Explosion on Guanglin Street

Luo Bin was about to open his mouth and stoke the flames of hatred, drawing breath to launch into a tirade.

Everyone's eyes locked onto him, eager to hear what outrageous words this reckless young man would dare to utter.

Bang—

A deafening boom shook the entire Zhenyuan Escort Agency. The two men who had just stepped down from the platform struggled to keep their footing as it trembled beneath them.

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

"What happened outside? What was that noise?"

"Who set off explosives in the street? If it wasn't explosives, then only a high-ranking Martial Master could make a commotion that big..."

The deafening boom left Luo Bin momentarily stunned, too. Seeing the attention of the surrounding escorts drawn elsewhere, he suddenly felt he might have picked the wrong day to come.

The young gate attendant came running back, shouting in panic, "The Shuo Gang and the Su Family have clashed... They've got guns and explosives!"

The Su Family had risen to prominence after the Pei Family withdrew from Ping City. Though they lacked a deep foundation, their roots in the city were firmly established. They operated like a trade association, bringing in street vendors from the lower classes and providing them with protection, places to set up their stalls, and even priority access to supplies in some lucrative trades.

For instance, they might provide tools to barbers' stalls and ingredients to wonton vendors... then take an agreed-upon share of the profits.

As a result, the family enjoyed an excellent reputation in Ping City.

Once the gate attendant had caught his breath, he explained the situation to everyone.

Shunzhi District in Ping City was an area comprising the northern part of the city and its suburbs. It was arguably the liveliest part of Ping City, with its thriving street-stall economy. The Su Family had built its fortune by gathering and protecting those vendors.

Luo Bin had also learned about the Shuo Gang some time ago. It was a new gang formed when the Green Bamboo Gang, after breaking away from the Black Sheath Hall, merged with the Jiang Family's followers.

As he listened to the gate attendant's account, Luo Bin pieced together the reason for the clash. The Shuo Gang had the Jiang Family backing it, and the Green Bamboo Gang—its predecessor—had already been suspected of acting as the municipal government's front. This latest conflict had only confirmed those suspicions.

The Shuo Gang claimed that Commissioner Cao of the Southern Democratic Alliance would be arriving in Ping City soon, and that his son would be staying in Shunzhi District. Every street vendor in the district had to stop doing business and clear away their stalls, leaving the roads spotless to welcome the young master.

Ping City's magistrate had been appointed by the Southern Democratic Alliance. At a time like this, the Shuo Gang's decision to step in made it all but obvious that the Jiang Family had ties to the city government.

As the protector and beneficiary of the thousands of businesses large and small along Shunzhi District's long stretch of streets, the Su Family naturally couldn't stomach the Shuo Gang's behavior. As for the commissioner's son, they could deal with that when he arrived...

After hearing the gate attendant's full account, Luo Bin's curiosity got the better of him. He followed the Zhenyuan Escort Agency's escorts, a dense crowd of people, out to Guanglin Street.

The escorts cursed as they went. "What the hell is wrong with that Shuo Gang? They're so damn arrogant! My wife's still at the end of the street selling jianbing guozi. I wonder how she's doing..."

"Most of the families of our Zhenyuan Escort Agency's escorts run stalls around here! They're not trying to get rich, just earn a little extra to help with household expenses...

"They don't need to treat everyone so harshly just for the sake of some commissioner's son!"

"Exactly!"

Looking toward the street in the distance, they saw that the explosives had blown a crater into the bluestone paving. Loose dirt was scattered across the stones, and several vendors in coarse brown jackets lay rigid on the ground, blood seeping from their mouths, noses, and eyes.

Luo Bin could tell from where he stood that they were already dead...

The vendors must have refused to close their stalls, resulting in the tragedy before them. Nearby stood a foreign-owned department store, a cinema, and several restaurants. But they were all indoors, with none of them "encroaching on the street."

In the middle of the street, the two groups faced off. Neither side had guns in hand, but several men on one side clutched grenades.

According to an escort beside him, the men holding the grenades belonged to the Shuo Gang.

The other side was clearly outnumbered. Their men looked alarmed, and they were the Su Family's guards.

Several women collapsed over the bodies, wailing in anguish, but the Shuo Gang men's shouts drowned them out.

"What are you crying for? Keep it up, and we'll blow you up too!"

The leader had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He tossed a wooden-handled grenade in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the gathering vendors. "The magistrate has given his orders. Commissioner Cao's son will arrive in Ping City in three days. Every vendor along the streets of Shunzhi District must clear out by the end of today! Anyone who dares disobey will end up like them!"

He kicked the wonton stall beside him. The iron pot toppled over, spilling scalding broth across the ground. Several vendors who hadn't dodged in time yelped in pain, but not a single one dared step forward to protest.

Everyone knew the Shuo Gang had the Jiang Family and the city government behind it, and that its men had guns and cannons. If they provoked the gang, people like them, who scraped by at the bottom, could die without anyone caring.

The Su Family's leader was a middle-aged man in his forties named Su Changgeng. His face was red with anger.

"Brother, let's talk this out! Of course we'll cooperate when Commissioner Cao's son arrives, but you've got to give us some time, don't you? There are thousands of stalls along this long stretch of street, and tens of thousands of people depend on them for a living. If we clear them all out in a day, where are we supposed to go?"

"Where? I don't give a damn where you go!" The Shuo Gang's leader spat out his cigarette butt, grabbed Su Changgeng by the collar, and pressed the grenade against his temple. "Keep running your mouth, and I'll send you to see the King of Hell right now!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Get the hell out of my way! Anyone who dares come closer can find out what a grenade tastes like!"

At that moment, about fifty meters from the scene, in a stylish, semi-open room on the upper floor of a department store called Jinxi Stone, Chen Manqing was sipping tea and eating pastries.

A soft, delighted voice came from behind her. "Manqing, what are you doing here?"

Chen Manqing stopped halfway through raising a bite to her mouth and turned toward the voice. A man and a woman had come over from another shop. One of them was Miss Sun Shuhua of the Sun Family; the other was Miss Su Yu, the third branch of the Su Family, whom she had met once before.

Chen Manqing snorted. "The Sun Family is practically at war with the Chen Family now. You still dare talk to me?"

Sun Shuhua wore a pale yellow Western-style dress, her curled hair tied into playful twin ponytails. She carried a box of Western candies she had just bought. When she saw Chen Manqing, her eyes curved into crescents. She hurried over and sat down across from her as casually as an old friend.

"Oh, it's all just a dispute over interests. Besides, it was someone from your Chen Family who saved me last time... I still haven't properly thanked them..."

"By the way, this is my good friend Su Yu. We'd just gone out for a stroll when the Su Family ran into trouble... The Shuo Gang is clearing the street vendors outside, and they're being brutal about it. There was even an explosion just as we came upstairs.

"I don't know what those people are up to. And Su Yu is a young lady of the Su Family, after all, so I brought her upstairs to stay out of harm's way. Tell me, does our beautiful Manqing mind?"