"I'll just go and talk to them. Who knows? We might work things out."
Chang Si waved a hand. "Forget it."
Li Ping'an already had a disability. What if something happened to him because of Chang Si's troubles?
Chang Si didn't want to drag him into it.
Li Ping'an saw what he was thinking and smiled faintly. "Don't worry about me, Shopkeeper Chang. I wouldn't meddle without something to back me up."
Since Li Ping'an insisted, Chang Si couldn't say much more.
He gave Li Ping'an the Flying Eagle Gang's address, though he couldn't help trying to dissuade him again before they parted.
Following the address Chang Si had given him, Li Ping'an found the Flying Eagle Gang's territory.
The Flying Eagle Gang's leader was a man named Liang Chenggang.
He had opened a trading firm in Luoshui City, but it was merely a front.
His money still came from collecting protection fees and guarding establishments.
The two men in riding jackets at the gate looked Li Ping'an up and down. "Where'd you come from?"
"I'm here to see your leader, Liang Chenggang. Please let him know."
The man in the riding jacket saw that Li Ping'an wore a blue robe.
He had handsome features and an extraordinary bearing.
One glance told the man that this was no ordinary person, and he dared not slight him.
He hurried inside to report his arrival.
A little while later, the man in the riding jacket came back out.
"Our leader isn't here. Would you like to wait inside?"
"Did he say when he'd be back?"
"That, I don't know."
Li Ping'an didn't want to sit around waiting. He could use the time to visit the jewelry shop again and see whether there was anything suitable.
He had just turned into an alley when he came face-to-face with several men.
At their head was a middle-aged man in his forties, his fair face slightly thin.
Dressed in white, he carried a scholarly air.
Two burly men followed behind him. Although Li Ping'an couldn't see them,
he could sense them through their presence.
The burly men behind the middle-aged man were the Flying Eagle Gang members who had come to cause trouble that morning.
In such a quiet alley, the middle-aged man's footsteps made no detectable sound.
Such lightness skill was truly rare.
"You must be Liang Chenggang, leader of the Flying Eagle Gang."
Liang Chenggang raised his eyebrows slightly and stopped. "And you are?"
"Hey, aren't you Chang Si's tenant?"
One of the men behind Liang Chenggang recognized Li Ping'an.
"We told you to move out. Have you found a place yet?"
"Not yet."
"Then get your damn ass moving! Waiting for us to come knocking?"
Liang Chenggang raised a hand to stop his subordinate. "What business do you have with me?"
"Nothing major. I just wondered how Shopkeeper Chang Si offended you, Gang Leader Liang, and whether you might let him off this once."
Liang Chenggang narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh? So you've come to plead for him."
Taking the hint, his subordinate strode forward and snarled ferociously.
"Why don't you piss yourself a mirror and take a look at what you are? Coming here and spouting such big words!"
The burly man reached out with his huge hand, as though to snatch Li Ping'an up like a chick.
Smack!
A blow struck the burly man's right leg, and he crumpled to the ground with a muffled grunt.
The other man followed right behind, rushing forward.
He flicked the wide sleeve of his left arm. Crack!
A fierce wind surged, his hidden force bearing down like a mountain.
No wonder the underworld of Luoshui City could do nothing about the Flying Eagle Gang.
If even a subordinate possessed such skills, how could ordinary thugs stand against them?
Bam!
The burly man's punch struck empty air, while Li Ping'an kicked him in the calf.
Caught off guard, he lurched to the right under the kick and had barely let out a cry
when a palm struck his right temple.
His vision blurred, and he passed out on the spot.
Liang Chenggang gripped the sword at his waist, his gaze turning steely.
With a clang, he drew his sword, sweeping a curtain of steel through the air.
His figure flashed, and he was already before Li Ping'an.
The move came without the slightest warning.
It looked unremarkable, but the moment he struck, it was a blow meant to decide the fight.
Li Ping'an bent at the waist, assuming a saber-drawing stance.
His entire aura abruptly changed, murderous intent chilling the air.
Feeling that terrifying presence,
Liang Chenggang's expression changed, and he abandoned his attack without hesitation.
He bent his back, his heart clenching violently.
His legs sprang, tracing a graceful arc through the air.
Like a ball, he sailed more than ten feet away.
Yet the instant his feet touched the ground, he dared not move again.
A bamboo staff was already pressed against his throat.
"Excellent skill!"
A drop of cold sweat slid down Liang Chenggang's forehead.
Only a fleeting instant had passed since Li Ping'an made his move. He hadn't even been able to react.
If Li Ping'an had used a sword or some other weapon,
or simply thrust the bamboo staff a little farther forward,
his head would probably have been separated from his body by now.
"You flatter me, Gang Leader Liang."
Li Ping'an withdrew his bamboo staff.
"I hope you'll do me the courtesy of leaving Shopkeeper Chang alone."
Liang Chenggang nodded and said stiffly, "As you wish."
At a time like this, even a fool could weigh the gains against the losses.
Just because the man was speaking to you calmly now didn't mean he would give you another chance to speak if you refused.
"Thank you."
Leaning on his bamboo staff, Li Ping'an walked away at an unhurried pace.
"Boss... we're just letting that brat go?"
Liang Chenggang said coldly, "He could have killed every one of us here just now."
"Two fists can't beat four hands. Just say the word, Boss, and I'll go gather the brothers to wipe him out!"
His subordinate seethed with indignation. They had never suffered a loss they had to swallow in silence like this.
"Idiot! That man is no ordinary person. Remember, if you see him again, take a different road."
That evening, his landlord, Chang Si, came to visit.
"Mr. Li, I truly can't thank you enough for this."
That afternoon, members of the Flying Eagle Gang had gone to see Chang Si.
Not only had they spoken politely, they had returned every last coin of the enormous protection fees he had paid.
They had even given Chang Si money as compensation.
Their leader, Liang Chenggang, had also offered to personally treat him to a meal as an apology, leaving Chang Si as bewildered as a ten-foot monk unable to find the top of his own head.
Unless Liang Chenggang had suddenly changed his nature, something must have happened.
Chang Si soon remembered Li Ping'an saying that day that he would go talk to the Flying Eagle Gang.
Yet he still couldn't believe it.
Only after making inquiries did he finally learn the truth.
He hurriedly had gifts prepared and came to visit Li Ping'an in person.
"You're far too kind, Shopkeeper Chang," Li Ping'an said.
"This was all thanks to you, Mr. Li. These little gifts are hardly enough to express my gratitude."
Chang Si had prepared an entire cartload of goods. Li Ping'an didn't refuse, accepting everything.
Chang Si also offered to give Li Ping'an the courtyard residence, but Li Ping'an declined.
The two chatted a while longer before Chang Si took his leave, thanking him over and over.
After Chang Si left, Liu Yun came out of her room.
She looked delightedly through the goods piled to one side.
"Now we can have a good New Year," Li Ping'an said.
"Mm." A smile spread across Liu Yun's lips as well.
Snow fell over Luoshui City again.
Liu Yun lifted her head and smiled.
She reached out and closed her hand, as though catching a snowflake.
Yet it seemed she had caught nothing at all.
Meanwhile,
a secret letter from Luoshui City was being carried at full gallop to the Capital City of Great Sui.
Before you continue