See, You're Getting Anxious Again

The second floor of the entire Wind and Moon Tower was silent.

Only Old Man Yu's heavy breathing, caused by his extreme anger, remained.

"Here, your axe back."

Li Laosan took the axe Fang Xuan handed him with a blank look, his eyes still holding lingering shock.

A head horse of the South Hall was just beheaded by Fang Xuan right in the South Hall's hall, in front of Old Man Yu?!

This was an experience he couldn't even imagine during his time following Old Man Yu!

Taking a deep breath, Li Laosan vaguely seemed to understand why, after so many years in the gang, he was still just a small leader guarding a stall, while this young man named Fang Xuan could leap to become a Black Whale Gang upstart, the youngest Hall Master of the Black Whale Gang!

"Old Man Yu, don't be so angry. Have a cup of tea to cool down?"

Fang Xuan seemed to completely ignore Old Man Yu's angry gaze, casually picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it towards Old Man Yu.

Crack—!!

Old Man Yu slammed the teacup onto the ground, his voice trembling with rage: "Fang... Fang Xuan! According to gang rules, you harmed a fellow member! You deserve Three Knives Six Holes!"

"Old Man Yu, let's not talk about Three Knives or Six Holes."

Fang Xuan poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and immediately spat it out, shaking his head: "The tea in the South Hall has a strong rouge scent. It's really bad."

Immediately, Fang Xuan put down the teacup and lightly clapped his hands.

In an instant, two East Hall ruffians were seen dragging four bloody figures up the stairs.

"Old Man Yu, you say I harmed fellow members? These few brats were instigated by Han Xian to kidnap people in our East Hall! The girl they kidnapped is my elder brother's wife! How do you think this debt should be settled? Do you want me to recite the gang rules for you?"

Fang Xuan looked at Old Man Yu expressionlessly.

"Old Man Yu, I didn't, that was just ordinary..."

The bloody Long Hair Tian's face was extremely terrified, and he desperately shook his head at Old Man Yu.

Bang!

Before he could finish a sentence, Fang Xuan stepped on his face, and Long Hair Tian immediately fainted completely.

"Drag them down. People who don't understand Jianghu rules like this are a calamity/scourge if they stay in the Black Whale Gang. We'll take them back to the East Hall later to feed the fish."

Fang Xuan said lightly, then raised his head to look at Old Man Yu, smiling slightly:

"Old Man Yu, I've always been the most rule-abiding person. Han Xian brought people to kidnap someone in my East Hall. I retaliated for my brother, eye for an eye. There's no problem with that, right?"

Old Man Yu clenched his fists tightly, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

Elder brother?

Where did Fang Xuan get an elder brother?

Taking a deep breath, Old Man Yu said coldly: "Han Xian was wrong first, his hand has been chopped off. These few people kidnapped your South Hall people and were also crippled by you. Is it settled now?"

"Settled? Old Man Yu, look, you're getting senile again."

Fang Xuan shook his head, then leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Old Man Yu:

"The score between Han Xian and me is settled! But the score with East of the City isn't! He swept through hundreds of establishments in my East of the City. Should I be the one to bear these losses?"

"How much do you want?" Yuan Bo gritted his teeth and asked.

"Not too much, not too little."

Fang Xuan held up a finger. "I only want ten thousand taels."

"Ten thousand taels?!!"

Yuan Bo was stunned, then laughed in anger. "Fang Xuan, are you crazy or am I crazy?! Ten thousand taels, hehe, that broken place of yours in East of the City, a few broken inns and restaurants, a few rotten fishing boats are worth ten thousand taels?! Also, do I look like someone who has ten thousand taels on me?"

Fang Xuan smiled faintly. "Yuan Bo, for so many decades, your food, clothing, and expenses have all been covered by the gang. Every year, you also pocket a few hundred taels from the gang. I presume you still have a few thousand taels on you. Plus the mansion the gang gave you in the city, putting it together should be enough." (Note: If only converted by purchasing power, a few hundred taels is roughly equivalent to hundreds of thousands in modern times. This might not be particularly rigorous or precise, but it should be close enough. Please don't delve too deeply.)

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Fang Xuan, if you're going to talk like this, then at most..." Yuan Bo was speaking angrily.

An Azure Clothes ruffian quickly came up the stairs and whispered a few words into Fang Xuan's ear.

Instantly.

A smile bloomed on Fang Xuan's face. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Yuan Bo, saying, "See, you're getting anxious again."

"Fang Xuan, you..."

"Yuan Bo is truly vigorous and strong. At such an old age, he can still take a twenty-year-old young wife and have a child for you... I heard that Yuan Bo injured his vital essence in his early years, so having a child in old age must not be easy, right? I'm someone who always likes to help others. Knowing that Yuan Bo, you've been guarding South Hall recently and don't have time to accompany your wife and children, I've already sent people to pick them up at the Ferry in East of the City, preparing to take them out to play in the water..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Bo stood up with a 'thump' and stared intently at Fang Xuan, saying:

"Fang Xuan, you touched my family?!"

