Chapter 44: Robbery

It was already the third watch.

The Young Maid beside him kept yawning, yet she was unwilling to go to sleep herself.

Luo Zijun had no choice but to put away his brush, deciding to write again tomorrow.

He extinguished the lamp and got into bed.

Xiaohuan lowered the bed curtains and first pretended to lie down on the other side.

A moment passed.

Seeing he paid her no mind, she had no choice but to blush, crawl over from under the quilt, and curl up in his embrace.

"Young Master, the Mistress told this servant... told this servant to serve you..."

"How do you want to serve me?"

"This servant... this servant wants to..."

The young girl's face was burning hot, her voice like the humming of a mosquito.

Her small hands began to grow restless, stroking him shyly and clumsily.

"Snore... snore..."

"Young Master?"

"Snore... snore..."

"..."

The young girl pouted, looking aggrieved for a while, and had no choice but to crawl back.

After thinking for a moment, she stretched out her small foot to test the waters.

The next second, it was grabbed and held firmly in his palm.

"..."

The next day.

After Luo Zijun finished breakfast, he went straight to the Academy.

Today was the first day of class, so naturally, he could not be late.

While passing West Lake.

He could not help but look again at the pedestrians on the lakeshore and the Broken Bridge.

He wondered when Bai Niangzi would appear...

"Hmm?"

At this moment, he suddenly saw two women appear on the Broken Bridge.

Their figures were graceful, and their appearances were not bad either.

The two women were standing on the Broken Bridge, looking left and right, appearing uneasy and helpless.

Luo Zijun's heart stirred, and he walked over.

Just as he approached, the two women suddenly saw him and hurriedly walked toward him.

"This Young Master, may I ask where Ding'an Lane is?"

"We have come from a neighboring county to visit relatives and have lost our way; please, Young Master, help us, this young woman will be eternally grateful."

Both were about twenty years old, their faces covered in thick makeup.

At the same time, a heavy fragrance wafted from their bodies.

Luo Zijun looked into the eyes of one of them and heard her thinking secretly: 【Didn't expect to catch one first thing in the morning, and a scholar at that. Hmph, scholars are the most lustful and the most concerned with face; I'll make him cough up at least fifty taels later before I let him go.】

"Over there, go straight and you'll arrive."

Luo Zijun pointed in a random direction.

The woman in the blue dress hurriedly said: "Young Master, we sisters are visiting Lin'an City for the first time and really don't know the way. How about you do us a favor and escort us a little?"

The other woman in the green dress also swayed her waist and hips, saying coquettishly: "Young Master, won't you escort us, please?"

Luo Zijun thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright, I'm not in a hurry anyway."

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Both were instantly full of joy.

The woman in the green dress sneered inwardly: 【Sure enough, a lecher. I just used a little charm and he's already dizzy with infatuation. I'll make you cry when you come back later!】

Luo Zijun gave a foolish smile and led the way in front.

A moment passed.

The woman in the blue dress frowned and said: "Young Master, this road..."

"What's wrong with this road?"

Luo Zijun turned his head to ask.

The woman in the blue dress gave a dry laugh and said: "No... nothing. Um, Young Master, do you really know where Ding'an Lane is?"

Luo Zijun said with a serious face: "Of course I know, I go there often, how could I not know?"

The two women looked at each other.

This damn road is in the opposite direction of Ding'an Lane!

Could this idiot not know the way either, but is just walking randomly because he's afraid of losing face?

Luo Zijun led the two of them and continued walking forward.

Seeing that they were getting further and further away from their own lair, the woman in the green dress couldn't help but say: "Young Master, did we take the wrong road?"

Luo Zijun said with certainty: "No mistake, this is the right road."

Then he turned his head and said: "Why, do you two young ladies know this road?"

"No, we don't... how would we know it."

The two women chuckled and didn't dare to speak again.

Luo Zijun continued walking forward.

The two looked at each other, immediately huddled together, and whispered.

"This kid probably doesn't know the way either..."

"Could he be a swindler too?"

"Pfft, with that frail look of his, would we be afraid of him? Didn't you see him wearing a Confucian robe, preparing to go to the Academy? Those in the Academy are all top-tier scholars; how could he be a swindler? He probably doesn't know the way and is afraid of losing face..."

"Could it be that there really is a Ding'an Lane here?"

"I haven't heard of it. Don't worry, when we get there, we'll just say it's not the right place, make him ask someone else, and then have him lead the way again..."

"This kid is so dim-witted, he's the easiest to trick."

At this moment, Luo Zijun led the two into a small alley.

The woman in the blue dress immediately spoke up: "Young Master, this doesn't seem right... I heard from my parents that at the entrance of Ding'an Lane, there is a shop that sells sesame cakes, but there isn't one here..."

Luo Zijun continued walking forward and said, "We'll be there once we pass through this alley."

The two women looked at each other again and had no choice but to keep following behind. When they reached the middle of the alley, Luo Zijun suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at them, and said, "Huh, it seems we really did go the wrong way."

The woman in the green dress smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, Young Master. Let's go out and find the way again. With Young Master accompanying us, we sisters aren't afraid."

