TATSD Chapter 61

Due to his own negligence the previous day, Liu Yimian suffered great injustice. As a result, Ji Wei purposely set aside his work to take him shopping as a way to make amends.

However, Liu Yimian didn’t consider himself delicate, nor did he want to be wasteful, so he refused Ji Wei’s offer.

Eventually, Ji Wei changed his approach, suggesting that Liu Yimian accompany him on a stroll, which finally convinced him to leave the house.

The streets of East and West were lined with food vendors, and the two were quite familiar with them, so Ji Wei led Liu Yimian straight to the North-South street instead.

As they headed out, Ji Wei was already thinking about buying Liu Yimian a few new outfits.

But Liu Yimian insisted that he already had enough clothes and refused to buy more. After thinking it over, Ji Wei led him to a bookstore on South Street, allowing him to pick out some books he liked.

The moment Liu Yimian stepped into the bookstore, it was as if a fish had returned to the water.

He rarely went out, and the only two books at home were Confucius’ Analects and the Book of Songs, which Ji Wei had brought back a long time ago.

Seeing how immersed Liu Yimian was, Ji Wei didn’t want to disturb him. He gave the shopkeeper some instructions and wandered into the nearby shops.

Not long after, he overheard two young men walking briskly by, speaking excitedly about something they had just witnessed.

“I never would have imagined seeing something like that today!”

“It was incredible! I must tell my uncle when I get back! He once had a run-in with Liu Qing and got beaten up.”

“You’re right! Seeing him like a drowned rat today was so satisfying—he deserved it!”

“If he had followed Ji Wei’s example on West Street and withdrawn early, he might not have ended up like this.”

The two young men hadn’t gotten far before Ji Wei stepped in front of them.

They had been so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice Ji Wei, and their faces changed as soon as they recognized him.

“We didn’t say anything!” the tall, skinny young man stammered nervously.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Ji Wei replied with a smile, signaling them to relax.

“I stopped you because I heard you mention Liu Qing. What happened to him?”

The other young man, darker-skinned and more solidly built, let out a chuckle. “We just came from North Street and saw Liu Qing begging the shopkeepers to give him some work!”

“Yeah, wasn’t he the neighborhood bully? Who would have thought he’d end up like this!”

The two laughed heartily.

Seeing how amused they were, Ji Wei couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Has anyone taken him in?”

“No way! Everyone on North Street has suffered because of him. Now that he’s down and out, they probably wish he were dead…” The tall, skinny young man fell silent suddenly, glancing nervously at Ji Wei to gauge his reaction. Seeing Ji Wei’s calm expression, he relaxed a little.

“And has he gotten into any fights?”

“That’s the strange part. Nobody would let him inside, but Liu Qing didn’t get violent. We were all wondering if the sun’s going to rise in the west tomorrow.”

The two burst out laughing again.

After asking a few more questions, Ji Wei parted ways with them.

“Ji-ge, wait for me!” Just as he was about to check things out for himself, Liu Yimian called out to him, having chosen his books.

“Since you’re done shopping, let’s go check out the commotion together,” Ji Wei suggested.

He didn’t mention anything about Liu Qing, but as soon as they entered North Street, they could hear people all around quietly gossiping about him.

Liu Yimian glanced around and, lowering his voice, asked, “Ji-ge, what happened with Liu Qing?”

“A wicked man always meets his match,” Ji Wei replied with a cryptic smile, leading Liu Yimian toward the largest crowd.

North Street was lined with shops, and there was always a steady stream of people, but they wouldn’t gather in one place without good reason.

Except when there was something worth watching.

And today, there was nothing more worth watching than Liu Qing.

The two made their way to the edge of the crowd and peered through a gap to see what was happening.

“Get lost! Don’t come to my shop—you’re not welcome here!”

“Chen Dafu! Have you forgotten how you cried and begged me for help back in the day?!”

Liu Qing stood at the entrance of a fabric store. In just a few short days, he had lost a lot of weight and looked haggard. It was clear that life hadn’t been kind to him recently.

But while Liu Qing was struggling, everyone else was enjoying the spectacle.

The onlookers burst into laughter, no longer intimidated by him in the slightest.

Confused, Liu Yimian whispered, “Ji-ge, why aren’t they afraid of him anymore? I heard that people used to avoid him like the plague.”

