Now I'm Your Man

Chapter 18: Now I'm Your Man

"Waaahhh~~~~"

Jiu'er wept her heart out, clinging to Jiang Hao and gripping his clothes tightly, terrified that if she let go, everything would turn out to be fake. She did not want to return to that fear and darkness.

Jiang Hao held Jiu'er and kept patting her back, letting her cry to her heart's content.

She was only a woman. She was only eighteen.

Over this period, she had gone through far too much, suffered far too much.

Forced to marry Old Leprosy, she had seen that pockmarked, orange-peel face on their wedding night and been filled with terror. When Old Leprosy tried to climb onto her kang bed, she had clutched a pair of scissors desperately to defend herself. That was how she had endured those two nights.

When she returned to her parents' home, her inhuman father only knew to tell her to go back. He only cared about the bride price and his big black mule, not in the least whether she lived or died.

She had barely returned to the Distillery when she was seized and taken to the police station, locked in a cell for the night. Luohan and the others had finally rescued her, and after only two peaceful days, bandits had abducted her again and locked her in this wooden cage.

Terror, helplessness, sorrow, fear.

That was what she had been through.

Why had her life held so much suffering? Who could help her escape it?

She had been pondering that question all along.

Then this man had appeared. When she watched Jiang Hao shoot the old man and the clerk, she had not felt the slightest fear, only satisfaction. For the past two days, she had been treated like a dog, eating, drinking, relieving herself—all inside the cage.

She cried only because she had been saved. Someone had finally come to rescue her, and it was the very man who had taken her first time.

Watching this, Bald Sanpao became completely certain that everything the man had said earlier was a lie. What nonsense about someone buying his life—this man had come specifically to save this woman.

He had truly failed to keep his eyes open this time. He had robbed plenty of wealthy households before, but who could have expected that kidnapping a widow would bring such a formidable man down on him?

After crying for a while, Jiu'er released Jiang Hao and got herself under control. She knew the man had more important things to do now.

Jiang Hao returned to the main room and stopped before Bald Sanpao, his face vicious as he pressed the Box Cannon hard against Bald Sanpao's bald head.

"You've tormented my woman like this. I'm going to boil you alive."

Beside Bald Sanpao stood the steamer used for boiling beef. A fire was still burning beneath it, and the water inside bubbled away, giving off hot steam.

Bald Sanpao was terrified. He was ruthless, but he still feared death. He begged, "Sir, sir, I really never touched her. She's Li Mafeng's wife. A leper has touched her, so I wouldn't."

"She's my woman!" Jiang Hao shouted.

Hearing Jiang Hao say that, Jiu'er felt sweetness fill her heart. The way she looked at Jiang Hao held much more affection.

"Yes, yes, she's your woman, sir. Sir, I was wrong. Spare me, please, spare me. Three thousand Silver Dollars—I'll buy One Life for myself." Bald Sanpao pleaded bitterly, all for the sake of living.

The gun against his bald head loosened slightly. Jiang Hao asked, "Where's the money?"

Seeing hope of survival, Bald Sanpao hurriedly said, "This isn't where I usually stay, but I've got some savings here. There's an earthen jar in the cellar with eight hundred Silver Dollars inside. I'll scrape together the rest elsewhere for you."

After thinking it over, Jiang Hao called Jiu'er over, pulled out his other Box Cannon, cocked and loaded it, then handed it to her. "Hold this. If Bald Sanpao makes a move, shoot him."

"I... I don't know how to use it," Jiu'er said.

Jiang Hao taught Jiu'er hand over hand how to hold and fire the gun. "Put your right index finger here. Just squeeze hard, and the bullet fires. It's very simple."

Jiu'er held the gun with both hands, trembling slightly as she aimed it at Bald Sanpao. Seeing that dark muzzle, Bald Sanpao's eye twitched. He was terrified that the woman would pull the trigger outright in a moment of nerves.

