Desperate Straits

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen, are you there?!"

The panicked cry shattered the silence of the courtyard.

Chen Jianghe looked up to see Zhou Yong stumbling into the yard.

His left arm was wrapped in blood-stained cloth, his face deathly pale, and his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

"Brother Zhou?" Chen Jianghe stepped forward quickly to steady him. "What happened?"

"The escort agency... the agency is in trouble!" Zhou Yong grabbed Chen Jianghe's arm. "Zhao Mingyuan... that son of a bitch Zhao Mingyuan has surrounded the agency with his men! He's demanding the Su Family hand over all their assets to settle their debts!"

Chen Jianghe's pupils constricted. "When did this happen?"

"Right now!" Zhou Yong gasped for air. "The Second Master collapsed from the stress the day before yesterday and hasn't woken up since. The Young Gang Leader has been running himself ragged these past few days, begging every bank and old acquaintance he could think of. But in this world... it's easy to add flowers to a brocade, but hard to provide charcoal in the snow."

He paused, his voice dropping lower. "A few days ago, in front of the Zuichun Brothel, that ungrateful wretch Zhao Mingyuan mocked the Young Gang Leader in front of all the guests, calling him a 'stray dog'..."

"The Young Gang Leader has been selling off family heirlooms these past few days, and even the sister-in-law pawned her dowry jewelry. After scraping everything together, they only managed to get a little over two hundred taels of gold." Zhou Yong wiped his face, his eyes filled with despair.

Chen Jianghe was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned and walked into the house.

Zhou Yong was stunned. "Brother Chen, you..."

"Wait for me a moment."

Zhou Yong stood dazed, and a moment later, Chen Jianghe emerged carrying a coarse cloth bundle.

He walked to the hidden compartment beneath his bed frame and pulled out three oilcloth-wrapped packages.

The first contained the two-hundred-tael gold note; the second held several dozen taels of broken silver; the third was the Phantom Shadow Steps manual.

Zhou Yong followed him to the door and watched as Chen Jianghe stuffed everything into his tunic. He froze. "Brother Chen, what are you doing..."

"Let's go." Chen Jianghe tightened his sash and tucked his Butchery Blade into his waistband. "To the escort agency."

"But the Young Gang Leader said..."

Chen Jianghe cut him off, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "I listened to my senior brother's words. But as a junior brother, I cannot stand by and watch him be bullied like this."

He paused and looked at Zhou Yong. "Can you still walk, Brother Zhou?"

Zhou Yong gritted his teeth and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I can!"

"Then let's go."

The two men rushed toward the Su Family Escort Agency, one after the other.

The atmosphere in front of the Su Family Escort Agency was tense, like a bowstring pulled to the breaking point.

The two black-lacquered gates stood wide open, and thirty or forty people were packed into the courtyard, divided into two factions.

One side consisted of Su Family Escort Guards and Pathfinders—about twenty men in total. They stood in a semicircle, clutching blades and staves to protect the main hall steps, but every one of them looked terrified, many nursing wounds and breathing raggedly.

The other side had only a dozen men, yet their presence was overbearing.

Three men stood at the forefront.

On the left was Li Tian, sharp-faced and thin-lipped, arms crossed with a sneer of undisguised mockery on his lips.

On the right was an eighteen-year-old youth in a fine silk robe with a jade belt, his expression cold and stern—this was Chen Wanglong. He scanned the Su family members with indifferent eyes.

And in the center stood a man in a profound black robe, a long blade at his waist and a hard, stony face: Zhao Mingyuan.

Behind him stood seven or eight martial artists in tight-fitting gear, all breathing with steady, controlled power. Each was at least at the Bright Strength level, clearly elite guards carefully cultivated by the Zhao Family.

On the steps, Su Derong stood alone.

He wore a moon-white silk robe today, his hair neatly combed, and he continued to wave his folding fan, though the rhythm was faster than usual.

"Instructor Zhao," Su Derong began, his voice neither high nor low. "It is only right and proper to pay one's debts. The Su Family Escort Agency has hit a rough patch, but we have not yet reached the point of selling off our ancestral property. Give me three months to cover the four-hundred-tael gold deficit, and I will pay it back in full, with interest."

Li Tian let out a scoff. "Three months? Junior Brother Su, don't you know the state of your agency? You lost five more men on your last escort run, and you can't even pay the death benefits. Take a piece of advice from your Second Senior Brother: hand over this sinking ship now, and you might still keep a shred of dignity."