The person ahead overheard and turned around, grinning as he explained, “Haven’t you heard? The county magistrate issued an order: Liu Qing is forbidden from laying a hand on ordinary folk like us. If there’s even one complaint, he’ll get ten lashes.”

“Ten lashes! Just imagine if a few people file complaints—his backside would be beaten raw.”

The old man chuckled at the thought.

“Really?”

Recalling the humiliation he had suffered from Liu Qing while imprisoned at the county jail, Liu Yimian’s face flushed with excitement. He grabbed Ji Wei’s sleeve and shook it eagerly. “Ji-ge, the county magistrate is truly wise!”

Ji Wei smirked, but he didn’t tell Liu Yimian that he was the one who had spread the rumor through Chen Sanwu. Chen owed him a favor, and with his deep hatred for Liu Qing, he was more than happy to help Ji Wei. With some added exaggeration, the rule about not extorting money had turned into a warning that anyone could report Liu Qing and have him beaten.

Liu Qing had tried to argue, but when Captain Zhu happened to pass by and affirmed the rumor, his spirit was crushed, and he didn’t dare cause any more trouble.

With Captain Zhu backing them, even the shopkeepers who had once been intimidated by Liu Qing now stood tall, emboldened enough to curse him to his face.

Liu Qing, meanwhile, had lost everything from a gambling debt he couldn’t repay. The gambling hall’s enforcers had evicted him from his home and reclaimed everything.

Under pressure from the orders of Lu Zhanhong above and the Qinglong Gang’s members below, Liu Qing had been living in misery. If it weren’t for Li Erba’s pity, allowing him to stay at his place for a few nights, Liu Qing would have had nowhere to sleep.

As for the “Steamed Bun Beauty,” she had angered Liu Qing’s wife, who had gone straight to the town head to cry about it. Feeling sorry for her, the town head had her taken away and put under guard, intending to extract the truth about her affair with Liu Qing.

The law punished women more harshly than men for extramarital affairs, and since the “Steamed Bun Beauty” had been exposed by Liu Qing’s wife, her crime was even more severe.

Now overwhelmed by his problems, Liu Qing and his former lover had no choice but to fend for themselves.

Feeling confident, Chen Dafu’s words grew harsher.

Hearing this, rage surged in Liu Qing’s heart. The frustrations of recent days erupted, burning away his reason.

To hell with Lu Zhanhong! To hell with the ten lashes!

Liu Qing, eyes bloodshot, kicked Chen Dafu to the ground and lunged at him. Amid the crowd’s gasps, he pounced, beating Chen viciously. Only when Chen was nearly crippled did the onlookers, stunned by fear, finally begin to retreat.

“Ji-ge, where are you going?” Liu Yimian asked anxiously, clutching Ji Wei’s hand tightly.

Ji Wei patted the back of his hand, reassuring him. “Do you want to watch him beat someone to death? Somebody has to intervene.”

“But you…”

“Don’t worry. Just wait for me.”

Though nervous, Liu Yimian let go, watching as Ji Wei headed to a nearby shop and grabbed a thick door bar.

Step by step, Ji Wei approached Liu Qing. The onlookers, afraid of startling him, held their breath. It wasn’t until Ji Wei stood in front of the fabric shop that Liu Qing finally noticed and turned sharply.

But it was too late.

Ji Wei had already swung the bar down, smashing it onto Liu Qing’s shoulder.

With a sickening crack, Liu Qing’s arm, poised to strike, snapped instantly.

He let out a scream, clutching his right arm as he fell on top of Chen Dafu, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Ji Wei. Despite his broken arm, he still tried to charge at him.

But Ji Wei, door bar in hand, wasn’t afraid.

He met violence with violence.

Kicking Liu Qing down as he tried to get up, Ji Wei slammed the bar down on Liu Qing’s uninjured left arm, completely subduing him amidst his screams.

As for Chen Dafu, he had already passed out from the beating, his face covered in blood.

“Good job, Ji Wei!”

“Amazing!”

“I’ll support your business from now on!”

“Still as skilled as ever!”

Seeing Liu Qing lying helpless on the ground, someone in the crowd shouted a compliment, and soon everyone was cheering excitedly.

Ji Wei bent down slightly, meeting Liu Qing’s bloodshot eyes, and laughed heartily. “You’ve lost.”