Fierce Tiger Hall's Fury Arrives, Constable Relieves the Siege

Fierce Tiger Hall, council chamber.

A celadon teacup was smashed violently onto the ground, breaking into several pieces.

Duan Tianbao stood in the hall, his face so grim it looked like water could be wrung out of it. He had just returned from the west of the city. For a medicinal herb transaction, he had spent half the day haggling with people from the Hungry Wolf Gang. Upon returning to the hall, the first thing he heard was the news of Hu Jiudao's death.

"Drunk and fire? Three living people at Body Tempering first level could be burned to death in their own yard by a fire?" He kicked a shard of porcelain under his foot, his voice suppressing a wild beast about to be unleashed. "What did the coroner say?"

At his command, a confidant bowed and replied, "Reporting to Hall Master, the fire was too thorough, nothing could be investigated. It's just... the wine jars at the scene were a bit strange, seemed like inferior wine mixed with lamp oil."

The muscles in Duan Tianbao's eye socket twitched.

Hu Jiudao was the most useful dog under his command. He handled collections and loans, dirty and difficult jobs, without a word of complaint. More importantly, Hu Jiudao held several connections that were supposed to help him gather the silver needed to purchase a Body Tempering Pill. Now that the man was dead, the connections were severed, and the silver was wasted.

He had been stuck at Body Tempering second level completion for a full three years. This Body Tempering Pill was his only hope of breaking through to the third level.

Just then, a runner scrambled in from outside the door, a clear handprint on his face and blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Hall Master! That brat surnamed Ye... he..."

Duan Tianbao's gaze swept over him, and the rest of the runner's words got stuck in his throat.

"Speak."

The runner swallowed, then recounted his encounter at Ye Qingxuan's courtyard, exaggerating wildly. From how Ye Qingxuan used the Grand Law to oppress him, to how he demanded an exorbitant three taels and seven qian for door repair fees, making himself seem utterly wronged and the other party impossibly arrogant.

After listening, Duan Tianbao actually laughed.

"Good, a very good constable of the Fengtian Division." He slowly paced to the weapon rack, took down a pair of pure steel judge's brushes, and lightly tapped them in his palm. "I must go and see if his bones are harder, or if these brushes of mine are harder."

The runner's spirits lifted. "Hall Master, you're going personally?"

"Bring twenty brothers, armed. Today, in front of everyone in the Southern District, I will tear down his door panel, piece by piece, and then smash his bones, one by one!" Duan Tianbao's voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling ruthlessness.

To him, Hu Jiudao's death was no longer the main point. Ye Qingxuan's defiance was a provocation to him, Duan Tianbao, and to the entire Fierce Tiger Hall. If he didn't reclaim this lost face, how could he establish himself in Linyuan Prefecture City in the future?

The night deepened.

The alleyways of the Southern District were deathly silent.

Ye Qingxuan still sat in the courtyard, the thick-backed woodcutting knife resting across his knees. He heard it – the messy, heavy footsteps coming from the alley entrance. Not three or five people, but a crowd.

He didn't move, merely moved his hand from the knife and placed it flat on his knees.

Before long, the open doorway was completely blocked by figures. The light from the torches illuminated the courtyard brightly, stretching the shadows of the newcomers into grotesque shapes on the ground.

The crowd parted, and Duan Tianbao walked in with his hands behind his back.

Behind him followed more than twenty Fierce Tiger Hall members, armed with clubs, swords, and spears. The runner was among them, staring at Ye Qingxuan with a venomous gaze.

Duan Tianbao's eyes swept around the courtyard. The dilapidated house, the simple furnishings, and finally, they landed on the young man sitting on a stool, knife across his knees.

He had expected to see a terrified, outwardly fierce but inwardly weak young man.

But what he saw was an astonishingly calm youth. The young man didn't even stand up, merely looked up and watched him calmly, as if Duan Tianbao were not the Hall Master of the Fierce Tiger Hall, but an uninvited neighbor.

Such courage surprised Duan Tianbao somewhat.

"You are Ye Qingxuan?" Duan Tianbao stopped three steps away, sizing him up with interest.

"I am," Ye Qingxuan replied.

"Hu Jiudao's courtyard had a fire last night." Duan Tianbao's tone was very casual, as if discussing an unrelated trivial matter.

"I heard."

"The last person he saw before he died was you."

"That's right. He brought people to my door, knocked over my table, and spilled my sister's dinner. I cursed them away." Ye Qingxuan's words were exactly the same as the story he had told his sister.

Duan Tianbao smiled. He extended a finger and pointed at the woodcutting knife on Ye Qingxuan's knees. "Then you sit here, waiting for me to pay for your meal?"

"I'm waiting for justice," Ye Qingxuan said.

"Justice?" Duan Tianbao acted as if he had heard the biggest joke. "In this Southern District, I, Duan Tianbao, am justice!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the gang members behind him stepped forward in unison, their weapons glinting coldly in the torchlight. A killing aura instantly filled the entire courtyard.

Ye Qingxuan slowly stood up. He didn't look at the gang members, his gaze fixed on Duan Tianbao's face.

