Wang Gang raced all the way into the rear courtyard of the Drunken Immortal Tower, only to find Wang Zhong cheerfully boasting to someone.
"Weren't you injured?" Aside from his pale face, nothing seemed amiss with Wang Zhong.
"You called him here?" Wang Zhong glanced at Wang Gang, then looked at Wang Yi.
Wang Yi scratched his head. "Around noon, I thought you were about to die!"
"I was unconscious!" Wang Zhong roared. "From a fall!"
Speechless, Wang Gang looked at the pair, took a towel to wipe the sweat from his head, and listened as Wang Zhong explained what had happened.
As it turned out, after putting the shops in order a few days earlier, Wang Gang had dusted off his backside and become a hands-off proprietor, leaving Wang Zhong to handle the loose ends.
Then every messy problem at the shops had landed in his lap. Either the assistants suspected the managers of embezzlement, or the managers came to air their grievances.
With all those negative feelings piling up, he had wanted an outlet, so he had gone to the Spring Breeze Pavilion. Then he had clashed with someone, lost his footing, struck his head, and passed out.
Wang Gang studied him for a long time, until Wang Zhong began to look embarrassed, before asking, "You went to the Spring Breeze Pavilion at noon? Don't the ladies there need their rest?"
Not expecting such a pointed question, Wang Zhong froze, then waved his hands repeatedly. "I went last night. I was too tired and overslept!"
"Yes, you were too tired. Even your face has gone white!"
"No, that's from my injury. My health is still excellent..."
Ignoring Wang Zhong's attempts to defend himself and salvage his dignity, Wang Gang asked, "Who hurt you? Has he come to see you?"
"No," Wang Yi said from beside them. "He was already gone when we arrived. Maybe he fled!"
Wang Gang frowned. Though Wang Zhong's injuries were not serious, the other party had to make his position clear. Otherwise, if members of the Wang Family could be bullied at will, what would become of the family's reputation? Could just anyone come and trample on them?
They had to respond!
"He was a young fellow, dressed like a scholar. A complete stranger," Wang Zhong said. "But he was definitely a man of the martial world. He used a weapon like a writing brush."
"A judge's brush!" Since taking up martial arts, Wang Gang had also learned something about the martial skills and weapons of the martial world.
Few people used such an unusual weapon, and fewer still had truly made a name for themselves. None matched Wang Zhong's description, either.
"The brush was iron, so it certainly wasn't for writing! But he didn't use his weapon against me. He shoved me a few times, and somehow I fell!" Wang Zhong said, recalling what had happened.
Wang Gang's gaze suddenly darkened. The man had been toying with Wang Zhong. It had definitely been deliberate; otherwise, who would go to a brothel to tease a little old man?
He could not remain so passive!
After some thought, Wang Gang decided to ask County Commandant Yang to help investigate. Even if they found nothing, at least they could take precautions.
He said goodbye to everyone and left, despite their attempts to make him stay.
A chill had already settled over late-autumn Gusu. Wang Gang pulled his robe tighter and headed toward the county office. County Commandant Yang lived nearby.
He had only walked a short while when he faintly heard fighting and shouts from an alley nearby. The voices were female and sounded somewhat familiar, and he instinctively looked toward the alley.
He saw two women facing off against a man holding a bronze staff.
"Move aside! I have something to ask Brother Chun!" one of the women shouted.
"Senior Sister, don't waste words on him. Let's take him down together, then go find Brother Chun!"
"Ladies, His Highness really isn't back there!" The man wore a bitter smile.
"Enough nonsense! Attack!"
Both women raised their sabers and slashed. The man seemed afraid to hurt them and only parried with his staff.
Wang Gang saw them clearly: the two women were Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao. He could not hear them well enough to know what they were saying, but what good could come of a burly man blocking two women's path in the dead of night?
Seeing them begin to fight, Wang Gang did not hesitate and went straight over to help. They had, after all, stepped in to save him last time.
At first, Wang Gang walked slowly, continually adjusting his internal breathing. Then his steps grew faster and faster, until he was sprinting as he reached the fight.
All three were startled at once. A cold gleam flashed, and the two women relaxed. That gleam, that figure-they knew them all too well.
The man with the bronze staff hurriedly swung at him. Wang Gang slipped aside, closed the distance in two steps, and sent his sword tracing a silver arc straight toward the man's throat.
The man retreated again and again, fear in his eyes. His opponent's sword was simply too fast. No longer daring to underestimate him, he brought every ounce of strength to bear, whirling his bronze staff with a fierce, roaring wind.
