The color drained from Huo Xiaoru's lovely face at the deeply insulting line of verse, and her beautiful eyes lost their luster. Talented though she was, she had, after all, been born into a lowly station. Take today's literary gathering: the people who invited her appeared respectful on the surface, but in their hearts, they merely wanted her there for their amusement. Not one of them thought anything of her status. The little maid behind Huo Xiaoru had reddened eyes, clearly indignant at the humiliation her mistress had suffered.
Huo Xiaoru sighed softly. "Fire gives rise to smoke; without a stroke cast aside, bitterness remains!" On one hand, she was pointing out Qiu Zhitang's excessive temper and vicious tongue; on the other, she was lamenting her own bitter fate. Then she said dejectedly, "Wan'er, let's go!" Her earlier good spirits vanished like smoke in an instant. She even forgot to say goodbye to Hu Xiaotian, wanting only to leave this place of trouble as quickly as possible.
Seeing Huo Xiaoru subjected to such unprovoked humiliation had already filled Hu Xiaotian with righteous fury. When he saw Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang standing there smugly, as though they had won a great victory, he cursed inwardly, You bastards! If I don't beat you today, I'll take your surname! He walked toward Qiu Zhitang with a beaming smile and saluted him with clasped hands. "My good fellow, what remarkable talent!"
Qiu Zhitang gave an arrogant snort and rolled his eyes, ignoring him completely.
Anger flared in Hu Xiaotian's chest, and he suddenly swung his fist. Thump! The punch smashed into Qiu Zhitang's nose, catching him completely off guard and leaving it split and bleeding. "Fuck you!" Hu Xiaotian roared, feeling satisfaction well up from the bottom of his heart. In the end, simple, brutal revenge was the most direct and gratifying kind.
Seeing Hu Xiaotian suddenly knock his brother to the ground with a punch, Qiu Zhigao immediately rushed forward and grappled with him. Several scholars standing nearby did not recognize Hu Xiaotian, but they were all friends of the Qiu brothers. Seeing the fight break out, they rushed in to help. Hu Xiaotian shouted, "Liang Dazhuang, are you all fucking dead?"
Only then did Liang Dazhuang and the five household servants who had come with him react. Liang Dazhuang roared, "Damn your granny! You dare hit our young master? Brothers, beat these blind bastards back into their mothers' wombs!"
These household servants might have been no match for genuinely trained fighters, but they were more than capable of handling a handful of scholars too weak to truss a chicken. Moreover, Hu Buwei had assigned two additional servants to protect Hu Xiaotian personally, and their fighting prowess ranked second only to Hu Tianxiong's in the Hu Residence. The moment the six servants joined the fray, they brought the situation under control.
Those scholars were perfectly competent at composing poems, trading couplets, and spouting classical phrases, but when it came to fighting, they were not even fit to enter the ring.
When a scholar met a soldier, reason got him nowhere; when he met household thugs, he did not even get a chance to reason. At the sight before them, they all took to their heels, cursing their parents for not giving them two more legs.
Hu Xiaotian's four-plus months of training had not been wasted. Although he knew no sophisticated martial arts and his fighting technique was somewhat lacking, he was genuinely strong. Against frail scholars like the Qiu brothers in particular, he gained an overwhelming advantage without much effort.
First, Hu Xiaotian knocked Qiu Zhitang to the ground with a punch. Then Qiu Zhigao went to help, wrapping his arms around Hu Xiaotian from behind. Without warning, Hu Xiaotian snapped his head backward, smashing the back of his skull into Qiu Zhigao's nose and sending blood streaming from it.
Hu Xiaotian's six vicious servants rushed forward, dragged Qiu Zhigao to the ground, and rained punches and kicks on him. Qiu Zhitang had barely climbed to his feet when Hu Xiaotian charged over and kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him down again. Hu Xiaotian straddled him, grabbed his collar with his left hand, and raised his right, delivering five or six ringing slaps back and forth across his face. Qiu Zhitang's cheeks swelled high, and he shrieked incessantly.
"A gentleman uses words, not fists!" Qiu Zhitang wailed. "You vicious young thug... you're a disgrace to cultured society..."
"A disgrace to cultured society?" Hu Xiaotian laughed. "It's cultured fellows like you I mean to disgrace! If I didn't beat you today, I'd choke on my own anger. If I don't beat you, you'll never learn your lesson."
This was an age that revered rules. Scholars valued the principle that a gentleman used words, not fists. To these lofty intellectuals, physical violence was a mark of barbarity and vulgarity, something beneath their dignity. When people composed poetry and traded couplets, they competed in literary talent and conducted a gentleman's contest. If your talent surpassed mine, I would concede with wholehearted admiration. It was rare to see scholars come to blows over a disagreement.
That was why the Qiu brothers had dared to speak so outrageously and mock Huo Xiaoru's origins. Faced with such humiliation, Huo Xiaoru could only lament her bitter fate. As she prepared to leave quietly, she never imagined the situation would take such a turn. Hu Xiaotian had acted entirely because seeing Qiu Zhitang treat a woman so cruelly filled him with righteous indignation. He felt that answering with an elegant couplet and engaging the brothers in a battle of words would do nothing to quell his anger. Only charging in and giving them a thorough pounding with fists and feet could restore his inner balance.
