Fangs

"Greetings, Master Hu. Why have you come to this wretched place so late at night?" Xu Yang hunched his shoulders and lowered his head, trying his best to keep Li Hu from noticing the changes in his physique.

Because it was dark, Li Hu truly could not see the changes in Xu Yang.

He strode over, stopped three paces away from Xu Yang, and said, "The Old Madam's birthday is approaching, and the He Shicai family still hasn't paid their birthday tribute. I'm going to his place to see exactly what kind of nerve they have to dare withhold the Old Madam's gift."

His tone was gentle, as if he were merely chatting about household affairs.

But the words he spoke made Xu Yang's heart sink.

He Shicai's home was not far from his own. The family of five had been able to scrape by, but two months ago, when He Shicai went out, he encountered thugs; not only was his money stolen, but he was also beaten half to death and had been bedridden ever since.

With the family's breadwinner fallen, the family could barely afford to eat, let alone have extra money.

"Perhaps they forgot!"

"Let's not talk about these annoying matters; these peasants are never worry-free, they all deserve a beating." Li Hu changed the subject, saying, "I heard you've struck it rich, kid, and found connections to work in the city."

Extorting the blood and sweat of others was, to him, merely an annoying matter.

While mentally cursing Li Hu's female relatives, Xu Yang forced a smile and said, "Master Hu, you jest. I'm just working like a beast of burden to earn a living; I'm nothing in your presence."

"Don't be modest. Your uncle is an accountant for the Huang Family, a man of high status and power. The job he arranged for you couldn't be bad."

Li Hu wore a wide smile and slapped his heavy hand onto Xu Yang's shoulder, laughing, "My luck has been poor lately, and I've lost quite a bit. Since you've struck it rich, lend me a few taels of silver to tide me over. I'll pay you back once I'm flush again."

He had originally arranged for men to go to the mines to kill Xu Yang, but he hadn't expected that by the time they arrived, they would find Xu Yang no longer worked there. Upon inquiring, he learned that Xu Yang had gone to the city to work.

Coming here today was primarily to find an excuse to trouble Xu Yang, and incidentally, to use the He Shicai family's situation to intimidate him.

Of course, if Xu Yang could produce a few taels of silver, he would let him live a few days longer.

"Master Hu, you must be joking. If you wanted to borrow a few coins, I could manage that, but a few taels of silver? I've never even seen that much money."

Xu Yang knew the trouble had likely arrived; Li Hu was beginning to squeeze him.

This was the Tri-Union Gang's standard tactic: first intimidate, and if that didn't work, use underhanded, ruthless methods to ruin your family.

"So... you're not giving me, Li Hu, any face? You don't want to lend me money?" Li Hu's smile vanished instantly, his voice turning cold. "Ah Yang, you should know that no one has ever refused Master Hu. Asking to borrow money from you is giving you face."

The two lackeys behind him stepped forward in unison, cracking their knuckles, looking ready to strike.

"Yes, yes... of course I know that Master Hu asking to borrow money from me is giving me face, but I truly don't have it."

Xu Yang took a deep breath and said, "How about this, Master Hu? Give me a few days. I'll ask my uncle to borrow it; a few taels should be manageable."

The smile returned to Li Hu's face. "I knew you were a sensible kid, Ah Yang. You'll help Master Hu with this favor. I'll come find you in a few days to collect."

"There's no need for you to come personally, Master Hu. Once I have the money, I'll bring it to your house."

Li Hu became even more pleased. "Good, good, good. If everyone were as righteous as you, Ah Yang, there wouldn't be so many annoying problems."

With that, he took his two lackeys and strode away.

"Master Hu, can that kid really borrow a few taels of silver?" one of the lackeys asked.

Don't let their arrogance fool you; a few taels of silver was a large sum even for them.

Most of the money the Tri-Union Gang extorted went into the pockets of the gang leader; they were just scraping by themselves.

"His uncle works for the Huang Family and earns two taels a month in salary, so a few taels is just pocket change. Don't touch this kid for now; let's squeeze some more out of him before we move. And don't talk about this to anyone else. If the gang finds out, we won't get a single hair of it," Li Hu cautioned.

Xu Yang had a cowardly personality; as long as Hu Qing wasn't involved, he would basically submit.

"Don't worry, Master Hu, we aren't idiots. We won't tell anyone about such a good deal."

A few taels of silver—aren't you afraid of choking to death on so much?

With his current expenses for martial arts training, it was impossible for Xu Yang to produce a few taels of silver.

He watched the three men walk away until they were far off before he finally headed home.

He called him "Master Hu" only because of the Tri-Union Gang's influence. Li Hu was merely a low-level thug in the Tri-Union Gang who collected protection fees; he was just an ordinary person.

His home was in a village near White Stone Ward. In his early years, his family was poor, and when the Tri-Union Gang came to establish their territory, he joined them by relying on his ruthlessness. He was neither a big shot nor a martial artist.

If he had wanted to act, he could have killed all three of them right then and there, but this was not the place for it.

Shortly after returning home, he heard crying and the sound of smashing coming from not far away.

Li Hu and his two men had smashed the He Shicai home to pieces, leaving only after spewing a string of filth.

As they passed Xu Yang's door, Li Hu even took the opportunity to remind him not to forget his promise, clearly using the He Shicai family's plight to intimidate him.

"Brother, what did you promise him?" Hu Qing's face was deathly pale.

The crying of the He Shicai children had frightened her, as they were all her playmates.

"I promised him I'd pay the residence fee early next month."

Xu Yang replied casually, told Xu Qing to stay quietly at home, and walked toward the He Shicai house.

The door to the He Shicai home had been torn off, the bed they slept on was smashed to bits, and the man lay on the ground unconscious. His wife sat with her hair disheveled, blood flowing from her nose and mouth, her cheeks swollen and red; there was no telling how many times she had been slapped.

Three children under the age of ten were trembling, hiding in a corner and crying their hearts out.

The neighbors who had rushed over to help began comforting the children, while others helped set the bed back up and cleared away the shattered pots and bowls from the floor.

The door was already beyond repair, completely ruined.

After Xu Yang finished helping with the cleanup, he returned home and went straight to bed; he had been exhausted all day and was worn out to the point of collapse.

In the middle of the night, he was awakened by a burst of wailing. He pushed his door open and stepped out to find the sound coming from He Shicai's house.

He Shicai, who had been bedridden for two months, was dead!

It was said that after he was revived and saw his home smashed to pieces, he had coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted again; he had only managed to hang on until midnight before passing away.

Xu Yang did not go to He Shicai's house to help again, but instead had Xu Qing scoop two bowls of brown rice from the rice jar to send over, while he continued to sleep, conserving his energy.

He did not know if He Shicai could be considered a victim of his own misfortune, but Li Hu had already bared his fangs, and he could not just sit and wait for death.

The next day, He Shicai was buried without any ceremony.

Forget a thin wooden coffin; there wasn't even a straw mat. It was only because someone couldn't bear to watch that they donated one, finally giving He Shicai something to be wrapped in.

Xu Yang went to Wei Yuan Hall as usual, but he stopped training in the afternoon and found a cool, shaded corner to go straight to sleep.

Everyone assumed he had started to give up and couldn't help but shake their heads in secret, never expecting that he would be the second one to quit.

By dinnertime, Xu Yang was woken up by Zhang Hong, and the two of them went to the canteen together.

After eating, Xu Yang returned to White Stone Ward and continued to sleep.

At the second watch, a figure darted out from Xu Yang's house and vanished into the night.