novelraw Chapter 1086 - 1084: Open Robbery
Chapter 1086 - 1084: Open Robbery
But he immediately thought that making money was the big picture. He decided to lure these people onto his boat first, as everything would be under his control once they were aboard! With this in mind, Brother Beard immediately dropped his greedy facade and enthusiastically said to Xia Lalan, "Beautiful lady, looking to cross the river by boat? See that largest boat at the dock? That’s mine. You and these children can all cross at once."
After saying that, he didn’t forget to point to his boat, implying a simple fact: only his boat could carry more than thirty people in one trip. If they wanted to cross the river, they would definitely have to take his boat.
Xia Lalan was already anxious to cross the river. Hearing Brother Beard’s words and following his gesture, she saw the big boat inside the harbor, while the other boats were relatively smaller and couldn’t transport her and the children across in one trip. After weighing her options, she indeed believed they all could be transported at once, so she nodded and said to Brother Beard, "Yes, we want to cross the river, and your boat is big enough."
"Well, then, for all of you, I’ll charge 500 yuan for the boat fare—how about that? Don’t worry, my price is fair to all, everyone around here knows my character!" Hearing that Xia Lalan would take his boat, Brother Beard was overjoyed and blurted out a very high fare, planning to rip off Xia Lalan fiercely. After all, he was the boss at the dock, and other boatmen wouldn’t dare to speak out of line.
Seeing this, the other boatmen nearby didn’t dare to speak either and all hid far away. A price of 500 yuan was downright extortionate for just a few hundred meters across the river carrying just thirty children and a young woman—at most other boatmen would only charge 100 yuan!
Xia Lalan had no concept of the currency used in the Secular World, knowing only from hearsay that gold could be used. Therefore, when she came out this time, she brought a few pieces of small gold just in case she needed it. Hearing Brother Beard’s price, Xia Lalan didn’t think twice—she immediately took out a piece of small gold and asked Brother Beard, "Is this enough?"
Actually, when Xia Lalan asked this, she was also nervous, really unsure if it was enough. She feared that gold might not be valued here, and she didn’t have many pieces on her. If this wasn’t even enough for the fare, that would be terrible...
"Enough, of course, it’s enough! Alright, alright..."
Brother Beard initially thought Xia Lalan would bargain with him. He didn’t expect her to produce a piece of small gold so suddenly, which made his eyes bulge out like a cow’s, nearly blinded by the glitter of the gold; he almost couldn’t speak properly. He was ecstatic, this small piece of gold seemingly weighed about twenty to thirty grams—he thought this beautiful woman was really wealthy, with each piece of gold she carried being substantial already, not knowing how much more she had on her. He hadn’t expected to run into such a big, fat sheep today!
After that, he glanced at his followers behind him, exchanged a knowing look with his brothers, and instantly they all knew what to do next. A few of them rushed up, very politely ushering Xia Lalan and the children onto the boat.
As Xia Lalan and the children were boarding the boat, on the other side, Lin Feng was also busy making arrangements to receive the children. He had already decided to house the children and Liao Chen’s people around Ding Yi’s villa. However, there were no accommodations available in that area—considering the number of children plus Liao Chen’s people, the number wasn’t small, and Lin Feng had to make arrangements in advance.
After a brief discussion with Ding Yi and three elders, they cleared a patch of trees around the villa and decided on the spots for two houses. After a moment of thought, he decided to have the children build the houses themselves when the time came. This would prevent outsiders from knowing about this place while also giving the children some training.
Moreover, the most important thing was that Lin Feng felt that the Heaven Profound Spirit Immortal Formation of this area was decent, but the Nine Directions Heavenly Maze Formation was not strong enough yet. He wanted to strengthen it to ensure complete safety within this radius, which was the most critical task at the moment to prevent unnecessary people from discovering the children and Liao Chen.
Thinking this, his expression grew serious. He turned and disappeared from the spot, continuing to reinforce the Nine Directions Heavenly Maze Formation in case of any flaws...
...
After Xia Lalan and the children boarded the boat, they didn’t feel anything unusual; they were all solely focused on quickly reaching the other side, their eyes fixed on the opposite bank, eager to reach Poma Town as Lin Feng had mentioned. Seeing this, Brother Beard’s face revealed a smug smile, and the others on the boat also laughed...
Soon, the boat started, and with the sound of the motor, it began to slowly head towards the middle of the river. However, before the boat had gone far, the sound of the motor suddenly stopped and the boat also stopped moving, leaving Xia Lalan and the children puzzled, not understanding what had happened.
