PNB Chapter 284 Retreating to Advance
Chapter 284 Retreating to Advance
Yun Zhi looked down at the little girl in front of her who was probably only five or six years old.
At this moment, she was nervously pulling at the corner of her clothes, looking at Yun Zhi with some fear, and occasionally glancing inside with a hint of worry in her eyes.
In fact, Yun Zhi noticed the little girl when she appeared, but she had roughly heard what was happening inside, so she didn't take Liu Anruo to hide.
At this time, the broken door was opened and the girl called the boss walked out.
She raised her head and glanced at Yun Zhi and Liu Anruo inconspicuously, and finally stayed on Yun Zhi for a while.
As if she had confirmed something, she withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Shi Tou, whose face was a little pale. She immediately understood the situation.
The girl took a deep breath, walked forward, and looked at them pitifully. "Sister, we didn't steal your silver on purpose. We'll return it to you. Please, can you please not take us to the government?"
It took only a few breaths from the time he walked out to the time he showed this expression.
Seeing that the two of them hadn't spoken, she pursed her lips, and a gleam of light that was inconsistent with her appearance flashed in her lowered eyes.
"Sister, we are really hungry, that's why we do this."
The little girl's voice trembled slightly. She took out the silver, held it in front of Yun Zhi, and knelt down with a plop.
She just realized that the person leading the group must be this tall woman.
As she knelt, the other beggars all knelt down.
Looking at the group of children kneeling towards them, most of them were about the same age as their daughter, and some were even younger than their daughter.
After having a daughter, Liu Anruo found that he had become much softer-hearted.
She walked up to Yun Zhi and whispered, "Forget it. It's not much anyway. It's getting late. You should go back."
Yun Zhi did not respond to her, but kept her eyes on the little girl who was kneeling on the ground with the silver in her hands.
"Retreat to advance? You didn't want to take it out at first, right?"
Hearing her words, the little girl trembled slightly, but soon calmed down, "Sister, what are you talking about?"
Yun Zhi's lips curled up slightly, with an expression that seemed to know everything. "Little girl, you are still too young to hide your emotions. You just came out and stared at us to make sure who was in charge. At first you said you would return the money, but you didn't move except crying. Later, when you saw that we were unmoved, you knelt down and took out the money."
However, the child was only six or seven years old, and was exposed so bluntly by Yun Zhi that his face turned pale instantly. It was already very good that he could hold up his body and not go limp.
Didn’t you see how the other beggars were shaking so badly, and some of them were even sobbing quietly.
Yun Zhi looked at the stubborn look of the little girl and nodded with satisfaction. Yes, most ordinary people would have confessed everything under her gaze, but she bit her lips tightly, as if she was still thinking of a countermeasure.
Looking at the group of beggars kneeling in front of her, Yun Zhi walked towards the temple and said, "Come in."
The voice carried an authority that could not be denied.
The children stood up tremblingly and followed Yun Zhi into the temple.
The temple was filled with a stale and decayed smell. Yun Zhi looked around and found a clean place to sit down.
The little girl stood aside, head down and said nothing.
Yun Zhi looked at her and spoke slowly, "Tell me, this shouldn't be the first time you've stolen something, right?"
Seeing that the little girl still didn't speak, Yun Zhi tapped the stone surface lightly, and all the secret guards hiding around appeared instantly.
Even though Yun Zhi prides himself on his martial arts skills, he wouldn't be so arrogant as to not bring anyone with him.
The children were so frightened by this sudden situation that their faces turned pale, and some even couldn't help crying.
The little girl looked at the secret guards around her and weighed the pros and cons in her mind.
The noble person in front of me must be of very high status. If he wanted to report to the authorities, he would not have gone through so much trouble.
Probably just curiosity.
Maybe if she satisfied her curiosity, the person would leave. Besides, she had no other choice but to tell the truth.
She looked up at Yun Zhi, took off her disguise, and said calmly, "This is our eleventh successful theft."
There was no need for Yun Zhi to ask any more questions, as she explained everything clearly.
"My parents abandoned me when I was four years old because they had a younger brother and couldn't afford to raise me."
Liu Anruo frowned when he heard this. He didn't expect that the phenomenon of favoring boys over girls is still so serious nowadays.
The little girl continued, "After being abandoned by my parents, I looked for help from some shop owners, but their lives weren't necessarily that good. Although they felt sorry for me, they wouldn't take me in. At most, they'd just give me some food."
"Later, in order to survive, I imitated the beggars on the street and started begging."
"Looking at me with pity, some noble people would always throw some silver to me. Most of the time, I couldn't protect it. As soon as those noble people left, my silver would be snatched away by those big beggars. If I didn't give it to them, I would be beaten."
"Even the beggars, seeing how easy it is for me to beg for money, would follow me and try to rob me when I get it."
"Later, I heard people on the street say that the Imperial City was prosperous and there were many rich people there. I thought that maybe I could live a better life there, so I begged for food all the way to the Imperial City."
"After coming here, it seems that things haven't gotten much better. There are many rich people here, but there are also many beggars, big and small. I want to survive."
"I don't have any skills, and I can't make money by performing like some beggars, so I thought of stealing."
"I would steal from wealthy people. Most of them wouldn't care or look for their lost money. If I were caught, I would cry. But they would usually feel sorry for me and not make a fuss. They wouldn't even ask for my money back, or they would just take it back and forget about it."
This method has always worked for her.
"If I'm finally caught and taken to the government, I won't feel any resentment. Being caught is probably a matter of time for stealing. I just want to endure this until I grow up, and then I'll find a job."
"As for this group of people, I took them in. I told them they could survive by following me, so they followed me. Some of them were abandoned by their parents because they were sick, and some were abandoned because they were girls. We formed a family, and I am their boss."
"We've agreed that when some of us grow up and have jobs, we won't steal anymore. That's it. Do whatever you want. If you want to catch them, catch me. I'm their boss, and I'm the one who instigated them all."
After saying that, she closed her eyes and waited for Yun Zhi's judgment.