A few hours later, the train arrived at Jiangnan City Station.
The train came to a stop, and passengers, one by one, squeezed out with their luggage, jostling to get off first.
Lin Ziyan tried to retrieve her suitcase from the luggage rack, but it was a bit too heavy, and she failed to grasp it securely; the suitcase fell straight down.
Just as she was about to be hit by her own large suitcase, Lin Ziyan closed her eyes in fear.
But after a while, nothing happened.
When Lin Ziyan opened her eyes and looked, it turned out that Liu Mang had caught the suitcase with his hand.
She knew her own suitcase well; it was a large one, packed full, weighing at least eighty pounds. She had not been able to hold it with both hands, and it was only with the help of a kind person that she had managed to get it on the train.
And now, Liu Mang had effortlessly held it up with just one hand.
Not only had he held it up, but he also seemed to do so with ease.
Subconsciously, Lin Ziyan glanced at Liu Mang's solid chest muscles.
It seemed that the muscles on his body were indeed not just for show.
After helping Lin Ziyan place the suitcase on the ground, Liu Mang said with a smile, "Do you like what you see?"
Lin Ziyan was particularly annoyed with Liu Mang. Even though he had helped her, she had no intention of being nice to him, "Like it, my ass. It's just a few muscles, what's there to be proud of?"
With those words, Lin Ziyan pulled her suitcase and walked towards the exit of the train.
She didn't want to take another look at Liu Mang, didn't even want to breathe the same air he had breathed.
Taking his shoulder bag, Liu Mang quickly caught up with Lin Ziyan and walked beside her, "Don't walk so fast, wait for me."
Lin Ziyan ignored Liu Mang, and her steps quickened.
But no matter how fast Lin Ziyan was, she couldn't outpace Liu Mang, and she couldn't shake him off.
As they walked, Liu Mang said, "You'd better avoid doing any intense exercise recently, like running, swimming, or carrying heavy objects. Also, any vigorous activity, especially ones that put stress on your legs, will worsen the injury to your leg."
"Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Lin Ziyan almost roared these words.
She hated herself for not flying instead, and insisted on buying a train ticket.
If she had taken a flight, she wouldn't have run into Liu Mang, that hooligan, and wouldn't still be harassed by him.
"Alright, I'll stop talking, okay? Goodbye then," Liu Mang waved his hand and walked away quickly.
Lin Ziyan thought Liu Mang would continue to pester her for her phone number, but to her surprise, he left without any fuss, which was quite unexpected.
However, with him gone, it was a relief; Lin Ziyan quickly dragged her suitcase away.
She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but her calf, which had been touched by Liu Mang's large hands, was now faintly hurting.
Especially when she put weight on it, standing on one leg.
Liu Mang, with his backpack on, walked briskly out of the train station, and upon seeing the view before him, his eyes widened.
Skyscrapers everywhere, cars everywhere, people everywhere; it was a bustling scene—a big city truly is incomparable to a small county town.
Checking the time, it was already past seven in the evening, with dusk approaching.
Finally having arrived in Jiangnan City, he needed to find his way to Surname Medicine Pharmacy as soon as possible, which was the place his master had mentioned for him to settle in.
Before Liu Mang could hail a cab, a skinny man in his forties with a sly grin came up to him, "Hey brother, just got off the train? Where you headed? Need a ride?"
Liu Mang asked, "Do you know where Surname Medicine Pharmacy is?"
This time in Jiangnan City, his master and mistress had told him to stay at Surname Medicine Pharmacy.
They hadn't given him a specific address but mentioned that Surname Medicine Pharmacy was the most famous pharmacy in Jiangnan City, and he could find out just by asking around.
The black taxi driver, upon hearing Surname Medicine Pharmacy, first paused, then immediately smiled broadly, "Know it, know it, let's go, hop in the car, and I'll take you there right away."
"How much?"
"Not much, just twenty bucks will do. Come on, get in the car, let's go."
The skinny man grinned and pulled Liu Mang into an ancient-looking Buick, started the car, and drove away.
As time ticked by, the sky gradually darkened, and by the time they stopped, it was already night.
The Buick parked on a somewhat secluded street, and the skinny man declared, "We're here, this is the place."
