Chapter 15 – Inside the Thousand Gold Hall
Chapter 015 Inside the Thousand Gold Hall
As it was, all the members of the Dugu Family share a specific habit, and that was their extreme protectiveness towards their ‘weak link’. This is especially true of Dugu Xiaoyi’s father, Dugu Wudi. His overprotectiveness has reached the point of being unreasonable, causing him to be labelled as the kingdom’s first “tough shank”. If anyone were to bully his only daughter, he would even go so far as to mobilize his entire army to retaliate.
[TL: Tough shank is used to replace “滚刀肉”= gǔn dāo ròu. Its Chinese meaning is “a very tough piece of meat”. It means someone who is very hard to deal with.]
A ‘tough shank’ who would recklessly mobilize the army, disregarding the rules; who in their right mind would dare to provoke him? Even though Jun Moxie was under Jun Zhan Tian’s protection, Dugu Xiaoyi still dared to give him a beating. This did not mean that Grandpa Jun was incapable of reining in the Great General Dugu Wudi. The fact was that if Grandpa Jun were to mobilize his own army, then Grandfather Dugu would definitely make an appearance. And the reason for that was because the Great General Dugu Wudi’s overprotective nature was simply inherited from none other than the old Grandfather Dugu! That was also why the person that Jun Moxie’s memories feared most would be Grandpa Jun followed by Dugu Xiaoyi… Oh, wait! It’s the other way round. The number one most fearsome person would be Dugu Xiaoyi, while his Grandpa Jun ranked second. After all, the most his grandfather would do to him was preach to him, unwilling to actually hurt him. However, such was not the case with this horrifying ‘aunty’. If he was to fall into her hands, he would be thrashed… thrashed for no reason at all!
If even someone of Jun Moxie’s background dared not provoke this ‘gigantic’ figure, then the other debauchee’s were not even worth mentioning!
And now, that precious princess of the Dugu Family actually came here on her own…
“There’s nothing I could do about it,” Jun Xie slanted his head, pointing towards his ears where a soft white hand remained, twisting his ear. “Just look at me, is there anything I could do about it? If any of you have any good ideas, then by all means please go ahead. Just do not drag me into it!”
“What is wrong? Are you not going to welcome me? Or do you think that this lady do not have any money?” Dugu Xiaoyi stared at them, pulling out her purse and smugly shook it to show them. Raising her eyebrows, she said: “This senior lady have plenty of money!”
The entire group of debauchees faltered, almost crapping in their pants. So, you have plenty of money? But the problem is: Who dares to earn your money? Whoever wins against you will get a ‘visit’ from your old man and his army, coming to collect their debt. And that is the best case scenario! If your old grandpa happens to be in the mood and decides to make a trip here… aren’t we as good as dead?
Tang Yuan did not care what they were thinking in their hearts, his eyes blazed with fiery light: “Let’s not sweat the small stuff, just return me my item! Third Young Master Jun is here and he will not run away! You all promised me! A real man is a man of trust! Those who are untrustworthy have no right to stand between Heaven and Earth!”
Listening to the fatty’s last words, even someone with Jun Xie’s ever calm emotions nearly puked. You actually dare to claim that you are a real man? Please do not degrade the value of real men!
Among the six young men, there was one who remained calm. This person is Li Feng, the grandson of the Grand Preceptor Li Shang. The other two behind him are Li Zhen and Li Lin respectively; all three were brothers. Standing beside him is a slim looking young man. Sporting a pair of thin moustache and a pair of deep eyes, he is Meng Haizou, the eldest son of the Minister of Personnel, Meng Jianghu. He is reputed to be a person of high talent. Behind him stood another two members of the Meng Family, Meng Liang and Meng Fei.
Li Feng was all smiles as he said: “For Miss Dugu to personally pay a visit, how can I not welcome you? Please enter.” After saying that, he turned and ordered. “Serve Miss Dugu properly! If Miss Dugu becomes displeased, then I’ll peel off your skin!” He turned his head, this time his face was all smiles again as he winked at Meng Haizou. “Since Third Young Master Jun is here, then we should also conclude our little joke. Look at how anxious Master Tang is, he is already sweating. A real man is born between Heaven and Earth, how can we be untrustworthy. Give him that item.”
Meng Haizou nodded and turned towards Tang Yuan. “Master Tang, I can give you the item. However, the one million and five hundred thousand silver liangs cannot be reduced!” Tang Yuan was only here to get back the promissory note. As for the one and a half million silver liangs, he did not care about it in the slightest even though it was not a small sum. Once he heard Meng Haizou’s words, he agreed repeatedly.
