Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14. Do You Think My Money Is That Easy to Take?
She truly did not understand.
Wu You had clearly spoken with perfect confidence and frightened that villain into silence, so why had he still handed over all of his money in the end?
Those copper coins might have been few, but for the two of them right now, they could very well have been life-saving money.
Wu You released the hand that had been pinching her cheek.
He looked at the red marks his fingers had left there, then at Vivian Shadowmoon’s tearful eyes, which were filled with confusion and grievance.
Suddenly, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he revealed a smile that looked a little evil in Vivian Shadowmoon’s eyes.
“Why?”
Wu You repeated the question slowly.
Then he bent down and picked up the thick, black, shabby staff that Vivian Shadowmoon had dropped on the ground, weighing it in his hand.
“My money…”
He leaned closer to Vivian Shadowmoon and lowered his voice.
The faintly wicked smile on his face deepened, yet there was no real amusement in his eyes.
“Do you really think it is that easy to take?”
Vivian Shadowmoon looked into his eyes and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.
Her small body trembled again.
She suddenly felt that the young swordsman in front of her, who had just “saved” her and even “generously” given up all his possessions for her sake, seemed even more frightening than that villain named Bob.
Wu You straightened up, stuffed the broken staff back into her arms, then patted dust off his hands even though there was none.
After that, he turned and walked toward the street in the direction Bob had left.
“What are you still standing there for?”
He did not look back.
His voice carried its usual impatience.
“Your Excellency, One-Time-Use Mage, if you do not hurry up and follow me, then tonight you really will be sleeping on the street and continuing your arduous training.”
Vivian Shadowmoon hugged the staff and hesitated for a moment.
In the end, she still moved her short little legs and ran after him.
Holding the staff in her arms, Vivian Shadowmoon stumbled along behind Wu You.
She was still feeling heartache over that pouch of copper coins, and she was also depressed that she now owed him yet another favor.
As they walked, she gradually realized that they were heading in the wrong direction.
“Hey, where are we going? The inn is not this way, is it?” she asked softly.
Wu You did not even turn his head. “Taking a walk. Digesting our food.”
Vivian Shadowmoon: “…”
What food was there to digest?
Wu You said nothing more and only quickened his pace, weaving through turns and bends while deliberately choosing dim alleys with few people.
Vivian Shadowmoon had no choice but to jog in order to keep up, and the doubt in her heart only grew stronger.
Before long, they arrived at a remote area near the city wall.
There were almost no pedestrians here, only stray dogs rummaging through piles of garbage.
Wu You suddenly stopped and hid behind a low wall, peering outside.
Vivian Shadowmoon copied him.
Standing on tiptoe, she carefully poked half her face over the wall.
Not far away, that burly man named Bob was walking alone while cursing under his breath.
He was even tossing around Wu You’s shriveled coin pouch in his hand.
He was clearly in a good mood and seemed to be planning to leave the city and head to some underground tavern he often visited to squander the money.
“H-he… he is leaving the city?” Vivian Shadowmoon whispered, a bad feeling rising in her heart.
Wu You said nothing.
He merely reached into his clothes and pulled out a dusty old sack that looked grimy and worn, then shook it open with practiced ease.
Vivian Shadowmoon’s eyes widened. “Y-you… what are you trying to do?”
Wu You turned his head and made a shushing gesture at her.
A faint smile appeared on his face, one that looked rather chilling in the dim light.
“Watch closely, ‘future great mage.’ Today I will teach you a lesson on what is called…”
He paused, lowered his voice, and said each word slowly and clearly.
“Getting beaten up by society.”
The moment he finished speaking, he slipped out like a civet cat, silently and swiftly.
Using the cover of the night and the scattered junk around him, he rapidly approached the completely unsuspecting Bob.
Vivian Shadowmoon covered her mouth.
Her heart pounded wildly, and her emerald eyes stared without blinking.
Just as Bob reached a corner piled with broken wooden barrels and had only just started whistling—
Wu You moved.
He was astonishingly fast.
[Quick Step] flickered faintly as he shot out from Bob’s rear flank like a ghost.
