Eternal madness

Chapter 20 The Wind and the Cup Collide (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Lin family guard He Shengjun, along with about ten of his men, pushed aside the bandits and slowly walked up to Yuan Kuifeng.
Yuan Kuifeng asked He Shengjun, "What did you just say was wet?"

He Shengjun smiled and said, "Miss, I was just saying that the water at this dock is deep, and I'm afraid you might slip and fall into the river and get wet while wading."

Yuan Kuifeng laughed: "I don't care if it gets wet. I need to see some splashes. If I don't bring something ashore today, I won't be able to explain myself when I get back."

He Shengjun ordered his men to prepare their equipment: "If this commotion gets out of hand, it'll be difficult to navigate on the river. Whose boat is it? Who's punting? Can't we just go our separate ways? Why do we have to come here looking for trouble?"

Yuan Kuifeng tapped his right toe on the ground and stretched his ankle: "I didn't come looking for trouble, I came to find someone!"

"This is the Lin family's property. You come here looking for someone like this? Do you think there's no one guarding this place?" He Shengjun looked around. There was a noodle vendor nearby with the fire still burning. The soup in the pot was already boiling. The vendor was squatting under the counter, not daring to move.

"The Lin family has plenty of watchdogs, I wonder if your teeth are tough enough?" Yuan Kuifeng touched the ground with his right foot, his body leaped into the air, and spun around like a whirlwind in mid-air, kicking towards He Shengjun with his toes.

If she had landed that kick, He Shengjun would have had another hole in his body. If Yuan Kuifeng had gone all out, the hole in He Shengjun's body could have been as thick as her body.

But He Shengjun didn't let her kick him.

He took a plate from the noodle stall next to him and threw it into the air, which blocked Yuan Kuifeng's toes.

The plate spun left and right, its speed constantly changing. Yuan Kuifeng's toes touched the plate, sometimes spinning with it, sometimes against it. After a while, she lost her balance, stumbled, and fell to the ground.

The unique skill of the plate-handling technique, the wind-blown plate striking the cup.

Clothing, food, housing, transportation, entertainment, agriculture, industry, education, health, and miscellaneous trades—among the 360 ​​trades, there is one called "pan-ba shi" (盘把式), also known as "shua pan shi" (耍盘式), which is a type of acrobatics.

These types of performers are best at spinning plates with thin sticks, while others use their hands directly. He Shengjun is a craftsman in this field. Just now, he used his special skill of spinning plates to make Yuan Kuifeng dizzy.

This was only half of his amazing skill; he only used the wind vane and not the cup-striking technique. If he had used the second half, Yuan Kuifeng might have been killed.

Song Yongchang stepped forward and helped Yuan Kuifeng up, then pulled out a cotton-fluffing bow from behind his back: "He Shengjun, how dare you touch our young lady!"

He Shengjun picked up a stack of plates from the noodle stall: "Old Song, send your young lady aside, let's practice properly."

Song Yongchang was no fool; he was about to make a move against He Shengjun.

Yuan Kuifeng brushed the dust off his clothes and smiled at He Shengjun, saying, "Old He, your skills have improved. I really got hurt this time."

He Shengjun quickly apologized: "I was being disrespectful. Miss was just testing me, and I took it seriously without realizing it."

Yuan Kuifeng smiled and said, "Alright, give me a way out. Chief He is a magnanimous person."

We're here today to see your third young master. He caused some trouble on our mountain a few days ago.

He Shengjun frowned slightly: "I don't understand. Our Third Young Master has difficulty walking, how did he manage to climb the mountain?"

Manager Hu chimed in from the side, "Our third young master is not only physically weak, but also mentally challenged. He couldn't possibly be going up the mountain to release rafts..."

Snapped!
He Shengjun slapped Manager Hu across the face: "Who are you calling brainless?"

In this situation, He Shengjun naturally could not tolerate Manager Hu's insults towards Lin Shao Cong.

Manager Hu dared not speak.

He Shengjun looked at Yuan Kuifeng and Song Yongchang: "The truth is right here. We need to make this clear today. Our young master has no skills and is also in poor health. How could he have gone up the mountain and provoked you?"

Song Yongchang grabbed a cotton bow and pointed it at He Shengjun, saying, "What do you think you are? A watchdog! Why should I reason with you? Hand over Lin Shaocong right now! He killed one of our brothers!"

He Shengjun twirled the plate on his fingertips: "Since you're being unreasonable, let's not waste our breath! I've already contacted the police station, they'll be here soon. Our Lin family has also sent quite a few people, they're all on their way."

"Song Yongchang, I'm putting this out there! If you can take me down in a single move, I'll admit defeat. But if you can't, none of you are leaving here today!"

Just as the two were about to start fighting, Yuan Kuifeng suddenly stepped in between them: "Old Song, look at your temper. We're here to find someone, not to cause trouble."

