When Others Give Me an Inch of Respect, I Return Them a Yard

"Pan Household?"

"They've mobilized such a force—what are they trying to do?"

"Let's see what this is all about!"

Hearing the shouts, passersby hurriedly moved aside, but they did not go far. From a distance, they watched closely.

The Pan Household wielded great influence. A family of poetry and books, it had produced officials and gentry for generations, and was quite renowned throughout Yuanning Prefecture.

Amid the swirling dust, seven tall horses came galloping out. The men upon them were broad and powerfully built—the very image of "tall men on great horses."

Neigh!

This troop raced forward. After the leading rider passed the covered carriage carrying the Liu Household, he wheeled his horse around and stopped directly in front of it, blocking its path.

Clop, clop, clop!

The other six great horses caught up and spread out to either side, surrounding the entire carriage.

The driver had already slowed when the riders shouted. Seeing this, how could he dare continue? He hurriedly stopped the carriage, climbed down, and clasped his hands. "Gentlemen, I am from Yuanning Carriage Company..."

Before the driver could finish, the lead rider waved him off. "Cut the nonsense. Is Liu Huai's family in that carriage?"

The driver did not dare argue and nodded.

The rider nodded as well. "Good. Liu Huai and his family received great kindness from the Pan Household, yet repaid kindness with enmity. After being dismissed by the household, they bore a grudge and joined forces with a demon-tainted man last night to murder the Pan Household's master. We have come under orders to arrest them! You're merely a carriage company man and have nothing to do with this. Move aside at once."

"Th-this..." Hearing this, the driver recalled that both he and the Liu Household had spent the previous night at an inn, far from Yuanning City. How could the Liu family have gone to harm the Pan Household's master? He instinctively wanted to argue, but before he could speak, the other man shot him a cold, vicious glare. His heart jolted, and he immediately fell silent, retreating to one side.

"What does he mean by that?"

"The people in the carriage harmed the Pan Household's master?"

"The Pan Household's master was attacked? Dead? When did it happen?"

"Who is in that carriage? Do they really have such ability?"

The travelers nearby had all heard the riders' words. Their expressions changed as they whispered among themselves, but when they saw the people getting down from the carriage, their tone quickly shifted, and doubt appeared on their faces.

"What is going on? The carriage holds only the old, the weak, women, and children? And a frail scholar—only one of them looks to have any strength at all."

"People like that could kill the Pan Household's master?"

"One cannot judge by appearances. In the martial world, old men and children often have their own means; they are not to be taken lightly."

Leaving aside the spectators' words, the riders' bearing was overwhelmingly imposing. First they had shouted for the road to be cleared, then they had directly surrounded the carriage. How could Liu Huai and the others inside have failed to notice? Once they heard the accusation, Liu Huai, Liu-shi, and the rest immediately turned pale and climbed down in panic.

"Th-this... Xie," Liu Huai said anxiously as soon as he got down. He recognized the leader of the riders as one of the martial arts experts recruited by the household and did not dare slight him. "From what you said just now, has something happened to the master? But this has nothing to do with my Liu Household. Last night, we..."

Seated high on horseback, Xie looked down at him and cut him off expressionlessly. "Whether this has anything to do with you will be judged by the Young Master once you return. I am only here under orders to take you back. There is no point in saying more. Gather your things and come with me."

At that moment, Liu Yue stepped forward. "Xie, may I ask where the master was killed?"

Xie glanced at him and squeezed two words through clenched teeth. "Pan Household."

"That proves it. Our family spent last night at an inn more than ten li from the city. How could anything that happened at the residence possibly involve us? Besides, my Liu Household received great kindness from the Pan Household and has yet to repay it. Why would we return kindness with enmity? And the residence is filled with experts. My Liu Household..." As he spoke, he pointed at the women and children beside him, as well as Qiu Yan. "We truly do not have that ability."

When these words were spoken, the surrounding spectators secretly nodded, feeling that they made sense.

