Ruin of a Household

"Xiao Zeng, you saw it for yourself just now—this Chen Ping'an is nothing but an ordinary man with a bit of luck. His character, his way of handling people, his ambition, his nerve—there isn't one thing about him worth praising. So why are you so polite to him?" After Chen Ping'an left, as the group walked the road back to the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office, Cheng Yuan spoke to Zeng Jihe with contempt written across his face. "Yeah, Xiao Zeng, you'd do better to stick with the two of us. The three of us together, hearts as one—we'll cut him off completely!" Zhao Hu chimed in from the side. To be honest, when Zheng Shiyong had pulled him aside yesterday to win him over, he had felt a little uneasy about it. He had only agreed because he couldn't ignore Head Runner Zheng's face. But after today's dealings, every one of those worries in his heart was gone. It was just as Cheng Yuan said: an ordinary man riding a stroke of dumb luck. He hadn't even set foot on the martial path! "Brother Cheng, Brother Zhao, that may be so, but he's still a registered runner on the books at the Suppression Office. Offending him does us no good." Zeng Jihe's roots here were still shallow; he didn't want trouble. "Who says it does us no good! Do you know who's standing behind us!?" Cheng Yuan said. "Runner Zheng?" Zeng Jihe said uncertainly. "That's right! Runner Zheng! As long as we cut this Chen Ping'an off, Runner Zheng has given his word. Later on he'll surely find a way to arrange good, well-greased work for us—plenty of fat, little labor. He won't treat us badly. Xiao Zeng, if you join in, there'll be benefits for you too." Cheng Yuan coaxed him along, step by step. "Xiao Zeng, you know who stands behind Runner Zheng, too! Don't worry about anything going wrong! With that one up above, even if we really make a mess of things, we'll be fine. Besides, all we're doing is cutting Chen Ping'an off. What kind of mess could that possibly make? Relax!" Zhao Hu added. "Ah, this..." Zeng Jihe was somewhat tempted, and hesitation showed on his face. "Xiao Zeng, what's there to hesitate about! Pull this off, and your feet will be planted solid at the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office for good. On top of that, you'll have smoothly gotten in with Head Runner Zheng. A plum assignment like this, others couldn't get it even if they begged for it! The chance is right there in front of you and you still won't treasure it?" Seeing that Zeng Jihe was starting to waver, Cheng Yuan dropped another weight onto the scale. Zeng Jihe's face twisted with conflict, an inner battle raging inside him. Just when Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu thought he was about to agree, Zeng Jihe gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Cheng, Brother Zhao, this is too big a thing. Can you let me observe for a few more days first?" "Hesitating like a woman!" Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu wore the look of men watching good steel refuse to become anything better. "Even handed a chance, you can't make anything of it!" "Heh, heh..." Zeng Jihe gave a dry laugh. He didn't want to offend Cheng Yuan or Zhao Hu, but he didn't want to offend Chen Ping'an either. Making a judgment after only one day of contact—that still left him a little unsure. So he decided to watch a while longer. ... When Chen Ping'an finished his shift and came home, Chen Er Ya had long since made a fragrant dinner. Before leaving that morning, he had told her to buy plenty of meat. The evening meal was indeed lavish! Setting down his saber, Chen Ping'an faced the table full of meat and dug in with gusto. After the meal, he first practiced the Flying Locust Stones. They took less stamina than the Thirteen Yamen Sabers. In one go, Chen Ping'an practiced them four times, accumulating 4 points of cultivation experience. Just as he picked up his saber to begin practicing the Thirteen Yamen Sabers, a scream came from the lane outside the gate. Chen Ping'an's expression shifted. He put the saber down—that scream outside, from the sound of it, seemed somehow familiar. By now Chen Er Ya had stood up too, clearly having heard the scream from the lane. Chen Ping'an made a gesture at her, telling her to keep quiet. Then he gave a light hop, hands clamping firmly onto the courtyard wall, and put his head out over the top to look. At the southeast end of the lane, a crowd had gathered. From the middle of it came screams and pleas for mercy, over and over. Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, then let go and dropped back down into the courtyard. "Nannan, wait for me at home. Brother is going out to take a look." "Mm." Chen Er Ya nodded. Curious as she was, she knew what mattered. Chen Ping'an left the courtyard and, even from a distance, saw a dark mass of people. It was Uncle Gao's house on the southeast corner! As he drew nearer, a jumble of voices reached his ears. "Just the other day I was saying—how did Old Gao's household suddenly start living so well? Turns out they took out a usurious loan!" "Daring not to pay back the Tiger Head Gang's loan! Old Gao's family really has some guts!" "All right, all right, everybody say less." "Truly a sin." "Ai..." "..." By this time Chen Ping'an had squeezed into the crowd. Several ruffians and petty thugs of the Tiger Head Gang surrounded one man, fists and feet flying at him—it was Uncle Gao. To one side, a woman was wailing to heaven and earth, trying to rush in while the neighbors held her back tight. Behind her hid a half-grown child, looking stunned out of his wits. Uncle Gao's door stood wide open. From where Chen Ping'an stood, he could see tables and chairs toppled everywhere inside, a complete mess. At a glance it was clear the place had been ransacked. Uncle Gao—a usurious loan? An image surfaced in Chen Ping'an's mind: back in Hupao Lane, Uncle Gao eagerly charging into the gambling den. Uncle Gao had probably picked up a gambling habit. Maybe he won a few small hands at the start, then got in deeper and deeper, and in the end borrowed from the Tiger Head Gang's loan sharks to try to win it all back. When he finally couldn't repay, he landed where he was today. Ai! Chen Ping'an couldn't help but sigh at the sight. But whatever the reason, the Tiger Head Gang beating a man like this was wrong. Just as Chen Ping'an was hesitating over whether to step in and help, the crowd parted as though a flood or a man-eating beast had come upon it, swiftly opening a path. With a tiger's back and a bear's waist, Little Tiger of the Tiger Head Gang came walking in from outside the crowd with a few ruffians behind him. "Hold off. Stop!" At those words, the ruffians stopped at once. "Thank you, Little Tiger, thank you, Little Tiger." Old Gao knelt on the ground, kowtowing wildly as if a savior had appeared. Little Tiger walked over to Old Gao without any hurry and said slowly, "Old Gao, don't say I don't deal fairly. Pay back the twenty taels of silver you owe me today, and this whole thing is closed." "Twenty taels!" Old Gao jerked his head up, face bruised and swollen. "Little Tiger, you see clearly—I only took twelve taels of silver!" "Oh? Trying to deny it." Little Tiger pulled an IOU note from his robe. "Black and white, plain as day. What's written there is twenty taels! Our Tiger Head Gang's rule is nine out, thirteen back. Add the interest for these past days, and twenty taels of silver it is. No mistake!" "Ah! This—Little Tiger..." Old Gao opened his mouth to argue, and a ruffian beside him kicked him hard in the back, sending him face-first into the ground, his mouth full of blood. "Still trying to weasel out of it!?" "No need to be so violent." Little Tiger waved a hand. He crouched down and looked at Old Gao. "Old Gao, just tell me straight—are you paying this silver back today, or not?" "Little Tiger, even if you sold me, I don't have twenty taels of silver!" Old Gao's face was full of grief as he cried out in anguish.