Mink Scarf

"Oh, whose daughter is this? She's so beautiful!"

"That's right, even in such rustic clothes, you manage to make them look like a fairy."

Looking across the entire Huangshe County, it seems that apart from the two sisters at the Broken Mountain Martial Arts School, there's hardly anyone whose looks can compare to this woman.

"Gentlemen, we have mistakenly entered your esteemed place and are merely doing some small business."

"You two can take this silver for tea." Duan Jiantao stood in front of Duan Xin and took out a tael of loose silver from his pocket.

He handed it to two shifty-eyed gang thugs with curved knives at their waists.

"You old rascal, you've got a good eye!"

Huangshe County is very large, and almost every village in the mountains and forests has one or two gangs entrenched there.

It just so happens that Old Man Duan brought Duan Xin to the county town to deliver goods today, but they unexpectedly encountered two gang members demanding tolls.

"May I ask if you two gentlemen are from the Qing Snake Gang? You look somewhat unfamiliar. I have a rather good relationship with your gang's second-in-command, so I hope you won't make things difficult for my small business!"

"Pah! You old bastard! You're blind!" The gang member turned on him without hesitation, stuffed the silver into his pocket, and kicked Duan Jiantao to the ground.

Already in his seventies or eighties, with unsteady legs, he fell to the ground, feeling dizzy and disoriented, his mouth filled with a metallic taste.

"The Qing Snake Gang has already been wiped out by our Flower Snake Gang. From now on, if they want to deliver mountain goods to the county town again, they'll have to pay tribute to our Flower Snake Gang, understand?"

"Why are you hitting people?" Duan Xin quickly helped the old man up.

Jiantao was filled with regret back then.

He and his lazy second son, Duan Tao, always delivered the goods together.

But today, Duan Tao refused to come, citing the reason that he needed to raise money for his son Duan Xu to buy Qi Xue Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine for treating qi and blood deficiency).

Duan Xin didn't want her father to strain his back.

He volunteered to take over, only to encounter a new gang member he had never heard of before.

Most importantly, it was his own girl; her face was so pretty that it immediately made the two thugs of the Flower Snake Gang drool.

"You bitch, what are you saying? This old man offended us first, you should make him kneel down and apologize."

The Flower Snake Gang members' smiles grew increasingly lewd as they licked their parched lips, closing in on Duan Xin, about to make their move.

"Third girl, run! What are you standing there for?"

"I'd like to see you dare! If you run away, I'll cut your father's head off and leave it outside your shop..."

Duan Jiantao turned pale with fright; these kidnappers were ruthless killers.

If they were to actually pull out their knives, not only would I suffer humiliation and torture, but my daughter would also be subjected to such torment.

After struggling several times, Duan Jiantao knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading and promising to give the two men more money to let his daughter go.

But the gang members were unmoved by his words, their attention entirely focused on Duan Xin's fair face in the early morning.

Duan Xin picked up a stone, preparing for a desperate fight.

  

Suddenly, Duan Jiantao shouted, "Let me tell you, don't mess around. My grandson is a member of the Poshan Martial Arts School."

"Broken Mountain Martial Arts School?" The gang members feared offending the martial arts school the most. No matter how many brothers they had, they couldn't withstand the destruction caused by the school's hidden strength and transformation strength masters.

One person couldn't help but ask, "Lin Hu or Liu Mingze? No, no, this old guy is using the Duan family's name. Is there really someone with the surname Duan at Poshan Martial Arts School?"

Another person shook his head and whispered to his companion, "The old man wouldn't dare to make things up; there must really be someone in the martial arts school."

That Broken Mountain Martial Arts School has recently become a hot topic in the county town, with many forces vying to recruit it but unable to get a turn.

Rumor has it that Lin Hu and Liu Mingze practiced martial arts for only three months before breaking through the Ming and An Jin levels.

We can't act recklessly. We should first find out more about this guy surnamed Duan and what his skill level is.

We'll have to decide how to maintain our relationship with Lin Hu!

Once they made up their minds, the two cursed Duan Jiantao and left behind some lewd remarks about Duan Xin before hastily fleeing.

After the two men left, Duan Xin's two beautiful eyebrows stood up straight: "Old man."

Why did you mention Xuan'er's martial arts school just now? Do you know this will cause him trouble?

Duan Jiantao struggled to his feet and snorted, "It's better to cause trouble for that brat who doesn't know how to show respect to his father than to watch you get bullied."

