Chapter 36 Finally Fainted

Ji Tangtang narrowed her eyes slightly. “A woman surnamed Fang? Fang Juan?”

“Y-yes, yes, Fang Juan!” Zhou Jie nodded vigorously, as if pounding garlic. “She came to us yesterday morning, saying that you made a lot of money selling medicinal herbs and told us to snatch your money, to tarnish your reputation.”

“At that time, we couldn’t find you in the streets. We wandered around all day. Brother Qiang demanded compensation from her, otherwise he would expose her scandal. She agreed and promised to keep giving us information about you.”

“Today, she came to us herself on Da Dong Road, saying that you were out on the streets again, telling us to hurry and seize the chance. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have even known you, let alone follow you for no reason.”

Feng Bing pounded the ground with his forehead repeatedly. “Heroine, we were just following orders! Please, spare us!”

A smile curved on Ji Tangtang’s lips. “I can spare you! But—” she paused, the smile deepening at the corners of her mouth.

The two men shivered. Looking at Ji Tangtang’s bright and striking face, they felt as if they had seen a demon. Not a trace of desire remained in their hearts.

Seeing the two men scared out of their wits, Ji Tangtang then spoke slowly, “I’ll have to see how you behave. If your performance satisfies me, I might consider sparing your little soft balls. If not—”

Her gaze shifted to Zhou Qiang a short distance away, and the pebbles in her hand were crushed into powder, falling with a whoosh.

“—then you’ll have to become eunuchs, just like him.”

The two men felt chills run down their spines, as if Ji Tangtang hadn’t crushed stones but had squeezed their own family jewels.

“We’ll make sure to satisfy you, heroine! We guarantee we won’t harm anyone ever again!”

“Good.”

“I’ll be waiting for your good news. This is your only chance.”

Ji Tangtang brushed the dust from her hands and left the alley.

Once she was gone, Zhou Jie and Feng Bing collapsed to the ground like wet clay.

“You two… quickly… come here and take me to the hospital,” Zhou Qiang finally managed to speak, sweating profusely.

“Brother Qiang, are you okay? Were your family jewels really crushed?” Zhou Jie got up, gritting his teeth, and ran over to help him, intending to take him to the hospital, though worry gnawed at him.

“But now we have to hurry and deal with that Fang woman. If we waste time, that demon woman will be displeased!”

“Brother Qiang, my family line has only one male heir, I can’t be like you and become a eunuch too!” Feng Bing limped off without looking back at Zhou Qiang.

Seeing Feng Bing leave, Zhou Jie hesitated for a moment, then ran after him. Zhou Qiang had been barely holding on, and now, seeing his men abandon him, he could no longer endure the pain and fainted.

Ji Tangtang didn’t concern herself with how they would deal with Fang Juan. After leaving the alley, she had no mood to go to the black market and instead found a place to enter her secret realm.

While dealing with the ruffians earlier, she suddenly recalled some minor incidents from her previous trips among the common folk. At that time, she had also encountered a few lecherous thugs and had reformed them so thoroughly that they never dared act on women again.

However, that wasn’t important now. What mattered was that, during her earlier excursions, she had apparently bought quite a few things. They had seemed novel and pretty at the time but had no value for cultivation—essentially, junk.

Back then, she had been like that—curious but dismissive. Those items were eventually discarded somewhere. For her past self, they had no use. But now, they were very useful.

Ji Tangtang quickly returned to her main body and started rummaging. After some effort, she finally found the items she had once considered worthless.

Looking at the treasures in her storage ring, Ji Tangtang patted her head. Why hadn’t she remembered sooner? If she had, she wouldn’t have had to suffer eating coarse corn porridge.

Although the pastries had been stored in the ring for who knows how many years, time inside the ring was frozen. No matter how long something was kept inside, it remained as fresh as when first placed. The pastries were fragrant, soft, and delicious.

After eating, Ji Tangtang carefully organized the other items in the storage ring. Besides pastries, there were many pieces of gold and jade, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings.

During this special period, she couldn’t wear gold or silver jewelry, so she put them back. But some of the clothing could be repurposed.

These clothes were likely bought simply because she liked the look, though she usually wore protective cultivation robes. Most of the mortal clothing had never been worn, simply stored in the ring. Now that buying was difficult, she could modify them to suit this era.

After deciding, Ji Tangtang wrapped the clothes to be altered separately and took two packets of pastries with her to the tailor shop.

The old tailor paused his work when he saw her and smiled. “Comrade, your clothes won’t be ready that quickly.”

“Master, I’m not here to rush you. I want to see if you can help me modify these old clothes, make them into fitted outfits I can wear,” Ji Tangtang said, taking out several sets of clothing.

The old tailor looked at them in surprise and admiration, then sighed. “This is damask silk, right? Such beautiful fabric—are you really going to alter it into fitted clothing? You’d be wasting it.”

Ji Tangtang deliberately replied, “I also hate to do it! But my family doesn’t have enough fabric coupons, so I have no choice. Please take a look.”

The tailor regretted it but didn’t argue. Fabric was scarce, and each household had a strict quota every year. Many clothes were patched upon patched. Although stylish, these clothes weren’t practical for now.

He nodded. “Alright, I’ll help you think it through. But first, you’ll need to disassemble the fabric. It’s a lot of work, and the labor isn’t cheap.”

“I understand. Don’t worry, I’m not unreasonable,” Ji Tangtang said, handing over the pastries. “This is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it, master.”

The old tailor felt embarrassed and quickly refused. “I’ve already been paid. Why are you giving me this? Keep it for yourself.”

“Master, please accept it! One thing is one thing,” Ji Tangtang said sweetly. “Our wedding is soon. You’re quite old, and making us rush must be hard. If you don’t accept this little gift, I’ll feel bad.”