A Thorny Task

Before he could angrily throw off the covers, Yu Shuying had already turned and walked out of the room with a cold smile, making him grit his teeth in hatred.

"Just you wait! A unicorn beneath you has its own kind; an ant in its hole cannot escape. Sooner or later, you'll pay the price for your attitude today!"

At the dining table, Si Ming was biting into Mantou while staring at Yu Shuying with eyes that seemed to want to devour her raw, biting very hard with each bite.

Yu Shuying, who was being watched, remained calm and unaffected. She enjoyed her breakfast with an elegant posture. What was just ordinary soy milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed Mantou was made to taste like a royal meal by her.

Yao Bilian glanced at the two of them and asked suspiciously, "I thought having barbecue together would help you get to know each other better, but it seems like your relationship has deteriorated even more than yesterday. Si boy, it's just a Mantou, is it really necessary to eat it with such clenched teeth? You don't mean to mistake the Mantou for someone, do you?"

Si Ming snorted, "Don't get me wrong, it's just because my bite force is stronger. If we were to represent food as a person, it wouldn't be Mantou, it should be a sesame seed cake."

Yu Shuying chuckled and said, "You keep repeating the same topic over and over again. It seems you've run out of ideas."

Si Ming retorted, "If I'm a donkey, then you're a tigress."

The origin of the idiom "the donkey in Guizhou is exhausted" is that there were no donkeys in Guizhou. A meddlesome man brought a donkey by ship, but found that it was of no use, so he placed it at the foot of the mountain. The tiger saw that the donkey was a huge beast and was very afraid. At this time, the donkey suddenly brayed. The tiger was very frightened and ran away far away, thinking that the donkey was going to bite him, but the donkey did not pursue it.

After observing it several times, the tiger concluded that the donkey had no special abilities. Gradually, it became familiar with the donkey's braying and approached it from all sides, bumping, leaning, and ramming against it. The donkey became very angry and kicked the tiger with its hooves.

The tiger, however, was delighted. Thinking to himself, "The donkey's skills are limited to this." Then he leaped up, roared, bit through the donkey's throat, devoured its flesh, and left.

Si Ming the other party a tigress, he was borrowing the original meaning of "the donkey of Qian has exhausted its tricks".

Yu Shuying said, "I finally understand what it means to be a rogue who isn't scary, but a rogue with culture. Your knowledge base is completely disproportionate to your cultural literacy."

"Haha, you flatter me, you're too kind."

Si Ming has never shied away from acknowledging this stigma; in fact, he takes pride in it rather than feel ashamed.

"I was just flattering you, but you've taken advantage of my kindness. You're like a sparrow perched on a flagpole."

Hongdou, who was watching from the sidelines, asked in confusion, "What does that mean?"

Yao Bilian burst into laughter and replied, "The bird isn't big, but its airs are."

Si Ming's face darkened. "You said I only know how to repeat the same topic over and over again? You only know how to resort to personal attacks too. I'll give you the phrase 'out of ideas'."

"You're definitely not good enough for the word 'donkey'."

"Still clinging to this topic! What makes you so sure I'm not a donkey? You have no right to speak without investigation. You haven't seen or used it; you're just making assumptions. That's pure idealism!"

The two exchanged blows, their fight incredibly intense.

Yu Shuying appears intellectual and elegant, but she doesn't shy away from making crude jokes. Coupled with her quick wit, she holds her own in verbal sparring, and even with Si Ming's knowledge from his previous life, he couldn't gain the upper hand.

Murong Qing looked at the two of them and hesitated, "Does this mean their relationship has improved or worsened?"

Yao Bilian said, "Is that even a question? At least she's willing to eat with us now, and she's even taking the initiative to communicate—arguing is also a form of communication."

"Is that so? That's good..."

Yao Bilian sensed something was off in his tone, turned around, and saw that Murong Qing had slightly furrowed his brows. She asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Nothing, I just suddenly feel a bit irritable."

Yao Bilian followed her gaze, glanced at Si Ming who was still arguing with Yu Shuying, suddenly realized what she meant, and then let out a meaningful "Oh—".

Murong Qing asked, "Do you know the reason?"

Yao Bilian suppressed a laugh and said, "Don't worry about it. It's probably because your period is approaching, causing hormonal imbalance."

"No, my period is still a long way off."

"That means early menopause. Sigh, they say that women who are too serious and rigid in their personality will experience this. They should learn to enjoy life, drink more alcohol, and chat with men more often to alleviate the symptoms."

"Give up. You can only drink one glass of wine a day at most. I'm not that easy to fool."

Chapter 210 The Difficult Task

"This mission is going to be very difficult."

After breakfast, Si Ming went out with Yu Shuying. On the way, he glanced at the mission details and then his carefree expression disappeared, his face gradually becoming serious.

The client who commissioned the task was a woman with children. She had an ex-husband who was addicted to drugs. In order to buy drugs, he not only spent all the family's savings but also incurred a huge debt. He usually lived outside and would come to her door to ask for money whenever he needed it. If the woman didn't give him money, he would beat her, ransack her house, and even steal her furniture to sell.

While martial arts can strengthen one's willpower, drug addiction is something that even a well-trained soldier can easily become corrupted by, and it is virtually impossible to overcome it through willpower alone.

To cultivate Martial Dao Will will to the point where it can suppress drug addiction, one must be at least a top-tier expert, infinitely close to the Spirit Transformation Realm. For ordinary people, drug addiction is equivalent to ruining their entire life, and even destroying their families. If he could overcome drug addiction through willpower, he would never have become addicted in the first place.

"I've seen this task posted on the bulletin board in the lobby many times. It's a chronic problem, like athlete's foot; no one has ever been able to complete it. The Mohist Knight Guard who accept the task can at most catch the drug addict, beat him up, and throw him in a rehab center. They can't do anything else. But this man is from the Liu School. Besides his light-footed skills, he's also skilled in stealth and lock-picking. Every time he's locked up in the rehab center, he escapes after a short time and then goes to harass his wife. So the client can only ask for help repeatedly, but she can't afford much reward. Over time, no one is willing to take on this task anymore, and it's remained at the top of the bulletin board."

Si Ming recalled the mission and felt a headache coming on. He preferred missions that could be solved with his fists, no matter how strong the enemy was. But this kind of thing couldn't be solved with violence. That man was undoubtedly a scumbag, but he didn't deserve to die. It was impossible to just kill him.

Even the Mohist Knight Guard must abide by the law and cannot be above it. Even those who pursue swift revenge must consider that if they go too far, they will be arrested by the public security organs, held criminally liable, and imprisoned.

Is it worth enduring years in prison for a complete stranger and a pittance of payment?

Most people think this is a losing proposition and not worth doing, but there are also some people who have the noble sentiment of selflessness, who never care about gains or losses, and who are willing to go through fire and water without hesitation, just to uphold justice in their hearts.

Are there such people in the Mohist Knight Guard?

Some.

Unfortunately, this woman didn't happen to be there; all of these people were still serving their sentences in prison.

Upholding justice that is not permitted by law will inevitably come at a price.