He wonders if he had offended Ying Yue in a past life? Did he take her first time and hauled ass? Maybe he didn't pay child support? Did he run over her dog? He must've owed her quite a debt and collected an enormous amount of bad karma. It seems everywhere he went she was there to find trouble with him. Everyone else quickly grew bored of just beating him up. There was no fun to be had when there was no reaction, it was like beating a straw-stuffed scarecrow! Everyone, except for her. If anything his lack of a reaction only egged her on.
One might wonder why he didn't fight back? Most would assume it was because he couldn't. How would a cripple on a wheelchair fight against a gang of bullies? These weren't just street punks or hooligans that were a dime a dozen even back in his old world. These were kids trained in martial arts!
They would be wrong. Sure, being in a wheelchair took a while to get used too, but after all these months he was confident to defend himself against a few brats. He was very highly trained in multiple styles back in his old world after all. Even with one arm behind his back, he was confident to beat them black and blue! There were only two true answers.
Pride!
He may have been in the body of a child, but mentally he was an adult. What type of grown man would go around beating up kids because they were annoying him? Sure, these kids were violent, rude, and vicious, but that was the fault of their parents for not raising them properly. Being beaten up and made fun of was hardly a big deal, while his sense of morals and values differed from most people, he still had his own integrity!
The second reason was even more simple.
It was too troublesome. If he knew his wuxia plots, and he might as well be an expert in this field, then he knew that even if he scared them off, there would be a big brother, a doting father, or hidden clan, or some other bullshit to avenge them. A mere schoolyard fight could easily escalate into a war when considering the background of all these people. Although he dared to scam those two idiots sometime back, he knew they wouldn't tell their parents out of embarrassment. They might hold a grudge, but it was a personal matter and money was not a big deal to them.
Getting beaten by a cripple would shame not only them but smear their family reputation in mud. It would make the upper echelons of Dong city into a laughing stock.
The Heirs of the esteemed and great Noble families were sent packing with their tails behind their legs by the crippled and retarded Young master of the Long family. Their future is surely looking grim if they can't even gang up on a trash who can't cultivate.
Where would their faces go? How could they command the people's respect? They would all be deemed useless, who would buy from them or seek their services when they aren't dependable in the minds of the people?
He wasn't scared of them though. He just needs a bit more time. He already had plans set in motion, the seeds have been sowed and he awaits the upcoming harvest. Now if only he could find some gardeners.
"Crazy bastard, what do you think you're doing?!"
"Who gave you the guts to stand in Young master Wei's path?"
"How dare you block the side of the road? Get out of the way!"
Qing Shan, just keep rolling along he told himself. There was much to do and the commotion sounded bothersome.
Which was why he directly turned his wheelchair and went towards the noise. He couldn't help himself sometimes. He was a man driven by his passion and desires. It was both his greatest strength and weakness. He was prone to 'stupid' decisions even in spite, or perhaps because of, his vast intelligence. He faintly recalled a time he was really into an old sci-fi anime and hosted a video game fighting tournament. He made giant mechas that were commanded by video game controllers. His assistant had looked like she was going to have a stroke organizing it together while he and his team shut themselves in the labs building the machines to the specifications of kids from the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.
He has been told he had poor self-control, but hey it was great PR and sales for his games were booming! What was the point of having all the money and power he had and not using it? One could say that his curious and reckless nature had served him well in learning and pursuing his goals with a scary single-minded focus. Don't go for multiple Ph.D. at the same time they said, you can't just quit and start your own company they said, it isn't legal to try to make your own Jurassic park said the nonbelievers.
He proved them wrong! He'll do damn well what he pleases, and everyone was the better for it.
In other words, he was a busybody!
The scene he saw when he arrived was quite a puzzling one. On one hand was a girl kneeling on the ground behind a bowl, besides her was a wooden sign he couldn't see from his position. She had a sad look in her eyes while a group of five armed men berated her. There was a finely dressed young man casually fanning himself while he watched in amusement of the show in front of him.
