Magical Water Margin: They all call me brother

Page 4

Liu Hong was initially just surprised that there was a natural psychic among the crowd, just like himself. However, he did not expect the other person's eyes to be so evasive, so his surprise turned into suspicion.

Liu Hong gave him a deep look, unsure if this person was related to his ordeal. With so many people around on the street, it wouldn't be good to make a move, so he decided to give up for the time being.

Wu Dalang was also scratching his head. He refused to believe it and took Liu Hong to the workshops in the west of the city for another round. The result was the same. All the workshops declined, saying that they had enough manpower and would not hire extra employees. Liu Hong looked around and once again saw Zhang Zhao, a level 1 natural psychic with a thin body like a stick, in the crowd.

This time, he even changed his headscarf, his clothes, and put on some powder on his face, afraid that he would be recognized. But no matter how he disguised himself, the information in the Azure Demon Flame would not change.

Who is this person?!

"It's alright, little brother, how about we sell steamed buns together? I'll make more than twice the amount this time, you can sell them in the west of the city, and I'll sell them in the east. Isn't that great? We won't have to go into the workshop and put up with these bosses' jerky attitude!"

Wu Dalang comforted Liu Hong, who, having repeatedly encountered setbacks at work, could only nod and return to Wu Dalang's home to study how to make steamed buns.

The current market price of flour is 100 coins per dou, which means 100 coins can be exchanged for 15 jin of flour. It is yellowish in color and is mostly millet or other grains, not wheat.

After mixing 15 catties of millet flour with water, adding firewood, and steaming, it can make 75 steamed buns. Each one sells for 6 coins, which adds up to 450 coins. After deducting the losses from firewood and water, the net profit per dou of flour is about 225 coins. Each steamed bun, which costs 6 coins, has a profit of 3 coins, which is not bad. That's how the catering industry works: small profits but quick turnover.

According to Wu Dalang, people in the Song Dynasty ate two meals a day, one between 7 and 9 a.m. and the other between 3 and 5 p.m.

I used to make steamed buns twice a day and then sell them at two mealtimes. I could sell anywhere from eighty to one hundred and five steamed buns a day, and I made quite a bit of money. Now that I have a franchise, the two of us can sell them in the city from one side to the other, expanding our market reach. I'm sure we can sell two hundred a day.

Amidst laughter and conversation, Wu Dalang patiently taught Liu Hong how to knead dough and steam cakes. Together, they used two bushels of flour to make 150 steamed cakes. Then, Wu Dalang took out two carrying poles and baskets, and the two of them each carried 75 steamed cakes, waiting for the late afternoon to go to the city to sell them.

The workers in the various workshops, having no home, no money, and no means of cooking, could only buy cheap food to fill their stomachs every day. Wu Dalang's pancakes, being both delicious and inexpensive, had a good reputation in Qinghe County and sold quite well.

Liu Hong shouldered his carrying pole and began selling steamed buns for the first time. He saw a large number of migrant workers dressed in coarse brown robes and covered in dirt leaving work in the late afternoon and walking out of the luxurious mansions on both sides of the street. Their tattered clothes and the bustling beauty of the street formed a stark contrast.

Some workers squatted by the roadside chatting, some lay listlessly sleeping on the street, and some numbly bought steamed buns from the vendors to fill their stomachs. Their filth and dejected faces were out of place in the bustling city of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Liu Hong had only walked three streets when he sold thirty steamed buns, which added one hundred and eighty copper coins to his carrying pole. With each step he took, the scattered copper coins would collide with each other, making a clattering sound, which gave Liu Hong a sense of harvest joy and made the heavy burden on his shoulders feel much lighter.

But just then, an arrogant and domineering voice rang out from behind him.

"Hey you selling steamed buns up ahead! Stop!!!"

Liu Hong turned his head and saw four or five slovenly thugs, all of whom were unemployed. One of them had been beaten black and blue – weren't these the same hooligans who had bullied Wu Dalang yesterday?

"These people are local thugs! Buddy, run!"

A worker who had just bought a steamed bun gasped and quickly warned him, but at that moment, the hooligans also recognized Liu Hong—wasn't this the man who used sorcery to beat us up yesterday?

For a moment, the arrogant and domineering thugs were all stunned, watching Liu Hong's body tremble. Several thugs subconsciously glanced back, focusing on a thin man. Liu Hong followed their gaze and instantly locked onto a man: it was that Level 1 psionicist again! Zhang Zhao!

You disguised yourself and appeared near me twice in a row, which I could take as a coincidence; but the third time you appeared near me, accompanied by a group of thugs who wanted to mess with me, then there must be something really wrong!

"Sir! You didn't tell us to mess with this man!"

A rascal who couldn't control his mouth, with a sour face, turned around and poured out his grievances to Zhang Zhao.

