The Qian Brothers

Back home.

Li Yun immediately dealt with the wild rabbit, gutting it, cleaning out its entrails, and skinning it...

Using the resin from the pine and cypress trees, he lit a fire.

He had to finish all this before it got completely dark.

Candles and oil lamps were precious to ordinary people.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, Li Yun got ready and set out for the county seat.

Several villages were scattered around Crow Mountain.

Thirty or forty li to the east lay the only city nearby, Wushan County.

Just as Li Yun was imagining himself joining the Martial Hall and training in martial arts, someone who shouldn't have been there appeared in the distance.

The eldest of the Qian Brothers.

Li Yun sensed something was off, so before the other man could spot him, he turned and took another mountain path.

He hadn't gone far when he spotted someone else.

Qian Second.

"He's after me!"

When Li Yun turned around, sure enough, Qian Third was already blocking the way behind him.

"Li Yun, what are you doing heading to the county seat this early?"

"We've run out of food at home, so I was going to buy some in town. What are you three big brothers doing here?"

The three men were village thugs from Li Yun's village. With strength in numbers, they threw their weight around and acted like tyrants.

He Xiuyong had come to the village to collect the Peace Fee. When he happened to let slip that he was fond of their sister, the three fools rushed to marry her off to him.

After that, with a body-tempering martial artist backing them, the brothers grew even more brazen.

Petty villains were hard to deal with, so Li Yun had always kept his distance.

He never expected to get cornered here today.

"Why are you pretending?

Our Mountain Gang has a monopoly on all the mountain goods from Crow Mountain.

You brat, you've secretly sold wild game in the county seat several times.

The amount and types didn't match what you registered when you came down from the mountain.

Well, look at you—you're even hiding your catches now?!"

?

That meat-stall owner really was a piece of work.

Li Yun had considered this problem when he first sold his game.

So he'd sold the goods for eighty percent of the market price, and the owner had nodded and agreed not to tell anyone.

With his storage space, Li Yun could have kept everything and sold it all at once later.

But a man had to eat.

The game he sold openly wasn't enough to fill his stomach.

Drawing a bow and shooting arrows took a lot of strength.

Since it was the only skill he currently had to survive, Li Yun practiced it at home whenever he had time.

It took a lot out of him, and he couldn't live on meat alone, so he had to sell some of his game in secret.

"That's slander! Someone's slandering me!"

"Enough whining. You've got two choices now.

"First, pay the rest of the Peace Fee right away, then join the Mountain Gang and become our underling. Once you're one of us, we can turn a blind eye.

"Second, we'll take the money ourselves."

Li Yun glanced at the Qian Brothers. They were about his size, and Qian Second and Qian Third had clubs in their hands.

He put on a fawning smile.

"Big brothers, I'll pay, I'll pay!

"But could you wait until I've bought the food and let me pay you back when I return?

"It's not like I can run away!"

Qian Second held a club in his right hand and tapped it lightly against his left palm, making a series of smacking sounds.

He came closer to Li Yun, one step at a time.

"Kid, you want to use our money to buy food? You must be tired of living."

"Li Yun, tell me your choice now."

Qian Eldest seemed to be running out of patience, too.

Li Yun calculated his odds. If he could put some distance between them...

"Qian Eldest, I'll take the first option. I'll pay and join you."

"That's more like it. Hand over the money."

As Qian Eldest held out his hand, Li Yun pretended to rummage through his pockets.

He pulled out a few dozen copper coins.

"Brother, I really was going to buy food. This is all the money I have."

Qian Eldest pocketed the coins, then immediately frisked him.

Only after confirming he really had nothing else did he say with a fake smile, "I believe you. But we still have to hand this money over, and we can't delay.

"If my brother-in-law hadn't held things up, the Mountain Gang would have hung you up as a warning to the other troublemakers.

"So after you join us, you'd better do a good job and repay our kindness."

Qian Eldest put a hand on Li Yun's neck and led him toward the village.

He didn't forget to feed Li Yun a few grand promises.

"Let's go to your place right now and get the silver you made from selling game, plus the fine.

"Once we're done for the day, my brothers and I will take you out tonight to celebrate your joining."

"A fine?"

Li Yun had deliberately limited how much game he sold.

When someone had the upper hand, you paid up and that was that.

But the Qian Brothers seemed even greedier than he'd expected.

"Of course.

"If everyone secretly hid their catches and sold them in town, then either they'd get away with it and make money, or they'd get caught and just hand over the silver.

"Wouldn't that throw everything into chaos?"

Qian Eldest looked at Li Yun as if he'd never seen the world.

"But since you've already joined our Mountain Gang, you're one of us now, so we can charge you a little less.

"How about this? I'll round it down. Just twenty taels."

Heh.

Three low-ranking Mountain Gang thugs didn't have the authority to do that.

"But, brother, what if I don't have twenty taels?"

"You're quite the joker."

Qian Eldest had been grinning, but when Li Yun said he had no money, his face immediately fell. Then, as if he'd thought of something, his expression turned lecherous.

"It's not that I won't give you a way out.

"You've got a pretty face.

"A lot of rich young masters fleeing the disasters down south have arrived in town lately.

"Quite a few of them are into that sort of thing.

"If you seize the chance, you might just rise above your station and become a man of means!"

Qian Second and Qian Third both snickered when they heard this.

Li Yun grinned, showing all his teeth.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Qian Eldest. If I get the chance, I'll make sure to thank you properly."

After walking a little farther, he suddenly clutched his stomach and sucked in a breath.

"Ah... Ouch, Qian Eldest, I can't hold it. My stomach's upset."

Without waiting for an answer, Li Yun ran straight toward the hillside.

A flicker of suspicion crossed Qian Eldest's face, but he knew Li Yun well enough and didn't think much of it. He simply told his younger brother to follow.

"Third, go keep an eye on him."

Qian Third nodded and went after him.

Li Yun didn't run very far, only about forty or fifty paces. He picked a small hill where he could observe everything.

Standing atop the slope, he had a commanding view of the broad landscape. Li Yun's smile vanished, and he asked the three men solemnly, "Big brothers, I'll pay the Peace Fee for the game I sold.

"But I really don't have twenty taels.

"Could you give me a chance?"

It was his first time doing this, and Li Yun wanted to give himself an excuse—and give them one last chance.

The Qian Brothers didn't understand what he meant. They just thought the kid really did need a lesson.

"Second, Third, I think this kid won't learn until he sees the coffin. Let's do it!"

At the last moment, Qian Eldest added, "Since we're already going to do it, hit him hard. Don't leave us any trouble."

"All right."

"I've wanted to do it for ages. You're the one who wouldn't let me."

He'd given them a chance, but they hadn't known how to cherish it.

Hearing the Qian Brothers' answer, Li Yun hesitated no longer and pushed aside all other thoughts.

He took out his bow and arrows, nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and aimed...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~