"Hall Master Duan, between us, there was originally only a debt of fourteen taels of silver. If you followed the rules, I would repay the money, and the matter would be settled. But your men did not follow the rules."

He pointed towards the inner room. "They scared my family. That breaks my rules."

He paused, then spoke each word with utmost clarity.

"If you take another step forward today, then between us, it will no longer be a debt, but a feud. A feud to the death."

To the death.

These four words, spoken by a nineteen-year-old youth, did not move Duan Tianbao. Instead, it made him laugh even more heartily.

"To the death? Hahahaha..." He threw his head back and laughed, his laughter echoing in the night sky. "Based on you? A temporary worker who can't even get into the Fengtian Division? Based on that broken knife for chopping firewood on your knees?"

His laughter stopped abruptly, his expression turning sharp. "Today, I will not only enter this door, but I will also search your house and your bed! I want to see what you have to fight my Fierce Tiger Hall to the death!"

He waved his arm, about to give the order.

Just then, two booming shouts echoed from the alley entrance.

"Who's making noise here! Fengtian Division night patrol, loiterers, disperse at once!"

Before the words even fell, two official constables in black, carrying lanterns and swords at their waists, strode over. The one in the lead was burly with a full beard, none other than the hot-tempered old constable from the Fengtian Division, Zhao Hu. Following him was the fair-skinned Cheng Yuan.

The two immediately spotted the tense standoff in the courtyard and the more than twenty Fierce Tiger Hall members armed with crude weapons.

Zhao Hu's brows immediately furrowed into a knot.

The Fierce Tiger Hall members also recognized the newcomers, their arrogance instantly deflating by a third. They weren't afraid of Ye Qingxuan, but they couldn't afford to offend these two black-clad constables who served the government.

Duan Tianbao's expression also turned grim. He slowly turned to face the arrivals.

"So it's Constable Zhao, Constable Cheng," he said, cupping his fists in greeting. "Thank you for your hard work on this late-night patrol."

Zhao Hu's gaze shifted from Duan Tianbao's face to the weapons held by the men behind him, finally landing on the shattered door. He snorted, "Hall Master Duan certainly knows how to make an entrance. If one didn't know better, they'd think it was a funeral procession with so many musicians."

His words were far from polite.

Duan Tianbao's lips twitched, but he couldn't lash out. Suppressing his anger, he forced a smile. "Constable Zhao, you jest. My brother, Hu Jiudao, died under mysterious circumstances last night, and I was upset and came to inquire. Who knew this young brother Ye would have such a temper and cause a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Zhao Hu stepped forward, holding his lantern high. The light illuminated Ye Qingxuan's young, calm face. "Ye Qingxuan is one of ours at the Fengtian Division. You bringing so many men to block his door, and you call that a misunderstanding?"

Although he didn't think much of temporary hires like Ye Qingxuan, at this moment, Ye Qingxuan represented the Fengtian Division's honor. They could handle their own affairs behind closed doors, but they wouldn't allow outsiders to bully them.

Cheng Yuan, standing beside him, also spoke. His voice was gentler than Zhao Hu's, but his words carried a sting. "Hall Master Duan, the case of Hu Jiudao is being investigated by our Fengtian Division. If you have doubts, you can go to the Division and speak with Master Xiao. However, barging into the home of our constable this late at night... it won't sound good if word gets out, will it?"

The two spoke in unison, their words repeatedly emphasizing "Fengtian Division," putting Duan Tianbao under immense pressure.

He knew he couldn't make a move tonight.

Forcibly entering Ye Qingxuan's home in front of two official constables would be a direct act of defiance against the Fengtian Division. Sacrificing the reputation of the entire Fierce Tiger Hall for an insignificant temporary hire was not worth it.

"Constables, you are right," Duan Tianbao's smile had completely vanished. "Since it was a misunderstanding, it's good that it's cleared up. Young brother Ye, I was rash today. I will visit you another day to discuss the matter of those fourteen taels of silver."

He emphasized the last few words heavily.

After speaking, he gave Ye Qingxuan a deep look, his eyes like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

"Let's go!"

He turned and, with his subordinates, retreated like a receding tide.

Silence returned to the alley.

Zhao Hu watched them leave before turning back to size up Ye Qingxuan. He glanced at the woodcutter's axe on Ye Qingxuan's knee and raised an eyebrow. "Kid, you've got guts."

Ye Qingxuan put away the axe and cupped his fists towards the two constables. "Thank you both for your timely intervention."

"We're all brothers, no need for such pleasantries," Zhao Hu waved his hand. He then pointed at the broken door. "Tomorrow, go to the Division and report this as public property damage. Let the Hall pay for the repairs. Don't pay out of your own pocket, don't let those scoundrels get away with it."

With that, he and Cheng Yuan, carrying their lanterns, continued their patrol deeper into the alley.

In the courtyard, Ye Qingxuan was left alone.

He looked at the dark doorway as the night wind blew, stirring a few wood chips on the ground.

The immediate crisis had been averted.

But he knew what Duan Tianbao's final glance meant.

A greater storm was brewing.