Chapter 7: Murder Without Guilt

  Hui Bin Building, the largest and most luxurious restaurant in Zhenping County. Li Mengsheng and Zhao Lianzhu, who had changed into new clothes, felt very good and sat down at the largest table on the second floor. The waiter, seeing their dignified appearance, thought they were big customers and hurried over to greet them: "Two gentlemen, how many guests are you inviting today? Our banquet is five yuan, and we'll also give you two catties of Xifeng wine."

  "Just the two of us will eat," said Lianzhu.

  The fellow's enthusiasm was immediately dampened. "How much food can just the two of us eat?" he asked. They were also taking up a large table for no reason. The waiter's expression changed, and he said, "Can you two switch tables? This big table is reserved for our big customers."

  "Bang!" With a loud slap, Lian Zhu slammed his hand on the table and shouted: "I'm the big customer! Whether it's wild game from the mountains, geese from the clouds, cattle and sheep from the fields, or fresh seafood from the bottom of the sea, bring me whatever dish is expensive, I don't care if I have no money to pay the bill, what I fear is that it won't taste good!"

  The boss, seeing the vast ocean, had a warm smile on his face and said: "We are the best restaurant within fifty miles, I guarantee you two will be satisfied! You two have some tea first, I'll go report the dishes right away." He busily ran downstairs to report the dishes.

  "How dare you squander money like that? Don't you know this guy is cheating you? And yet you're still falling for it! Idiot!" Meng Sheng scolded.

  "We're really down on our luck now. If someone had said that to me in the past, I would have smashed up this restaurant!" Lian Zhuang said indignantly.

  "Didn't you ever see me smashing up someone's restaurant when we were prosperous?" Meng Sheng said.

  "Heh heh, it's been several days since we've had a full meal, and when people are hungry, their temper gets worse." Lianzhu said with embarrassment.

  As they spoke, the waiter had quickly laid out six cold dishes and brought a bottle of Xifeng wine, saying: "You two gentlemen eat first, I'll go get you some hot dishes!"

  In a short while, eight hot dishes, one stewed dish and a bowl of soup were brought up. Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu didn't care about the strange looks from the surrounding guests, and started devouring the food like wolves, burying their heads in eating.

  As they were eating, Meng Sheng felt something was off. He looked up to see that the entire second floor had only their table of customers left, and all the other customers had disappeared without a trace. Just as he was wondering what was going on, more than twenty people in gray military uniforms rushed up from the stairs, surrounding him and Lian Zhu. Meng Sheng thought to himself: This is bad, it must be that last night's incident has been exposed!

  At this time, two more people came up from upstairs. One was a thin and tall man in his fifties with a small mustache, wearing a horse coat and a melon skin hat, dressed as a teacher; the other wore gray military uniform, although not very tall, but had a big belly and a round waist, with a meaty face, also around forty years old.

  "How dare you steal food on Laozi's turf, it's like Lao Shouxing eating arsenic, he's tired of living!" The short and ugly man said with a gloomy face.

  Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu quickly got up, Meng Sheng cupped his hands and bowed: "This gentleman must have mistaken us for someone else? We two are merchants going to Xi'an to do business, today we just arrived in your county, don't know what we did wrong to offend you."

  "Come up!" The dwarf shouted, the fat man who was extorted by Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu last night poked his head out at the stairs and said: "It's these two kids! Master Zheng, you must do me justice!"

  "Take him away and talk later!" The dwarf waved his hand, and seven or eight men rushed towards Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu.

  Neither of them was willing to surrender, and they began to use the tactics they had learned in the military camp. "Bang bang" a burst of sound, in the blink of an eye, these seven or eight people were all knocked to the ground, shouting "Ah ya ma ya" in disarray.

  "Still two more! Come on!" The dwarf shouted, rushing towards Meng Sheng himself, while the others rushed towards Lian Zhu.

  Meng Sheng thought: This is a crime, if it falls into their hands, they will be skinned alive. Let's fight! He rushed forward towards the dwarf. The dwarf punched Meng Sheng in the face, but Meng Sheng dodged to the side and grabbed the dwarf's neck with his right hand. When someone's neck is grabbed, they always involuntarily swallow, and the dwarf was no exception. Meng Sheng felt the dwarf's Adam's apple move up, and he pinched the dwarf's throat with his thumb and index finger. With a slight effort, the dwarf's throat was crushed, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. The dwarf fell to the ground, gasping for air, and it seemed like he wouldn't survive.

