It was late at night.
Yang Ge sat alone in the front hall of the inn, supporting his chin with one hand while staring blankly at the flickering lights, and gently tapping on the table with the other.
Tap, tap, tap...
Time had passed without knowing how long when the tapping suddenly stopped.
Yang Ge raised his head and looked toward the staircase leading to the second floor's private seats.
A sturdy figure dressed in night-traveling clothes had appeared there, bringing a somewhat terrifying presence in the dead of night.
Yet, there wasn't much intense emotion in Yang Ge's eyes, as if he had known all along that someone was there.
"You're no ordinary man."
The stranger eyed Yang Ge and said in a low voice... His voice was deep and faint, like a sick person's feeble call.
Yang Ge looked calmly at the stranger, nodding and said, "Indeed, I am from second rank."
The stranger didn't understand his joke and looked puzzledly into his eyes.
But the next second, his attention was caught by the Chaotic Wind Leg Manual lying on the table, and he quickly stepped forward, "Is this the martial arts manual left by the 'Doom Star' Jiang Kui?"
Yang Ge pushed the manual toward the stranger, "It indeed belongs to Jiang."
When the stranger saw the cover of the manual, his eyes lit up as he stretched out his hands, "Smart of you!"
"Bang."
A rusty hatchet slammed heavily onto the table, blocking the hands of the man in black from reaching for the manual.
The man in black staggered, slowly raising his head, his eyes fiercely fixed on Yang Ge, "What do you mean by this?"
Yang Ge stared straight back into his eyes and said seriously, "I can give you the manual, but you can't just take it away for nothing, can you?"
The man in black flickered his eyes and scornfully said, "You expect me to leave something in exchange?"
Yang Ge shook his head, "It doesn't necessarily have to be you leaving something behind; I can leave something as well."
The man in black slammed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared down at Yang Ge with intense eyes, "Are you looking for death?"
Yang Ge tilted his head, looking at him, and slowly nodded, "Honestly... a bit!"
Their eyes locked, and time seemed to freeze in that moment.
The next instant, the man in black grabbed the edge of the table and heaved it with force, hurling the square table toward Yang Ge.
Yang Ge grabbed the hatchet and kicked towards the flying table.
"Bang."
The sturdy square table made of old elm wood shattered into pieces.
In the flickering flash of light, Yang Ge's long leg, which he had kicked out, and a fist aiming for his head, passed by each other misaligned—one high, one low.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Splat!"
In an instant, the sounds of heavy objects being kicked, a fist whizzing through the air, and spitting blood occurred simultaneously... a leg is ultimately longer than an arm!
Just then, the oil lamp dropped to the ground, and the fire flickered a few times before gradually extinguishing.
"Wind-breaking Leg? No, that's impossible!"
The angry and surprised roar of the man in black echoed from the darkness.
Responding to the sound, Yang Ge, holding the hatchet, lunged into the darkness.
"Clang clang clang."
"Bang bang bang."
"Ah!"
"I was wrong!"
"Give me a chance…"
In the dark, amidst the loud noises of rummaging, a few short cries of pain and pleas for mercy mixed in.
A dozen or so breaths later, only the sound of a loud "bang" was heard as the inn's door burst open with a large hole, and a figure, frantic as a street rat, leapt into the deep night.
…
The homes surrounding the inn lit up one after another, their candlelight flickering on moving shadows.
In the back courtyard, Shopkeeper Liu, holding a lamp and looking towards the front hall, finally mustered the courage to shout, "Young man, young man, are you there?"
"Shopkeeper, I'm here, come over!"
Hearing Yang Ge's calm voice, the heart that had leaped to Shopkeeper Liu's throat finally plummeted back into his chest.
He shielded the oil lamp from the wind and hurried through the courtyard gate.
The lamplight illuminated the front hall, and at first glance, Shopkeeper Liu saw Yang Ge covered in blood. He immediately disregarded the chaotic mess of tables and stools, and dashed over to Yang Ge in three steps, supporting him and urgently said, "What happened to you? Quickly, sit down, we must fetch the doctor right away!"
As Yang Ge listened to the buzzing sounds of discussion outside the inn, he pulled back Shopkeeper Liu, who was about to fetch someone from the backyard, shook his head, and then burst into loud sobs, "Shopkeeper, the item that guest gifted me during the day, it was stolen by a villain!"
Seeing him wail without a single tear, Shopkeeper Liu instantly understood and slapped his thigh, crying out in grief and indignation, "Damn it, not only did they steal the things, but they also smashed up my inn like this!"
"My old elm square table!"
"My ten-year-aged bottled fragrance!"
"Oh my, my rosewood abacus, this was left to me by my father…"
Seeing him weep bitterly and beat his chest, it was hard to say if there was any acting involved.
Witnessing this, Yang Ge felt guilty, wondering if he had caused trouble for Shopkeeper Liu…
As Shopkeeper Liu's sobbing echoed out of Yuelai Inn, more lamps lit up around, and the buzzing sound of discussions grew even louder.
Shortly after, a sequence of heavy mixed footfalls quickly approached from afar.
Yang Ge turned his head toward the shattered inn door and saw a squad of night patrol soldiers appear at the entrance.
"Who are you and what is the cause of disturbance at this hour!"
The leading officer, hand on his waist sword, slowly stepped into the inn, frowning and scrutinizing the front hall as he coldly demanded.
Yang Ge sighed in relief internally and took a step forward intending to answer.
However, Shopkeeper Liu abruptly pulled him behind and, stepping past him, rushed forward, continually bowing and pleading, "Officer, your arrival is timely! Please look at my Yuelai Inn, what sin has it committed to suffer this fate at the hands of villains during broad daylight, and look at my employee here, a well-known good young man of the region, harmed to this extent by those villains, you must seek justice for us…"
Facing the weeping, incomprehensible Shopkeeper Liu, the officer impatiently stepped back, drew his sword two inches and shouted, "Silence! Answer only what I ask you!"
Shopkeeper Liu had no choice but to shut his mouth, looking tearfully at the officer.
"What are your names!"
"Replying to the officer, my name is Liu Degui, the shopkeeper of this inn, and he is Yang Ge, my employee."
"What happened here?"
"Replying to the officer, the incident happened like this: in the afternoon, several officers accompanied a gentleman into our inn for refreshments…"
Inside, Shopkeeper Liu wept bitterly, narrating his grievances, and severely condemning the ruthless villain who destroyed his business.
Outside, wrapped in their garments, more and more neighbors gathered to see the commotion, but the soldiers at the door, used to such scenes, didn't bother to send them home.
Seeing this situation, Yang Ge finally let out a long sigh.
In his heart, he murmured softly, 'This ordeal should scare away those tempted by the intrigues of the jianghu, right?'
This was not a good solution.
But it was all he could do…