Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife

Qi Jingyu was almost dragged into a room by those women. He barely made it to the second floor and saw the Imperial Uncle sipping tea and fanning himself. Curious, he asked, "Imperial Uncle, how did you get up here?"

"It’s simple. I didn’t have any silver in my pouch. I shook it a few times in front of them, and naturally, they wouldn’t bother me anymore," Li Qingmu said matter-of-factly.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jingyu had an epiphany. He dressed differently from ordinary people, clearly looking like someone with wealth, so it was no wonder those women wouldn’t leave him alone.

Li Qingmu chuckled and said, "You, ah, have too little experience in the Jianghu. You must know that understanding the ways of the world is also learning. Learn more!"

"I’ve learned my lesson. What the Imperial Uncle said makes a lot of sense." Qi Jingyu thought to himself, as expected, the older the ginger, the spicier. He should’ve told them earlier that he had no money; his clothes were nearly torn.

Time flew by, and it was evening. Li Qingmu instructed the shopkeeper to hang lanterns on the second floor, quietly waiting for the big fish to take the bait. According to his deduction, the person buying the medicine would appear tonight unless they didn’t care about that old man’s life.

Until the moon was high, close to midnight, a man dressed in black clothes and wearing a straw hat appeared. At this time, Miaoshou huichun Hall had already closed.

He knocked for a long time before the shopkeeper opened the door, impatiently asking, "Who is it, in the middle of the night? If you want to buy medicine, can’t you come back tomorrow?"

"Shopkeeper, I want to buy three taels of the Poisonous Herb." The mysterious person took out a silver ingot and tossed it to the shopkeeper, then flipped his thumb, projecting the longsword against the shopkeeper’s neck.

The shopkeeper was scared stiff and quickly nodded, "Al...alright, customer, follow me inside, and I’ll get you the herbs."

At this moment, Qi Jingyu and Li Qingmu, sitting on the second floor of Yichun Pavilion, had already noticed the situation. They flipped over the railing, landing steadily before striding into Miao Shouhuichun Pavilion.

"Shopkeeper, no need to get him the medicine. I have the Poisonous Herb he wants here, and it’s much cheaper," Li Qingmu grinned broadly, walking straight towards the mysterious person.

Qi Jingyu blocked the mysterious person’s potential escape path from another side.

The mysterious person did not expect himself to be trapped and stepped back nervously, feigning calmness, asking, "Are you two also selling medicine? My madam is gravely ill and needs this Poisonous Herb to sustain life. Do you truly have it?"

"Of course, follow me. There’s as much as you need." Li Qingmu laughed heartily.

The mysterious person still harbored a faint hope, hoping to muddle through, but upon hearing Li Qingmu’s words, he realized they were targeting him and immediately dashed towards the back hall of the apothecary!

The shopkeeper also sensed something was amiss. Those two men who had given him one thousand taels of silver notes during the day had said if anyone came to buy the Poisonous Herb, he should report it immediately. They were surely trying to catch this straw-hatted mysterious person, so he smartly stepped aside.

The mysterious person toppled all the goods shelves and herbs along the way, trying to obstruct the pursuit of Li Qingmu and Qi Jingyu. But what he hadn’t anticipated was, the two possessed excellent Qinggong, unaffected in the slightest, and quickly seized the back collar of his clothes.

Li Qingmu placed the sword against his neck, chuckling, "What are you nervous about? Weren’t you here to buy Poisonous Herb? Why, not buying anymore?"

The mysterious person knew he couldn’t match the two and defiantly held up his neck, saying, "Do as you wish, whether to kill or to flay!"

"Who said anything about killing you? If you answer a few questions for me, not only will I let you go, but also give you one hundred taels of silver."

Li Qingmu smilingly asked, "Listening to your voice, you’re not young anymore. Have you married?"

"..." The mysterious person didn’t respond.

"In the Jianghu, people either pursue fame or fortune. You went out in the middle of the night to buy medicine for someone else, certainly a nameless junior, so only profit is left. One hundred taels are enough for a common household to live for three years without worries. Are your parents still alive?"

"..." The mysterious person still didn’t speak.

Li Qingmu shook his head and sighed, "On one hand, there’s silver; on the other, your little life. I really pity you. You risk your life working for others. Don’t your parents worry? Who will care for them in their old age?"

In strategizing against the enemy, attacking the heart is foremost. Last time, the masked man tried to commit suicide with poison upon capture. Li Qingmu feared this mysterious medicine buyer might also be a Death Soldier, seeing he could speak normally, planned to breach his psychological defenses.

When he mentioned ’parents,’ the mysterious medicine buyer noticeably shrugged his shoulders. Although his expression wasn’t visible, Li Qingmu surmised his parents were likely still alive.

Thus, he continued along this topic, "Since your parents are alive, you should consider them. Among the three forms of filial piety, no progeny is the greatest sin. Not only have you not left descendants for your family, but you also let them suffer the agony of a gray-haired person sending off a black-haired one. How heartless!"

"Stop talking!" The mysterious medicine buyer was touched and started to roar loudly.

Knowing he was on the right track, Li Qingmu continued to persuade, "Tell me who sent you to buy the Poisonous Herb; I’ll give you one hundred taels of silver, and you take your parents and flee for good, as if nothing happened."

After a long, difficult hesitation, the mysterious medicine buyer finally agreed, "Okay, but I need to get the silver first!"

Li Qingmu took out three silver notes of fifty taels each and handed them over, "Another fifty taels reward you for knowing the times. Your parents worked hard raising you; be extra filial to them."

Receiving the silver silently, the mysterious medicine buyer whispered, "It was my master who sent me to buy the Poisonous Herb."

"Who is your master?" Qi Jingyu admired the Imperial Uncle’s methods and hastily pursued the question.

"My master is Ge Changshou, the Baihu Hall Vice master of the Heshen Gang!" The mysterious medicine buyer swiftly stuffed the silver note into his chest and said, "That’s all I know. My master asked me to buy the Poisonous Herb but didn’t tell me why."

"You may leave!" Li Qingmu said with a furrowed brow.

The mysterious medicine buyer immediately ran out as if he were pardoned and soon disappeared at the street corner.

"So it’s people from the Heshen Gang behind this," Li Qingmu murmured.

"Imperial Uncle, do you know this gang?" Qi Jingyu, who seldom ventures out, was oblivious to the sects of Jianghu.

Li Qingmu paced as he explained, "Well, back in the day, this Heshen Gang was formed by the laborers at the Cao Yun Pier. They often had their wages cut by merchants, prompting them to spontaneously form this gang, now over two hundred years old."

The origin of Heshen Gang wasn’t mysterious; initially, it was simply a group of laborers banding together to resist merchants’ exploitation. Over time, they changed, becoming a force bullying and dominating the river paths.

There are many such gangs, and they rely on their numbers when negotiating with merchants. If their demands aren’t met, not only will they refuse to load or unload goods, but they’ll also secretly cause trouble.