The alley fell silent again, with only the night wind sweeping up scraps of wood from the ground and sending them spinning.
Duan Tianbao and his men had retreated completely, as though they had never appeared. Yet the gaping doorway, like a scar across the face of the courtyard, declared that everything moments ago had been no dream.
Zhao Hu walked to the broken doorframe, kicked the snapped door latch with his toe, and spat onto the ground. "These pieces of trash are getting more and more brazen, treating the authorities as if they were nothing."
Ye Qingxuan put away the hatchet from his lap, rose, and cupped his fists toward the two men. "Constables, thank you both for tonight."
That bow came from the heart. Though he had been resolved to fight Duan Tianbao to the bitter end, if these two men had not arrived in time, there was no chance he and his sister could have gotten through tonight safely. A bloody battle would have been unavoidable.
"We're brothers in the same line of work. Why say such polite things?" Zhao Hu waved his hand. Though his temper was explosive, he was a straightforward man. "You're a fellow of the Fengtian Division too. We can't just stand by and watch outsiders bully you at your own door."
Cheng Yuan, standing beside him, had a little more worldly insight into officialdom. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan, then at the dark depths of the alley, and lowered his voice. "Brother Ye, Duan Tianbao is vicious and vindictive. He won't dare come again openly after suffering today, but you must guard against the tricks he may use in the shadows."
Ye Qingxuan nodded, leaned the hatchet against the wall, and stepped aside from the doorway. "The night is deep and cold.