C20 Suspicion

"Idiot!"

Shen Yong's blood boiled as he heard the word he detested most spill from Gao Peng's lips once more.

As Gao Peng charged at him, Shen Yong reacted instinctively, his foot flying up and connecting with Gao Peng's stomach with the swiftness of a sudden breeze.

In a flash, Gao Peng's muscular frame contorted into a shape resembling a shrimp's tail, and he was hurled through the air, landing with a heavy thud five or six meters away before skidding another couple of meters to a halt.

"Cough! Cough! Pfft!"

Gao Peng lay on the ground, clutching his stomach in agony, coughing twice before a mouthful of blood escaped his lips.

"You think you can beat the crap out of me? You're insane!"

Shen Yong approached and planted his foot firmly on Gao Peng's back, his voice icy as he declared, "You've lost! Now, live up to your word and eat that cow dung! Or would you rather I make you eat your own?"

"I refuse to eat it! I'd rather die than degrade myself!"

Gao Peng retorted defiantly, "A true man may be killed but never dishonored!"

"Damn you! You're nothing but a thug, so stop misusing words and tarnishing the term 'man'!"

Applying more pressure with his foot, Shen Yong demanded coldly, "I'm asking you one last time—are you going to eat it or not?"

The sound of ribs cracking was unmistakable, and the pain was so intense that Gao Peng winced and snarled, unable to contain himself any longer, he bellowed, "Mercy, please! I'll eat it! Isn't that enough?"

"If only you'd been this compliant from the start! Now get to it!"

With a swift kick to the rear, Shen Yong commanded, "Make it look good! Eat that cow dung as if it's the finest cake! Otherwise, you'll be eating something far worse."

Shen Yong typically avoided entanglements with the likes of ruffians and hooligans, choosing to turn a blind eye as they eked out their existence.

But today, they had crossed a line with him, and he wasn't about to let it slide.

Shen Yong felt it was time to set these guys straight and send a clear message: "It's not that I'm scared of you; I simply find you beneath my notice!"

"Fine! I'll eat it! I'll pretend it's cake!" Gao Peng declared as he inched his way behind the cow, reaching for the steaming mound of dung.

The wave of nausea hit him before his hand even made contact, and he instinctively tried to pull back. But before he could, the cow lifted its hind leg and stamped his hand right into the warm excrement!

"Ah! My hand!" Gao Peng howled in pain.

"Moo! Moo!" The cow seemed to mock him with its moos.

As if to add insult to injury, the cow defecated once more, this time right onto Gao Peng's head, the mess oozing down his bald scalp. The absurdity of the situation was too much to handle.

"Hahaha!" The onlookers erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

Luckily, the cow lifted its hoof after just one step, sparing Gao Peng further humiliation. He lifted his dung-covered hand, his stomach roiling, and vomited.

"Ew!" Disgusted murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Even Shen Yong had seen enough, and he still had peaches to sell! How could he possibly do business after such a nauseating spectacle?

Sometimes, mercy is the best course of action. It was time for Gao Peng to leave.

"Enough! I'm letting you off the hook today! Take your cronies and scram! Don't make a mess of my stand!" Shen Yong dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"Alright! We're going! We're leaving this instant!" Red Hair hurried to Gao Peng's side, helping him up. "Brother Peng! Are you okay?"

"Are you blind? Look at me! What do you think?" Gao Peng, covered in bruises and filth, was irate. Seeing Red Hair unscathed, he slapped him across the face with his dung-laden hand. "Here, have a taste of this!"

"Mmm! Brother Peng! This stuff is delicious!!"

Redhead licked his lips, his face twisted in agony, "Brother Peng! I ate that crap for you! That's gotta count for something, right?"

"That'll do! Let's get out of here!"

With that, Gao Peng, along with Green Hair and Redhead, slunk away.

Just then, an elderly man dressed in a traditional Tang suit stepped forward from the crowd, holding a flat-headed shovel and a basket for collecting manure.

The old man used the shovel to scoop the cow dung into the basket, then shoveled some dry soil from a nearby pit to cover the soiled ground.

The once filthy spot was transformed into a clean area in an instant.

"Such great cow dung! It's perfect for enriching the soil in my vegetable garden! It's a shame to see it wasted on those fools."

After making his comment, the old man picked up his basket and departed.

"Thank you so much, sir!" Shen Yong said with gratitude.

Shen Yong sensed there was something extraordinary about the manure-collecting elder, but he was too busy selling peaches to dwell on it.

Seizing the moment while the crowd lingered, Shen Yong called out, "Fresh peaches for sale! Homegrown Juicy Sweet Peaches! Big, red, and bursting with sweet flavor! You'll regret it if you don't buy one!"

As he hawked his wares, Shen Yong unveiled the cloth from the peach basket, revealing the luscious red peaches nestled among vibrant green leaves – a truly enticing display!

Yet, the elders who came to look just shook their heads, not even inquiring about the price, and began to make snide remarks.

"Young man! Trying to take advantage of us because we're old, huh? It's not even peach season yet! Yours can't possibly be ripe!"

"And if they are ripe, they must've been treated with ethylene to force ripening! That's not healthy to eat!"

"Exactly! We can't bring artificially ripened produce into our homes! Remember Aunt Li? She bought some of those force-ripened cherry tomatoes for her eight-year-old granddaughter. And you know what happened? The poor girl hit puberty prematurely! She developed breasts and even started her menstrual cycle at such a tender age!"

"Ah, food safety issues are rampant these days! Shopping for groceries requires extra attention. You can't just go for the best-looking produce; health is what's truly important!"

Shen Yong was taken aback by these words. The knowledge the elderly possessed nowadays was impressive! They could even recall the names of chemical reagents with clarity. In this day and age, without a bit of knowledge, you could get duped even when buying vegetables!

Although Shen Yong's Early Ripened Spiritual Liquid acted as a ripening agent, its composition was entirely different. This liquid was a natural byproduct of the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, not a synthetic chemical. It was entirely beneficial to the human body without a single adverse effect. Fruits and vegetables ripened with this liquid were safe to consume and posed no harm to one's health.

But Shen Yong couldn't reveal that he used the Early Ripened Spiritual Liquid to hasten the ripening of the Juicy Sweet Peaches. If he did, people would surely mistake it for a chemical product. The term 'early ripened' in its name could easily lead to misunderstandings. Their imaginations might run wild, fearing that children could mature too soon or that it could shorten the lives of the elderly. The more he tried to explain, the more complicated it would get, and the less likely people would be to buy his peaches.

Better to offer an explanation that they could accept and that would also intrigue them. "My dear friends, you've got it all wrong! These peaches weren't ripened with any chemical reagents!" Shen Yong said as he picked a Juicy Sweet Peach from the basket and cradled it in his hand. With his index finger to his lips, he gestured for silence and spoke with a hint of mystery, "I'll let you in on a secret. These aren't your average peaches! Are you curious to know how they were cultivated?"