Dong'er followed the old man step by step to a shop. While he haggled with the shopkeeper, she quietly chatted with Brother Ye Tian.
"Brother Ye Tian, the old man is really nice."
"Kind people are hard to come by. Dong'er, give the old man some water from your gourd later."
The old man took a bag of money, opened it, and counted it carefully. Only then did he smile and call Dong'er over, give her the money, and hand the furs to the shopkeeper.
Dong'er glanced into the bag. There were three Gold Soul Coins, two Silver Soul Coins, and more than ten Copper Soul Coins.
"Thank you, Grandpa. I'm hungry. Come eat with me, Grandpa."
Grandpa tried to wave her off, but couldn't resist Dong'er's pleading and coaxing.
As they ate, Dong'er naturally poured a bowl of water from her gourd and pushed it toward him.
"Grandpa, I collected this spring water along the way. It's delicious!"
"Good, good?"
Grandpa nodded repeatedly. He simply couldn't refuse such a cute little girl. He drank it all in one go. The cool spring water flowed into his stomach, and he felt the fatigue from his early start that day vanish completely.
After saying goodbye to Grandpa, Dong'er walked along, asking for directions, and headed toward the city's only orphanage.
She had just turned into a narrow alley when a shifty-looking fellow slipped in from the other end, blocking the passage, which was barely wide enough for one person to walk through.
"Little girl, your big brother's out of money today. How about lending me some?"
Dong'er turned around and saw another fellow dressed just like him appear behind her. Now both ends of the alley were blocked.
The two hooligans walked up to Dong'er. When they saw her stunning little face, greed flashed in the eyes of one of them, a skinny man.
"Little girl, got nowhere to go? Come with us, and we'll show you a nice place. We guarantee you'll never have to worry about food or drink again!"
"That's right, little sis. It's dangerous to wander around alone. Your big brothers will protect you."
The skinny man's companion glanced at him and immediately understood what he intended to do.
His brazen gaze raked up and down Dong'er's face, as if he weren't looking at a person, but at a valuable piece of merchandise.
"That little face is a real knockout!"
The skinny man's companion couldn't help reaching out to pinch her cheek. His hand had barely started forward when Dong'er slapped him.
"Skinny Monkey, the little girl's got a bit of a temper!"
"Who cares? Once she's in that place, even the fiercest little kitten will turn sweet as silk!"
"If she weren't so young, I'd want to have a taste myself!"
The malice radiating from Skinny Monkey and his companion was completely undisguised.
Ye Tian urged Dong'er to stay calm, ready at any moment to take control of her body and teach the two bastards a lesson.
With Brother Ye Tian there, Dong'er realized she wasn't as panicked as she'd imagined. Perhaps because the two men didn't take a four- or five-year-old seriously, she quickly spotted an opening in their positions.
She bent her knees, then thrust both feet hard against the ground. Her body shot forward like a swift rabbit.
Dong'er charged right past Skinny Monkey. Just as she brushed by him, Skinny Monkey reacted and reached out with lightning speed, his eyes filled with mortified anger.
I almost let a chance to make a fortune slip right through my fingers!
Just as Skinny Monkey's fingers were about to grab Dong'er's collar, she abruptly stopped and pulled a short dagger from her clothes. Its blade had been ground to a keen edge.
The dagger flashed across Skinny Monkey's arm. He cried out in pain and immediately drew back his outstretched arm. As he stared at the bleeding cut, his eyes turned vicious.
"Hahaha, Skinny Monkey, are you trying to make me laugh myself to death so you can inherit my debts?"
Skinny Monkey's companion burst out laughing. He pulled a small knife from who knew where and quickly chased after Dong'er, who had run farther down the alley.
Skinny Monkey tore a few strips of cloth from his clothes to wrap the wound, then pulled a slingshot from his shirt and squinted as he tracked Dong'er.
Now!
The taut elastic snapped loose, and a pebble shot out with a whoosh.
Hearing the whistle behind her, Dong'er instinctively stepped left, pressing her whole body against the wall.
The next second, a pebble smacked into the dirt right in front of her, blasting out a hole the size of an egg.
Dong'er's eyes trembled. With that much force, if it had hit her, it would have broken a bone for sure.
"Little girl, stand still like a good girl. Skinny Monkey's pebbles don't have eyes. Last time, he accidentally blew someone's head clean off."
"Red and white splattered everywhere, just like a bowl of tofu pudding dumped on the ground."
As he chased Dong'er, Skinny Monkey's companion kept trying to frighten her with his words.
Skinny Monkey never stopped firing his slingshot. He aimed everywhere but her head, sending pebbles whizzing toward her.
Dong'er dodged several times. Though none of the pebbles hit her, she was forced to slow down.
Skinny Monkey's companion's eyes lit up. He immediately quickened his pace and reached for Dong'er's collar, swinging a full-force slap at the arm holding her dagger.
Just as Dong'er was about to be caught, Ye Tian shouted, "Dong'er!"
The next instant, Ye Tian switched souls with Dong'er. He glanced back and instantly grasped the movements of Skinny Monkey's companion and the trajectories of the dozen or so pebbles hurtling toward him.
Ye Tian pushed off and leaped onto the wall beside him, curling up in midair as several pebbles whizzed past his body.
The moment the pebbles passed, Ye Tian stretched out, landing both feet on the wall. He kicked off hard and launched himself straight at Skinny Monkey's companion.
"Dong'er, close your eyes. Don't look!"
As he warned Dong'er, Ye Tian quietly reversed his grip on the dagger.
It all seemed to take a long time, but less than a breath had passed. Skinny Monkey instantly lost track of Dong'er, unable to fire his slingshot.
His companion hadn't expected Dong'er, who had been running for her life, to suddenly turn and charge at him.
Ye Tian slammed into Skinny Monkey's companion. The dagger in his two-handed grip drove into the man's left chest, then twisted around.
A barely audible pfft sounded, and the man's consciousness vanished instantly.
Ye Tian smoothly caught the short dagger slipping from the man's hand and darted beneath his ribs, charging toward Skinny Monkey, the last one left.
Seeing his companion sprawled on the ground, Skinny Monkey's hand began to tremble around his slingshot. The pebbles he fired were nowhere near as accurate as before.
Ye Tian neither dodged nor backed away. The dagger danced in his hand, deflecting each incoming pebble at just the right moment.
This kid's not right!
Those eyes are looking at me as if I'm already a corpse!
I can't beat her here. I've got to run!
Skinny Monkey had only run a few yards when a dagger chased after him and plunged into his left leg.
Skinny Monkey fell to the ground and pleaded for mercy as he watched Dong'er walk toward him step by step.
"He made me do it! Spare me, and I'll never do it again!"
"You're not afraid. You just know you're about to die."
Ye Tian slashed Skinny Monkey's throat without hesitation, gathered the valuables from both men, and quickly left.
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