In the quiet dusk of Sijiucheng, Liu Ren struggled to peel the dead thug's clothes off with one hand and threw them clumsily over himself.
In the very next second, however, he felt how loose they were. His predecessor was only around fourteen years old, so the thug's garments were indeed far too large.
Even so, Liu Ren had no intention of taking them off. They were vastly better than his coarse hemp rags, and without them, he probably wouldn't survive the night.
Looking down at the man's trousers, Liu Ren fell silent for a long moment before slowly reaching out. "We all come into this world naked anyway. Leaving it naked isn't such a big deal, is it?"
A few minutes later, when Liu Ren emerged from the alley looking like a little grown-up, his appearance was vastly improved, aside from his still-disheveled hair.
Arriving at a traditional pharmacy, Liu Ren slowly extended his arm. "Doctor, could you please take a look at this arm?"
Frowning, the physician stepped out and looked at Liu Ren in surprise. "Who set this arm for you? The technique isn't bad at all, but these splints are wretched. Let me put on a fresh pair for you!"
Before long, when Liu Ren walked out with new splints, his pocket was lighter by two hundred fabi.
Nowadays, the purchasing power of two hundred fabi was equivalent to just four eggs—a far cry from the days when a hundred fabi could buy two oxen.
Heading to a neighboring bathhouse, Liu Ren pulled out some fabi and handed it over.
Staring at the paper notes, the attendant glared at him, remained silent for a long beat, and then grumbled in disgust, "Go on, get inside!"
Seeing how reviled fabi had already become, Liu Ren couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
He did have silver dollars on him, but not many—only twenty-some coins, enough to buy at most around a hundred jin of rice.
If converted into cornmeal, however, that would be two thousand jin!
Yet buying such a massive quantity of cornmeal wasn't an option for Liu Ren; after all, he was supposed to be a beggar!
After finishing his bath, Liu Ren found a barber to tidy up his hair.
Watching the matted clumps of hair sheared away, Liu Ren couldn't help but think to himself, *A fresh start from the top, a brand-new man!*
Stepping out of the bathhouse, Liu Ren looked around, his gaze sharpening.
He had to track down the Japanese soldier who had beaten his predecessor to death. Hatred was like an inner demon: if you didn't resolve it, it would haunt you day in and day out, gnawing at your bones and heart!
Never mind that Liu Ren had trained in Xinyiba and Ancient Wheel Fist; deep down, his faith lay with the Dao!
Buddhism preached letting things go; Daoism preached taking things down!
If he were truly capable of letting past grudges go, he wouldn't still despise Beast Zhang!
It was that bastard who had made him beat his congenital heart disease, only to lose his gamble against fate!
Weaving through the alleyways, Liu Ren moved like an agile monkey, relying on his predecessor's familiarity with the area.
In the very next moment, however, Liu Ren heard desperate wails ring out.
"No, please, spare me! I have children at home... No! Please!..."
At the sound of the pleading, Liu Ren stopped dead in his tracks.
*Save her? Or... save her?*
The moment the thought of saving her arose, Liu Ren instantly drew the dagger he had "picked up" from the thug.
Darting to the corner of the alley, Liu Ren saw two Japanese soldiers grinning hideously down at the woman, and he strode forward without hesitation.
"Yoshi, pretty girl..."
Skillfully unbuckling his belt, a Japanese soldier laughed loudly, ready to pounce.
In the very next second, a dull thud sounded behind him.
Twisting his head in bewilderment, before the soldier could even see how his comrade had collapsed, a figure slammed right into him.
As a bone-chilling pain tore through his chest, the Japanese soldier's eyes widened in terror, his expression turning to sheer despair.
Viciously pulling out the dagger, Liu Ren curled his lip. "Scum!"
"Ah! Ah! Ahhh!"
Staring at the scene in disbelief, the woman shrieked in terror.
"Shut the hell up! If a Japanese patrol comes, we're both dead!"