"Beautiful lady, I just realized, the money you gave isn’t enough. You must pay more, otherwise, I can’t take you to the other side," said Brother Beard, standing opposite Xia Lalan and the children, smiling at them. Having seen the gold on Xia Lalan, if he were willing to let go, he wouldn’t be Brother Beard anymore. After saying that, he clapped twice, and suddenly, about twenty burly men rushed out from the cabin—it was clear they were planning an open robbery today.
"Lady, you’re not short of money; just bring out all the gold!"
"Yeah, take out the gold, and we will quickly get you all to the other side."
...
At this time, Brother Beard’s men also spoke up, believing that if this woman wasn’t foolish, she naturally knew what to do.
Seeing Brother Beard and his men’s actions, Xia Lalan and the children understood what these people meant. This was clearly a case of jacking up prices and taking advantage of the situation! Thinking of this, Xia Lalan and the children were all enraged! Before the children could speak, Xia Lalan was the first to speak: "Are you raising the price because we are in a desperate situation?"
"You guessed it right, we are indeed exploiting the opportunity. If you don’t want to die in the river, quickly hand over your money and save us some time. If you don’t pay, then don’t blame us for being rude."
"Are you sure?" Xia Lalan looked at Brother Beard, her tone somewhat icy as she spoke, truly angered now. She didn’t expect to encounter such people upon entering the Secular World – it was ridiculously unlucky!
Similarly, the children were also extremely angry, their little faces red and their eyes filled with fury as they stared at Brother Beard, wishing they could beat him up. But since Xia Lalan hadn’t spoken, they could only stand by her side, watching her.
"What’s there to be uncertain about, beauty? If you know what’s good for you, hurry up and hand over all the gold. Otherwise, big brother here will have to take action personally," Brother Beard said to Xia Lalan with a grin, not thinking much at all. After finishing his words, he even moved closer, his hand reaching towards Xia Lalan. The beauty had caught his eye long ago, and if not now, then when? In his view, it was just a beauty and a bunch of kids; unless they were insane, they couldn’t possibly do anything to him – today, he had set his sights on this beauty and these children.
His subordinates watched from the side, each with a knowing smile on their faces. The beauty in front of them was stunning; not only was Boss moved, but even they were dazzled, eagerly hoping Boss would take her soon, then perhaps they could also get a chance...
But just as these men were lost in their wild thoughts, something unexpected happened!
Before Brother Beard’s hand could touch Xia Lalan, she didn’t hesitate to kick out, sending Brother Beard flying. He soared through the air for over ten meters before plopping into the water. This was only because Xia Lalan had held back; otherwise, that kick would have been the end of Brother Beard!
Seeing Xia Lalan take action, the children also started fighting back. They had long found these men displeasing, and their attack was particularly fierce without any mercy. In just an instant, the boat was filled with cries and howls like that of ghosts and wolves...
"Ah..."
"This *********..."
"Ah..."
...
In just a short time, all of Brother Beard’s men were beaten down onto the deck, more than twenty adults laid low by a group of children, leaving them all heavily injured and so frustrated they almost vomited blood, cursing how these weren’t children at all but ferocious beasts. They were professional fighters, yet they were nothing compared to these kids. These children were unbelievably strong; where did these monsters come from!
Brother Beard himself hadn’t expected such an outcome; in the water, he was so shocked he nearly drowned, never anticipating to stumble into such a situation today. Not only was this beauty skilled, but even the children were absurdly strong, like supreme masters, his over twenty men instantly annihilated. Were these still children? When did children become so powerful?
"Ptui, to think you dare to be villains with just this little ability!"
"Who do you take us for, to dare rob us so brazenly?"
"Serves you right, purely deserved!"
...
The children looked at the people lying all around, openly saying that these villains were too weak to withstand a single blow. They hadn’t even started serious fighting yet these men were already down on the ground; to come out as villains with such lack of skills, wasn’t that just asking to be beaten! After saying this, they still wanted to move on them.
"Don’t kill anyone, just kick them into the river." Seeing that the children were still keen to act, Xia Lalan quickly spoke up, fearing they would really kill these men, not wanting to get targeted over the incident.
Hearing Xia Lalan’s instruction, the children stopped, no longer continuing to teach these men a lesson, but merely kicking them into the river as she had said. A myriad of screams rose once again, even the tourists not far from the riverbank witnessed this scene.