343: Chapter 337: Beggar 343: Chapter 337: Beggar The beggar, both legs cut off at the knees.
Wearing a pair of shorts, his amputated limbs were exposed, which just by looking, could evoke a sense of pity and forbearance.
Beneath him was a thick wooden board equipped with a few small wheels.
In one hand, he held a bowl-sized porcelain pot.
With the other hand bracing against the ground, he used the board to slowly slide and move forward.
He wore a filthy vest, its original color indiscernible, with much of his upper body exposed.
A thick layer of grime could not conceal the fierce scars across his chest and back.
Although the beggar was unkempt and dirty, upon closer observation, one could still discern that he wasn’t very old.
Whenever someone passed by him, the beggar would lift the porcelain pot and then open his mouth, making a series of moaning sounds.
Those unaware might think he was mute.
But if one paid close attention, they would realize that he was not born mute.
He could not speak mainly because, for some unknown reason, part of his tongue was cut off.
Previously, when Chen Hai had walked back and forth on this street numerous times, he had already noticed this beggar’s presence.
However, anytime he saw this beggar, his gaze merely swept past.
After all, his cousin Huang Yong was fully able-bodied, just a normal person.
In any case, Chen Hai couldn’t connect his cousin with this beggar, who looked utterly miserable.
But now, after Bai Baoshan reminded him, his gaze fell on this beggar again, and he couldn’t help but take a closer look.
Not having looked closely before, he now found himself unable to look away.
Because as far as facial features were concerned, this beggar bore a resemblance to his cousin Huang Yong.
The last time Chen Hai had seen his cousin Huang Yong was two or three years ago.
As the saying goes, “a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood.”
If we truly talk about it, girls develop earlier, but the physical development of boys definitely takes place even later.
A boy who grows from fifteen or sixteen to eighteen or nineteen, an actual adult, undergoes changes that could be even more significant than those of a girl.
Looking at this beggar, whose face resembled that of his cousin Huang Yong, was indeed not false.
But, due to the huge differences in attire and physical condition, Chen Hai was unable to confirm whether this beggar was indeed Huang Yong!
With a swoosh, he stood up and walked over to the beggar.
He casually took out a banknote and placed it into the porcelain pot in the beggar’s hand, using this opportunity to take a more detailed look at him.
“Huang Yong…” Feeling the increasing resemblance, he called out tentatively.
That instant, the beggar clearly froze.
He lifted his head and with his lifeless, dead-fish eyes, he scrutinized Chen Hai.
“Mmm mmm mmm mmm…”
The next moment, the porcelain pot he used to beg dropped from his hands and fell to the ground.
As if terrified to see Chen Hai, he continued to moan while frantically pushing against the ground, trying to escape afar using the wooden board.
This sudden turn of events left Chen Hai somewhat unable to react.
He was merely stunned for a moment, during which the beggar had already escaped about five or six meters away using the board beneath him.
Quickly picking up the porcelain pot that had fallen to the ground, Chen Hai hurriedly chased after him.
“Yong, I’m your cousin Chen Hai!”
“What happened to you?
How did you end up like this?
Tell me!”
His eyes seeming to shoot fire, Chen Hai caught up with the beggar in a few steps and forcefully grabbed his arm, demanding answers.
If previously, he just suspected that the beggar in front of him could be his cousin Huang Yong.
Now, from the beggar’s reaction upon seeing him, he was at least ninety percent sure that this beggar was indeed his cousin Huang Yong.
“Wuu wuu wuu…”
The beggar, with a face full of terror, was desperately struggling to free his arm from Chen Hai’s grasp.
“Kid, you look decent yet you’re stealing from a beggar— are you even human?”
“Let go of him quickly, if you don’t let go now, once we step in, we’ll make sure you regret it.”
“Also, a word of advice, don’t meddle in others’ affairs, or else, hmm…”
Right outside the Wan Family Supermarket, there was a constant flow of people.
This scene of Chen Hai and the beggar pulling at each other had made many people stop in their tracks, watch the commotion, and point fingers at them.
Suddenly, three or four burly men, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
Took just a few steps to reach by Chen Hai and the beggar’s side and surrounded them.
One of them, with a tattoo on his arm and a fierce look, even leaned close to Chen Hai’s ear and threateningly whispered.
After these men appeared, the beggar, whose arm was held by Chen Hai, looked as if he saw a savior.
He stopped his whimpering and didn’t continue to struggle to pull his arm out of Chen Hai’s grasp.
Upon releasing the beggar’s arm, Chen Hai glanced at the men surrounding him, and then at the numb-faced beggar sitting on a plank in front of him!
In that moment, it seemed as though he understood something, he also finally realized why he saw the least of the least Gua when he divined Huang Yong’s whereabouts!
Bai Baoshan was mingling in the crowd a few steps away.
The small dagger he carried was already in his grasp.
From his stance, it appeared that once Chen Hai gave the order, he would charge at those men without a second thought.
The rage that had been building in his heart seemed ready to burst through the skies, yet Chen Hai had been holding it back, not allowing himself to explode.
He shook his head slightly at Bai Baoshan, signaling with his eyes not to make any reckless moves.
In terms of combat, not to mention Bai Baoshan’s presence here, even the still-weak Chen Hai didn’t consider these burly men a threat at all.
But this place was a bustling market, the most vibrant street in the area.
In full view of the public, initiating a fight directly would not be feasible as Chen Hai’s methods were not suited for public display, and committing murder in the street would have too severe implications and was inappropriate.
As for calling the police, he hadn’t considered it at all!
Given the nature of these people, even if they were arrested and sentenced to ten or eight years, Chen Hai felt it would be letting them off too easily.
“Gentlemen, sorry, I mistook him for someone else!” he said, eyeing each of the burly men as if they were dead.
Dropping that statement, Chen Hai pushed past the men surrounding him and walked away.
Bai Baoshan, amidst the crowd, also immediately moved toward Chen Hai.
As he turned and walked away, guarding by Chen Hai’s side, he also didn’t forget to glare fiercely at the men.
“Brother Biao, what should we do?”
“What else can we do?
Let’s call it a day!”
Among the men, the tattooed man took the lead.
His face gloomy, he watched the direction in which Chen Hai and Bai Baoshan left, but like the other men, he refrained from any rash actions.
In such a public place, with many eyes on them, they too were wary.
With a wave of his hand from the tattooed man, they hurriedly gathered, along with the beggar, and started heading toward the other end of the street.
That area was near a national highway.
There, a van was parked, into which the beggar was dragged like a small chicken by two men.
Additionally, two flower-selling girls and a few slovenly teenagers who had been pickpocketing were hustled into the van by the men.
Once the van was cramped with more than ten people inside, finally, the vehicle started, turned onto the national highway, and quickly disappeared into the distance.