Chapter 62

Linglang, seeing the green-faced Old Fourth fall to the ground, finally felt her heart settle, her eyes showing a look of joy. She knew that Chuhuan would never let anyone down. This iron-willed man was never afraid of anything, and no matter what difficulties he faced, they would all vanish before him, just as Chuhuan himself had said: in this world, there are no insurmountable obstacles.

After the shock, the workers at Heshengquan immediately cheered, the anger they had been suppressing for so long finally being released. At that moment, Chuhuan became their hero.

In times of crisis, many people might be oppressed and dare not vent their anger, but there will always be one or two true men of spirit who will stand up.

What if the sky falls? There will always be men to hold it up.

Chuhuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the fallen green-faced Old Fourth, and smiled, "You're called Fourth Master, right? How about it, Fourth Master, are your Baguazhang legs more powerful, or are my dog-kicking legs more powerful?"

Green-faced Old Fourth glared at Chuhuan with hatred, but his kneecaps had been shattered by Chuhuan's kick, and he couldn't stand up. Cold sweat covered his forehead, and for Chuhuan's cold and mocking words, he didn't know how to respond.

He was very clear that this young man seemed to be smiling, but the coldness in his eyes never disappeared. If he dared to defy him now, he would suffer even more.

He just couldn't understand how such an ordinary country boy could have such powerful leg skills. He had practiced Baguazhang for many years, but in front of Chuhuan, he couldn't even last one round.

"Learning has no sequence; the one who reaches the goal first is the teacher," Chuhuan said calmly. "Even if you practice the three-legged cat's moves for a hundred years, they will still be the three-legged cat's moves... Do you agree with me?"

Old Third's face was extremely pale and terrifying, but at this moment, he didn't dare to say a word.

However, among the ruffians of Baling Hall, there were a few fierce characters. Seeing Green-faced Old Fourth fall, one of them shouted, "Damn it, brothers, let's all go together, beat this dog's son to death!" Someone already picked up a carved rosewood chair and threw it at Chuhuan.

Three or four chairs flew like bullets, but Chuhuan didn't dodge. Instead, he moved forward, leaped up, and with his hands and feet, knocked the chairs aside. They fell to the ground and shattered, while Chuhuan, like a cheetah, rushed to the front of the Baling Hall ruffians. With a flurry of punches and kicks, a few cries of pain, and two people fell to the ground. Chuhuan then landed a heavy punch on a thug's forehead, and the man fell without a sound. The other thugs, seeing this, cried out in alarm and retreated, their faces full of fear, and no one dared to come forward.

Chuhuan straightened his clothes and asked calmly, "Anyone else?"

At that moment, no one dared to say another word. Old Third's hands were trembling, and he scolded, "Who told you to attack?" He forced a smile at Chuhuan, "Chu... Brother Chu, this was a misunderstanding. You... you are a magnanimous person, let's go now!"

Chuhuan smiled and said, "Your Fourth Master left a leg behind, which is something... But because of you, several chairs have been broken here..."

He picked up a chair leg from the ground and asked, "You're Third Master, right? What do you think should be done?"

Old Third smiled awkwardly, "We... we will compensate." He took out a silver ingot, about ten taels, and handed it over. Chuhuan just glanced at it and said calmly, "Not enough!"

Old Third was taken aback but immediately called out, "Who has silver, bring it over!"

At that moment, five or six ruffians contributed silver, totaling about twenty taels, but Chuhuan still shook his head, "Not enough!"

Old Third forced a smile, "Brother Chu, these rosewood chairs... hehe, at most two taels each. We... we broke five chairs, so twenty taels should be enough, right?"

Chuhuan smiled faintly and turned to ask the master carpenter, Han Yuan, "Uncle Han, how much are these chairs worth?"

Han Yuan, who was not senile, understood Chuhuan's meaning and came forward, saying, "These chairs were bought from Lu'an many years ago. At that time, they cost two taels each, but with the transportation costs and the age, they are now antiques. Without ten taels each, it wouldn't be worth it!"

Old Third cursed inwardly, "You old fox, antiques? Do you put antiques out for people to sit on?" But at this moment, Chuhuan had already intimidated them, and Old Third just wanted to leave as soon as possible. He reluctantly called out, "Everyone, take out your silver, make up... make up sixty taels!"

"Wrong!" Chuhuan said calmly. "Sixty taels is not enough."

Old Third opened his mouth, forcing a smile, "Ten taels each, six chairs, sixty taels... that's right, isn't it?"

