Standoff

“究竟是谁干的！？” In a room in Hupao Lane, Little Tiger was in a blazing fury, lashing out at everyone in sight. A few ruffians stood to one side, not daring to make a sound. When he had learned in daylight that his trusted Liu'er was dead, Little Tiger had been stunned for a good while! Especially since Liu'er had died in Hupao Lane. He had examined the scene carefully. Working back from the evidence, the two ruffians had lost their ability to fight almost the instant they met the attacker. And Liu'er, quick to react, had seen things going wrong and tried to break out the window. But he had barely gotten the window open before the other man subdued him. The man was experienced, his strikes vicious — clearly a veteran! And then there was this... Liu'er's strength was average, but he had set foot on the martial path; with two ruffians holding the line, and on home ground in Hupao Lane, even facing a qi and blood second layer he shouldn't have been this helpless, breaking a window and fleeing outright. The man was very likely a qi and blood second layer, perfected — even a qi and blood third layer martial expert! Qi and blood third layer! A martial expert at that realm wouldn't be an unknown nobody here in Nanquan Lane! “Iron Ox Gang? Wild Wolf Gang? Or Flying Sand Gang?” Names of gangs flickered through Little Tiger's mind. In the end he crossed them off one by one. Among these three, only Flying Sand Gang was comparable to Tiger Head Gang in power; the other two were far weaker than Tiger Head Gang. The protectors within the gangs were all public figures. Sending a qi and blood second layer, perfected, or a qi and blood third layer martial expert to assassinate Liu'er wasn't realistic! Besides, though the gangs had their entangled interests, killing Liu'er brought them no advantage in the end. “Then who could it be?” Little Tiger felt a knot in his chest. Normally this wouldn't have bothered him so much, but the timing of this matter was simply too much of a coincidence. Among Tiger Head Gang's three protectors, he alone had a cultivation of only qi and blood second layer, perfected; the other two were qi and blood third layer martial experts. In that respect he was already the weak one. He had never escaped the two of them mocking him about it. A few days ago, his adoptive father Tiger had paid a steep price to get his hands on a bottle of qi and blood pills, and had meant to grant them to him so he could break through to the third layer in one go and stand level with the other two protectors. But that had met no small amount of resistance! A little resistance wasn't a big problem, though. With his adoptive father backing him, and his own efforts, in a while the bottle would still come to his hands! But who could have known... his trusted Liu'er would die in Hupao Lane last night! And so the other two protectors had seized on it as grounds, and it had become the greatest obstacle to his getting the qi and blood pills. “Damn it!” At that thought, Little Tiger couldn't help cursing aloud. Just then, urgent shouts came from outside the door. “Little Tiger! Little Tiger!” Already irritated, Little Tiger heard the shouting outside and a nameless rage welled up in him. He was about to lash out when he saw the men coming in. One of them was his trusted man, Feizi. At the sight of Feizi, Little Tiger barely suppressed his anger. “What is it? Charging in all flustered — what sort of way is that to behave!” “Little Tiger.” Feizi ran up to his side. “It's that Chen boy!” “That Chen boy?” “Liu'er just collected a batch of monthly dues yesterday and went to quite a few houses. When we brothers heard that, we went door to door questioning people and getting the details. Only we never expected that when we got to that Chen boy's house, something went wrong!” “What problem?” Little Tiger's eyes went sharp, and a presence came off him. “We just wanted to question them about Liu'er, but the man started shouting at us. Then he threw Great Qian law and the Suppression Office at us to keep us down. That boy isn't an ordinary commoner — he has the status of an unregistered temporary runner at the Suppression Office. Thinking that if a real conflict broke out it might stir up quite a bit of trouble, we had no choice but to run back and ask you to come, Little Tiger.” Feizi gave a brief account of what had happened. In the process, he glossed over his own high-handedness, deliberately or not. “Useless!” Hearing that, Little Tiger snapped at the men. “Since when does my Tiger Head Gang have to worry about so many rules when it does business. Daring to threaten my Tiger Head Gang — this boy has some nerve!” Fury boiling over, Little Tiger shot up from his chair. “Let's go. Take me to that boy!” “Yes, Little Tiger.” Feizi and the other two ruffians answered respectfully. Watching Little Tiger storm out, the men exchanged glances, and each saw the gleeful anticipation in the others' eyes. With Little Tiger stepping in, that Chen boy was in for it. Hmph! Let the people around here learn what it means to offend my Tiger Head Gang! ... Little Tiger led seven or eight ruffians in a fury to the Chen courtyard. What greeted them was a courtyard gate flung wide open, and Chen Ping'an sitting calmly in a chair facing the gate. At the sight, Little Tiger was taken aback for a moment, his gaze landing on the firewood knife in Chen Ping'an's hand. This Chen boy meant to tough it out to the end!? In his impression, the Chen boy understood a thing or two about how the world worked, and had a bit of cleverness, but when had he ever had this kind of nerve? Where had he gotten his courage!? On the strength of his unregistered temporary runner status at the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office!? “Good! Good! Good! Even every mangy cat and dog dares to offend our Tiger Head Gang now!” After that brief pause, Little Tiger's face twisted into a cold sneer. Since he had come here, he could not back down. He represented more than himself — he represented Tiger Head Gang behind him. No one was around, but the neighbors were all secretly watching. His purpose in coming was to establish his authority, to show these ordinary commoners in no uncertain terms what befell those who offended Tiger Head Gang! “Chen boy, you've grown bold lately! Daring to stop even my Tiger Head Gang's people.” With a smile that never reached his eyes, Little Tiger walked toward Chen Ping'an. Holding a firewood knife — who did he think he could scare? I was playing with blades before you were even born! Trying to frighten me? A joke! “Ah, Little Tiger!” Seeing Little Tiger come over, Chen Ping'an made no move to rise. “Little Tiger, you should keep your men in check. Breaking down a man's door in broad daylight — so high-handed. If this is what they do by day, at night wouldn't they dare to wipe out my whole family!” With his first words, Chen Ping'an dropped a big charge on him. “Anyone who didn't know better would think the sky over Nanquan Lane wasn't the Suppression Office at all, but Tiger Head Gang!” “What a sharp-tongued brat!” Little Tiger sneered and strode forward. A pity that no matter how sharp the tongue, it couldn't take any more beatings. He wondered whether the boy would still be this stubborn after he gave him a good thrashing. “Little Tiger!” Chen Ping'an raised the firewood knife. “A few more steps forward and you'll be in my courtyard. Entering my yard without my permission is forced trespass under Great Qian law — twenty strokes with the cane and three years in prison, by the law!” Little Tiger didn't stop, the sneer still on his face. Bang! Chen Ping'an's firewood knife chopped down hard, stopping in empty air, its point aimed at Little Tiger. “One more step forward, and it's a fight to the death.” No screaming, no loss of control — only a face of cold indifference. Chen Ping'an looked at Little Tiger in silence. He was serious! At those words, Little Tiger froze, and his steps stopped there.