Glorious Tales

Chapter 0002: The Beggar Group

Yang Ning could tell that the old tree bark was a rather kind-hearted individual. Despite being beaten to a pulp, he easily accepted the apology. Since even the person involved didn't hold a grudge, Yang Ning saw no reason to press further.

He took a few steps toward the monkey. Upon seeing Yang Ning approach, the monkey’s face changed dramatically, and he cried out in pain, "I… I’ve already apologized! You have to keep your word…!"

Pathetic.

When it came to bullying others, the monkey was full of bravado, but after losing an arm, all his swagger disappeared. Yang Ning didn’t waste any time. He reached out and yanked the monkey’s severed arm. Before even making a full motion, the monkey let out a scream as if slaughtering a pig.

"Little Weasel…!" Old tree bark gasped in shock, and the other beggars immediately turned to flee.

"Stop wailing," Yang Ning said sharply. "I’ll reattach your arm. If you scream again, I’ll make sure it’s permanently useless."

His patience was thin, and the monkey’s cries were grating. Yang Ning had also been disarmed during his early training days, but he didn’t have the luxury of whining.

The monkey, being somewhat obedient, stopped his shrieking at Yang Ning’s threat. Yang Ning tugged twice, causing the monkey to sweat profusely, his face contorting in agony, yet Yang Ning had already withdrawn his hand.

"Try moving it yourself," Yang Ning said as he turned around and plopped down on a pile of dry hay in the corner of the room.

The monkey, still uncertain, tentatively moved his arm. Although it still hurt slightly, he could now move it freely.

Seeing this, the other beggars, who had initially planned to run, returned hesitantly. They watched in awe as the monkey suddenly knelt at Yang Ning’s feet, his voice filled with emotion. "Little Weasel, from now on… you’ll be our leader. We’ll follow you no matter what. If you tell us to go east, we won’t go west!"

Yang Ning was taken aback. The monkey’s change of heart was too sudden for him to adjust.

What surprised him even more was that the other beggars, seeing the monkey’s submission, also rushed forward, all kneeling before him. They said in unison, "Little Weasel, from now on, you’re the leader of the Earth Temple. We’ll follow your orders."

Yang Ning raised his hand. "Hold on, let me get my bearings." He took a deep breath and then asked, "Is this Huize City? And are you all members of the Beggar g**g?"

"You are too!" The monkey firmly insisted that Yang Ning be regarded as one of their ranks.

Yang Ning glared at the monkey. He didn’t like being interrupted mid-sentence. "What dynasty is this? And who is the emperor?"

The beggars exchanged uneasy glances, clearly not expecting such sophisticated questions.

"Dynasty? Well… Huize City is in the Chu Kingdom, so… we should be under the Chu Dynasty," the monkey replied cautiously. "As for the emperor… we don’t really know."

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Yang Ning's forehead, but he quickly accepted the answer. After all, if this were truly an ancient time, communication would be extremely limited. The emperor’s identity could easily remain a mystery, with commoners having little to no idea of who ruled over them.

He pressed them with a few more questions, gleaning a rough outline from their half-baked answers.

His name was "Little Weasel"—at least, that was what it was in this time. He was now in a small, unrestful county in the northern part of the Huai'nan region of the Chu Kingdom.

The reason the county wasn’t peaceful was due to the proximity of the Huai River, just over a hundred miles to the north. The river had been the site of years of ongoing warfare.

The Chu Kingdom controlled vast territories south of the Huai River, while the Han Kingdom held sway over the lands to the north. The two kingdoms were at odds, constantly in conflict.

Based on the unreliable information provided by these beggars, the Chu Kingdom had maintained control over two counties north of the Huai River, effectively acting like a dagger pointed at the heart of the Han Kingdom. This constant threat kept the northern Han kingdom on edge, leading to a southern invasion three years ago with an army of 200,000.

After more than two years of back-and-forth fighting, the war had left both sides ravaged. The lands on both sides of the Huai River had been scorched, with countless families torn apart as people fled their homes seeking refuge.

Huize City, just a hundred miles from the river, had naturally become one of the shelters for refugees. Thankfully, the Han forces had been repelled before they could reach the city, sparing it from the horrors of war.

However, just a few months ago, the two kingdoms had called a truce, and the war that had raged for nearly three years across the Huai River was finally brought to a close.

Although the war had ceased, the refugees in Huize City had not yet left. The small county town was now overcrowded and overwhelmed.

Yang Ning had never imagined that one day he would experience such a bizarre turn of events, let alone become a proud member of the Beggar g**g.

Born to an ordinary family, he had worked tirelessly to become a People's Armed Police officer, undergoing rigorous training. After leaving the army, he turned to business, starting from scratch and slowly building a small success. Just as he thought he had finally turned a corner, he woke up from a heavy drinking stupor, only to find himself reduced from a multimillionaire businessman to a beggar.

