Do You Have a Death Wish?

Night had deepened.

Yang Ge sat alone in the inn's front hall, propping his chin on one hand as he gazed absently at the flickering lamplight, his other hand tapping gently on the table.

Tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap...

An unknown stretch of time passed before the tapping abruptly stopped.

Yang Ge raised his head and looked toward the staircase leading to the private seating upstairs.

A burly figure dressed in black nightclothes had appeared there without a sound. At this dead hour of the night, he made for a distinctly chilling sight.

Yet there was little agitation in Yang Ge's eyes, as though he had known all along that someone was there.

"You really are no ordinary man."

The intruder sized Yang Ge up and spoke softly... his voice was deep and faint, like the feeble call of a sick man.

Yang Ge looked calmly at him and nodded. "Indeed. I'm an extraordinary one."

The intruder failed to understand his lousy joke and glanced at his eyes in confusion.

But a moment later, the Wild Wind Leg manual on the table caught his attention, and he strode forward. "Is this the martial arts manual left behind by Jiang Kui, the 'Death Omen'?"

Yang Ge pushed the manual toward him. "It is indeed something Hero Jiang left behind."

Once the intruder saw the title on its cover clearly, his eyes lit up and he reached out with both hands. "At least you know what's good for you!"

Thud.

A rust-covered Firewood Axe slammed into the table, barring the black-clad man's hands from reaching the manual.

The man froze, then slowly raised his head, his eyes gleaming viciously as he looked at Yang Ge. "What's this supposed to mean?"

Yang Ge met his eyes without flinching and said earnestly, "I can give you the manual, but surely you can't just walk away with it on nothing but empty words?"

The black-clad man narrowed his eyes and sneered. "You think you're worthy of making me leave something behind?"

Yang Ge shook his head. "You don't necessarily have to leave anything behind. It'll work just as well if I do."

The black-clad man planted both hands on the table and leaned forward, glaring down at Yang Ge. "Do you have a death wish?"

Yang Ge tilted his head at him and slowly nodded. "To be honest... a little!"

Their eyes locked, and time seemed to freeze.

The next instant, the black-clad man grabbed the edge of the table and heaved it upward. The square table left the floor, flipping toward Yang Ge.

Yang Ge snatched up the Firewood Axe and kicked at the tabletop hurtling toward him.

Crash.

The sturdy square table, built from old elm, shattered.

In the brief flash of lamplight, Yang Ge's outstretched long leg crossed paths with a fist driving toward his head, one low and one high.

Thump!

Boom!

Pfft!

In an instant, the dull thud of a kick striking flesh, the explosive crack of a fist hitting empty air, and the sound of blood being spat out rang out together... a leg was longer than an arm, after all!

Just then, the oil lamp hit the floor. Its flame flickered a few times before slowly dying out.

"Breaking Wind Leg? No, that's impossible!"

The black-clad man's furious, startled roar came from the darkness.

Yang Ge sprang up at the sound and lunged into the darkness with the Firewood Axe.

Clatter, clatter.

Thud, thud, thud.

"Aah!"

"I was wrong!"

"Give me a chance..."

Amid the tremendous racket of things being overturned in the darkness came several short cries of pain and pleas for mercy.

A dozen or so breaths later, a crash sounded as a large hole was smashed through the inn's front door. A figure, scurrying like a rat exposed in the street, leaped out and vanished into the deep night.

Candles lit up in the houses around the inn, one after another, and figures moved everywhere.

Only then did Shopkeeper Liu, who stood in the rear courtyard holding a lamp and peering toward the front hall, muster the courage to call out, "Young man! Young man, are you there?"

"I'm here, shopkeeper. Come on over!"

Hearing Yang Ge's calm voice, Shopkeeper Liu finally felt the heart that had leaped into his throat drop back into his chest.

Shielding the oil lamp from the wind, he hurried through the courtyard gate.

The lamplight illuminated the front hall, and Shopkeeper Liu immediately spotted Yang Ge with blood all over his face. Forgetting even to mourn the tables, chairs, and benches strewn across the floor, he rushed over in a few quick strides and supported him, saying urgently, "How badly are you hurt? Sit down, quickly! I'll fetch a doctor right away!"

Listening to the buzzing chatter around the inn, Yang Ge reached back and caught Shopkeeper Liu, who was about to head into the rear courtyard to summon someone. He shook his head at him, then burst into loud, mournful wails. "Shopkeeper, that thing the guest rewarded me with earlier today-some villain stole it!"

Seeing him howl without shedding a single tear, Shopkeeper Liu understood at once. He slapped his thigh and cried out in grief and outrage, "That damnable scoundrel! Not content with stealing, he smashed up my inn like this!"

"My old elm table!"

"My ten-year-aged Bottle-Penetrating Fragrance wine!"

"Oh, my sandalwood abacus! My father left that to me..."

Watching him weep bitterly, beat his chest, and stamp his feet, it was hard to say how much of it was an act.

Even Yang Ge felt guilty at the sight, wondering whether he had brought trouble down on Shopkeeper Liu...

As Shopkeeper Liu's wails carried out of the Welcome Inn, many more lights came on nearby, and the buzzing chatter grew louder.

Before long, a jumble of heavy footsteps rapidly approached.

Yang Ge turned toward the shattered front door and saw a squad of night patrol soldiers appear outside.

"Who are you, and what is this disturbance in the middle of the night?"

The officer leading them walked slowly into the inn, one hand resting on his saber. He surveyed the front hall with a frown as he demanded answers coldly.

Yang Ge felt a measure of relief and stepped forward to reply.

But Shopkeeper Liu abruptly pulled him behind him, stepped past him, and hurried up to the officer, bowing repeatedly as he wailed, "Officer, you've come just in time! Look at my Welcome Inn! What sin did I commit to deserve this? A villain reduced it to this in broad daylight! And look at my worker-he's known throughout all the surrounding villages as a kindhearted young man, and that villain hurt him like this! Officer, you must see justice done for us..."

Faced with Shopkeeper Liu's streaming tears, runny nose, and rambling words, the officer stepped back impatiently, drew his saber two inches from its sheath, and barked, "Shut up! Answer only what I ask!"

Shopkeeper Liu could only close his mouth and gaze tearfully at the officer.

"What are your names?"

"Officer, my name is Liu Degui. I'm the inn's shopkeeper. His name is Yang Ge, and he's a worker I hired."

"What happened here?"

"Officer, this is how it happened. This afternoon, several officers accompanied a gentleman into the inn for a meal..."

Inside the inn, Shopkeeper Liu poured out his grievances through tears and snot, bitterly condemning the damnable villain who had wrecked his livelihood.

Outside, more and more neighbors arrived with clothes draped over their shoulders to watch the commotion. The soldiers at the door were so accustomed to such sights that they could not be bothered to chase them home.

Seeing this, Yang Ge finally let out a long breath.

He murmured inwardly, After all this commotion, that ought to scare off the small fry who can't resist the lure of the martial world, right?

It was not a good solution.

But this was as far as he could manage...