Chapter 16: Hupao Lane

Name: Chen Ping'an

Realm: Blood Qi Level 1

Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt (Entry Level) (14/15)

Chen Ping'an looked at the panel information floating before him, his heart surging with excitement.

Finally!

After seven days of uninterrupted practice, his experience points for the Iron Cloth Shirt had accumulated to 14.

He only needed to wait until tonight to practice the Iron Cloth Shirt once more, and he could push the technique into the Minor Success realm in one fell swoop.

What kind of changes would the Minor Success realm bring to the Iron Cloth Shirt!? Would it be able to push his martial realm directly to the Perfection stage of Blood Qi Level 1!

Today was already the ninth day. There was only one day left of the ten-day grace period granted by Master Little Tiger to repay the debt.

Tomorrow afternoon, or perhaps tomorrow morning, Master Little Tiger would personally come to his door to collect the money.

Coincidentally, tomorrow was his one day of rest during the ten-day period.

"I just have to wait until tonight!"

Amidst Chen Er'ya's farewell, Chen Ping'an left his house full of confidence.

Over the past few days, he had bought paper and pens; everything was prepared. All that remained was tonight.

When Chen Ping'an arrived at the Nanquan Alley Town Guard Office, several groups of constables had already gathered there. He noticed that a small group of constables had already clustered around Zheng Shiyong, forming a loose circle with him at the center.

"That was fast!"

Chen Ping'an remarked to himself.

The Nanquan Alley Town Guard Office had over a hundred constables, so naturally, there were various different circles. Generally, only official constables could be part of the mainstream circles; ordinary temporary constables were merely accessories and atmosphere-makers for these groups.

It wasn't that everyone liked it this way, but sometimes, when you are in the middle of a situation, you have no choice.

Even Chen Ping'an, Hou Tou, Da Shan, and the others had their own circle. The core of their circle was Qin Tou.

However, it was true that Qin Tou rarely appeared!

Only one head constable had come today, Head Constable Li. Li was usually taciturn and disliked unnecessary words.

Thus, today's pre-patrol meeting was simple and ended quickly.

"Hupao Alley!?"

Chen Ping'an was somewhat surprised to hear Hou Tou mention the streets they were to patrol today.

Hupao Alley was precisely the stronghold of the Tiger Head Gang. It was only two streets away from Lihua Alley.

In Hupao Alley, moneylending was rampant and gambling dens flourished. From small games involving a few coins to massive gambles involving several taels, there were stalls of all sizes and various grades.

Since ancient times, gambling dens had been places where all sorts of people mixed together. Thugs and gang lackeys were a common sight.

Such a place was not easy to patrol. Today, there likely wouldn't be much time for idling.

Sure enough, after Hou Tou, Da Shan, and Chen Ping'an had only been patrolling for a short while, they encountered a brawl.

In a corner of a street, several thugs were surrounding a man, raining blows upon him. The man crouched in the corner clutching his head, letting out occasional screams of agony.

"Sirs, please stop, stop! I'll pay! I'll definitely pay!"

"Damn it, you owe money to our Tiger Head Gang and you think you can run? You're getting too cocky!"

The leader of the thugs shouted fiercely, delivering a heavy kick to the man's body even as he yelled.

"Sixth Master, I was wrong. I won't dare do it again!"

"Again!? There's going to be an 'again'!? In your dreams!"

The behavior of the thugs was violent and unruly.

"Stop!"

Seeing this scene, as constables of the Nanquan Alley Town Guard Office, Hou Tou naturally spoke up to intervene.

"Where did this blind brat come from, trying to stop the Tiger Head Gang from doing business!"

A cold sneer appeared on the leader's face as he turned to see who dared to interfere.

As he turned, he saw three constables in black uniforms, hands resting on their saber hilts, looking at them with serious expressions, looking as if they would draw their blades at the slightest disagreement.

"Oh, it's a few officers from the Town Guard Office!"

Upon realizing they were constables, the cold sneer on the leader's face faded slightly, but there was no hint of reverence in his words.

In just a few breaths, he had already realized that there were no official constables present; they were merely a few temporary ones.

"People from the Tiger Head Gang!"

After recognizing the Tiger Head Gang insignia on them, Hou Tou's expression changed slightly.

Their identity as constables might have a significant deterrent against ordinary thugs and ruffians, but against a gang of the scale of the Tiger Head Gang, the deterrent effect was likely limited.

However, since they had already intervened, they had to see it through.

"The Town Guard Office is patrolling the streets! Stop at once!"

Hou Tou shouted loudly. Beside him, Chen Ping'an and Da Shan stepped forward in coordination.

They had practiced such scenarios several times; their coordination was quite proficient.

However, Hou Tou's shouting had no effect. The thugs continued to beat the man.

"The officers from the Town Guard Office have spoken. Stop at once."

The leader of the thugs spoke to his men with a sneer. Hearing this, the thugs finally stopped.

"Officers, this man borrowed three taels of silver from our Tiger Head Gang, only to lose it all at the gambling den. When we asked for it back, he made all sorts of excuses. As they say, repaying debts is only natural. It's perfectly normal for us to give him a beating to vent our anger. We hope you officers understand."

The leader of the thugs gave a perfunctory salute. As he spoke, he seemed to have just recognized Chen Ping'an.

"Isn't this the kid from the Chen family! What a coincidence to meet you here!"

The leader of the thugs was none other than Liu'er, who had been following Master Little Tiger that day. He was also the one who had slammed his palm heavily onto the wooden table, sending bone broth splashing and making the braised pork jump out of the bowl.

*Clang!*

Hou Tou drew his saber from its sheath, pointing it directly at them, and roared with great strength.

"What 'Chen family kid'! Call him Master Chen!"

Hou Tou's reaction startled Da Shan. Despite his large and imposing build, Da Shan's courage was actually quite average. He hadn't expected Hou Tou to react so strongly so suddenly.

Chen Ping'an also turned his head slightly to watch.

He hadn't expected that despite Hou Tou's lean build, his voice would be so unexpectedly loud.

Seeing Hou Tou draw his saber, the thug Liu'er's eyelid twitched slightly.

"My bad, my bad. It was my big mouth."

Liu'er looked at Hou Tou with a fake smile.

Then, he turned to the middle-aged man crouching on the ground clutching his head.

"Tomorrow! If you still can't pay the money tomorrow, we brothers will come to your house personally to collect. I heard your big, fat son is quite a fair and clean-looking boy."

"Boys, let's give the officers some face and call it a day. Let's go."

Liu'er led the thugs away.

"Officers, please step aside."

Hou Tou held his saber and stepped aside with a grim expression.

"Officer Chen, Master Little Tiger is kind-hearted to grant you ten days. If I remember correctly, tomorrow should be the last day. What? Have you prepared those fourteen taels of silver? If you haven't, then your sister..."

As Liu'er walked past Chen Ping'an, he paused for a moment to leave that remark.

Chen Ping'an snapped his head up and met a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling but weren't.

"Don't trouble yourself!"

"Then..."

Liu'er observed Chen Ping'an's expression. Finding that he didn't see the reaction he was looking for, but only a pair of incredibly deep eyes, he could only say

"See you tomorrow, Officer Chen."

(End of Chapter)