Young Scoundrel vs. Young Scoundrel (Part One)

The commotion came from the second floor. Zhan Peng might have been fine had he not looked, but one glance nearly made his lungs burst with rage. The Fang father and daughter were surrounded by a group of richly dressed young men from wealthy families. The blind girl, Fang Fang, hid fearfully behind her father, while Fang Zhitang kept apologizing to their leader. The young man wore a green brocade robe and was tall, with a pallid face and puffy eyes-the very picture of someone hollowed out by wine and women. His lecherous gaze swept past Fang Zhitang and fixed on the blind girl. "Girl, you broke my treasure. How are you going to compensate me?"

Several pieces of broken jade lay scattered on the floor. The group had been heading up to the third floor to drink when they encountered the Fang father and daughter coming down the stairs. Seeing people approach, Fang Zhitang had taken his daughter's hand and stood sideways by the stairs to let them pass. But as the young man in green passed her, he bumped into her. Somehow, his jade pendant then fell to the floor and shattered into several pieces.

The group immediately surrounded the father and daughter, demanding compensation. Frightened, Fang Zhitang hurriedly shielded his daughter and held out the day's earnings with trembling hands. "Young sir, would this money be enough?"

The young man in green glanced at the money in his hands, snorted coldly, and slapped it away. The coins flew from Fang Zhitang's hands and scattered across the floor, many of them rolling down the stairs with a relentless clatter. Grabbing Fang Zhitang by the lapels, the young man said, "Do you have any idea that jade pendant was bestowed by the emperor? It was worth a whole city! How dare you talk so lightly of compensation with that paltry bit of silver?"

Fang Zhitang pleaded, "Young Master... my daughter is blind and cannot see. I was holding her hand and waiting beside the stairs. We never ran into you..."

"You old bastard! Are you saying I framed you on purpose?" The young man in green seized Fang Zhitang's lapels and shoved and tugged him. Old and frail, Fang Zhitang could not withstand such rough handling. He lost his footing and went tumbling down the stairs. Hearing her father's agonized cry, the blind Fang Fang had no idea what had happened. "Father!" she screamed. When she tried to find him, someone blocked her path. Unable to stop in time, she fell straight into his arms.

The young man in green roared with laughter and spread his arms, like a hunter waiting by a tree stump for a rabbit to run into it. Fang Fang collided with his chest, and the shameless scoundrel cried, "Ow! You hit my chest! It hurts, it hurts..." His companions snickered lewdly around him.

Fang Fang drew back and tried to go around him to find her father, but whichever way she went, the young man in green blocked her path. "Throwing yourself into my arms, eh? Heh heh, a street performer really does know how to please a man. You're reasonably pretty, so why not come home with me and stay for three days? If you serve me well and keep me comfortable and happy, I might not make you pay for that jade pendant!"

His pack of disreputable friends joined in the jeering. "Young Master Shi is so kindhearted! Such tenderness toward a delicate flower-truly a model for our generation!" Another said, "He's giving you a chance. Why haven't you thanked him yet? Hurry up and give him some pleasure..." Clearly, none of them were decent fellows. Their filthy remarks were accompanied by obscene laughter.

Hearing her father groan but unable to see what condition he was in, Fang Fang began crying in desperation. "Please, young sirs, have mercy. Please let me pass. I beg you..."

The young man in green gave a lecherous grin. "It's not impossible. Just spread your legs and climb over me!" The whole group burst into wild laughter again.

Fang Zhitang had tumbled down the stairs and landed on the second-floor landing, unable even to get up. There were plenty of diners nearby, and all were filled with righteous indignation at the scene, but almost none dared voice their anger. Most could tell from the young men's clothing that they were no ordinary people. There were six of them, too, and no one dared risk a beating to stand up against the injustice.

Before Zhan Peng could reach them, matters had already escalated this far. He shouted angrily, "Molesting an innocent woman in broad daylight! Have you no respect for the law?" As he spoke, he vaulted over the third-floor railing and swooped down like a great bird.

