Chapter 93: Excited Swindler
Fang Tingyun walked past this place, with a preoccupied look on her face, which any discerning person could tell meant she had some worries.
The Traitor Dealer had been in this line of work for many years and was very adept at understanding people's expressions and words, so when he saw Fang Tingyun's look, he roughly guessed what was on her mind. Therefore, he spoke up directly and actually managed to stop Fang Tingyun in her tracks.
In fact, with Fang Tingyun's intelligence, she wouldn't have been so easily deceived. But right now, her mind was in disorder, deeply concerned about Ye Qing's situation. She was like a drowning person grasping at any lifeline, so a single sentence from the Traitor Dealer was enough to make her stop.
"Sir, can you... can you really help my friend?" At this moment, Fang Tingyun's intellect had deserted her, and she blurted out without a second thought.
"Meeting me here is already a form of fate. Considering this bit of fate, I should help you!" the Traitor Dealer said with an air of nobility, casually taking out a pendant from his pocket and said, "This Golden Crystal Pixiu was brought from Mount Wutai, it's an Activated Protection Amulet that can dispel all misfortunes and ensure safety.
I think you and I have a destiny, so I'll sell this Golden Crystal Pixiu to you half-priced, just three thousand yuan, how about it?"
Intelligence aside, Fang Tingyun was not foolish. She glanced at the pendant and said, "Sir, my friend is very ill. If you can cure him, I won't hesitate to give you thirty thousand instead of three thousand."
The Traitor Dealer swallowed hard, sensing a big deal.
"Don't worry, with this pendant, there will absolutely be no problems!" the Traitor Dealer spoke, before taking a Yellow Talisman out of his pocket and added, "However, for added assurance, I'll also give you a Five Spirits Divine Talisman. This is a Divine Talisman left behind by the master of the Taoist Sect, Mao Xiaofang, extremely precious and invaluable.
But, seeing as we're fated, I'll just sell it to you at cost, let's say twenty-eight hundred. Including the Golden Crystal Pixiu, that's a total of thirty-one hundred. I'll give you a little discount, let's just round it to thirty thousand, how about that?"
"Sir, I don't want these things. As long as you can save him, I'll pay you whatever you ask!" Fang Tingyun said, "Could you please go see him?"
Fang Tingyun was swayed by the sign on the Traitor Dealer's cardboard that claimed specialization in treating complex diseases, thinking that Ye Qing's condition counted as such. She was also adopting a try-and-see attitude; if Ye Qing could be cured, that would be the best outcome. If not, at least she tried.
"I don't need to go, with these two items, he will surely be alright!" the Traitor Dealer claimed.
Fang Tingyun shook her head and said, "Sir, please make the trip. If you can cure him, I will definitely pay you, alright?"
"I... I really don't need to go..." The Traitor Dealer felt embarrassed, as visiting would expose his scam.
"If you won't go, then I won't buy these things!" Fang Tingyun turned and walked away.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't leave, a discount is fine. Twenty-eight hundred? Two thousand? If that's truly unacceptable, fifteen hundred, one thousand? Three thousand?"
The Traitor Dealer shouted after her, but Fang Tingyun did not even glance back. She had pretty much realized that he was a swindler.
Not long after Fang Tingyun left the alley, the Traitor Dealer suddenly ran out and said, "Fine, since we're fated, the grand me will go all out and take a look in person. However, I must say in advance, my consultation fee is very expensive!"
Fang Tingyun: "As long as you can cure him, no amount of money is a problem!"
The Traitor Dealer swallowed hard. He followed Fang Tingyun out because he could see that she truly cared for that person. He knew from his many years of deceiving people that situations like Fang Tingyun's were the easiest to exploit for money. So, he didn't want to miss this opportunity and followed her to the hospital.
Inside the hospital, Mo Xiang was on guard. Huo Pingping had gone back to clock out after her shift, and Mu Qingrong had returned to the company. Since Mo Xiang was a teacher and got off work relatively early, she had arrived first.
Fang Tingyun brought the Traitor Dealer into the ward, greeted Mo Xiang, and then looked at Ye Qing on the bed, her eyes reddening again.
The Traitor Dealer glanced around upon entering the ward, feeling like a guilty thief, his demeanor visibly shrinking back.
However, when he saw Ye Qing lying on the bed, his eyes suddenly bulged.
He had met Ye Qing before. The last time, outside Chen Wuye's tavern, he tried to swindle Ye Qing but failed to do so.
Upon seeing him again, instead of turning to flee, the Traitor Dealer's eyes gleamed with an odd light. In that moment, his expression was not as sleazy as usual; it was actually somewhat serious.
"Sir, he is..." Before Fang Tingyun could finish speaking, the Traitor Dealer had already walked up to the bedside and grabbed Ye Qing's wrist.
Fang Tingyun watched the Traitor Dealer with surprise, unsure what he was up to.
The Traitor Dealer held onto Ye Qing's wrist, his face growing brighter and brighter. After a while, his eyes even reddened as he stared blankly at Ye Qing, lost in thought.
"Sir? Sir?" Fang Tingyun gently tapped the Traitor Dealer on the shoulder.