Chuhuan pointed to Uncle Su not far away, "One of your men startled Uncle Su. He's old, and although he seems fine now, if he gets a headache or a fever later, he'll need to see a doctor. Seeing a doctor costs silver, and you can't expect us to pay for it, can you?"

"How much then?"

"A few chairs can't compare to an old man's health," Chuhuan said leisurely. "Let's do this: leave one hundred and fifty taels, plus the six chairs, two hundred and ten taels... Considering you've admitted your mistake, I'll take two hundred taels. Take two hundred taels, and you can leave. I won't stop you!"

Old Third drew a cold breath.

They say the people of Baling Hall are ruthless, but now it seems this country bumpkin is even more ruthless. Asking for two hundred taels, he didn't even hesitate.

Although Old Third was afraid of Chuhuan, he was also angry at Chuhuan's pressure and couldn't help but say, "Chu... Chuhuan, are you being too unreasonable?"

"Too unreasonable?" Chuhuan's face turned cold, and he laughed coldly. "Have you forgotten how you treated the boss? A group of men bullying a weak woman, and you still call yourselves gangsters... Don't you know that there are two iron rules in the underworld: don't harm family members, and don't bully the weak... Did you follow these rules?"

Linglang's eyes were already red.

She knew that if it weren't for Chuhuan today, Heshengquan would have suffered a great humiliation. This man, just like last time, stood up for her when she was in trouble, protecting her.

Unable to control herself, Linglang's eyes welled up with tears, and she just quietly watched Chuhuan, looking at that straight back. She knew that at least at this moment, no one could bully her.

Old Third, scolded by Chuhuan, didn't dare to say more and just signaled for the others to gather silver. But these ruffians couldn't really gather two hundred taels in such a short time. They managed to collect a little over ninety taels, and Old Third, holding the silver, walked to Chuhuan and said awkwardly, "Brother Chu, this is all we have. What do you think...?"

"Bring me some ink and paper!" Chuhuan said sternly.

Linglang finally looked at Master Liang and said, "Get the ink and paper!"

Master Liang hurriedly agreed, and his fat body, like a meat pig, quickly brought the ink, paper, and brush, placing them on a chair. Chuhuan took the ninety taels of silver and handed it to Han Yuan, pointing to the ink and paper and saying to Old Third, "Write an IOU. You still owe one hundred and ten taels, with interest at three percent per day. If you don't pay back, the interest will accumulate. Let's be clear, Third Master, come on!"

Old Third's eyes showed anger, but Chuhuan coldly snorted, "What, Third Master, do you want to try your luck again?"

At that moment, the morale of Heshengquan's people had risen, and someone in the crowd shouted, "Write the IOU, write the IOU!" One voice quickly became two, two became four... In a moment, hundreds of people from Heshengquan raised their arms and shouted, "Write the IOU, write the IOU...!" The sound was loud and the momentum was strong.

Old Third knew he had no choice and had to write the IOU in front of everyone, handing it to Chuhuan. He then waved his hand and said, "Lift the people, let's go!"

The people of Baling Hall lifted the injured Green-faced Old Fourth and a few others and followed Old Third out.

Fan Yishang, seeing the situation was not good and that things had gone wrong, hurriedly followed the Baling Hall people, trying to leave together. But he heard Chuhuan's voice behind him, "Second Master, I said earlier we should talk. Do you have time now?"

Fan Yishang, hearing this, was terrified and didn't dare to stay, speeding up his steps. But Old Third stopped and looked at Fan Yishang coldly, laughing, "Didn't you hear me tell you to stay?" Today, Baling Hall's face had been slapped hard by Chuhuan, and the reason was closely related to Fan Yishang, so Old Third had no good expression for him.

Fan Yishang was stunned and then showed a look of fear, shouting, "Third Master, you... you can't leave me behind...!" He quickly went over and grabbed Old Third's arm, begging, "Third Master, take me with you, I... I can't stay here!"

Old Third raised his hand and slapped Fan Yishang's face hard, then kicked him to the ground and left with the Baling Hall people in a sorry state.

Fan Yishang got up from the ground and cursed at the retreating Baling Hall people, "Untrustworthy cowards, talking about honor and righteousness, but in the end, they're just scoundrels...!" Suddenly, he felt a chill down his back, realizing his situation, and shivered. He turned around to see hundreds of eyes from Heshengquan looking at him like a monster, many with mocking expressions.

Cold sweat broke out on Fan Yishang's forehead. Seeing Chuhuan standing in the courtyard, he forced a smile and walked over heavily, saying, "Brother Chu, we're all friends, it was just a misunderstanding...!" He looked at Linglang and called, "Sister-in-law, I... I'm a scoundrel, don't take it to heart...!" But Linglang didn't even look at him, ignoring him.

