Blocking the Road

"Little Mute, I heard you struck it rich today. Congratulations from your big brother!"

A burly man in his thirties, tall and broad, with a scar across the brow of his right eye, held a Water-Fire Staff as he blocked the way with six or seven young beggars in tow. Little Ears was among them, his face full of hatred and malicious delight. Clearly, he had failed to steal a lesson earlier and been beaten instead, and now bore a grudge against Zhuang Jin.

Little Mute was Zhuang Jin's nickname. The original owner of this body had suffered a great calamity and fallen into beggary, naturally becoming taciturn and withdrawn. After transmigrating here, Zhuang Jin had followed the principle that the more one said, the more one erred. To conceal his identity, he had made no change.

"Tan San." Zhuang Jin looked at the man and frowned.

Tan San had once been the son of a decent family. Fond of gambling, he had eventually squandered his entire household fortune and become a beggar. Even then, he remained lazy and gluttonous, relying on his size to bully younger beggars. He loved borrowing money—though calling it borrowing was generous, since he had never repaid a single coin. Today, he had come for a "forced loan." Or, more accurately, robbery.

Someone must have seen the scrap of silver I received as a reward today and told Tan San, which is why this happened... As for who informed on me...

Zhuang Jin looked toward Little Ears behind Tan San, whose face was brimming with schadenfreude. He guessed it was probably him and gave him a long, hard look.

Little Ears instinctively shrank back from his gaze in fear. But then he came to himself. There were so many people on his side—what was there to fear? Zhuang Jin should be the one afraid. At that thought, he swayed his body from side to side, puffed out his chest, widened his eyes, and glared disdainfully at Zhuang Jin.

He looked exactly like a rich young master's lackey—every bit the dog flaunting its master's power, vividly brought to life.

Zhuang Jin's gaze swept past the young beggars before settling on Tan San. He knew this man was the heart of the matter. "Tan San, you force other beggars to lend you money, and now you've threatened them into coming here to rob me. Have you considered Lord Howl? Don't bring disaster upon yourself."

This Lord Howl was no actual lord, but a nickname. His real name was Hou Yong, the beggar chief of this district. Every month, he collected protection money from the beggars. Tan San, Zhuang Jin, Little Ears, and the rest were all considered Lord Howl's subordinates. Tan San had been "borrowing" money from beggars behind Hou Yong's back, and now had even come to rob them in all but name. If Hou Yong learned of it, Tan San would be in for a world of pain.

The meaning behind Zhuang Jin's words was simple: Don't provoke me, and I won't meddle in your business by reporting you to Lord Howl. We each go our own way; well water does not offend river water.

Tan San naturally understood. He had not expected the normally silent Little Mute to say such things. But he saw that Zhuang Jin did not want trouble and took it for weakness. To someone like him, who always bullied the weak and feared the strong, seeing weakness meant instinctively lunging forward to bite hard. How could he possibly let this chance go?

At the same time, the threat in Zhuang Jin's words had struck right at his weak spot, making him furious. Especially when he saw the young beggars beside him shrink their heads at the mention of Lord Howl, like quails, his anger only swelled further. "Whether I bring disaster on myself is none of your business. You should worry about yourself first!"

"Heh. If I don't beat you into submission today and teach you what should and shouldn't be said, then I won't be surnamed Tan!" As he spoke, he signaled to the young beggars behind him, telling them to surround Zhuang Jin.

If he had any brains, he would have taken the way out I offered him. What a pity I ran into an idiot.

Zhuang Jin was not someone afraid of trouble. He had merely thought of tomorrow's Martial Student Recruitment and did not want to stir up more problems today. But seeing Tan San's attitude, he knew there would be no peaceful resolution, so he discarded that thought. Looking at the six or seven young beggars, he said, "Tan San forced you to lend him silver and kept it hidden from Lord Howl. Why not tie him up at once and deliver him to Lord Howl? Perhaps you might even get back the silver you lent him."

"You needn't fear Tan San taking revenge either. With Lord Howl's temperament, once Tan San is tied up and sent over, a good death would be beyond his reach!"

The moment those words fell, the six or seven young beggars, including Little Ears, stopped moving. They thought it over in secret and all felt that it seemed to make sense. A faint stir ran through them.

"Good brat!"

Tan San had not expected the usually quiet Little Mute to be so sharp. A single sentence had nearly turned the young beggars he had dragged here by force against him. Even he himself was somewhat frightened by the possible consequences. While secretly regretting provoking Zhuang Jin, he also felt like he was riding a tiger and could not dismount. But he knew he absolutely could not show weakness now. Otherwise, this pack of people who bullied the weak and feared the strong might swarm him and turn Zhuang Jin's words into reality.

"Who dares lay a hand on your Master Tan?"

