Chapter 182: A Relative Eight Bamboo Poles Away

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi hadn't even entered the main hall when he cursed, "Qiao Er, if you've lost your mind and are deceiving everyone, I'll beat the shit out of you!"

After cursing, he stepped into the main hall in one stride, and instantly froze solid.

Everyone behind him also clearly saw the situation inside the main hall.

The chaotic noise vanished instantly; everyone stared at the two craft objects that had finally returned to normal, their eyes wet—surely the wind in the main hall was too strong and got in my eyes.

The two ancestors have finally stopped going mad!

We are saved.

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi grabbed the shop assistant Qiao Er from behind and pulled him out: "Go immediately and find someone to request medicine!"

Qiao Er was dumbfounded: "Ah?"

Where on earth am I supposed to find someone to request medicine in such a short time?

Qiao Er suddenly looked at Lang Xiao Ba: "Captain Lang, why don't you try requesting medicine?"

"What are you talking about!" Lang Xiao Ba flew into a rage. Are you cursing that I am sick, or cursing that someone in my family is sick?

Qiao Er repeatedly apologized, then walked out with a worried frown; before long, he dragged a familiar assistant from the neighboring shop.

"Help us out, just request any medicine at all."

That person's family happened to have a patient, so he knelt before the Heart-Weighing Scale: "My third aunt's maternal fourth cousin's mother-in-law has been ill for seven or eight days; I request medicine for her."

Then he took ten copper coins from his chest and placed them on the scale pan.

He hesitated for a moment, then added two more coins on top.

Absolutely no more than that!

In the past, for this kind of medicine requester, without even the two craft objects acting out, the people of the Third Lady Society would have thrown him out.

If all medicine requesters were like you, would the Third Lady Society be left drinking the northwest wind?

His own son was sick, yet he found a distant relative who was a mere eight bamboo poles away to request medicine; originally costing several hundred taels, it could be settled for a few dozen cash.

But this time, no one in the Third Lady Society moved; they watched the two craft objects with eager eyes.

The Heart-Weighing Scale hesitated for a moment.

In the past, it would have slapped all twelve copper coins from the scale pan right onto this person's face!

Then it would have whipped him hard with the scale beam.

Are you here to mock your Scale Master?

But today was different from the past.

That one is watching from the side.

We must maintain the image of working seriously.

The scale pan of the Heart-Weighing Scale sank down, and two more copper coins flew out from inside, returned to the person.

That relative of yours is worth at most ten cash in your heart.

The extra two cash are for Qiao Er's sake.

The Hundred Diseases Cabinet clattered open a drawer; Qiao Er hurried to look, and sure enough, there was a pill inside. He took it out and handed it to the person, adding a sincere, "Thank you!"

The entire Third Lady Society cheered: "It's fixed, the craft objects are really fixed!"

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi was extremely excited: "Quick, quick, quick, hang up the signboard; our Huode Jishitang is reopening!"

At this moment, everyone finally noticed that Xu Yuan stood to the side with a group of people from the Filth-Dispelling Bureau.

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi clasped his hands in a bow: "Several my lords, today is truly inopportune; we have no time to attend to you all. Whatever the matter may be, please my lords come again another day.

Qiao Er, see the guests out!"

Qiao Er then made a gesture toward the doorway, a smile plastered on his face: "Apologies, apologies; this humble one will escort you all my lords out."

Xu Yuan remained expressionless, nodded, and walked out of the Huode Jishitang.

As soon as Xu Yuan stepped out the door, while Lang Xiao Ba and the others were still inside the main hall, they heard a clatter of Ding-ling-guang-lang sounds from behind.

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi, Wei Yunhua, and others screamed strangely: "Hey, hey, hey, why has the madness started again..."

Lang Xiao Ba turned around and immediately laughed.

He saw the scale beam chasing the Great Wei Wei Huoshi and whipping him.

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi dared not resist; he covered his head with both hands and fled in all directions.

