The Rogue Villager Chen Erbao

Chen Erbao shot the onlookers a cold glance and snorted with contempt. "Fuck off, all of you!"

After cursing, he grabbed the arm of the woman in black, his hand reaching for her waist.

The woman in black's eyes darted around in panic as she struggled to break free, but Chen Erbao's hand was like a steel vise, gripping her wrist so tightly she couldn't move an inch.

The passersby were not pleased when they saw this, and a few young men, spurred on by the woman's looks, stepped forward.

"Hey, man. It's not cool to be manhandling a girl in broad daylight, is it?"

"Yeah, and you're cussing people out? What, you think you own Binhai or something, acting so arrogant?"

"..."

Chen Erbao couldn't be bothered to deal with the crowd. He reached straight for the Jade Ring at the woman's waist, pulled it out, and held it up. Staring coldly at her, he asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

The woman's expression changed, and she immediately denied it. "I don't know what you're talking about... That's not mine!"

"Heh. Well, isn't that something. What, you think I planted it on you myself?"

Chen Erbao had no interest in pursuing the matter with a petty thief like her. He released her wrist and stuffed the Jade Ring into his pocket.

The pretty thief, exposed on the spot, was so angry her chest heaved. But she had been caught red-handed, and with so many people watching, she was afraid of causing a bigger scene. She shot Chen Erbao a vicious glare, then turned and vanished into the sea of people.

The onlookers looked at one another, a little dumbfounded.

They seemed to realize the woman had looked guilty, and their expressions shifted, a sense of awkwardness filling the air.

Having made things worse with their good intentions, the crowd quickly scattered.

Chen Erbao shot a glance at the young men who had tried to play the hero, said nothing more, and left.

...

The alleys on both sides were lined with food stalls selling all kinds of delicious snacks. Famous dishes from both the north and south could be found here. While not exactly top-tier, they had an authentic charm.

Chen Erbao ordered a few Huainan dishes and wolfed them down. Afterward, he stepped outside and saw the number of pedestrians dwindling, so he resumed his stroll.

Time flew, and soon it was late afternoon. Though shopping was a bore, Chen Erbao was in a pretty good mood.

He had swept through an entire street of antiques and jade and finally found another Jade Pendant, bringing his total of Spirit-Gathering Items to four.

Four antique streets were left: the Calligraphy and Painting Street, the Chinese Medicine Street, the Strange Stones and Carvings Street, and the Bronze Artifacts Street.

Of these four, Chen Erbao had the lowest hopes for the calligraphy and painting street.

Since it was still early, Chen Erbao decided he might as well check out that street today.

He walked for over an hour, passing all sorts of strange and curious things. He even saw a piece claimed to be an original by the Cursive Script Sage, Zhang Xu. 'It's not even as good as my own handwriting!' he thought.

But this sort of thing was unreliable to begin with. Without an expert's appraisal, you could forget about finding a genuine piece.

Paper is even more fragile than porcelain; over time, it yellows and decays. Finding a Spirit-Containing Object here would be harder than climbing to heaven.

As evening fell, Chen Erbao sighed. He had reached the end of the street and was about to leave when his nose suddenly twitched. He caught the scent of familiar medicinal herbs.

'I feel like I've smelled this somewhere before...'

Chen Erbao followed the scent, which soon led him around the corner to the adjacent medicine street.

An antique-looking shop appeared before him.

"Spirit Medicine Hall!"

The scent was wafting out from inside.

Chen Erbao frowned, thinking, and then it hit him!

'Isn't this the same scent from when I saw that woman in the green skirt on the Antique Street in the Hongyuan City District?'

'Could it be...'

The shop door was mostly closed, leaving only a crack. Chen Erbao gently pushed it open and stepped inside.

The interior wasn't large. Various precious Chinese medicinal herbs were displayed on the counter. At the far end of the shop was a small door, and the scent was coming from behind it.

Chen Erbao tiptoed over, pushed the door open, and saw a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was a room with its door ajar, from which a rustling sound emerged.

Chen Erbao crept silently to the doorway, peeked his head inside, and froze.

A woman in a simple white dress was reclining in a lounge chair. Her clothes were partially undone, revealing her left shoulder and a large expanse of fair, delicate skin.

On her chest, marring the gentle curve of her breast, was a ghastly wound about three centimeters long, apparently inflicted by a sharp weapon. The skin around it had already turned black.

The woman was biting down on a towel, her exquisite, flawless face contorted in pain as her trembling right hand tried to apply medicine to the wound.

A dark aura was already swirling between her eyebrows—a clear sign she was deeply poisoned!

Chen Erbao recognized her. It was the woman in the green skirt he had met once before in Hongyuan City.

A medicinal broth simmered in a stove in the center of the room, its thick aroma filling the air.

Chen Erbao knew he should leave, but he was afraid of startling her. He held his breath, frozen to the spot, his eyes glued to her beautiful face and perfect figure...

A gaze has weight.

The woman seemed to sense something was amiss. She looked up and saw a head peeking in from the doorway, staring at her intently.

"???"

She froze for a second before her expression changed to one of shock and anger. She glared at Chen Erbao and instinctively tried to stand, but halfway up, the wound tore open. Excruciating pain flooded her mind, the dark aura on her face flared, and with a THUD, she collapsed back into the chair, unconscious.

"..."

Chen Erbao had been about to retreat when the woman passed out, leaving him bewildered.

'What the fuck do I do now?'

He glanced around, confirmed the shop was empty, and felt conflicted.

'What the hell is this situation? I can't just leave her to die!'

After hesitating for a long moment, Chen Erbao walked over to her. He looked down at her exquisitely flawless face, momentarily unsure of what to do.

Ever since he had last seen this woman, Chen Erbao hadn't been able to get her out of his mind.

It wasn't just her outstanding looks; more importantly, it was her aura. Among all the women Chen Erbao had ever met, hers was second to none.

Of course, in terms of looks alone, she was one of only two he'd consider top-tier.

The other was Bai Xiaoqing.

Bai Xiaoqing, however, had more of the air of a powerful businesswoman, lacking this woman's cool detachment and ethereal grace.

His first impression of this woman was of a stunning, cold beauty, like Little Dragon Girl.

Women like Lin Zhiqing, in terms of looks alone, were still a notch below.

'Then again, you can't judge a woman on looks alone; you have to consider her overall character and conversation.'

The women in his life each had their own unique charms; it was impossible to rank them.

His thoughts began to wander, but a glance at the woman brought him back. Her breathing was shallow, more air leaving her than entering, and she looked to be on death's door. He shook off his distracting thoughts, knelt, and pulled aside her dress at the shoulder until the upper curve of her breast was exposed. Only then did his expression turn grim.

'This wound is serious!'

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