Only then did the Traitor Dealer snap out of his trance, turned to look at Fang Tingyun, and said, "Ah, he... he's fine..." Always read at the source—MV@LEMP@YR.
"How is this fine?" Mo Xiang couldn't help interjecting. Ye Qing was almost paralyzed, and Fang Tingyun had found someone to spout nonsense at such a critical time.
At this moment, Ye Qing also opened his eyes, and upon seeing the Traitor Dealer, his expression immediately changed.
Seeing Ye Qing's expression, the Traitor Dealer immediately shuddered and hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "I'll need to do an examination. Can you two girls step outside and wait for a while?"
"What are you going to do to him?" Fang Tingyun asked, puzzled.
"I said it's an examination, are you afraid I'm going to eat him or something!" The Traitor Dealer, without further ado, almost pushed the two women out of the room, then locked the door from the inside, before turning back to Ye Qing on the bed.
"It's you!" Ye Qing's expression was icy. He held no affection for this swindler, nor could it be said that he held any enmity. It was just that at this time, the man was cheating his own friends, which irked Ye Qing!
"Indeed, it's me!" The Traitor Dealer, smiling, walked over to the bed, sizing Ye Qing up, "Brother, I have a few questions to ask you."
"No need to ask, I won't answer!" Ye Qing said coldly.
"I don't think so; you will definitely answer!" The Traitor Dealer said with a faint smile, "If you don't answer, how am I supposed to cure your illness?"
Ye Qing frowned slightly, glanced at the Traitor Dealer, and then turned his head away. In his eyes, this man was nothing but a fraudster; no matter how big the lies, he remained a fraudster.
Seeing that Ye Qing was ignoring him, the Traitor Dealer murmured to himself in a low voice: "The Acupoint Seeking Technique is not so easy to master. A slight mistake, and paralysis would be the least of one's worries."
Ye Qing immediately turned his head and looked at the Traitor Dealer with astonishment, "You... you know about the Acupoint Seeking Technique too?"
With a look of pride, the Traitor Dealer said, "Now, are you willing to answer my questions?"
"What else do you know?" Ye Qing said urgently. This was related to whether he could stand again, and he cared a great deal about it.
"You should answer my questions first," the Traitor Dealer said. "First, where did you learn your Acupoint Seeking Technique?"
Ye Qing pondered for a moment. Since the Traitor Dealer knew about the Acupoint Seeking Technique, he must know quite a bit. It was not something particularly secretive, and there was no harm in telling him.
"I learned it from a book," Ye Qing said.
"A book?" The Traitor Dealer said, surprised. "That's impossible. There is at least more than ten years of foundation of the Acupoint Seeking Technique in you. But to my knowledge, that book hasn't been seen in Jianghu for over twenty years. Where did you see this book?"
"What ten or twenty years?" Ye Qing was completely bewildered. "I've only been practicing the Acupoint Seeking Technique for a month, and I only got the book a month ago!"
"Impossible! Impossible! It simply cannot be!" The Traitor Dealer grabbed Wang Chen's wrist and said, "The energy within you, without at least ten years, couldn't possibly be cultivated. Neijia Kung Fu can't be shortcut like External Kung Fu; it has to be accumulated over time."
Ye Qing was even more puzzled, looking at the Traitor Dealer, "But that's the truth, I've only just mastered it. That book was given to me last month by an old man!"
Suddenly energized, the Traitor Dealer exclaimed, "An old man? What did he look like?"
Ye Qing described the appearance of the old man and also mentioned the situation with the blind girl.
After listening to Ye Qing, the Traitor Dealer burst into laughter, "Old thief! Old thief! After taking away the Acupoint Seeking Technique twenty years ago, he never managed to cure that little thief girl's eyes. This is the revenge of the Heavenly Dao, haha..."
Seeing the Traitor Dealer like this, Ye Qing was even more astonished. Was this guy losing his mind?
The Traitor Dealer laughed for a while before gradually calming down, then looked at Ye Qing and said, "Right, earlier you mentioned that he paid respects to a tomb before giving you the book. Who exactly is buried in that tomb?"
At this point, the Traitor Dealer's voice trembled slightly as if he was afraid of something.
"Third Master Li," Ye Qing paused for a moment, then said, "The old man mentioned his name was Li Changqing!"
As soon as Ye Qing finished speaking, the Traitor Dealer "thump" fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back and his body shaking as if convulsing.
Unable to see the situation on the floor, Ye Qing asked anxiously, "What's wrong with you? What are you doing?"
It took a while before the Traitor Dealer caught his breath, got up, and clutching the bed, he wept bitterly, "Third Master! Third Master! Why do the good die young! Third Master!"
Ye Qing frowned slightly. From the Traitor Dealer's behavior, he had pretty much figured out some connections.
The Traitor Dealer definitely knew Third Master Li and the old man, and the Acupoint Seeking Technique must have been something that the old man had stolen. Judging by his willingness to give it away, it was very likely taken from Li Changqing. And the Traitor Dealer had some connection with Li Changqing; that was why he hated the old man so much.
However, Ye Qing still couldn't understand. Just who was Third Master Li, and who was the Traitor Dealer? Also, what did the Traitor Dealer mean by ten years of cultivation power?