Yang Ge: "What do you mean?"
Yu: "I heard that Zhang has obtained three thousand eight hundred catties of millet from Yongtai. If Zhang is willing to do Yu the honor, Yu is willing to present two thousand catties of millet with both hands to befriend Zhang!"
"I understand..."
Yang Ge suddenly realized: "You want to suppress Ling Guan and show off your skills, right?"
Yu smiled amiably: "Not entirely, I just feel that since I am here, I should play my part. If I do nothing and merely fold my arms to watch Zhang collect the grain, then what difference does my presence make? Who would then be willing to provide me with a meal in the future?"
He spoke with sincere emotion.
Yet Yang Ge remained unmoved: "I don’t know what reasons allow you to eloquently justify working for a tyrant, so seemingly right and proper. But out of consideration for your need to make a living, I don’t despise you."
"Just as you have your difficulties, I have my principles too. You cannot just ask me to collect the grain without offering anything in return, and I cannot simply give you half of the grain without reason. So, let’s just speak with our abilities!"
Yu forcefully planted his seasoned bronze cudgel into the ground: "Yu has a heavy hand, Zhang please be cautious!"
Yang Ge shook his head: "My hand is also heavy; you should take care too."
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Yu extended a hand: "Please!"
Yang Ge: "Please."
At that moment, a biting north wind blew between the two men.
The next second, a streak of dazzling knife light, swift as a flying ribbon, cut through the cold wind and aimed a chop at Yu.
Yu reacted extremely quickly, his bronze cudgel’s end lifting a brazier, and with both soup and water, smashed it towards the knife light.
"Bang."
The brazier exploded, with blazing coal and boiling soup scattering everywhere. The unyielding knife light continued to chop at Yu, who parried with his cudgel.
Meanwhile, Yang Ge, having dodged the oncoming coal and boiling soup midair, swung his knife forward.
"Clang."
The willow-leaf saber clashed with the bronze cudgel, which was thrust directly towards Yang Ge’s throat like a venomous snake. Using the impact to his advantage, Yang Ge slid backwards half a zhang, sprang up from a crouching position, and lunged forward again with even greater speed.
It is said that an expert can be recognized the moment they make a move.
After the head-on collision, Yu realized that this Zhang Mazi was even stronger than what was said in Yongtai. Seeing Yang Ge’s increasingly fierce attack, he dared not take it lightly any longer and quickly grounded himself in a horse stance, switching from defense to offense.
Yu spun his bronze cudgel fiercely like a venomous snake or a fierce dragon, keeping the tip close to vital points around Yang Ge’s body. At the same time, he trapped Yang Ge firmly within a five-foot radius, denying him the chance to close in and break the staff with his saber.
Observing this, Yang Ge steadied his stance and waved his knife like splashing water, sealing the quivering bronze cudgel with a tight net of knife motions, not allowing it to strike at his own vitals or to withdraw and retreat.
The knife wielded a strength both hard and soft, wild like raging waves, battering continuously against Yu’s defense.
The two exchanged blows quickly, the sharp clangor of their metal weapons sounding like dozens of blacksmiths working simultaneously.
Yang Ge fought steadily, his willow-leaf saber moving faster and faster, forcibly suppressing the bronze cudgel’s defensive space.
Yu tried to maintain his stance, but couldn’t withstand Yang Ge’s increasingly powerful strikes. Even with the advantage of a longer weapon, his hands were numbed by the rebounding force, the bronze cudgel nearly slipping from his grasp. He had no choice but to retreat continuously to maintain a defensive distance.
However, the moment he stepped back, his stable defense immediately became precarious, and the force of the recoil traveling through the bronze cudgel grew stronger.
Yang Ge seized the opportunity to rush forward, closing in to within four feet of Yu, and swiftly aimed his knife at his throat like a flash of lightning.
Yu made a decisive move, the head of the cudgel thumped on the ground, shifting from two-handed to one-handed grip, using one hand to parry the steel knife, while leaning back to guard against any change in Yang Ge’s attack.
"Clang."
The lightning-fast knife heavily chopped onto the bronze cudgel.
Yang Ge’s knife missed its mark, but he immediately turned the blade, sliding it along the bronze cudgel towards Yu’s wrist.
Yu, seeing this, kicked the bronze cudgel with his left foot, attempting to raise it again to push Yang Ge back and increase their distance.
