Chapter 9: Stabbing the Right Ribs

  In the market, Zhao Ba Jin put his sheep on a stone table, skinned and cut the meat to sell. Since he didn't have a scale, he could only estimate the amount of meat to sell. The common people who came to buy his mutton were not all using money; often they would exchange other things for the mutton.

  Zhao Ba Jin cut off a large piece of mutton and handed it to a Muslim merchant wearing a worn-out sheepskin coat, who exchanged it for a big package of seasonings.

  Hú Shāng took the mutton and weighed it, shaking his head: "It's too little, only two and a half catties. Look at my seasonings, they're several kinds mixed together, and I even used paper to wrap them. You recognize this paper, don't you? It's what officials use for writing, and just the wrapping paper is worth quite a bit of money!"

  He waved the mutton in his hand, indicating that Zhao Ba Jin had only given him the mutton for seasoning, but hadn't paid for packaging. In this era, paper was not widely available, and even government offices still used silk or bamboo slips to transmit information, ordinary people rarely saw paper.

  Zhao Ba Jin nodded and said, "It's just a seasoning package, why use such expensive paper." Hearing that the paper was for writing to the official master, he cut off two more pieces of meat and handed them to Hu Shang, saying, "Is this enough now?"

  Hú Shāng was delighted and laughed, saying: "Enough, enough! It's enough to simmer a pot of thick soup!" Just as he was about to pick up the meat bones, he suddenly saw a hand reach out from beside him and snatch them away.

  Zhao Ba Jin and Hu Shang were both startled at the same time, turned their heads together, and saw four or five big men standing beside the stone case. The leader of the big men wore a dark green uniform, with a black-edged hat on his head, holding those two meat bones in his hand, with an evil expression on his face, staring fiercely at Zhao Ba Jin.

  Zhao Bazhen saw this group of people and immediately trembled, this group of people were notorious villains in Fuping City, the leader was a big man named Tang Biao, who was the nephew of County Magistrate Tang Jie. Tang Biao relied on his uncle's power to dominate Fuping, and it was he who had injured Li Qin last time.

  Hu Shang was also a bit shaken, took a step back, he wasn't a rich man, two pieces of meat were not a small thing for him, being taken away for nothing, it was heart-wrenching. Hu Shang said: "Tang, Master Tang, why did you snatch the little guy's meat?"

  Zhao Bazhen was shocked and looked at Tang Biao's uniform, which had become that of a tax collector. However, he recognized the small officials in the market, and it wasn't Tang Biao. Could it be that Tang Biao relied on his uncle to back him up, took over the job of a small official, and was now collecting taxes in the market?

  The doubt was immediately resolved, and a loud voice came from behind Tang's back: "Tang Ye? You got it wrong, it should be Tang Guan Ye. Our Big Brother Tang is in charge of collecting taxes at the market from today on. On his first day in office, shouldn't you show some respect?"

  Tang Biao threw the meat bones to the rascal behind him, hugged his shoulders with both hands, and cast a sideways glance of contempt at Hu Shang. Seeing that the other party still wanted to talk nonsense, he said: "Grandpa thinks you look like a spy from the Xiongnu people. If you don't believe it, let's go to the government office for a walk?"

  Hu Shang was shocked and took a step back, hastily saying: "Tang, Tang Guan said something wrong, I am a Qiang person, not a Xiongnu person, how can I be a spy?" After a pause, he looked at the sheep's bone in Wulai's hand and begged: "Tang Guan, I am from Dalang Qiang, please return the sheep's bone to me on behalf of our tribe leader. My wife has just given birth and is weak, she urgently needs nourishment..."

  This peddler was not a rich man, if it wasn't for his wife wanting to add some meat to their meal, he wouldn't have had the cash on hand to exchange spices for mutton. If he were to transport the spices to the provincial capital, the profit would be doubled. Two sheep bones are nothing to a rich person, but for a poor person, how could they bear to part with them?

  Tang Biao was used to bullying people, and when Hu Shang mentioned the three words "Da Liang Qiang", he sneered: "You are a clansman of Liu Sheng? Your clan leader thinks that living in Han's city walls and taking a Han name makes him one of my great Han people? How ridiculous!"

