“Can you stop talking so harshly? I… wait!”
Zhu Mingyue suddenly realized something.
“You’re not the one on the bottom?”
Xu Linguang’s face darkened.
“Tell me, what made you come up with such a ridiculous idea?”
“But you’re the top performer of the brothel…”
Xu Linguang interrupted him.
“Who said the top performer has to be the one on the bottom? Did you make that rule?”
Zhu Mingyue shook his head quickly.
He had a feeling Xu Linguang had wanted to hit him for a long time and was only holding back because he was sick. If he kept talking, he might actually get slapped.
Xu Linguang finally got off the bed and stood over him.
After staring at him for a long time, he suddenly laughed.
Zhu Mingyue felt chills run down his spine.
“I admit I made assumptions, but you can’t blame me. Nobody ever told me!”
At first, Zhu Mingyue had thought Xu Linguang seemed very different from the others in the South Wind House.
With his large build, Zhu Mingyue could never understand why he was so popular. He eventually assumed that the customers there simply had unusual tastes.
Now everything made sense.
Xu Linguang was different from the others.
Zhu Mingyue immediately glanced toward a certain part of Xu Linguang’s body. Thinking about his profession and how energetic he still seemed, he suddenly felt a strange sense of admiration.
“Are you done staring? Do you want me to take it out so you can get a better look?”
Xu Linguang noticed where his eyes were focused and became annoyed.
“No, no. You’re too kind.”
Even so, Zhu Mingyue’s eyes did not move.
Xu Linguang sneered.
“No, you’re being too polite.”
“It’s quite impressive. Are you sure you don’t want to see it?”
“Really?”
Zhu Mingyue swallowed quietly. The curiosity in his eyes was obvious.
“Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
When he was in high school, he realized his orientation. Since then, some boys had shown interest in him, but he had always been too busy working and studying to date. Naturally, he was curious now.
The next moment, Xu Linguang poured cold water on his hopes.
“I’m lying.”
“You wouldn’t even let me touch your butt before, and I thought you were straight. Now you want to see mine? Keep dreaming.”
“That’s different,” Zhu Mingyue said regretfully. “Just looking won’t hurt anyone.”
“Then touching shouldn’t hurt either. No looking.”
“Fine. I wasn’t that interested anyway. What’s so special about it?”
“Who are you calling unimpressive? If the sky fell, it would hold it up better than you could!”
“See? You’re angry again.”
Xu Linguang became so irritated that he almost exposed himself just to prove a point.
“I don’t want to see it anymore!”
Without realizing it, they spent the entire night arguing until dawn.
Xu Linguang heard footsteps outside before anyone else did and immediately covered Zhu Mingyue’s mouth.
“Do you know what to do next?” he whispered.
Unable to speak, Zhu Mingyue nodded quickly.
“Good. I’m leaving.”
The courtyard gate creaked open.
Xu Linguang released him and leaped gracefully through the back window. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. Before leaving, he even thoughtfully closed the window.
Zhu Mingyue was shocked.
The entire movement was smooth and effortless.
Did this man choose the wrong profession? With skills like that, he could probably have become a legendary thief.
…
The inner room door opened.
Zhu Mingyue immediately lay back on the ground, closed his eyes, and pretended to be half-dead.
Soon, two men stuffed him into a sack and threw him onto a vegetable cart.
His body already ached from sleeping on the floor all night, and the rough ride only made things worse.
After a long time, the cart finally stopped.
He was thrown roughly onto the ground.
Through a small opening in the sack, he looked outside.
The two kidnappers were there.
Several large guards were holding them tightly to prevent escape.
“Everything was fine when we sold him. Why are you returning him now?” Yellow Teeth demanded.
“Fine?”
The madam’s voice rang out.
“Open the sack.”
Zhu Mingyue quickly shut his eyes again.
His rash-covered face was revealed, causing both kidnappers to gasp.
“This is what you call fine? How can he serve customers looking like this?”
