Li Mochou: Bold First, Cowardly Later

"Boss, time to pay up!"

The innkeeper quickly put on a smiling face and handed several banknotes to the gruff man at the front, who in late autumn still had his chest bared, revealing a large patch of chest hair.

"It's been hard on you, Old Master Zhang. This is our inn's monthly protection fee."

The "Old Master Zhang" at the front took the banknotes, counted them twice, and sneered, "Not enough! The fee has increased. From now on, it's ten strings of cash per month, not a single copper coin less!"

"Ten strings?"

The innkeeper's face instantly crumpled into a bitter expression. "Old Master Zhang, you know, this little inn is a small business, we don't make much profit. Five strings is already a struggle. Suddenly doubling it..."

"Cut the nonsense, pay up quickly, or this inn will have a new owner!"

As he was threatening the innkeeper, a man behind him lightly tugged at Old Master Zhang's clothes and then pointed a finger at Li Mochou, revealing a lecherous grin.

Old Master Zhang looked over, saw Li Mochou, and his eyes immediately lit up. He pushed away the pleading innkeeper, swaggered over to Li Mochou's table, and said with a chuckle, "This young lady is quite unfamiliar. May I ask your esteemed name, young lady, and where are you from?"

Old Master Zhang was rude and arrogant in his behavior, with a fierce appearance that Li Mochou found displeasing from the start. Seeing him dare to harass her now, she immediately looked at him with disgust and coldly rebuked, "Get lost!"

Although her tone was cold, her voice was naturally soft, sweet, and charming. This rebuke not only failed to deter Old Master Zhang but instead excited him even more. He said with a smile, "The young lady is quite fierce! But Old Master Zhang likes spirited women like you. Come, let Old Master Zhang share a few drinks with you and have some fun..."

As he spoke, he actually reached out to pick up Li Mochou's wine glass.

Li Mochou was furious. She grabbed her longsword, and without drawing it, used the scabbard to flick and point. First, she flicked away Old Master Zhang's outstretched hand, then the scabbard swiftly pointed at Old Master Zhang's chest.

It looked like a gentle tap, but Old Master Zhang's face turned pale, he let out a muffled grunt, and nearly suffocated. Fortunately, two of his subordinates rushed forward to support him, preventing him from collapsing onto the ground.

Li Mochou snorted coldly, "Still not getting lost? If you dare cause trouble again, the next strike won't just be with the scabbard!"

Old Master Zhang was supported by his subordinates, rubbing his chest and catching his breath for a long while before recovering. Recalling the force of Li Mochou's gentle tap, a flicker of apprehension crossed his eyes, but he didn't want to lose face in front of everyone. He glared fiercely at Li Mochou and shouted, "Very well! How dare you cause trouble on our Hanshui Gang's territory! I think you little wench have eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's guts! I didn't bring my saber with me now, do you dare wait here?"

Li Mochou held the scabbard in one hand and picked up her wine glass with the other, tilting her head back and draining it in one gulp, displaying the demeanor of a true martial arts hero. Only then did she say proudly, "Are you afraid I won't?"

"If you have the guts, don't run!"

Old Master Zhang shouted another challenge and left in a disheveled state with his subordinates.

"Please excuse the display, both of you," Li Mochou said, adopting the mannerisms of a martial artist, and cupped her hands towards Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

"Your skills are impressive, Miss Li," Lu Chen offered a polite compliment.

"Sister Mochou is mighty!" Huang Rong praised, giving a thumbs-up.

A hint of smugness appeared in Li Mochou's eyes, but she maintained a humble expression on her face: "It was just a small matter, not worth mentioning."

Huang Rong smiled and reminded her, "However, that guy named Zhang probably won't let it go. He's probably not just going back for his saber; he'll likely call for backup."

"Let him call for backup," Li Mochou said, patting the longsword in her hand with full confidence. "With my longsword in hand, what is there to fear from such low-level gangs, no matter how many people they bring?"

"Sister Mochou is truly heroic!" Huang Rong praised, and beckoned to the innkeeper, "Boss, what's the story with this Hanshui Gang? Tell us about it."

The innkeeper looked crestfallen and bowed to Huang Rong. "Little Granny, please don't make things difficult for me. How could I dare gossip about the Hanshui Gang?"

Huang Rong took out three copper coins, placed them on the table, and said with a playful smile, "Boss, let me show you a magic trick..."

As she spoke, her slender fingers flicked repeatedly, and the three copper coins shot out with a whistling sound. With several sharp thuds, they embedded themselves deeply into a pillar in the main hall, arranged in the shape of the Chinese character 'pǐn' (meaning "product" or "quality").

