Lu Yun signaled to Tian Dou and the others. The children together carried the crippled man under the bridge; he was crawling too slowly.
"Ya Di, do you know him?" Lu Yun asked.
Tian Ya wiped the corners of his eyes. "Once, these rascals bullied me, and this crippled uncle saved me. There was also a foolish uncle. I wanted to take care of both of them, but then they disappeared. I looked for them for a long time but couldn't find them."
This happened not long after the old beggar's death. During that time, Tian Ya was both sad and lonely. People often found new ways to bully him, as if he were a lowly stray cat or dog, whom anyone could kick without any consequence.
When he met the crippled man who saved him and the foolish man, Tian Ya was deeply moved. Seeing that one was legless and the other was foolish, with the foolish man tied to the crippled man's body by a rope every day.
Tian Ya decided to take responsibility for their care. He begged for food every day, picked up scraps from garbage heaps, and gave most of the food he managed to beg to the crippled and foolish men.
However, after half a month, the crippled and foolish men suddenly disappeared. Tian Ya searched the entire capital, looking for them for a long time, but found no trace. Later, he met Lu Ye.
Seeing that the crippled man didn't even have the strength to crawl, Lu Yun found it hard to believe he had saved Tian Ya. Could someone so frail really save people? How did he do it?
However, Tian Ya would never lie. Perhaps the crippled man had his own special skills.
The crippled man ignored what Tian Ya was saying. Seeing that Lu Yun was the leader, he addressed him, "My brother is foolish. Yesterday, he secretly untied himself and ran off, and is now missing. If you help me find my brother, I will help you settle this."
Tian Ya exclaimed, "Uncle Foolish is missing?"
The crippled man looked at Tian Ya with some surprise. "You know my brother?"
Tian Ya replied, "Of course, I know him, Uncle Crippled. Don't worry, we will definitely find Uncle Foolish!"
The crippled man nodded. "Then I will definitely help you settle this, and I guarantee they won't bully you again."
The thugs lying on the ground turned as pale as death.
They naturally knew what the crippled man meant by settling this. They had a slight impression of this crippled beggar, and he seemed very difficult to deal with.
Lu Yun felt that these thugs were not good people to begin with; they were wicked to the core, devoid of humanity. It wouldn't be going too far even if the crippled man killed them.
So, he nodded. "Uncle Crippled, we will definitely help you find your brother. However, you can settle this after we get our revenge."
"Good," the crippled man nodded.
Lu Yun turned to Tian Dou and the others. "Stuff their mouths with smelly socks!"
Tian Dou, Lu Yu, Tie Zhu, and Tian Ya immediately opened the parcels on the ground and stuffed the foul-smelling socks they had gathered from the east courtyard into the mouths of the thugs to prevent them from shouting loudly later.
This was a method their sister-in-law had used against bandits and assassins when they were in Hongshu Village, and it had been very effective.
Their sister-in-law said that making someone unable to live and unable to die was the highest realm of torture. Killing some people with a single blow was too easy for them.
They had learned the essence of it.
These smelly socks were taken from the feet of those with the most pungent odor in their household, such as Lu Tie, Lu Tu, and Lu Shui.
Brother Yang Ming often said that their feet were the smelliest, and they didn't even need mosquito repellent when they slept at night; mosquitoes within ten feet would be wiped out.
With their mouths stuffed with smelly socks, the thugs gagged and coughed, tears streaming down their faces uncontrollably. Some wished these little brats would give them more sleeping medicine so they could pass out and not smell this intoxicating odor, while others even wished for a knife to end their own lives.
Everyone present covered their noses and mouths.
The crippled man gagged. "My heavens! This is even smellier than mine!"
The children burst into laughter.
After their laughter subsided, Lu Yun shouted, "Little ones, revenge!"
Tian Dou and the other four, along with the little beggars, immediately began punching and kicking the people on the ground. Although they were all children, so many punches and kicks still hurt.
After the fist and foot assault, Lu Yun and the other four children brought out their ultimate weapon: the tickle powder given to them by their sister-in-law.
They moved the crippled uncle further away, ensuring everyone avoided it. Then, wearing cloth gloves, they evenly sprinkled the tickle powder onto the thugs' skin.
Their sister-in-law had not yet developed an antidote for the tickle powder, so they couldn't get any on themselves.
Tie Zhu and Lu Yu specifically sprinkled some into the thugs' crotches.
Uncle Crippled and the other beggars watched, sighing in amazement.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the thugs writhed all over, scratching and crying out in misery.
They wished they could die, that someone would end them with a single blow!
Lu Yun stepped forward, kicked them a few times, and reprimanded them, "You have committed countless evils. When you were bullying others, did you ever imagine you would end up like this today? Everything that is happening today is your own doing!"
The children squatted in a large circle, quietly admiring the thugs who were scratching to the point of wishing they were dead, occasionally offering enthusiastic commentary.
Uncle Crippled also sat up and watched the suffering people on the ground with a cold expression. He had also wanted to kill them long ago, because his brother had also been bullied by them.
By the time Lu Yun and the others had finished their revenge, it was past noon. Lu Yun took Tian Dou to buy dozens of meat buns and a jar of water.
Each beggar received two meat buns, which they wolfed down. Such fragrant meat buns were beyond their reach through begging; these were essentially the most delicious things they had ever eaten.
The beggars licked their lips, extremely satisfied.
Uncle Crippled received six buns. He ate three of them like a starving wolf in the blink of an eye. As he prepared to eat the fourth, he hesitated for a moment, then did not continue. Instead, he carefully wrapped the remaining three buns.
Lu Yun then placed the jar of water in front of him.
He lifted it and drank his fill.
After eating and drinking, his entire demeanor improved considerably.
Lu Yun suspected that his earlier slow crawling was due to extreme hunger and lack of strength.
After eating their two large meat buns, the little beggars became even more determined to follow this leading child named "Brother Yun."
They looked at each other, understanding each other's intentions. One of the slightly older beggars said, "Brother Yun, from now on, we will all be your little followers. If you need anything, just tell us, and we will handle it perfectly for you!"
The other beggars nodded in agreement.
Lu Yun smiled. "Alright, I won't refuse. We will ask for your help if we need anything in the future!"
"Then... how do we contact you, and where can we find you?" the slightly older beggar asked.
Lu Yun thought for a moment. "I'll come to find you. Where do you usually stay?"
The slightly older beggar replied, "We usually stay in the broken temple south of West Market at night, that old Earth Mother Temple."
Tian Ya nodded. "I know where that is."
Lu Yun looked at the slightly older beggar. "From now on, you will be responsible for gathering everyone. What is your name?"
The slightly older beggar's face lit up with joy. He immediately said, "My name is Guanzi."
"Good, Guanzi, I'll remember you," Lu Yun said, patting his shoulder and smiling. "From now on, you will all call me Brother Yun."
"Brother Yun!" the beggars all called out in unison.