Chapter 21: Chapter 21
Inside the thatched hut.
Madam Zheng clutched two yellowed promissory notes, still unable to believe it:
“Dalang… our family’s debts — they’re really settled, just like that?”
“Settled.”
Shen Xiuhan smiled and nodded.
Madam Zheng cradled the notes, reading them over and over, then suddenly stood and tossed them into the fire pit.
Flames curled around the paper, igniting it in an instant. It crumbled into flecks of ash that drifted up into the air, swaying and tumbling, before slowly settling back down.
Madam Zheng stared at the ashes in a daze, her hunched back straightening little by little, as though the weight she’d carried had dissolved along with that wisp of smoke.
“Gege…”
A timid little voice came from the corner of the bed.
Shen Momo had curled herself into a tiny ball, like a startled quail, and whispered:
“Are the big meanies all gone? He — he won’t come grab Momo, will he?”
Shen Xiuhan’s heart softened. He walked over and gathered her into his arms.
Whether the Bai family would come again, he didn’t know — but they’d better not…
Because next time, Shen Xiuhan would not let them leave unscathed.
“They’re all gone,” Shen Xiuhan said softly. “They won’t come back.”
He paused, then produced two sticks of candied hawthorns as if performing a magic trick, waving them enticingly. “Look — see what your brother brought for Momo?”
Glistening sugar coating wrapped around bright red hawthorn berries, strung on bamboo skewers, gleaming temptingly under the dim lamplight.
“Candied hawthorns!”
The little girl’s eyes lit up in an instant, all her fear swept clean away. She bounced right out of his arms, snatched one up, and took an enormous bite.
“So sweet…”
“Mama, the candied hawthorns are so yummy!”
Watching her daughter’s joyful face, Madam Zheng finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She turned her head away and quietly wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“Don’t cry, Ma.”
Shen Xiuhan pointed at the pork belly he’d bought and grinned. “Come on, start dinner — your son’s been training all day. I’m so hungry my chest is stuck to my spine.”
“All right, all right — I’ll get cooking.” Madam Zheng dried her tears and bustled off to work.
During the meal.
Savory aromas filled the air.
A bowl of meat porridge paired with a cornmeal flatcake — the kind of meal that warmed you from the inside out.
Once she’d steadied herself, Madam Zheng asked quietly, “Dalang, did everything go well at the martial hall today?”
“Don’t worry, Ma. Everything went smoothly.”
Shen Xiuhan pulled out the pouch Mei Shuangfeng had given him and held it out. “This is what’s left from selling the treasure fish. Better put it away safe.”
“Training takes a lot out of you. You should keep some money on you, just in case.”
“I did.”
Shen Xiuhan smiled. He’d already kept two taels of loose silver on his person for emergencies.
Only then did Madam Zheng take the pouch and peek inside. The gleaming white silver ingots made her head swim. Her breath caught, and without even setting down her chopsticks, she hurried to hide the pouch beneath the bed.
Shen Momo, eating her porridge but refusing to let go of her candied hawthorns, mumbled through a full mouth:
“Gege, if you learn martial arts, you won’t be scared of those big meanies who grab Momo anymore, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then — then when Momo grows up, Momo wants to learn martial arts too and help Gege beat up the bad guys!”
“Deal!”
Shen Xiuhan laughed and ruffled her hair, which was finally showing a bit of its luster again.
…
The next day, early morning.
Dawn was just breaking, gray and dim. As usual, Shen Xiuhan tucked two freshly griddle-baked flatcakes into his shirt and headed out.
Madam Zheng, knowing how much energy his training burned, had filled them with meat.
As he entered the inner city, Shen Xiuhan’s steps faltered slightly, his gaze sweeping across the teahouse on the corner.
By the window, a pair of thugs — one fat, one thin — stared at Shen Xiuhan with cold sneers.
Well, well…
Bright and early today.
Seeing Shen Xiuhan look his way, Tian Erhu — built like an ox — glared with his fierce eyes and barked:
“The hell are you looking at!”
Shen Xiuhan’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t waste half a word, simply withdrew his gaze and walked straight toward Mei Martial Hall.
He hadn’t made it half a block before that familiar sensation of being watched clung to him like a shadow.
Shen Xiuhan’s stride stayed steady. He didn’t look back.
He knew perfectly well that trying to dodge the Golden Dragon Gang’s surveillance inside the inner city was simply unrealistic.
Not being noticed would be ideal, of course — but if they spotted where he was heading, that was fine too.
Mei Martial Hall and Tongbei Martial Hall were already at odds.
Drape yourself in the tiger’s skin and wave it like a banner.
