Chapter 655: Picking a Fight
Bas coldly looked at Lin Chuan, saying, "On our plains, anything can be exchanged, including women. Now, I've taken a liking to this woman. Tell me, what do you want in exchange? I'm willing to offer a thousand cattle."
Lin Chuan was startled and shook his head, saying, "Not for sale!"
Pfft...
Upon hearing this, Miss Lan immediately sprayed the soup in her mouth out, and it landed on Lin Chuan's face. She glared at Lin Chuan: "Who said I'm for sale."
"I said you're not for sale," Lin Chuan replied with a smile.
"I'm not for sale to begin with... I... go to hell." Miss Lan felt she had been tricked by Lin Chuan and angrily said, "I'm not a commodity. How can you describe me with buying and selling?"
Bas didn't understand what Lin Chuan and Miss Lan were talking about but continued, "Then tell me, what do you want?"
"Mongolian, in our China, women are also people, and they have their dignity," Lin Chuan put down the lamb leg he was holding and said seriously, "If you want to win a woman's heart, then pursue her with your heart, not exchange her with your cattle and sheep!"
"Uh..." Bas was stunned and said, "In our Mongolia, women are exchanged for cattle and sheep."
"This isn't Mongolia." Lin Chuan retorted, "We are not Mongolians, and most importantly, she is not my woman."
Bas scratched his head and then gritted his teeth, "What if I insist on having her?"
"Then you ask her," Lin Chuan pointed at Miss Lan.
Bas looked at Miss Lan and smiled, "Come with me, I have a vast expanse of grassland, and thousands of cattle and sheep. All you need to do is bear me eight or ten sons."
Miss Lan frowned, "Who cares?"
Bas angrily said, "There hasn't been a woman that Bas liked and didn't agree."
As he spoke, the few strong men behind Bas took a step forward, seemingly ready to use force.
Suddenly, Miss Lan revealed a smile and then said, "I'm not saying I can't go with you, but you have to accomplish one thing first."
"Sure, not just one, even ten or a hundred things are no problem," Bas laughed heartily.
"As long as you defeat him, I'll go with you," Miss Lan pointed at Lin Chuan.
"Hahaha..." Upon hearing this, Bas immediately laughed loudly, "Defeat him? No need for me to do it personally, my men below can handle it."
"Up to you, as long as you defeat him," Miss Lan crossed her arms, looking provocatively at Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan had a gloomy expression. He hadn't expected this girl to still drag him into the fray.
"Can't we avoid this?" Lin Chuan asked.
"Who told you to make me angry," Miss Lan looked disdainful and said, "This lady is not that easy to provoke."
At this moment, Bas slowly walked towards Lin Chuan, sneered and said, "Kid, do you choose to kneel and surrender yourself, or shall I beat you up before you surrender?"
Lin Chuan wiped his hands and said, "I'll give you a minute."
"What?" Bas was taken aback.
"Get out!" Lin Chuan roared.
"Bastard!" Bas gritted his teeth, his face ferocious, and he single-handedly swung a folding table fiercely towards Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan caught the table coming down with one hand, then kicked fiercely.
Bang...
With a kick, Bas's corpulent belly immediately flattened, and following that, Bas fell backward.
Boom...
The over two hundred pounds of his body heavily fell, followed by a pot of boiling soup pouring over him.
"Ow ow..." Bas cried out loudly.
"Bas!" Several subordinates quickly rushed to help him up.
Bas hurriedly got up, thankfully the soup had cooled down a bit; had it been freshly boiled, his skin could have been severely scalded. Bas felt deeply humiliated, he got very angry and suddenly swung his fist towards Lin Chuan.
Bas was indeed strong, but obviously not as agile as Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan dodged his punches with a few sliding steps and circled to his back.
Bang...
Lin Chuan kicked Bas's buttocks, sending him sprawling straight forward. He crashed onto Lin Chuan's table, sending a sheep flying.
"A sheep costs a hundred US dollars, you owe me," Lin Chuan said.
Enraged, Bas picked up an iron platter and swung it furiously at Lin Chuan.
Clang...
Lin Chuan's fist met it head-on.
Fist against iron.
As it turned out, the iron platter was immediately dented by the punch. Bas swallowed hard and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Bang...
Lin Chuan raised his fist and smashed it down fiercely.
This punch landed on Bas's face. Lin Chuan asked, "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts!" Bas hurriedly nodded.
Bang...
Lin Chuan kicked him again and sneered, "Since it hurts, let it hurt a bit more."
Bas painfully got up, annoyed, he asked, "Who are you?"
Bas couldn't imagine that the person in front of him would be so formidable. He hung his head in defeat, convinced that he was no match for Lin Chuan. Mongolians always honor their bets and accept their losses.
