Chapter 36 Chaos in the Streets

Chapter 36: Street Chaos

"I don't care about popularity—as long as it's a story pamphlet, I want it. Do you have more?"

"There are some. Some that didn't sell well were put away by the shopkeeper. There are also older ones that are no longer in demand, also stored away."

Su Zheng's eyes lit up. "Go find them for this young master, as many as you can. Don't worry, I'll make sure you're not wasting your time!"

"You got it, sir. Please wait a moment."

The shopkeeper must have hidden them well, as it took the waiter quite a while before he came waddling over with a big stack of books.

Dropping the pile on the floor, the waiter said, "These are pretty much all the different kinds of story pamphlets we have in the shop. I grabbed one of each for you, sir, for you to look over."

Luo Yunchen came downstairs to find Su Zheng flipping through the books one by one, handing each to the waiter to be placed in different spots.

Luo Yunchen hesitated for a moment before continuing down the stairs.

His gaze swept across the room and landed on a picture book lying on the floor near the bottom of the wooden ladder.

The book was lying open, probably dropped by accident and no one noticed.

As Luo Yunchen came down the wooden ladder, his eyes couldn't help but land on the open page of the picture book.

He stopped in his tracks, a flicker of shock, awe, curiosity, and anticipation flashing through his eyes, his eyes widening.

Luo Yunchen walked over to the picture book and crouched down, using his body to block the view from anyone behind him, gently flipping through it.

The more he looked, the more interested he got. Glancing around out of the corner of his eye, he casually closed the book, rolled it up, and stuffed it into his sleeve to hide it.

Steadying his expression, Luo Yunchen walked up to Su Zheng.

Only then did Su Zheng notice Luo Yunchen was back. "Find anything you liked?"

Luo Yunchen nodded. "I already had the shopkeeper wrap it up."

"Alright then." Su Zheng turned back to the waiter. "Pack these up for me as well. I'll take them all."

"You got it, sir. Please wait a moment."

The shopkeeper happened to come down from the second floor just then, and the waiter immediately told the shopkeeper about the sale.

Luo Yunchen told the shopkeeper, "Sir, after they're packed, leave them here along with that scroll painting. Someone will come by to pick them up later."

After giving the shopkeeper his instructions, after paying, Su Zheng and the others walked out of the bookshop.

Just as they stepped onto the street, chaos broke out not far away.

Someone was shouting, "Move! Get out of the way!"

Pedestrians and vendors alike scrambled—grabbing their goods, clutching their children—frantically running to the sides of the street.

People who bumped into each other didn't even bother to see who they'd bumped into, scrambled up and ran to the side of the road.

Some people dropped their things, paused for a moment, glanced in the direction of the commotion, then gritted their teeth, too scared to look back, and hurried off.

In just a few moments, the commotion had spread from nearby right in front of Su Zheng.

Around Su Zheng and Luo Yunchen, the once-bustling crowd was now reduced to just a few scattered people running.

Though Su Zheng didn't know what was going on, he wasn't scared or panicked by the crowd's commotion.

Soon, he guessed the cause.

Because he could hear the sound of hooves getting closer and clearer—and it wasn't just one horse.

Su Zheng looked at the equally calm Luo Yunchen. "What's going on?"

Luo Yunchen's face darkened as he frowned and said quietly, "Someone is galloping through the street."

Before Su Zheng could respond, the figures of riders on fast horses came into view, speeding toward them in the blink of an eye.

Luo Yunchen wrapped an arm around Su Zheng's waist, pulling him into an embrace as they leaped onto a rooftop.

After a brief moment of discomfort, Su Zheng adjusted, grabbing Luo Yunchen's shoulder to steady himself as he looked down at the street below.

The crowd had scattered completely, the shouting and noise fading into a relative quiet.

In the stillness, two voices became clearer.

In the middle of the street lay a little girl, crying shrilly.

She looked about three or four years old, her small body sprawled among the scattered debris, easy to overlook if one didn't look closely.

Whether frightened or injured from being trampled, she didn't get up, just lay there sobbing for her mother.

She had been crying for so long that her voice was hoarse, yet she still wailed, a sound that grated on the nerves.

From the crowd came a woman's weeping, calling for her daughter—likely the girl's mother.

But the woman was only heard, not seen.

Lost in the crowd, she was too short to peek out or push through, her cries filled with grief and desperation.

The galloping horses came into clearer view—two in front, two behind.

The front two were separated by half a horse's length.

The young man on the first horse laughed loudly at the one on the second. "Lin, you're falling behind! Racing me? I'll show you what a real horseman is! Get ready to bow to me!"

With that, he laughed heartily, shouted "Giddyup!" and sped ahead.

The young man on the second horse, both angry and anxious, shouted back, "Hmph! It's not over till the end!"

The two riders behind, though trailing, could still hear each other's calls.

They joined in, yelling, "Young Master Shen will win! First place!"

Luo Yunchen glanced at Xu Mo.

Xu Mo understood, darting down to scoop up the little girl and leaping to a rooftop on the other side.

He barely brushed past Young Master Shen's horse.

Startled by the sharp wind from Xu Mo's movement, the horse reared up with a neigh, its front hooves kicking the air.

Young Master Shen was shocked, quickly pulling the reins to steady the horse.

Once the danger passed, he erupted in anger, turning to look where Xu Mo had gone, ready to settle the score.

Young Master Lin’s horse had already taken the chance to overtake Young Master Shen, charging to the front.

Young Master Lin turned his head and laughed loudly at Young Master Shen, “Hey, Shen, you bastard, looks like the heavens are on my side, helping me beat you! You just wait to kowtow to me, you loser!”

After shouting, Young Master Lin whipped his horse, swinging the whip left and right.

Soon, all the vendor stalls along his path were knocked into the middle of the street, with tables and cabinets scattered everywhere.

Young Master Shen was both furious and anxious. He wanted to take his anger out on Xu Mo, but he couldn’t stand the thought of losing the race.

Finally, he glared fiercely at Xu Mo and cursed, “Damn it, you just wait for me! Once I win this race and free up my hands, I’ll come for you. No matter where you run, I’ll catch you, twist your head off, and let my horse stomp it for fun!”