Rebellion

Qin Fang froze for a moment, but then, as if realizing something, he looked at Old Wu in surprise.

After hesitating for a while, he finally gave him a slight nod, then closed his eyes.

Old Wu was a little surprised by Qin Fang's reactions before he closed his eyes.

But then he saw how gaunt he was, filthy from head to toe and covered in wounds, and fell silent.

Then he began packing up, bundling together things like his small knife and tucking them under his arm. Only then did he walk to the door and open it.

Several members of the Iron Tiger Gang were waiting outside.

When Wang Hu saw the door open, his eyes lit up. He immediately asked, impatiently, "Is he ready? Has he woken up?"

Old Wu's cool voice reached Qin Fang's ears. "Woken up? You really think this old man is an immortal? With injuries this severe and a fever on top of that... whether he'll even pull through is still up in the air."

"Huh?"

Several startled voices rang out, then Qin Fang heard the voice of the man with the mole by his mouth, the one who had wondered if he had any money left. "He could still die even after we brought him to you? Then we'd be taking a huge loss!"

"Old Wu, you took our money. Whatever happens, you have to save him... at least get him to wake up."

The burly man, his face covered in thick flesh, was anxious too.

"If you don't trust me, then take him away now. But I've already given him medicine. You know the rules: medical fees are nonrefundable."

Old Wu clearly had quite a temper. He immediately made his position clear.

"Hey, no, no, no. How could we not trust you? Everyone in True Martial knows you're the famous Yama's Rival!"

Seeing Old Wu lose his temper, someone quickly tried to flatter him, seemingly afraid he really wouldn't save the man.

Old Wu snorted before saying, "If that's the case, then don't rush me. What's the hurry?"

The men mumbled, unsure what to say.

"That's enough, that's enough. Break it up, break it up."

The old man spoke again at last.

"What about him?" the man with the mole asked hesitantly.

"What? You want to carry him back?" the old man asked. Before they could answer, he added, "Fine, fine, take him away. Find someone better. This old man can't be bothered to waste his time..."

"No, no. Please, don't be angry, sir. That's not what we meant."

"I don't care what you meant. Just don't bring him back after you take him away. Otherwise, if he dies under my care, who's responsible? Figure it out yourselves."

Old Wu's voice gradually faded into the distance.

After a long while, someone asked hesitantly, "Brother Dragon, what do we do?"

Brother Dragon hesitated for quite some time before gritting his teeth and saying, "Forget it. We've already brought him here, and we've spent the silver. It's only another three or five days... Let's wait a little longer."

"Damn it, we spent a whole ten taels of silver to save this kid, and even his chain went toward it. If this kid dares to play us... Hmph!"

Someone muttered under his breath.

It was clear that although their greed had driven them to save the man, they still felt uneasy about it.

After all, anything could happen before they saw the silver.

They simply preferred to believe the other man still had money.

"That's enough, that's enough. Damn it, we wasted the whole day. Let's go. We'll come back and check tomorrow..."

Brother Dragon spoke, and the discussion gradually faded into the distance.

Only then did Qin Fang, inside the room, let out a long breath and slowly open his eyes.

The room was quiet. He was alone.

He looked around. It wasn't very big, and there was nothing remarkable about it. The old man had snuffed out the oil lamp before leaving, and only a faint trace of moonlight filtered through the lattice window, leaving the room very dark.

Qin Fang stared blankly for a while, then knitted his brows again.

His condition was terrible. His body ached and felt weak, and his head was foggy.

He knew his safety was only temporary.

Those men were obviously no good. They were members of some gang, too.

If they found out he was out of money, they would probably...

A dark look flashed through Qin Fang's eyes.

But there was nothing he could do.

His body couldn't hold out any longer. He had to find a way to get medical help.

There were too many people at the refugee shelter, so he could only find a way to leave.

But refugees weren't allowed to leave the shelter. People were patrolling everywhere to stop them.

He had no choice but to resort to this. He found the few men who looked the greediest and used their greed to tempt them into saving him.

Given the situation at the time, it had been the best solution.

What else could he have done?

Found some genuinely "kindhearted person"?

Just look at all the people lying on the ground at the refugee shelter.

How could there be any truly kindhearted people... much less one he would happen to meet?

A life spent fleeing had taught Qin Fang a great deal.

He simply didn't dare trust human nature.

Better to use greed than kindness!

He had gotten the gold necklace from a dead refugee, then hidden it inside his walking stick.

Apart from that, where else could he have gotten any money?

He could only trick them.

Otherwise, they would most likely take the necklace and leave him behind to die...

For now, though, he was safe.

But what would he do next?

Qin Fang's thoughts ran wild.

Gradually, his body began to feel uncomfortable again.

He hadn't eaten anything all day, but at that moment he didn't feel very hungry...

That showed just how terrible his condition had become.

Forget it.

There was no point worrying about so much now. He could only meet soldiers with generals and stem water with earth.

At the very least, he had to survive.

His gaze gradually grew resolute.

He had made it through the long journey as a refugee. Now that he had already escaped the "natural disaster," he was determined to stay alive!

In a daze, he sank into a deep sleep.

When Qin Fang woke again, it was the bursts of commotion that roused him.

The noisy sounds kept reaching his ears, now near, now far. He furrowed his brows and slowly opened his eyes.

There was a commotion outside, with faint moans and crying.

Qin Fang stared blankly. It took him a long while to come to his senses, and then he instinctively looked toward the door.

The crying outside ran together in a continuous din, with occasional curses mixed in.

What was going on?

He still hadn't quite understood when the door creaked open. An old man hurried in, his brows knitted tight, and his eyes met Qin Fang's.

Qin Fang recognized him as Old Wu, the man who had saved him the day before.

As the door swung open, the commotion outside flooded in, growing even louder.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?"

Old Wu froze for a moment, then asked Qin Fang.

Qin Fang checked his body. He felt noticeably better than before. His wounds felt cool and no longer hurt as much.

His body was still weak, though, aching all over.

His head didn't hurt as much... It seemed his fever had gone down.

"Much better than before..."

Qin Fang answered, but his voice was still hoarse.

Then he instinctively looked toward the door behind the old man. Bright daylight poured in from outside, and the sound of furious cursing was endless.

"What happened outside?"

Old Wu was silent for a moment before calmly answering, "Some of the refugees suddenly rioted. Quite a few people were killed or injured."

"What?"

Qin Fang's expression changed slightly.

Almost at once, the people from that group he'd seen earlier came to mind.

"Why did they suddenly riot?"

Qin Fang frowned deeply.

"I don't know... No time to explain. Rest here, and I'll have someone bring you something to eat in a while."

Old Wu clearly didn't know the reason either. He said nothing more, rummaged through the room for a few things, then turned and went out.

Watching Old Wu hurry off, Qin Fang furrowed his brows and listened to the commotion outside.

A riot for no apparent reason?

He had a feeling that it had to be connected to those men!