Wang Gang heard a whoosh cut through the air beside his ear, followed by a wretched scream of "Ah!"
He turned to see Wang Zhong lying on the floor, clutching his arm.
"Uncle Zhong!" Wang Gang cried out. He turned to glare at Qin Hongmian and demanded, "Hand over the antidote!"
"In your dreams! You injured Brother Chun and slandered him! Killing just one servant is already letting you off lightly!" Qin Hongmian snapped, her voice harsh and her expression fierce.
"Stubborn to the end!"
Fury surged through Wang Gang. He drew his sword and thrust, deeply vexed with himself. He still lacked experience fighting enemies; he should have opened the space immediately.
Now, anxious about Wang Zhong's injury, his sword moved even faster than before.
Qin Hongmian barely managed to parry. Just as she was clearly losing, a graceful figure flashed past-it was Gan Baobao, slashing at him with her saber.
Hearing a weapon slice through the air, Wang Gang hurriedly swung his sword to block. Qin Hongmian raised her hand and fired another sleeve dart. Once again, he had no time to open the space and could only twist aside to dodge. For a moment, he was blocking left and struggling right, tugging at his lapels only to expose his elbows.
A glance at Wang Zhong lying motionless on the floor made Wang Gang even more anxious. One careless moment let Gan Baobao's saber slice his arm. With the pain, rage filled his chest!
"Ah!"
Wang Gang roared, driving his internal power at full force. His powerful internal force battered his meridians, sending waves of stabbing pain through them. Yet rather than stopping him, it stirred the savagery in his bones, and he circulated his internal force even more fiercely.
"Die!"
He swept his sword, its cold gleam as piercing as lightning across the sky on a stormy night. His figure flashed like a phantom, moving more than twice as fast as before.
A flurry of clashing sounds mingled with women's startled cries, and then everything fell quiet.
The two women lay on the floor covered in blood, staring in terror at Wang Gang, who looked like a demonic god. His handsome face was dark as deep water, his eyes bloodshot and surging with towering rage.
"Hand over the antidote!" Wang Gang's voice was icy.
"Forget it!" Qin Hongmian closed her eyes and awaited death.
"Fine!" Wang Gang flicked his wrist, pointing his sword at Gan Baobao. "I'll count to three and cut off her hand. Another three, and I'll take her arm. Another three, and her head!"
"Ah! Senior Sister!" Gan Baobao stared at the sword and screamed.
"You scoundrel! Kill me if you want to kill someone!" Qin Hongmian raged. "What kind of hero threatens someone else?"
"If Uncle Zhong dies, both of you sisters will be buried with him!" Wang Gang's expression turned vicious. "I'll spend the rest of my life doing nothing but waiting for Duan Zhengchun in Dali, then slice him to death, one cut at a time!"
"Don't you dare!"
Wang Gang ignored her and began coldly, "One, two, three!"
As soon as he finished counting, he swung his sword!
"Ah!" Gan Baobao shut her eyes and screamed.
"Stop!"
Qin Hongmian shouted, pulled out a porcelain bottle, and threw it over.
Wang Gang caught the bottle but did not immediately go to save Wang Zhong. Instead, he picked up a fallen sleeve dart and stabbed Qin Hongmian with it. Once her face turned blue, he fed her an antidote pill. Only after seeing no adverse reaction did he go to give one to Wang Zhong.
"What are you doing?" Just as Wang Gang was about to feed him the pill, Wang Zhong pushed his hand away. "What random thing are you trying to feed me? Don't you know every medicine is three parts poison?"
"Uncle Zhong, stop fooling around. This is the antidote..."
"I haven't been poisoned. What would I need an antidote for?"
"But just now, you..."
"I just fell over!"
"Then why were you holding your arm?"
"I banged it!" Wang Zhong held up his arm for him to see.
Wang Gang: "..."
Wang Zhong sighed. "You were fighting so fiercely just now that I was too scared to get up!"
Then he shook his head. "I really am getting old! Back in my day..."
"I know! Seven times a night, winning yourself a fickle lover's name in the pleasure houses!"
"You actually know my story!"
Wang Gang nodded. "All in less than an hour. The young master of rapid fire!"
Wang Zhong flew into a rage. "My lifetime of illustrious reputation, ruined by you!"