Qing Shan watched with a calm face devoid of emotions. The people passing by wouldn't have been able to read him no matter how much they focused. Truly what deep thoughts must be in his mind to so utter grab his attention?
"Wow, is this my first proper encounter with an arrogant young master? Shit, where's my camera!"
He felt like he was in a movie, it was exciting and surreal. He imagines this is what it would be if a hot mysterious transfer student with neon hair came to your school. His inner weeb peeked a bit before he managed to shove it down and came back to reality.
No time to be a nerd. He can fanboy later.
"Well? Why don't you say something for yourself? Why are you blocking the road in the middle of the day?"
One of the guards pointed his sword at her, his blade beneath her chin and tilted her head up. Her skin was a sickly yellow, her clothes full of dirt and grime, with sunken cheeks, bags beneath her eyes, and a skinny frame she looked as if she was refugee which haven't eaten or slept in days. Still, there was a hint of undeniable beauty beneath her burdens. Her eyes remained clear and her gaze sharp. She hasn't submitted to her circumstances. No, this was merely a bump in the road, she will rise above it
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"My father recently passed away, I don't have enough money to pay for his funeral so I came here to find work, but nobody would hire me so I've resorted to begging. I'm very hard working and confident in my body. "
Her face didn't match the words coming out of her mouth. There was a hint of pride and disdain in her gleaming orbs. Her tone was disinterested as if discussing the weather or an event that was unrelated to her.
'What an interesting little girl.' Qing Shan laughed to himself.
"A beggar? A dirty street rat dared to get in the way of our Young master? Truly you consider us as if we're dust in your eyes."
The first guard looked red in the face, he drew back his sheathed blade and looked like he was about to use it as a club when a voice stopped him.
"Now, now, there's no need for such brutish actions, is there?"
"My apologies Young master, you're right."
The guard retreated to the back of the group, but his eyes were glaring at the girl the entire time.
The girl gave a quiet snort in distaste, and Qing Shan almost lost it in laughter, a haughty hobo that treats even a Noble and his guard as flies, his shoulders were shaking so bad from suppressed laughs that he had to wave a few bystanders away and assure them he wasn't having a seizure.
Interesting, very interesting!
"I'm sorry for my guards' behavior, may I know your name, miss?"
If he was drinking water he would've spat it out. Kids this age sure didn't mess around. He was clearly checking her out and they both didn't look more than 11 years old! Precocious children were scary.
He ignored the irony of that statement.
He knew kids married young in the olden days, but as a modern man, he felt quite uncomfortable even if they weren't his kids. It was like receiving a phone call from a teacher one day about your precious child.
"Hello, Mr. Long? Yes, I'm here to inform you that little Jimmy was caught getting a blowjob from Sarah on the bus. Yes, please pick them up from class at John Williams middle school."
The sheer cringe of that thought physically hurts.
"Isn't it only polite to introduce yourself before asking others? Is our dear esteemed Young master ignorant of even basic manners?"
What a sharp tongue. It cuts through his facade of gentlemanliness like a knife as his once pleasant smile turned into a stern frown.
"I'm Fei Wei, and you are?"
His tone was harsh and demanding as he clearly emphasized his family name to pressure her. His guard read the atmosphere and backed him up, surrounding the girl and attempting to intimidate her with their stature. For all it's worth they might as well had tried to drown a fish.
"I'm Bai. Now that you know my name and what I'm doing, would you mind kindly leaving? Last time I checked the Wei family didn't own this street, what I do is nobody's business, but my own."
Oof, damn, he's going to need some ice for that burn.
"You need money right? Here! Take it, I have lots of money!"
The young man carelessly threw a sack of coins at her feet, it's content spilling out revealing glimmering bronze and silvers. The nearby crowd gasped, it was a luxurious amount especially for such a dirty and haggard looking girl. A person could live the rest of their lives just off of the money in that sack!
"..?"
The girl merely looked up at the man in confusion. Why was he giving her so much money? Maybe she was wrong about him? Great, now she felt guilty about her previous rude behavior.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and let's go, you need to be cleaned up immediately. No woman of I, Fei Wei, should go around in rags, even if as a mere bedwarmer."
