Chapter 16: One Tael of Silver?

Chapter 16: One Tael of Silver? Both Fang Che and Sun Yuan were rather taken aback by this abrupt turn of events. The young woman before them was dressed in shabby clothes and had a very emaciated appearance, with a head of straw-like hair that was completely devoid of luster. The exposed parts of her arms and ankles were all riddled with whiplash marks, further contributing to her pitiable appearance. Her face was covered in filth and gashes, but it was still possible to tell that she had the makings of a fine beauty. However, her eyes were tightly shut in unconsciousness, while blood continued to trickle profusely out of her orifices, and a large puddle of blood was beginning to take shape beneath her frail body. Clearly, her internal organs had been injured in the fall, and if she weren't treated in a timely fashion, then death would be beckoning to her soon. Some of her blood had splashed onto Fang Che's shoes, and a contemplative look appeared on his face upon seeing this. "Leave her. This is none of your business," Sun Yuan said in a cold voice. In his eyes, this was no different from seeing a rat fall to its death before him. "Please wait, Master," Fang Che urged as he feigned a guilt-ridden expression. "I just saw so many people die, and I... I can't help but pity her." Sun Yuan's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't want to deny Fang Che this small request after what he had just been through, so he sighed as he relented, "Fine, do as you please.” Fang Che looked down at the unconscious young woman with a sympathetic expression as he fed her a pill. There was a group of brawny and menacing men in the brothel above, and they immediately jumped down to confront him. Fang Che's suspicions were immediately confirmed. As expected, the Protectionists were already onto him, and this woman was most likely the spy that they planned to plant by his side. The fact that she had literally fallen out of the sky to land directly in front of him was already too much of a coincidence and had aroused his suspicions. Having said that, it was a very convincing act, and her injuries were every bit as severe as they appeared. With that in mind, he heaved a forlorn internal sigh, but at the same time, it was very encouraging to him that there was such a cunning decision-maker among the Protectionists stationed in this city, something that was undoubtedly going to make his job easier in the future. "Unhand her!" one of the brawny men yelled. Two of his companions instantly rushed at Fang Che, only to be kicked aside like a pair of rolling barrels. The leader of the group cast a menacing gaze toward Fang Che as he declared, "I advise you not to meddle in the business of our Golden Jade Pavilion. Otherwise, you're going to regret it!" A crowd of bystanders had quickly gathered, and a flash of recognition appeared in the eyes of one of them as he exclaimed, "That's Young Master Fang Che, the beacon of morality and brotherhood of our city!" The bystanders that hadn't heard of Fang Che's story were quickly filled in by those in the know, informed of the moving stories between Fang Che and Su Yue, and before long, all of the bystanders were on his side, looking on with admiration and support. Of course a man of justice like Young Master Fang would stop to help a young woman in need, when others would've cowered and scurried away for fear of getting involved! With the tide of public opinion quickly turning against them, the brawny men from the Golden Jade Pavilion were suddenly looking very hesitant and uncertain. "I have no intention of starting an altercation, I simply don't want to see this girl lose her life and do nothing to help her. I just so happen to be missing a personal maidservant, so you can get your shopkeeper to come and see me, and I'm willing to purchase her from them," Fang Che said. Before long, the manager and the procuress of the brothel emerged, and both of them regarded Fang Che with a great deal of respect. After all, he was currently an extremely renowned figure throughout Green Wave City. Of course, there were skeptics when it came to his stories with Su Yue, but no one was going to call him out to his face. Regardless of whether those stories were true or not, it was clear that there were powerful people supporting him from behind the scenes, so no one was going to challenge him. "What's her name, and how old is she? I plan to purchase her. How much will it cost me? Bring me her indenture." "She has no official name, we just call her Er Ya. Some time ago, she fell unconscious on our doorstep, and I took her in. She's sixteen years old, and I was planning to have her begin... serving customers, but she completely betrayed our trust and ran away, even though we saved her life..." Fang Che's brows furrowed slightly as he said, "Er Ya is a terrible name! From now on, her name is Ye Meng." "That's a brilliant name, Young Master Fang! She's truly blessed to have caught your eye." "Cut the chit-chat and bring me her indenture. How