Waiting

"Zhao Zhi?"

Fan Zhenqi found the name somewhat familiar.

He looked again at Zhao Zhi's blue constable uniform and suddenly recalled his identity.

Wasn't this Zhao Zhi, the blue-clad constable who had forced the Gray Snake Gang to disband recently, earning the people's praise and gratitude?

"So it's you."

Fan Zhenqi curled his lips into a disdainful sneer.

"You really think that making some tiny Gray Snake Gang disband means you can look down on everyone?

"The Gray Snake Gang is nothing more than chickens and dogs made of mud before my Fan Family.

Kneel at once and beg this young master for mercy. Perhaps I may spare you. Otherwise, I'll make you understand the Fan Family's power."

Luo Dashan's face turned slightly pale at those words.

The Fan Family was one of Qingfeng County's local gentry lineages. Its strength was far beyond that of a small gang like the Gray Snake Gang.

Zhao Zhi looked at Fan Zhenqi with the gaze one reserved for an idiot.

Couldn't he tell the difference in strength between them from what had just happened?

The Fan Family was indeed formidable, but Fan Zhenqi before him was merely a foppish young master, a martial artist who had entered the Postnatal Initiation realm only through the aid of all manner of medicinal herbs.

If Zhao Zhi wanted to kill him, it would take no more than a flick of his finger.

Yet this fool still stupidly used words to provoke Zhao Zhi.

"Idiot."

Zhao Zhi muttered softly. A sharp glint burst from his eyes as the five fingers of his left hand curled into an eagle's claw and shot forward, gripping Fan Zhenqi's shoulder.

His inner qi erupted.

Fan Zhenqi's shoulder bone shattered at once. The agonizing pain was like an iron hammer smashing heavily into his nerves, immediately drawing a shrill, exaggerated scream from him.

"Ah..."

"My arm, my arm..."

Zhao Zhi's expression remained unchanged, unaffected by Fan Zhenqi's screams. With a shift of his left hand, he struck Fan Zhenqi's other shoulder.

Crack.

That shoulder shattered as well.

Fan Zhenqi howled miserably and dropped to his knees, both arms hanging limply at his sides.

A few cries later,

he fainted outright and collapsed to the ground.

"Zhao Zhi." Luo Dashan's expression changed again and again as he looked at the unconscious Fan Zhenqi. "He's Fan Zhenqi, the Fan Family's second young master."

Zhao Zhi replied blandly, "I know."

Luo Dashan's eyes widened. "You knew, and you still attacked him?"

Zhao Zhi tilted his head slightly and looked at Luo Dashan. "Riding recklessly through the streets and threatening the chief constable are enough to throw him into prison. I merely broke both his arms. That already counts as lenient punishment. Oh, go prepare a rope for me."

"A rope?" Luo Dashan froze. Why had he suddenly mentioned a rope? Puzzled, he asked, "What do you need a rope for?"

Zhao Zhi glanced at the unconscious Fan Zhenqi. "The Fan Family's second young master dared to ride wildly through the streets and attack a constable because he relied on the Fan Family's influence. With him in this state, the Fan Family will soon hear of it. We'll wait here for them to come."

"Ah? Wait for the Fan Family?"

Luo Dashan was dumbstruck.

Wait for the Fan Family?

That was the Fan Family, not the Gray Snake Gang.

"Mm." Zhao Zhi nodded. Seeing Luo Dashan's expression, he said, "Brother Luo, you can go back first. I can handle this alone."

Luo Dashan fell silent, lowering his head slightly as his expression shifted between light and dark.

The Fan Family?

To him, they were an insurmountable mountain, not something a mere blue-clad constable like him could fight.

But if he abandoned Zhao Zhi and left just like this, could he still call himself a constable?

Luo Dashan gritted his teeth and made up his mind. "Zhao Zhi, I'm staying."

Zhao Zhi smiled. "Brother Luo, then let's tie this Fan Zhenqi outside the entrance of Minggu Tea House first. Then we'll go in for a drink of tea and wait for the Fan Family to arrive."

"Alright."

Luo Dashan nodded.

Things had already come to this. There was no need to fear anything else.

The two found a hemp rope and tied the unconscious Fan Family second young master, Fan Zhenqi, to the entrance of Minggu Tea House. They left the severely injured steed lying on the ground and twitching, then walked into Minggu Tea House under countless watchful eyes.

On Great Passage Street,

vendors and ordinary townsfolk alike looked at the twitching horse, then at the bound Fan Zhenqi, their faces full of disbelief.

Fan Zhenqi, the Little Overlord, had been tied up.

Something like this had never happened before.

Even when Chief Constable Chen was out on patrol, he would see the Little Overlord Fan Zhenqi riding recklessly through Great Passage Street without restraint. Yet now, he had been bound by a mere blue-clad constable.

Blue-clad Constable Zhao Zhi?

The rumors were true.

Not far away, on the second floor of a restaurant,

Chief Constable Chen Qingzhi raised his wine cup and drank at an unhurried pace. Light flickered in his dark eyes as he glanced at Zhao Zhi entering Minggu Tea House, then let his gaze settle upon Dark Cloud Treads Snow, which lay unable to rise.

Dark Cloud Treads Snow was an exceptional steed.

The force generated by its full-speed charge was not something just anyone could neutralize, much less send Dark Cloud Treads Snow flipping onto its back with a casual, clean palm strike.

Even Chen Qingzhi would need to employ some means to achieve that.

Zhao Zhi was considerably stronger than expected.

However,

that was all.

By seriously injuring the Fan Family's Little Overlord in public, he had utterly offended the Fan Family.

The Fan Family would definitely come.

Chen Qingzhi set down his wine cup and waited quietly.

Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, nearly half an hour had passed.

Inside Minggu Tea House,

Zhao Zhi and Luo Dashan drank tea and ate delicate little pastries like refined scholars and elegant gentlemen.

"Brother Luo." Zhao Zhi lowered his voice. "Can you taste what is special about this Cloudclear Tea?"

Luo Dashan pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head. "I can't taste it. A pot costs three taels, yet it isn't even as good as the Yellow-Skin Wine from Wang Family Tavern."

Zhao Zhi smiled. "Indeed, it cannot compare to the Yellow-Skin Wine from Wang Family Tavern."

"These pastries taste good." Luo Dashan picked up an exquisite mung bean cake and took a vicious bite, as though he wanted to swallow the money along with it. "It's a pity they're too expensive. A plate of mung bean cakes costs five large coins. Five large coins could feed my family for several days."

"Then eat more, Brother Luo. Don't let it go to waste. In a moment, we may not get another chance to eat."

After saying that, Zhao Zhi turned his head and looked outside Minggu Tea House.

Luo Dashan glanced outside as well, worry written across his face. "Zhao Zhi."

"Don't worry."

Zhao Zhi's tone was calm.

Great Passage Street outside Minggu Tea House was quiet and open.

The once bustling street did not have a single vendor or commoner in sight. Only now and then could pairs of eyes be seen peering secretly from the shops on either side, all directed toward Minggu Tea House.

A large group hurried toward Minggu Tea House. From their clothing alone, it was clear that they were either wealthy or noble.

Fan Youquan arrived outside Minggu Tea House and immediately saw the unconscious Fan Zhenqi tied to a pillar. He shouted at once, "Hurry and untie the second young master!"