Chapter 77 Black Fire Stone Order (5)

  Guo Laoqi's face was covered in cold sweat, and he pulled out a small cloth bag from his pocket, tossing it to Huo Xiaoxie. Huo Xiaoxie caught it, felt its weight, and found that there were about ten taels of silver inside. He put the bag away and said, "Since Brother Zheng is so generous, I won't be polite either! I'll take my leave first, we'll meet again someday."

  Huo Xiao Xie finished speaking and Zheng Ze Liang and Guo Lao Qi smiled, turned around and quickly left, disappearing from sight.

  Guo Laoqi gritted his teeth and cursed, "So arrogant! Young Master, in Su Bei, which thief has heard your name and doesn't retreat three feet? Today this little turtle egg is too arrogant, too arrogant! I can bear some humiliation, but I must not compromise your dignity!"

  Zheng Zeliang smiled lightly and said, "Guo Laoqi, this is not Su Bei, and we are not here to steal things. Wangjiapu has gathered many skilled thieves now, so you mustn't underestimate the strangers here, even if it's a beggar-like kid." As he spoke, his face turned cold, but still with a smiling expression, he said lightly, "Guo Laoqi, if you dare to steal again, I'll cut off the remaining six fingers of your hand!"

  Guo Laoqi looked at his palm, both hands only had three fingers, his face was ashen, and he nodded like a garlic press, saying: "Young master, I'd rather die than dare to do it again! You can rest assured, if I dare to steal again, I'll cut off my own head! I'll continue to investigate the Qingyun Inn!"

  Zheng Zeliang muttered to himself, "In just ten days, it will be June 15th. We've been here for over a decade, yet we haven't even caught a glimpse of the Qingyun Inn's shadow. Is this the first hurdle?"

  Huoxiao Ye carried a sack of fabric with the ocean on it and walked quickly, until he reached a place where there were few people. He looked back and made sure no one was following him before letting out a sigh of relief. He found a haystack and crawled inside. Huoxiao Ye knew that earlier he had been lucky to escape danger, if it wasn't for the appearance of that young master Zheng Zeliang, he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat that old man Guo Qi.

  The little devil Fire Xiao had been traveling from Fengtian to Shanxi for nearly two months, and it was his first time going on a long trip. Not only did he not have any money, but he also had to walk the entire way, so it's needless to say how hard it was. In order to arrive at Wangjiabao in Shanxi a few days early, he had been rushing for the last few days, without paying attention to cold or hunger, and ended up looking like a beggar. He arrived ten days early on June 5th. Generally speaking, people who do this kind of work have a good habit of arriving early unless they are specifically told not to. If someone says to arrive on June 15th, they will definitely arrive earlier to prepare. Fire Xiao knew that coming to Wangjiabao was a big deal, so he didn't dare slack off. Fire Xiao could think this way, but the people who received the Black Stone Fire Order were even more cunning than him. Who wouldn't think of arriving early? Therefore, everyone arrived ahead of time! Zheng Zeliang, a well-known figure in the Jiangbei thieves' circle, had arrived at Wangjiabao ten days earlier than Fire Xiao and was staying in an ordinary inn, quietly searching for any news about the Qingyun Inn.

  As soon as Xiao Huo arrived at Wangjia Village, he saw Guo Laoqi stealing from an old man. He couldn't swallow his anger. Although he had been a thief since childhood, he strictly followed the old rules of "Rong Xing" in Fengtian City - three things not to steal. The so-called three things not to steal refer to: money for saving lives is not stolen, money from widows and orphans is not stolen, and beheading money is not stolen. Money for saving lives and money from widows and orphans are easy to understand. Beheading money refers to the fact that when some prisoners were executed in public, their relatives and friends would put a few coins in the corpse's hands, mouth, and pockets when collecting the body, depending on the family's wealth status, with varying amounts. It was hoped that the deceased could be reborn into a wealthy family. There is also another kind of beheading money, which refers to people who unfortunately fell from high places, were crushed by carts and horses, etc., and died suddenly with blood all over their bodies, carrying money on them, especially coins stained with the dead person's blood. Stealing this kind of beheading money would hinder others from reincarnating, and would inevitably lead to resentment from the vengeful spirits, so it was not allowed to steal.

  Guo Laoqi stole the old man's money, which was his life-saving money. Huo Xiaoxie despised this kind of behavior the most. The old man had a pale face, wore tattered clothes, and looked sickly and miserable, carefully protecting the purse in his arms. Anyone could see that he was in a dire situation and had some silver coins on him. If Huo Xiaoxie were still a thief in Fengtian, he would have avoided this old man from afar and wouldn't have touched his money. But now, seeing Guo Laoqi's shameless behavior in Wangjiabao, he was furious and thought to himself, "There are still such shameless thieves? He must be a 'jian zong'." In the northeastern region during the Qing dynasty, "jian zong" was a derogatory term used among thieves to scold those who had just learned how to steal and only did things that didn't follow the rules of the "honorable profession". These thieves were often lazy, cheated and deceived people, gambled, and had many bad habits. They didn't understand the rules of the "honorable profession" and would eventually die a terrible death.

