Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune: Starting with death row inmates

Fang Yu covered the left side of her face, looking at Shen Chen in disbelief.

The burning pain lashed at her already fragile self-esteem like a whip, and Fang Yu's eyes instantly turned red. She drew her knife in a flash, roaring like a ferocious tiger, "You beast, how dare you hit me?"

"I did it," Shen Chen said calmly.

Faced with Fang Yu's insults towards you and Qin Pi, what do you choose?

[Good fortune: Do not make excuses, settle the matter peacefully, auspicious]

[Low-middle fortune: Slap her, confront her head-on, slightly ominous]

Shen Chen knew that enduring Fang Yu's insults was far better than having a conflict with her, but he still chose not to swallow his anger!

If it were a "bad luck" sign that meant certain death, he would have tolerated it; but a "medium-bad luck" sign showed that Fang Yu was nothing special.

Shen Chen sneered: "This prison break is fraught with danger. Helping you is a favor, not helping is our right. And you're trying to morally blackmail us? You're a complete scoundrel, disgusting."

"You, you..." Fang Yu gritted her teeth. She really wanted to tear Shen Chen to pieces, but Qin Pi kept protecting Shen Chen behind him, and Wei Xiong's hand was also on the scabbard, as if he was about to draw his sword at any moment.

"I've heard a bit about that Flying Shadow Thief." Seeing that his brother had already made things clear, Qin Pi felt he no longer needed to save face for Fang Yu and bluntly said, "He uses his lightness skill to do things that involve ruining innocent women. Damn it, I despise people like that the most. Being a thief is bad enough, but he's a womanizer who only dares to prey on women who are weak. Even if he dies, he won't have a good reputation."

Even among those in the underworld, there are different ranks. The top rank is held by "bandits" like Qin Pi, who has killed officials. He dares to kill even government officials, and everyone who comes here has to call him "Master".

The second class consists of "bandits" like Wei Xiong, who rob the rich to help the poor. He single-handedly robs an entire caravan, and is known for his generosity and chivalry. Everyone who sees him has to politely call him "hero."

The third class are petty thieves who steal chickens and dogs. They are weak in martial arts and can only make a living by running fast. However, those who are involved in the underworld have all stolen from others. "Theft", "robbery" and "murder" are stepping stones to advancement. No one will look down on you just because you are a thief.

But flower thieves are different. These kinds of thieves are completely disreputable in the underworld. If someone is a flower thief, then there are three labels stuck on his head.

One reason was poverty; they couldn't even afford to go to a brothel, so the flower thieves had no choice but to force themselves on respectable women.

Secondly, he was "ugly," and no woman liked him, so the womanizer could only sneak into the houses of unfamiliar women at night to vent his desires.

Thirdly, there is the "weakness". If you are good at fighting, you can just find a woman and rape her. Why bother to sneak around looking for a woman in the middle of the night?

When Wei Xiong, who was standing next to him, heard Qin Pi call Fang Yong a "womanizer," he immediately clicked his tongue and said, "That's a really nasty insult."

Fang Yu was completely enraged. She roared, "Qin Pi, you've gone too far! Men, attack together and kill them!"

"Are you afraid of us?" Wei Xiong and Qin Pi drew their swords simultaneously, the clanging of their blades echoing throughout the inn. Shen Chen frowned and silently retreated behind the two men.

Just as the group was about to start fighting in the inn, Xue Sanniang's voice came from behind the curtain: "Hehe, please put away your weapons and go your separate ways for my sake."

Xue San Niang didn't take the initiative to step forward, but she only said one sentence, which brought the atmosphere in the room back to calm.

Qin Pi snorted coldly: "I'll spare you the trouble of giving Third Sister some face."

With a whoosh, he sheathed his sword. Seeing this, Wei Xiong, who was standing nearby, also put away his five-foot-long sword.

Fang Yu, her face grim, sheathed the knife: "Let's go!"

She lifted the curtain and had just reached the inn's entrance when a figure rushed over. Upon seeing Fang Yu, the figure exclaimed joyfully, "Sister Fang!"

Fang Yu looked closely and recognized him as the trusted confidant he had sent into the city to gather information. He hurriedly asked, "Brother Zhao is back? Is there any good news for my brother Fang Yong?"

The man surnamed Zhao hurriedly took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Fang Yu: "Chief Fang, this is a message I risked my life to bring out from the Pingyang County prison. It has not been opened yet, please check it yourself."

Fang Yu took a deep breath and nodded to her trusted confidant: "Thank you for your hard work."

She hurriedly tore open the envelope, unfolded the letter, and saw two hastily written, grotesque characters in blood: "Don't save me!"

Behind the inn, in the stable, Wei Xiong turned his gaze to Shen Chen, his words filled with admiration: "Brother Shen is quick-witted. If you hadn't questioned us so thoroughly, we might have all ended up in Pingyang County and gotten ourselves into trouble there."

Shen Chen smiled and said, "I'm just a little afraid of my life, but compared to my two older brothers, it's nothing."

"Hehe, don't be so modest." Qin Pi patted Shen Chen on the shoulder and said to Wei Xiong, "If it weren't for Brother Shen, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to escape Anxi County."

Then, Qin Pi recounted in detail how Shen Chen had helped him escape from prison and leave Anxi County. Wei Xiong listened in stunned silence, and after a long while, he finally managed to say, "Brother Shen truly possesses the wisdom of gods and demons."

He originally thought that Qin Pi had led Shen Chen out of prison, but he didn't expect that the order of things was completely reversed. The slight contempt he had felt for Shen Chen because he had never practiced martial arts vanished.

Muscles can be built up gradually, but the brain may not.

Wei Xiong thought for a moment and said, "Brother Shen is so intelligent, I have something I would like to ask you."

Shen Chen smiled and said, "Brother Wei, please speak freely."

Wei Xiong considered for a moment and said, "I'm thinking of going to the Northern Plains to do some business in about half a month, but the brothers I met in the Northern Desert are trying to recruit me. In your opinion, Brother Shen, should I go to the Northern Desert or the Northern Plains?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Chen exclaimed, "You've come to the right person!"

With a sudden thought, he immediately cast lots for the two options: "go to the northern desert" and "go to the northern plains".

Then, two lines of virtual text gradually took shape in front of him.

[The worst possible outcome: Because the caravan was repeatedly harassed by bandits, the Qin Dynasty put pressure on the Yan Dynasty and greatly increased the military force protecting the Mobei trade route. You, unlucky as you were, were shot to death by a hail of arrows just as you were about to rob the Mobei caravan. This is extremely unlucky.]

[Unfavorable divination: The barbarians of Beiyuan are planning to move south and are buying up ironware. Seeing the potential for profit, you hoarded a batch of ironware to resell. However, the barbarians are untrustworthy and drove you away after taking the ironware. You not only gained nothing but also lost money. Ominous.]

Shen Chen considered for a moment, then looked up at Wei Xiong and said sincerely, "Brother Wei, my advice is that you'd better behave yourself for now."

Wei Xiong frowned: "Why?"

Shen Chen said, "The situation on the Mobei trade route has been turbulent recently. The Great Qin and the Great Yan will soon jointly build a garrison, making it difficult to rob the route. The barbarians of the Northern Plains are cunning and fierce, and going there is no better than asking a tiger for its skin."