Chapter 89: Chrysanthemum Shoes and Fresh Durian

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**Chrysanthemum Shoes and Fresh Durian - 05**

“Did you go fighting again?” Su Tan’er didn’t even lift her head. She continued embroidering under the coal lamp, carefully stitching a chrysanthemum onto the satin surface of a shoe.

Seeing the chrysanthemum, Ning Yi frowned. He remembered mentioning the legends about chrysanthemums to Tan’er, wondering how she could still make such a mistake. It seemed that in mainstream culture, chrysanthemums hadn't yet shed their 'elevated' connotations.

“It wasn’t a fight,” Ning Yi said, taking the wet towel from Xiao Chan and meticulously wiping himself from head to face to neck. “It was about eliminating evil and promoting good. How many times have I told you, why do people practice martial arts? It’s simply to restore peace and order for the common people. Fatty Er from North City owed Miss Qilan her fees and hadn’t paid for half a year. I was simply acting on behalf of heaven to mete out justice.”

At that moment, Xiao Chan took the dirty towel Ning Yi handed back and could no longer contain her excitement. “Master, Master, did you win?” she exclaimed. “I heard that Fatty Er from North City is on the Hundred Sages List and eats ten catties of pig head meat every day! With his butcher’s knife, he’s faced heroes from all over the world. What about you, Master? What weapon did you use, and how many moves did it take to defeat that fat slob? Tell me, tell me quickly!”

Su Tan’er cast a faint side-glance at Ning Yi, but he didn’t notice. His attention was completely immersed in today’s earth-shattering battle, which he was softly and gently narrating to Xiao Chan.

“At that time,” Ning Yi recounted, “when that fat slob leaped out, my vision blurred. He was an entire mountain of flesh, covering more ground than our silk shop in North City. I thought, how could Miss Qilan cope with such a huge man? It was already lucky she hadn’t been crushed to death, and my rage flared even more violently. Miss Qilan might already have internal injuries. Not only would this fat slob not pay for medical expenses, but he also put her fees on credit. If such a scoundrel wasn’t eliminated, societal morale would continue to worsen.”

“But this fat slob was truly extraordinary. He had so much flesh on him that my joint locks and the move predictions Hong Ti taught me were all useless. And he was especially despicable, constantly aiming his butcher’s knife at my lower body. I had no choice but to keep jumping and dodging, agonizing over whether to activate my ‘gene lock’ and use a finishing move to kill him. Then I saw a huge durian in Old Lady Song’s fruit stall, completely green and its thorns glinting. So I pretended I couldn’t beat him, jumping and jumping until I reached Old Lady Song’s doorstep. Haha, that fat slob naturally chased after me! In that instant, I grabbed the durian with my right hand, squatted down, used my left hand to brace myself on the ground, and slipped under his armpit to get behind him. Then, I thrust the durian violently into his… chrysanthemum.”

As he said this, Ning Yi suddenly felt a profound loneliness. In this durian-abundant season, Fatty Er from North City was already the seventh person to be ‘popped.’ In just a month and a half, Ning Yi’s nickname was no longer “Bloody Hand Butcher”; he had transformed into the progenitor of the “Exploding Chrysanthemum Style.” It was said that a similar tradition existed in the Lüliang Mountains, but because bananas were abundant there, those who gossiped in the jianghu dubbed it the “Stabbing Chrysanthemum Style.” Just like the Sword and Qi factions of the Hua Mountain Sect back in the day, many hoped that the “Exploding Chrysanthemum” and “Stabbing Chrysanthemum” styles would one day have a peak showdown.

The coal lamp wick flickered and popped. With two fingers, Ning Yi caught the embroidered shoe Su Tan’er threw at him. He heard her say in a less-than-gentle voice, “Put it on and see if it’s too big or too small!”

“Why should I!” Ning Yi’s stubborn defiance was brewing, but Su Tan’er had already retorted with a nasal “Hmmph—”

Ning Yi obediently put it on. He saw it was a perfect fit. His heart began to bleed; he felt retribution was swift. Today he had just ‘popped’ someone else’s chrysanthemum, and tomorrow he might have to go out wearing embroidered shoes with chrysanthemum satin. From now on, he would become another Master Geng. Hmm, Master Ning.

“It fits, right?” Su Tan’er saw Ning Yi give a stiff little nod, a faint smile playing on her lips, and she slowly said, “This is for Hong Ti. Her feet are the same size as yours.”

“Then what about the chrysanthemum?”

“Hmph! It’s just a reminder for you two,” Su Tan’er retorted. “He who ‘pops’ others’ chrysanthemums will always be ‘popped’ himself. Don’t be too arrogant. For a scoundrel like Fatty Er, merely cutting off his ‘little one’ would be enough; ‘popping’ his chrysanthemum truly harms heavenly harmony.”

“Will Hong Ti agree to wear them?”

“She won’t have a choice,” Su Tan’er stated. “After all, I’m the mistress of this household. I am the wife, and she is the concubine. Oh, for me, the main wife, to kindly make shoes for the concubine – how dare she not appreciate it? That would be defying heaven! If she dares not wear them, I’ll immediately cut off all trade with the Lüliang Mountains. Let’s see who can afford that…”

Seeing her master’s bitter expression, Xiao Chan had long since collapsed onto the floor, shaking with laughter.

The lamp suddenly went out. In the fleeting glow before it extinguished, Xiao Chan saw her master pounce towards her mistress. Another night of punishment had begun.