The young man in green froze for a moment, but his martial skills were surprisingly good. He swung his right fist at Zhan Peng.

Zhan Peng met him with a punch of his own. Their fists collided with a muffled thud! The young man in green staggered backward several steps before managing to stop himself, his expression changing. His five companions hurried over and gathered around him.

Zhan Peng rescued Fang Fang from the group and asked gently, "Miss Fang, are you all right?"

Recognizing his voice as that of the man who had listened to her song in the private room earlier, Fang Fang shook her head and said through her tears, "My father..."

Zhan Peng brought her to the second floor. Fang Zhitang lay motionless on the floor as though dead, his head tilted to one side and a pool of fresh blood spreading beneath the back of it. Fang Fang took her father's hand and began sobbing loudly.

Hu Xiaotian, Murong Feiyan, and Yuan Shiqing also heard the commotion and hurried out after him. All were shocked by the sight. Yuan Shiqing immediately rushed to Fang Zhitang's side and cried, "Brother Fang! Brother Fang!" He touched the back of Fang Zhitang's head, only to find his hand covered in blood. Seeing blood still streaming from the right side of his forehead, Yuan Shiqing hastily pressed his hand against it. His treatment was correct: applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

Hu Xiaotian came over and reminded him, "Press hard!" Judging by Fang Zhitang's symptoms, a branch of his superficial temporal artery must have ruptured, causing such severe bleeding.

Hu Xiaotian's servants also came running at the noise. Their young master had frightened them so much lately that the slightest rustle of wind or stir of grass made them suspect he was involved. Hu Xiaotian had Liang Dazhuang and Hu Fo help move Fang Zhitang into a nearby room, and had them bring over the wooden box containing his surgical instruments as well.

Seeing that they might have caused a death, the young man in green and his companions did not dare linger. While everyone's attention was focused on Fang Zhitang, they turned to slip away. But they had barely taken two steps when an angry voice roared, "Every last one of you, stop!"

Zhan Peng pointed at the young man in green. "You've endangered a man's life, and you think you can just walk away?"

The young man in green sneered. "Mind your own business! Have you grown tired of living?"

With a furious roar, Zhan Peng charged.

Murong Feiyan moved in almost at the same instant. The sight of the young man in green gave her a start, for he was no ordinary person. He was Shi Xuedong, the only son of Shi Buchui, the Minister of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel controlled officials' promotions, appointments, and dismissals, giving it an elevated standing among the six ministries. Even first- and second-rank officials at court treated Minister Shi Buchui with great courtesy. Recognizing Shi Xuedong, Murong Feiyan thought, Today's affair will probably be troublesome. The Capital City had three notorious young scoundrels, and Shi Xuedong was one of them. Though Hu Xiaotian had committed plenty of misdeeds lately, compared with Shi Xuedong he was merely a newcomer-a minor sorcerer confronting a great one. During Hu Xiaotian's sixteen years of idiocy, Shi Xuedong had already amassed a mountain of evil deeds, filling his measure of wickedness to the brim and making a thoroughly infamous name for himself. His companions were also officials' sons. These privileged young men spent their days idling about and running rampant, stirring up no end of trouble in the Capital City.

As a law officer in the Capital City, Murong Feiyan had naturally dealt with him many times. If she felt a little contempt for Hu Xiaotian, she loathed Shi Xuedong to the marrow and would have gladly rid herself of him. Despite their many clashes, she had always ended up defeated. His backing was simply too powerful. Not only was his father the Minister of Revenue, but several of his uncles also held office at court. His second uncle served in the Capital Prefecture as the Capital Prefecture Vice Prefect. Even if she arrested him and took him to the Capital Prefecture, the matter would ultimately come to nothing. Her superiors had reprimanded her more than once over these incidents, and she utterly detested this pack of officials' sons. Murong Feiyan was not someone who could tolerate even a grain of sand in her eye. How could she stand by and ignore the scene before her? Just as she was about to step forward to enforce the law, Zhan Peng charged ahead of her and began fighting Shi Xuedong and his companions.