Chapter 4 You're Sick (Please Collect)

  Bang...

  Liu Xiang had just touched the well-developed chest of the courtesan when he saw the tightly closed door burst open, and a blond-haired, blue-eyed man appeared in front of him, blocking out all the sunlight from outside. He looked around, his subordinates having been sent out to lie in ambush earlier, now leaving only himself alone.

  "Who are you?" Liu Xiang, relying on being the boss of this place, suppressed the fear in his heart and stiffened his neck, saying to William.

  Zhang Lei and Kaisa also rushed over, Zhang Lei grabbed William's body that was about to rush forward, saying: "He's just a madman, sir, please continue, today's meal is on me, don't bother with this little person, let him go like fart."

  William shook off Zhang Lei's hand and said angrily: "How can you be like this, the all-powerful Lord says that we should bravely resist all evil."

  During this time, several thugs outside had already gathered around. Zhang Lei gloomily asked William: "Has your master taught you how to take down five people by yourself?"

  "In the face of evil, justice is forever powerful and omnipotent. The Almighty will guide us to eliminate all sin and ignorance, bringing light and rebirth to the world. Each one of us must have the spirit of punishing evil and promoting good, bravely upholding justice in the face of evil."

  "You're sick," Zhang Lei said.

  William said excitedly, "You're the one who's sick, you're all sick. You take abnormal as normal, then what's normal becomes abnormal in your eyes. The people I hate most aren't those who can't do anything, but those who don't want to do something themselves or can't do it, and won't let others do it either."

  Zhang Lei let go of William's hand and pointed at Liu Xiang: "Okay, then you go do it."

  At the same time, several thugs had already pulled out their weapons and blocked William's way.

  Zhang Lei shrugged and said: "In the face of absolute power, any courage and pursuit of justice are just paper tigers."

  Liu Xiang naturally hated these guys who ruined his good deeds, he waved his hand and said: "Take them down for me, beat them to death, dare to ruin my good deeds..."

  Before he finished speaking, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, and the black shadow of a fist instantly enlarged before his eyes.

  "Ah..."

  Taking advantage of the fact that those few thugs had all shifted their attention to William, Zhang Lei quickly rushed to Liu Xiang's front. Along with Liu Xiang's mournful cry, fresh blood flowed out from his nostrils, and the soft bone on the bridge of his nose seemed to have been crushed. Zhang Lei stood in front of him, coldly staring at him, his tattered shoes exposing his toes trampled on his chest, saying to Caesar: "In our blood, there are two properties that have always been suppressed, namely, ferocity and compassion. When these two properties erupt together, the energy released by the ferocity triggered by compassion will make the entire world tremble."

  William nodded as if he understood, and Zhang Lei handcuffed Liu Xiang's hands behind her back, saying: "Tell your men to let the little girl go."

  "Let her go." Liu Xiang hesitated for a moment, and Zhang Lei added a few more points of force, instantly making him grit his teeth in pain, naturally not daring to have any further improper thoughts.

  Xiaolian stood up, adjusted her clothes, and bowed to Zhang Lei, saying in a soft voice: "Xiaolian thanks the young master for his great kindness. If there's anything Xiaolian can help with in the future, she will do her best."

  "Alright, alright, you go back first," Zhang Lei said with a silly grin.

  After the geisha left the wine building, Zhang Lei finally released Liu Xiang under the witness of the hotel owner and the shopkeeper. As he was leaving, Liu Xiang said viciously: "You poor beggar, wait for me, this revenge will not be repaid by a gentleman."

  Zhang Lei shrugged and said indifferently: "Whatever, anyway I didn't see where you look like a gentleman."

  The matter was settled, and Zhang Lei and the others returned to their private room, eating and drinking a table of food that had not been touched. After dinner, the three of them went to buy several new clothes, dressed up, and looked pretty good.

  "What's your plan next?" Zhang Lei asked.

  Caesar said: "We are going to Beijing, we will go to see the Emperor."

  Zhang Lei felt a surge of annoyance. Why did these foreigners have to come at this time, all wanting to see the Emperor? He said: "Is it so easy for you to see the Emperor? What do you two have to offer the Emperor? Treasure? Do you have any treasures?"

  "We have technology, we can..."

  Caesar's words were not finished, Zhang Lei interrupted: "Got it, you just said that in front of me, if you really want to enter the palace, who would believe you without bringing any substantial objects made by your technology? Moreover, you are now penniless and the journey north is long, how can you go? It's better to stay here with me first, I can support you, turn your technology into products, when the time comes, take your products to see our emperor, it will be much easier."

  "That's also true." Caesar thought for a moment and felt that Zhang Lei was indeed right, so he didn't insist anymore.