Wang Gang smiled faintly, and his sword moved faster still. There was only the swish of wind and the bronze-staff wielder's repeated muffled grunts.
The two women stared in a daze. Wang Gang was even stronger than last time. How could he have improved so much in so little time?
Clang!
The bronze staff struck the ground with a dull sound, jolting the two women to their senses. Looking closely, they saw that Wang Gang's sword was already against the man's neck. The man was covered in blood, though all his wounds were shallow.
"Ladies, this time I was the one who helped you!"
Wang Gang's teasing earned him an eye roll from Qin Hongmian and a smile from Gan Baobao.
"All right, I'll leave him to you. I have something else to attend to!" With that, Wang Gang turned, waved, and left.
His long white robe, slender figure, and easy movements made Gan Baobao take another look without realizing it.
Qin Hongmian, however, paid no attention to Wang Gang's posing. She laid her saber against the man's neck and demanded coldly, "Speak. Where is Brother Chun?"
Wang Gang, who had not gone far, stopped short.
The Brother Chun Qin Hongmian spoke of could only be Duan Zhengchun!
It seemed Duan Zhengchun had not left yet!
If Duan Zhengchun was still here, then this staff-wielding man was his guard, Fu Sigui.
The man who had injured Wang Zhong-dressed like a scholar, wielding a judge's brush-it all matched! He was Duan Zhengchun's other guard, Zhu Danchen!
What were they trying to do?
Wang Gang narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingers twitching gently as though tapping on something. Suddenly, he whipped his head toward Lake Tai, his face darkening, and murmured, "I gave you a chance, but you wouldn't leave! Then don't leave at all!"
The Wang Family, Waterside Cottage.
Li Qingluo stared blankly at the man before her. Ping'er and Rui'er also looked tense and flustered.
"A-Luo, have you been well?" Duan Zhengchun gazed tenderly at the woman before him.
Li Qingluo's delicate body trembled. "Why have you come? Why haven't you left yet?"
"I couldn't stop worrying about you. I wanted to see whether you were living well!" Duan Zhengchun's voice was gentle.
"I... I'm very well!" Li Qingluo glanced out the window and said anxiously, "Hurry and leave. It would be bad if someone saw you."
"Don't worry. No one will discover us. I lured Wang Gang to Suzhou City."
"What?"
Li Qingluo was somewhat surprised. That evening, she had heard Rui'er gloating that Wang Gang had punished Xueyan and intended to drive her out. How had he gone to Suzhou City in so little time?
If Duan Zhengchun said so, it surely was not false. None of the Wang Family knew martial arts, so they probably would not discover him.
Li Qingluo breathed a sigh of relief, then inwardly scolded herself for even thinking such a thing!
"A-Luo, don't lie to me. I know you haven't been living well! Otherwise, you wouldn't be staying here." Duan Zhengchun surveyed the room, then looked back at Li Qingluo. "A-Luo, come with me!"
Li Qingluo stepped back twice and shook her head. "I'm already married!"
"A-Luo, the reason I haven't left is that I wanted to know how you were living. If you truly were living well, I wouldn't have come! I could even have gone the rest of my life without seeing you!"
Looking into Li Qingluo's eyes, Duan Zhengchun said earnestly, "Stop deceiving yourself. You're like a caged bird here. You aren't happy at all! Come with me!"
"A-Luo, we'll go to Dali and plant camellias all around our home. We'll visit Erhai Lake and Mount Cang. If we grow bored, we can return to the Central Plains to roam the mountains and rivers..."
Li Qingluo's gaze grew dreamy, as though she were immersed in the beautiful life Duan Zhengchun had painted.
"Sister..." Rui'er called anxiously. "You mustn't listen to him. He's the reason things are like this between you and your husband!"
Duan Zhengchun naturally would not argue with Rui'er. He merely looked at Li Qingluo and said slowly, "A-Luo, leave this place. Do you really want to live like this for the rest of your life?"
Li Qingluo came to her senses and sneered. "Leave? Where would I go? The Prince Who Pacifies the South's Residence?"
"A-Luo, trust me. I'll persuade her. Give me some time!"
"Leave!" Li Qingluo said coldly. "Come back to me once you've killed her!"
"Ah, A-Luo..."
Duan Zhengchun was about to continue persuading her when someone outside the window said, "Is it not a joy to have a friend come from afar? How could you leave just like that?"
For a moment, the room fell silent! All the women's faces turned deathly pale!