much do you want for her?" "One thous..." The procuress shuddered internally at Fang Che's cold gaze, and she hurriedly lowered her asking price as she offered in an uncertain manner, "Three hundred...?" "One tael of silver? Sounds good," Fang Che replied with a nod. "Bring me her indenture." "But... But..." A cold look appeared in Fang Che's eyes as he slapped the procuress across the face, then dragged her head back by her hair before slapping her across the other cheek as well. "Are you trying to make a fool out of me? You just said one tael of silver, yet you're changing your mind now? " The procuress was on the verge of tears. When did I ever say one tael of silver? Fang Che had deduced that this girl had most likely been sent here by the Protectionists, but the same didn't apply to the people of the brothel. Fang Che had never been fond of brothels that took advantage of innocent young women to profit from their bodies, so this was the perfect opportunity for him to make an example out of the procuress! With another slap, he sent a mouthful of blood and several teeth spraying out from between the procuress's lips. "How dare you try to make a fool out of me!" Fang Che raised his hand once again, and the procuress frantically yelled, "I'm sorry! Please forgive me, Young Master Fang! You're right, I said one tael of silver! Bring her indenture to Young Master Fang! Hurry!" Fang Che slapped her across the other side of her face, knocking out the teeth on that side as well. "So you admit that you said one tael of silver! Why were you trying to deny it then?" The procuress's face had become purple and swollen, while her hair was completely disheveled, presenting a pitiful sight to behold. However, none of the people from the brothel dared to stand up for her. In the wake of the recent massacre of the entire Su Clan, no one dared to oppose Fang Che. The brothel manager sprinted onto the scene, frantically waving an indenture as he yelled, "The indenture is here, Young Master Fang." Fang Che sent him wheeling to the ground with a slap as he yelled, "Who's indenture is it? Mine?" "No, no, it's Er Ya's indenture..." The manager received another slap for his efforts. "It's Ye Meng! What are you, fucking stupid?" "Yes, yes, it's Ms. Ye Meng's indenture..." His voice was abruptly cut off by another slap. "Hopefully I've slapped some sense into you!" Fang Che grabbed the indenture out of the manager's hand, then tore it to shreds without even looking at it. He then rewarded the procuress and the manager with a few more slaps before tossing a tael of silver onto the ground as he grumbled, "Are you two blind? Hurry up and hail me a carriage! Can't you see Ye Meng's still unconscious?" "Yes, yes, right away, Young Master Fang..." The manager hurriedly scrambled to his feet before running away. The procuress also wanted to run, but the manager beat her to it, so she could only curl up into a trembling ball on the ground, praying that the ordeal was over. Before long, the carriage arrived, and prior to entering the carriage, Fang Che gave the procuress a parting stomp as he spat through gritted teeth, "Greedy bitch! This girl is already on the verge of death, yet you still charged me so much for her, and you dirtied my clothes as well!" Finally, he departed, leaving behind a silent crowd of bystanders, none of whom knew quite what to think. Of course, beating a brothel procuress was an act of justice, but it felt like Fang Che wasn't quite the same as the stories suggested. How was a single tael of silver too much to ask for? Just the carriage that the brothel had hailed for him would've definitely cost more than that! *** In Sun Yuan's eyes, Fang Che's actions perfectly embodied the ethos of the One Heart Church. If you want something, then take it! Who's going to stop you? The weak deserved to be oppressed, and the strong should have the right to do as they pleased without any regard for those beneath them! "You did very well today, Che'er," Sun Yuan praised. "I was just angry at the brothel for what they did," Fang Che said in a modest manner. "Regardless of your reasons, I'm very pleased with your actions," Sun Yuan said with a smile. "Are you really going to take that girl home with you?" "I am in need of a personal maidservant, and I had a look at her earlier. She's a little malnourished and beat up right now, but she seems to be decent in the looks department, so I've decided to take her in," Fang Che replied. "After all, when it comes to women, it's always a case of the more the merrier," Fang Che added with a smile. "I certainly can't disagree with that!" Sun Yuan chuckled. He was very pleased with the way that Fang Che was turning out. He had been concerned that perhaps his morals and personality would've made him ill-suited to serve the One Heart Church, but it seemed that his true colors were a perfect fit for the church. In the carriage sat the young girl who was feigning unconsciousness, and she shuddered delicately as she listened to the conversation taking place outside.