Calmly observing from the side, Jun Xie sneered in his heart. There was no doubt that Tang Yuan was scared senseless by this matter, but those two may not necessarily be without any qualms. Even if Tang Yuan did not invite him here, they would not have the guts to publicize the details of the promissory note. Doing so will only invite the wrath of both the Tang and Sun Families, possibly causing the two families to regard them as blood enemies. The final outcome of doing so would be absolute disaster! If one were to consider all the details, then one would realize that this matter was in fact not as big as it seemed. The final goal was still none other than Jun Moxie!
However, that problematic outcome will disappear once Tang Yuan takes back the promissory note. After which, they will certainly start spreading rumours about the note, using those rumours to strike a blow at the Tang Family. This matter was something he could already foresee.
“What kind of item can make Young Master Tang so anxious? Let me see! Let me have an eye-opening experience!” Dugu Xiaoyi clearly did not want to be left out, her curiosity soared. Seeing Tang Yuan face suddenly becoming relieved after receiving a piece of paper, she was suddenly curious and reached out with her small, white hand.
Tang Yuan’s face turned miserable. He quickly shoved the piece of paper into his mouth and swallowed it down after just chewing it twice. His face then turned innocent as he smacked his lips. That action happened at lightning speed as his fat neck actually stretched out like a giraffe!
“Bloody… fatty… you dare mess with me? You have some guts!” Dugu Xiaoyi rushed out in anger. She grabbed Tang Yuan’s collar, actually lifting up the near 400 jin body up into the air and shouted: “Spit it out!”
[TL: 1 jin = 0.60479 kg. That’s 241 kg she’s lifting!]
The seven people, Jun Xie included, watched as their eyebrows twitched uncontrollably. They secretly swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva, their lips crooked, their eyes slanted, their lips blue and faces white.
“Oh, Miss Dugu, this matter is actually nothing much. This matter started from Third Young Master Jun. Since his grandfather grounded Third Young Master Jun, he was unable to come out, causing us to miss him. So, we initiated a bet with Master Tang earlier. We wrote the following words ‘coming or not’ on a piece of paper. If Third Young Master Jun does not come, then I promised to eat the paper. But if Third Young Master Jun did come, then Master Tang would eat it. Yes, this matter is actually that simple. Master Tang is truly a real man, truly a man of his words, ha ha!” Meng Haizou laughed twice as he quickly came out to smooth things over. This man truly possessed some talent, to be able to make up this seamless story on the spot. If Fatty Tang were to vomit out the paper and let it fall into the hands of Dugu Xiaoyi, then this matter will really blow up!
Jun Xie raised an eyebrow, secretly observing Meng Haizou and thinking to himself. This man could come up with such a seamless excuse in such a short period of time and say it out with a straight face and steady heart. A man with guts, rational thought process and the ability to act, he truly is an exceptional talent. Truth be told, Jun Xie had for an instant, wanted to secretly cause Fatty Tang to vomit out the paper. Borrowing Dugu Xiaoyi’s power, this matter will turn into a bloody storm. However, even though Fatty Tang was unworthy, he was still Jun Moxie’s best friend. Besides, Jun Xie had absolute confidence in his ability to easily rein in these few debauchees. In the end, he had to reluctantly give up on the idea. But… But I really want to… I really want… … … Sigh!
Dugu Xiaoyi looked at them with a sceptical stare as they suddenly nodded furiously like chickens pecking down on rice. “That’s true, that is exactly what happened.” After that, she released Tang Yuan.
Tang Yuan’s face was purple due to the earlier bout of strangulation; he released a successive number of retching sounds. Fearing that he might end up vomiting out the piece of paper, he forcefully refrained himself.
“Dear guests, please come inside,” As the owner of the residence, Li Feng invited them in.
Exuding an arrogant and domineering attitude, Jun Xie smiled and marched inside. He propped himself onto a grand chair and raised his legs. His current posture emanated the image of a standard rogue, fully equipped with the typical dissolute attitude.
Dugu Xiaoyi’s eyebrows frowned. This image of Jun Moxie suddenly felt sore on her eyes, she almost felt like rushing up there to kick him a few.
“Well, haven’t you guys been missing me? As it so happens, I was also missing you… your money,” Jun Xie smiled an evil smile. “How do you guys want to play? Just tell me.”