Chapter Ninety-Two: The Reward of Good Deeds

"What's going on? Little South, take your foot off him first, or he'll freeze to death," Hu Mo said in haste. He did not want to stir up trouble in Flame City at a time like this; otherwise, by the next day, there would be news again of the Young Master Hu abusing his power. If that happened, much of what he had done would be for nothing.

At Hu Mo's cry, Lin Nan's fury eased somewhat. She lifted her foot, then kicked the constable flying, drawing a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

Lin Nan glared fiercely at the constable and the several subordinates she had already beaten down, then casually helped up a little girl of eleven or twelve. Only then did Hu Mo notice that a corpse was lying on the ground beside the child.

The dead man seemed to be the girl's father. He was terribly thin, as if no flesh remained on him at all. Beside the corpse stood a sign, crookedly written with the words "Sell Myself to Bury My Father," a sight of indescribable desolation.

Seeing this, Hu Mo roughly guessed the situation. The girl was rather pretty; that constable must have lusted after her, but, greedy as he was, he wanted both the girl and the money, and refused to bury her father. That must have been what caused the scene just now.

Lin Nan was by nature one who hated evil as if it were her mortal enemy. The hardships of her childhood had made her despise such bullies even more, so when she struck, she showed no restraint at all.

"These bastards laid hands on this little girl in broad daylight, of course they deserve punishment! Even killing them would not be too much!" Lin Nan said coldly. As her words fell, the air seemed to grow colder still.

"You... who are you? I... ah? Young Master Hu, it's you! Please, save me! She's going to beat me to death!" the constable cried, crawling to Hu Mo's feet and using him as a shield.

Hu Mo looked at him in bewilderment and asked coldly, "Why are you clinging to me? What do you have to do with me?"

"Oh, how could there be no connection? Young Master Hu, we used to drink together and spend time with women. Have you forgotten? Back then we..."

"Shut up! What audacity. Not only did you try to seize a decent woman by force, you even dare slander me. It seems your courage really knows no bounds. If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll go on slandering me forever," Hu Mo said with a sneer. With a single kick, he sent him flying like a sandbag. At once, both the constable's men and the surrounding townsfolk stared at Hu Mo with wide eyes, as though looking at some kind of monster.

"Little South, I'll leave the rest to you. So long as no one dies, that's enough. These fellows deserve a good beating!" Hu Mo ordered.

Soon, the sound of wailing filled the air. By the end, each of them lay on the ground shivering like ice-cold sticks.

Zhu Xin Yue struck even harder. She hated most of all these men who bullied the weak and oppressed the innocent, and the moment she encountered such people, her anger flared up at once. Her fists and feet flew as though they cost nothing, raining down on them without mercy. And who in the world would dare provoke her, the little princess of the Heavenly Fire Empire? Those men could only cry out as she beat them.

"Make way, make way! What are you all doing gathered here? Trying to cause trouble by mobbing together?" Several shouts came from not far away. Soon the onlookers withdrew at once, and a squad of city patrol soldiers ran over.

They had originally intended to scold them, but the moment they saw Zhu Xin Yue and Hu Mo, their expressions turned ugly.

The few fellows lying on the ground were among the people who usually paid their respects to the officers most eagerly and generously. Seeing this scene, the patrolmen naturally felt rather awkward. But at a time like this, what to do and how to do it was as clear as day in their hearts. Offend no one, but absolutely do not offend Princess Xin Yue and the First Profligate. That was the truth they lived by.

"Come here!" Zhu Xin Yue rolled up her sleeves a little and pointed at the burliest man among them, shouting loudly.

"Yes, Your Highness!" The man hurried over to Zhu Xin Yue, his ingratiating smile so thick it made one cringe.

"What is your name? Is this area under your command?" Zhu Xin Yue said coldly. Clearly, her anger had not yet subsided.

"To answer Your Highness, this one is called Wolf Fire, and I am the squad leader of this unit. This indeed falls within our patrol route, and we did not expect such a thing to happen. Your Highness, rest assured, these fellows will be punished most severely!" Wolf Fire said with great seriousness. Though his expression was resolute, his heart was nearly frantic. This was truly torment beyond endurance.

The local bullies had already been taken away by the officers. Only the sobbing little girl remained, along with the corpse lying on the ground.

It had to be said: the poor were indeed pitiable. After a loved one died, they had no money to bury him; even setting up a sign to sell oneself in order to bury one's father would still bring bullying and humiliation. Even if they did manage to sell themselves for money, the body would likely have already decayed, no longer an intact corpse. Such tragedies were far too common in this world.

Hu Mo glanced at Lin Nan and saw that she was holding the little girl, tears streaming down even from someone as steadfast as she. Hu Mo had been rather puzzled why Lin Nan's bad fortune had not affected the child. But when he saw the sealing pattern on Lin Nan's forehead, he understood. For Lin Nan's sake, Cang Ling had truly spent a great deal.

