Don't Do a Thing

Shi Boyu, Head of the Second Sub-branch of the Medicine King Hall in the Jiangxiang Gang, stood before the ruins of the Xianle Dance Hall, silent for a long time. Bombed! Someone had bombed the Xianle Dance Hall! This was the Jiangxiang Gang's business! It was the most profitable enterprise in the entire Second Sub-branch. Just yesterday, it had been thriving, and now it was blown to bits. Not only was the dance hall gone, but the Second Sub-branch's Wind Patrol, Du Hongxi, and the dance hall's owner, Zhou Yujuan, were missing, their fates unknown. Who did this? Had this person lost their mind? Who dared to blow up a Jiangxiang Gang dance hall and kill Jiangxiang Gang people? What did they take the Jiangxiang Gang for? Shi Boyu had originally been a red stick in the Third Sub-branch of Green Water Hall. Promoted for his merits, he had become the head of the Second Sub-branch of Medicine King Hall less than two months ago, and now a disaster like this had struck. Rain began to fall, and Shi Boyu's mood turned foul beyond measure. Xiang Guicheng, the Second Sub-branch's red stick and a tier-three Martial Cultivator, looked at the expanse of broken bricks and shattered tiles, gnashing his teeth as he swore, "Which worthless bastard did this? Even if we have to dig three feet into the earth, we're dragging that scumbag out!" Several cudgelmen under him chimed in immediately: "It had to be that man-woman! We'll tear out her heart, gouge out her liver, and skin her alive!" "Just killing that woman isn't enough—we have to drag the whole Yu Family Cloth Shop down with her!" "Wind Patrol Du, look down on us from heaven! Just wait for your brothers to avenge you!" The cudgelmen bubbled with righteous outrage, and Xiang Guicheng raged uncontrollably. Shi Boyu's cheeks twitched, but he did not utter a word. The Second Sub-branch's sage, tier-two Ascetic Cultivator Zhong Desong, silently watched from the side as well. A sage's duty in the sub-branch was to recommend men of talent. At the moment, he was pondering candidates for the next Wind Patrol. One of the cudgelmen suddenly stepped forward and said to Xiang Guicheng, "Brother Xiang, I saw that bastard Qin Tianjiu yesterday! He was eating at the Fuwang Steamed Bun Shop, acting cocky as hell, totally pleased with himself!" Xiang Guicheng frowned. "Which Qin Tianjiu?" A cudgelman beside him reminded him, "That fat guy named Qin! The trouble at the Geng Family Medicine Shop started because of him!" "Dammit!" Xiang Guicheng spat out the half-smoked cigarette in his mouth and said to Shi Boyu, "Chief, say the word, and I'll send men right now to drag that fat brat over and flay him alive!" Before Shi Boyu could speak, Sun Xiao'an, a counselor—a gang role equivalent to a sub-branch head's adviser—spoke up from the side: "Brother Xiang, cool your temper. The chief is troubled enough; we'll discuss these things in a bit." "What's the use of just feeling troubled?!" Xiang Guicheng roared. "We have to avenge Old Du first!" Sun Xiao'an shook his head. "Brother Xiang, we haven't found a body yet, so we can't say for sure that Wind Patrol Du is dead. The man might not even be dead, yet you're already talking about revenge. Isn't that inappropriate?" Xiang Guicheng scowled. "I hate splitting hairs with people like you. Setting Old Du aside, we still have to avenge our dance hall!" Sun Xiao'an nodded. "The dance hall's grudge must be settled, but who our enemy is remains hard to say." Xiang Guicheng barked, "Who else could it be? Fatty Qin and that man-woman did it! Fatty Qin is already back, and flaunting himself in a bun shop means he doesn't take our Jiangxiang Gang seriously!" Sun Xiao'an took a puff from his water pipe and sneered. "Brother Xiang, if Yu Nan truly had that kind of capability, she wouldn't have fled Ligou, too frightened to return. As for why Qin Tianjiu is back, that still needs looking into." Xiang Guicheng's eyes