Reality proved Hu Xiaotian right. The satisfaction and exhilaration he felt while thrashing the Qiu brothers were countless times greater than anything poetry or couplets could offer. Looks like I'm a boor to the bone in this life! he thought. Thump! Another punch smashed into Qiu Zhitang's right eye, sending him flopping flat on his back. Through tears and snot, he said, "You villain... aren't you afraid the scholars of the world will laugh at you..."
"Laugh at your mother!" Hu Xiaotian spat hard into his face.
Huo Xiaoru had intended to board her carriage and leave, but she never expected Hu Xiaotian to charge in and start a brawl. Naturally, she understood that the melee had arisen entirely because of her. Looking at the scene before her, she saw that Hu Xiaotian's side had the overwhelming advantage, beating those talented scholars until they cried for their fathers and mothers and practically pissed and shat themselves. For a moment, she did not know whether to stay or go. Behind her, Wan'er, the maid holding the dog, watched with delight and kept cheering, "Well done! Well done! Keep going! Keep going!"
Huo Xiaoru shot Wan'er a glare. Wan'er stuck out her tongue and tucked her neck in, looking very cute. Just as Huo Xiaoru was hesitating over whether to intervene, she saw a fine black horse galloping toward the Misty Waters Pavilion from afar. Astride it was a strikingly valiant woman dressed as an officer, holding the reins in one hand and a sword in the other. "All of you, stop!" she shouted angrily. It was Murong Feiyan, the Capital Prefecture's female constable captain.
Although Hu Xiaotian had not turned around, he already recognized the newcomer from her voice and silently cursed his luck. Damn it, public security in Great Kang's capital really is good. What a quick police response! Which busybody called 110 so soon?
Qiu Zhitang, who had been lying flat on the ground, heard that a constable had arrived and raised his head again. "Help!" he screamed, putting every ounce of strength he possessed into the cry until the veins bulged on his neck. A moment later, he saw a fist grow larger before his eyes. Hu Xiaotian really was merciless. Thump! One punch blackened Qiu Zhitang's left eye as well. Then Hu Xiaotian climbed off him, dusted his hands, and said nonchalantly, "Brothers, job done. Let's go!"
At Hu Xiaotian's command, Liang Dazhuang and the other servants immediately stopped their beating. They straightened their clothes and gathered behind Hu Xiaotian, panting for breath.
Murong Feiyan had already ridden up to the Misty Waters Pavilion. Hu Xiaotian had expected another dismount involving a forward somersault and a twist, but this time his prediction missed the mark. Murong Feiyan merely swung down from her horse. The girl was truly agile; even such a simple, unadorned movement looked impressively gallant. With her hand on her sword hilt and her beautiful eyes fixed coldly on Hu Xiaotian, she approached him at an unhurried pace.
Hu Xiaotian watched Murong Feiyan with a broad smile. Looks like this Murong girl and I are jinxed around each other. Why is she always the first to arrive at the scene whenever something happens? Has she marked me as a prime suspect and been keeping me under surveillance?
Murong Feiyan came up to Hu Xiaotian and slowly circled him. As she moved, so did he. Their eyes remained locked as they circled, looking at first glance like a pair of fighting cocks. In the end, Murong Feiyan stopped first. "Young Master Hu! How do you explain what happened today?"
Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing, his attitude thoroughly contemptuous.
Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang helped each other up from the ground. In their present state, even their own parents probably would not have recognized them. When intellectuals ran into hooligans, they were doomed to suffer. The brothers wailed, "Captain Murong... he assaulted us in the street... you must get justice for us..."
Murong Feiyan looked at Hu Xiaotian, a cold smile curling her lips. "You assaulted people in the street in full view of everyone, bullied the weak with your strength, and overwhelmed the few with your numbers. What else do you have to say?" She had long been certain Hu Xiaotian would cause trouble again; she simply had not expected him to fall into her hands so soon.
"Say whatever you like," Hu Xiaotian said. "As an officer of the law, you ask no questions about the cause, conduct no investigation, make no distinction between right and wrong, and blindly believe one side. You level baseless accusations at me, muddy black and white, and turn right and wrong upside down. Captain Murong! Are you trying to show me today what it means to use public office for private ends, and official authority to settle a personal grudge?" He was not afraid of Murong Feiyan at all. Even Capital Prefect Hong Baiqi had had to show his father considerable deference, let alone a mere constable like her.
"Such a glib tongue, spouting lies," Murong Feiyan said coldly. "You're the one turning right and wrong upside down and muddying black and white!" She had ridden ahead, and only now did her four subordinate constables catch up. Their hurried run had plainly exhausted them. Each leaned on his Water-and-Fire Staff, gasping for breath.
Hu Xiaotian had no intention of crossing verbal swords with a girl. Smiling broadly, he said, "Your helpers are here, then. Just in time to take these useless wretches to the hospital. If there's nothing else, I'll be going!" He beckoned and prepared to swagger off with his men. He had taken only one step when Murong Feiyan's sword pressed against his chest-with its sheath on, of course. She intended only to prevent him from leaving, not to hurt him.
Hu Xiaotian sighed. "Say, Captain Murong, do you enjoy poking me that much? It's so hard, it's uncomfortable. Why don't we swap places and let me try poking you?"
"Shameless!" Murong Feiyan snapped.
Before you continue