The sack in his hand came down with perfect precision from above and was yanked violently over Bob’s large, scruffy head.
“Ugh?! Who—?!”
Bob was caught completely off guard.
His vision went black, and the sack covered his mouth and nose, instantly throwing him into panic as he flailed his arms wildly.
Wu You did not give him any chance to break free.
Using all his strength, he drove a vicious kick straight into the back of Bob’s knee.
The strength boost brought by [Enhanced Upward Slash] showed itself at that moment.
Thud!
Bob let out a scream, lost his balance, and crashed face-first onto the ground.
“Help—!”
He did not even manage to finish shouting the word before Wu You’s “lesson” began.
Wu You raised his fists and, without caring about any sort of technique, unleashed a merciless barrage of plain old punches onto the human-shaped lump beneath the sack.
The dull thuds of fist striking flesh sounded especially clear in the silent corner.
And while he beat him, Wu You also pressed down his voice and rapidly spoke in all sorts of twisted, bizarre tones.
In the rough voice of an old man, he shouted, “Bob, you damn bastard! How dare you sell me watered-down ale! I had diarrhea for three days because of you! Take this!”
In the sharp voice of a shrill woman, he yelled, “You shameless dog! You peeked at me while I was bathing! You filthy pervert! I will beat you to death!”
In the gloomy voice of a young boy, he hissed, “Was it you who poisoned Old Jack’s watchdog on West Street last month? Was the stewed meat tasty, huh?! Take this!”
In the deep voice of a middle-aged man, he growled, “When are you going to repay the three silver coins you owe Boss Black Snake at the gambling den? With interest, it should be five by now! The boss sent me to collect some ‘interest’ first! Take this!”
Every accusation was absurd beyond belief, and every punch landed solidly.
At first, Bob still struggled and screamed, trying to defend himself. “No! It was not me! You have the wrong person—aaagh!”
But very quickly, all he had left were muffled cries of pain and desperate pleas for mercy. “S-stop… stop hitting me! Spare me, hero! The money… I will give you all the money! Aaah!”
Wu You acted as though he heard nothing.
His fists never stopped, and his mouth continued rapidly piling on fabricated crimes.
“Was it you who stepped on the city lord’s wife’s favorite tulip bed yesterday? The guards are looking for the culprit right now! I will teach you a lesson on her behalf first!”
“I heard you got drunk last night and urinated beneath the goddess’s statue in the square? Desecrating the divine! You deserve a beating!”
Hidden behind the low wall, Vivian Shadowmoon was utterly dumbfounded.
Her little mouth hung open in a perfect O.
She stared at Wu You, who was usually either listless or foul-tempered and cursing, and now looked like a seasoned street thug.
He had thrown a sack over Bob’s head, then beaten the big man so badly that he could not fight back at all and could only writhe on the ground like a worm while wailing, all while making up outrageous charges in a whole range of voices.
Something about this scene felt deeply wrong.
What happened to the so-called knight of justice?
This was clearly… robbing a robber… no, wait.
This was putting a sack over someone’s head and clubbing him in the dark.
And it even came with live narration.
Vivian Shadowmoon felt that her worldview had just suffered a slight shock.
So solving problems was not limited to blasting them with magic, cutting them down with a sword, or crushing them with reason.
It could also be done… like this?
Wu You beat Bob for roughly two or three minutes.
Once he felt it was about enough, he finally stopped.
He let out a breath, bent down, and deftly fished that money pouch out of Bob’s clothes.
He weighed it in his hand and stuffed it back into his own clothes.
Then he reached into another pocket on Bob and pulled out several scattered silver coins and even more copper coins.
Those were obviously Bob’s own “savings.”
Wu You accepted the entire haul without the slightest courtesy.
After finishing all that, he kicked Bob, who was lying there groaning like a dead dog.
“I will let it go this time. But if I ever see you bullying children or extorting passersby again, next time…”
He paused, as though searching for an even harsher threat.
In the end, he forced out one sentence.
“Next time I will find a wild dog and have it piss on your face to mark its territory!”
After saying that, he did not linger any longer and quickly slipped back behind the low wall.
Vivian Shadowmoon was still frozen in place with the same stunned expression.