Tomorrow was not a public holiday. On this ordinary work night, those who had come along to start a ruckus at No. 110 were all core followers of the sect elders there.

These people really did make an attempt. They thought nothing of Yu Lanchuan who was dressed in a work shirt and leather shoes, and did not hesitate at all in taking action. While he was speaking, another four or five people charged forward.

The first floor of the small building of No. 110 Courtyard was not level with the ground, it was about a meter higher. Due to that, there was a flight of stone steps in front of the entrance, about ten steps in total, stretching from east to west for about two meters. There were railings on both sides and on the west side was the wheelchair access, separated by a railing.

Three people—left, center and right—charged towards Yu Lanchuan. They planned to keep him occupied while the remaining people used the wheelchair access to run up and detour around him to enter the building.

Yu Lanchuan held the broom with the head pointing upwards and retreated one step to the top of the steps. The people charging towards him stuck to him closely but he suddenly leaped forward and pulled the broom handle towards himself. The one in the middle was running up the steps and naturally raised both hands to block, exposing a gap below his chest. The plastic handle jabbed accurately at that spot; the man sputtered as his breath was literally knocked out of him.

At the same time, Yu Lanchuan used the force of the jab to leap nimbly backwards and swept the broom across towards the person on the left, shaking the dirt on the brush onto the man's face. When the other person covered his head and shielded his eyes in a fluster, Yu Lanchuan took the chance to shift his weight to his left side, then swung his right leg upwards and across to hit the person on the right directly on the waist.

Elder Zhao said furiously, "Little Master Yu, do you insist on interfering in Beggars' Sect matters today?"

Yu Lanchuan struck one down and sent another flying. In his hands, the broom handle flew and swung around, and in just a short while, the unlucky one on the left who was flattened against the railing had all four limbs numbed, his entire body folded down until he was a human-shaped cushion. Yu Lanchuan's leg that had swung out did not land on the ground; using the "human-shaped cushion" as a fulcrum, he leaped right across the railing. As the wailing of the "cushion" played in the background, his broom very quickly and efficiently took care of the few people who were charging up via the wheelchair access.

Finally, he landed lightly on the ground.

"Not necessarily." Yu Lanchuan gripped the railing with one hand and turned his body half a circle. He flashed Elder Zhao a false smile. "I usually don't provide service free of charge, especially considering that your esteemed sect is an unregistered and illegal organisation. Please do not worry, I am even more unwilling than you to interfere in this. When Old Sect Leader Yang is discharged, you people can divide your assets any way you like and seize power however you want to. If, one day, Beggars' Sect has an IPO, I will definitely persuade my boss to invest."

Elder Tian, who had hurried over, used all his strength and just barely managed to suppress his question of "What if he can't be discharged?" However, his words might have been stifled but his expression was not. These words were clearly etched under his skin and a trace of them could be seen.

The lights from the residential units on the first floor shone out of the northern windows, illuminating Elder Tian's face and the words hidden under it.

Yu Lanchuan looked down and easily twisted off the broom handle, tossing the grimy brush to the side. He rolled up his sleeves and said, "Indeed. He's over ninety after all."

If a young person had a premature death, other people would still be willing to adhere to the principles of being a bystander as a mark of respect to the dead and keep their mouths shut.

However, old fools were not so lucky. Once a person reached seventy or eighty years of age, they automatically entered the ranks of "Should have died earlier" and "Still not dead yet." Only at the moment the coffin was closed would other people recall moments of the deceased's life with miserly reluctance and, for a brief second, spare a negligible bit of loss and sorrow.

Then, at the speed of light, they would recover their usual mood for fear that they would waste even a second in the great battle for their inheritance.

Elder Zhao's expression was cold. He gave Yu Lanchuan a thumbs-up. "Little Master Yu, your skills are good. You are indeed from a major clan. However, I fear that even your esteemed sect's Seven Secret Arts of Han Jiang will be unable to stop the Nine Swords of Dugu. Don't think that just because you know a couple of techniques, you can stop a hundred people on your own!"

For some unknown reason, Yu Lanchuan suddenly wanted to laugh. He recalled that when he watched The Smiling, Proud Wanderer when he was young, the special effects for the "Arrow Breaking Form" in the television series looked very cool. It was the classic scene of one person defeating an entire gang. He had been very captivated after watching it, especially since he could be considered to be someone practising the sword. So, he went to ask Granduncle.

Granduncle took a couple of gulps from the spout of the small teapot and glanced at him. "How to defeat a group of people with one sword strike when they have surrounded you? Hmm… only one move allowed?"

The teenage Yu Lanchuan said longingly, "Yes, only one move!"

