Chapter 115: Stay Back

Xuan Zhang was just about to wave goodbye to the man before him, and had already waved, even saying the words “farewell,” when the man called him back again.

“Kid,” the man said, “today you met me, so consider yourself lucky. I’ll give you a chance. Follow me from now on and you’ll eat well and live well. How about it? After all, in these years of war and chaos, children like you ought to have someone like me to guide you, so you won’t stray onto the wrong path later. I’m doing this for your own good.”

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Xuan’s delicate and handsome face, rubbing his hands together from time to time.

While the man was busily congratulating himself on his noble little lecture, Zhang Xuan tilted his head and looked at him, sincerely tempted to walk over, put a hand on the man’s forehead, and see whether his brain had been burnt senseless. Did this so-called good young man really need the likes of him to lead the way? Even if left to his own devices, with the knowledge stored in his head, he could crush this fellow into dust. Yet the man had the nerve to boast about guiding him.

“Big brother,” Zhang Xuan said after listening for so long that he could no longer bear it, “have you felt like peeing yet?”

The man froze. “Not at all! Kid, why are you asking me something like that?”

Zhang Xuan touched his ear. “Nothing. Just asking. If you do feel like peeing, you can just take a leak and look at yourself. Simple as that.”

The man still could not make sense of Zhang Xuan’s words. “Kid, what are you talking about? Somehow it doesn’t sound like anything good.”

“Big brother, how is that not good? I’m just telling you to look at your own urine, and, while you’re at it, take a look at the sort of man you are in it. That’s all good advice. If you can’t even understand what I’m saying, how are you supposed to guide me later? How are you going to keep me from taking the wrong path?” Zhang Xuan explained with great seriousness.

The man did not dwell on the malice in Zhang Xuan’s words. After all, his own education was limited; just knowing his own name already counted as quite something. He gave Zhang Xuan a careful once-over. “Kid, you look dazed and simple, but I didn’t expect your tongue to be so sharp. You’ve got some wit in that head of yours. And you’re still young, too. Once I... heh, you ought to fetch a good price in the future.”

“A good price?” Zhang Xuan muttered, and something clicked in his mind. Could this be the so-called trafficker? He immediately put on a frightened face. “You want to kidnap me? Let me tell you, my companions are nearby. If you kidnap me, they’ll definitely come looking for me. They’re all pretty good fighters. By then, you’ll be the one in trouble. So you’d better give up on that idea early. Let’s each go our own way. I’ll pretend I never met you. How about that?”

Seeing Zhang Xuan’s fearful expression, the corners of the man’s mouth curled up slightly. “How about that? You still think your companions can come save you? They’d have to find you first, and by the time they do, who knows how many years will have passed. By then, when you meet again, you may not even recognize one another. Don’t worry. From what you’ve said, you’ve probably had some schooling. I’ll make sure to sell you to a good family.” With that, he began walking toward Zhang Xuan step by step.

Zhang Xuan clutched the chicken tightly in his hand. “Don’t come any closer. If you do, I don’t know what I’ll do to you. I might lose control. Stop. Don’t come any closer.”

Seeing Zhang Xuan gripping the chicken so tightly, the man found him rather amusing. Was he planning to use the chicken as a weapon against him? And what did he mean, he might lose control? It seemed that keeping this fellow around for a while might be entertaining; he could let him out now and then just to amuse himself. He still did not know where the two of them had wandered to earlier, but to stumble upon such a little treasure was not a bad thing. When he drew near, Zhang Xuan still had not made a move, so he assumed the boy was too frightened to move.

“Kid, what are you going to do to me?” the man said. “Don’t control yourself. Looking at you trembling like this, too scared to move, I’m starting to find it kind of funny. Suddenly, I feel like I’m about to lose control myself.”

As he spoke, he extended his left hand to seize Zhang Xuan by the shoulder.

The moment his hand came out, Zhang Xuan moved. He caught the man’s hand in one motion, and while the man was still slightly stunned, he swung the chicken hard across his face. The chicken’s body made intimate contact with the man’s features. Zhang Xuan shook his head.

“I told you not to come over. Why wouldn’t you listen? Didn’t I say I might lose control?”

As he spoke, he let go of the chicken, clenched his fist, and drove a punch straight into the man’s abdomen. The movement flowed like water. By the time it was over, his hand had already caught the falling chicken again.

The man had not expected Zhang Xuan to strike so suddenly, and for a moment he was caught flat-footed. He took two blows, staggered back a few steps, rubbed his stomach and face, then pointed at Zhang Xuan and said, “Kid, you’ve got some force behind you. But you’ve successfully angered me. Next I’ll show you the price of doing that.”

With a sharp “tch,” Zhang Xuan dropped the chicken in his hand, darted forward like an arrow, seized the man’s pointing hand, and, catching him off guard, executed a perfect over-the-shoulder throw. He landed seated on the man’s body and twisted the arm he was gripping. The force must have been too great, because with a crack, the man’s shoulder joint was dislocated on the spot. He let out a miserable howl and then fainted immediately.

This time it was Zhang Xuan’s turn to be stunned.

That weak?