Moreover, Xu'er is about to break through to the Dark Force realm, so she must concentrate fully at the martial arts school and must not be disturbed.

This is a minor problem, and there's no need for him to handle it.

Besides, what can those gang members do to Duan Xuan? He's Lin Hu and Liu Mingze's fellow disciples, after all. How could he be bullied?

If you don't even know the pros and cons, how will you accept my shop in the future?

That's true. Duan Xuan deserves to be tempered and taught a lesson by the gang members.

Realize that you're not cut out for martial arts, and hurry up and get my tuition money back for Xu'er.

Hey, hey, let me finish. There's so much stuff, your dad can't carry it all away.

Third Sister, come back!

……

"Auntie!" Duan Xuan's voice came from outside the humble shop.

The anger on Duan Xin's face immediately melted away. Looking back, she saw that it was indeed her good nephew, Duan Xuan.

Duan Xuan was carrying a white mink in his hand.

Although the snow has melted and the hot summer has arrived, there is still a chance that white and purple sables will appear in the deep mountains.

Moreover, he now works at Renhetang Medicinal Garden, an area designated as a prime hunting ground by Wolf Village.

You can occasionally spot a white mink.

"Hey? What happened to Grandpa? Why is he limping?"

Duan Jiantao gave Duan Xuan a cold look, snorted, and then took the raw materials into the shop.

Then he shouted loudly from inside: "Have some sense! Do you really think this shop is your home?"

"Come and go as you please?"

Duan Xuan understood, of course, that this was referring to him.

Duan Xin was so angry that her teeth itched. She picked up a stone and threw it hard into the house.

"Ouch, who threw that stone?" Duan Jiantao rubbed his forehead and went to the backyard.

"It's nothing serious, but it might cause you some trouble."

On our way back, we were stopped by members of the Flower Snake Gang in Huangshe County who demanded tolls.

A few lecherous thieves actually tried to take advantage of me, so the old man got beaten up.

"You have to be careful at the martial arts school these next few days. The old man just let it slip and mentioned you." Duan Xin said apologetically, gently patting Duan Xuan's head.

Duan Xuan smiled calmly and handed the white sable to his aunt: "It's alright. With the words 'Broken Mountain Martial Arts School' on their lips, they shouldn't dare to act recklessly again."

This is for my aunt. I found it a few days ago in the back hills. It doesn't have a scratch at all.

My mother made a mink scarf for you and sent it over as soon as possible.

I remember when you were little, you had a white towel that you really liked, but I got it dirty.

You were worried I'd be cold, so you wrapped it around my neck and told me to wear it home.

Unfortunately, I was too young and didn't understand, and in the end, the white towel couldn't hold up and was torn by the branches of the trees on the mountain.

Duan Xin laughed heartily, her eyes curving into crescent moons: "Do you still remember?"

You weren't even as tall as that towel back then.

Even in the dead of winter, without any thick clothes, he followed Zhao Rui around the village like a madman.

Other children only had their faces frozen red, but you had no good spots all over your body.

That towel took your grandma several days to make, and I loved it so much back then.

Now you've actually given me a flawless white mink fur; you actually have a conscience!

The two chatted for a few more minutes about their childhood memories. Seeing them laughing and talking, Duan Jiantao was furious.

He couldn't really feel much affection for his grandson.

He has too many ideas of his own and never tells me anything. He never brings anything when he comes, as if he doesn't even respect his grandfather.

What's most infuriating is that his second grandson, Duan Xuan, is almost at the level of internal strength, and he's bound to become a great man in the future.

It's unknown how many years the ancestors in the family prayed and begged for this, before finally burning incense and emitting smoke.

As it turned out, this kid and his clueless mother were incredibly tactless.

I don't know where I got the money and meat lately, but my life has become quite comfortable.

That's precisely why all the money should be concentrated on Duan Xuan to help him break through the Dark Force realm.

When the martial arts examination comes, if Xu'er wins a prize, won't that bring glory to the family? Won't their family benefit from it at all?

Even the light from the tip of a bamboo shoot is enough for Duan Xuan and his mother to live on for a lifetime.

Duan Xuan was indifferent, and Zhou Fang was indifferent as well, unwilling to give up a single penny.

This made Duan Jiantao's anger grow even stronger.

Duan Xuan didn't waste any more words. Seeing his aunt hugging the scarf with obvious delight, he said goodbye and left with great satisfaction.

Day two.

"Young Master Ren, I'd like to ask you about a gang called the Flower Snake Gang..."