Leaning against a caravan while clutching his hunting hat and pressing it tightly against his head, Xiao Ping felt that his head was extremely heavy, as if someone were driving nails into his brain. But that wasn't all—his green eyes saw everything blurred and hazy, and he could no longer tell whether the person passing in front of him was one or two.
Xiao Ping's suffering grew worse, but the world seemed to think his torment was still not enough. So, when the caravan owner saw this pained man leaning against his caravan, he decided to intervene.
He was a man in his forties, with yellowed eyes and a curly brown beard tied in two directions like a Viking's. His long mustache was twisted—the right side pointing upward and the left side downward—creating a stark contrast with his Viking-style beard.
He wore the simple attire of a merchant, with a bronze medal on the right side of his chest, engraved with a wheat design.
He had parked his caravan in this spot while discussing with one of the gate guards about issues related to highway robbery and his need for assistance. He had asked a guard to accompany him when he left the city, but the guard refused due to the emperor's orders prohibiting guards from leaving the city to prevent any potential surprise attacks.
This angered the merchant greatly. As he turned his attention back to his caravan, he grew furious upon seeing someone leaning against it. He hurried toward Xiao Ping.
When he was two steps away from Xiao Ping, he shouted angrily:
"You damned vagrant! Who gave you permission to lean against my caravan?"
The man was extremely angry and was looking for someone to vent his frustration on. Unfortunately, he found Xiao Ping.
Xiao Ping heard the man's shouting but ignored him because his head was in immense pain. His reaction was more intense than usual because he had been forced to use his strength without proper guidance as soon as he acquired it. He could only curse that entity. So, he continued holding his hat while seeing the man in front of him as two figures.
"You damned vagrant, what's wrong with you! I'm talking to you, and you're ignoring me!" The man shouted even louder upon seeing Xiao Ping disregard him, growing angrier.
Due to the man's shouting, some passersby dressed in classic Victorian-era attire were drawn to the scene. They watched the suffering Xiao Ping and the man who was yelling and cursing at him.
Some of the onlookers curled their lips with expressions of amusement, but they made no attempt to stop the dispute. Instead, they watched happily. It was a merchant mocking a commoner and a vagrant—why would they stop it? They would simply stand and watch until the end.
As the merchant's voice grew louder and he received no response from Xiao Ping, he decided to punish him for leaning against his caravan without permission. Even if he had been given permission, he would never have allowed him to touch even the hoof of the horse pulling the carriage, let alone the carriage itself.
He pulled his right hand back, gathered some strength, and threw a punch mercilessly toward the suffering Xiao Ping.
"Thump!"
A loud punch landed on Xiao Ping's face, causing his head to hit the caravan and his hunting hat to fall onto the pavement, revealing his short black hair with golden strands at the front. Xiao Ping remained still, his head lowered motionlessly.
At that moment, the onlookers cheered with excited expressions, eagerly anticipating what would happen next.
Xiao Ping felt the pain of the punch striking his left cheek, causing the previous pain in his mind to vanish as if it had never existed. Even his green eyes returned to normal vision, with no remaining damage.
Xiao Ping raised his head and saw the simply dressed merchant laughing happily at what he had just done to him. He also looked around and saw people dressed in classic Victorian-era clothing, laughing and equally pleased with what had happened to him.
Xiao Ping turned his gaze back to the merchant. His eyes emitted a coldness, but he concealed it and said:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Merchant. I was suffering from a headache earlier, so I leaned against your caravan without permission. I beg your forgiveness. Now, I will leave and not disturb your work."
After saying this, Xiao Ping bent down to pick up his hat from the concrete pavement. But at that moment, he saw a leather shoe step on his hat, preventing him from taking it. Then he heard:
"You vagrant, do you think an apology will make up for wasting my precious time?"
The merchant spoke in an arrogant voice:
"I won't let you leave so easily! If you want to leave, you must pay 5 copper liras! Then I'll let you go."
Xiao Ping muttered to himself:
"What, 5 copper liras?! Where would I get that kind of money? I have nothing now. But why should I pay him? I didn't do anything except lean against his caravan, and I already apologized for it."
A man exclaimed upon hearing the merchant's demand:
"What, 5 liras? That's enough to feed you three meals a day for two weeks without worrying about hunger. But this merchant is demanding 5 liras just because someone leaned against his caravan? This is clearly greed and going too far."
Another replied:
"Yes, you're right. This is outrageous!"
"More importantly, do you see that vagrant having any money? Look at his ragged clothes and his shoes. Earlier, I thought he was crazy because he was shouting, but he apologized to the merchant. Yet that wasn't enough—he demanded 5 liras. Also, didn't you notice the bloodstains near his heart and right shoulder? He might be injured."
Another spoke wisely but did not dare to stop the merchant from his actions.
However, they were shocked when they heard Xiao Ping's voice turn icy cold. Still bent over trying to retrieve his hat from under the merchant's shoe, he said:
"What if I refuse?"
His voice echoed through the street, angering the merchant.
"Then you'll pay with your body."
As he said this, he kicked with his left foot toward Xiao Ping's abdomen.
But Xiao Ping, using his abilities, foresaw what the merchant was about to do. At the moment the merchant kicked, Xiao Ping leaned his body backward, allowing the kick to swing through the air. Then, he swiftly kicked the merchant's foot, which was stepping on his hat, with force.
This caused the merchant to stumble backward as he tried to regain his balance. But at that moment, he saw Xiao Ping stepping toward him and throwing a punch at his stomach.
"Thump!"
Xiao Ping's fist struck the man's abdomen with force, causing him to vomit saliva onto the ground while clutching his stomach and bending over. But Xiao Ping didn't stop there—he kicked with his right foot into the merchant's face, under his jaw.
"Gahh."
The merchant let out a grunt as Xiao Ping's foot connected under his jaw, forcing his head to jerk upward.
Xiao Ping clasped his fists together tightly, forming a solid ball, and brought them down forcefully onto the merchant's head.
"Thud!"
At that moment, Xiao Ping's fists struck the merchant's head. The sound of his body hitting the pavement echoed through the street. The merchant lay unconscious, motionless.
At that moment, the onlookers gasped loudly, fear appearing in their eyes at what they had just witnessed. Just moments ago, the conflict had been one-sided in the merchant's favor, but it had now flipped to the side of the person who had been beaten earlier.
.... ~End of chapter,to be continued....