widened. "How long are we supposed to look into it?" Sun Xiao'an blew the ash from his water pipe. "That depends on how the chief arranges things!" Xiang Guicheng fell silent. Sun Xiao'an advised Shi Boyu, "Chief, we need to take our time with this matter. Return to the sub-branch altar first and await news. The Hall Master will likely send people to question us soon." Shi Boyu nodded, boarded a carriage, and headed back to the sub-branch altar, with Sun Xiao'an following along. A counselor's purpose was to advise the sub-branch head. Once they reached the altar and dismissed the others, Shi Boyu asked Sun Xiao'an, "I heard that Red Stick Xiang Guicheng and Wind Patrol Du Hongxi were never particularly close, but looking at them today, their bond seemed quite deep." Sun Xiao'an packed tobacco into his water pipe and chuckled, shaking his head. "Chief, you've just arrived, so there are temperaments you might not understand yet. At the start of the year, Xiang Guicheng tried to borrow three hundred thousand from Du Hongxi, but Du only gave him one hundred thousand. Xiang Guicheng led men to corner Du Hongxi at the dance hall, and Du only kept his life thanks to his ghost servants. Last month, Xiang Guicheng had a few drinks too many, barged into the dance hall, and slept with Zhou Yujuan. Du Hongxi fought him for a day and a night over it. What kind of friendship could those two possibly share?" Shi Boyu frowned. "Then today's performance..." "That performance was fishy!" Sun Xiao'an furrowed his brow. "Ever since the trouble started at the Geng Family Medicine Shop, I've found this whole business strange. We might have provoked someone we shouldn't have, and now that Qin Tianjiu is back, it's stranger still." "How so?" "Chief, think about it. We only just stuck our noses into the dispute between the Geng and Yu families. In fact, you can't even call it getting involved—we were merely having a look and hadn't drawn our blades yet, but someone went and blew up our dance hall. Is that something a normal person does? Even our Hall Master wouldn't act with such ruthlessness!" Shi Boyu tapped the armrest of his sofa. "What if we seize Qin Tianjiu and question him?" Sun Xiao'an hastily shook his head. "We can't seize him. Absolutely not. If we seize him, we fall into a trap. I've already dispatched men to investigate, and we should have news by today." *** At the Fuwang Steamed Bun Shop, Qin Tianjiu had ordered twenty steamers of buns and was sharing a meal with an Iron Seal. "Iron Seal" was an official rank unique to the Sanying Gate. Unlike other gangs that divided themselves into halls and sub-branches, the Sanying Gate looked to seals, using them to determine rank. Within the Sanying Gate, the lowest-ranking members possessed no seal and worked under an Iron Seal. An Iron Seal had five or six men beneath him to handle petty matters on the streets. Above the Iron Seal was the Bronze Seal, above the Bronze Seal was the Silver Badge, and above the Silver Badge was the Gold Seal, held by the three gang masters of the Sanying Gate. In Puluo Province, the Sanying Gate possessed the simplest hierarchy, yet it was also the most powerful gang in the province. Qin Xiaopang's superior was Iron Seal Zhang, named Zhang Liuze, a man in his fifties with a straightforward nature. Zhang Liuze was a tier-one Food Cultivator. Meeting Qin Xiaopang, a fellow Food Cultivator, the two had hit it off immediately. Every day at noon, they ate at the bun shop, ordering at least thirty steamers per meal along with several hearty dishes. Every time the shop assistant saw them arrive, he trembled. "Gentlemen, the kitchen has already collapsed from exhaustion. We really can't keep up with the buns! How about you two come back tonight?" Zhang Liuze was utterly dissatisfied. "I never get full coming to your shop!" Xiaopang rubbed his belly. "Let's just settle for half-full. Sixth Brother, this meal is on me." In the Sanying