"How did you get a hundred taels?"
In just a few days, Zhao Ji managed to get a hundred taels. Wei Shuxuan thought that with money coming in so fast, the source was probably not very legitimate.
Zhao Ji gave a soft chuckle, his eyes filled with endless gloom. He lowered his head to look at his own leg, his tone tinged with a touch of nostalgia.
"I guess you already know about my lameness."
He turned his head to look at Wei Shuxuan, who met his gaze and nodded.
At that time, when Zhao Ji learned that his younger sister had already left this world, he completely collapsed. He was determined to take his sister's body away and give her a proper burial. However, to his surprise, Mama Zhang of Cuiqing Tower didn't even spare the dead. She demanded that Zhao Ji bring a hundred taels before she would return Zhao Mi's body.
He was just a beggar. Where could he get a hundred taels? Moreover, even if he asked his friends around him to borrow money, he couldn't borrow that much. Besides, he had already bothered them a great deal. How could he have the nerve to ask them for more?
Zhao Ji was very calm. From the moment he knew his sister had become a corpse, he felt extremely calm. Even when Mama Zhang asked him to bring a hundred taels to exchange for Zhao Mi's body, he didn't get angry. Instead, he tightened his lips and turned away.
However, no one saw the coldness that settled in Zhao Ji's eyes the moment he turned around.
After leaving Cuiqing Tower, he was a bit lost, not knowing where to find a hundred taels. But the money he got from begging, he didn't know how many years, months, and days it would take to raise a hundred taels.
Maybe it was God showing mercy on Zhao Ji. It quietly gave him a chance.
One evening two days later, Zhao Ji was counting the coins in his bowl. In a whole day, he could only beg for at most one tael of silver. At this rate, even if he spent a year, he didn't know if he could raise a hundred taels.
So, this wouldn't work. Zhao Ji decided to find a job that could give him a hundred taels right away. Even if the means of that job were not very proper, he was going to give it a try.
Holding the one tael of silver he had begged for that day, Zhao Ji originally planned to go back to the dilapidated temple to rest. But just then, two young men walked towards him. The taller one had blood at the corner of his mouth and walked with a limp. The other man beside him was supporting the injured one and kept muttering non - stop.
"I said why did you do such a dangerous thing? If you don't have money, you can ask me to borrow! Look at all these injuries on you. If Auntie sees this, she'll be sad again."
"Please... please don't tell my mother, cough cough..." The tall man coughed, and a little more blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. "There's no other way. I can't always ask you for money. I can get a lot of money by fighting in illegal boxing matches. Then I'll have money to buy bird's nest for my mother."
"You're really..."
Zhao Ji stood in front of the two men, his eyes blazing. "Please tell me where the illegal boxing match is held. I'm in urgent need of money."
Maybe Zhao Ji's gaze was too determined. It made the two young men stunned. When the tall man met Zhao Ji's eyes, having experienced the same thing, he understood. "Okay, I'll take you there."
The two young men took Zhao Ji to a house in a hidden location. From the outside, the house didn't look special, but there were guards at the door. The guard recognized the two young men. "Why are you two back again? Haven't you earned enough money?"
"Big Brother Guard is joking with us again. We're just bringing a friend here this time. Originally, we were going to bring him to participate, but this guy is so stupid that he got lost. So we can only bring him here now."
The other young man spoke. From his conversation with the guard, it could be seen that he was a rather smooth - talking person.
"Alright, alright. Considering we know each other, we brothers will let him in."
"I wonder how many more matches are there inside?"
"Probably three more. If you want to participate, go quickly. You take him there."
The guard who had talked to the young man gave instructions to another young fellow standing behind him. The young fellow immediately understood. "This way, please."
Zhao Ji followed the young fellow in. The young fellow asked him, "Go over there and register. They'll call you up later."
"Okay, thank you."
After the young fellow left, Zhao Ji went over to register his name. He stood under the stage and listened to the person who registered him explain the basic rules.
The only requirement was to throw the opponent off the stage, regardless of life or death.
The last sentence was the key point. Zhao Ji couldn't help but frown.
"If you win, you can get five hundred taels. Please do your best."
Zhao Ji watched coldly as the people on the stage fought each other. The strength gap in this match was a bit large, and the winner was quickly determined.
"Next pair, Wang Le vs. Zhao Ji. Please choose your weapons before going on stage."
Zhao Ji didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon. He thought he might not get his turn. He saw that his opponent was a man a bit more muscular than him. His weapon was a wooden stick. Zhao Ji looked at the weapon rack and chose a long spear. He had practiced with a long spear before, so he should still remember a bit.
"Start!"
At the beginning, Wang Le took the initiative. Zhao Ji got hit by several heavy blows from the stick for no reason, and he was still a bit rusty in wielding the long spear.
Wang Le saw that Zhao Ji didn't seem very good at martial arts and was eager to end the match quickly. He attacked Zhao Ji one after another. Several blows landed on Zhao Ji's feet. But Zhao Ji thought of his sister. He couldn't lose on this stage like this!
While Wang Le was attacking, Zhao Ji raised his long spear and stabbed it into Wang Le's knee! Wang Le winced in pain and knelt on one knee. But he gritted his teeth and stood up again, continuing to attack Zhao Ji with the wooden stick. Due to the pain in his body, Zhao Ji couldn't dodge in time and got hit several more times, making him grimace in pain.
But this pain on his body was nothing compared to the pain his sister had suffered.
Suddenly, Zhao Ji stood up, dropped the long spear in his hand, and rushed straight at Wang Le. Wang Le obviously didn't expect Zhao Ji to do this. He was so scared that he didn't know how to react for a moment. When he finally came to his senses, the long stick in his hand was already under Zhao Ji's control.
Wang Le looked up and saw Zhao Ji's red - eyed eyes, like a wild beast that had lost its rationality. It made him feel afraid. Just as he was about to open his mouth to beg for mercy, he was beaten severely by the wooden stick in Zhao Ji's hand, and he scurried around with his head in his arms.
Just then, Wang Le gritted his teeth and caught the wooden stick that Zhao Ji was swinging down...