The IOU

"How much do you want to borrow?"

"How much have you got?"

Hei Hu frowned.

Ma Sanyang, who had just been given a beating last night, had actually brought a client over to borrow money today. One look at this client told him something was wrong.

There were calluses on his knuckles, too, and his palms were even rougher than Hei Hu's. Clearly, he was a martial artist as well, and his skills were probably above Hei Hu's.

But Hei Hu did not lose his nerve.

Zhang Pingping had told him never to panic, whatever happened. No matter who came to borrow money, he had to take a firm stance. So he snorted. "What are you offering as collateral?"

"The Baile Gambling House."

Li Si spoke.

Hei Hu froze.

The Baile Gambling House was one of the better-known gambling houses around Baile Street, and the gang behind it was called the Baile Gang.

Zhang Pingping had repeatedly warned him not to clash with anyone from the Baile Gang for the time being.

Now that they had come knocking, they had clearly come prepared.

"What's wrong? Not enough collateral, or can't you scrape together the silver? Is scaring trash like Ma Sanyang all you're good for?"

Li Si snorted.

"From peddlers and porters to high officials and nobles, Warm Breeze Hall has never turned down anyone who came to borrow money.

How much exactly do you want to borrow?"

Hei Hu forced himself to remain calm.

"I told you, however much you've got."

Li Si spoke.

"What a joke. A mere Baile Gambling House could be raided by the authorities at any moment. Do you think it's run by the government?"

Hei Hu sneered.

"Heh, then I'll borrow two hundred taels."

Li Si held up two fingers.

"Wait here."

Hei Hu shut the door.

He quickly told Chen Sanshi what had happened.

"Two hundred taels."

Chen Sanshi had already heard the commotion.

Learning that the man was from the Baile Gambling House, and recalling Ma Sanyang's habitual addiction to gambling, he immediately understood that the other party had come looking for trouble. If they lent him this money, they would never get it back.

But if they simply threw him out, Warm Breeze Hall could forget about getting by on Baile Street.

He could only inform Zhang Pingping at once.

"When gangs lend money, encroaching on another's territory is the greatest taboo. Ma Sanyang often hangs around the Baile Gambling House. It looks like he told them about this, and they've come deliberately looking for trouble."

Zhang Pingping immediately understood the whole story.

"Sister Pingping, then this money...?"

Chen Sanshi frowned.

"Lend it to him!"

Zhang Pingping hesitated only briefly.

"Huh?"

Chen Sanshi had not expected that.

"Never mind two hundred taels, we'd have to lend it to him even if it were three hundred. Since Warm Breeze Hall is lending money on Baile Street, sooner or later we'll have to face the gambling house. Since they've come knocking, we can't refuse their challenge."

Zhang Pingping was not acting on impulse.

On the surface, Chen Sanshi was Warm Breeze Hall's only Ming Jin martial artist. In reality, counting Zhang Lingfeng and Liu Feng, there were three of them.

If necessary, they could also ask Wu Yun to help.

She was still confident they could recover a mere two hundred taels of silver. It would simply take some extra trouble. But if Warm Breeze Hall was to grow bigger and stronger, they had to get past this hurdle.

"All right. If they dare not pay it back when the time comes, I won't let them off."

Chen Sanshi spoke.

He might not be a match for the Baile Gang in a head-on fight, but if he launched sneak attacks from the shadows, he could certainly leave them battered and frantic.

"Brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."

"Coming."

Chen Sanshi ground ink for Zhang Pingping.

Though Zhang Pingping's background could not compare with the wealthy households in the city, ordinary families still considered her a well-bred young lady. Reading and writing were everyday matters for her.

A little while later.

She finished writing the IOU, blew the ink dry, and handed it to Chen Sanshi.

"A ten-day term, ninety percent disbursed and a hundred and twenty percent repaid. Give him a hundred and eighty taels. In ten days, he pays back two hundred and forty."

Zhang Pingping spoke.

"All right."

