Chapter 199 - 191: Robbery
Chapter 199: Chapter 191: Robbery
Not far away, two men were squatting by the street, gnawing on buns. They were dressed in rags, their faces filthy, looking like refugees from the south. When they saw the silver in his hand, their eyes practically glowed with greed.
Bai Dazhu and Bai Erzhu bought some meat and hurried out of the city. Bai Erzhu said, "Brother, this silver is pretty heavy to carry. Why don’t you let me hold one of the ingots?"
Bai Dazhu shook his head. "It’s not heavy. Not at all. I could carry ten more and they wouldn’t feel heavy."
Bai Erzhu said, "Brother, I’ve never even touched a ten-tael silver ingot in my entire life. Let me have the thrill of holding it, just for a bit! Once we get home, we have to give it to Mother, and I’ll never get another chance."
That made sense. Since they had to give it to their mother when they got back anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to let him hold it for a while.
So, Bai Dazhu handed a ten-tael silver ingot to Bai Erzhu, reminding him to hold it tight and not to drop it under any circumstances.
The two brothers walked gleefully out of the city, their minds occupied solely by the silver they carried. They failed to notice two furtive figures following them out of the city gates.
Once outside the city, the two brothers picked up their pace. The sun was already low in the western sky, and they hoped to make it home before it set completely. Otherwise, the road would be pitch-black. Forgetting the risk of bandits, even a wild animal jumping out of nowhere would be enough to scare a man to death.
After they turned from the main road onto a mountain path, the number of people dwindled until there was no one else in sight. By this hour, any villagers who had gone into the city from the mountains would have long since returned home.
Feeling a sense of urgency, the two quickened their pace even more, completely oblivious to the two people who had been trailing them the entire time.
After they had walked some distance along the mountain path, they were surrounded by wilderness. Aside from themselves, there wasn’t another soul in sight.
The men following them suddenly rushed forward, positioning themselves to block the brothers from the front and back, cutting off their path.
Bai Dazhu’s expression changed. "What are you doing? Who are you?"
The man behind Bai Dazhu kicked him squarely in the rear, nearly sending him sprawling to the ground.
"You’ve got ten taels of silver on you, right? C’mere, let me have a look. Let’s see if *I* can’t spend it for you."
Hearing that, even a fool could understand what they were after. Bai Dazhu roared, "In broad daylight, you dare to commit highway robbery? Do you have no respect for the law?"
"The law?" The man burst out laughing, laughing so hard tears almost flew from his eyes. "Can you eat the law? I can’t even get a full meal, so why the hell should I care about the law? I need to survive. *That* is the only law."
Seeing the expressions on the two men grow more and more vicious, Bai Dazhu, despite being a big and tall man, couldn’t help but feel a chill of fear.
"What is it you want?" Bai Dazhu asked.
"What do we want? We want your money, of course. Hand it over nicely and you can spare yourself a beating. If you don’t... hmph, hmph."
But how could Bai Dazhu possibly agree? This was their family’s life-saving money. Without it, they could become homeless—they’d become refugees themselves.
"In your dreams!" Bai Dazhu shoved the man in front of him aside and tried to bolt, but the man behind him grabbed him around the waist and slammed him to the ground.
Seeing this, Bai Erzhu took to his heels, running faster than a rabbit.
The two men didn’t bother chasing him. They figured the silver was on Bai Dazhu, so there was no point going after the other one. As long as they got the money from him, their work was done.
Bai Dazhu was beaten mercilessly. One man pinned him to the ground while the other rained down blows with both fists, beating his face so badly that his own mother and wife wouldn’t have recognized him.
Not only had he been beaten senseless, but the remaining silver on him had also been stolen. Had he known this would be the result, he would have been better off just giving it to them directly; at least he wouldn’t have had to suffer this severe beating.