  He snatched the mutton from Hu Shang's hand and shouted: "Don't mention Liu Sheng, since you mentioned it, the mutton will be offered to Grandpa together!" He kicked Hu Shang's belly fiercely and kicked him away. The rascals behind him rushed up and kicked Hu Shang violently.

  Tang glared at Zhao Baifen and shouted, "He's shown filial piety, what about you?" Seeing a whole set of lamb liver on the table, he reached out to grab it, saying, "This is just right for drinking!"

  The scoundrels stopped beating him and shouted to the crowd: "My elder brother is taking office today, where are your congratulations?"

  The people of the village were all shocked, although Fuping was in a state of great disorder at this time, but when officials asked for bribes in public, it had never happened before. Does doing such things mean that even the most basic cover-up is not needed?

  The peddler on the ground scrambled to his feet and stumbled away. A rascal whispered, "Brother Tang, this guy must be going to find Liu Sheng!"

  Tang's eyelid twitched, and a look of fear flashed across his face, but it was quickly replaced by a confident smirk. He patted his official robes and snorted, "Let him come, I'm an official now!"

  Tang Biao had previously extorted money and goods from the common people, but was once encountered by Liu Sheng, who taught him a lesson. Tang Biao couldn't beat Liu Sheng. Liu Sheng was the head of the Dalang tribe, traveling back and forth between the Western Regions and the provincial capital, doing a lot of business, and was tall and strong, skilled in martial arts, belonging to the type of person known as a "豪强" (a powerful and wealthy individual). Tang Biao, on the other hand, was just a rascal, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, and didn't know any martial arts. After being taught a lesson by Liu Sheng, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and not dare to go to his uncle to complain, so he endured it silently.

  But times are different now, Tang Biao has become a minor official, even if it's a small one, he is still an official, and being an official is different from being a commoner. Commoners do not fight with officials, this has always been the case, so he still has some confidence.

  Outside the market, Li Qin walked quickly, but before entering the market, he suddenly found that the vendors' calls stopped, and the empty space was quiet, wondering what had happened. Just as he was about to enter, he saw a foreigner with tears on his face running out, covered in dust, looking like he had been beaten up, and ran past him.

  Li Qian furrowed his brow, thinking to himself: "There's a fight going on inside, I wonder where Zhao Bajin is? Hopefully he has nothing to do with it?" He looked up at the empty space and immediately spotted Zhao Bajin, as well as those several big men.

  Seeing those big men, a sense of hatred arose in his heart. He remembered that the ruffians who had beaten his former master to death were these very men, led by the one wearing black clothes, named Tang Biao, who was the county magistrate's nephew!

  Tang Biao and others did not see Li Qin, they were shouting loudly to the people, telling them that the tax money had doubled, half of which was paid to the government and the other half was given to Tang Biao as a filial gift.

  Li Qian stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes to look at Tang Biao. In this world, only those who recognize the importance of avenging past grievances and are willing to take bold action are considered real men. As for cowards who shy away from trouble, they're nothing but useless trash. And what's more, how can one not avenge a grievance that has led to their own death? He tightened his grip on the bundle on his back, thinking to himself: "Trying to reason with scoundrels is the mark of a fool; if he wants to be tough, I'll be tougher; if he wants to be vicious, I'll be more vicious. That's all there is to dealing with scoundrels. If I still want to think twice before acting, what kind of great accomplishments can I hope to achieve in the future?"

  Neither greeting nor making small talk, Li QIN strode forward with a big stick. The key to the Li family's gun technique is that no matter how the opponent is, they will be stabbed down first and then talked about. Even if it's about theory, I'll stand up and say it, while my opponent lies down and listens!

  Zhao Ba Jin had his whole set of lamb's liver robbed, and he was so heartbroken that he almost cried out loud. However, he didn't have the guts to reason with Tang Biao. Hu Shang could go find the clan leader after being bullied, but who could he go find? Just as tears were about to flow down his face, he suddenly opened his mouth wide and looked towards Tang Biao's back!