In his panic, Tan San roared and put on that reckless, unyielding look of one who feared neither Heaven nor earth. He did have a little imposing presence, and coupled with the authority he had built up in the past, he frightened the young beggars enough that they did not dare move for the moment. Then he gritted his teeth and promised, "Little Mute got a scrap of silver today, worth at least dozens of coins. Once we take it, I'll give each of you ten coins."

Ten coins! That was what most beggars earned from begging for several days!

For these shallow-sighted beggars, the temptation was considerable. They immediately threw the thought of tying up Tan San out of their minds. One by one, they looked at Zhuang Jin with fierce light in their eyes, like hungry wolves.

A rabble like this is not worth plotting with! Zhuang Jin sighed inwardly, and his expression suddenly changed. "Lord Howl, why are you here?!"

At the mention of Lord Howl, the six or seven young beggars immediately awoke from their greed and instinctively turned to look. Tan San had the strongest reaction of all. His body shuddered violently, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

Zhuang Jin had deliberately laid the groundwork earlier, describing what would happen if Tan San fell into Lord Howl's hands. Now he falsely claimed that Lord Howl had arrived, nearly scaring Tan San out of his wits.

At that very moment, Zhuang Jin moved. The sharpened tip of his Dog-Beating Stick stabbed into Tan San's wrist, knocking the Water-Fire Staff he had somehow acquired from the yamen out of his hand. Then, with another vicious strike, he smashed Tan San's right leg, forcing him down onto one knee.

The stab and the blow were both swift and ruthless. Only in the next instant did the pain seem to reach Tan San, drawing a shrill, miserable scream from him.

The six or seven young beggars saw that Lord Howl was not behind them and realized they had been fooled. Just as they turned back, intending to make trouble for Zhuang Jin, they suddenly heard the scream. They looked over to see Tan San half-kneeling on the ground, his face pale, large beads of sweat streaming down his forehead. Blood poured from a mangled wound on his arm, glaringly vivid. The sight startled them all into retreating. Then they met Zhuang Jin's sweeping, domineering gaze. None dared meet his eyes. They lowered their heads one after another, timid as lambs.

The situation was decided!

Zhuang Jin knew these people's nature well. They were both vicious and weak.

They were vicious because they lived at the very bottom, surviving by fighting stray dogs for scraps. Expose a weakness, and they would pounce like mad dogs, tearing and biting until not even dregs remained. But they were weak because deep down, they bullied the weak and feared the strong. Tan San had relied only on his large frame to repeatedly borrow money from them, leaving them angry but unwilling to speak.

Now that Zhuang Jin had struck down their leader, Tan San, and frightened them with ruthless methods, these young beggars revealed their weak side. They became obedient as lambs. At this point, even if he stabbed a knife into their necks, they would not resist. They would only bleat helplessly a few times, begging him to strike more lightly.

"Tan San!" Having cowed the six or seven young beggars, Zhuang Jin withdrew his gaze and looked at Tan San. Coldness filled his face as he tightened his grip on the Dog-Beating Stick.

The instant Tan San met Zhuang Jin's eyes and noticed the minute movement of his hand, goosebumps rose all over his back. His instincts seemed to foresee death, instantly crushing his urge to curse Zhuang Jin for having no martial virtue and threaten him further. He realized that this was a ruthless man, one who might truly dare to kill. He swallowed the curses on his lips, sucked in cold breaths through the pain, and begged, "Hiss! Sir, I'm just trash. It isn't worth staining your hands with blood for me. Spare me! Spare my life!"

Then he seemed to remember something and hurriedly shouted, "It was Little Ears! Little Ears told me that you got a scrap of silver, sir! He was the one who egged me on to come!"

The moment Little Ears heard Tan San's words, he turned to run. But before he could take a step, Zhuang Jin smashed his back with a blow from the Dog-Beating Stick, sending him stumbling. Then two quick-witted young beggars beside him seized his arms and dragged him over with ingratiating smiles.

Seeing Zhuang Jin's cold gaze and the bloodstained Dog-Beating Stick in his hand, Little Ears seemed to see himself suffering the same stab and blow as Tan San, his hands and feet crippled. Even if he survived, he would no longer be able to beg, and would freeze or starve to death in the streets...

That foreseeable terror made his whole body go limp. Snot and tears burst forth at once, and a foul stench even spread beneath him. His eyes went blank as he begged again and again, "Spare me! Spare me!"

Zhuang Jin looked at Little Ears with disgust, then turned to Tan San. After weighing it, he abandoned the idea of uprooting the weeds and eliminating the roots. Injuring them was one thing; killing them would make the matter too big. Lord Howl, the yamen... the backlash would come too quickly and too fiercely.

But letting them go so lightly would be letting them off too cheaply.

After thinking for a moment, he pointed the Dog-Beating Stick at Tan San. "Hand over the money on you."