Let these two watch with their own eyes as he walked through Mei Martial Hall’s gates.
Who knew…
It might make them think twice — hesitant to strike for fear of the consequences — and keep them from making any rash moves before Ma Xianyang returned.
…
“What did you just say?!”
Tongbei Martial Hall, inner court.
Feng Xiaobao’s jowls twitched the moment Ah Zhe finished his report. His fierce eyes flew wide, and his iron-tower frame surged to its feet.
“Second Senior Brother… it’s all because this junior brother bungled the job.” Ah Zhe shrank his neck, cold sweat beading on his forehead. “That kid — somehow — he’s gone and joined Mei Martial Hall!”
“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”
“I’m sure…”
Ah Zhe hastened to add, “I made a point of getting closer. I saw it with my own eyes — he was calling Xu Chuan ‘Senior Brother.'”
“Worthless trash!”
Feng Xiaobao slammed his palm on the table, fury boiling over. The teacup bounced three inches into the air. Every fold of flesh on his face twisted into a knot. “You can’t even keep tabs on one mud-legged peasant from the outer city — what good are you?”
“Please calm down, Second Senior Brother!”
Ah Zhe was shaking so hard his teeth rattled. He pressed himself flat against the floor, voice trembling: “This junior brother thought it over the entire way here — he’s just a poor tenant farmer. Where would he get eight taels of silver for tuition?”
Feng Xiaobao went still. His eyes narrowed to slits, a sharp gleam flickering in their depths.
“You’re saying…”
“The treasure fish!”
Ah Zhe clenched his jaw and blurted:
“Second Senior Brother, that little bastard must have already hauled the treasure fish in!”
“He disappeared for two days — he probably found some way to sell the treasure fish for cash, paid his tuition, and enrolled in Mei Martial Hall!”
SWISH!
Greed and murderous intent erupted in Feng Xiaobao’s eyes. He snatched a thick-spined saber from the weapon rack and stormed toward the door, killing intent rolling off him in waves.
“The nerve!”
“A treasure fish caught with my junior brother’s rod belongs to Tongbei Martial Hall!”
“Move! Gather men — we’re going to Mei Martial Hall to settle this debt!”
But the moment he stepped out of the inner court, a commotion of shouts and wailing erupted from outside.
Feng Xiaobao’s brow knotted. He snarled:
“What’s all this howling? Everyone grab your weapons—”
But halfway through his roar, the words jammed in his throat and his face went dark.
“Who did this?!”
Several outer-court disciples — the ones assigned to hold down their turf in the inner city — came staggering through the gate, propping each other up.
Every last one was battered black and blue. Some had arms that had been snapped clean, dangling limply at their sides, their bodies drenched in blood.
“It was the constables from the Rapid Division!”
“Second Senior Brother, you have to stand up for us!”
“We invoked the hall’s name, and they didn’t just ignore us — they beat us even harder! Then they slapped seals on both our gambling dens in South Market!”
The disciples wailed to high heaven, voices brimming with indignation and rage.
The Rapid Division?
Sealed the gambling dens?!
A muscle under Feng Xiaobao’s eye twitched.
Tongbei Martial Hall’s foothold in Changyun County didn’t rest on tuition fees alone — the hall controlled a host of businesses.
In South Market alone, there were two gambling dens, a restaurant, and a weapons forge.
Its hall master, Yan Xiao, had reached late-stage Hidden Strength years ago — one of the top-ranked fighters in all of Changyun County.
Normally, the yamen kept to its own lane, collecting its monthly tribute without fuss.
So why had they suddenly torn off the mask today, beating people and shuttering shops?
“The Rapid Division…”
Feng Xiaobao’s brow furrowed. “If I’m not mistaken, the head constable of the Rapid Division… is the Bai family’s second young master, Bai Xiu’an?”
“That’s him!”
“Bai Xiu’an led the raid himself!”
“The Bai family… damn them…”
Feng Xiaobao’s fists clenched until the knuckles cracked, veins bulging at his temples.
But he didn’t dare let a single threat leave his lips.
The Bai family — the true overlords of Changyun County.
Their enterprises spanned the entire city, and their Patriarch held the post of County Captain.
To say nothing of the old monster who had entered Transforming Strength years ago and still stood guard over the clan —
Bai Qingcang!
For the Bai family to suddenly move against Tongbei Martial Hall without warning…
This was anything but ordinary!
A sheen of cold sweat broke across Feng Xiaobao’s forehead. The treasure fish was the last thing on his mind now. He gripped his saber and ran straight for the main hall in the rear courtyard.
“Something big has happened — I need to report to Master immediately!”
…