  Zhang Lei said: "Let's find a place to live first." He was preparing to find a place to get a house, this is a ready-made harbor, at that time...

  As for Zhang Lei's sudden wealth, Caesar and William both wisely chose to ignore it directly. Now in the Ming Empire, it is better to have Zhang Lei, a local, by their side - especially when this local provides food, clothing, and shelter free of charge.

  Pinghai Town, being close to the sea and a natural harbor, has developed its water transportation over time. Zhang Lei and his companions stood at the dock for a while, hired a small boat, and prepared to find a good place to stay.

  The boatman was a man in his fifties, thin and gaunt. Seeing this strange combination of one Chinese and two foreigners, he couldn't help but be curious, and asked: "Where are you gentlemen headed?"

  Zhang Lei looked around and replied: "This is a great place, I'm planning to buy an apartment here."

  The boatman took a look at Zhang Lei's outfit, his robe was brand new and shiny, with high-quality Shu brocade on the outside. He determined that these three people must be from some wealthy family out for a stroll. Looking at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed one carrying a book bag, he thought he must be this young master's book boy. After a moment's thought, he enthusiastically said: "Young Master, you've boarded Old Xiao's boat today, and that's really fortunate. Old Xiao has a fine property nearby, why don't I take you to take a look?"

  Zhang Lei was delighted to hear this and thought it was a great opportunity. He agreed, and the boatman took them further ahead until they reached a small dock where travelers could disembark, connected to a main road that led to a market in the distance. The boatman secured his small boat and said, "Sir, this is where I've lived for many years, but since I'm getting old, my son has taken over and moved to the other side. I couldn't bear to leave this place empty, so it's fortunate that we met today, and I'll sell it to you."

  Looking at the house in front of him, which was left with only three walls, no tiles on the roof, and broken windows and rotten wood everywhere, Zhang Lei suddenly felt that he had been vaguely deceived by someone.

  The boatman saw Zhang Lei not speaking, and asked: "What's wrong? Are you not satisfied with this place to live? Look, there are roads and waterways, big and small businesses are right at the door, such a good location, who else has it besides me?"

  Zhang Lei rubbed his nose and said: "Those are not important, the question is, can you live in this house? Oh no, can you even call this a house? Are you kidding me?"

  "How could I dare, how could I dare? An old man like me doesn't have the guts. I'm also helpless... this land..." The boatman began to lament to Zhang Lei about all sorts of spirit-shattering things caused by this broken house.

  After listening to Zhang Jia's report, Zhang Lei waved his hand and said: "Alright, you don't need to tell me, I'm about to move in right away. You give me something like this, what's the difference between this and building a new house myself? I'm not a good person, I never give charity, forget it. You'd better take a look at who can appreciate your family's land and sell it for a good price. I'm just not interested anymore."

  He had thought that things would be resolved smoothly, but he didn't expect this to happen. Zhang Lei was somewhat disappointed and his good mood was lost in an instant. However, the place to live still needed to be solved, and finally he found a satisfactory place and rented a quadrangle courtyard, temporarily settling down.

  The reason he rented instead of buying was that he suddenly remembered, he should go back to Xujiayuan in Chaohu. Although he didn't understand why he was at sea, he should go back anyway. If his family had confirmed his death, then he would be a black household registration and it wouldn't be convenient for him to do anything.

  With their living arrangements settled, the three of them finally felt a sense of relief and had a good night's sleep. The next morning, they woke up feeling refreshed and revitalized. After washing up, Zhang Lei looked around at the empty courtyard and said, "It's just us three old men here, which is quite inconvenient in many ways. So, I think that a real home should have a woman."

  "I think that girl I saw today is very suitable for you, she's so beautiful." Zhang Lei's muttering was overheard by William, who couldn't help but tease him.

  Zhang Lei, however, had a strong first impression. He was known for not being interested in women who were not virgins, so he naturally wouldn't have any thoughts about that courtesan. Although these people always claimed to sell their art and not their bodies, who knows whether they actually enjoyed themselves under others but still wanted to put up a sign of chastity at the door.

  "Suit yourself, if you want it I'll let you have it, anyway I'm not interested." Zhang Lei shrugged and said indifferently.

  Just as they were about to enter the house, a knock was heard from outside. Zhang Lei said, "That's strange, we just passed by here last night and don't know anyone around here, who could be knocking on the door?" Then he thought again, what if it's that gangster who found this place and brought his underlings to take revenge?

  The knocking on the door was neither fast nor slow. Zhang Lei had no choice but to get up and open the door, and upon seeing who it was, he exclaimed in surprise: "What are you doing here?"