Talking Business

A smile tugged at Wang Gang's lips. His left hand moved, striking out with a palm, and the Flame Blade arrived in a flash.

"Ah!"

Jin Long screamed as the Flame Blade cut a gash in his body. Wang Gang stepped in close and thrust his sword into the wound.

Clang!

Jin Long wilted and crashed to the floor.

Wang Gang pulled out his sword, wiped the blood off on Jin Long's clothes, and sneered. "And here I thought you really were impervious to blades and spears!"

Jin Long struggled to his feet, clutching his wound. He glanced at the three shopkeepers and said reluctantly, "My skills fall short of yours. I concede defeat and will take my leave!"

"Trying to leave?" Wang Gang kicked him to the floor. "You think you can get off that easily?"

"What do you want? Lay down your terms, and I'll take them!" Jin Long said quietly, anger in his eyes.

Wang Gang went straight to the door, opened it, and clapped his hands. The waiter who had brought him upstairs came running over, trembling with fear. "Y-young master, what are your orders?" He had heard the commotion inside from outside the door, but did not know what had caused it.

Wang Gang tossed him a money pouch and ordered, "Go to the county office and fetch County Commandant Yang!"

"Yes, yes!" The waiter hurriedly tucked the pouch away. He was just about to peek through the doorway when an icy look from Wang Gang frightened him into turning and running.

Wang Gang returned to the private room, undid Jin Long's belt, and tied him up with it. "You've got thick skin and tough flesh. You can take a little wound like this, can't you?"

Ignoring Jin Long's resentful gaze, Wang Gang walked over to Shopkeeper Shen, patted his face, and smiled. "What did you say about how we should negotiate? Say it again!"

"I... I..." Shopkeeper Shen stammered, not daring to speak. He had originally brought Jin Long along merely to frighten the brat. Scholars feared this sort of reckless thug most.

But he had never expected Wang Gang to actually dare fight him. He knew Jin Long's martial skills; over the years, Jin Long had helped him handle plenty of matters like this. Yet he had actually lost to Wang Gang. Just how skilled was Wang Gang?

He seemed to have brought a great deal of trouble down on the Shen family. He would not have feared a mere martial artist. Di Qing had been formidable enough, hadn't he? And how had that turned out? An ordinary scholar would have been no concern either. Even if he later earned scholarly honors, he would still have to operate within the rules.

The most frightening sort was precisely this: someone with both a scholar's status and martial prowess. If they pushed him too far and he stopped following the rules, who could stop him?

The other two shopkeepers also looked thoughtful. Clearly, the same thing had occurred to them.

Smack!

Wang Gang slapped Shopkeeper Shen across the face and sneered. "What? Got used to bullying ordinary folk? Thought you'd try it on me too?"

Shopkeeper Shen's expression shifted several times. Finally, he steeled himself and dropped straight to his knees. "This old man harbored improper intentions and offended you, young master. Please be magnanimous and overlook this petty man's faults!"

"Uh... why are you such a coward?"

This left Wang Gang at a loss. The mockery and barbs he had planned to continue with would no longer come out; otherwise, he would look overbearing! He felt somewhat stifled.

The fight was over, and now was the time for him to reap the fruits of victory, yet the other party had simply knelt! It felt like having dinner and booking a room, only for the other person to tell you they were going home!

Why couldn't you dare put up a fight?

"Yukun, Old Shen certainly handled this poorly!" Shopkeeper Gu said with an awkward smile. "But we came here today to discuss business! Do you think... we should still discuss it?"

"Yes, yes, we came to discuss business! How did things end up like this?" Shopkeeper Lu hastily chimed in.

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Shen glanced at them, inwardly cursing their shamelessness! They wanted to wash their hands of the whole thing with a single remark.

Wang Gang gave them a faint, ambiguous smile. "Of course we'll discuss it! Why wouldn't we? The three of you agreed to invite me here! If we don't, wouldn't that mean you were making a fool of me?"

The three exchanged looks, realizing Wang Gang was not easily fooled. With one sentence, he had tied all three of them together again!

"Heh, then let's discuss it!" Shopkeeper Gu gave a couple of dry chuckles. "But if you're unwilling to part with it, Yukun, we certainly won't insist!"

"I'm willing. Why wouldn't I be? So long as the price is right!"

"Then, Yukun, what price did you have in mind...?"

