Red Scarf Bandits

"This kid, he runs so fast every day after school, like he's rushing to be reincarnated!" Barry smacked his lips, watching Zhang Tie wave his hand and vanish without a trace, and said with some helplessness.

"Is he going to work at the grocery store?" Shavin added.

"He only goes to that grocery store twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. He already went yesterday, and today is Friday. What would he go there for?" Barry explained.

"Maybe he's just in a hurry to get home!" Ever since reconciling with Zhang Tie, Doug spoke up for him for once.

"A man who runs home the moment school ends is a man without ambition," Baghdad said from the side, arms crossed, with a hint of pride.

"Then what are your plans?" Light asked Baghdad.

"I'm planning to try my luck at the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall. This weekend, they're hiring a few part-time servers. If I can get in, I'll have the chance to use their training equipment for free. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll even run into some experts who can give me a few pointers!"

"Alright then, good luck. That place is the territory of the rich. I heard that guy Gelis goes to the martial hall to train for several hours every day after school..." Light shrugged.

"Gelis goes to the Blazing Fire Martial Hall; that's one of the best martial halls in Black Flame City!" Baghdad's tone was filled with envy. "If only they were hiring student servers too!"

Baghdad's words made Barry roll his eyes.

"What about you, Light? Any plans for the weekend?" Shavin asked Light.

Light hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth. "My dad is taking me to visit an old friend of his this weekend. That old friend just arrived in Black Flame City a couple of days ago and was appointed as the deputy manager for the Storm Merchant Group here. Dad probably wants to take me to pull some strings and prepare for the future! What about you, Shavin?"

"I'm going to be a tutor this weekend. I can earn 40 coppers a day!" Shavin said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Your old man is really stingy. You're only 15, and he's already making you earn money to support the family on weekends!" Doug said naively.

"Well, Shavin has two younger brothers. A big brother's responsibilities aren't light!"

"That's true. So, Sista, what about you this weekend?"

"Hehe, I saved up a little money this month, so I can go relax this weekend!" Sista said, constantly thrusting his hips and making suggestive motions.

"You're something else. You saved your allowance for a month and didn't even eat breakfast just for one day—would you die if you didn't visit a prostitute?" Baghdad said with disdain.

"I would die if I didn't! After my first time, I realized I was born to live for women..." Sista answered seriously, then hooked his arm around Barry's shoulder, and the two began whispering to each other...

And so, with the weekend arriving, the core members of the Airplane Brotherhood chatted idly at the school gate for a while before heading their separate ways.

As for Zhang Tie, he was currently sprinting through the small alleys near the school. After running about two blocks away, he finally arrived at a place he had visited countless times: the tram station on Wesley Street. Zhang Tie stood at the entrance of an alley next to the station, breathing heavily, watching the street corner quietly. For the past two years, he had waited here countless times, and most of the time, he could see the person he was waiting for. In the past, he would wait at the school gate with many others and follow that person for nearly two whole blocks. But ever since that terrifying One-Eyed Dragon arrived at the school and started pursuing her, all the students who had been bold enough to follow her were dealt with by the One-Eyed Dragon, to the point that no one dared to follow her after school anymore. Only Zhang Tie persisted. Zhang Tie didn't dare to follow her directly either, so he found this spot. As long as it wasn't a day he had to work, Zhang Tie would arrive here ahead of time every day after school, just to get a good look at her. Even if it was just for a glance, Zhang Tie felt satisfied.

After waiting quietly for more than ten minutes, she walked out from the street corner about 40 meters away from the station, just as she always did. The moment he saw Teacher Daina, Zhang Tie felt that what he was seeing wasn't a person, but a painting—a living, breathing painting. The moment Teacher Daina appeared, the whole world seemed to gain color and come to life. The 15-year-old boy felt as if his breathing had stopped.

Teacher Daina walked over from the distance and arrived at the station, standing with her back to Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie stood at the alley entrance, twenty meters away, staring blankly at Teacher Daina's back. It was the most beautiful back, with the most beautiful hair, the most beautiful figure, wearing the most beautiful clothes, revealing the most beautiful stretch of calf, and those deadly, sexy black high heels. Zhang Tie felt that Teacher Daina was the embodiment of a goddess.

