured. Except for those who were killed, hurt, or locked up, the rest had fled; the local government court was now entirely empty.
“You bet it is. If a commoner gets noticed by the demon, it’s bound to end badly. So both of you, leave; and remember, on no account could you go in, unless we come out. Understood?” At the end of the sentence, his eyes turned cold and an edge came into Chen An’s voice, “Or there will be consequences!”
“Savior, we are grateful for what you do! Please take care!”
A moment later, no one was in sight anymore, including Hehua. There were now only Chen An and Ding Sheng left.
“Uncle Chen, I think you are wasting your gifts if you don’t become an actor.” Ding Sheng raised his thumb at Chen An, eyeing the empty alley.
“Do actors earn as much or live as freely as me?” Chen An unsheathed his gun and aimed at the lock——bang.
…
…
Kicking the door open, Chen An looked around at the empty government house and clapped his hands: “We’ll take whatever money we can find. And let’s find the official’s hoard, whether it’s gold, silver, or anything else.”
So they started their search. Yet instead of spreading out, Chen An walked behind Ding Sheng.
Ding Sheng asked: “Uncle Chen, why are you following me?”
Chen An replied: “You are the professional here.”
But what did that have to do with following him? Ding Sheng scratched his head and couldn’t see the point. If Chen An wanted to follow him, so be it; Ding Sheng actually did not mind being with Chen An.
The official was not really good at hiding things; all the valuables were in his room.
While Ding Sheng relied on his rich experience, Chen An used his instincts: the two dragged several chests of silver ingots from under the official’s bed. And turning up the bedding, they found another box of gold inside the bed.
What was more, they also discovered some antiques as well as artworks. Chen An picked several accessories which he thought would suit Ding Sheng and himself, two jade pendants and several other jade items.
“This black-hearted official has such a hoard in his house.” Ding Sheng wiped the sweat off his forehead. Running to and fro carrying things was tiring, so they sat down on the chest they piled up in the yard.
“It’s a long way from heaven or the emperor’s rule here, and petty officials like him are usually the ones who get the most out of it.”
Chen An took a silver ingot from and chest and fiddled with it. There was more money hidden in the official’s house than they needed. Since it was taken from the people in the first place, they might as well give it back to the people of the town.
He used to profit from selling weapons, now he was using weapons to take back the gold and silver for the people; this was doing good, right?
“People like him are despicable. He not only failed to serve the people, but also conspired with the bandits and abused his power. He totally had it coming.” Boy Justice said with indignation.
Justice may be late but will never be absent. Chen An now understood the sentence as never before; he himself was a living example.
Chen An and Ding Sheng stuffed their backpack with silver and left the official’s place.
The moment they came out of the gate, they saw the girl Hehua standing there, full of concern. She rushed over as soon as she saw the two and burst into tears: “saviors, I was so worried. I heard a terrible loud noise coming from inside.”
“Silly girl, we are here, aren’t we?” In the modern world, Ding Sheng could seldom meet a simple and honest girl like Hehua. Smiling, he stepped up and patted the girl on the head, totally forgetting that he was in a world with much stricter moral code concerning the two sexes than where he came from.
The girl blushed right to her ears, while Ding Sheng still didn’t realize he’d done something inappropriate. Seeing this, Chen An walked up, grabbed Ding Sheng and drew him aside.
“Stop touching the girl; she’s unmarried. After cultivating yourself for so long in the mountain, how come you still don’t have the slightest self-restraint?”
Without waiting for Ding Sheng to reply, Chen An against reprimanded: “Shameless! Scoundrel! Now go and drive over the carriage!”
When did I become a scoundrel? Ding Sheng listened to Chen An’s abuse with wide eyes, shocked into speechlessness. Though reluctant, he followed Chen An’s orders and went to get the carriage.
“Hehua, we are leaving. Do not tell the others in the town. And don’t tell them the things you saw in the mountain, either.” Chen An took an envelope and handed to the girl who was still looking in the direction of Ding Sheng, and said, “don’t open it until we’re gone.”
“Savior, will we see each other again?” Hehua carefully took over the envelope, reluctant to part with them.
“We’ll see each other when the time comes. So ‘bye-bye’!” Seeing Ding Sheng coming with the carriage, Chen An waved to Hehua and hurried away.
‘Bai bai’? Did the god want her to kowtow? (The sound of “bye bye” in Chinese means to kneel and worship) Hehua kneeled down respectfully and kowtowed towards where the carriage of Chen An and Ding Sheng disappeared.
Then remembering what Chen An told her, Hehua opened the envelope. Inside it was a note that said: The demon in the official’s house has been removed; go and divide the riches among yourselves.