Glaring irritably at the woman, Liu Ren snapped in a harsh whisper.
Hearing Liu Ren's words, the woman came to her senses and clamped both hands over her mouth, terrified of letting out the slightest sound.
Looking at the woman coldly, Liu Ren really hadn't expected her to be such a liability of an ally.
Flipping his hand behind his back, he stowed the dagger into his Storage Space, then began rummaging through the two corpses.
When his fingers felt out four small yellow croaker gold bars, Liu Ren's eyes widened. He thought to himself, *Holy crap, what people said on the internet was actually true!*
Because the brutal invaders were practically beasts, Japanese soldiers routinely carried their valuables right on their persons.
Ask why, and the answer was simple: leave them in the barracks, and they'd likely end up in someone else's pockets.
Picking up the two Type 38 rifles, Liu Ren slung them over his shoulder, then carefully put away their bayonets.
Looking at the woman who still hadn't left, Liu Ren asked in utter disbelief, "What the hell? Why haven't you run off yet? Waiting for me to give you half?"
"You... you didn't tell me I could leave!"
Looking at Liu Ren fearfully, the woman was terrified out of her wits.
Though the youth before her had one arm in a sling, he was terrifyingly ruthless.
Two Japanese soldiers had been stabbed to death by him in just a few quick thrusts!
"You damn well deserved getting cornered here. Get the hell out of here, and pretend nothing happened, understand?"
Scolding the woman, Liu Ren was thoroughly exasperated.
Hearing his dismissal, the woman scrambled to her feet and fled down the alley as fast as her legs could carry her.
Watching her retreating figure, Liu Ren spat a curse about bad luck, turned on his heel, and slipped away.
Several days later, Liu Ren walked down the street with his neck hunched, looking timid and fearful.
He had already changed into a different set of clothes; after all, he didn't want to go about his life in garments that baggy—they got in the way far too much!
Thanks to the Transfer, he could feel his left arm was nearly healed.
Just as Liu Ren was scanning the street for targets, a violent explosion ripped through the air.
*Boom!*
Staring at the shower of flying splinters, Liu Ren stood momentarily stunned.
In the very next instant, a melon grenade was hurled from out of nowhere.
Looking down at the object rolling toward his feet, Liu Ren's eyes widened, and he instantly dove into a bookstore nearby.
*Boom!*
As the thunderous blast subsided, Liu Ren scrambled to his feet in a disheveled heap and cursed furiously in his head, *You brainless motherfucker, who the hell threw that melon grenade?! Fuck!*
"Hey, hey, hey! Young man, you knocked over my bookshelf just now! Pay up! Compensate me!"
While gunshots still echoed outside the shop, Liu Ren saw a bespectacled man clutching his clothes, clearly unwilling to let him leave without paying.
Turning his head to look the man up and down, Liu Ren raised his hand and slapped him squarely across the face. "Compensate your ass! Why don't you have the balls to go after the bastard who threw the grenade? You idiot! Keep chirping, and I'll gut you!"
Drawing a bayonet, Liu Ren glared at him with ferocious hostility. His temper was flaring hot right now, and he needed to track down the guy who had tossed the melon grenade.
Otherwise, Liu Ren wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
Here he was, minding his own business and walking down the street pretending to be an ordinary nobody, when out of nowhere someone threw a melon grenade at him! Who could possibly take that lying down?
If not for his quick reflexes, he'd be scattered in pieces all over the pavement by now!
"Hey, hey, young man, why are you hitting people?!"
Clutching his stinging cheek in grievance, the bookstore owner shouted as he watched Liu Ren stride away.
Even so, he didn't dare give chase, because the way the boy had brandished that bayonet didn't look like an empty bluff at all.
"Oh my goodness, Old Yan, what happened to you?!"
Running over in distress, his wife immediately began asking questions at the sight of the red handprint on her husband's face.
Stamping his foot, the bookstore owner felt thoroughly aggrieved.
Chapter 85