"You only told us to smash up a pancake stall, but you didn't tell us we were going to mess with a natural-born psychic! We're not doing this business; we're not making money we can't afford to lose!!!"

Zhang Zhao's face was extremely ugly. He hadn't expected Liu Hong to be so troublesome. It was one thing that he didn't dare to provoke the thugs he had casually hired, but the key was that these damned hooligans had directly exposed him.

Seeing Liu Hong staring intently at him, his anger rising in his eyes, Zhang Zhao turned and ran, rushing into an alley. Liu Hong was also furious and wanted to know who this guy was, so he carried his carrying pole and ran like the wind. Pedestrians on both sides of the street hurriedly made way for the two of them to rush into the alley one after the other.

The author says:

Author's Note: Bonus chapter for 100 monthly votes! Bonus chapter for 200 monthly votes!

Chapter Six: Zhang Jianu's Murder in Hutong

"Don't run away! Why don't you fight it out fair and square? Don't hide behind the scenes like a girl!"

Liu Hong roared and chased him for two streets and four turns before finally cornering the strange psychic in a dead end.

"You...you actually dared to chase me! This is a secluded alley; I could kill you and no one would know!"

Zhang Zhao, who is thin and small, was panting heavily, and it seemed that his physical strength was not very good.

"We have no grudge against each other, so why are you interfering with me! Those workshops are unwilling to hire me, and I'm afraid you're partly to blame!"

Liu Hong glared angrily at Zhang Zhao.

"Yes, that's right! We really have no grudge against each other. It's just the master's orders to treat you like this."

Zhang Zhao sighed and said helplessly.

“Those workshops didn’t want to hire you because I visited them one by one with the master’s letter, asking them not to hire you as a day laborer so I could earn money. The master is the richest man in Qinghe County, and of course, the workshop owners wouldn’t offend him because of a commoner like you; but I never expected that you would end up selling pancakes with Wu Dalang.”

"There was no other way. Bringing my servants to smash your carrying pole would be too conspicuous and give the master's enemies something to gossip about. So, I just hired a few hooligans to break your leg and make you unable to take care of yourself! I didn't expect you to be so troublesome; those hooligans are actually quite afraid of you."

"That's strange. Do I know you? Why are you going to such lengths to target me?"

Liu Hong was even more puzzled, not understanding why he was being targeted like this. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and his furrowed brows relaxed.

Wait a minute, his surname is Zhang, he's just repeating the master's orders... and the master Pan Jinlian served when she was a maid was also surnamed Zhang!!

"So you've figured it out? That's right. Whether it's forced labor, refusing to work, or causing a scene at the pancake stall, these are all little tricks the master uses to ruin your family. He wants to make that fox demon submit to him in his desperation. The master has been in Qinghe for so many years, spent so much money, and supported so many people. You can't outmaneuver him, and neither can we."

“Brother, you did nothing wrong. The only mistake you made was marrying Pan Jinlian. If you become a ghost in the future, go and seek revenge on the master. Don’t come looking for me. I was just following orders.”

Zhang Zhao sighed helplessly. He felt that it was against his conscience to destroy a family in order to force himself on a woman, but he had no choice but to do it. He kept finding excuses and reasons, not knowing whether he was comforting Liu Hong or his own conscience.

The next second, he pulled out a jade ruyi from his robes, and a dazzling and beautiful beam of flame condensed at the top of the magic weapon. It roared and tore through the sky, hurtling towards Liu Hong, with a wave of hot air rushing towards him! Liu Hong's deep blue eyes even managed to discern the specific attributes of this spell.

[First Ring Psionic - Psionic Ray]: Deals 1 to 6 points of any elemental damage to a single target.

Zhang Zhao stared indifferently ahead. This was the spiritual energy he had gained after awakening as a natural psychic. He had used this move to burn many people alive to ashes, so he was used to it. What did it matter how burly and extraordinary this person was? In the flames, he was still reduced to ashes.

But the next second, the moment the blazing ray touched Liu Hong, it shattered like a broken mirror, failing to cause him any harm! In the darkness, an auspicious silver light surrounded Liu Hong's limbs and body, outlining the shape of a white fox in the air.

This is the high magic resistance provided by Pan Jinlian's [Qingqiu Spiritual Blessing].

Zhang Zhao paused for a moment, then suddenly realized he'd forgotten something—those hooligans had mentioned he was a natural-born psychic? Newly awakened? That's why he didn't want to take the job?! He'd awakened a fox-type psychic with incredibly high magic resistance?

not good!

Zhang Zhao wanted to launch a second attack, but it was too late. Liu Hong suddenly reached out and used [Mind Control] again. In an instant, Zhang Zhao's robe seemed to come alive, emitting a faint blue light. It twisted around Zhang Zhao's body and neck like a giant python, making it impossible for him to chant any spells or even breathe properly!