Hu Mo let out a soft sigh, bent down, and handed the girl a piece of silver. "Little sister, use this money to bury your father. Use whatever remains to support yourself and your other relatives, all right?"

"Wu... everyone else is dead. Only... only Niuniu is left," the little girl cried. First she had lost her father, and now, while trying to sell herself to bury him, she had been teased and bullied. Her young heart was suffering terribly.

Zhu Xin Yue was also crying with tears like pear blossoms in the rain. She and Lin Nan held the little girl as they cried, and the sight nearly melted Hu Mo's heart.

"Enough crying. First do what must be done, then cry afterward. Xin Yue, Little South, take this little sister to an inn and help her wash up. Then take her to eat something. I'll have someone arrange her father's burial. The weather is too hot; if he isn't buried soon, there will be problems. Time is short, so go first. I'll be there shortly," Hu Mo said very seriously. More than a month of giving orders had sharpened his mind, and his commands left Lin Nan and Zhu Xin Yue with no room to object.

Hu Mo directly took out a piece of gold and said in a low voice, "Anyone who wants to earn this gold should go to the coffin shop and buy me a coffin. Bury this uncle properly, and I will never go back on my word."

Naturally, Hu Mo's words drew a great deal of attention, but everyone looked at him with complete distrust. Who would believe that Hu Mo would suddenly and generously throw money around like this?

Lin Nan and Zhu Xin Yue had already taken the little girl into an inn and did not see Hu Mo's current predicament.

Hu Mo sighed softly and shook his head, thinking to himself, "It seems that washing one's name clean after being blackened really isn't simple. What a headache."

"Is someone really giving away gold? I'll do it!" A burly, bare-chested man suddenly stepped out of the crowd and walked toward Hu Mo.

The moment he saw Hu Mo, his eager expression changed. Clearly, he too knew who Hu Mo was.

"Heh, my good man, I, Hu Mo, keep my word. Since I said one ingot of gold, then it will be one ingot of gold. I know none of you trust me, so all right, I'll give the gold to him first. That should remove any doubt," Hu Mo said loudly. He walked over to the burly man and pressed the gold into his hand.

"Let this uncle rest in peace. We're all pitiable souls," Hu Mo said flatly, his tone filled with helplessness and compassion.

The bare-chested man was full of shifting expressions. After struggling inwardly for a long while, as though he had undergone countless battles of conscience, he clenched his teeth and said, "I'll trust the Young Master once. If the Young Master truly is this righteous and has turned over a new leaf, then from now on, I, Iron Ox, will never again say a single bad word about you! Young Master, I'll be back soon!"

Iron Ox roared and ran toward the coffin shop. His words exploded through the crowd, and in an instant the townspeople began talking all at once, the topic being whether Hu Mo had truly reformed.

Hu Mo looked at the common folk somewhat awkwardly. Cleaning up after others was a tormenting business. Still, since he had accepted the identity of Hu Mo, he had to do something. In the future, if he wanted to accomplish great things, having a good reputation was absolutely necessary. Besides, he believed his nature was not bad at all; why should he carry this black pot for someone else?

While everyone was arguing heatedly, Iron Ox came walking back step by step, carrying a coffin on his shoulder. As a man who followed the path of strength, carrying a coffin was not much of a burden for him.

Hu Mo smiled faintly, went over, took the coffin from him, and placed it beside the corpse. At that moment, the little girl suddenly ran out of the inn and threw herself weeping onto the body. Her grief moved everyone present.

"What a poor child. So young, and already an orphan. It is enough to make anyone who hears it sad and anyone who sees it shed tears..."

"Yes, fortunately she met a good person, otherwise half her life would have been ruined..."

"Ah? You think that profligate young master is a good person?"

"Why not? Though he did many wrong things before, the fact that he is willing to do this now proves he still has a conscience. If you think yourself a good person, why don't you go help this little girl?"

At once, the crowd broke into murmuring discussion. Lin Nan and Zhu Xin Yue crouched there comforting the girl, and only after quite a while did they finally place her father into the coffin. Hu Mo also let out a long breath of relief.

"Iron Ox, was it? I'll trouble you with this matter." Hu Mo smiled and handed him another ingot of gold, patting him on the shoulder.

At that moment, scattered applause suddenly sounded from the crowd. Then, like a contagion, the applause spread until everyone was clapping.

Hu Mo froze. He had not expected his act of kindness to receive such a passionate response, as though he had suddenly become some great hero who saved the nation and the people. Such a treatment, as if from heaven to earth, left him somewhat unable to react.

Seeing Hu Mo's awkward expression, Zhu Xin Yue sniffled and then laughed through her tears. "Big Brother Hu also knows how to be shy. That's truly rare, hahaha..."

Hu Mo stood there embarrassed and at a loss. Just as he was about to speak, a faint warning suddenly flashed through his heart. He sprang up and charged toward Zhu Xin Yue. Only a few screams were heard, and the whole scene immediately descended into chaos.