Granduncle muttered to himself for a few seconds, then replied, "There is one such move. We don't call it 'Arrow Breaking Form,' we call it 'Break the Cauldrons and Sink the Boats^[1].'"

Yu Lanchuan had never heard of the Seven Secret Arts of Han Jiang having this move and urged him to explain.

The old man muttered mysteriously and kept him in suspense for a long while before finally letting him bring his ear near so that he could verbally pass on their sect's supreme skill.

The great hero Yu Huaide said, "You just need to put your sword against your own throat and pretend that you're going to slit it open, then face them and shout, 'Whoever dares step near will be drenched in my blood!'—don't worry, unless you encounter those truly desperate and ready to die, most people wouldn't dare. Then, while they're scared witless, break free of the siege as fast as possible and run away, and that's it!"

"Break the Cauldrons and Sink the Boats" was an unparalleled great technique of their sect but unfortunately, a certain condition must be met to put it to use—the sword in his hand must be a real sword. With a broom handle… it was a bit of a joke.

Since he couldn't unleash the great technique, he could only hold on until the end.

Hopefully, those comrade officers would arrive quickly and turn up the volume on their sirens when they were coming.

One kilometer away from No. 110 Courtyard, the middle-aged man who had helped Gan Qing park the car walked into the depths of a little alley without telling anyone. In the alley was an unassuming house. The middle-aged man knocked on the door four times. From inside, someone asked warily, "Who's there?"

The middle-aged man answered, "I'm Xiao-Zhai, I'm under Elder Zhao."

The door cracked open a sliver in response. A head that resembled a big horse monkey^[2] peeked out. Big Horse Monkey was dressed in shabby and torn clothes—Beggars' Sect garb. He was none other than the person who had lured Gan Qing into the alley the other day.

Big Horse Monkey looked out warily, like he was afraid that opening the door any wider would be a waste of electricity. He spoke in a low voice. "Come in."

The middle-aged man who called himself Xiao-Zhai didn't want to slow-dance with Big Horse Monkey and was not willing to squeeze through the crack of the door. He moved backwards a little, then used force to push the door open. "Why are you being so sneaky?"

Big Horse Monkey was caught off guard and retreated a couple of steps under the force of his push. "You…"

Xiao-Zhai was already striding in, leaving no room for argument.

"You should be more careful near No. 110," Big Horse Monkey said, keeping his anger in check. "Be careful not to get noticed by anyone."

"I didn't see any amazing people there." Xiao-Zhai dangled a cigarette from his mouth and shot a look at the surroundings. "This place is rented? A school district in the middle of the city, it can't be cheap. Keep an eye out for me and see if there are any other places nearby for rent."

Big Horse Monkey asked, "What for?"

"My second child was born last year," Xiao-Zhai found a chair and sat down. He gave Big Horse Monkey a cigarette and sighed. "Little brats grow too fast. When they start talking, we already need to start thinking about which school to send them to. We definitely can't afford homes in school districts, our only choice is to find a cheaper place to rent in advance. Ai, our brothers have to take care of the elderly and the young, it's really not easy. What are we working so hard every day for? Isn't it just to support our families? If you ask me, there are times when Old Sect Leader Yang really does not understand the pains of a normal, ordinary life!"

Big Horse Monkey accepted the cigarette. His expression relaxed slightly and he sat down opposite the other man.

At the gate of the house was a large cypress tree. The Three Friends of Winter^[3] remain evergreen even in the coldest days of the year and not only was the cypress blocking the northwest wind, it was also hiding a person's figure. Gan Qing lightly pushed apart the cypress leaves and pinched her nose hard. She stifled a sneeze, tears welling up in her eyes. A down jacket could easily rustle so for the sake of making it more convenient to follow the man, she had left her jacket in the trunk of Yu Lanchuan's car. The two Beggars' Sect members in the house had got together and chatted about school district residences and second childs for more than ten minutes already. Even though there was a large tree blocking the wind, her tight-fitting wool sweater was already frozen stiff by the cold air and chilled her to the bone.

In one ear was the howling of the northwest wind while in the other ear was the ceaseless chatter about "preschool to primary" and "primary to junior high." It made her head ache until it felt like it was splitting apart. She had just decided to give up and leave when, right then, the sound of dragging footsteps came from the other end of the little alley. Gan Qing quivered. She faintly sensed something and carefully held her breath, hiding herself behind the leaves of the tree.

The person who was coming had grey hair and was around sixty years of age. Slowly, he came under the glow of the street lights. Gan Qing saw that he had sallow skin and was sickly thin, the skin on his face resembling sandpaper from the marks of the passing years. Despite that, his delicately handsome looks could still be vaguely seen. It was just that this touch of beauty was unable to make him appear handsome and confident; instead, it made him seem gloomy and resentful, like a thick and dense demonic aura.

