"But the officials in the Prefectural Yamen took gifts from the local thugs and turned a blind eye."
"You might ask, if officials had already taken gifts, how could two gangs of thugs still be fighting over it?"
"Well, that was the interesting part. More than one official in the Prefectural Yamen had authority over that privy."
"The Sanitation Management Office and the Street Management Office both had jurisdiction over it."
"The leaders of the two gangs bribed the heads of those two offices respectively, and both thought they were in the right."
"The two officials above them had taken their gifts and wouldn't concern themselves with anything else."
"So the two gangs started fighting..."
"One gang's leader was called Er Daozi, and the other's was called Wang Chun."
"Er Daozi had fewer men, but they stuck together. Wang Chun had more men, but they weren't much good in a tough fight, so one gang would take it today and the other would take it back tomorrow."
"People on the street couldn't even take a shit in the privy in peace."
"Three months ago, Er Daozi died."
"How did he die... well, it's pretty disgusting."
"He was stuffed to death with shit."
"After drinking, Er Daozi parted ways with his brothers and headed home alone."
"Wang Chun, who'd been waiting a long time, cornered him."
"Seeing how many men Wang Chun had with him, Er Daozi drew his knife, ready to fight to the death."
"But what good did that do? They all rushed him at once and grabbed him."
"Wang Chun wasn't much of a fighter, but he was truly vicious."
"He had Er Daozi dragged into the privy on Changle Street and shoved a wide iron ring he'd prepared beforehand into Er Daozi's mouth, forcing it open..."
"I