Chapter 6: Defeating Sun the Leper

“Ah…”

Just then, Chen Qingqing pushed the door open and collided squarely into Lu Chuan.

Looking up, Chen Qingqing’s cheeks flushed crimson the moment their eyes met.

“Lu… Brother Lu, what are you doing here?”

“Didn’t I promise to bring you some meat yesterday? How is Aunt Wang?” Lu Chuan asked.

Chen Qingqing sighed and stepped aside.

“She’s doing alright. She managed to eat a little yesterday, but her high fever hasn’t gone down. The room is cold, and I didn’t dare to wipe her down…”

Lu Chuan nodded.

He placed the stick and the other pieces of meat he carried in the courtyard, then entered the room.

Aunt Wang was leaning there, looking listless.

She must have caught a chill.

Most people at this time of year would try to tough it out when sick.

There was an herbal shop in town, but few people knew how to properly treat illnesses.

Doctors were rare and precious, usually apprenticed for many years under a master, or born into families where the profession was passed down through generations.

“Aunt Wang, I’ve come to see you!” Lu Chuan said as he set down a wild rabbit.

“Qingqing can stew some soup for you later. When I go to town, I’ll look for some herbs and bring you some if I find any.”

“Aunt Wang…” She looked up, a touch of gratitude shining in her eyes, but beneath that was a flicker of caution.

Lu Chuan was puzzled. Was she really so guarded? But would such vigilance help? Even with a goalkeeper, some goals are bound to get through.

“Thank you. I didn’t expect you to come here and bring me something,” the widow Wang said, touched.

Over the years, many had come by, all eager and polite. But since winter came and this year’s harvest was poor, even those visitors had vanished.

Instead, it was this young man, Lu Chuan, who came to see her.

Though he knew some basic wilderness first aid, without herbs or proper medicines, even knowing her illness didn’t make it easier to treat her.

After a moment, Lu Chuan spoke: “Well, since I’ve delivered the goods, I’ll be going now. I have other matters to attend to.”

But at that moment, his ear twitched sharply.

He suddenly pushed the door open.

Peering outside, he saw a scrawny man, like a skinny monkey, carefully untying the rabbit meat from the bundle and sneaking toward the courtyard gate.

“Sun the Leper!” Lu Chuan scolded angrily. “What do you think you’re doing?”

This was Sun Mian, a village troublemaker, idle and a nuisance to everyone.

He often scaled walls and stole things.

Lu Chuan hadn’t expected Sun Mian to steal from him.

“Damn it!”

Sun realized he’d been caught, and tried to escape with the rabbit meat on his back.

But Lu Chuan wouldn’t give him the chance.

In three strides, he caught up to Sun, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him hard onto the ground.

“Fuck!” Sun roared, scrambling up and cursing Lu Chuan as he drew a hatchet from his waist.

“Think I won’t stab you through with this blade?” he threatened.

Lu Chuan smirked mockingly.

“How strange—you steal from me, yet act so brazenly? Who gave you such nerve?”

He tilted his head, lips curling with scorn.

Once, Lu Chuan might have feared Sun Mian; now, he did not.

“You bastard!” Sun fumed, confused how timid Lu Chuan had suddenly turned rebellious.

“If I want it, it’s mine!” he barked, swinging the hatchet at Lu Chuan.

Seizing the moment without hesitation, Lu Chuan crouched slightly and landed a brutal punch to Sun’s kidney.

Back when he was a mercenary, Lu Chuan had mastered lethal strikes—he could have easily ended Sun’s life in one blow.

But killing Sun meant trouble; the authorities wouldn’t let it slide.

So instead, he chose a method causing no external wounds but inflicting nearly irreversible damage—a specialty of his.

“Ow…”

Sun howled in pain, eyes blazing with unprecedented fury.

His whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Then he collapsed, feeling as weak as cooked noodles.

“You…”

Sun tried to raise his hatchet to threaten Lu Chuan, but found he couldn’t summon even an ounce of strength.

Lu Chuan grabbed Sun’s neck, a cruel smile curling his lips.

“Sun the Leper, I remember you extorted a good amount of grain from me before,” he said coldly.

“And stole my money!”

“With interest, that comes to a thousand coins. You’d better have it at my house tomorrow.”

“Otherwise, next time we meet, it won’t be so simple.”

He patted Sun’s neck and took the rabbit meat from his shoulder.

Then he turned to Chen Qingqing.

“I just threw him out. You should put some thorny bushes around the courtyard walls, or he’ll jump over anytime. It’s not safe.”

Chen Qingqing nodded, a little ashamed.

“Thank you, Brother Lu.”

Lu Chuan waved her off, tossing Sun out like garbage.

Then, shouldering the rabbit meat, he strode confidently toward the town.

The county seat of Hongtu was about half an hour’s walk from Shuangshui Village.

Without a cart, he had to walk.

He needed to find a cow or donkey to pull a cart.

Horses were hard to come by now, especially warhorses, which were tightly regulated. For ordinary people, getting a horse was nearly impossible.

Upon arriving in the county town, Lu Chuan did not set up a stall, nor did he call out or trade.

He wandered quietly, observing carefully.

At last, he stopped in front of a rather lavish residence.