Chapter 151: Compensation for Your Medical Expenses

At the moment of parting, Zhou Qing left his disciple—whom he might never see again—a pouch of money and a few talismans.

“This silver is enough for you to settle down in the county town. The few charms I drew myself—though they aren’t particularly powerful, they’ll suffice for capturing minor ghosts and little demons. Take care from now on.”

With these words, Zhou Qing’s figure drifted away, leaving only Yin Mao, moved to tears by the city gates.

“Master, rest assured. I will not let the reputation of our Tianyi Sect be lost. If you ever pass by Turtle County again, please do not forget to visit your disciple.”

Shouting after his master’s retreating figure, Yin Mao gathered the gold and talismans Zhou Qing had left him. He stood for a long time at the edge of the city before quietly returning alone.

Leaving Turtle County, Zhou Qing traveled north through the mountains of the Tang Empire for nearly two days, arriving at a bustling metropolis.

This city was vastly larger than an ordinary county. Its streets were paved with blue bricks, storefronts lined up in neat rows, displaying a dazzling array of goods.

Entering through a city gate guarded by soldiers, Zhou Qing walked leisurely down the street with his hands behind his back. He wandered through several neighborhoods until he came to the entrance of a narrow alley.

There, he saw a woman sitting on the ground, weeping bitterly. Beside her, a man was raising his foot to kick her.

Not far from them, a small crowd had gathered, but not a single person stepped forward to intervene.

Witnessing this, Zhou Qing walked into the alley and stood at the edge of the onlookers.

“To marry such a man—what terrible fate! He’s gambled away everything, beats her every day. If my husband treated me like that, I’d throw myself down a well.”

“But what about the children? They have three—eldest is only six, youngest not yet two. If their mother dies, what will happen to them?”

The murmurs of the women in the crowd drifted to Zhou Qing’s ears, and he realized this was a case of domestic violence.

But what puzzled him was why, though the neighbors sympathized with the beaten woman, none went to stop the abuse.

“What are you staring at, you lot? If you keep gawking, I’ll beat you too! Get lost!” the man snarled after kicking the woman in the stomach, glaring fiercely at the crowd.

At his shout, the onlookers quickly scattered, leaving only Zhou Qing in his red robe leaning nonchalantly against a crooked tree, watching the scene unfold.

Zhou Qing’s disaster-warding robe was far too eye-catching. With the crowd gone, he stood out at once, and the man soon noticed him.

“Are you looking for trouble, you bastard?” the man barked crudely, snatching up a wooden stick from the ground and striding toward Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing glanced at the weeping woman, sighed softly, and before the stick could strike, produced a five-tael silver ingot and held it out to the man.

“Sorry, brother, I just wanted to watch the show. Is your hand all right? Will this silver cover the doctor’s fee for your injury?”

The man, poised to strike, froze when he saw the silver. He snatched it from Zhou Qing’s hand and bit it to test its authenticity, confusion flickering across his face.

“Don’t overthink it, brother. I just felt a bit sorry for you after your wife bit your wrist during the scuffle. Consider this a medical fee.”

“Are you sick in the head?” the man spat.

“Ah? How did you know? People have said that since I was a child,” Zhou Qing replied jovially, opening a large cloth bag at his waist and shaking it to reveal more gleaming silver and gold. “You two carry on fighting. If you get hurt, I have more silver for your treatment.”

The man’s eyes went greedy at the sight of all that wealth. He raised his stick, aiming for Zhou Qing’s head, hoping to knock him out and rob him then and there.

But as soon as the stick swung down, Zhou Qing caught it easily. With a quick movement, Zhou Qing tapped his toe and kicked the man back several steps.

“If you’re planning to rob me, I’m afraid I’ll have to stop watching your show.”

“No, no, wait—” the man called out quickly, his gaze glued to the bag of silver. “So if I get hurt, you’ll really give me the money?”

“Yes. But only if you get hurt while fighting with your wife,” Zhou Qing replied, then flicked a small tael of broken silver at the man’s face. “Go on, then. Inside this bag there are over a hundred taels each of gold and silver. If you can move me to sympathy, it’s all yours.”

The silver struck the man squarely on the face, but instead of being angry, he grinned, picked up the silver, and tucked it into his pocket. He then headed back toward his wife, stick in hand.

“What are you crying for? Get up!” the man shouted, slapping his wife as naturally as if it were an everyday occurrence.

“Sooner or later you’ll beat me to death—I might as well fight you,” the woman replied bitterly after being struck, then rammed her head into his chest.

“Crazy woman, get up! Pick up the stick and hit me with it,” the man urged, tossing the stick to the ground and pushing her away.

The woman hesitated, glancing at Zhou Qing and then at her husband, but then she snatched up the stick and swung it hard at the man’s leg.

“Ow!” he howled in pain as she struck him with real force.

At this, Zhou Qing tossed another five-tael silver ingot from his bag, which landed at the man’s feet.

The man instantly stopped complaining of pain and snatched up the gleaming silver, a look of wild joy crossing his face. From the time he’d noticed Zhou Qing, he’d already received eleven taels of silver.

“That was too light—boring. If you don’t make it real, I’ll leave,” Zhou Qing called out.

The man’s joy faded. He tucked the silver into his belt, about to speak, when his long-suffering wife suddenly swung the stick at his head.

With a dull thud, the man reeled, staggered back a few steps, and fell to the ground.

As he collapsed, Zhou Qing drew a gleaming gold ingot from his bag and tossed it beside him.