The Su family members glared at him upon hearing this.

Wang Gui let out a muffled grunt and started to charge forward, but was held back firmly by Zhao Tieshan at his side.

"Li Tian," the smile on Su Derong's face faded slightly. "The affairs of the Su Family are not for an outsider like you to interfere with."

"An outsider?" Li Tian laughed loudly. "The money your Su Family owes is owed to the Third Master of the Zhao Family's branch! The debt note is right here, in black and white, with the thumbprint!"

He pulled a debt note from his tunic, shook it open, and waved it at the crowd. "Black and white, stamped with the seal of the Su Family Escort Agency, and signed by the Second Master, Su Jingming! A loan of four hundred taels of gold, with three percent monthly interest. If not repaid on time, all assets of the agency are to be forfeited as collateral!"

Su Derong's hand tightened slightly inside his sleeve, but he kept the smile on his face. "Yes, the note is genuine. But it was agreed that if an emergency occurred, the deadline could be extended by three months. Now that the Su Family is in crisis, according to the rules..."

"Rules?" Zhao Mingyuan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

The two words fell, and the courtyard went deathly quiet.

His cold eyes fixed on Su Derong as he said slowly, "Su Derong, the rules of the pugilistic world are for those with the strength to enforce them. What strength does your Su Family have left now?"

Zhao Mingyuan took a step forward, his boots thudding against the stone tiles. "I didn't come here today to discuss rules. I came to collect a debt."

He raised a hand and pointed to the Indigo Escort Flag standing before the shadow wall. "Take down the flag. The estate, the warehouses, the carriages, and the horses—all will be seized at a discount to settle the debt. And if that isn't enough—"

His gaze landed on the mutton-fat jade pendant at Su Derong's waist: "The trinkets on your person will also be used to settle the debt. Perhaps that will make it a round number."

Su Derong took a deep breath, pulled a bulging brocade pouch from his robes, and tossed it toward Zhao Mingyuan: "There are two hundred and twenty taels of gold here! The remaining one hundred and eighty taels, within three months..."

Zhao Mingyuan reached out to catch the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and casually passed it to the attendant behind him.

The attendant untied the pouch on the spot and counted the contents carefully under the sunlight. A moment later, he looked up: "Instructor Zhao, it is indeed two hundred and twenty taels."

Zhao Mingyuan nodded and looked at Su Derong: "You are still short one hundred and eighty taels."

"I said, three months..."

"Before noon today." Zhao Mingyuan interrupted him, his tone brook no argument. "The promissory note is written clearly: if not repaid by the deadline, assets will be seized to cover the debt. Young Gang Leader Su, you recognize these words, don't you?"

Su Derong's face turned ashen.

Below the steps, low sobs could be heard among the Su Family members—these were the families of several veteran Pathfinders who had been summoned today, forced to watch as their livelihood was driven to a dead end.

Seeing this, Li Tian laughed even more heartily: "Junior Brother Su, why insist on holding out? Hand over the escort agency, and your Su Family might still have a way to survive. If this truly goes to the magistrate, it won't be a pretty sight."

Chen Wanglong suddenly spoke up, his voice cold: "Instructor Zhao, time is precious."

Zhao Mingyuan nodded and waved to those behind him: "Go in and inventory the assets. If anyone blocks you..."

His gaze swept over the Su Family members: "Treat it as trespassing, regardless of whether they live or die."

"Yes!"

Seven or eight Zhao Family Bodyguards responded in unison and stepped forward.

The Su Family Escort Guards gripped their blades and staves, yet no one dared to actually strike—the opposition was the Zhao Family, one of the Five Great Families of the inner city. If they truly fought back, not only would they be doomed, but the entire Su Family would be unable to escape disaster.

Su Derong stood on the steps, watching those bodyguards close in step by step, watching the desperate eyes of his own people, watching this escort agency that his grandfather had built with his own hands, his father had painstakingly managed, and he himself had grown up in...

His fan slowly drooped.

He closed his eyes.

At that very instant—

"Wait."

A calm voice drifted in from outside the courtyard gate.

Everyone turned to look toward the sound.

Chen Jianghe stepped into the courtyard, Zhou Yong following behind him; his face remained pale, yet his back was held straight.