The trouble was that he had little recollection of the past life of "Little Weasel." While there were some fragmented images in his mind, he could not make sense of them all at once.

"Little Weasel, with your skills, you'll definitely achieve great things in the Beggar g**g," the monkey grinned after witnessing Yang Ning’s abilities. "With your skill, you’re already one of the top experts!"

Yang Ning wanted to ask the monkey if he had no shame. While Yang Ning did not deny his own martial prowess, knocking down a few weaklings did not make him a top expert. He had no idea how the monkey viewed himself. "I, Yang Ning, am a top expert. Does that mean you weaklings are all first-rate experts too?"

"Achieve great things in the Beggar g**g?" Yang Ning, still unfamiliar with everything, lowered his posture to inquire. "What does that mean?"

"Still a beggar!" The monkey’s answer almost made Yang Ning strike him again. "But maybe you could become the boss of Huize City!"

Yang Ning did his best to control his temper and asked, "Since it’s the Beggar g**g, do we have divisions? By the way, the g**g leader wouldn’t be named Qiao, would they?"

Before the monkey could speak, another beggar rushed to answer, "We belong to one of the twenty-eight divisions, the Winged Fire Snake Division… a small branch below that…" Ignoring the monkey’s angry glare, he hoped to make a good impression on Yang Ning. "The leader’s not named Qiao. I think… I think he’s named Xiang!"

"Do you know the Dog-Beating Staff?" Yang Ning’s interest was piqued. "Surely you've heard of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?"

The beggars exchanged confused glances, all shaking their heads, clearly baffled by Yang Ning’s words.

"Isn’t the Dog-Beating Staff the Beggar g**g’s treasured weapon?" Yang Ning pressed. "Haven’t you seen the g**g Leader, Xiang, holding it?"

"Xiang, the leader?" The monkey quickly replied, "We’re just a small branch in a county town, under the Winged Fire Snake Division. We’ve never even seen the division master, let alone the g**g Leader, Xiang. I’ve heard that he’s elusive, like a dragon—never seen in person."

Yang Ning’s displeasure grew. It seemed he had been reduced to the lowest level of the Beggar g**g, the very bottom of the social ladder. Beggars were already the lowest in society, but now he was one of the lowest of the low.

Old Tree Bark, who had remained silent until now, approached with a small pouch in his hand and handed it to Yang Ning. "Little Weasel, this is the money we got from selling the jade pendant… We’ve used most of it for medicine, but there’s still some left. You should keep it."

The other beggars quickly cleared a path for Old Tree Bark.

Yang Ning was puzzled. "Jade pendant?"

Old Tree Bark seemed to sense Yang Ning’s confusion and explained, "When you were unconscious, Miss Xiao Die came to see you. Seeing how sick you were, she left behind a jade pendant. It seemed important to her, but she gave it up to save you. I didn’t know what else to do, so I kept it for now."

"Xiao Die?" For some reason, hearing that name triggered a vague, familiar feeling in Yang Ning’s mind. A dull pain started in the back of his head, and an indistinct image of a delicate, teenage girl appeared in his mind. He raised his hands to massage his temples.

He wasn’t a fool. Yang Ning quickly realized that although he had taken over the body of "Little Weasel," Little Weasel’s memories had not been entirely overtaken by his own. Whenever certain people or events were mentioned, fragments of Little Weasel’s subconscious would resurface.

Old Tree Bark noticed Yang Ning’s unusual reaction and frowned. "Little Weasel, you’ve just recovered from a serious illness. Maybe… maybe you should rest a bit more? You can forget everything else, but you can’t forget Miss Xiao Die. If it weren’t for her, you might not have survived."

Yang Ning was even more confused. According to Old Tree Bark, the girl named Xiao Die seemed to have saved his life.

The wind and rain outside were fierce, and Yang Ning suddenly felt a chill. He turned to the monkey and said, "Is there any water here? Get some to wash my face."

He needed cold water to clear his mind.

The monkey was taken aback, but seeing Yang Ning frown, he hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, I’ll go get some!" He turned to the other beggars and called, "Help out!"

Once they left, Yang Ning turned to Old Tree Bark and asked, "I’ve been sick for a long time?"

"It’s been about ten days," Old Tree Bark sighed. "We didn’t have the money for treatment, so we could only watch helplessly as you grew worse. A few days ago, Miss Xiao Die came here in the middle of the night, crying for hours. She then took out the jade pendant and gave it to me so I could exchange it for money to treat you. Little Weasel, if it weren’t for that pendant, you probably wouldn’t be alive now."

"Xiao Die… she cried for hours?" Yang Ning gave a bitter smile. "Was she reluctant to let me die? But… who is she, and why… why can’t I remember?"