But when Yang Ge saw his leg lift, he pushed off with his right leg, landing a sweeping kick faster than Yu could react. The kick, heavy as if swinging a large hammer, slammed into Yu’s left calf bone.
"Crack."
A crisp sound of a bone breaking was heard, the powerful blow making Yu stagger, and his upper body swayed, leaving a wide open gap in his defense.
Yang Ge quickly stepped forward, lightly placing the knife’s edge on Yu’s carotid artery.
Yu instantly dared not move at all, even though his left leg hurt so much that he was sweating profusely, his body did not dare to twitch in the slightest.
The blade’s edge pierced the skin, and a strand of crimson blood trickled down the bright blade...
Yang Ge looked at him calmly, "Do you yield?"
"Zhang is indeed superior!"
Yu, bearing the intense pain, responded, "Yu completely submits, heart and soul!"
Yang Ge nodded, "Tonight, I need to collect eight thousand catties of grain, do you agree?"
Yu looked at him, struggling to answer, "Yu recognizes it, but I’m afraid that others may not!"
Yang Ge remained unmoved, "Whether they recognize it or not is their business, but since you have done something wrong, you must pay the corresponding price... don’t you think?"
With no choice under the circumstances, Yu replied, "Yu accepts the loss willingly!"
Yang Ge withdrew his sword and stepped back, "Then let’s collect the grain."
Yu quickly propped himself up with his copper staff, bowing his head to check… and saw that the bone in his left calf was clearly deformed, evidently broken into two pieces.
Such an injury, even if the bones could be set perfectly afterward, would undoubtedly greatly affect his martial skills.
The price was too steep!
"Are you all dead?"
Yu turned around in a furious rage, yelling towards the granary in the back, "Didn’t you hear what Zhang said? Hurry up and prepare the grain!"
Inside the granary, a flurry of footsteps responded in disarray.
Yang Ge ignored his rage, speaking lightly, "Do I need to repeat the words I said last night in Yongtai?"
Upon hearing this, Yu, gritting his teeth, replied, "Yu will relay them to my master without missing a single word!"
After a pause, he spat out each word with suppressed anger, "May Zhang bestow his honorable name unto me... Yu Gang will certainly return the favor for today’s events!"
Yang Ge, with an air of nonchalance, said, "Fair enough, I am Zhang Mazi."
Yu Gang, looking straight at the nine-tube mask on his face, asked, "Does Zhang truly have pockmarks on his face?"
Yang Ge, "Do you have fish on your face?"
All of a sudden, Yu Gang, with his neck stiff and veins bulging on his face, laughed loudly, "All said and done, you’re just a coward who only knows how to be generous at others’ expense!"
Yang Ge turned to look at him, with an almost smiling expression, "Holding quite a grudge, aren’t you? Shall I take off the mask for you to see?"
Yu Gang was taken aback, suddenly came to his senses, and, leaning on the copper staff, gave a double-handed salute, "Yu suddenly had a hysterical outburst, spouting nonsense. Please, Zhang, have mercy and disregard Yu’s words."
Yang Ge let out a cold chuckle, "Actually, I quite liked that defiant look you had just now!"
Yu Gang kept his mouth firmly shut, not daring to make another sound.
Soon, a group of sturdy men in brown clothes pushed a row of carts out of the granary.
Yang Ge led these carts to the Vegetable Market, where the iron pot, stove, and water tank for cooking porridge the day before were still there.
The skilled porridge cooks would also arrive there before dawn.
All he needed to do was to transport the grain there, and his task would be complete!
’It’s only the second day, and it’s already this troublesome!’
Yang Ge, walking at the very front of the convoy, looked up at the dim stars and felt anxious, ’How much longer can I hold on like this?’
’Maybe... I should pull off a big job and then retire.’
’But even if I can retire, the people of Luting County can’t escape.’
’Even if I manage to distribute all the grain to them, the granaries could just take it all back, and in the process, there would inevitably be many vicious incidents...’
’Argh, that’s not right, I’m already a hundred-household officer of the Imperial Guards, can’t I outright suppress the three big granaries, can’t I openly protect the townspeople of Luting?’
’When the time comes, I just need to stir up a little more trouble, issue a sea arrest warrant for ’Zhang Mazi’ through the Imperial Guards, take over the case, and then I can order the three granaries not to act rashly, not to tamper with the scene, or they would be dealt with as bandit accomplices... wouldn’t I have the final say then?’