To shave one's head or not?

  Since he beat up a beggar who bullied an old lady and a little girl more than ten days ago, he suddenly had the air of a desperate man, and few people dared to provoke him easily.

  Nowadays, Zhenming is no different from other beggars, with tattered clothes, disheveled hair, and a messy beard. He wears a straw rain cape, huddled in a ball, squatting in the corner of a wall, half-closing his eyes, lazily basking in the sun.

  He was different from other beggars, compared to those who were emitting a foul smell, with dirty faces and yellow teeth, he was much cleaner and whiter, standing among them, he was like the aristocrat of beggars, looking somewhat out of place, almost dazzling people's eyes.

  Every morning, he would arrive early in this alley, guarding the back door of Hong Xing Bi Yuan. When the door opened, he would follow others to line up at the end of the queue, receive a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns, eat them, then wander around with his crutches. At night, he would return to the broken temple to sleep, get up in the morning, go to the Luo River to wash up, and then walk several kilometers to come to this alley behind the west gate of the city's large courtyard, waiting for porridge distribution as part of his rehabilitation training.

  After finishing the only fixed breakfast of the day, he followed other beggars to wander around Luoyang City, occasionally begging for one or two copper coins to exchange for a bowl of fragrant rice.

  After a month, he had strolled through most of the western part of Luoyang City, walked more, and his body was slightly better. He no longer needed to use crutches, but still coughed severely.

  That day, he lined up as usual for porridge and buns, and after eating, he squatted in the corner of the wall, basking in the warm sunshine.

  An old woman with a walking stick came from afar, anxiously telling him: "Young man, hurry up and leave. The person you beat last time has brought people from the Hejian fellow villagers' association, if you don't leave now it will be too late."

  Zhen Ming's bitter ears heard the words, he raised his head and glanced at the old woman. A few days ago, this Lin Po brought her five-year-old granddaughter to the door to line up for porridge, but was driven away by a group of people. He easily took care of those people, although injured and weak, but still more than enough to deal with a few beggar thugs.

  He smiled at her: "It's okay, is your granddaughter a bit better? Has the fever gone down?"

  "It's all right now, it was just because we were hungry. After eating something, we're fine. If it weren't for you, young man, my grandson and I would have probably starved to death on the streets."

  Just then, a loud and arrogant shout came from afar: "Which blind thing dares to move the people of my hometown association in Hejian, and is tired of living?"

  Automatically make way in the crowd.

  The old woman hastily walked away and didn't dare to speak with Zhen Ming again.

  A fat beggar with a fierce expression, similar to a Japanese sumo wrestler, led four or five other beggars carrying clubs, swaggering towards Zhen Ming.

  "It's him! It's really him!"

  One of them had a bandage wrapped around his face, with a swollen mouth, cowering behind the fat beggar, revealing half of his face, pointing at Zhen Ming's bitter fate.

  The fat beggar frowned, looking at the thin and constantly coughing Zhen Mingshu, with a hint of doubt on his face, clearly not quite believing that this person in front of him could beat up his fellow villager so badly.

  "Was it you who beat up my fellow townsman like this?"

  Zhen Ming got up from his bitter stand, patted the dust off his buttocks and said, "No need to be polite, it's free, any advice?"

  That fat beggar was somewhat surprised by his calmness, looked him up and down, and asked: "You're quite bold, aren't you? What's your story? What level are you at? Don't you know the rules around here?"

  Zhen Ming said with a bitter smile, "I know, it's not about who has the harder fist, whoever does is the boss. I didn't help or take sides, we're all just beggars mixed together, no need to make a fuss."

  "Alright, bring it on! You think your fists are tough enough? I've been through half a lifetime of hardships, repaired the Grand Canal, escaped from disasters, suffered from famine, fought in battles, eaten rotten pork from the sewers and leftover food from the wine houses of Luoyang. What kind of situation haven't I seen before? And yet, I still haven't met anyone as ignorant of the rules as you. Speak up, which hand do you want to use?"

  Zhen Ming said in a dull tone: "Both hands are needed."

  "I'll make you whole, come with me," the beggar said, beckoning to Zhen Mingsu with a wave of his hand. He turned and walked into a dark alleyway in the lane, the strange laughter behind him making it seem as if he was looking at an idiot who was about to meet with disaster.

  "Hey kid, don't go, he'll beat you to death." The old lady whispered in the crowd.

  Zhen Ming's bitter face was indifferent, following a fat beggar named Fei Long into the small alley.

  ……

  Ten minutes later.

  Including the fat dragon that had eaten the leftovers of the emperor, there were six people in total, all lying in the alley, humming "ai ai yo yo" with their mouths, not one could get up, and clubs were scattered all over the ground.

  Zhen Ming sat on the belly of a beggar named Fei Long, holding a stick in his hand, and tapped Fei Long's head with it. Coughing, he asked: "Do you still want this fat brain of yours?"

  Fat Dragon nodded hastily: "Want, want, want."

  "I'll cut it down and put it in your pocket, who's got a vegetable knife I can borrow?"

  "No knife, no knife, don't lend it to him!" Fei Long was so scared that his face turned white, shaking his head, the fat on his face and neck shook: "Good fellow, I don't want my head anymore, I don't want my head anymore."

  "If you don't want it, then just cut it off and throw it away."

  Fei Long was so anxious that he almost cried: "Can't cut, can't cut, just put your head on your neck and it's fine. Good fellow, spare my life! I'm a small person who doesn't know the greatness of Mount Tai, I offended you, but you are a magnanimous person, please spare me. From now on, whatever you order, I and the brothers from Hejian will be willing to go through fire and water for you, without hesitation, blinking an eye is not being a good fellow!"

  Who would have thought that the majestic and powerful Fat Dragon from just a moment ago had suddenly turned into a mere fat worm? I couldn't help but burst out laughing: "You're just a lump of fatty meat, what are you doing going through thick and thin?"

  He patted Fei Long's belly, stood up and said: "Your head will temporarily stay on your head for now. If I see you or anyone from your hometown association cutting in line, making trouble, not following order, bullying the elderly and children again, you'll come find me with a kitchen knife."

  "Understood, understood." Fei Long replied repeatedly.

  Zhen Ming got up with a bitter smile, dusting off his clothes, and walked out of the alley.

  Outside the alley, those beggars who were watching all retreated to three feet away from him, looking at him with a gaze as if they were looking at a monster.

  Nor did he know where this pale and thin, tuberculosis-ridden man got such great strength, but with just a light push, he could send a fat beggar weighing 200-300 catties flying five or six meters away.

  What made them even more incredulous was that they didn't know what kind of movement Zhen Mingxu had used, but with just a shoulder strike, a sidestep, and a push, within a few seconds, all five beggars were knocked to the ground, not one of them able to get up.

  And he just coughed a few times, his face didn't turn red and he wasn't out of breath.

  "What's your name?"

  Just as Zhen Ming had walked out of the alley, a clear and pleasant girl's voice rang out.