Chapter 54: Wang Ergou’s Miserable Life

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Lei Qing’s words made the bandits put away their giggling smiles. Their expressions gradually became grave, and their breathing inevitably started to become rapid. Following Lei Qing’s words, their thoughts kept leaping, and their blood gradually heated up.

Who hasn’t been wild and arrogant in their youth? Who hasn’t had dreams? To make a name for oneself, to stand out above others, to become a superior person, or perhaps one day, to return to one’s hometown in glory, wearing fine clothes, bringing honor to one’s ancestors.

However, the cruelty of reality and the hardship of the world often extinguish the dreams of young people one by one. They start to let themselves go and drift with the tide. Living a decadent life of enjoying wine while they have it today. Especially for them, following the path of bandits, what future could there be? What success could there be? This life was just going to be like this; when they had money, they had to spend it quickly. Maybe one day, their heads would fall, and they would become nameless corpses.

However, Lei Qing’s words were like a raging fire burning in their hearts, igniting their blood and igniting their dreams.

“Boss… Boss Lei, can I really stand out and succeed? Then return to my hometown in glory and marry Cui’er as my wife?” The young man whom Lei Qing had scolded by pointing at his head had a burning light shining in his eyes, but he shrank his neck and asked cautiously.

“What is your name?” Lei Qing patted his shoulder and asked, “Why did you come to be a bandit?”

“I… my name is Ergouzi, surname Wang. I’ve had no father or mother since I was little, and I grew up hanging around with others. I became a bandit because I couldn’t get enough to eat; I wanted to have a full meal.” Wang Ergou choked up with excitement all over his face, “I really like Cui’er from our village. Cui’er said she likes me too, and she often secretly brought me good food. But her parents said if I don’t have a hundred gold coins for the betrothal gift, they would marry Cui’er to Wang Dafu from the east end of the village. But that Wang Dafu is old, fat, and has a bad temper. He said he disliked that Cui’er was no longer a virgin, claiming he wasted a hundred gold coins on the betrothal gift. He often beats her and doesn’t give her food to eat. Boss Lei, I really want to marry Cui’er.”

“How many years have you been a bandit? How many gold coins have you saved?” Lei Qing asked solemnly.

“I… this is already the third year. I… I’ve spent all my money.” Wang Ergou lowered his head, his face red with shame, “Gambling… gambling, drinking, and… and going to the brothels.”

“Slap!”

A heavy slap landed on Wang Ergou’s face, knocking him to the ground. Everyone was startled, thinking to themselves that it was bad, and they had angered the Young Master of the Lei Family. Even Wang Ergou was so scared that he shivered and struggled to kneel down, “Boss… Boss Lei, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have gambled, I shouldn’t have…”

“You bastard.” Lei Qing wasn’t satisfied, and angrily kicked him over again.

The other bandits thought Lei Qing was dissatisfied because he went to brothels and such, and each of them fell silent as a cicada in winter. The passionate blood that had just been stirred up seemed to have cooled down a bit.

“Do you know why I hit him? It’s not because he gambled, drank, or went to brothels.” Lei Qing projected his voice so that it landed in everyone’s ears with a rumbling sound.

The bandits also shook their heads in confusion. It seemed that Wang Ergou was pitiable enough, right?

“Because this kid is a bastard.” Lei Qing roared angrily, like a fierce tiger that had been provoked. His eyes were sharp and cold, staring fixedly at Wang Ergou, “You, Ergou, have no talent, no looks, and you look ugly. You don’t even know where your next meal is coming from. That girl Cui’er is so good; she didn’t despise you, she took a fancy to you, she brought you food and vegetables, and she even gave her body to you. This was a blessing you, Ergou, accumulated over eight lifetimes. But look, what bastard things have you done? You actually let such a good girl marry an old, fat, ugly man?”

As soon as Lei Qing said this, the bandits suddenly realized. Thinking about it, this was indeed cowardly enough, and it was letting down such a good girl. The sympathy everyone originally felt instantly turned into disdain.

Wang Ergou’s eyes were also filled with anger and unwillingness, as well as grievance, “I… I have no future, I don’t have a hundred gold coins. I… I didn’t want Cui’er to marry Old Wang either. But… but Old Wang has money. I… I didn’t want Cui’er to follow me and live a hard life if we eloped. I… I originally thought that if Cui’er followed the wealthy Wang Dafu, she could live the life of a rich lady. I… I didn’t expect… I, for Cui’er’s sake, could sacrifice everything.”

