"Mochou, I had no idea you knew so much!" Lu Zhanyuan gave Li Mochou a thumbs-up.
"Of course! I told you before, I am the heir of the Ancient Tomb Sect!" Hearing the praise, Li Mochou's affection for Lu Zhanyuan grew instantly.
Ready to launch another wave of his offensive, Lu Zhanyuan looked at Li Mochou with a tender gaze and said, "Mochou..."
"What is it?"
"You look so pretty when you smile!"
Meeting Lu Zhanyuan's tender gaze, Li Mochou's heart began to thump violently in her chest. She asked with a touch of shyness, "Really?"
"Really. I love watching you smile most of all. It's as beautiful as the flowers in spring!"
Hearing such praise, Li Mochou flashed him a brilliant, happy smile—a smile that seemed capable of dispelling all gloom around them.
Lu Zhanyuan felt as though his heart was melting from that smile, and it was a moment before he slowly gathered his wits.
Thinking of how clueless Li Mochou appeared in the television series, Lu Zhanyuan decided to explain some common sense to her, so he pointed at the people in the arena and said,
"Mochou, the truth is that these people don't have any real skills. Their performances are just a way to curry favor with the crowd."
"Then why do so many people come to watch?"
Seeing Li Mochou's puzzled look, Lu Zhanyuan patiently explained to her:
"These people wander through the streets of many towns. Using clever methods, they perform novel things for others to see, making a living by performing on the streets. Once the people around them enjoy the show, they give them some tips, so both sides get what they want."
Looking at Lu Zhanyuan's handsome face, Li Mochou knitted her brows slightly, pondering the meaning of his words. Yet after thinking for a moment, she still didn't quite understand the logic behind it.
"B... but!"
Li Mochou said anxiously, "Aren't these people just putting on deceptive tricks? Why are others still so happy watching them?"
Lu Zhanyuan reached out and gently placed his hands on Li Mochou's shoulders. Seeing that she didn't pull away, he looked into her deep, bright eyes and said earnestly,
"Mochou, you must understand that in this world, not everyone knows martial arts. Amidst this vast multitude of living beings, there are many ordinary, common people. When these common folk have some leisure time in the evening, they go out onto the streets to watch the performers and relax their minds. Even if it's a deceptive trick, so what?"
Li Mochou looked at Lu Zhanyuan with a somewhat dazed expression, her brows tightly knitted together. She still couldn't quite accept this perspective, and stubbornly said, "But aren't they still deceiving people?"
She then emphasized once more, "In short, deception is wrong!"
"Mochou!"
Looking at the incomparably innocent Li Mochou before him, Lu Zhanyuan felt a bit helpless. He had no choice but to start instructing her as if he were teaching a primary school student.
"Those street performers neither steal nor rob; they rely on special skills to bring joy to others in exchange for tips."
Li Mochou looked at Lu Zhanyuan and nodded gently. "Lu Zhanyuan, I think you're a pretty good person. I suppose I'll take your word for it for now!"
"Good, then let's watch the performance first!"
Lu Zhanyuan nodded at Li Mochou, turned around, let out a soft breath, and accompanied her to watch the deceptive trick unfolding before them.
"Attend, good people! If not for my profound internal energy, how could these mortal hands plunge into boiling oil and come to no harm?"
Once the spectacle of plunging bare palms into boiling oil came to an end, Lu Zhanyuan prepared to take Li Mochou and leave.
At that moment, a man holding a bronze gong filled with copper coins walked up right in front of the two of them. "Those with money, show some monetary support!"
Lu Zhanyuan felt around his body, but having just time-traveled here, he didn't even have half a copper coin on him.
"Ah!"
Lu Zhanyuan reached out and scratched his head, saying rather awkwardly, "Brother, I'm terribly sorry. I came out in a rush today and forgot my money! I'll make it up to you next time—I'll definitely make it up to you next time!"
The man glanced at Lu Zhanyuan without a word, then turned his gaze to Li Mochou standing beside him.
Looking at the man before her, Li Mochou crossed her arms over her chest and said coolly,
"One, I have no money!"
"Two, why should I give you money?"
Seeing Li Mochou's swaggering attitude, the man said with some dissatisfaction, "Hey... I say, you two watched the kung fu without paying?"
"You're all frauds, why on earth would I give you money?!"
At this, Li Mochou instantly grew displeased, thinking to herself, *They just said those with money show monetary support, and those without money show personal support. Besides, you people are frauds anyway—I simply refuse to give you money!*
"Bullshit! How dare you say our boss's Iron Palm Divine Skill is a fraud?!"
Lu Zhanyuan hurriedly stepped forward and said to the street performer, "Brother, this is my wife; she hasn't seen much of the world, so please don't hold it against her!"
"No way, you need to make things clear to us!"
"Sigh..."
Seeing that the man still refused to let go and kept pestering them, Lu Zhanyuan reached out, pressed a hand to his forehead, and sighed softly.
Since these people were courting death themselves, he couldn't be bothered to care anymore. Lu Zhanyuan walked off to the side and made a polite gesture to Li Mochou, saying, "Mochou, handle this however you see fit."
Hearing the commotion, the man who had just performed the Iron Palm Divine Skill walked right up to Li Mochou and rebuked her angrily:
"Miss, we all make a living in the pugilistic world—how can you be so unreasonable? You claim my skill is fake? Then stick your hand in and fry it!"
"Come on, then!" chimed in the other performers in agreement.
Looking at this bunch of frauds, Li Mochou felt extremely annoyed. "Fine, since you say to fry it, then let's fry it!"
With that, she walked right up to the vat of oil and delivered a vivid chemistry lesson to the crowd on the spot, explaining the difference between oil and vinegar.
Upon hearing this, the local townspeople began to boil like the vinegar in the iron pot over the fire, and the whole crowd grew extremely noisy. Unfortunately, they were frightened by the fierce expressions of the performers and scattered like birds and beasts.
Having just arrived through time travel, Lu Zhanyuan had no wish to stir up extra trouble now. He hurried over to Li Mochou's side, took her by the hand, and prepared to lead her away.
However, seeing them about to leave, those reckless performers stepped forward and surrounded the pair in a tight circle.
Lu Zhanyuan looked at the men before him with a trace of pity, thinking to himself, *It seems a peaceful departure is impossible. These people are truly seeking their own doom; it's impossible to save those determined to die.*
"Brat, what kind of look is that? Are you looking down on us brothers?"
"I must say, brothers, your martial arts are mediocre, but your guts are certainly big!"
Lu Zhanyuan sneered at the men before him. "Having walked the pugilistic world for so many years, don't you know that there are some people you simply cannot afford to offend?"
"Brat, are you saying the two of you are people we can't afford to offend?!"
"Snap!"
Lu Zhanyuan snapped his fingers. "That's right!"
He then added loudly, "It would be fine if you just offended me, but if you offend the hero here beside me, your little lives won't be worth keeping! Better make way right now and let us leave!"
"Brat, you've got quite a big mouth!"
"You still want to leave? No way!"
"Since you dared to wreck our show, don't blame us for being impolite!"
"Brothers, grab these two for me! Sell the man for hard labor and the woman to a brothel!"
Crying out one after another, these men prepared to rush forward and seize the two of them.