Blacksmith Shop Conflict

In Anyuan City, on a small street, more than a dozen broad-shouldered, powerfully built men in brown clothes surrounded a blacksmith shop and kicked up a fuss. From time to time, they threw the ironware hanging on the walls to the ground and trampled it beneath their feet, all the while saying, "Your Little Knife Society's ironware isn't much good, is it? We bought a kitchen knife here, and it can't even slice chives properly. You'd better shut down early and stop selling this kind of fraudulent junk."

The blacksmith shop's owner was a young man in his twenties. His face was dark, and the muscles on his bare upper body knotted beneath sweat and grime. Behind him stood another seven or eight bare-chested men, coldly watching the dozen or so men before them swagger about and deliberately provoke them, their fists clenched tight.

To tell the truth, if this had happened somewhere else, he would have long since called on the brothers behind him to beat this bunch to death. But this was a bustling street, and they were respectable blacksmiths. The surrounding area was full of neighbors and shopkeepers; if a real conflict broke out and they were reported to the yamen, they would be the ones to suffer.

These dozen or so men were all underlings of the Giant Bear Gang. They had first bought ironware from them while posing as customers, then returned with others to make trouble—a common low-down tactic of underworld gangs.

By now, quite a crowd had gathered outside the blacksmith shop, all idle onlookers eager to watch the show. Xiang Yang squatted on the stone steps to one side, observing with great interest and showing no desire whatsoever to intervene.

The Little Knife Society was also a gang in the county town, though its influence fell short of the Giant Bear Gang's. They had never been shy about throwing their weight around on their own turf either. It was dogs biting dogs, leaving a mouthful of fur; as long as no innocent commoners were harmed, he could not be bothered to interfere.

Still, he was currently dressed in a constable's uniform and held the imposing Wild Goose Feather Saber in his hand. Like a firefly in the night, he shone so brightly that it was impossible not to notice him. Sure enough, one of the blacksmith shop's men spotted Xiang Yang and whispered something to the leading young man. Then the whole group headed toward Xiang Yang, frightening the people around him into scattering at once.

"Officer, this gang of ruffians has come to my shop to cause trouble. Are you really going to stand by and watch?"

The young man saw that Xiang Yang looked barely fifteen or sixteen and was somewhat disappointed, though he did not show it. He still treated him as though he were a savior, his respectful tone carrying a plea.

When the Giant Bear Gang's men saw Xiang Yang and his waist token, they were startled as well. They still held some fear of the authorities.

"Mm, strictly speaking, I shouldn't stand idly by. But they do have a legitimate reason. The ironware made here is substandard; it's only natural for them to come make a scene.

Put yourself in their shoes. If you spent money on something and ended up buying a fake that you couldn't even use, wouldn't you be angry? I think you should compensate them, apologize, and settle this as quickly as possible."

The Giant Bear Gang leader's eyes lit up when he heard Xiang Yang's words. He burst into laughter and gave Xiang Yang a thumbs-up.

"What the young officer says is straightforward indeed. Exactly right. How about this? We've caused enough of a fuss. I'll return this ironware to you, you give the money back, and then compensate us with one tael of silver. That should do it."

Hearing Xiang Yang's words and the Giant Bear Gang leader's response, the young man trembled with rage. His eyes bulged wide, and he looked as though he wanted to kill them both.

"Mm, one tael of silver is a bit too much. According to county law, compensation equal to twice the item's value is enough. Also, in the future, keep your eyes open when doing business. Buying and selling is a matter of mutual consent; just because he wants to buy doesn't mean you have to sell."

Xiang Yang's legs had grown a little sore from squatting, so he stood up and stretched them with a few kicks as he spoke softly. In truth, even if they refused to sell to Giant Bear Gang members, those men had plenty of other ways to cause trouble. At least then, he would have grounds to step in.

The young man had initially been angry, but after hearing Xiang Yang's words, much of his anger dissipated. He nodded to the people behind him, then handed the compensation to the Giant Bear Gang man.

The smile vanished from the man's face. He accepted the money, gave Xiang Yang a long look, and revealed a savage grin. "Hehe, the officer handled this well. I don't care about such a small sum. Let's just give it to the officer for wine and tea."

As he spoke, he walked toward Xiang Yang and made as if to hand him the silver. But the moment his hand touched Xiang Yang's right hand, he suddenly clenched down. His thick palm creaked as he clearly put all his strength into it, intending to teach Xiang Yang a lesson and let him know that while the Giant Bear Gang could not openly do anything to him, they had plenty of ways to deal with him in the dark. Standing on the wrong side could get a person killed.

A faint smile touched Xiang Yang's lips as he felt the force coming through the other man's hand. It was decent enough, but only stronger than an ordinary person's. Compared to him, it was nothing.

"Fair enough, fair enough. Since you're being so thoughtful, refusing would be disrespectful. Then I'll accept it with thanks."

As he spoke, Xiang Yang's brows relaxed, but his hand suddenly exerted force. The immense strength made the burly man howl miserably. The bones in his right hand's fingers were squeezed out of alignment and twisted out of shape, the agonizing pain more intense than a knife slash.

"What are you doing? Let go!" "Brat, are you tired of living?"

The men behind him shouted curses at Xiang Yang. Even the Little Knife Society members stared at him in surprise. He was so young and looked so frail, yet he turned out to be a hard bone to chew. For him to force a fierce grown man on the other side into such a state, his strength was no small matter.

Hearing the crowd's shouts, Xiang Yang's expression shifted from faint amusement to icy coldness. A glint of chill light flashed through his phoenix eyes. "Your Giant Bear Gang is quite arrogant. Are you thinking of spending the night in jail today? Hmm?"

Sweat beaded on the forehead of the man gripping hands with Xiang Yang. He abruptly yanked his hand back and staggered several steps away, suppressing the fury of the dozen men behind him. "Shut up. Speaking to the young officer like that—slap yourselves.

"Young officer, these men are all crude louts. They usually have no filter on their mouths. I hope you'll be magnanimous and not hold it against them."

Without even blinking, Xiang Yang calmly tucked the silver into his robes. "Get lost."

Though the Giant Bear Gang men were unwilling, they did not dare say another word and could only slink away in disgrace. Openly attacking a constable on a public street was not something Xiong Da and Xiong Er had the nerve to do.

The Little Knife Society wanted to thank Xiang Yang for relieving their predicament, but Xiang Yang did not give them a pleasant look either. Did they really think he wanted to get involved in this mess?

The reason he had just stepped in and driven off the Giant Bear Gang had absolutely not been some overflowing sense of justice. He had considered several factors.

First, the Little Knife Society had seen him and come to him for help. By both sentiment and reason, he was a constable and had the duty to settle disputes among the common people. If he acted like a turtle hiding its head, with so many people watching in the street, word would surely reach the County Yamen. Wang Ying and Magistrate Li would probably think much less of him, which would be bad for his future prospects.

Second, he found the Giant Bear Gang men extremely unpleasant to look at. He had killed Hu Qiang; whether Xiong Da and Xiong Er knew he had done it or not, the two sides had certainly become enemies. It felt good to stomp on one's opponent.

"But I am rather curious. When your Little Knife Society encountered a situation like that just now, you actually endured it without fighting back. Have you truly been beaten so badly by the Giant Bear Gang that you're afraid?"