After more than a month in the mountains, although Huang Rong refused to eat snake gallbladders, she shared snake meat with the Divine Condor every day. Even though a whole Bosiqu Snake's meat only had one-tenth the effect of a single gallbladder, her internal energy and physical strength had greatly improved.

"Rong'er, your martial arts are excellent!" Li Mochou's eyes lit up, and she slapped the table in admiration.

"You flatter me," Huang Rong smiled sweetly at Li Mochou, then looked at the innkeeper with a mischievous grin. "Boss, what do you think of my little display? Is it impressive enough?"

As a businessman, how could the innkeeper not understand Huang Rong's meaning?

He glanced at the three copper coins embedded in the pillar, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said with a trembling voice, "This... the Hanshui Gang has two or three hundred fine fellows, oh no, villains. On the surface, they're a boat gang on the Hanshui River, but actually... they occasionally engage in piracy. They also control prostitution and gambling and collect protection fees in several towns along the river. They are a great menace."

Huang Rong asked again, "Does the Hanshui Gang have any experts?"

Since the innkeeper had already started speaking, he spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube:

"The leader of the Hanshui Gang, 'River-Turning Dragon' Cao Song, has incredibly powerful Martial Arts. He wields a Nine-Ring Broadsword, making it difficult for a dozen or so skilled men to get close. The second leader, 'Black-Clothed Scholar' Shen Qingshi, is adept with an Iron-Ribbed Folding Fan and is skilled in using hidden weapons, hitting his target with every shot within ten steps. The third leader, 'Water Leopard' Zhang Yong, is skilled with a pair of Water-Parting Daggers and is incredibly brave. That Old Master Zhang just now is Zhang Yong's cousin on his father's side..."

As the innkeeper spoke, Li Mochou, who had just moments before been full of heroic spirit and declared herself fearless, gradually grew restless.

She had originally thought that Old Master Zhang would at most bring a dozen or twenty people, maybe thirty at the most, but she never expected the Hanshui Gang to be a large gang of two or three hundred people, with quite a few Martial Arts experts among them...

Even though Li Mochou was quite confident in her Martial Arts, the thought of being potentially surrounded by several Martial Arts experts and two or three hundred strong men made cold sweat prickle on her back. Her heart pounded erratically, and she lost her nerve.

She had truly never seen such a large-scale situation before!

Although she didn't want to lose face in front of her newly befriended younger sister, Huang Rong, and continued to put on a strong front, Li Mochou's already fair cheeks had unconsciously grown paler, and her lips were tightly pressed together.

Huang Rong, of course, saw Li Mochou's embarrassment and inwardly chuckled:

This Sister Mochou is brave at first, then timid, but her stubborn refusal to lose face is quite amusing.

Hmm, her earlier behavior, clearly just starting out but trying to act like a Jianghu hero, was also very funny.

She then said with a smile:

"Just two or three hundred people, it's nothing remarkable. As long as your Movement Technique is good, let alone two or three hundred, even two or three thousand people can be moved through freely. Sister Mochou, wouldn't you agree?"

"Ah? Uh, yes!" Li Mochou forced herself to stay calm and replied stiffly, "That's right, if your Movement Technique is good, two or three thousand people are nothing."

After saying that, she quickly poured herself a cup of wine to steady her nerves.

At the same time, she comforted herself: My Movement Technique is quite good. Two or three thousand might be difficult to say, but two or three hundred should... be okay, right?

Huang Rong watched her drink to calm her nerves and almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Lu Chen also had trouble keeping his smile in check and quickly poured himself a cup of wine to hide his amusement.

At this moment, Huang Rong spoke again calmly, offering some reassurance to Li Mochou:

"However, for such a small matter, the Hanshui Gang shouldn't need to send everyone. I guess that Old Master Zhang can at most invite the third leader, 'Water Leopard' Zhang Yong, who is his cousin on his father's side, and maybe bring a few dozen people."

Li Mochou's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly:

"Yes, yes, yes, that must be the case!"

Anyway, no matter what the reality would be, at least for now, she could only comfort herself in this way.

Just then, a commotion of human voices came from outside the inn, followed by a large group of people swarming in.

Leading the way was a young man of medium build, robust and agile, with an aquiline nose and sharp eyes, and two Water-Parting Daggers hanging from his waist. The earlier Old Master Zhang quickly followed beside this young man, and as soon as they entered, he sneered at Li Mochou:

"You audacious little wench, you actually waited and didn't run! See this person?"

He pointed his thumb up, gesturing towards the young man beside him, and laughed wildly:

"This is our Hanshui Gang's third leader, Water Leopard Zhang Yong! If you know what's good for you, quickly kowtow and beg for forgiveness, and you might still have a way out! Otherwise, I'll cripple your Martial Arts and send you to a brothel to be a bride every night!"

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