Indeed, as they worried, what was toe came; when the two of them arrived at Shanyan Vige, they happened to encounter a group of about a dozen young men, each one fully armed with tools like hatchets and iron rods.


    The leader was someone Zhang Xiaoxue recognized; it was none other than Li Hao of Shanyan Vige!


    "Haha, better lucky than early," Li Hao, with his height of one meter and seventy centimeters, had gathered his vige''s underlings today, nning to head to Osmanthus Vige. His targets were none other than Zhang Xiaoxue and Xia Liu!


    "Are you Li Hao?" Facing over a dozen armed youths, Xia Liu asked unflinchingly.


    "That''s right, I am Li Ritian! Were you the one who beat up my brother yesterday?" Li Hao walked right up to Xia Liu, and because he was a head shorter, he had to look up to await the other''s response.


    ...


    Looking at that utterly disgusting face, Xia Liu pped him hard across the face. One could say that Li Hao was partially responsible for the death of Zhang Xiaoxue''s father, and having encountered him today, how could Xia Liu let him off!


    Poor Li Hao was pped unconscious by Xia Liu in one swing. The other youths, upon witnessing this, immediately drew their weapons. Some of them had been taught a lesson by Xia Liust time, and this time, armed and supported by so many brothers, their confidence significantly increased.


    "Attack, avenge Brother Hao!"


    With an angry shout, the dozen or so men charged at once. Their sole purpose was to take down Xia Liu and see him bleed!


    "Brother Xia Liu!" Seeing so many people rush forward, Zhang Xiaoxue screamed in rm from behind.


    As for Xia Liu, he didn''t take these people seriously at all, but he also couldn''t be too outrageous.


    He pushed his palms in the Eight Trigrams stance, the beginning pose of Taiji!


    Boom boom boom…


    In the following few minutes, a series of collision sounds echoed at the entrance of the vige. Xia Liu''s use of Taiji''s yielding and redirecting force was extremely adept, and these dozen or so youths didn''t stand a chance, all ending up on the ground groaning in pain.


    "Let''s go, Xiaoxue." Looking at Li Hao passed out on the ground, Xia Liu didn''t bother with any warnings; once the other party woke up, he would naturally be afraid.


    Zhang Xiaoxue hesitated for a moment before hurrying to Xia Liu''s side, truly shaken by the scene she had just witnessed.


    Every girl dreams of a prince, and now a seed had been nted in Zhang Xiaoxue''s heart, even without her realizing it.


    After walking for about an hour, the two finally arrived at Pinn Town.


    Zhang Xiaoxue looked at everything in the town with fresh curiosity.


    Due to Li Hao''s oppressive blockades over the past two years, she hadn''t set foot outside Osmanthus Vige at all; it was the cruelty of fate that only today had she made it to the town.


    Seeing Zhang Xiaoxue like this, Xia Liu couldn''t help but smile bitterly. Her fate, whenpared to his own, had too many simrities. He really wondered how she had endured it all.


    Xia Liu first took Zhang Xiaoxue to buy clothes. Initially, she didn''t want to buy anything, but once they were in the store, her natural shopping instincts as a woman surfaced, and eventually, she was torn between seven or eight different pieces.


    Because the two were in a clothing mall, the sales clerk saw Zhang Xiaoxue''s hesitation and immediately started to sneer, "Miss, if you can''t afford it, please don''t touch the clothes for so long; you''re going to ruin them."


    Hearing the saleswoman''s words, Zhang Xiaoxue''s face turned pale. She did not oftene to town and seemed to have almost forgotten how to deal with these situations.


    "What, you think we can''t afford these clothes?" At the critical moment, Xia Liu red at the saleswoman. He despised such sales staff who judged people through their sses. He too worked in a shop. What right did they have to mock others?


    "Heh, I really think you can''t afford it." The saleswoman sized up Xia Liu and, seeing his outdated attire, couldn''t help but feel disdain.


    Just as Xia Liu was about to teach the saleswoman a lesson, Zhang Xiaoxue hurriedly pulled him back, "Brother Xia Liu, don''t get angry. We just won''t buy here."


    "Hurry up and leave, a couple of bumpkins trying to shop for clothes."


    "Xiaoxue, don''t worry. Just watch me." Xia Liu steadied Zhang Xiaoxue, looked up in the direction of the front desk and called out, "Is the manager here? Come here, please."


    Xia Liu''s voice wasn''t very loud, but everyone in the store heard it clearly, including the customers who were there to buy clothes. Seeing that something was amiss, they all pretended to browse through clothes while gathering around.


    A woman around thirty years old, wearing sses, approached Xia Liu, "I''m sorry, I am the manager. How may I assist you?"


    The manager was very polite, and her spectacles fluctuated so much that Xia Liu almost forgot what he was there for.


    "It''s like this. I brought my girlfriend here to buy clothes, but it seems there is a problem with your staff. They won''t let us buy."


    "Manager, just look at this guy''s poor appearance. Don''t bother with him if he can''t afford it."


    "You should know the store policy. The customer is God! Whatever the customer requests, we should try our best to amodate, not engage in idle gossip!" The manager directly reprimanded the saleswoman in front of Xia Liu, causing her immense embarrassment.


    "Heh, you see? That''s the difference between a manager and a small-time employee." Xia Liu scorned the saleswoman with a nce and turned to the manager with a slight smile, "Manager, please wrap up those sets of clothes. I''ll take them all."


    Upon hearing this, the manager''s smile grew even brighter. She gave a stern look at the saleswoman who was still in a daze, and with excitement, she went to pack the clothes herself.


    "Brother Xia Liu, do we have that much money?" Zhang Xiaoxue began to worry. She didn''t know how much money Xia Liu had. If they couldn''t pay, it would be really embarrassing.


    Xia Liu gave her a reassuring look and followed the manager to the front desk. The saleswoman was not convinced and was sure Xia Liu couldn''t afford the clothes.


    "The totales to one thousand eight hundred eighty. However, due to some minor unpleasantness, paying one thousand six hundred will suffice," said the manager with a cheery look at Xia Liu.


    At that moment, amidst numerous gazes, Xia Liu pulled out a wad of cash, truly startling the onlookers.


    This store could be said to be one of the more expensive ones in town. A farmer taking out a couple of thousand to buy clothes in one go was indeed rare.


    Only after Xia Liu and Zhang Xiaoxue left did the saleswomane back to her senses, stricken by thunder. It was then she realized that the manager was right in her usual lectures: you should never judge someone by appearances because you never know when your own attitude might cost you dearly.


    After leaving the clothing store, Zhang Xiaoxue also learned about the sale of the medicinal herbs and no longer wondered why Xia Liu wasn''t worried; it turned out he had a substantial amount of money!


    Afterward, Zhang Xiaoxue went to the lingerie store to buy a few sets and to the market to buy some food ingredients before heading back home.


    Xia Liu didn''t forget about Zhang Qing''s situation and stopped by Tianluo Chinese Medicine Pharmacy to buy some medicinal herbs to help with her recovery. Additionally, he purchased arge quantity ofmonly used medicinal herbs to treat minor ailments, nning to hang up the sign and continue his father''s medical practice once he returned home.