Chapter 2: The Ambush

"Little Mute, I heard you made a fortune today—congratulations, brother!"

A burly man in his thirties, with a scar at the corner of his right eyebrow and holding a water-fire staff, blocked the way ahead, flanked by six or seven young beggars. Among them was Little Ears, whose face brimmed with spite and glee; it was clear he still resented Zhuang Jin for punishing him after a failed attempt to steal his techniques.

"Little Mute" was Zhuang Jin’s nickname. After his former self suffered a great misfortune and fell into beggary, he became withdrawn and taciturn. When Zhuang Jin transmigrated here, he kept up this silent façade, believing the less he said, the fewer mistakes he'd make, and thus preserved his hidden identity.

"Tan San," Zhuang Jin uttered, frowning as he looked at the man.

Tan San had once belonged to a respectable family, but his addiction to gambling ruined him, and he ended up a beggar. Even then, he remained idle and gluttonous, bullying smaller beggars with his imposing stature and always "borrowing" money—though he never repaid a single coin. Today, he was here for what he called a "strong borrowing," but in truth, it was robbery.

So, it must have been some little beggar who saw the reward of a silver fragment Zhuang Jin received today and reported it to Tan San, leading to this confrontation... As for the snitch...

Zhuang Jin glanced at Little Ears’ face, so full of schadenfreude behind Tan San. He surmised it must be him and looked at the boy with a deep, penetrating gaze.

Little Ears instinctively shrank back, but then, realizing he was surrounded by so many allies, puffed up his chest, straightened his back, and glared at Zhuang Jin with all the bravado of a young lackey emboldened by his patron—just like the sycophants trailing after wealthy heirs.

Zhuang Jin’s gaze swept over the beggar children and settled on Tan San, knowing he was the lynchpin. "Tan San," he intoned, "you usually force others to lend you money, and now you threaten them, leading them to rob. Have you considered the consequences with the Marquis? Don't bring disaster upon yourself."

The "Marquis" was not a real noble, but rather a moniker. His real name was Hou Yong, the boss of all the beggars in this district, collecting protection fees monthly. Tan San, Zhuang Jin, Little Ears, and the others were all under his thumb. If Tan San extorted money behind Hou Yong’s back or resorted to outright theft, Hou Yong would not let him off lightly.

The warning was clear: "Leave me be, and I won’t report you to the Marquis. We’ll go our separate ways, each minding his own business."

Tan San understood the implication, surprised that the usually silent "Little Mute" could speak so pointedly. Still, sensing Zhuang Jin’s reluctance for trouble, he took it as weakness. For someone who preyed on the weak and feared the strong, the scent of weakness was irresistible—how could he let this go?

Yet Zhuang Jin’s veiled threat struck his soft spot, irking him even more. The other beggar children, on hearing the Marquis’s name, shrank like quails, which only magnified Tan San’s annoyance. "Whether I court disaster is none of your concern. You should worry about yourself first!"

"Heh, if I don’t teach you a lesson today and make you understand what should and shouldn’t be said, then my name isn’t Tan!"

With that, he signaled his followers to surround Zhuang Jin.

‘If he had any sense, he’d have taken the opportunity to back down,’ Zhuang Jin thought. ‘Pity he’s a fool.’

Zhuang Jin wasn’t one to shy from trouble, but with the martial recruitment tomorrow, he had hoped to avoid any complications today. Seeing Tan San’s obstinate stance, he knew things wouldn’t end peacefully. He turned to the other beggar children. "Tan San forces you to lend him money, hiding it from the Marquis. Why don’t you tie him up and bring him to the Marquis? You might even recover what you lost."

"Don’t be afraid of his revenge. With the Marquis’s temperament, Tan San will be lucky to escape with his life!"

At these words, the six or seven beggar children, including Little Ears, hesitated, the idea taking root. They began to waver.

"Well, aren’t you clever!"

Tan San hadn’t expected the usually silent "Little Mute" to so nearly sway the very beggars he’d coerced to his side. Even he felt a chill at the consequences Zhuang Jin described and briefly regretted provoking him. Still, he knew he couldn’t show fear now; otherwise, these weaklings would turn on him and make Zhuang Jin’s threat a reality.

"Who dares touch your Grandpa Tan?"

Desperate, he roared, playing up his tough, fearless demeanor. Coupled with his past reputation, it cowed the beggars into inaction. Gritting his teeth, he promised, "‘Little Mute’ got a silver fragment today, worth at least thirty coins. Soon, I’ll split ten coins each for all of you."

Ten coins! That was several days’ alms for most of them.

To these shallow-eyed beggars, the temptation was great. They forgot all thoughts of tying up Tan San and turned their hungry eyes on Zhuang Jin, like a pack of starving wolves.

Rabble, unfit for any scheme, Zhuang Jin sighed inwardly. Suddenly, his expression changed. "Marquis! Why have you come?"

At the mention of the Marquis, the beggar children snapped out of their greed and instinctively turned to look, the most panicked being Tan San, who nearly collapsed in fright.

Zhuang Jin’s earlier warning about the Marquis’s wrath was still fresh in their minds, and now, feigning the Marquis’s arrival, he nearly scared Tan San out of his wits.

In that instant, Zhuang Jin struck. His sharpened dog-beating staff jabbed into Tan San’s wrist, sending the stolen water-fire staff clattering to the ground. In the next moment, he smashed the staff down on Tan San’s right leg, forcing him to one knee.

The blows were swift and ruthless, pain only registering a moment later as Tan San howled in agony.

