Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Momentum
A sudden knock came from the door. Chen Ping’an felt the hairs on his body stand on end, and his scalp went numb.
Chen Erya, who was busy in the kitchen, also heard the knock and ran out, her hands still wet.
Chen Ping’an shot Chen Erya a look, placed the stone in a corner of the courtyard wall, and then moved silently to her side.
With his current strength, he could easily move with such stealth that the people outside the gate wouldn’t notice a thing.
BANG!
The wooden crossbar securing the courtyard gate snapped, and the gate was shoved open.
"What are you doing in there? Took you long enough to answer the door!"
Several men swarmed in from outside. The one who spoke was a dark-skinned ruffian with a messy beard. He swept his gaze around the courtyard before landing on Chen Ping’an and Chen Erya at the kitchen door, his expression vicious.
"You!"
Chen Ping’an’s face darkened as he looked at the men.
"I already paid this month’s fee yesterday! What do you think you’re doing, acting so barbaric!?"
Chen Ping’an’s voice was loud, his face contorted with anger.
In that brief moment, he had quickly scanned the ruffians who had entered. He only recognized one of them: a thug named Feizi, one of Young Master Xiao Hu’s trusted men.
’Young Master Xiao Hu isn’t here! That means they haven’t traced it back to me. My secret is still safe.’
The best course of action right now was to erupt immediately, without a hint of feigned compliance. If he tried to play along, it would only arouse more suspicion. After all, he had clashed with Popei Liu’Er just yesterday; backing down now would be completely out of character.
Although Chen Ping’an was slender, the aura he projected was quite intimidating. The ruffian who had looked so vicious was taken aback by Chen Ping’an’s reaction, a flicker of astonishment on his face, and seemed at a loss for what to do.
’A classic bully—preys on the weak and fears the strong!’
Chen Ping’an sneered inwardly.
"You people! You break down my gate again and again. You act with complete disregard, crude and tyrannical. Are you trying to push me to my death? No matter how down on my luck I, Chen Ping’an, may be, I am still a temporary constable of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office. If you don’t give me a proper reason for this today, I’ll take this all the way to the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office and demand an explanation from your Young Master Xiao Hu!"
Chen Ping’an’s face was as dark as a thundercloud as he stared daggers at the men before him.
His outburst, contrary to expectations, left the ruffians flustered. Backed by the great tree that was the Tiger Head Gang, they were used to being feared wherever they went. They had never experienced anything like this.
Furthermore, Chen Ping’an kept bringing up his status as a temporary constable of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office, threatening to take the matter to the Garrison Commandant’s Office. He looked like a man pushed to his limit, ready to fight to the bitter end.
Faced with Chen Ping’an’s defiance, and reminded of the terrifying power of the Garrison Commandant’s Office, the ruffians’ imposing manner completely deflated.
"Chen Family’s k—Brother Chen, don’t get worked up. We can talk this out. We came here today to..."
The ruffian called Feizi forced a smile, trying to de-escalate the situation.
But before he could finish, Chen Ping’an cut him off forcefully.
"Talk this out? Did you look like you wanted to talk when you just broke down my gate!? You smash my door and then tell me not to get worked up? That’s not how things work! Not in Pear Blossom Lane, and not in Nanquan Lane!"
"Now, you!" Chen Ping’an’s gaze was like lightning, crackling with fury. "Get the hell out of my house!"
"You!"
Feizi looked as if Chen Ping’an had him by the throat, unable to utter a single word in response.
"Chen Family’s kid, you’ve got some nerve! How dare you speak to us like that! Do you have any idea who we are?"
Another ruffian, mustering his courage, rolled up his sleeves and shouted.
"I don’t care who you are! No matter how powerful your backing is, is it more powerful than the Garrison Commandant’s Office? Is it greater than the Daqian Law?"
Chen Ping’an was so angry he laughed, letting out a pair of cold chuckles as he looked at them.
"Daqian Law, Article 178: For breaking and entering to commit violence, the punishment is thirty strokes of the cane and five years of penal servitude! Are you lot trying to challenge the authority of the Daqian Law? If you don’t get out now, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to!"
The ruffian who had spoken turned beet red, so flustered he was speechless.
’That’s right,’ they thought. ’No matter how big the Tiger Head Gang is, can it really be bigger than the Garrison Commandant’s Office or the Daqian Law?’ They didn’t know the Daqian Law themselves, but hearing it from Chen Ping’an, with that expression on his face, left them no choice but to believe him.
"Brother Chen, we..." Feizi had just recovered enough to speak when Chen Ping’an’s voice hit him head-on.
"Get out!"
At this, Feizi’s face went cold. He jabbed a finger viciously in Chen Ping’an’s direction.
"Fine. You just wait! Let’s go!"
"Fine, I’ll be waiting!"
Chen Ping’an sneered, the picture of nonchalance.
Feizi shot Chen Ping’an one last vicious glare, his face a mask of rage, and led the other ruffians away.
Watching them leave, Chen Ping’an glanced at the half-covered mark on the courtyard wall and felt a wave of relief.
’Good. They didn’t come in to inspect.’
Chen Ping’an didn’t need to be told why they had come; he knew it was about Popei Liu’Er. They probably wanted to question him, and they had tried to intimidate him first, a show of force to make him cooperate fearfully.
Too bad for them, they picked the wrong person!
Before, he had willingly swallowed his anger because he had no strength. Back then, his Martial Dao was not even at the Entry Level. In a real fight, he wouldn’t necessarily have been a match for an experienced street brawler.
But now... he was at the Qi Blood Third Layer. With martial prowess comes courage!
He truly wasn’t afraid of a few mere ruffians!
He hadn’t expected that when he acted tough, they would be the ones to back down.
’Just as I thought. A bunch of cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong!’
However, judging by their attitude, this matter was far from over.
Their argument just now had not been quiet; the neighbors had almost certainly heard everything. If Feizi and his men really just slinked away without doing anything else, it would likely damage the Tiger Head Gang’s prestige.
So, they would definitely do something next. They were probably going back to get reinforcements.
The title of "temporary constable" only made him slightly better than a commoner when things were casual. But if one insisted on pulling rank, Chen Ping’an was officially a man of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office.
And a man of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office was not someone a few ruffians could afford to offend.
"Nannan, don’t worry. Big Brother is here for you," Chen Ping’an comforted Chen Erya.
"Mhm." Chen Erya nodded firmly. "I trust you, Big Brother."
With her brother by her side during that whole ordeal, she hadn’t felt scared at all.
Chen Ping’an picked up the stone and continued covering the marks on the courtyard wall. By the time he was done, Chen Erya was almost finished washing the dishes.
Chen Ping’an fetched a Chopping Knife from the kitchen and then went into the house to bring out a chair. He placed the chair in the middle of the courtyard, directly facing the gate. Then, holding the Chopping Knife, he sat down imposingly, facing the entrance, and quietly waited for the Tiger Head Gang to return.
"I’d like to see if the Tiger Head Gang truly dares to test the law under the jurisdiction of the County City!"