  Tang Biao threw the sheep's liver and meat to the rascals, standing with his legs apart, his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the villagers gathered below with a disdainful expression, as if he was a hero of the world, who else could compare to me!

  Generally speaking, one should not be too arrogant, because if you encounter someone even more arrogant, you will often suffer greatly!

  Tang Biao suddenly heard the rascals shouting: "Brother Tang, be careful behind you!" Before the words were out of their mouths, he heard footsteps behind him and immediately felt a severe pain in his right rear waist, as if something had been stabbed into him!

  He let out a loud cry, and Tāng Biǎo stumbled and fell to the ground! This fall was quite severe, it could be said that he had used his head to attack the ground, his nose hit the ground, and blood spurted out of his nose!

  The person who knocked down the soup with a stick was Li Qin. Thanks to the good physique left by the previous owner, as well as his quick and agile movements, Li Qin, although it was his first time fighting with someone, hit him in one move, without any hesitation!

  Whether it's a soldier fighting or a street fight, it all depends on the momentum. The brave will win when they meet on a narrow road! Li Qin succeeded with one move and his courage doubled. He aimed at Tang Biao on the ground and stabbed out again!

  After the soup was served, his lower back suddenly felt a sharp pain. He knew someone had snuck up behind him and attacked, and he himself was now too weak to fight back. A good man doesn't take advantage of someone in front of him, and a scoundrel understands this even more. He cried out: "Good sir, spare..."

  He struggled to turn over, wanting to see who had ambushed him. But it was better not to turn over, as soon as his body turned sideways, his right ribs were facing up again, and he was hit with another stick, and this time even harder than before. With a cracking sound, one of his right rib bones broke! He didn't have time to shout out the word "help", his eyes rolled back, and he fainted from the pain!

  The rascals were all stunned, normally they were the ones who didn't care about reason, but today they suddenly encountered someone even more unreasonable than them, and it was extremely ruthless. Under the shock, they felt at a loss, unable to react immediately!

  The rascals didn't react, Li Qin didn't care at all, he just went ahead and stabbed fiercely with his spear! He turned the spearhead around, aimed at the nearest rascal, and swiftly stabbed out, hitting him right in the ribcage! A cracking sound was heard, and the rascal who had been hit by the spear also broke a rib, falling to the ground and crying out in agony!

  The remaining three rascals, with two of them finally coming to their senses, joined forces and started punching!

  Li Qian's stick shot out, hitting the ruffian on the right side of his ribcage. With a cracking sound, the ruffian on the right fell to the ground, howling in pain, and his ribs were also broken; The ruffian on the left was so frightened that he let out a loud cry and didn't dare to come forward, turning around to escape!

  If the rogue doesn't get scared at this moment, but instead comes at him with all his might, he can definitely force Li Qin to retreat. The current Li Qin only took advantage of the surprise attack and caught them off guard, but he is not proficient in marksmanship after all. He can still manage a quick shot, but he can't do continuous quick shots. If the rogue escapes, it will give Li Qin time to adjust!

  Li QIN took a step forward to the left, and the long stick stabbed out again, just like he had just stabbed the soup surface, and stabbed the back waist of the rascal in front of him, knocking him down. Immediately afterwards, he followed up with another stab, breaking the rascal's ribs!

  Turning around, Li QIN looked at the last rogue. This rogue was holding something he had snatched, his whole body trembling and shaking, thud, he knelt down on the ground, he had already recognized Li QIN, shouting: "Grandpa LI, spare my life..."

  Li QIN shouted: "When you beat the good people, the good people begged you, how did you treat them?" He stepped forward and kicked him over with one foot. The long stick was aimed at his right rib and stabbed down, making a cracking sound. This rascal also cried out in pain.

  Show mercy and don't strike, strike and show no mercy, either don't do it or see it through to the end!

  Li Qin slammed the long stick to the ground and looked around at the people, only to see that they were all staring at him with their mouths agape. Li Qin quickly gathered up Tang Biao and the others, moving so fast that he knocked down all five of them in a flurry of activity. The people had not yet come back to their senses, and for a moment, they forgot to cheer!

  Suddenly, someone outside the crowd clapped loudly and a loud voice shouted: "Good stick method, good man!"

  ——

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