After two more days on the road, the caravan reached a small town called Qingshui Market. It was much smaller than Pebble Town, but still fairly lively, serving as a trading hub for the nearby villages.
Chen Qing had intended to replenish their fresh food and water before continuing on. He parked the carriage beside a restaurant at the town entrance, told A Ning to wait in the carriage, and went inside to buy provisions and cooked food.
Lan Tianye naturally couldn't sit still. Claiming he wanted to buy some local snacks and specialties unavailable in the Western Regions, he eagerly dismounted and looked around with curious eyes.
Just as Chen Qing was choosing food inside the restaurant, a sudden commotion broke out at the other end of town. Cries and shouts rang out, mixed with arrogant scolding.
"Let go of my daughter! Please, I'm begging you! It's not that we won't pay the rent—we just had a poor harvest this year. Give us a few more days!" An old woman's wail was heartrending.
"Get out of the way, you old hag! Debts must be repaid—that's only right! No money? Then your daughter can pay it off! Our young master has taken a fancy to her. She should consider it a blessing!" A few servants shoved an old man, while another roughly dragged at a young woman in coarse cloth. She had delicate features, and her face was deathly pale with fright as she struggled desperately, tears streaming down her cheeks.
A crowd of townspeople had gathered, but they dared not voice their anger. They could only whisper among themselves.
"Those are the wicked servants from Landlord Liu's household..."
"Poor Zhang family..."
"Keep your voice down, unless you want trouble..."
Lan Tianye had just come out of a shop nearby with a packet of candied fruit. He happened to see the whole scene. The smile vanished from his face in an instant; his brows drew together, and anger flared in the eyes that were usually full of laughter.
"They're abducting a woman in broad daylight! Is there no law in this town?!" he bellowed, his voice cracking like thunder from a clear sky. He shoved the candied fruit into the arms of a passerby, then sprang forward like a streak of blue wind.
"Where'd this fool come from? You dare meddle in the Liu family's business?" Seeing him approach, the ringleader released the girl and swung a punch at him.
"Hmph! I'm Lan Tianye of Loulan, and I'll give you my name straight! I make it my business to right the world's wrongs!" Lan Tianye announced boldly, without slowing down for a second. He casually dodged the fist, then pivoted sharply and slipped right into the middle of the group.
His martial arts might not have been first-rate, but against servants who knew only a few crude moves, he handled them with ease.
"Take this: Great Desert Lone Smoke!" he cried, calling out the vividly imaginative name of a move he'd invented. He moved like drifting smoke, striking a servant's wrist with the edge of his palm and knocking the steel saber from his hand.
"And now, Loulan Moonlight Kick!" He spun into a gorgeous roundhouse kick and sent another man flying. His movements were so graceful and fluid that the crowd let out a low gasp.
"Here's Ten Thousand Li Yellow Sand Whip!" He pulled the jeweled scabbard from his waist without drawing the blade, using it like a short whip instead. Crack after crack, he lashed the remaining men behind the knees and across their backs, leaving them howling and rolling on the ground.
In a matter of seconds, he had knocked every last servant to the ground. Lan Tianye settled into a stance and straightened his tousled bangs. He raised his chin, wearing a smug look and the exhilaration of a young man who had put chivalry into practice.
He looked every bit the young hero from a tale of righteous deeds, vanquishing evil.
"All right, sir, ma'am, miss—are you all right?" He turned to the family of three, his tone now gentle and courteous.
"Th-thank you, young hero, for saving our lives!" The old couple clung to their still-shaken daughter and were about to kneel and kowtow.
"Oh, no, no, please don't!" Lan Tianye hurriedly helped them up, then fished a few pieces of silver from his purse and pressed them into their hands. "Take this. Find somewhere to hide..."
His "heroic performance" was reaching its height, but he didn't notice one of the servants he had just knocked down with his scabbard. A vicious glint flashed in the man's eyes as he quietly got up and pulled a dagger from his boot. While Lan Tianye had his back turned, helping the old farmer to his feet, the man lunged and stabbed at his back!
"Look out!" a townsman cried.
Lan Tianye heard the rush of air and tried to turn, but he was already a moment too slow!
Just then, a blue figure appeared soundlessly beside the servant.
There was a dull thud. The servant's body stiffened, then went limp as he rolled his eyes and collapsed. A plain, pale green bamboo flute was embedded in the back of his head.
Chen Qing had come out of the restaurant at some point and stood a short distance away, his hands empty. He walked over without expression, bent down to retrieve his flute, and wiped it on the servant's clothes, as if brushing off a speck of dust.
Only then did Lan Tianye react. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he looked at Chen Qing, both grateful and embarrassed. "Brother Chen! Thanks! That bastard actually tried to sneak up on me!" He had been too busy striking a pose and had nearly capsized in a ditch.
Chen Qing glanced at him coolly. "Flashy."
Lan Tianye didn't seem embarrassed at all. "I was just standing up for what's right!"
But the trouble wasn't over. A jumble of footsteps soon approached. More than ten burly men armed with clubs, swords, and sabers came charging over, led by a middle-aged fat man dressed in silk and with a belly hanging over his belt. Several obsequious yamen runners followed behind them.
"Who dares to cause trouble in my Qingshui Market and beat up my men?" The fat man was Landlord Liu. Seeing his servants groaning on the ground, he flew into a rage.
"Father! It was him!" cried a dandy with unsteady steps, one of the men Lan Tianye had kicked flying.
Landlord Liu's triangular eyes swept over Lan Tianye and Chen Qing. Though their clothes were fine, it was clear they were outsiders. A hint of wariness flashed in his eyes, but his expression was mostly cruel. He gave a look to the head yamen runner behind him.
The yamen runner stepped forward with a stern face and actually pulled out iron shackles. "Hmph! You attacked people in the street and seriously injured several of them. The evidence is clear! Come with us to the yamen!"
Lan Tianye froze. He hadn't expected them to accuse the innocent while conspiring with the authorities. He had only just arrived in the Central Plains, and had assumed that standing up for what was right was only natural and that the authorities would uphold justice. He had never seen such a shameless attempt to twist right and wrong.
"You... You're lying!" Lan Tianye flushed with anger as he argued his case. "They were the ones abducting a woman! I was only helping when I saw injustice! The townsfolk here can all testify!"
The head yamen runner sneered. "Testify? Who will testify? Who saw anything?" He swept his gaze over the townspeople. As they met his eyes, they lowered their heads in fear and shrank back. Not one dared to speak.
A malicious grin spread across Landlord Liu's face.
Lan Tianye looked at the silent crowd, then at the overbearing yamen runners and the smirking landlord. A terrible rush of grievance and anger welled up inside him.
He had a fine set of martial arts, but had no idea how to deal with this sort of situation.
He couldn't use heavy-handed force against ordinary people, and he was even more constrained when it came to the yamen runners, who represented "the law." For a moment, he stood rooted to the spot, trembling with anger, wondering how the Central Plains could be so different from what he'd been told.
Chen Qing watched it all coldly, his gaze finally settling on the yamen runners and Landlord Liu, calm and unreadable.
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