Hupao Lane

Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: Qi and Blood First Layer Martial Art: Iron Shirt, Elementary (14/15) ... Looking at the panel information floating before his eyes, Chen Ping'an felt a surge of excitement. Finally! After seven straight days of uninterrupted practice, his Iron Shirt experience had accumulated to 14. He only needed to wait until evening and practice Iron Shirt one more time to push it straight into the realm of lesser mastery. What kind of change would lesser mastery in Iron Shirt bring?! Could it propel his martial cultivation straight to qi and blood first layer, perfected?! Today was already the ninth day. Only one final day remained before the ten-day extension granted by Little Tiger expired. Tomorrow afternoon—or perhaps tomorrow morning—Little Tiger would come in person to collect the silver. And coincidentally, tomorrow was his one day off every ten days. "Just wait until tonight!" Amidst Chen Er Ya's farewell calls, Chen Ping'an left the house, full of confidence. Over the past few days, he had purchased paper and ink brushes. Everything was prepared; all that was left was tonight. When Chen Ping'an arrived at the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office, runners had already gathered in groups of three and five. He noticed that a small crowd of runners had already clustered around Zheng Shiyong, subtly revolving around him as their center, effectively forming a clique of their own. "That was fast!" Chen Ping'an mused silently. With over a hundred runners in the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office, there were naturally various cliques. Usually, only registered runners could become the core of a circle, while ordinary temporary runners served merely as foils and atmosphere-makers. Not that everyone liked it that way, but once you were in the game, you had little choice. Even Chen Ping'an, Monkey, and Dashan had their own circle. The core of their circle was Old Qin. Except Old Qin rarely showed his face! Only one head runner had arrived today: Head Runner Li. Head Runner Li was a man of few words by nature, disliking long speeches. Thus, today's pre-shift roll call was brief. Before long, it was over. "Hupao Lane?!" Hearing Monkey name the street they were to patrol today, Chen Ping'an was somewhat surprised. Hupao Lane was where the Tiger Head Gang had its stronghold. It was only two streets away from Pear Blossom Alley. In Hupao Lane, usury ran rampant and gambling dens flourished. From petty games worth a few copper coins to high-stakes gambles of several taels, stalls and venues of all sizes and tiers could be found there. Gambling dens had always been places of mixed company. Ruffians, scoundrels, and gang underlings frequented the area. A place like that was no easy beat. Today, they would likely find little time to slack off. Sure enough, Chen Ping'an, Monkey, and Dashan had only been patrolling for a short while when they came across a brawl. In a street corner against a wall, several ruffians were beating someone with fists and kicks. The man crouched in the corner holding his head, letting out cries of agony from time to time. "Sirs, stop hitting me, please stop! I'll pay it back! I'll definitely pay it back!" "Damn it, you borrowed silver from our Tiger Head Gang and dare to run? Giving you face, are we?!" The lead ruffian shouted menacingly, planting a heavy kick into the man's body even as he yelled. "Sixth Master, I was wrong! I won't dare do it again!" "Again?! You think there'll be a next time?! Keep dreaming!" The ruffians behaved with violent arrogance. "Hold it right there!" Seeing this scene, Monkey, as a runner of the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office, naturally stepped forward to intervene. "Which blind fool dares get in the way of the Tiger Head Gang's business?!" A cold sneer hung on the lead ruffian's face as he turned his head to see who dared speak out. Turning around, he saw three Suppression Office runners in black uniforms, their hands resting on their saber hilts, glaring sternly at them—looking ready to draw their blades at the slightest provocation. "Oh, if it isn't the officers from the Suppression Office!" Recognizing them as Suppression Office runners, the lead ruffian let his sneer recede slightly, but there was no awe in his tone. In just a few breaths, he had already taken stock of them: there was no registered runner present, just a few temporary runners at best. "Tiger Head Gang!" Recognizing the gang emblem on the men, Monkey's expression shifted slightly. Their status as runners might carry significant weight against ordinary street thugs, but against hoodlums from a gang the size of the Tiger Head Gang, its deterrent power was limited. Still, now that they had stepped in, they had to see it through. "Suppression Office runners on patrol—stop this at once!" Monkey barked sharply. Beside him, Chen Ping'an and Dashan stepped forward in unison. They had backed each other up in situations like this several times already; their teamwork was well-practiced. Yet Monkey's shout had no effect. The ruffians continued raining blows and kicks on the victim. "The Suppression Office officers have spoken. Stop it," the lead ruffian sneered at his cronies. Hearing this, the thugs finally paused. "Officers, this fellow borrowed three taels of silver from our Tiger Head Gang and lost every last copper at the gambling table. When we asked for it back, he gave us nothing but excuses. As the saying goes, debts must be paid—it's only natural. Beating him up a bit to vent our frustration is entirely normal. I hope you officers understand." The lead ruffian cupped his hands in a perfunctory greeting. As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly recognize Chen Ping'an. "Well, isn't this the Chen family boy?! What a coincidence, running into you here." The lead ruffian was none other than Liu'er, the henchman who had accompanied Little Tiger that day. He was the one who had slammed a palm onto the wooden table so hard that bone broth splattered and the pork belly bounced out of the bowl. Clang! Monkey suddenly drew his saber from its scabbard, pointing it straight at the men before them as he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "What 'Chen family boy'?! Call him Master Chen!" Monkey's reaction startled Dashan beside them. Big and burly as he was, the large fellow had only average courage. He hadn't expected Monkey to react so fiercely all of a sudden. Chen Ping'an also cast a sidelong glance, looking at Monkey. Skinny as Monkey was, his voice when bellowing was surprisingly booming. Seeing Monkey draw his saber, Liu'er's eyelids twitched slightly. "My fault, entirely my fault. My mouth slipped," Liu'er said with a half-smile, looking into Monkey's eyes. Then, turning to the middle-aged man crouching on the ground with his head cradled in his hands, he said, "Tomorrow! If you still haven't paid off your debt tomorrow, my brothers and I will pay a visit to your home. Word is, that chubby son of yours is remarkably fair-skinned." "Brothers, let's give face to the Suppression Office officers. That's enough for today. Let's go." Liu'er led the thugs toward the alley exit. "Pardon us, officers, make way." Monkey kept his saber raised, stepping aside with a grim expression. "Officer Chen, Little Tiger was merciful enough to give you a ten-day extension. If memory serves, tomorrow should be the final day. Well? Have you got that fourteen taels of silver ready? If not, that little sister of yours..." As Liu'er brushed past Chen Ping'an, he paused briefly to leave those words hanging. Chen Ping'an jerked his head up, meeting a pair of mockingly amused eyes. "No need to trouble yourself!" "In that case..." Liu'er studied Chen Ping'an's face. Finding none of the distress or fear he had hoped to see, he met only eyes of unfathomable depth. "See you tomorrow, Officer Chen!"