The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 30, Li Mochou: Brave at First, Then Cowardly
"Boss, I've paid!"

The innkeeper greeted them with a smile and offered a few coins to the leading man, a man whose shirt was still open in late autumn, revealing a large patch of chest hair:
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang. This is our shop's monthly allowance."

The leader, "Master Zhang," took the money, counted it twice, and sneered:

"Not enough! The allowance has been increased. From now on, it will be ten strings of cash per month, not a single copper coin less!"

"Ten strings of cash?"

The boss's face immediately turned into a bitter expression:
“Master Zhang, as you know, this is a small business with little profit. Five strings of cash are already a struggle, and this sudden doubling…”

"Stop talking nonsense and pay up, or your inn will have to change owners!"

Just as he was threatening the boss, a man behind him gently tugged at Zhang Ye's collar, pointed at Li Mochou, and revealed a lewd smile.

When Master Zhang glanced over and saw Li Mochou, his eyes lit up. He shoved aside the pleading shopkeeper, swaggered over to Li Mochou's table, and said with a smile:

"This young lady is quite unfamiliar. May I ask your surname and where you are from?"

This scoundrel was rude and arrogant, with a fierce appearance. Li Mochou had long disliked him, and now that he dared to harass her, she immediately rebuked him coldly with disgust:

"roll!"

Although her tone was cold, her voice was naturally soft and charming. This rebuke not only failed to deter Mr. Zhang, but instead aroused him even more, and he said with a smile:

"Young lady, you're quite fierce! But Master Zhang likes a charming young lady like you. Come, let Master Zhang have a couple of drinks with you, and have some fun..."

As he spoke, he reached out to take Li Mochou's wine cup.

Enraged, Li Mochou grabbed her longsword, but without drawing it, she used the scabbard to deflect Zhang Ye's outstretched hand. Then, the scabbard swiftly struck Zhang Ye's chest.

It looked like just a light touch, but Master Zhang's face turned pale, he groaned, and almost lost his breath. Luckily, two of his men rushed over to support him, otherwise he would have collapsed to the ground.

Li Mochou snorted coldly:
"Get out of here! If you dare to cause trouble again, the next sword strike won't just be from the scabbard!"

Supported by his men, Master Zhang rubbed his chest and caught his breath for a while before recovering. Recalling the force of Li Mochou's gentle touch, a hint of fear flashed in his eyes, but not wanting to lose face in public, he glared fiercely at Li Mochou and shouted:
"Very well! You dare to act wildly on our Hanshui Gang's territory? I think you've got some nerve, you little wench! I don't have a knife with me right now, do you dare wait here?"

Li Mochou gripped her sword sheath in one hand and picked up a wine cup in the other, tilting her head back to drink it all in one gulp, displaying the full air of a chivalrous hero, before proudly declaring:
Are you saying I'm afraid of you?

"Don't run away if you dare!"

Master Zhang shouted again and led his men away in a sorry state.

"Please excuse my poor performance, both of you." Li Mochou, adopting the mannerisms of a martial arts master, bowed to Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

"Miss Li, you have excellent skills," Lu Chen complimented politely.

"Sister Mochou is awesome!" Huang Rong praised, giving a thumbs up.

A hint of smugness flashed in Li Mochou's eyes, but she maintained a humble demeanor on her face:

"It's a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."

Huang Rong smiled and reminded her again:

"However, that Zhang fellow probably won't let this go so easily. He'll likely not only go back to get his knife, but he'll probably call for backup as well."

"Let him call for reinforcements." Li Mochou patted her longsword, exuding an imposing aura: "With this sword in hand, what's there to fear if this lowly gang comes, no matter how many of them they send?"

"Sister Mochou is so generous!" Huang Rong praised, then waved to the shopkeeper: "Boss, what's the deal with the Hanshui Gang? Tell us about it."

The innkeeper, with a mournful face, bowed to Huang Rong:
"Young lady, please don't make things difficult for me. How could I dare to gossip about the Han River Gang?" Huang Rong took out three copper coins, placed them on the table, and said with a smile:
"Boss, let me show you a magic trick..."

As she spoke, she flicked her slender fingers, and three copper coins flew out with a whoosh, then with a few sharp sounds, they were deeply embedded in a pillar in the main hall, arranged in the shape of the Chinese character "品" (pǐn).

For over a month in the mountains, Huang Rong refused to eat snake gallbladders, but she shared snake meat with the Divine Condor every day. Even though the meat of a whole Bodhi snake only yielded one-tenth the potency of a single snake gallbladder, her skills and strength still improved significantly.