Jiang Hao went into a room nearby and found the cellar entrance. It was covered by a wooden plank, with a ladder beneath. He climbed down. The cellar was not large, but it held quite a few jars of liquor. After searching around, Jiang Hao found the jar containing the Silver Dollars.

He shook it lightly, and the Silver Dollars clattered inside. Jiang Hao carried the jar upstairs, found a cured cowhide in the room, spread it out, and poured the Silver Dollars onto it.

Clatter!

Several hundred Silver Dollars piled together made for quite an impressive sight.

He gathered up the cowhide and tied it with rope, stowing away the Silver Dollars. Once Bald Sanpao saw Jiang Hao finish all that, he said, "Friend, let me go, and I'll definitely scrape together the rest of the money for you. Or you can come with me to get it."

With a disdainful smile, Jiang Hao said, "Go with you to get it? I'm afraid you've got an ambush waiting."

Bald Sanpao's face changed. He knew his little scheme had been seen through again. "No, no, absolutely not."

Jiang Hao walked over to Jiu'er, grasped the hand holding her gun, and said to her, "This man made you suffer terribly. Do you want to kill him yourself?"

Bald Sanpao's face changed drastically. He struggled with all his strength and shouted, "You have no honor! Take the money, not my life—that's the rule of the trade!"

"You think you deserve to talk rules with me? The people you robbed, the women you violated, the innocent people who died miserably at your hands—you probably can't even count them all yourself," Jiang Hao said, looking at Bald Sanpao.

Bald Sanpao had no answer.

Jiang Hao asked Jiu'er again, "Do you dare pull the trigger?"

Jiu'er glared hatefully at Bald Sanpao and gritted her teeth, but she still could not bring herself to fire. After all, she was only an ordinary woman.

Since she was unwilling, Jiang Hao would not force Jiu'er to do it. He took the gun from her hand and fired three shots at Bald Sanpao.

Bald Sanpao's eyes went wide. He wanted to say something, but his mouth opened and closed, spilling a string of bloody froth. His head lolled to one side, and he died.

"Let's go home," Jiang Hao said.

Holding Jiu'er's hand in one hand and carrying the money bag in the other, he left the Butcher Shop. After walking a little over ten meters, Jiang Hao stopped again. After thinking for a moment, he set down Jiu'er and the money bag, then turned back toward the Butcher Shop. "Jiu'er, wait for me a moment."

"Okay," Jiu'er answered obediently.

Jiang Hao entered the Butcher Shop, found a jar of kerosene, and splashed it around the room. Then he took a burning stick from the stove and threw it onto the places soaked in kerosene. Flames immediately erupted inside, and Jiang Hao quickly left.

Destroying the evidence would save him from leaving behind trouble.

After the two had walked far away, they looked back and saw the Butcher Shop engulfed in towering flames. Once it burned down, nothing would likely remain. The fire would burn away every trace of sin and bloodshed.

Eight hundred Silver Dollars weighed forty pounds. Jiu'er took the shoulder bag from Jiang Hao to help carry it. Feeling the things inside, she looked at Jiang Hao again. "Aren't you the sedan chair boss? How did you become a bandit too?"

"Who said I'm a bandit?" Jiang Hao asked, looking at Jiu'er.

"Then where did you get guns? And you dare kill people. Are you a soldier?" Jiu'er asked in confusion.

"Heh. Don't worry about what kind of person I am. Anyway, I'm your man now, understand?" Jiang Hao said domineeringly.

Jiu'er did not find the man crude when she heard that. Instead, her heart was filled with sweetness.

They walked on for a while longer and reached the place where they had ambushed Bald Sanpao earlier. Jiang Hao was surprised to discover that the three horses were still there.

This was heaven's will.

Carrying several dozen pounds of Silver Dollars, along with several long guns and pistols, was truly exhausting on foot. With these horses, they could save themselves a great deal of effort.