  Thieves also look down on each other, divided into three six nine grades, with a distinction between orthodox and wild children. Not everyone who steals things dares to call themselves "Rong Xing". Qi Jian'er, the boss of Huo Xiao Ye, is a disciple of Liu Zhengyi, the Eight Trigrams Income Hall, and can be considered an orthodox "Rong Xing" in Fengtian City, taking the rules of "Rong Xing" more seriously than life itself. Qi Jian'er led Huo Xiao Ye to brutally beat "Jian Zong", even cutting off his fingers, which happened two or three times a year.

  Guo Laoqi's method of stealing from the old man is not new, and Huo Xiaoxie is very skilled in it. In thieving techniques, it is called "Big Step Tumble". "Big Step Tumble" refers to when the target makes big movements such as stumbling, jumping, or climbing stairs, that's when you make your move to steal. At this time, the gap between the person and their clothes is larger, attention is more scattered, and it's easier to take action, but the opportunity is fleeting. There is also "Small Step Tumble", which refers to when the target is walking slowly or standing still, and makes small movements such as turning around, bending over, coughing, or picking up things, that's when you make your move. The timing for "Small Step Tumble" is more frequent, and it places greater emphasis on technique.

  Huo Xiao'e followed Guo Laoqi, who was completely unaware. At first, Huo Xiao'e thought that this "cheap rice" had no skills and could be intimidated by the rules of thievery. But unexpectedly, Guo Laoqi had a murderous intention and prepared to take action against Huo Xiao'e. Suddenly, Huo Xiao'e realized that Guo Laoqi was more skilled in martial arts and killing than stealing, and he broke out in cold sweat. Fortunately, Zheng Zeliang appeared in time and stopped Guo Laoqi; otherwise, Huo Xiao'e would have gotten into big trouble as soon as he arrived at Wangjiabao.

  Huoxiao Ye poured out the contents of the cloth bag in the haystack, and aside from ten intact yuan, there were also seven or eight coins of the Republic of China (copper coins, minted in Dongchuan, Yunnan, with one coin equivalent to ten copper cents). Huoxiao Ye chuckled and muttered to himself: "Old man, consider yourself lucky to have run into me! Give these few small coins as a reward, it's a thank you gift!" As he spoke, Huoxiao Ye took out the seven or eight coins of the Republic of China and put them in his pocket, while the rest of the yuan remained in the bag.

  An old man who lost money on the street cried for half a day before being helped up and supported to sit down on the steps by the roadside. The old man's face was pale, he had stopped crying, but looked stupid, his mouth kept trembling, and he couldn't even speak, just sitting blankly on the steps.

  Several kind-hearted people gathered dozens of copper coins and handed them over to the old man, telling him to go to Wangjiabao to report the case to Kong Bao, saying that there might still be a chance to get it back. To put it bluntly, this was just consolation. In the past, when someone's money was stolen, unless they were caught on the spot, it was unlikely that they would get it back. Once the money left their hands, it was extremely difficult to recover.

  The old man took the money with a lost and dispirited look, muttering thanks several times. The crowd saw that the old man had been temporarily pacified and gradually dispersed.

  The old man sat for a moment, then got up and walked forward with trembling steps. He had only taken a few steps when a beggar-like youth rushed over and collided with the old man, knocking him to the ground.

  The beggar scolded: "Old man, you walk without looking at the road." After that, he didn't even help him up, and ran away with his legs.

  The old man couldn't catch his breath at this time, and could only slowly crawl up from the ground, dusting off the dirt on his body. But when the old man patted his body with his hand, it stopped, and then shook violently. The old man reached into his pocket and actually pulled out a purse, which was the one he had lost just now.

  The old man hastily opened the money bag, felt the silver dollars inside, and found that not a single one was missing. There was also a note stuffed inside. The old man took out the note, unfolded it, and saw that it was written with charcoal: "I helped you get your money back. Be careful next time! I have no money to eat, so consider the few dollars I'm short as a reward from you!" After reading the note, the old man looked around but found that the beggar who had bumped into him had already disappeared without a trace.

  The old man cried out: "Good people! Benefactor! Guanyin Bodhisattva, savior of suffering and hardship!" The old man wiped away his tears with a raised hand and hastily departed quickly.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yē hid in a corner, peeked out to see the old man walking away, and then lazily said: "If you get stolen again, I won't be able to help you."

  With a determined spirit, he emerged from the corner, made up his mind and went to look for the Qingyun Inn.