Faced with so many people, Yellow Teeth felt nervous.
Still, he argued.
“What does that have to do with us? He was perfectly healthy when we sold him.”
“I called a doctor immediately,” the madam lied calmly.
“The doctor said this is a disease he was born with. Even if it improves, it will return again and again.”
Then he struck first.
“Aren’t you supposed to be his cousin? How could you not know about such an obvious illness? Or did you deliberately trick me?”
Yellow Teeth and Wang Hu looked at each other.
They truly did not know.
The madam saw their hesitation and pressed harder.
“You wandering swindlers. If I report you to the authorities, you’ll both be jailed. But I’m willing to overlook it if you return my money.”
Yellow Teeth immediately refused.
He had already made plans for the silver.
“There’s no money. Take my life if you want. Report me if you like.”
The madam’s face darkened.
“Beat him until he gives in.”
Yellow Teeth had only kept five taels of silver and deposited the rest in a bank.
He believed that no matter how much they beat him, they would never get the money.
Unfortunately for him, five strong men began punching him relentlessly.
Meanwhile, Wang Hu was beaten by two others.
After about fifteen minutes, Wang Hu broke first.
“Please stop! I’ll tell you everything! The money is with him!”
Yellow Teeth glared at him furiously.
The madam threatened Wang Hu.
“Talk, or we’ll keep beating you.”
“I’ll talk!”
After one guilty glance at Yellow Teeth, Wang Hu betrayed him completely.
“I never touched the money. He kept all of it.”
“That’s nonsense!” Yellow Teeth shouted through bloody lips.
“Didn’t I take you to the brothel? Didn’t we spend money together?”
“Yes, but we kidnapped him together. The brothel only cost a little. You never intended to share the rest.”
Wang Hu had long resented him.
Since their partnership was over anyway, he decided to reveal everything.
“The money is in the local bank. The deposit certificate is hidden under Young Juxian’s bed at the brothel.”
Zhu Mingyue struggled not to laugh.
Nothing was more entertaining than watching criminals betray each other.
Eventually, the certificate was found.
The madam checked the amount and finally relaxed.
At least more than sixty taels could be recovered.
He personally went to the bank and withdrew the money.
Yellow Teeth was left lying in an alley.
After cursing for a while, he suddenly remembered Zhu Mingyue.
Feeling someone staring at him, Zhu Mingyue opened his eyes.
“I forgot to tell you,” he said calmly.
“I was born with this illness. Every so often it flares up and makes my face swell badly. Selling me to places like that was never going to work.”
He had wanted to run away immediately after the madam left.
Unfortunately, his wrists and ankles were still tied.
Outwardly calm, he was actually miserable.
If only he had learned half of Xu Linguang’s skills, escaping would have been easy.
Yellow Teeth looked around and saw nobody nearby.
He quickly tied the sack closed again and threw it over his shoulder.
As he limped away, he cursed.
“Useless brat. Such a pretty face wasted. I thought you’d bring me a fortune, but instead I got beaten because of you.”
“You think I’ll suffer while you live comfortably?”
“I’m selling you today no matter what. Even if I only get a bag of rice, it’ll be worth it.”
Zhu Mingyue hated people like him.
He wanted to bite him but could not bring himself to do it.
Eventually, he was taken to a remote rural area.
“Wait here. I’ll find someone to buy you.”
After saying that, Yellow Teeth hurried away.
…
Not far away, in Gouhe Village, two men of similar age were having a fierce argument.
The shorter man shoved the taller one.
“You lazy good-for-nothing! No wonder you don’t have a wife. Any woman who married you would starve.”
“Say that again!”
“I’m telling the truth! You sold me this land last year, and now you want it back? How shameless can you be? Forget saving grain to get married. You can barely feed yourself!”
The taller man glared at him angrily.
His face turned red, but he could not argue.
After a long silence, he finally shouted:
“Just wait!”
Then he stormed off.
Neither man realized that someone had been secretly watching the entire argument from nearby.