Hearing the words "Eldest Young Master Chen" from Wolf Howl, Luo Yi struck him with a knife-hand and knocked him unconscious.
He picked up Wolf Howl, who dangled like a dead dog, and headed for his own courtyard.
As he walked back, Luo Yi thought, Chen... The County Magistrate of Yunlu County seems to have the surname Chen too. The Eldest Young Master Chen this man mentioned is probably connected to the County Magistrate.
If he let the man go, he'd be inviting endless trouble. But if he killed him, who knew what sort of trouble he'd bring upon himself? For a moment, Luo Yi was caught between two impossible choices.
When he carried Wolf Howl into the courtyard, he wasn't surprised to find the members of the Green Wolf Gang lined up neatly inside.
Reality wasn't like the movies. In those stories, gangs talked endlessly about brotherhood and loyalty. When their boss was cut down, the underlings swarmed forward with cleavers in hand, as if someone had kicked a hornet's nest, ready to avenge him.
In real life, though, even when a close friend or relative was cut down, few people would risk their lives against a powerful enemy for someone who was already dead.
If even close friends and relatives were treated that way, what more could you expect from gang members? Extortion, bullying the weak, and cowering before the strong were the true hallmarks of petty thugs.
Their boss was dangling like a dead dog. What were a bunch of underlings supposed to prove by playing the hero? If they stepped forward and got beaten to death, outsiders might praise them as loyal and righteous.
But once they were dead, someone else would sleep with their wives and beat their children. A few hundred copper coins a