Gate, regardless of differences in age or status, members addressed each other as brothers—even when meeting the gang masters. Zhang Liuze snorted. "How much do you even earn? Save up your silver to buy some tonics and clear the tier-one hurdle first." Whenever they ate together, Zhang Liuze never let Qin Xiaopang pay a copper. The two strolled along the street, checking the various shops to see if anything was amiss. Zhang Liuze asked Xiaopang, "The Jiangxiang Gang's dance hall got blown up last night. Tell me the truth—did it have anything to do with you?" "Of course it did," Xiaopang said, gritting his teeth. "I hate those Jiangxiang Gang scumbags the most. I'd love to..." Zhang Liuze kicked Xiaopang. "You little brat, let me tell you, if this had nothing to do with you, cut the crap. I didn't come here to listen to you brag." Xiaopang scratched his head and looked down. "I thought about doing it, but as for who actually did, I have no idea." Zhang Liuze gave Xiaopang a playful punch and chuckled. "As if I didn't know you. Where would you get the ability? You're just running your mouth. You're just..." Zhang Liuze's smile vanished abruptly, and he turned his face toward the street behind him. A man wearing a flat cap was trailing slowly behind them. Seeing Zhang Liuze look back, he hastily pretended to browse a roadside stall. Zhang Liuze walked straight over and hoisted the man up by his collar. "Why are you following us?" The man glared back. "Who's following you? You don't own this road. Am I not allowed to walk here?" Zhang Liuze chuckled. "I'll only ask you once. Who are you? If you don't talk, you're going to suffer." The man gritted his teeth. "Let me tell you, I'm from the Jiangxiang Gang! Take your hands off me, or I'll make you..." *Pow!* Zhang Liuze drove a fist into the man's mouth, knocking out two incisors. The man burst into tears from the pain. Zhang Liuze turned to Qin Xiaopang. "Xiaopang, this brother came from the Jiangxiang Gang. Give him a proper welcome." Xiaopang rolled up his sleeves. "Sixth Brother, how should I handle him?" Zhang Liuze thought for a moment. "The brother hasn't had it easy. Leave him with his life; don't beat him to death." *** At the Second Sub-branch altar, Shi Boyu looked at his battered subordinate, his brow knit tight. "I never expected Qin Tianjiu had joined the Sanying Gate." Sun Xiao'an waved his water pipe to dismiss the onlookers, then whispered to Shi Boyu, "Chief, if you had listened to Xiang Guicheng today and seized Qin Tianjiu, can you imagine what the consequences would have been?" At the thought, Shi Boyu broke into a cold sweat of lingering dread. In Puluo Province, the Jiangxiang Gang was merely a mid-tier gang. If they truly provoked the Sanying Gate, wiping out a sub-branch of theirs would take no more than the blink of an eye. "Didn't Xiang Guicheng want to catch Qin Tianjiu as well?" Shi Boyu still felt something was off. Sun Xiao'an shook his head. "Do you think he would actually go catch Qin Tianjiu? My guess is he wouldn't. "He might agree to it aloud, but when it came time to act, he'd catch a cold, take a chill, get cramps in his calves—he'd find an excuse to shirk it off. If you lost your patience and personally seized Qin Tianjiu, that would mean laying hands on someone from the Sanying Gate. How much trouble would that bring upon you?" Shi Boyu's expression darkened. "I bear no grudge against Xiang Guicheng. Why would he try to harm me?" Sun Xiao'an sighed. "When the head falls, the red stick steps up—that is an unwritten rule in the Jiangxiang Gang. You went from a red stick in Lüshuiwan to the head of the sub-branch in Yaowanggou. Xiang Guicheng is a red stick as well. How do you think he feels about that?" "He thinks I'm standing in his way?" Shi Boyu gritted his teeth, then turned to Sun Xiao'an. "What do you say we should do about this?" Sun Xiao'an pondered for a moment. "If you ask me, don't do a thing."