Liu Mang glanced outside, but there was no sign of any pharmacy named Si Ming, instead there was a hotel by the roadside, "Did you take a wrong turn?"
"No mistake, this is the spot," the skinny man pointed at the hotel, "You see, this used to be Si Ming Pharmacy, but after a fire, it was rebuilt. That hotel was Si Ming Pharmacy before, no doubt about it. If you're looking for someone from Si Ming Pharmacy, go in and ask around, you might find out something."
Listening to the skinny man, he didn't seem to be lying, so Liu Mang handed over twenty bucks, "Thanks."
The sight of the money turned the skinny man's face sour, "Are you messing with me?"
Liu Mang was puzzled, "Isn't that what you said? Twenty bucks."
The formerly smiley skinny man now had a menacing look in his eyes as he stared fiercely at Liu Mang, "I said twenty bucks, but I didn't say which currency, I meant twenty British pounds! Oh, and by the way, there was a traffic jam when we passed Happiness Road earlier, so we took a detour, and you owe me another twenty, also in pounds!"
"My master said not everyone outside is honest. I didn't believe it before, but now it seems I have to. You want money, right? Sure," said Liu Mang, who didn't get angry, nor did he reach for his wallet, instead he poked at the car window with one finger, "How much did you say just now?"
The skinny man thought if Liu Mang didn't catch on, he'd rattle him by flashing a knife.
He was pleasantly surprised to see Liu Mang agree so readily.
However, Liu Mang's next move had the skinny man's eyes popping out of his head—incredibly, his finger punctured the car window glass as if poking through plastic wrap!
Holy moly, that's toughened window glass, even with a film on it, and it was pierced by just a finger! Are you even human, or can we not have fun here anymore?
Retracting his finger, Liu Mang asked the skinny man with a grin, "What was that about how much, pounds and US dollars?"
The skinny man secretly compared his own chest to the car window glass and realized the glass seemed harder. His heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
His fierceness was gone, replaced by a dry, obsequious smile, "What pounds, what dollars? I was just kidding, don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously at all."
"So you mean the fare is on the house?" asked Liu Mang.
"No charge, no charge whatever." The skinny man dared not ask for the fare; he was all too afraid that Liu Mang would poke a few holes in his chest too.
"You don't want the fare, so let's settle a different score then," Liu Mang pointed outside to the motel, "I asked you to take me to Si Ming Pharmacy, and you bring me to a motel instead. Not only that, you took me on a big detour on the way, just wasting my time. How do you propose we settle this account?"
The skinny man went pale, almost regretting his actions profusely, "I'll pay, I'll pay, isn't that enough?"
With great pain, the skinny man took out his wallet, and while he hesitated on how much to give, Liu Mang's hand reached over and took the wallet away.
Handing back the empty wallet to the skinny man, Liu Mang pocketed the three hundred something bucks he'd just acquired, and with a beaming smile, said, "Nice service, I'll ride with you again."
In this lifetime, the skinny man never wanted to encounter Liu Mang again. He slammed on the gas pedal and drove off like he was escaping the plague.
The problem was, he wasn't paying attention to the road and almost collided with a middle-aged woman crossing the street.
Although the woman wasn't hit, she skillfully laid down beneath the car and started shouting loudly, "I've been hit, I've been hit to death..."
Giving the skinny man a look of pity, Liu Mang walked toward the motel, carrying his backpack.
The motel's entrance was flanked by two large red lanterns, and a gilded sign hung above: Happiness Motel.
By the entrance, a mature woman in a breezy dress was leaning casually.
Seeing Liu Mang approaching, the woman piled on a full-faced smile, warmly welcoming him, "Handsome, are you here looking for someone?"
"How did you know I'm here to find someone?" Liu Mang asked.
"Everyone who comes here is looking for someone," the woman said with a suggestive chuckle before winking at Liu Mang, "Come, don't just stand there, come on in. You look new here, must be your first time, right? Today's your lucky day, we've got a real beauty who's just arrived."
As she spoke, the woman wrapped her arm around Liu Mang's and pulled him into the motel. Liu Mang had to admit, the people of Jiangnan City were indeed warm-hearted.