She sneered inwardly: This idiot, he made us walk so many unnecessary miles. Once we go back later, I'll slap his mouth hard, then demand money!

"By the way, two ladies, how much silver do you have on you?"

Luo Zijun asked suddenly.

The two women were stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant.

Luo Zijun smiled slightly, reached out his hand, and said, "Give me twenty taels of silver each, and I won't hit you."

The two: "???"

The air suddenly went silent.

"Is this Young Master tired of living?"

The woman in the blue dress finally reacted.

This kid actually wanted to rob them!

That's outrageous!

!

That's defying the heavens!

"Slap!"

"Slap!"

Without any warning, Luo Zijun directly slapped the two of them to the ground with two fierce strikes!

Then he searched them for silver.

"You little bastard! I'll kill you!"

The woman in the green dress immediately pulled a Dagger from her person, gritting her teeth.

However, before she could make a move, Luo Zijun had already smashed his fist into her nose with a "bang," sending her seeing stars and blood splattering, and the Dagger in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter."

Luo Zijun picked up the Dagger and began searching her body.

The woman in the blue dress screamed in a panic: "Help! Help..."

"Bang!"

Luo Zijun punched her right in the mouth, knocking out two of her front teeth.

"If you scream again, I'll beat you to death!"

Luo Zijun threatened viciously.

"Wuu..."

The woman in the blue dress had blood flowing from her mouth, her face full of pain and terror, and she didn't dare to scream again.

Luo Zijun went to search her body again.

Soon, he found fifteen taels of silver on the two of them.

"Slap! Slap!"

Luo Zijun put away the silver and the Dagger, and gave each of them another loud slap.

"Poor wretches!"

After scolding them, he stood up and said, "Remember to report this to the authorities; your men at home are still waiting to eat prison food."

As soon as these words were spoken, the two women were shocked and realized what he meant.

"No... we won't report it..."

The woman in the blue dress said with a trembling voice.

Luo Zijun ignored them further, turned around, and prepared to leave.

Who would have thought that at the entrance of a residence ahead, a person was standing there, staring at him with a stunned expression.

Luo Zijun kept his composure and walked forward.

As he passed that figure, he waved and greeted her: "Good morning, Sister Ziyin."

Then he added: "Go call Brother Xu out. Brother Xu should know them; perhaps he will pity them and send them home."

After finishing, he walked away quickly.

Xu Ziyin stood at the entrance, staring at his back for a while, then turned her head to look at the two poor women who had been robbed clean, their mouths full of blood.

Carrying a huge fortune of eighteen taels of silver, Luo Zijun soon arrived at the West Lake Academy.

He went straight to the classroom.

While walking along a cobblestone path, a surprised and exaggerated voice suddenly came from the side: "Brother Luo!"

Wang Dafu, dressed in gold and jade, ran over with his belly protruding, saying with an excited face: "You kid are truly amazing! If Brother Su hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that you had already been admitted to our Academy by special exception! Was your Examination Paper for the scholar exam really that impressive? Did it even conquer the admissions teachers of our Academy?"

"Just luck, just luck."

Luo Zijun was very humble.

"Luck my ass! If you're talented, you're talented, why be humble? I, your brother, like making friends with talented people the most. From now on, you are my, Wang Dafu's, own brother! In the future, if there's anything you can't handle in this Academy, your brother will help you! If anyone bullies you, just come find your brother!"

Wang Dafu was all smiles, directly putting his arm around his shoulder, acting very intimate.

Luo Zijun said: "Really? If I encounter trouble in the Academy in the future, can I use Brother Wang's name?"

"Of course you can!"

Wang Dafu patted his chest, looking proud: "In this Academy, there is no one who dares not give your brother face! Once the name Wang Dafu is spoken, those cowards are guaranteed to be scared out of their wits, fleeing in terror!"

Luo Zijun immediately flattered him: "Brother Wang is truly awesome!"

"Hehe, that's right!"

Wang Dafu chuckled, even more pleased with himself.

"By the way, Brother Luo, are you preparing to go to the schoolhouse? I heard from Su Bie that Teacher Yuan put you in our class?"

Luo Zijun said: "Yes."

Wang Dafu immediately laughed: "Let's go, your brother will take you there."

They walked for a while.

Wang Dafu suddenly said: "By the way, Brother Luo, the Academy is on break tomorrow, and our schoolhouse has an activity; we are going on a spring outing. Our class is planning to visit Hanshan Temple and pay respects to the Buddha while we're at it. You'll probably go too, right?"

"Hanshan Temple?"

Hearing this name, Luo Zijun's heart suddenly tightened.

That day, when he went out to make house calls with his master, a man had gone to Hanshan Temple, and after returning, he had nightmares and nocturnal emissions every day, became thin as a rail, and finally breathed his last.

Below that man's navel, there was a spider mark.

Master said it might be a demon at work.

There might be a demon at Hanshan Temple!

"I heard from Brother Su that Brother Xu will also go tomorrow. Hehe, Brother Xu has been having terrible luck lately, so he probably wants to go pay respects to the Buddha and pray for some good fortune."

Wang Dafu added.

Upon hearing this, Luo Zijun secretly thought it was bad!

(End of this chapter)