"You lost," Lin Chuan stated.
"I lost," Bas nodded and asked, "Warrior, may I know your honored name?"
"You can call me Lin Chuan."
"Alright, I'll remember your name." Having said that, Bas and his men turned around and left.
Miss Lan smiled sweetly at Lin Chuan, then said, "Hehe, I knew you would win."
"I really should have let them win," Lin Chuan sighed.
"Why?" Miss Lan asked.
"That way no one would babble in my ear endlessly," Lin Chuan snorted coldly.
"You!" Miss Lan immediately became annoyed and furiously cursed, "You jerk."
"Are you full?" Lin Chuan asked.
"Hmph!" Miss Lan stomped her foot and then turned around and left. Lin Chuan hurriedly followed her.
Miss Lan led Lin Chuan around the store and bought a set of lingerie.
Miss Lan hooked a mischievous smile, holding the lingerie in her hand, she said, "It's a sexy one, I'll wear it for you tonight, okay?"
"Uh..." Lin Chuan was dumbfounded, indeed, the lingerie she held was of the sexy kind, very scant and thin. It could really make one's blood race. Lin Chuan awkwardly said, "Mind your influence, this is Afghanistan, not inside the country. The local customs here are more conservative, walking around with lingerie in the street will provoke protests."
"Hehe." A mischievous smile appeared on the corner of Miss Lan's mouth.
Back at the hotel, Miss Lan immediately changed into the lingerie. Not wearing it for several days was very uncomfortable. Although she tied her clothes to secure her breasts, it was still uncomfortably tight. While changing, Lin Chuan deliberately turned away.
Miss Lan hummed lightly, then lay down next to Lin Chuan. She hugged Lin Chuan's arm.
One bed, two people.
They slept for several hours.
When they woke up, it was already past four in the afternoon. Lin Chuan did not disturb Xiao Lan beside him but went out alone. He had to find a way to get past the border by tonight, otherwise, the Chen family might continue sending people to chase him.
Heading out from the hotel, outside was deserted.
He walked around and discovered that the time for Muslim prayer had arrived. They have to pray five times a day. The first is called Fajr, held at dawn; the second is Zuhr, held from one to three in the afternoon; the third is Asr, held from four in the afternoon to before sunset; the fourth is Maghrib, held after sunset or before the disappearance of the sun's afterglow; the fifth is Isha, held from nightfall until before dawn. The congregational prayer known as Jum'ah is a public prayer held collectively and is generally conducted on Fridays. Eid prayers are held during the annual festivals of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The prerequisite for prayer is cleanliness, and worshippers must perform a major or minor ablution beforehand.
Anyway, the daily five prayers are steadfast, and once it's prayer time, almost all the faithful will face the direction of Mecca to pray.
And the time Lin Chuan went out happened to coincide with the Asr prayer time.
Even the shops on the streets shut their doors and ceased business, while the owners prayed inside the shops.
Lin Chuan wandered around the streets and then hailed an old taxi to head straight toward the border.
At the border checkpoint, he might encounter some smugglers who operate with customs. They attract customers at customs, and anyone needing to cross the border can contact them. Lin Chuan's Asian appearance quickly attracted a few dark-skinned Arabs.
One of these men wearing an untidy robe and dirty shoes approached him, and asked in fluent English, "Brother, looking to cross the border?"
Lin Chuan smiled and asked, "How much?"
"Ten thousand US dollars per person," the man replied, raising a finger.
"Too expensive," Lin Chuan shook his head and walked away.
The man was not willing to give up, he hurriedly chased after him, then said, "Don't rush, the price is negotiable."
"No more than eight thousand US dollars," Lin Chuan stated.
"This..." The man hesitated briefly then promptly nodded, saying, "Done."
After paying a thousand-dollar deposit, Lin Chuan immediately rushed back to the hotel. It was already 5:30 p.m., and Miss Lan had already awakened. Taking advantage of Lin Chuan's absence, she had taken a bath in the bathroom, her hair still damp.
"You're back?" Miss Lan asked.
"Yes!" Lin Chuan nodded.
"Found the smuggler?" Miss Lan asked eagerly.
"Already found him. We can cross the border tonight," Lin Chuan stated.
"That's great." Miss Lan was overjoyed. She really didn't want to stay in this forsaken place a minute longer.
The two took a car to the customs. The customs were guarded by armed personnel. This place was fraught with all sorts, and without the presence of armed guards, no one could guarantee there wouldn't be trouble.
The customs located outside the city were busy even at night. There were many people coming and going carrying large and small bags, moving between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many from Afghanistan brought goods from Pakistan to sell domestically, maintaining their livelihood in this manner.