The confusion soon cleared and was replaced by rage. This pompous asshole thought she was actually selling herself? That she was a prostitute?! While the amount he gave was certainly no small amount, Bai was no cheap woman. She desperately needed money, but not that desperately. At worst she could disguise herself as a boy again and do some part-time labor.
"What kind of a woman do you think I am? I'm not a whore you can just throw money at until she spreads her legs. I'm a Martial Artist, I don't need your dirty money."
With a graceful kick, she launched the pouch at the face of the young Noble, knocking him on his ass in front of the crowd.
"Why you!"
Right as his guards helped him up and were about to attack the young lady another bag hit her chest.
"W-what the? I already told you swines I wasn't a damn geisha, shove it up your as-"
"My, what a vulgar mouth you have, little lady"
Her rant stopped midway as she realized the bag and voice came from even below her small stature. It was a small kid on a bulky wheelchair. It was very well made with smooth lines and fine detail. She wasn't knowledgeable of woodworking but even she could tell it was a great piece. The only thing strange was its size. She had never seen anything like it. The backrest had a large box with a lever sticking out on the right side. There was a large pouch on it's right and left with many vitals and nicknacks.
The kid had a white round face as if a dumping, his eyes playful and a smirk was on his lips. She was confused. He looked as cute as can be, but she had a strange urge to smack that look off his face. Weird.
"Who are you calling little, you brat?"
"Ah, is that any way to talk to your new boss?"
"Boss?"
"You have already received payment did you not? If I recall properly you said you were confident in your body, no?"
He started rolling down the street as he finished his sentence. She was very puzzled, but as she opened the light bag she had to hold in a gasp along with everyone around her. It was full of silver coins! Even the sack the prick had dropped wasn't worth 1/10th of the contents! What was it with rich kids these days? Did the noble families have a money tree growing somewhere?!
"Go finish arranging your father's funeral and any remaining business and meet me at Yu Yang's pharmacy in three weeks at noon. I trust you'll be able to find your way?"
Only the chirps of crickets were heard as everyone including the five guards and their young master was dumbfounded by the series of events.
'Wtf..?'
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It has been a month since he met Bai. She had quickly settled her business and met him at Yu Yang's. He had arranged for her to secretly stay in a small empty servant's quarter in his courtyard without his family's knowledge. His two previous servants were dismissed to prevent them from snooping. While she obeyed his orders, she rarely talked not unlike her fiery attitude when they first met and mostly just silently followed him around. He figured she was still in the middle of grieving for her father, and thus left her to her own devices most of the time.
Eventually, she started to open up more to him. She acted very casually around him and her language was...crass, to say the least. They had a very odd dynamic, unlike the typical master-servant, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hurry up now, I want to finish shopping before everything closes. Make sure to grab my bags for me."
She secured the bag to her waist before rushing after the small boy she called master. Such a young kid wouldn't be safe by himself especially with how much money he was seemingly carrying to not even glance back after giving her the pouch. What if she ran? She didn't want a naive kid like that getting hurt.
"Of course, leave it to me"
Qing Shan was surprised when he felt her move to the back of his wheelchair and push him
"Where too? I'm Bai, Bai Yueliang. What's your name?"
It was a shock to hear her initiate a conversation with him. She had never told her last name to him before now. Figuring she was trying to get a new start with him, he reintroduced himself to her formally. While she had mostly figured out who he was by name from observing, it was still impolite of him to not have done so before now that he thought of him. What a blunder.
"Qing Shan Long, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You don't have to push me you know, I'm perfectly able to navigate myself."
"Nonsense, after the amount of money you gave me, I should at least work hard to earn it. Anyways where did you want to go next brat?"
Words she would come to regret when Qing Shan purposely brought a bunch of useless crap for her to carry. Not that she could prove it besides a gut feeling and the look in his eyes, because she normally couldn't tell the junk her master buys anyways. She never called him brat again. He was an odd one, her little lord, but she didn't dislike the new development in her life.