Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 116 A man's strength comes from pulling up his pants.

Lin Fan had just sat down when he saw a middle-aged man walking towards him from a distance. This man was also shirtless, and his physique was quite good for the wetland people. What was even more rare was that he wasn't very old, a rarity in this area. He looked even younger than Lin Fan.

Without even glancing at Lin Fan, he said to Su Ran, "Xiao Ran, it's your turn. Get ready."

Su Ran's lips trembled slightly. "Uncle Changyi, something's not right. It shouldn't be this fast. If we were to draw lots, the earliest I could do it would be the next draw. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Su Changyi shook his head. "A few children went hunting in the woods a few days ago and haven't come back."

Su Ran suddenly erupted in fury, "They, they must have run away! Why do they disappear when it's their turn? Uncle Changyi, my sister is still young, and my grandmother is old. They can't live without me!"

Chang Yi shook his head reluctantly, "Whose family is better than yours? When we drew lots, we agreed that no one was allowed to complain when it was their turn. If I let you go, how am I supposed to explain it to the next child?"

Su Ran's eyes darted around, and he turned to run away, but Su Changyi reached out and pulled him back.

Su Ran's feet were dangling in the air. After a struggle, the silver coins Lin Fan had given him fell to the ground with a clatter.

The three of them were stunned when they saw the large, white ingot of silver on the ground.

Lin Fan stood up, pulled his hand out, and slapped Su Ran across the face. "You little brat, I've never shortchanged you, and you're stealing my stuff."

Lin Fan gave Su Ran a wink, and the latter immediately understood and hurriedly apologized.

Su Changyi was not surprised at all. Few people in the wetlands are honest and upright; stealing is as common as drinking water for them.

Lin Fan cupped his hands towards Su Changyi and said, "Brother, this kid stole my silver. May I take him to the government office?"

Su Changyi shook his head. "Logically, that's how it should be, but since this kid is being offered as tribute to the pests, he won't live for more than a few days anyway. Since he's going to die anyway, I wonder if we could let him pay for the life of another child?"

Lin Fan had anticipated that Su Changyi wouldn't let him save Su Ran so easily, but he hadn't expected Su Changyi to be so reasonable.

Lin Fan bent down to pick up the silver, wiped the mud off it, and carefully put it away. "But taking him away like this really doesn't satisfy my hatred. Can I see this brat being skinned and dismembered by the beast? That would make me feel better."

Su Changyi hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm afraid this brother will be disappointed. The beast will only take away the offerings and will not eat them in person."

Lin Fan waved his hand, "It's alright."

Logically speaking, Su Changyi did not want outsiders to see the harmful beasts receiving tribute, but he had already refused the man's request to take Su Ran to the yamen. So, he reluctantly agreed.

Lin Fan clenched his fist. "Let me see what this scourge looks like."

Not long after Lin Fan and his two companions left, Chen Ergou hurriedly pulled up his pants and came out. He looked around but couldn't find Lin Fan, so he called out, "Hey, Brother Fan, where did you go? You're next!"

Sun Sanjie, her snow-white shoulders exposed, slowly embraced him from behind. "Master, what happened just now doesn't count. Let me stay with you a little longer."

The man was very lustful; the two of them only touched each other for a while before it was over, leaving her hand sticky with desire.

According to the rules, this should be considered valid, but the other party didn't haggle over a single penny and just served her so carelessly. If word got out, it would ruin Sun San Niang's reputation.

Upon hearing Sun Sanniang's sweet voice, Chen Ergou was completely captivated. He turned around, embraced her, and looked down at the glittering golden hairpin on her head.

"Oh, Third Sister's hairpin looks like a good thing."

Sun Sanniang chuckled, "If you like it, sir, I'll give it to you." With that, she took off the hairpin and stuffed it into Chen Ergou's hand.

Chen Ergou was overjoyed. Could it be that he was too charming and the girl had fallen in love with him and wanted to give him an expensive token of their love?

But the moment he picked up the hairpin, his face fell. It was so light; it was definitely a fake! And upon closer inspection, the color had faded, so it was probably an old item. It was worth at most a few copper coins.

Looking at Chen Ergou's expression, Sun Sanniang covered her mouth and chuckled, "Master is so funny. How could someone like me be worthy of wearing such fine jewelry? I just like wearing pretty things. If you don't want me to serve you anymore, I'll refund half the money to you."

However, Chen Ergou still brought the hairpin to his nose and took a deep sniff, then stuffed it into his pocket. "Fine, I'll just consider the rest of the money as money for this hairpin."

As he spoke, Chen Ergou gently untied Sun Sanniang's hands from his embrace and pulled up his pants. "Brother Fan, Brother Fan, where have you been? It's getting dark. Don't leave me alone."

Sun Sanniang also got dressed, "Ha, a man is tough once he pulls up his pants."

Many wetland dwellers, relying on the dim light of two broken lanterns, formed a semi-circle around a large natural stone platform.

Su Changyi and another wetland man each brought over a child. The other child was a smaller girl with two short braids, looking blankly at the adults gathered in a circle.

Su Ran had already been tied up. This teenager understood everything and tried his best to escape, but he only lay obediently on the stone platform after his hands and feet were bound.

Lin Fan stood behind the crowd, watching coldly.

A series of wolf howls echoed through the forest, and pairs of eerie green eyes emerged from the grass.

But none of the wetland people panicked, except for Su Ran, who twisted even more violently.

A look of doubt flashed in Lin Fan's eyes. Could the pests just be ordinary wolves? Even if the wetland people were weak, they wouldn't be afraid of a few wolves, would they? Judging from their appearance, they really weren't worried about the pests harming them.

Two wolves leaped out of the darkness. They were even larger than ordinary people, with long, slender, reverse-jointed limbs and short tails. They looked like wolves, yet also like quadrupedal humans.

A wolf stood on three paws, one of its front paws lifting Su Ran up.