"Rong'er, you have amazing skills!" Li Mochou's eyes lit up, and she slapped the table in admiration.

"You flatter me." Huang Rong smiled sweetly at Li Mochou, then grinned at the innkeeper: "Boss, what do you think of my skills?"

As a businessman, how could the boss not know what Huang Rong meant?
He glanced at the three copper coins embedded in the beam, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and said in a trembling voice:
"This... the Han River Gang has two or three hundred good men, no, bad men. On the surface, they are a boat gang on the Han River, but in reality... they occasionally engage in river banditry and also run brothels and gambling dens along the river, collecting their share of the profits. They are a great scourge."

Huang Rong asked again:

"Does the Han River Gang have any experts?"

Since the innkeeper had already spoken, he simply spilled everything out like beans from a bamboo tube:
"Cao Song, the leader of the Han River Gang, nicknamed 'River-Turning Dragon,' is incredibly skilled in martial arts. He wields a nine-ringed broadsword, and a dozen or so strong men can't even get close to him. The second leader, 'Black-Clad Scholar' Shen Qingshi, is adept at using an iron-bone-broken fan and can also throw hidden weapons, hitting his target every time within ten paces. The third leader, 'Water Leopard' Zhang Yong, is skilled with a pair of water-splitting daggers and is unparalleled in bravery. That Master Zhang we just saw is Zhang Yong's cousin..."

As the innkeeper recounted the story, Li Mochou, who had just been full of bravado and claimed to be fearless, gradually became restless.

She originally thought that Master Zhang would only have a dozen or twenty people at most, maybe twenty or thirty, but she never expected that the Han River Gang would actually be a large gang of two or three hundred people, with many skilled martial artists in the gang...

Even though Li Mochou was quite confident in her martial arts skills, the thought of being surrounded by several skilled martial artists and two or three hundred strong men made her break out in a cold sweat, and she felt uneasy and lost her confidence.

She's never seen anything like this before!
Although unwilling to lose face in front of her newly acquainted younger sister Huang Rong, Li Mochou forced herself to maintain her composure, but her already fair cheeks became even paler, and her lips involuntarily pursed tightly.

Huang Rong, of course, noticed Li Mochou's embarrassment and secretly found it amusing:

This Mochou sister is initially brave but then backs down, yet she stubbornly tries to maintain her composure and doesn't want to lose face, which is quite amusing.

Yes, it was quite amusing how he acted like a chivalrous knight-errant despite being a complete novice.

He then said with a smile:
"Two or three hundred people is nothing special. As long as you have good lightness skills, you can come and go freely, let alone two or three hundred people, or even two or three thousand. Sister Mochou, don't you agree?"

"Ah? Yes, that's right!" Li Mochou forced herself to remain calm and said, "That's right, with good lightness skills, two or three thousand people are nothing."

After saying that, he quickly poured himself a glass of wine to calm his nerves.

At the same time, I comforted myself: I have excellent lightness skills. It's hard to say about two or three thousand people, but two or three hundred people should be... no problem, right?
Huang Rong almost burst out laughing when she saw her drinking to calm her nerves.

Lu Chen couldn't suppress his smile and quickly poured himself a glass of wine to hide it.

At this moment, Huang Rong spoke up again, offering some words of comfort to Li Mochou:
"However, for such a small matter, the Han River Gang wouldn't come out in full force. I guess that Master Zhang can at most invite his third-in-command, 'Water Leopard' Zhang Yong, who is his cousin, and maybe a few dozen more people."

Li Mochou's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly:

"Yes, yes, that's definitely right!"

Regardless of the truth, this is the only way she can comfort herself for now.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the inn, followed by a large crowd rushing in.

Leading the way was a young man of medium build, wiry and agile, with a hooked nose and sharp eyes, two water-splitting daggers hanging from his waist. The man who had appeared earlier, Master Zhang, walked briskly beside this young man, and upon entering, he sneered at Li Mochou:
"That little wench is incredibly audacious! She actually waited and didn't run away! See this one?"

He pointed a thumb at the young man beside him and laughed arrogantly:
"This is Zhang Yong, the third leader of our Hanshui Gang, also known as Water Leopard! If you know what's good for you, quickly kowtow and beg for forgiveness, and you might have a way out! Otherwise, we'll cripple your martial arts and send you to a brothel to be a bride every night!"

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(End of this chapter)