Teacher Daina's hair must smell wonderful, just like the scent on her body! Looking at Teacher Daina's beautiful hair, Zhang Tie thought to himself. He wondered what it would feel like to touch it, and the boy drifted into a fantasy...

On the station platform, there had been a few passengers waiting for the tram, talking loudly. After Teacher Daina arrived, Zhang Tie noticed that their voices suddenly dropped. The two gentlemen who had been sitting on the bench reading newspapers quietly straightened their backs, and one guy even turned his head to check his reflection in the station's billboard, secretly smoothing out his hair.

Zhang Tie actually hoped that the tram Teacher Daina was waiting for would never come, so he could keep watching her silently like this. But just five minutes later, the Black Flame City tram slowly pulled toward the station from the distance. All the trams in the city were essentially smaller versions of trains, with narrower tracks, smaller engines, lower-power steam units, slower speeds, and smaller carrying capacities—naturally, they were better suited for use within the city.

As it pulled into the station, the tram slowed down, and a puff of steam vented from the deceleration valve at the rear of the carriage. The conductor stood with one foot on the carriage door, leaning half his body out, ringing a bell and shouting to remind passengers to pay their fares. The people at the station began to board...

It wasn't until Teacher Daina boarded the tram and it slowly pulled away into the distance that Zhang Tie finally withdrew his gaze, feeling a sense of loss. Then, carrying a mood he couldn't quite put into words, he started on his way home.

Because it was the weekend, Zhang Tie's brother, Zhang Yang, was also coming home. According to tradition, Friday was the day the Zhang family never failed to have a reunion dinner, so the Friday meal was exceptionally hearty. Mom had cooked a pot of kidney beans with the last half of the bacon they had left. When Zhang Tie got home, he smelled the familiar aroma of the meat broth before he even entered the door. When he saw the milky-white broth bubbling with oil in the clay pot on the small stove, his appetite was instantly piqued. He picked up the spoon from the pot, scooped up a spoonful of broth, puffed out his cheeks to blow on it hard, and drank it in one gulp, not caring that it was still hot. A flavor that Zhang Tie felt could only be described as "happiness" slid into his mouth.

"You little glutton, if you're hungry, go ahead and dish yourself a bowl to tide you over!" Mom walked over from the storefront and ruffled Zhang Tie's hair with affection, just as she had for over a decade, never changing.

Zhang Tie swallowed his saliva. "No, I'm not hungry. I'll wait for Dad and Brother to get back!"

"Our Guoguo has grown up!" Mom said as she tied her apron. "Your dad has to work overtime today, so he'll probably be a bit late. You go watch the shop, I'll cook!"

"Alright!"

Half an hour later, Zhang Tie's dad returned, greeted Zhang Tie, and went into the kitchen to help. Another twenty minutes passed, and just as Zhang Tie was sitting at the table, thinking Zhang Yang wouldn't make it, Zhang Yang arrived.

Zhang Yang was 1.88 meters tall, with a sturdy build and long, slender hands. His face was somewhat similar to Zhang Tie's, though his eyes and eyebrows were more narrow and elongated, carrying a hint of elusive, sharp intelligence. Zhang Yang wore the dark black uniform of the Black Flame City City Guard, with a yellow brass-buckled leather belt around his waist, from which a standard-issue longsword hung. The rank on his shoulder was Sergeant; as a squad leader in the City Guard, he was only one step away from becoming an officer.

From childhood to adulthood, this brother had always been the idol Zhang Tie worshipped.

Zhang Yang returned home carrying a backpack. Without a word, he opened it and pulled out two items, thrusting them into Zhang Tie's hands. "Here, take these, open them up—just enough for our family to have a meal!"

"Canned beef!" Zhang Tie's eyes lit up as he took the items, his mouth watering instantly. He hadn't expected his brother to bring back such good stuff this time.

"You sit down, I'll go prepare it..." Mom took the two cans from Zhang Tie's hands without a word. While she was in the kitchen getting bowls and chopsticks for Zhang Yang, she tucked one of the cans into a cupboard, opening only one. The three men at the table all smiled. Mom was always calculating when it came to running the household; sometimes she could split a single copper in two. The whole family was used to it.

"Brother, what else good do you have?" Zhang Tie looked with burning eyes at the backpack in Zhang Yang's hands; it was still bulging, and there were many things left inside. In Zhang Tie's eyes, his brother was sometimes like a magician, always able to pull out all sorts of things.