Xie narrowed his eyes and gave Liu Yue a long look before saying, "Save those excuses for the Young Master after you return. I am only here to bring you back. But judging by the look of you, you will not willingly come along. Steward Zheng gave orders long ago: if you resist arrest, do not blame me for showing no mercy. Do it! Just like in the city—break their legs, then take them back!"

"Understood!"

The burly men on the six horses answered in unison. Each raised a hand and flicked his wrist, sending his riding whip lashing through the air. One of them struck directly at Qiu Yan.

Qiu Yan quickly retreated two steps, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes.

The Liu Household left ahead of time. No one would suspect them, so why send men to arrest them? The Liu Household is weak. If they are forcibly seized, and word gets out, it will greatly damage the Pan Household's reputation—shaking the good name Pan Yuanwai painstakingly built and spreading the charge that they are rich and heartless. But the Pan Household's master is dead. These orders were most likely given by Third Young Master Pan...

The thought flashed through Qiu Yan's mind. He dodged one whip, but several more whipped through the air beside him. The other riders had raised their hands and lashed at Qiu Yan's aunt by marriage, maternal aunt, and the others. Liu-shi and the women were frantic and helpless; they had even forgotten to dodge!

"They can even bring themselves to strike the old, the weak, women, and children. Worthy indeed of the henchmen of a great household—so devoted to their work! Fine. This is a good chance to test the force I refined just last night!"

Qiu Yan gave a cold snort and was about to act. Though he would inevitably need to explain himself afterward, that was the least of his concerns now.

Just then.

Whoosh!

Several slender streaks tore through the air and struck the hands of the burly men.

"Ow!"

A string of pained cries rang out. The horsemen's long whips flew from their hands and fell to the ground, allowing the panicked Liu-shi and the others to escape disaster.

"Who goes there? Attacking people with hidden weapons!" Xie flipped his wrist and lashed his whip through the air. With a sharp clang, the slender object aimed at him was sent flying away. It was a copper coin!

After knocking away the coin, Xie's pupils contracted, and wariness appeared on his face. He turned to the side and saw a towering, rough-faced man standing there, broad-backed and powerfully built, with a thick-backed saber slung across his back.

"Brother, which road are you from? What is the meaning of this?" Xie asked coldly. That copper coin had been thrown by this man.

The burly man grinned and strode forward. "Yan happened upon injustice and drew his blade to help. These people are all old and weak. Why press them so hard?"

"So, you are a fellow traveler of the martial world." Xie clasped his hands toward the man. "This Liu family was once employed by the Pan Household. Now they are suspected of offending their master. Murdering one's employer—by the rules of the martial world, once it is confirmed, it warrants severe punishment. Using harsher measures during the arrest is nothing unusual."

The martial world had its own set of rules, divided into ultimate punishments, severe punishments, and light punishments. Ultimate punishment was death by a thousand cuts, severe punishment was drowning, and light punishment was red mixing; each differed from the others. Seeing that the burly man possessed exceptional skill and spoke in the jargon of the martial world, Xie spoke frankly.

The burly man surnamed Yan frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Just then.

Hum! Hum! Hum!

A burst of air-splitting sounds rang out, followed by a string of miserable screams, then repeated thuds. Other than Xie, all the burly horsemen fell from their mounts and rolled across the ground.

"What happened?" Xie's eyes widened. Before he could recover, he saw the shadow of a whip lashing toward him.

Confident in his skill and bold in spirit, he did not dodge. He raised his hand and snapped his own whip, using attack as defense. As his arm shook, hidden and visible force trembled together. With a sharp crack, both man and horse jolted, and Xie was sent flying through the air by that lash!

"What tremendous force!"

He flipped through the air and steadied himself. Turning his gaze toward the source of the attack, he saw a scholar gripping a long whip and charging toward him!

"When others give me an inch of respect, I return them a yard. But if others offend me, then even though I, Qiu Yan, am merely a scholar, I will not submit without resistance!"

Before his words had even faded, the whip had already lashed toward Xie once more!