The next second, the entire robe, under Liu Hong's will, rose into the air, flew four or five meters high, spun around, and left Zhang Zhao floating headfirst in mid-air, preparing him to fall headfirst—a fall like that would surely kill him.

Liu Hong was also sweating profusely. Fortunately, he had the high magic resistance provided by Pan Jinlian, which allowed him to withstand the first psionic attack that was extremely fast. His small body was just within the 100-pound limit of [Mind Control].

Whether it's my awakened psionic energy or my magic resistance talent, they are both natural counters to this kid; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to win without taking any damage.

"Sanlang, brother! Ancestors!!!"

Zhang Zhao floated in the sky, his face pale with fright. His eyes bulged outwards from the tight collar of his robe. He begged for mercy, even changing his address three times in one breath.

"I was forced into this! This...this was all Zhang Yuanwai's order! I'm just like your wife! We're both servants forced to serve Zhang Yuanwai!"

Liu Hong's expression softened slightly. Thinking about Pan Jinlian's plight, he felt a little sorry for the servant.

But when he thought of Zhang Zhao's actions of starting with zero frames and killing people with flames, the last bit of pity in his heart disappeared. He could only control the clothes to raise the height while listening to him continue to plead in the sky.

“My father’s land was seized by Master Zhang, and the whole family was forced to sell themselves into slavery. I was born into his household as well! But because of my awakened spiritual power, I was given the surname Zhang and promoted from a household slave to a henchman! Your wife and I are both pitiful people—”

Before Zhang Zhao finished speaking, the eerie blue light emanating from his robe disappeared, indicating that the six-second time limit for [Mind Control] had expired. The robe was no longer wrapped around his neck, nor was it floating in mid-air. He screamed as he fell from a height of five meters, headfirst, crashing heavily to the ground!

"Crack!!!"

With a crisp, loud crack, Zhang Zhao crashed to the ground, breaking his neck instantly. His hands, feet, and other joints twisted and tilted at abnormal angles during the fall, resulting in a bizarre and grotesque death posture.

His pale face was filled with terror and astonishment; bright red blood gushed from his seven orifices and from his broken neck, hands and feet, quickly forming a small pool beneath him. His body stopped burning, and the lines of attribute characters above his head quickly extinguished as his life faded. The jade ruyi in his hand fell heavily to the ground, bounced a few times, and finally came to rest at Liu Hong's feet.

Looking at the person he had killed for the first time, and smelling the thick stench of blood in the air, Liu Hong felt neither fear nor joy, only calm. He understood more clearly that this was a feudal era where people ate each other, a life-or-death struggle, nothing more.

He quickly searched the corpse for valuables, eventually finding a tael of silver, fifty copper coins, and a slender, emerald-green jade ruyi in his hand.

In his own vision, the magical artifact also burst into flames, outlining bursts of burning characters in the air, but the color turned green.

【Jade Ruyi - Delay】(Green): Can amplify the user's psionic spells, doubling their duration (three times a day).

Liu Hong's eyes lit up. What a great thing! My [Mind Control] only lasts for six seconds, and my other [Chaos Tentacle] only lasts for 30 seconds. With this, the duration is doubled.

Chapter Seven: Liu Sanlang Summons Ghosts with a Knife

After looting the treasures, Liu Hong quickly looked around. Zhang Zhao led Liu Hong to a secluded alley, intending to kill him without leaving a trace, but unexpectedly, Liu Hong used his spiritual energy to kill him instead. He really brought it on himself.

Liu Hong checked his clothes—because he had used his psionic energy to kill the other person, there was no blood splattered on him. After checking that no one was around, he turned and ran back to the bustling street he had left from.

"call--"

Liu Hong took a deep breath, picked up his carrying pole, and calmly continued selling steamed buns, as if nothing had happened. He even grumbled to the workers who were buying his buns: "A bunch of hooligans were giving me trouble just now. I chased after them to fight them, but I didn't expect them to run away so fast. That kid got away! He's lucky!"

If I don't beat the shit out of him next time I see him, I'll consider it a good thing he's cleaned up!

The workers admired Liu Hong's skills and hated those idle rascals who caused trouble, so they praised him repeatedly.

Liu Hong walked several more streets and sold another twenty-five steamed buns. It wasn't until after lunchtime that he took the remaining twenty unsold steamed buns home.

"Squeak-"

Liu Hong's expression was solemn. Only after locking the door did he dare to drop all pretense of composure, and his handsome face was immediately filled with deep worry.

Master Zhang is more troublesome than I imagined. Even if he can't find out that I killed Zhang Zhao, he will know that a mere servant or thug can't do anything to me, and he will send even more troublesome people to kill me and take Pan Jinlian away.

Moreover, according to Zhang Zhao's words, Master Zhang was in cahoots with the government and even wanted to destroy our family by conscripting laborers.

