Presence

A sudden knock came from outside the gate, and Chen Ping'an felt his hair stand on end, his scalp going numb all at once. Chen Er Ya, busy in the kitchen, heard the knock too and came running out at once, her hands still wet. Chen Ping'an shot her a look, set the stone down by one corner of the courtyard wall, then slipped soundlessly to Chen Er Ya's side. At his current strength, he could easily manage that much; whoever stood outside the gate wouldn't notice a thing. Bang! The crossbar braced across the courtyard gate snapped, and the gate swung open. "What are you doing in there? Nobody came to open the door for so long!" Several men poured in through the gate. The one who spoke was a swarthy ruffian with a wild, unkempt beard. Once inside he swept his gaze around, then fixed it on Chen Ping'an and Chen Er Ya at the kitchen doorway with a vicious stare. "You—!" Looking at the men, Chen Ping'an's face darkened. "We already paid the monthly dues yesterday! Acting so high-handed—what do you people think you're doing!?" Chen Ping'an spoke loudly, anger rising on his face. In that brief instant, he had quickly scanned the ruffians who'd come in. Only one face was familiar to him: Feizi, the ruffian who was one of Little Tiger's trusted men. Little Tiger wasn't here! Which meant the other side hadn't traced anything to him. What he'd done hadn't been exposed yet. Right now, the correct reaction was to erupt on the spot, without the slightest pretense of going along with them. If he'd played along, that would only make them more likely to suspect him. After all, he'd had a run-in with the ruffian Liu'er just yesterday; if he backed down now, it wouldn't make sense. Chen Ping'an was lean, but with his presence bursting out like this, he was still plenty intimidating. The ruffian, who'd come in wearing such a vicious look, saw Chen Ping'an's reaction, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his face; for a moment he seemed at a loss. Bullies of the weak, cowards before the strong! Chen Ping'an sneered inwardly. "You people! Again and again you break down my gate. Acting without the least restraint, brutal and high-handed. You really are trying to drive me to my death! However down and out I, Chen Ping'an, may be, I am still a temporary runner of the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office. Today, unless you give me a proper explanation! Even if I have to take it all the way to the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office, I'll demand an accounting from your Little Tiger!" Chen Ping'an's face was dark enough to drip, his eyes fixed hard on the men before him. His outburst actually left the ruffians somewhat at a loss. With the great tree of the Tiger Head Gang at their backs, wherever they went, weren't they the ones people feared? When had they ever had an experience like this? Besides, Chen Ping'an kept throwing around his identity as a temporary runner of the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office, threatening to make a case of it at the Suppression Office, looking like a man pushed to his limit and ready to drag everyone down with him. With Chen Ping'an like this, and the terrifying might of the Suppression Office added to it, the men's momentum collapsed entirely. "Chen boy—Brother Chen, don't get worked up. Let's talk this over properly. We came today to..." Feizi, the ruffian so named, forced out a smile, trying to ease the atmosphere. But before he could finish, Chen Ping'an cut him off forcefully. "Talk this over properly? Does what you just did look like you wanted to talk properly!? You broke down my gate, and you still want me not to get worked up. There's no justice in this! Pear Blossom Alley has no justice in this, and neither does Nanquan Lane!" "Now, you people!" Chen Ping'an's gaze was like lightning, heavy with fury. "Get out of my house!" "You—!" Feizi looked as if Chen Ping'an had a hand clamped around his throat; for a moment he couldn't find the right words. "Chen boy, you've got nerve! Daring to speak to us like that! Do you know who we are?" A ruffian beside him summoned his courage, rolled up his sleeves, and shouted. "Who cares who you are? However deep and great your backing, can it be deeper or greater than the Suppression Office, greater than Great Qian law?" Chen Ping'an was so angry he laughed instead, looking at the men and letting out two cold chuckles. "Article one hundred seventy-eight of Great Qian law: whoever breaks down a door and commits violence gets thirty strokes of the cane and five years' imprisonment! You people! Are you looking to test the authority of Great Qian law! If you don't get out now, you won't be able to get out even if you want to!" The ruffian who had spoken, his face flushed red, choked up and couldn't say a word. Right. No matter how big the Tiger Head Gang was, could it be bigger than the Suppression Office, bigger than Great Qian law? They didn't understand Great Qian law, but coming from Chen Ping'an's mouth, and with the look on his face, they had no choice but to believe it. "Brother Chen, we're..." Just as Feizi finally recovered enough to speak, he was met with a single word from Chen Ping'an. "Out!" At that, Feizi's expression went cold. He jabbed a finger fiercely in the direction where Chen Ping'an stood. "Fine, you just wait! We're leaving!" "Fine, I'll be waiting!" Chen Ping'an sneered, looking as if he had nothing to fear. Feizi shot him a ferocious glare, his face full of rage, and led the ruffians away. Watching them go, Chen Ping'an glanced at the half-finished marks on the courtyard wall and felt a little of the tension in his heart ease. Good thing they didn't come in to look. There was no need to say what they'd come for; Chen Ping'an knew it was over the ruffian Liu'er. They'd probably meant to interrogate him about something. They'd wanted to seize the initiative with a show of force, to keep him trembling and cooperative. Too bad they'd picked the wrong man! Back then, he'd been willing to swallow his anger because he had no strength yet. He had not yet crossed the threshold of the martial path; if it had come to a real fight, he might not have been a match for ruffians so rich in fighting experience. But now... he was at the qi and blood third layer. With martial force in his body, courage arose naturally! Just a few ruffians—he truly wasn't afraid of them! Who'd have thought that as soon as he got tough, the other side would weaken instead. Sure enough, a pack of cowards who prey on the weak and cringe before the strong! Still, judging by the way they'd acted, this business wasn't over yet. Their quarrel just now hadn't been quiet; the neighbors around here had basically all heard it. If Feizi and the others really left in such a sorry state and did nothing at all, then even the Tiger Head Gang's prestige would take a hit. So they would certainly do something next. On this trip back, they had most likely gone to fetch reinforcements. The identity of temporary runner—when nobody was making a formal case of it, it only made him a little better than an ordinary man. But if it truly came to a formal accounting, Chen Ping'an was a man of the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office. A man of the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office was not someone a few ruffians could afford to offend. "Nannan, don't worry. Everything's fine—your brother is here." Chen Ping'an comforted Chen Er Ya. "Mm." Chen Er Ya nodded heavily. "I trust you, brother." The way things had just been, with her brother right there beside her, she hadn't felt afraid at all. Chen Ping'an picked up the stone and went back to marking the courtyard wall. By the time he finished, Chen Er Ya was nearly done with the dishes. Chen Ping'an fetched a woodcutting knife from the kitchen and carried a chair out from the house. He set the chair in the middle of the courtyard, directly facing the gate. Then, knife in hand and facing the gate, he sat down in the chair with his legs planted wide, looking as imposing as could be, and quietly waited for the Tiger Head Gang's people to come. "I want to see whether, under the commandery city's jurisdiction, this Tiger Head Gang really dares to break the law and take the punishment!"