"What a big mouth you have!"
The burly figure leaped onto the mast of the neighboring riverboat, his dark spear held point-down. His narrow eyes surveyed Yang Ge from above. Though middle-aged, he still possessed ruggedly handsome features that commanded respect without anger, and the hem of his deep-blue robe, embroidered with silver trailing vines, snapped in the wind.
"Aren't you afraid the biting river wind will freeze your front teeth right out?"
Yang Ge looked up at him. "However big my mouth is, it can't compare to the insanity of chaining boats together, murdering people, and setting fires... Say, could you come down to talk? I don't like craning my neck to look at people!"
The rugged middle-aged man sneered. "That depends on what you're capable of!"
Yang Ge waved a hand and said earnestly, "Better not to fight. I'm heavy-handed, and once I start, I tend to beat people to death. Let's talk reason instead."
At this, the middle-aged man's gaze sharpened, and his sneer grew even more forceful. "Oh? How many pounds of reason do you intend to sell my Xiang Family?"
"Not many. Just two."
As though he couldn't hear the contempt in the man's laughter, Yang Ge said earnestly, "The first pound: how many people traveling north and south have you inconvenienced by blocking the river like this? Clear it. Every grievance has its culprit, every debt its debtor. Whoever your Xiang Family wants trouble with, there's no need to vent your anger on passersby. Wouldn't you agree?"
The rugged middle-aged man nodded with exaggerated sincerity. "That stands to reason."
Yang Ge nodded. "The second pound: I heard some boatmen came to argue with you earlier. Not only did you kill them, you burned boats their families had spent generations saving for. As the old