In modern society, calling the police is the most useful thing to do, but here it's the most useless thing. Who knows how much that guy surnamed Zhang has colluded with the government?

How did Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian resolve their conflict in history? Oh, they fled to Yanggu County. Running away is the best of the thirty-six stratagems, which seems reasonable.

"Sanlang, you've had a busy day. How's the job search going? Why are you so worried?"

Pan Jinlian had just taken a hot bath and was wearing a white nightgown. Her silver hair was wet and clung to the nightgown and her fair skin. Her exposed delicate skin was as beautiful and alluring as a lotus emerging from the water. She looked at her husband with affection, her eyes full of love.

Liu Hong glanced at his wife, feeling a bit parched and infatuated by the unconscious allure she exuded. He leaned closer without thinking, and the air was filled with an ambiguous and seductive atmosphere. But just then, a rapid knock on the door interrupted their intimate moment.

"Sanlang! Is Sanlang there? Your brother has been beaten up!"

"what?"

Liu Hong was surprised and rushed to the door, opening it to find some villagers knocking anxiously.

"A bunch of hooligans just smashed Wu Dalang's carrying pole, stole his steamed buns and coins, and even broke one of his legs!"

Where is my brother now?!

Liu Hong was furious. "Oh no! I thought Master Zhang was only after me, but I didn't expect him to target Wu Da as well!"

Liu Hong hurriedly arrived at the scene of the crime, guided by the villagers. He found Wu Dalang lying on the ground, clutching his right leg and groaning in pain. His carrying pole, basket, and everything inside had been robbed.

It seems that Master Zhang bribed two groups of ruffians. The group that was causing trouble for him was afraid of his spiritual power and dared not come forward, while the group that was looking for Wu Dalang beat him so badly that he could no longer sell pancakes!

“Brother, it’s all my fault! They came for me. You taught me how to sell pancakes, but it only angered them.”

Liu Hong felt immense remorse, and his hatred for Master Zhang deepened. He quickly carried Wu Dalang on his back.

"Where's the nearest pharmacy?! I need to take my brother to get his medicine!"

The crowd of onlookers and the usually amicable neighbors quickly gave directions. Liu Hong had 330 coins from selling steamed buns, as well as 50 coins and a tael of silver from Zhang Zhao's pocket, which was quite enough. He spent 200 coins to buy a lot of herbs to treat bruises and sprains before hurriedly taking Wu Dalang back to his home. He asked Pan Jinlian to help brew the herbs and told his wife the whole story.

When Pan Jinlian heard this, she was filled with fear and dread.

After taking these medicines internally and applying them externally, and after listening to Liu Hong's entire account of the process, Wu Dalang, who was sweating profusely from the pain, was finally able to speak, instead of letting out intermittent groans.

"This matter... no, it's not your fault, Sanlang. That damned Master Zhang is truly a scoundrel. I, ugh—we'll go to the authorities tomorrow—ah!!!"

Before Wu Dalang could finish speaking, he moved his body and felt another piercing pain in his broken leg.

"Brother, don't move around. Rest here quietly. I'll think of something!"

Liu Hong gritted his teeth. What good would it do to sue the authorities? Yesterday, the government officials were conscripting laborers from my house without any regard for the rules!

With Wu Dalang's leg injured like this, he can't run away anymore. The Zhang family could come at any time, so he has to find a way to increase his fighting strength.

Before it got dark, Liu Hong rushed out of his house and went to the nearest blacksmith shop. A group of blacksmiths had already turned off their furnaces and were preparing to finish work, but the air was still filled with the smell of hot charcoal and flames. The left wall was covered with a dazzling array of iron farm tools, while the right wall was covered with all kinds of steel weapons.

The Northern Song Dynasty had very strict control over weapons. Civilians were only allowed to possess a few types of weapons, including bows and arrows, knives, shields, whistles, short spears, and short axes. All other weapons were forbidden to the common people, and crossbows and armor were out of the question.

As a weapon that is easy to learn and has a decent killing effect, knives naturally appeared frequently in blacksmith shops. However, the only type of knife that could be legally possessed by ordinary people was a short knife of the type used for farming. It could not exceed 60 centimeters in length, and it had a wide blade and a thick spine, making it easy to chop.

Liu Hong stared at the short swords on the wall. If he wanted, these weapons could also ignite with ghostly blue demonic flames and form a burning stream of information.

However, these ordinary-looking knives all have white markings on them.

The iron knives in the basket don't look very appealing; they're flawed, of ordinary white quality, and have physical damage between 0 and 5.

The artworks hanging on the wall are mostly white, and the physical damage is a normal 1-6.

The steel knife hanging in the most conspicuous position on the wall is still white, but its physical damage is 2-7, making it a fine steel-forged knife.

【Refined Steel Knife】(White): 60 cm long, deals 2-7 points of physical damage.