But the scale beam whipped with extreme cunning; soon, red and swollen marks appeared on the back of his hands, his arms, and his face.

Xu Yuan turned around and stood just outside the threshold watching, a faint smile hanging on his face.

After whipping the Great Wei Wei Huoshi, the scale beam went to chase and beat the other Fire Masters.

The first to be hit was Wei Yunhua.

Wei Yunhua fared even worse than the Great Wei Wei Huoshi; copying the Great Wei Wei Huoshi's pose, she covered her head with both hands, but the scale beam struck her leg with a single blow.

Immediately, Wei Yunhua was beaten into a limp...

"What is going on?" the Great Wei Wei Huoshi wailed, crying out to the heavens.

Qiao Er stood at the door, in the middle of escorting the my lords of the Filth-Dispelling Bureau out.

Suddenly, he shivered all over and realized: These two ancestors started causing trouble the last time these few from the Filth-Dispelling Bureau came.

Today they came again, and these two ancestors stopped causing trouble and returned to work.

But then the Great Wei Wei Huoshi drove the people away, and the two ancestors started causing trouble again...

Qiao Er tentatively shouted at the two craft objects: "Stop beating; this humble one will immediately invite these my lords back."

As soon as those words were spoken, the scale beam hung suspended in mid-air, motionless.

Beneath the scale beam, Wei Yunhua had already fallen to the ground; a long red mark stretched across her face, and her entire face was swollen.

Qiao Er was also dumbfounded: Could it really be because of these few from the Filth-Dispelling Bureau?

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi was also bewildered: What does this mean?

Qiao Er quickly bowed to Xu Yuan: "My lord, please come in quickly."

Xu Yuan chuckled, brushed his sleeve, and strode away!

Fu Jingyu and the others followed behind, exiting the Huode Jishitang.

Lang Xiao Ba was the last one; he sneered at the assembly of the disheveled Third Lady's group: "Leave when told, come when told? How much face do you think you have, hmph!"

The people of the Quhui Office departed proudly. This time, even the Hundred Diseases Cabinet could not endure it; drawers slammed open with a clatter, trapping every single person in the main hall, including the Great Wei Wei Huoshi and Wei Yunhua, inside!

The scale pole, fuming, hissed and stabbed into the ground.

In the noisy Huode Jishitang, silence suddenly fell like death.

... After a moment, a head suddenly poked out from the doorway.

Peeking inside, he saw the main door open and the interior empty of people.

It was the perfect opportunity to use the "Pickpocket" skill!

The Huode Jishitang made plenty of money; the counter must surely hold a good deal of silver.

He crept in and was just reaching for the counter when, suddenly, with a clatter, a drawer of the Hundred Diseases Cabinet opened.

"Eh—"

The thief had only shouted once before an irresistible, terrible force swept him into the drawer.

Clang!

The drawer shut again, and inside the Huode Jishitang, tranquility was restored.

A full hour later, the Great Wei Wei Huoshi and the others were finally released.

Everyone's eyes were vacant.

It was a while before someone's eyeballs moved, slowly regaining a bit of vitality.

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi, with a grim face, called out to several people: "Qiao Er, Wei Yunhua, Tao Yu, Zheng Linchuan, come with me."

"The rest of you tidy up and close the door."

After the Great Wei Wei Huoshi and his group left, the remaining assembly members were tidying things up when they suddenly noticed: a stranger had appeared among us!

"Hm?" Everyone formed a circle, blocking the fellow in the middle.

The thief shivered, silently hugged his head, and squatted down.

Everyone had been beaten up by two Crafted Objects and was seething with anger; here was just the right outlet for their frustration!

In an instant, all fists and feet rained down on the center of the circle.

The unlucky thief: "Aaaah—"

The Great Wei Wei Huoshi led his people to the back hall, into his own room.

"Qiao Er, speak. What exactly happened?"

(End of this chapter)