Chuhuan came forward, grabbed Fan Yishang by the back of the neck, and walked him out of the gate, laughing, "Second Master, right? Come, come, brother has something to talk to you about, it will take a little of your time!" He carried Fan Yishang out of Heshengquan's gate, and in a deserted area, Fan Yishang's face turned pale with fear, trembling and looking miserable.

Chuhuan made Fan Yishang stand against the wall and then crossed his arms, smiling at him.

"Second Master, I heard at Yipinxiang that you owe Green-faced Old Fourth a few hundred taels of silver. What's the story?" Chuhuan asked with a smile.

Fan Yishang stood straight against the wall, feet together, hands by his sides, not daring to resist. Hearing Chuhuan's question, he was surprised, "You... how do you know?"

Chuhuan raised his hand and slapped him, "Now I'm asking the questions, you just answer honestly. It's not your turn to ask, Second Master, can you follow the rules?"

Fan Yishang covered his face, looking pitiful and miserable, and said, "I'll tell the truth. A while ago, I got news that... Boss Su... had an accident and didn't return from Taiyuan on time. And there was news from the yamen that her passenger boat was robbed by bandits... So... so...!" But he didn't dare to continue.

Chuhuan laughed coldly, and before he could speak, Fan Yishang, afraid of another slap, quickly said, "So I wanted to take over all the shops Su's family had in the city and county. The boss is... is my family's daughter-in-law. If she had an accident, the properties under her name... would naturally belong to my family. So I found Green-faced Old Fourth from Baling Hall, asking him to help me, to prevent... to prevent anyone from stopping me when I took over the shops...!" By this point, Fan Yishang was sweating profusely but didn't dare to stop, "For this, I sold my last shop and bribed the yamen with nearly a thousand taels of silver, and I also paid Green-faced Old Fourth a sum of silver...!"

"But then the boss returned safely, so your plan couldn't be carried out, and you didn't need Baling Hall's help. But Baling Hall still made you pay the agreed amount, right?" Chuhuan's expression was unfriendly.

Fan Yishang trembled and said, "Yes... that's right. I owed a few hundred taels of silver and couldn't pay it back, but... but those guys are untrustworthy. If I didn't pay, they would take my old house and... and my concubine. I thought about it and... and decided to bring them to Heshengquan to get the wine. With this wine, I could... I could get the silver!"

Chuhuan frowned, "The people in the yamen were also bribed by you?"

"Magistrate Hu... Magistrate Hu is a scoundrel," Fan Yishang said through gritted teeth. "Baling Hall is actually Magistrate Hu's people. The leader of Baling Hall, Xue, is Magistrate Hu's lackey. Baling Hall has been exploiting the people for the past two years, and a portion of every silver they extort goes to Magistrate Hu. Everyone knows this, but no one dares to say it. Last time, I already bribed Magistrate Hu with nearly a thousand taels of silver, and this time he wanted to extort more. If we really got the wine today, the silver from selling it would be split, with three-tenths going to him...!"

"Three years of a clean magistrate, ten thousand taels of silver," Chuhuan's eyes turned colder. It seemed that the people of Liujia Village were being exploited, and the one behind the scenes was Magistrate Hu.

It was likely that the entire Qingliu County, not just Liujia Village, was being exploited, and this Magistrate Hu was a major corrupt official.

Chuhuan finally understood why Headman Huang had come to help Fan Yishang and his group. Their relationship was indeed very close.

"You remember this: if you ever step into Heshengquan again, I will break your hands and feet!" Chuhuan said coldly. "This time, I'll give you a little lesson!" He suddenly punched Fan Yishang in the stomach, and Fan Yishang fell to his knees, clutching his stomach, tears and snot streaming down his face. Chuhuan, as if nothing had happened, dusted off his hands, straightened his clothes, and walked back into the wine shop.

...

...

Old Third led a group of people out of Heshengquan and to the end of the street, where they all turned right, but he turned left and quickly entered a small alley.

In this small alley, there was a carriage parked, and beside it, Headman Huang and several constables were standing around.

Seeing Old Third's panicked look, Headman Huang frowned and approached the carriage, whispering, "Sir, Old Third is here!"

Soon, a man jumped out of the carriage. He was about forty-five or forty-six years old, not tall but sturdy, wearing a black leather hat and a black brocade robe. His face was fierce, with a clear scar above his left eyebrow, as if from a knife wound. He held two iron balls in his right hand, rolling them with his fingers, making a "clinking" sound.

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