"Enough! Let's find you a clinic. A couple of tonics, and you'll be a fierce general on the pleasure fields again!"
Wang Gang had just helped Wang Zhong up when a clatter came from the stairs, followed by several yamen runners armed with bows.
"Oh, Young Master Wang! Old Steward!" The constable leading them recognized the pair and hastily cupped his hands in greeting, asking with an ingratiating smile, "What... happened here?"
Wang Gang returned the greeting and slipped him a silver ingot. "Old Wang recently took two new concubines, and they got into a fight with the women at home. They chased him all the way here to take it out on him!"
Wang Zhong covered his face with his sleeve and said shamefacedly, "My household is in disorder. Sorry for troubling you all. How embarrassing, how embarrassing!"
The constable glanced at the two women, then looked at Wang Zhong with solemn respect. "Old Master Wang, your treasured blade has lost none of its edge! You have my admiration!"
The two women flushed with shame and anger and hurriedly protested, "No, we're not..."
But the constable ignored them and cupped his hands to the two men. "Since it's a family matter, I won't interfere. I'll take my leave!"
With that, he led the bowmen hurriedly downstairs.
Once they reached the street, one bowman could not help asking, "Constable Lei, those two women were covered in blood. There was clearly more to it. Why didn't we intervene?"
"Intervene? How? The Wang family may have declined somewhat over the years, but their foundations are still there. Besides, Wang Yukun passed the prefectural examination this year. He might have a tremendous future ahead! Are you going to intervene, or am I?"
He glanced at the bowman. "Don't tell me you've taken a fancy to those two women?"
The bowman gave an embarrassed smile.
Constable Lei snorted. "Stop entertaining notions! Women with looks like theirs aren't for you to dream of! Just do your job! If you're really that pent up, go visit the Hundred Flowers House!"
"Hahaha!" All the bowmen burst out laughing.
"Won't those two women be in danger?" The bowman was still somewhat unwilling to let it go.
Constable Lei strode away, sneering. "Do you think Wang Yukun is you? With his boundless wealth and bright prospects, would he kill someone in a tavern? Forget murder-even abduction is impossible! These scholars value their reputations above all!"
Back in the tavern, Wang Gang advanced with his sword, but Wang Zhong caught hold of him and whispered, "An accidental killing in a fight means military exile. You have a bright future, young master. It isn't worth it!"
Wang Gang gave the two women a dark look and stabbed twice with two swishes. Sheathing his sword, he said coldly, "This is a lesson. Next time, it'll depend on your luck!"
With that, he helped Wang Zhong to a clinic, leaving the two women looking bewildered.
"He just let us go like that?" Gan Baobao was the first to speak after a long while.
Qin Hongmian was also somewhat dazed. This man seemed different from what she had imagined. She opened her mouth and said, "Perhaps he's plotting something?"
Suddenly, both women felt a chill on their heads. They reached up to touch them, and two piercing screams rang out through the tavern. "My hair!"
Wang Gang's final two sword strokes had actually shaved off half of each woman's hair, leaving them with yin-yang heads!
The move did little damage, but was extraordinarily humiliating!
"I'll kill him! How dare he!" Qin Hongmian clutched the shaved half of her head, her face livid.
The prettier a woman was, the more she cared about her looks! They would rather die than be ugly!
Gan Baobao silently picked up the hair from the floor. She saw things more clearly than Qin Hongmian did. What she felt most about this was lingering fear. If he could cut off their hair, he could naturally kill them too.
This time, they had been in a tavern with many watching eyes, so he had reservations. What if they were somewhere secluded next time?
When Wang Gang had sent those yamen runners away earlier, she had truly been terrified, thinking he would kill her regardless of the consequences. Fortunately, he had come to his senses at the last moment!
Compared with her life, half a head of hair was nothing!
Looking at Qin Hongmian, who was still fuming with humiliation, Gan Baobao asked, "Senior Sister, do you know Dao Baifeng?"
"I know of Dao Baifeng, but I've never heard that she married Brother Chun..."
Qin Hongmian's attention shifted instantly. If Duan Zhengchun really was married, what was she to do? Become a concubine? Absolutely not!
Seeing that Gan Baobao still wanted to say something, she grew even more distraught and immediately said, "Enough of that. Let's find a clinic first and have a look"