"Old He, we've come today to apologize to the Third Young Master. There might have been a misunderstanding between him and Old Song before, but we've cleared things up today, so it's all over."

He Shengjun found it strange; what was Yuan Kuifeng doing here?
She brought so many people that she almost overturned the dock, but now a misunderstanding has made everything go away.

Lin Shao Cong couldn't figure it out either. Not only was Yuan Kuifeng acting strangely, but Song Yongchang was also acting strangely today. This man is usually very cautious in his actions, so why is he being so flamboyant today?

Old Song was not only flamboyant, but also extremely irritable. Cotton wafted around him, and he had already surrounded He Shengjun.

This was no test; Yuan Kuifeng realized that Old Song was going to kill him.

He Shengjun wasn't intimidated at all. A dozen plates immediately soared into the air, spinning rapidly and catching all the surrounding cotton. The two had already started fighting. Yuan Kuifeng looked at Song Yongchang: "Old Song, today, are you listening to me or me?"

Song Yongchang quickly put away his bow: "I'll do whatever Miss says."

Yuan Kuifeng looked at He Shengjun again: "Head Guardian He, could you give me another way out?"

He Shengjun also put the plates away.

Yuan Kuifeng had someone bring a box of silver dollars and handed it to He Shengjun: "This is a small token of our Hunlong Village's goodwill. Please pass it on to the Third Young Master. Let bygones be bygones."

After finishing speaking, Yuan Kuifeng led his men away.

Song Yongchang was stunned for a moment; he didn't understand what Yuan Kuifeng meant.

Before coming, Yuan Kuifeng had made it clear that she had to find Lin Shaocong to give the deceased Lao Liang an explanation. Why did she change her mind now?
Could it be that Yuan Kuilong has other plans in this matter?
Song Yongchang dared not ask any more questions and could only leave the dock with Yuan Kuifeng.

With the bandits gone, Manager Hu quickly dispatched men to maintain order and reassure the passengers at the dock.

He Shengjun immediately went to the ticket office and went into the inner room.

"Young Master, are you alright? I sensed Yuan Kuifeng's ill intentions, so I just sent someone away. And who is this...?"

He Shengjun looked at Zhang Laifu, who was still holding a clay knife in his hand.

"This is my friend. We escaped down from the rafting mountain together."

He Shengjun clasped his hands in a salute, and Zhang Laifu followed suit and returned the salute.

"Dajun, please go outside and wait a moment. I have something to say to this friend."

When He Shengjun reached the door, Lin Shao Cong asked Zhang Laifu, "Why aren't you going home?"

He meant to ask Zhang Laifu why he didn't return to another state.

Zhang Laifu shook his head and said, "We can't go back. The way we came is gone."

Lin Shao Cong had never been to other states, and his knowledge of other states was limited to hearsay.

Lin Shao Cong didn't care whether Zhang Laifu went to other states or not, but the key was not to let Zhang Laifu wander around, because this man knew too much.

Where are you going by boat?

"Go to Miedao Forest and avoid those bandits."

Zhang Laifu was still wearing that dirty overcoat. Lin Shao Cong asked, "Do you have enough money for the journey?"

"I borrowed some money, which is barely enough."

"Let me arrange it for you."

Lin Shao Cong summoned He Shengjun: "Da Jun, arrange a boat for my friend to go to Miedao Forest."

He Shengjun looked at Zhang Laifu: "Brother, could I have a word with the young master alone?"

After Zhang Laifu left the ticket office, He Shengjun lowered his voice and said, "Young Master, it's probably too late to arrange a boat now. The people from Hunlong Village have already set their sights on the waterways."

Don't forget, they also have their own water fortresses, and they have spies around this dock. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to find you so quickly. If you let this kid board the ship today, he'll probably be caught before we even get to Baiwei Beach, and then things will get really messy."

Lin Shao Cong was also worried that Zhang Laifu wouldn't be able to get out of Heishakou: "How about this, you take some men and send him to Miedaolin."

He Shengjun laughed upon hearing this: "Young Master, it would be appropriate for me to go with you if you were going to the Miedao Forest. But who is he? Why should I go with him? If I go with him, who will protect you?"

Lin Shao Cong thought for a while and said, "Then let's not let him leave yet. Let him stay in Heishakou, give him some money, and arrange a more secluded place for him to stay."

He Shengjun shook his head repeatedly: "Giving him money is useless. Once the money is gone, he'll still be wandering around aimlessly. Young master, listen to me, let's just get rid of him!"

P.S.: Salad, what industry does Yuan Kuifeng work in? You still haven't told me! Is she selling spinning tops?

She doesn't sell spinning tops; she's a craftswoman, and her profession is a bit special, so it can't be explained in just a few words.

(End of this chapter)