Zhuang Jin did not want trouble, but since trouble had come, he would maximize the gain.

Tan San did not dare resist. He took out his money pouch. Zhuang Jin accepted it and weighed it in his hand, estimating that it contained more than a hundred coins. He was mildly surprised. Perhaps this fellow had been lucky lately and won a little gambling?

"Sir, leave me fifty coins. The day to pay Tribute Money is in two days, and Lord Howl..." Tan San pleaded miserably.

"Lord Howl?" Zhuang Jin snorted. Tomorrow, he would flee to participate in the Shen Family's Martial Student Recruitment, which already meant offending Lord Howl. He did not mind offending him even more deeply.

With his head under another's eaves, Tan San saw that Zhuang Jin would not listen and did not dare say more.

With Tan San taking the lead, how could the other young beggars dare resist? They all handed over the money they carried. In total, there were more than three hundred coins. Together with Tan San's hundred or so, it came to nearly five hundred coins.

Zhuang Jin understood. Some young beggars did not feel safe hiding their money and only felt at ease carrying it with them. And since the day to pay Lord Howl Tribute Money was only two days away, they had so much on them.

Sure enough, murder and arson earn gold belts. All the ways to make money are written in the Imperial Court's laws! One tael of silver was merely the basic entry fee. With this money, learning martial arts will be a little less tight.

With that thought, Zhuang Jin put away the money and left calmly.

After Zhuang Jin left, Tan San and the six or seven young beggars all felt as if a huge stone had been lifted from their hearts, and they breathed sighs of relief. Then, the atmosphere in the area became somewhat strange.

The six or seven young beggars looked at Tan San, restless and eager to move. Tan San was injured and weak now, and his wretched, pathetic display before Zhuang Jin had greatly diminished their fear of him. They wondered whether they should join forces and tie Tan San up to deliver him to Lord Howl.

You lowborn wretches, are your hides itching again! Tan San understood these young beggars inside and out. The instant they stuck out their asses, he knew what kind of shit they were about to take. How could he not know what they were thinking?

"Little Ears, come here!" he suddenly called to Little Ears with a beaming smile and a beckoning hand.

Little Ears had just relaxed, grateful that he had kept his hands and feet intact before Zhuang Jin. Hearing Tan San call, he said, "Master Tan," and instinctively approached.

Bang—crack!

The smile on Tan San's face vanished in an instant, replaced by a vicious glare. He grabbed the Water-Fire Staff and smashed it into Little Ears' leg. A dull thud rang out alongside the sharp crack of breaking bone.

"Ah, my leg... it's broken, broken!" Little Ears screamed as he clutched his right leg.

His leg had not been broken by Zhuang Jin's hand, but by Tan San's instead. There was something three parts dramatic about the whole turn of events.

The other young beggars were all chilled by the sight. For beggars like them, a broken leg made begging difficult and reduced their income. More often than not, it meant freezing or starving to death in the streets. It could be said that Tan San's blow had taken half of Little Ears' life. Such ruthless means shattered their courage. They no longer dared entertain any thought of tying Tan San up and sending him to Lord Howl, and lowered their heads like quails.

"What are you howling for? Isn't the reason your Master Tan ended up like this because of you, you unlucky thing? Pah!"

Tan San spat on Little Ears, then looked at the others. "You think that just because I'm injured, I can't handle you? You're dreaming with your eyes open! If you want to challenge me, wait another eight hundred years!"

After cursing the young beggars out, Tan San saw the same fearful expressions they had worn before and knew that his method of killing a chicken to frighten the monkeys had worked. He felt pleased with himself. I can't deal with Little Mute, but can't I deal with you lot?

"Little Bamboo Pole, Little Cornbread, get over here already and help your master to Wang the Pockmarked's for some medicine... Ow, that Little Mute really struck hard!"

Supported by the young beggars, Tan San groaned as he rose. A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. Should I report that Little Mute to Lord Howl?

Before, he had only "borrowed" money, and each time it had been merely one or two coins. He had feared borrowing too much would leave the young beggars unable to scrape together their Tribute Money, exposing him to Lord Howl. But Zhuang Jin had struck too ruthlessly this time and had even touched the forbidden Tribute Money. If Lord Howl found out, Tan San feared he would lose a layer of skin.

But the moment the thought of reporting him arose, Tan San remembered Zhuang Jin's cold gaze. His body shuddered violently, and he instantly dismissed the idea.

Then, realizing how afraid he was of Zhuang Jin, he became angry out of humiliation. Yet after hesitating again and again, he still did not dare do anything. He could only secretly console himself. It's not that I'm afraid of Little Mute. It's just that the day to pay Lord Howl Tribute Money is in two days. Those young beggars won't be able to produce it, and they can't possibly hide that. I won't even need to report him. Lord Howl will find out himself and deal with him!