"Here, these are all for you!" Zhang Yang tossed the entire bag to Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie opened it impatiently. The first things to catch his eye were a pair of black leather training shoes, two dark green undershirts, two pairs of dark green underwear, a towel, and a bar of soap. The shoes, shirts, underwear, towel, and soap were all personal daily necessities issued to the Black Flame City City Guard. These items were hot commodities on the black market in Black Flame City, and his brother had saved them from his own rations to bring home for him. Looking at the brand-new leather shoes and then at the worn-out, frayed pair on his brother's feet, Zhang Tie felt a slight sting in his nose.

"I traded for these items with some people; the sizes are just right for you. Mom says you're a big man now, so don't go crying!" Zhang Yang said, reaching out a large hand to mess up Zhang Tie's hair.

Zhang Tie, whose nose was stinging, felt incredibly embarrassed upon hearing his brother's last remark. He was instantly both ashamed and annoyed, yet his brother found the whole thing hilarious, turning to say something to their dad, who laughed heartily. Neither of them cared how awkward the young boy's heart felt at that moment.

"Mom!" Zhang Tie shouted in protest.

"Alright, alright, let's eat, let's eat. I won't say it again, okay?" Mom walked over, carrying a plate of the opened canned beef with a carefree air.

The family began to eat, the atmosphere warm and harmonious...

"Don't go running around outside at night for a while," Zhang Yang said to Zhang Tie at the dinner table. "Black Flame City might be a bit unstable lately!"

"What's wrong?" Dad became a bit nervous, and Mom pricked up her ears. Only Zhang Tie was chewing on a piece of beef tendon in his bowl, feeling a bit depressed. "Did you hear some news?"

"A few days ago, the Red Scarf Bandit Group's second-in-command, the Bloody Hand Butcher Sara, was captured in Andaman City. Yesterday, the Alliance Council voted and had Sara hanged. The Red Scarf Bandit Group has released a message saying they are going to carry out a crazed retaliation!"

"This... surely they won't come looking for Black Flame City, right?" Dad asked skeptically.

"When the vote was held on whether to execute the Bloody Hand Butcher, 11 out of the 17 city-state representatives of the Andaman City-State Alliance voted in favor. The representative from Black Flame City also cast a vote in favor. Somehow, the results of that vote were leaked, and the Red Scarf Bandit Group set their sights on those 11 members of the Alliance who voted for the execution. Since Black Flame City is located in a relatively remote area at the northernmost tip of the Alliance, surrounded by regions where the Alliance's influence is weak, it is the most likely target for an attack by the Red Scarf Bandit Group!" my older brother said calmly.

"Has the Alliance fallen so low? How could the voting results of the Alliance Council be leaked? There must be a conspiracy here. To think that there are actually people who want to spare the lives of those conscience-less butchers from the Red Scarf Bandit Group..." Dad said, sounding somewhat cynical.

"I don't know about any conspiracies, but for the next two months, all leave for the City Guard of Black Flame City has been canceled. I won't be able to come home for the next two months," my brother said, spreading his hands.

"Son, is there any danger?" Mom asked, looking worried.

"Don't worry, Mom. The Red Scarf Bandit Group doesn't have the manpower to lay siege to a city. The city defenses and fortifications of Black Flame City aren't just for show. At most, they will only lurk in the shadows to commit acts of terror and sabotage. The pressure on the City Guard isn't that great; you all just need to be a bit more careful yourselves!"

Zhang Tie opened his mouth, wanting to tell them about the Castle of Black Iron he had acquired at that very moment. However, his inner reason told him that if this secret were revealed to his family, it might bring an unpredictable disaster upon them. After all, whether it was himself, his brother, or even his parents, they were all just small figures in Black Flame City. Zhang Tie had heard stories before of small figures obtaining treasures, but in the end, those people rarely met a good fate. Perhaps keeping this secret buried in his heart forever and not letting his parents worry was the best choice...

After dinner, my brother left. Dad went out to play chess with neighbors in the area, which was his greatest hobby, and Mom headed to the church. After locking the door, Zhang Tie was the only one left in the house. Once he finished washing the dishes, he returned to his small room.

Now, it was time to study the secrets of that Castle of Black Iron once again...