“Yes, you have no future, you have no money.” The anger on Lei Qing’s handsome face was even greater, “But look, what have you done? You’ve been a bandit for three years and haven’t saved half a gold coin. You keep saying you can sacrifice everything for Cui’er, but did you? Did you try? You are just a loudmouth. Moreover, you clearly know that because of you, Cui’er is currently living a life worse than pigs and dogs, yet you dare to still be here enjoying yourself. If it were me, even if I had to risk my life, I wouldn’t let her suffer in misery every day.”

Stimulated by these words, Wang Ergou jumped up, his blood heating up. He roared with a ferocious face, “Boss Lei, you are right. I will go to Old Wang’s house right now and snatch Cui’er back. Even if I lose this life, I won’t let Wang Dafu bully Cui’er anymore.”

A few other bandits who were on good terms with him also jumped out with boiling blood, “Ergou, we will go with you. If that Wang Dafu dares to resist, we’ll make sure he gets a white knife going in and a red knife coming out.”

Seven or eight bandits gathered together with a whoosh, looking like they had been injected with stimulants as they prepared to go and snatch the person.

“Stop, come back.” Lei Qing scolded in a low voice.

In just a few short rounds, Lei Qing had already established prestige in the hearts of these bandits. Many people already had thoughts of following Boss Lei to find an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

Because of this, Lei Qing’s words now carried some weight. Those seven or eight bandits stopped in their tracks one after another and walked back somewhat unwillingly. Especially Wang Ergou, who had just been stimulated by Lei Qing to the point where his blood was burning, wanted to rescue Cui’er from the fire pit and couldn’t wait another moment. He roared at Lei Qing, whom he somewhat feared in his heart, “Boss Lei, you were the one who said even if we risk our lives, we can’t let Cui’er suffer anymore. Why are you stopping us?”

“Slap.” Lei Qing stepped forward and slapped him to the ground again. He shouted angrily, hating his lack of ambition, “Just because I said a few words, you think you’re tough? Where were you two years ago? Let me ask you, did Wang Dafu snatch her as a bride? Did he not give a betrothal gift? Was it not a proper marriage? Did Cui’er’s parents not accept a hundred gold coins from him?”

“But… but Cui’er doesn’t like Wang Dafu, and Wang Dafu treats Cui’er badly.” Wang Ergou shouted with some dissatisfaction while covering his face, “Anyway, we are bandits. If we snatch the person, we snatch the person.”

“Bandits, heh, are you planning to be bandits for the rest of your lives?” Lei Qing unceremoniously kicked him again, “If you like being a bandit, go be one, and don’t appear in front of me again. I’ll just take the words I said earlier as being spoken to a heartless dog.”

Being yelled at by Lei Qing like this, Wang Ergou immediately withered and started crying, “Boss… Boss Lei, I… if I don’t go and snatch her, what else can I do? I… I don’t have a hundred gold coins to redeem Cui’er.”

“Cry, cry, cry, that’s all you know how to do. Can you be even more useless? Where were you earlier? When you were gambling, drinking, and visiting brothels, why didn’t you think that Cui’er was suffering because of you? With your level of ambition, even if you go and snatch Cui’er back now, she will only live a life worse than pigs and dogs with you.” Lei Qing snorted repeatedly in anger, “Don’t you know that for every night you delay saving Cui’er, she suffers one more day? Why didn’t you risk your life to cultivate and save money like crazy? Even if you struggled for three years, or five years, saved enough money, and accumulated strength, you could have married her back in glory? At that time, you would have strength, money, and status, and naturally, you could let her live the life of a rich lady. Of course, to make up for your mistakes, you would have to treat her like a Buddha and worship her, so don’t despise her. You owe Cui’er a debt you can never repay in a lifetime.”

“Boss Lei, I… I will listen to you. From now on, I will cultivate like crazy and save money like crazy.” Wang Ergou said while wiping away his tears, “Even if I don’t eat or drink, I will struggle for three or five years. I will wait, I will endure.”

“Bullshit, for this kind of thing, you can wait, you can endure. I can’t endure it for even a day, I can’t wait.” The veins on Lei Qing’s neck bulged, and he kicked him again in angry shame, “We are going to redeem the person right now.”

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