Chen Sanshi put away the IOU and returned to Warm Breeze Hall's office with the silver.

"It's been half a day. Why aren't you ready yet? Can you lend the money or not?"

Li Si shouted angrily outside the door.

Hei Hu opened the door. "Third Master invites you in."

"Hmph!"

Li Si strode inside and saw a dark-skinned youth seated in the main room. On the table before him lay a completed IOU and a bowl of red clay.

"A ten-day term, ninety percent disbursed and a hundred and twenty percent repaid. If that's fine, sign and put your thumbprint on it, then take the money."

Chen Sanshi spoke mildly.

Having cultivated Ming Jin, he was not merely putting on a strong front like Hei Hu. He was considering how he should take Li Si down if they faced each other.

"Straightforward."

After looking Chen Sanshi over carefully, Li Si quickly signed and pressed his thumbprint onto the IOU without even reading what it said.

Once he saw that Warm Breeze Hall's leader was only a youth, he knew that no one would be able to get the silver back once it reached his hands.

Whatever was written on the IOU, it was nothing but wastepaper.

He then grabbed the money pouch and swaggered away. Only when he reached the door did he say, "Come to the gambling house to collect in ten days."

Li Si sneered inwardly.

He was only afraid Chen Sanshi would not have the nerve to come collect when the time came.

At noon.

Only after Zhang Lingfeng finished practicing his boxing and returned from the martial arts school did he learn that the Baile Gang had borrowed two hundred taels of silver.

"Judging by the look of him, there's a good chance he won't pay it back of his own accord."

Chen Sanshi recounted what he had seen to Zhang Lingfeng.

"It's fine. I'm not afraid he won't repay it, only that he won't borrow. Don't dwell on this for now. If you have nothing else to do during this time, focus on practicing martial arts."

Zhang Lingfeng spoke after some thought.

His view was the same as Zhang Pingping's. With Warm Breeze Hall lending money on Baile Street, they would have to fight the Baile Gang sooner or later. Since the other party had come to borrow money, if they refused to repay it, they would be in the wrong. When the time came to fight, there would be no need to hold back.

"The Baile Gang? Li Si?"

"Their leader is called Dong Wenhan. He was originally just a street thug. Later, he learned martial arts at a martial arts school, and with his ruthless methods, he gradually made a name for himself. He failed three consecutive attempts to break through to Dark Force, leaving his cultivation stuck at Peak Ming Jin.

The only troublesome thing is that he's taken in plenty of people from all walks of life. He has a lot of followers, so you might be at a disadvantage in a fight."

To be safe, Zhang Lingfeng still told Liu Feng about the matter that afternoon.

"It doesn't matter how many followers he has, as long as he has no backer."

Zhang Lingfeng instead breathed a sigh of relief at what he heard.

No one should dream of pocketing money lent out by Warm Breeze Hall.

Time hurried by.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Sanshi kept watch at Warm Breeze Hall, waiting for Li Si to come repay the money. But the deadline arrived, and there was still no sign of him.

Much less any recovery of those two hundred and forty taels of silver.

But Zhang Pingping had anticipated this.

"Sister Pingping, how about having Hei Hu and Sun Yan go ask Li Si about it?"

Chen Sanshi spoke.

"Right, the two of us can go sound him out first."

Sun Yan agreed.

"They're making it perfectly clear they won't repay it. They're just waiting for you to come collecting. If you go, not only will you fail to recover the money, they'll detain you too."

Zhang Pingping spoke with complete certainty.

"Then I'll go with them!"

Chen Sanshi picked up a broadsword as he spoke.

"Put the sword down and take these pastries to my younger brother. The jianghu isn't all fighting and killing. Whatever happens, don't act rashly.

Once you reach the martial arts school, my brother will tell you what to do."

Zhang Pingping spoke calmly instead.

"Yes."

Chen Sanshi felt stifled, but he still put down the broadsword and carried the pastries to the martial arts school to find Zhang Lingfeng.