"Didn't I already say? Ten thousand taels from each of you!"

"This... that really is a little..."

"Ah!"

Before he could finish, Wang Gang slashed his sword at Shopkeeper Shen, frightening a cry out of him. Yet the sword only sliced a strip from his robe's hem. Wang Gang casually picked it up and began wiping the blade. "Hmm? What did you just say?"

"Ah! Nothing, nothing!" Shopkeeper Gu forced out a smile. "The price is rather high, but it's worth it!"

"Good!" Wang Gang nodded, then looked at the other two. "What do you say?"

"No problem, no problem!" Both nodded repeatedly.

"Good, then we have a deal!" Wang Gang sheathed his sword, then exclaimed as though he had only just noticed their sorry state, "Why are you three sitting on the floor? Please, get up!"

As he spoke, he extended a hand in a gesture of assistance. Once they were seated, he continued, "Send the silver to the Drunken Immortal Tower tomorrow. After that, you can send people over to learn the skills! Rest assured, I guarantee they'll learn!"

"Sorry for the trouble, Yukun!" The three cupped their hands with bitter smiles, their faces full of pain at the expense.

Wang Gang turned to look at Jin Long. Somehow, his wound had stopped bleeding. Wang Gang could not help clicking his tongue. This external martial training really was impressive!

Shaking his head in admiration, he asked the three, "Does this man have anything to do with you?"

The three immediately caught his meaning and hastily shook their heads. "No, no! We've never met him!"

"Good! This man is a Fish-Dragon Gang leader wanted by the county office! He's extremely vicious. Be careful not to let him implicate you!"

"Of course!" Shopkeepers Gu and Lu looked entirely at ease. Shopkeeper Shen also nodded in agreement, but a ruthless gleam flashed through his eyes!

Before long, hurried footsteps sounded outside. The door opened, and County Commandant Yang leaned inside. He froze briefly at the chaotic scene in the room. Just as he was about to speak, Wang Gang said:

"County Commandant, you're finally here! This is a Fish-Dragon Gang leader. He tried to seize my secret stir-fry recipes today, but I was fortunate enough to subdue him!"

What sort of man was the county commandant? One glance was enough for him to deduce most of what had happened. It was simply a case of hiring a killer, only for the tables to be turned. But he could not be bothered to deal with these great families' messy affairs. Offending either side would leave him covered in filth!

He gave Wang Gang a long look and smiled. "It seems your martial skills have improved again, Yukun!"

Last time, he and Wang Gang had fought an assassin together. That man had barely reached the third-rate level, yet Wang Gang had struggled to handle him. As for Jin Long, the commandant knew him: a genuine second-rate expert. Yet Wang Gang had subdued even him!

"Not at all, not at all. I merely relied on a heart full of noble, righteous Qi!" Wang Gang's expression was solemn.

The corner of the commandant's eye twitched slightly. He cupped his hands. "I'll take this criminal away for questioning at once and strive to wipe out the Fish-Dragon Gang in one stroke! Restore a bright and clear world to the people!"

"You're busy with official duties, County Commandant, so I won't keep you!" Wang Gang said. "But parading this fellow through the streets after his arrest might draw the Fish-Dragon Gang's attention. Why not put him in a sack to conceal his face?"

The commandant nodded and promptly ordered the archers accompanying him to see to it. Before long, they had Jin Long thoroughly bundled up, and several archers carried him away.

After seeing the commandant off, Wang Gang smiled at the three shopkeepers, then turned and left as well. The three slumped into their seats!

"We really tried to steal a chicken, only to lose a handful of rice!"

Shopkeepers Gu and Lu felt this was a calamity out of nowhere! They had spent ten thousand taels each for no good reason, and the loss hurt terribly.

Silver was not circulating currency in the Song dynasty. Ordinary people could not spend it directly; they had to exchange it for copper coins first. The court lacked copper and often mixed iron and lead into the coins, which also caused their value to fall. One tael of silver could be exchanged for more than one string of coins.

An ordinary household's annual expenses were only around twenty strings. How could spending ten thousand taels not hurt?

The two shopkeepers left without even saying goodbye, leaving only Shopkeeper Shen behind with a gloomy expression. Suddenly, he smiled faintly!

"Interesting!" Shopkeeper Shen brought his palm down lightly, and the solid wooden table crashed apart!