"Zheng Juexiong first touched my younger siblings. He was ruthless to himself, never marrying or having children in his life, only having an eighty-year-old mother paralyzed in bed! Since you came to guard the hall for him, you should naturally bear everything for him. So, it's very reasonable for me to touch your family, right?"

Fang Xuan stood up, smiled, and patted Yuan Bo's shoulder, who was frozen in place.

I can't deal with Zheng Juexiong, but I can't deal with you, old man?

"Yuan Bo, I'll give you three hours. If the ten thousand taels aren't delivered, I'll first send your wife, children, and elderly to Pingjiang to feed the fish, and then I'll come and take it myself! I'll stop talking here, I'm leaving!"

As his voice fell, Fang Xuan glanced at Han Xian, who had fallen into a coma due to excessive blood loss.

"Oh, right, remember to take him away and throw him to East Hall to feed the fish."

Sparse footsteps sounded, and Fang Xuan turned and left.

"Yuan Bo, what should we do now?"

One of Yuan Bo's confidants stepped forward and whispered.

Slap!

Yuan Bo slapped him hard across the face and said fiercely, "What to do? I only have one child, what do you say we do?"

He took a deep breath, looked at Fang Xuan's retreating figure, his face changing between cloudy and clear.

"Someone, go prepare the silver!"

The rain that had lasted all night had stopped at some point.

Under the gaze of dodging eyes, Fang Xuan left South Hall.

For some reason, after resolving this conflict, he felt no pride, only endless exhaustion.

"Jianghu matters have delayed my cultivation progress too much. If I continue like this, I'll only sink completely into this quagmire."

Taking a deep breath, a flicker of understanding surged in Fang Xuan's eyes.

There were still two months until Zheng Juexiong returned.

He was coming to claim a life!

He had to raise his Martial Dao cultivation to the Great Perfection of the First Heavenly Gate within these two months!

After returning home, Fang Xuan dismissed the ruffians. While thinking about these things, he fell into a deep sleep.

When Fang Xuan woke up again, the sky was already completely dark.

"Brother, dinner!"

The scholarly-looking Fang Li walked out of the kitchen, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, rubbed his hands covered in stove ash on the hem of his clothes, then turned around and served a plate of stir-fried small fish and shrimp, placing it on the table.

Fang Lan was in the courtyard outside the door, taking down a Short Azure Clothes that was drying on a withered bamboo pole. As she walked in, she smiled and said:

"Brother, spring is almost here. I went to the market and bought some couplets and firecrackers. Later, Brother, let's put up the couplets together, okay? And this piece of clothing, I've sewn it for you. Try it on later."

Looking at this scene, Fang Xuan felt a slight warmth in his heart, but at the same time, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

His younger siblings hadn't enjoyed any good fortune with him; instead, they were constantly worried and scared.

"Xiao Li, the Spring Examination Prefectural Examination is in about a month. How are you preparing?"

Fang Xuan got out of bed and asked while washing up.

"Brother, don't worry. For this Prefectural Examination, your younger brother will definitely bring back the Top Candidate for you." Fang Li grinned at Fang Xuan, revealing a clear and confident smile.

"When I have a scholarly title, Brother won't have to be so tired."

"Okay, I'm looking forward to that day."

Fang Xuan smiled. This kid Fang Li had a knack for studying. Last year, in the county examination, he was the top student in the county.

Recently, he had been studying diligently. The classic commentary, miscellaneous essays, and policy essays required for the Spring Examination Prefectural Examination, while not necessarily breathtaking or earning widespread applause, were definitely insightful and eye-catching.

He probably wouldn't have much trouble getting into the top ten of the A-grade in this Spring Examination Prefectural Examination.

The dim candlelight flickered gently, casting a warm glow on the small yellow mud house.

"Oh, right, Brother."

Fang Li seemed to remember something, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said:

"Brother, while you were sleeping earlier, three people came looking for you. The first person was a fair-skinned, plump, kind-faced young master. He said you know who he is, and that if you wake up, you should go find him in the city. He can solve all your troubles."

"The second person was Jingming Ge. He said the money from the South Hall has been sent over."

"The third person was Yang Zheng, a yamen runner from the government. His face didn't look very good. It seems he was looking for you regarding the recent incident on the Pingjiang River where a government whaling ship was robbed by water bandits."

First of all, I apologize. Recently, I have indeed been reading a few Hong Kong-style books, which may have caused my writing style to lean a bit towards Hong Kong style.

The author will definitely pay attention in the future and ensure this doesn't happen again.

Bowing with clasped fists. O(∩_∩)O