Chapter 25 - Kicking a Noble's Child

Tian Longmeng went downstairs to sell some more wares but then encountered a rich boy who was about 10 years old. The lofty tone he had while speaking so arrogantly could already tell the dead that he was a spoilt rich boy of some noble or official.

What had Tian Longmeng's attention were the men behind the rich boy. These men were undoubtedly Stringface and Redbeard, the monkey bandits.

"Small world I guess." Tian Longmeng did not bother to spare them another glance and pretended not to notice them.

The same could not be said for the jittery Stringface whose eyes were darting about the place as if he was looking for a ghost. All of a sudden, Tian Longmeng who was minding his own business was almost blown out of his chair by the blusterous shout.

"There he is Master Guo; he is the one that stole your treasures." Stringface screamed out as if his life depended on it. Tian Longmeng, on the other hand, was surprised at the ludicrous statement.

The young master, who goes by the name Guo Cheng, noticed Tian Longmeng then gave the monkey bandits a cold stare while muttering, "A stray kid."

Similarly, other grown people in the inn entrance and the pub in the inn who understood what is going on from the signs also looked at the monkey bandits with an expression of disappointment. Underneath all these gazes, Redbeard pretended as if this did not concern him while Stringface shriveled like a prune.

Guo Cheng sighed at his incompetent pawns and then walked over to Tian Longmeng's table with a smile that was not a smile. "I am not sure of what grievances you may have with my henchman; however, I heard you have taken items that belonged to me."

Tian Longmeng stared blankly at the child that was living in his own world. "Did this dumbass have a screw or two loose in his head before he came to me?" That thought that ran through his head.

Guo Cheng, who similarly thought that Tian Longmeng was illiterate due to the lack of an answer, decided to reiterate his demand. "I am not asking for anything much, only that you return my tiger skull and egg."

Guo Cheng purposely did not mention that the skull was specifically a Hou Tiger's, as that would attract too much attention. His status can reach only as far as its rank. If another noble overheard him, he would have a hard time keeping the skull.

Tian Longmeng quickly grew sick of Guo Cheng's condescending tone and decided to gently push him aside while he got up to leave the inn. Guo Cheng was red with fury at the impudence of the little stray commoner ignoring him.

He firmly gripped Tian Longmeng's right hand and shouted with all his fury. "You little insect, are your eyes working because you cannot seem to recognize someone who has the power to erase your dog life!"

Guo Cheng glanced the expressions of the other commoners in the inn and their apprehensiveness towards him; so he realized that he let some slightly unbecoming words slip from his mouth.

That did not mean that he regretted that statement. Commoners had to know their pace or else they would think that they could talk and treat any noble like equals. Exactly like what this worm was doing.

He said to Tian Longmeng, anger still present in his voice, "Are you going to give me my belongings or do I have to give assistance."

Guo Cheng poured his Mortal Practitioner strength into squeezing Tian Longmeng's hand with the intent of having Tian Longmeng squirm in pain.

Instead, he was met with Tian Longmeng's dead stare and deep, enunciated words, "Let. Go. Of. My. Hand."

Guo Cheng subconsciously took a step back as he looked at Tian Longmeng. Tian Longmeng's stare resembled that of a peerless ruler whose words were law. Guo Cheng even nearly obeyed Tian Longmeng when his grip loosened.

However, Guo Cheng quickly regained his sense and became even more incensed that he almost listened to the words of a commoner. Guo Cheng was so incensed that he even surprised everyone by sending his fist straight for Tian Longmeng's face.

At this point, it was common knowledge to everyone in the inn entrance that Guo Cheng was at the Peak Mortal Practitioner Realm and was incredibly strong due to having the background of a noble family. It was also a common assumption that Tian Longmeng would have a broken jaw and a horrible fate.

The commoners felt pity for Tian Longmeng since a low-level ointment would cost 30 refined jades and one that can heal bones would cost about 1 Moon Jade; certainly not something a stray commoner can buy.

Well, that was as far as the commoners would pity him. It was already normal to the commoners that they should stay as far away from a noble as possible, and they should gladly agree to their demands since they would be able to keep their lives that way. In this world, cultivation and status are everything.

In the wake of all of this, Stringface was jumping for joy. "Ha! How does it feel when you actually meet someone you cannot offend."

Redbeard was totally unconvinced that Tian Longmeng would be beaten like this. Remember that this was a monster that was able to break steal on his bare skin. Such a monster would definitely not be affected by a mere punch.

After the dust settled, everyone looked to confirm the sad fate of Tian Longmeng and resulted in being... completely baffled.

This child was perfectly unscathed.

Everyone, including Guo Cheng, looked at Tian Longmeng as if they were viewing a monster in the flesh. Guo Cheng particularly was baffled that a commoner dog was able to completely negate his full-power attack.

"Huh." Guo Cheng's sharp, cultivator sense noticed the movement of Tian Longmeng; but before he could react, he already found himself propelling towards the half-closed inn door.

"Bang!" Guo Cheng broke through the door and landed on the other side of the district road. This startled everyone that was walking on that road at that time. All they could gather was that some noble's child was kicked out of the inn by another child.

Since Tian Longmeng's mood was thoroughly ruined by that disturbance, he just tossed 3 refined jades at the inn clerk and said, "for the door", before stepping out and past the unconscious Guo Cheng without a care in the world.

Tian Longmeng had no care for what happened after, and frankly, he never saw Guo Cheng for quite some while after that. However, rumours of the fight spreaded like wildfire throughout the southern side of Tang Fei City.

However, given the power Guo Cheng's family had, a lot of the details were forcibly suppressed to "A commoner had a brawl with a noble." The winner of the fight was not even made clear and any description of either Guo Cheng or Tian Longmeng was forcibly removed from the gossip entirely.

Since nothing of Tian Longmeng's appearance was mentioned in the gossip, he would not be able to claim that he was the victor of the fight easily. Else, the Guo family would not have any face among the other nobles and officials.

One downside to the rapid suppression of the gossips was that the Guo was not able to get an accurate description of Tian Longmeng, thus he was able to walk free. The Guo family wanted to meet this commoner and come to an 'agreement' about the matter so that they can retain face.

It was the "noble" thing to do any commoner who successfully managed to step out of line.

It did not help that Tian Longmeng left that inn and went on his own, so they turned to the monkey bandits to see what they had on him. These monkey bandits were later kicked out of the city after the Guo family learnt that they did not even know Tian Longmeng's name.