Side Story 5: Reverse Robbery

Side Story 5: Reverse Robbery

"Go! Chop those two little brats up for me!"

At the proprietress's command, seven or eight burly men wielding kitchen knives approached with sinister smiles.

In their eyes, these two delicate children were like meat on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

Pei An remained expressionless, not even drawing the wooden sword from his arms.

He simply turned his head slightly and said to his sister beside him:

"Sister, the fat guy on the left is unsteady on his feet and has an old injury on his right leg. The skinny guy on the right is unsteady on his knife and hasn't eaten enough."

"knew."

Pei Niannian stood on the table, looking down at the mob.

She glanced regretfully at the plate of inedible beef, then a mischievous grin curled at the corner of her lips:

"Since you enjoy drugging people so much..."

"Then let the real 'natives' of this store come out and have some fun with you!"

She took a deep breath, put her fingers to her lips, and whistled a sharp, urgent note with a certain summoning frequency.

"Sh-!!!"

The whistle hadn't even finished blowing.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

"Shhh—"

Suddenly, a series of scratching sounds came from the once quiet corners of the inn, the cracks in the walls, and under the floor.

The sound was like countless fingernails scraping against a wooden board, sending chills down your spine.

"W-What was that sound?"

The burly man at the front paused, looking around in surprise and uncertainty.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several rotten floorboards in the inn were pried open, and dust fell from the beams.

Countless gray-black shadows surged out like a geyser!

In this shady shop, which is always covered in grease and has extremely poor hygiene, lives an astonishingly large family of rats.

They usually hid in the shadows, but upon hearing the "King's" summons, their eyes gleamed with excitement.

[Assemble! Assemble!]

The human in the red shirt said, "If we scare these bad guys, the rice bin in the kitchen is ours!"

Charge! For the rice!

Hundreds and thousands of rats, like a black tide, instantly flooded the lobby floor.

"Ah! Rats! So many rats!"

"My foot! Don't bite me!"

Those originally fierce-looking burly men instantly lost their composure.

Mice may be small, but there are so many of them!

They climbed up the trouser legs, scurried inside the clothes, and even jumped onto the table, baring their teeth at the burly men.

"Get out! Get out!"

The burly men threw down their kitchen knives, frantically pounded their bodies, and started breakdancing.

The worst off was the proprietress.

As the "head" of the store, she received special care from Pei Niannian.

[Men! It's that woman in the red and green floral jacket! She's the leader! Surround her!]

Pei Niannian then sent out a thought.

Dozens of large "rat warriors" immediately turned their guns around and surrounded the proprietress.

"Ah—! Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

The proprietress was terrified; her makeup cracked. She desperately tried to shrink behind the counter, but the rats were everywhere.

Several mice climbed up the counter and jumped onto her shoulders, and one even dared to sneak into her hair!

"Help! A mouse has crawled into my hair! Aaaaaah!"

The proprietress let out a pig-like scream, her eyes rolled back, and she almost fainted on the spot.

Pei Niannian stood on the table, hands on her hips, watching the chaotic scene unfold, laughing so hard she almost fell over:

"Hahaha! Weren't you so arrogant just now? Come on! Chop me up!"

"An'an, look at that fat guy, his pants have been chewed up by rats!"

Pei An stood to the side, holding a handkerchief to her nose (because she disliked the dust), her gaze calmly sweeping across the entire room before finally settling on a floor tile behind the counter.

"sister."

He spoke, his voice cold and clear:

"Stop playing around. We need to get down to business."

"Oh, right!"

Pei Niannian snapped out of her daze, jumped off the table, and walked a few steps to the landlady who was paralyzed with fear.

The surrounding rats automatically parted to make way, as if welcoming a queen.

"Boss lady."

Pei Niannian squatted down, poked the proprietress's shoulder with the handle of her whip, and said with a smile:

"Let's talk about compensation."

"You poisoned the food, wasting not only grain but also frightening my brother (Pei An: No, you didn't. How do you plan to compensate for this emotional distress?"

At this point, how could the proprietress dare to utter a single word of dissent?

She shakily pulled out a few taels of loose silver from her bosom:

"Here...here you go...please, heroine, stop your supernatural powers!"

"Is this how you treat a beggar?"

Pei Niannian curled her lips in disdain.

At this moment, Pei An walked over.

He stood in front of the counter and gently stomped on the slightly loose bluestone brick.

"Thump, thump."

"It's empty inside."

Pei An looked at the proprietress, his tone resolute:

"My breathing became rapid, and my heart rate was 180. The money is right here."

The proprietress's face turned ashen. Did this kid have X-ray vision?!

"Dig!" Pei Niannian gave the order.

Several large rats, skilled at digging, immediately rushed over and quickly dug open the floor tiles, revealing a heavy little wooden box underneath.

Upon opening it, one finds gold and silver jewelry, loose silver coins, and even a few silver notes!

This is all the ill-gotten money this shady shop has accumulated over the years through swindling and murder!

Wow! We're rich!

Pei Niannian confiscated the box without hesitation and stuffed it into her own bundle:

"Consider this your apology for the big meal you gave us! We'll donate the rest to the poor people in the neighborhood to do good deeds!"

...

Fifteen minutes later.

The siblings, leading their horses, walked out of the inn, looking refreshed and invigorated.

Behind them, the proprietress and several employees were tied up and left at the door.

The tattered signboard that read "Yuelai Inn" had been lashed down by Pei Niannian's whip and split in two.

Pei Niannian found a wooden board and a brush somewhere, and with swift, flowing strokes, wrote four large, crooked characters, which she then hung on the lintel.

【Reform Inn】

Listen carefully!

Astride her horse, Pei Niannian laid down the rules for the weeping gang of shady dealers:

"Starting today, this store has been renamed!"

"No more poisoning! No more overcharging! We must operate with integrity! We must treat everyone fairly, young and old!"

“I’ve already planted a few 'eyes and ears' (rats) in the shop. If I find out you dare to go back to your old ways…”

She squinted and made a throat-slitting motion:

"I'll let all the rats in the capital come and gnaw this place down to the ground!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Spare us, heroine! We will definitely reform! We will definitely turn over a new leaf!"

The proprietress kowtowed repeatedly, filled with deep regret.

Let's go!

Pei Niannian spurred her horse, her red robes fluttering in the wind.

Pei An followed behind, shaking his head helplessly, but a smile played on his lips.

As the sun set, two swift horses galloped away.

"Sis, how much money is in that box?"

"I haven't counted, but it's enough for us to eat our way all the way to Jiangnan!"

"...Remember to save some money for me to buy books."

"Okay, you little bookworm!"