“What’s wrong, do you need something else?” Fang Chao asked the Li Hu siblings, noticing they hadn't left after thanking him. A thought flashed through his mind, "Oh, are you worried that guy will retaliate against you later?"
Fang Chao and Du Fei were about to leave, but Li Hu and his sister remained standing still. Fang Chao then assumed the siblings were afraid of the man named Chen Liuzhi seeking revenge.
"Here, this is my number. If that guy comes looking for trouble again, just give me a call!"
Since he had helped the Li Hu siblings, Fang Chao decided to see it through. He gave his number to the siblings and instructed them to call him if Chen Liuzhi bothered them again.
Du Fei, standing nearby, looked at Fang Chao with admiration, thinking, "The descendant of a martial artist family is so kind-hearted."
"No, no, that's not what we meant. We just feel we owe you a lot for saving us, and we want to give you something in return," Li Hu said, shaking his head.
"Give me something?" Fang Chao was momentarily stunned, then smiled. "Oh, it was just a small favor. You don't need to give me anything. You're too kind."
So he had been mistaken. Li Hu had stayed to offer him a gift. Fang Chao quickly waved his hand, saying it wasn't necessary.
"Brother, I know you might not think much of this, but my parents always told me that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring," Li Hu said earnestly.
Seeing Li Hu's serious expression, Fang Chao didn't know what else to say. If he refused again, it would be embarrassing for Li Hu. Fang Chao glanced at Du Fei, who nodded at him. Thus, Fang Chao reluctantly agreed.
A faint smile appeared on Li Hu's face when Fang Chao agreed.
The Li Hu siblings led the way, with Du Fei and Fang Chao following behind. Along the way, many people greeted Li Hu with smiles, indicating he was well-liked in the White Tiger Mountain market.
After walking for some time, they arrived at the northeast corner of the market. A large area was sectioned off for stalls, with many people browsing the goods.
"Brother Wang, thank you for watching my stall," Li Hu said to a middle-aged man at a stall.
The man, seeing Li Hu's disheveled appearance and the bloodstains on his lips, asked with concern, "Huzi, what happened to you?"
"Did that Chen Liuzhi fellow beat you? Alas, those scoundrels will get what's coming to them eventually!"
Li Hu managed a smile. "Brother Wang, thank you for your concern, I'm fine."
The middle-aged man nodded and walked to a neighboring stall. This Brother Wang, like Li Hu, also had a stall there. Li Hu had been taken away by Chen Liuzhi's subordinates earlier and had asked Brother Wang to look after his stall.
"Brother Chao, I don't have much to give you, but anything on my stall that catches your eye, feel free to take it," Li Hu said to Fang Chao, gesturing to his stall.
Li Hu's stall sold a variety of trinkets, as well as some coins and jade pendants. However, anyone knowledgeable could see that the coins and pendants were fake. After all, finding a priceless treasure on an obscure stall, like in those TV shows, was practically impossible these days.
Since they were there, Fang Chao glanced at the stall. Nothing really caught his eye. For Fang Chao, even the most expensive items in the White Tiger Mountain market held no interest, let alone these trinkets. After all, the wealthiest man in Rongcheng was supported by their Fang family, so they had seen all sorts of valuable items.
"I'll take this one. This thimble is quite unique. I'll take it," Fang Chao said after a brief look, picking up a thimble from Li Hu's stall.
Historically, thimbles were worn by archers to protect their fingers from the bowstring. The earliest thimbles are said to date back to the Shang Dynasty. However, in modern times, archery is a niche hobby, and since the thimble on Li Hu's stall was not an antique or made of special material, it was essentially worthless. Fang Chao chose it purely to put Li Hu at ease.
After selecting the item, Fang Chao thanked Li Hu and prepared to leave. However, Du Fei, standing beside him, suddenly crouched down and stared intently at an old book on Li Hu's stall.
"What is it, Brother Fei? Are you interested in this book?" Li Hu had learned their names on the way. Seeing Du Fei's interest in his stall, Li Hu said, "Since you're interested, Brother Fei, just take it."
Fang Chao leaned closer to Du Fei. "Du Fei, I didn't know you were interested in old books."
"How much is this book? You're in business, so I can't just take it for free," Du Fei said, not answering Fang Chao, but looking at Li Hu.
To Li Hu, it was just an ordinary old book, which he had acquired along with a pile of trinkets, intending to use it to trick some tourists. Now that Du Fei fancied it, he planned to give it to him. Although Du Fei hadn't intervened directly, he was Fang Chao's friend, and a book was not worth much. However, Du Fei insisted on paying. After some back and forth, Du Fei paid Li Hu two hundred yuan. Li Hu said a few dozen yuan would have been enough, as it wasn't worth that much. But Du Fei insisted he was very interested in the book and would not take it if Li Hu refused the money. Seeing Du Fei's serious expression, Li Hu finally accepted the money.
"Let me see what's so interesting about this book," Fang Chao said. After bidding farewell to the Li Hu siblings, and not walking far, Fang Chao snatched the book Du Fei had just bought and began to look through it. However, before he could even open it, Fang Chao frowned. The book Du Fei had chosen was truly... extraordinary. The title was written in traditional Chinese characters: "Wu Sheng Bi Ji" (Martial Saint's Notes). Besides the title on the cover, the rest of the book was old and worn. Flipping through a few pages, the content was all in traditional Chinese characters, essentially a self-biography of an ancient person named Wu Sheng.
"Du Fei, I have to say, what's so great about this thing? Don't tell me you just bought it because Li Hu was short on cash?" Seeing that the book Du Fei chose was uninteresting, Fang Chao lost interest and returned it to Du Fei.
"Tsk tsk, you wouldn't know. There's something good hidden in here," Du Fei said to Fang Chao, with a knowing look.