The beggar children, realizing there was no Marquis behind them, turned back just in time to see Tan San on one knee, face pale and drenched in sweat, his arm bleeding profusely from the wound. They shrank back, cowed by Zhuang Jin’s icy glare, none daring to meet his eyes.

The tide had turned.

Zhuang Jin knew well the nature of this crowd—cruel yet weak. Living at the very bottom, they fought dogs for scraps, and should you reveal any weakness, they’d tear you apart like mad beasts. But at heart, they feared strength. Tan San’s stature let him bully them with impunity. Now, with their leader disabled and cowed by violence, the beggar children’s weakness revealed itself—they’d submit like lambs, not daring to so much as bleat.

"Tan San!" Zhuang Jin, having subdued them, turned his cold gaze on Tan San, tightening his grip on the dog-beating staff.

The moment Tan San met Zhuang Jin’s eyes and saw the subtle movement of his hand, his skin prickled with fear. Instinct screamed that death was near. Any thought of cursing Zhuang Jin for "lacking martial virtue" or threatening him vanished. Instead, he sucked in a pained breath and begged for mercy. "Spare me! I’m a wretch, not worth staining your hands with blood!"

Desperate, he blurted, "It was Little Ears! He’s the one who told me you got the silver, he egged me on!"

Little Ears, hearing this, tried to run, but before he could take a step, Zhuang Jin tripped him with his staff. Two quick-witted beggars grabbed him and dragged him over, eager to curry favor.

Little Ears, seeing Zhuang Jin’s bloody staff and icy gaze, was overwhelmed by the vision of himself crippled like Tan San—if not dead, then doomed to starve and freeze on the streets. Terror overwhelmed him, and tears and snot streamed down his face as he begged pitifully for his life.

Zhuang Jin glanced at him with disgust, then, after considering, decided not to kill anyone outright. Hurting them was one thing, but murder would draw too much attention—Hou Yong, the authorities... The blowback would come fast and hard.

But letting them off with just that felt too lenient.

He pointed his staff at Tan San. "Hand over all your money."

Zhuang Jin had hoped to avoid trouble, but now that it had found him, he might as well profit. Tan San dared not resist and handed over his purse. Zhuang Jin weighed it; over a hundred coins—a pleasant surprise, perhaps Tan San had enjoyed a recent lucky streak.

"Spare me fifty coins, please! In a couple of days we have to pay the protection fee to the Marquis..." Tan San pleaded.

"The Marquis?" Zhuang Jin sneered. He was planning to flee tomorrow to join the Shen family’s martial recruitment. He had already crossed the Marquis; what did it matter if he angered him further?

With Tan San cowed, the rest dared not resist. They handed over their money as well—over three hundred coins in all. With Tan San’s share, nearly five hundred coins.

Zhuang Jin understood. Some beggars felt safer keeping their money close, and with the protection fee due soon, they carried more than usual.

So it was, the most profitable ventures were all written in the law books—robbery and arson made fortunes. A tael of silver was just the beginning; with this money, he’d have a comfortable start in martial training.

Pocketing the money, Zhuang Jin departed calmly.

...

After he left, Tan San and the beggars felt as though a great weight had been lifted. The atmosphere, however, turned uneasy. The others eyed Tan San, some with ill intent—his injuries and his humiliation at Zhuang Jin’s hands diminished their fear of him. They wondered if they might not gang up and deliver him to the Marquis themselves.

‘A pack of mongrels, growing bold again,’ Tan San thought. He knew them too well—their every move was as predictable as the filth they squatted over. He could read their intentions at a glance.

"Little Ears, come here!" he called out with a sudden smile.

Little Ears, relieved to have escaped Zhuang Jin with his limbs intact, approached at Tan San’s call, mumbling, "Tan—Tan Grandpa..."

Crack! With a vicious glare, Tan San’s smile vanished. He hefted the water-fire staff and brought it down on Little Ears’s leg. There was a dull thud, a sickening snap.

"My leg—it's broken!" Little Ears wailed, clutching his right leg in agony.

His leg, spared by Zhuang Jin, was snapped instead by Tan San—a cruel twist of fate.

The remaining children looked on in terror. For a beggar, a broken leg meant less income and likely death by cold or hunger. Tan San’s brutality had all but ended Little Ears’s life, and the rest dared not consider betraying him now, bowing their heads like quails.

"Why bark, you wretch? If your Grandpa Tan has come to this, it’s all your fault, you jinx!" He spat on Little Ears and turned to the others. "Thought you could challenge me because I’m hurt? Dream on! If you want to defy me, wait another eight centuries!"

After a tirade of abuse, seeing the old fear return to their faces, Tan San knew his show of force had worked. ‘If I can’t handle Little Mute, I can still keep you in line!’

"Bamboo Stick, Little Bun, come help me to Old Wang's for some medicine... Ow, that Little Mute hits hard!"

Supported by the boys, Tan San groaned to his feet. A new thought occurred: ‘Should I report Little Mute to the Marquis?’

Before, his "loans" were just a coin or two, careful not to interfere with the protection fee. But Zhuang Jin had not only hurt him but also taken the fee money—if the Marquis found out, he’d be flayed alive.

Yet as soon as the thought formed, he recalled Zhuang Jin’s cold stare and shivered, instantly dismissing the idea.

Instead, shame and anger mingled with his fear. He consoled himself: ‘I’m not afraid of Little Mute. The fee’s due in a couple of days—those beggars won’t be able to pay. The Marquis will find out even without me saying a word, and then he’ll handle Zhuang Jin himself.’

...