  The move used by Meng Sheng was taught by an old soldier, and it didn't require much skill, as long as the hands were fast. The fake choke was a feint, aiming to make the person produce a swallowing motion, taking advantage of the moment when the throat muscles tensed up and pressed against the throat, then using force to create a borrowing power effect, easily crushing the throat. Unfortunately, that fool's kung fu hadn't even been used yet before he lost his life.

  The people around looked at Meng Sheng, who had killed someone with a single move, and were all shocked. Those who were fighting against Lian Zhuang also didn't dare to make a move, and they all retreated in succession. Meng Sheng saw that he had killed someone, his legs trembled slightly, his mind was blank, and Lian Zhuang was at a loss, staring at the corpse of the thug on the ground.

  "Good kung fu! I admire you! I admire you! Are the two young brothers willing to have a couple of drinks with me?" said the old man dressed as a master.

  Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu had not yet recovered from the shock of killing someone, and were held by Shi Ye to sit on a chair. The rest of the people lifted the corpse out with all their might, and the shopkeeper came up to rearrange the dishes on the table.

  "Where did you little brother come from?" the old man asked.

  Meng Sheng's soul was still unsettled, and he said: "Who are you, sir? Was the person I just killed Old Man Zheng?"

  "Haha, I am Zheng Nancheng. The one who just died was the captain of my security team and used to be my second-in-command. May I ask for your honorable surnames?" Zheng Nancheng said politely.

  "My name is Li Mengsheng, and this is my sworn brother Zhao Lianzhu." Mengsheng surprisingly revealed his real name.

  "A life for a life, I am willing to plead guilty and accept punishment." Meng Sheng continued to mutter to himself. He was still immersed in the terror of his emotions, a vibrant life destroyed by his own hands in an instant. How could he have done such a thing? He had always abhorred violence, let alone using it to destroy someone's life. But if he hadn't killed him, that man would surely have taken his own life. A person as cruel as him probably wouldn't be heartbroken over his death anyway?

  "Haha, what I say is the law of Zhenping County! He's arrogant and incompetent, you killed him by mistake, what crime is that?!" Zheng Nan Cheng laughed loudly.

  Meng Sheng heard this and slightly calmed down, saying: "I am young and reckless, often offending others, I hope Master Zheng will show mercy and forgive my sins."

  "Then I forgive you!" said Old Master Zheng with a smile. He advised Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu to drink a cup of wine, then continued: "The dragon's eye can recognize pearls, the phoenix's eye can recognize treasures, but the cow's eye only recognizes hay. As a humble person who has been wandering in the red dust for over 50 years, I have met countless people and have some ability to observe and recognize people. Looking at you two young heroes, your demeanor is majestic and extraordinary, especially Li Gongzi, although his face appears disheveled and his eyebrows are gloomy, but he has a subtle aura of a king. He must be the descendant of a noble family. Although I don't know why you two have fallen on hard times and drifted to this county, I think you also wouldn't want to mention it, and I don't want to pry into other people's secrets either. Now that my second brother has been killed by Li Gongzi, the security team of the town is leaderless, and I'm afraid the bandits nearby will rise again. The common people cannot be without a reliance for even one day. I wonder if Li Gongzi would be willing to take on this responsibility of protecting the peace in this region?"

  Mr. Zheng's flattering and threatening words made Meng Sheng at a loss for what to do, so he said: "Then I'll try it out, temporarily staying here to help Mr. Zheng with his affairs, and when I find the right person, I'll leave!"

  "Good! Li Gongzi is indeed a straightforward person! Come on! Let's have a drink and celebrate that I got two great generals!" Zheng Nan Cheng said excitedly.

  After drinking a few more cups of wine, Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu said they were full and satisfied. Zheng Nan Cheng then said to the two: "Let's go! I'll first take you around to get familiar with the situation." He pulled them up and set off.

  Meng woke up and looked around, the body had been taken away, even the bloodstains on the ground had been washed clean. Upstairs, several tables of guests had arrived, eating and drinking, laughing and chatting, it was as if nothing had ever happened here. One person, one life, just like that, disappeared without a trace, leaving no mark behind, nor would anyone remember again.