Collecting Debts

"Sister, why make a deal with him? Isn't he the very villain himself?" Meng Shao asked, puzzled.

"Only a villain can deal with another villain. When all's said and done, he's helping us," Meng Wanyi said softly.

"But he took the account book. If greed gets the better of him, I'm afraid he won't hand over a single coin of the money he collects," Meng Shao said worriedly.

"..."

Meng Wanyi suddenly realized her younger sister had a point.

How had she believed Zhao An's nonsense? The man was a master of lies.

"You're kindhearted, Sister. You always assume the best of people..." Seeing Meng Wanyi's dejection, Meng Shao couldn't help trying to comfort her.

"If he doesn't hand over the money, I—I'll poison him!" Meng Wanyi gritted her teeth and threatened.

Meanwhile, Zhao An had already set off to collect debts with Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi.

In a narrow alley at a street corner, a few idle ruffians had gathered to play cards and gamble.

"Why's Zhao An from the Tiger Head Gang so fierce? A couple days ago, he went through the Three Trials and cut down three Python Gang experts right in front of Xu Donglai!"

"I heard about that too. Damn, isn't Zhao An only just over twenty? He's so young, and already that capable. He'll be even more formidable in the future. Even Zhou Tiger might not be able to keep him in check!"

"Now that would be a show worth watching. Two tigers fighting—what a spectacle!"

They held their cards, watching the points as they chatted.

Just then, footsteps sounded from the alley.

Li Gou'er, carrying a short club, kicked over the card table and barked arrogantly, "Which one of you is Zhang Changlin?"

The ruffians were about to get angry, but then they spotted the tiger-head wooden token hanging from Li Gou'er's waist. Realizing he belonged to the Tiger Head Gang, they swallowed their anger and didn't dare let it show.

One of them looked especially flustered. Li Gou'er noticed and yanked him to the ground.

"Zhang Changlin?"

"Sir, sir, I haven't offended you, have I?" Zhang Changlin said timidly.

"You've got money to play cards, but not to pay your debts?" Li Gou'er squatted down, pulled a promissory note from his clothes, and showed it to the man.

"Bring out the two taels of silver you owe Bright Moon Clinic from last month."

"Yes, yes, I'll get it right away." The ruffian glanced at Li Gou'er, then at Zhao Chunzi, who also carried a short club and had a plain, honest-looking face set in a stern expression.

He dared to owe money to the young lady at the clinic, but he didn't dare offend the Tiger Head Gang.

With a pained expression, he fished out a tael of broken silver, then several handfuls of copper coins. Put together, they came to two taels of silver—nearly all the money he had for gambling.

At the mouth of the alley, Zhao An folded his arms. Once Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi caught up, he turned and strode away.

There was no need for him to get involved in dealing with these ruffians.

In just half a day, he had recovered dozens of taels of silver without breaking a sweat, relying solely on his identity as a member of the Tiger Head Gang.

And in truth, they had encountered very few genuinely impoverished families.

In this world, a human life was as cheap as an ant's. Poor people couldn't afford to see a doctor and didn't dare go to a clinic.

When illness struck, they simply endured it. If they couldn't, they died. If an elder in the family knew a thing or two, they might gather herbs in the mountains. As for selling everything they owned just to see a doctor, that was out of the question.

After all, if a family ran out of food and money, they would all be dragged down and starve to death. What use was it to cure one person's illness then?

Afternoon.

On Fox Ear Street, several wilted yellow vegetable seedlings grew in the dirt inside a dilapidated, blackened fence. The soil was dry; it looked as if no one had turned it in a long time.

Inside the small house, a disheveled man was rummaging roughly through the cabinets, kicking over several pottery jars and leaving shards scattered across the floor.

By the bed, a yellow-faced woman sat dazed. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her gaze was vacant, drained of all life.

Suddenly, after smashing yet another pottery jar, the man found a few taels of broken silver and a small pile of copper coins that had fallen out. He laughed aloud.

"Didn't you say you were out of money? Then what's this?" the man shouted at the woman as he snatched up the silver and coins.

The woman stared at him in despair and murmured, "That's our daughter's ransom money. If you take it, she'll never be able to come home."

The smile on the man's face faltered, but he quickly said, "This little bit isn't enough to buy the girl's freedom. I'll go win some more and make it seven taels!"

With that, the man started to shove the door open and run out. As if suddenly roused, the woman reached beneath her pillow, pulled out a pair of scissors, and stabbed at him without hesitation.

"Bitch!" The man reacted quickly, snatched the scissors away, and slapped her to the floor.

"You'd kill your husband? Aren't you afraid I'll drag you to the yamen!" the man snarled.

Still unsatisfied, he kicked the woman twice before hurriedly heading out.

But as soon as he pulled the door open, someone outside kicked him back into the room.

Zhao An looked around. First he glanced at the man, then his gaze fell on the woman.

Liu Tiesuo (Red Name)

Zhang Xiuying (White Name)

"W-who are you?!" Liu Tiesuo clutched his chest and curled up on the floor.

Zhao An's kick had landed hard.

"Brother Zhao, this is Liu Tiesuo. He sold his own daughter to a brothel to get money for gambling. The whole neighborhood's been talking about it," Li Gou'er said with disgust.

Even though they didn't consider themselves good people, they still despised gamblers who sold their daughters to brothels.

Zhao Chunzi picked up the broken silver scattered across the floor and counted it. Then he smiled. "Brother Zhao, it's exactly three taels."

Zhao An looked at the woman. "Do you remember the three taels you owe Bright Moon Clinic?"

Zhang Xiuying nodded. It was the money she'd borrowed to pay for her daughter's medical care.

She hadn't meant to dodge the debt. But after her daughter recovered from a serious illness, Liu Tiesuo sold her to a brothel.

Ever since, her only thought had been to buy her daughter's freedom. She hadn't had the heart to think of anything else.

"Could I ask you for something?" Zhang Xiuying asked, her face pale as she knelt before Zhao An.

"Don't start talking about the money. That's what you owe them; we didn't forcefully take it from you," Li Gou'er said coldly, assuming the woman was trying to play on their sympathy to get the money.

"It's not about the money. I only ask that you kill him before you leave." Zhang Xiuying lifted her face. Her features, once gentle, had turned sharp as she pointed at Liu Tiesuo on the floor.

"Zhang Xiuying, have you gone mad?" Liu Tiesuo shuddered, then roared furiously.

"With him around, I'll never be able to buy my poor daughter's freedom. Please," Zhang Xiuying pleaded with Zhao An again and again, promising she wouldn't tell anyone afterward or report it to the authorities.

"This..." Li Gou'er began. He'd meant to advise Zhao An that it was better not to invite trouble; they were only there to collect a debt.

But after a moment's silence, Zhao An nodded.

"Fine."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhao An acted without hesitation. He drew his blade and, in an instant, its edge swept across Liu Tiesuo's throat.

[Having committed countless evils, his guilty soul has been captured!]

He had never planned to spare this Red Name. Even if the woman hadn't asked him, he would have acted.