The Reason

Wang Long's younger brother is the leader of the Iron Tiger Gang and an expert in Dark Energy.

Therefore, Qin Fang wanted to handle this matter as peacefully as possible.

He had assumed that by laying everything out on the table and keeping a low profile, there might be some room for a turnaround.

...Perhaps if Wang Long and his men saw that they couldn't squeeze any more oil and water out of him, they would just let it go?

After all, regardless of anything else... the fact remained that Wang Long and his men had saved his life.

If he had a choice, he wanted to honor that debt of gratitude.

But reality proved... he had thought too much.

Perhaps the peace of this recent period and his master's cold exterior but warm heart had made him almost forget that this was a world where people ate people.

And now, his broken finger brought him back to his senses completely.

Waves of pain from his index finger surged toward his brain, turning Qin Fang's face deathly pale.

Yet, he endured it expressionlessly... such pain, compared to what he had encountered while fleeing, was really nothing.

He followed far behind the group, and just as they were about to leave the alley entrance, Qin Fang noticed someone approaching them.

He vaguely heard a voice, that person asking ingratiatingly... Is that refugee the person you, Brother Dragon, are looking for?

Wang Long and the others responded with something, and then he saw a look of wild joy appear on that man's face, followed by a somewhat nervous question: "Then, then the interest..."

"Interest must be paid if it's owed; paying back debts is only natural, isn't it?" Mole-Face, standing beside Wang Long, squinted and smiled.

The man's expression shifted: "But, but didn't you say that as long as I confirmed it was him, then, then..."

"Then what?"

Mole-Face cut him off, his expression displeased: "Scar-Head Li, don't be ungrateful. You owe money to the Iron Tiger Gang; try not paying it and see what happens."

The man named Scar-Head Li's expression flickered repeatedly, and in the end, he wore a mournful face: "But, but I really don't have any money now. Brother Dragon, no matter what, please give me two more days, just two more days..."

Wang Long finally spoke slowly: "Fine, you brat did me a favor. How about this, I'll give you three more days... three days from now, five taels of silver, principal and interest included. No problem, right?"

"Fi, five taels?!"

"Hmm?"

"...Yes, I, I understand..."

The man hung his head in despair.

The others patted his shoulder and face with mocking smiles, exchanged a few more words, and finally left.

Left behind in the same spot was the utterly dejected Scar-Head Li.

Scar-Head Li stood at the alley entrance, looking lost and soul-broken, his head hanging low as he stared blankly.

Not long after, a hoarse voice sounded by his ear.

"Did you tell them where I live?"

Scar-Head Li was clearly stunned for a moment before he looked up.

Then he saw the deathly pale Qin Fang staring at him with calm eyes.

At this moment, Qin Fang saw the man clearly... no wonder he was called Scar-Head Li. He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a hunched, thin frame and dark skin. The key was that on his head, there were indeed two or three bald patches where no hair grew, looking quite ghastly.

When he saw Qin Fang, he was first stunned, but then his expression changed, and he instinctively turned to run.

Whoosh!

But the next moment, a sharp light suddenly caught up to him. He only felt a flash at the corner of his eye, followed by a burning sensation by his ear.

He instinctively reached up to touch it, and his pupils instantly constricted...

Blood!

He instinctively wanted to scream.

But before the cry could leave his throat, that hoarse voice sounded again: "Dare to make a sound, and the next time it will be your throat."

The man instantly clapped his hands over his mouth, swallowing the scream.

Then, he turned his head toward Qin Fang in terror.

Qin Fang was tall and thin, his face deathly pale, and at the same time, he saw the throwing knife with a red ribbon in the man's right hand.

Scar-Head Li was terrified, his whole body trembling, almost on the verge of tears: "Master, Master, please, I, I was wrong, I won't ever dare to do it again. Please spare my life, please don't kill me..."

A large gash appeared on his face, blood flowing out in a steady stream, and he was filled with extreme fear.

He knew the other man was a refugee.

At the same time, he had heard that those refugees were all ruthless and desperate men.

He hadn't believed it before, but now... he believed it!

The deathly pale Qin Fang saw the man concede and said calmly: "Pick up the throwing knife."

The man instinctively looked around, then saw the throwing knife that had fallen not far away. With a mournful face, he hurriedly ran over to retrieve it.

He handed it to Qin Fang with both hands, moving with extreme caution.

Qin Fang took the throwing dart, and then his calm voice sounded once more: "Did you bring them here?"

Scar-Head Li was on the verge of tears, but he immediately realized that the other party had likely already seen him meeting with the group across the street, and he wouldn't even know how to deny it if he tried.

He could only say with a sobbing tone: "Yes, Master, I was truly wrong, truly wrong... I beg you, I beg you..."

"Tell me, why did you tell them I live here?"

Qin Fang ignored his pleas and asked calmly.

The man was stunned for a moment, carefully observing Qin Fang's expression.

Seeing that Qin Fang did not show any particular emotion, but remained calm instead, his anxious mood seemed to ease slightly.

Then, he stammered out the ins and outs of the matter.

The situation was simpler than Qin Fang had imagined...

After he left Spring Return Hall, Wang Long and his group went to Spring Return Hall to look for him, only to be told by his master that he had already left. Naturally, Wang Long and his group were not willing to let it go just like that.

So, they naturally mobilized their connections, wanting to dig Qin Fang out.

And their "connections"... were, of course, the various ruffians of True Martial County.

In the process, they naturally described Qin Fang's physical appearance...

A tall, thin refugee.

Thin refugees were not rare.

But tall and thin, especially to the extent of Qin Fang's height... that was quite rare.

At one meter eighty, his height was very eye-catching in this world.

However, ever since Qin Fang left Spring Return Hall, he had stayed in the courtyard his master arranged for him and had not even stepped out the door... so the street ruffians naturally had nowhere to look.

And so, things were delayed.

But this Scar-Head Li was a notorious gambler who often wandered between various gambling dens in the vicinity.

As one of the local gangs in True Martial County, the Iron Tiger Gang naturally had gambling dens as well.

Yesterday, Scar-Head Li went to gamble again, lost a lot of money, and at the same time, the usury he borrowed from the Iron Tiger Gang was due, so Mole-Face and his group came to collect the debt.

Rack his brains as he might, Scar-Head Li suddenly remembered the search Wang Long and his group had conducted earlier.

...He was one of the residents of this "Ram Horn Alley."

As it happened, when Old Wu came to renovate the house for Qin Fang some time ago, he was present, and he had curiously watched from outside the door, catching a glimpse of Qin Fang.

Later, he happened to hear neighbors gossiping, all complaining about how that Qin Fang was a refugee and wondering why he had suddenly been taken in as an apprentice by Elder Wu...

Just as he was being pressed for the debt, he decided to treat a dead horse as a living one and told Wang Long and his group about this.

And when Wang Long and his group heard that it was the new apprentice taken in by Elder Wu of Spring Return Hall, and that he was tall, thin, and a refugee.

Needless to say, they almost instantly determined... this was the person they were looking for.

And so, today...

"...Master, Master, I, I really just said it offhandedly, I just wanted to delay paying back the money for a couple of days. No, I didn't really want to harm you..."

Scar-Head Li swore and cried as he explained.

Qin Fang's eyelid twitched as he looked at Scar-Head Li.

Case closed.

He hadn't expected that it was because of such a ruffian that he had fallen into his current predicament.

Then, he furrowed his brows tightly, pondered for a moment, and asked slowly: "Who else knows about this?"