This man was very thin and small. His cotton clothes, patched and faded from repeated washing, were very loose. His legs were of unequal length and he walked with a very bumpy gait. Right as he was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, he suddenly keenly sensed something and his gaze swept around him, piercing as a falcon's.

Gan Qing's entire body was almost melded with the cypress tree. She hung near the top of the tree and swayed with the wind.

The man listened attentively for a few seconds but did not detect anything amiss. Finally, he knocked on the door. "It's me."

Gan Qing frowned. She realised that this man not only had legs of different lengths, his curled up fingers also looked very strange, like chicken claws that could not be extended.

Who on earth was he?

His four limbs were twisted like pretzels but he still had the terrifying aura of a highly-skilled master.

Big Horse Monkey and Xiao-Zhai's discussion came to an abrupt end. Both men came forward to welcome the newcomer. This time, Big Horse Monkey did not open the door a mere crack, he threw it wide open. "Elder Yang!"

Yang?

Only the Nine Pouch members of Beggars' Sect could have the title "Elder." They were equivalent to the CEO, CFO and similar ranks under the chairman. Gan Qing had roughly heard that Beggars' Sect had four "Nine Pouch Elders"... but was there someone with the surname Yang among them?

Elder Yang only gave them a brief nod as though he treasured his words like gold. Swinging his uneven legs, he entered the house. The lights in the room grew a little brighter. A few seconds later, the sounds of whispered conversation could be heard. Xiao-Zhai reported to him about Yang Yifan being taken away by the police, as well as Elder Zhao and Elder Tian from the four main sect elders leading the charge to force the king to abdicate and angering Old Sect Leader Yang until he was hospitalised.

Elder Yang opened his mouth. His voice was soft yet sharp, a little like a boy's voice that had yet to fully mature. "Is that old man dead?"

"He was sent to hospital for emergency treatment," Xiao-Zhai said. "Please don't worry. Old Sect Leader has a strong martial arts foundation. If he's treated in time, he should be-"

"Why would I be worried?" Elder Yang cut him off. "He ruined my legs with his own hands and severed ties with me. Even if he dies, I don't have to wear mourning clothes for him. What does it have to do with me?"

Gan Qing was a little surprised—this thin and small man was actually Old Sect Leader Yang's son. In the darkness of the night, she kept her eyes on them. She was getting a whiff of a sinister plot from the way Beggars' Sect was using a pretext to start a ruckus tonight.

Yang Yifan wasn't someone who liked talking about her family matters. To outsiders, she had always only briefly explained it as "Both my parents are not here, they told me to take care of Grandpa." Later on, after hearing half the story from her during Lunar New Year, Gan Qing thought that "not here" meant that they had already passed away. She never thought that Yang Ping was still alive and that he and Old Sect Leader Yang had severed their father-and-son relationship.

What ulterior motives were hidden beneath all this?

"Have they gone to take the Dog Beating Staff?" Yang Ping asked.

Xiao-Zhai replied, "Yeah. I saw Elder Tian refusing to give up. Elder Zhao seems to have the same intention."

Big Horse Monkey scoffed, "What's the point of taking the Dog Beating Staff? Do they really think that everything the old man has done throughout these years was for nothing? They may have acted quick today and most people haven't had the chance to react. Just wait until tomorrow, we'll see if the matter of these people 'angering the old sect leader to death and seizing the Dog Beating Staff' can be kept a secret."

Xiao-Zhai said with a chuckle, "Exactly. When things turn into a mess later, we'll rely on Elder Yang to step forward and take control of the situation. After all, you are the true heir."

Yang Ping said mildly, "You can save those bootlicking words. Does it cost nothing to throw all those empty words around?"

Big Horse Monkey said, "We don't have to bother with the ones leading the ruckus. As for that girl, she surrounds herself with luxurious goods day and night. Even if nothing happens to her this time, the people in the sect don't like the way she acts. She won't be able to hold on to the Dog Beating Staff. And for the remaining matters, we will have to rely on Zhai-xiong to help out."

Yang Ping nodded. "Also, remember to take care of things on Wang Jiusheng's side."

In the darkness of the night, Gan Qing's eyes looked up swiftly.

Big Horse Monkey said, "Someone with ties to Wan Mu Chun moved into No. 110 Courtyard. I can see that Wang Jiusheng is truly scared this time."

"Don't look down on him," Yang Ping said. "Do you think that Wei Xiao was easy to handle back then? Even when the few of us were in top condition, we were ruined in his hands, let alone later on… Were it not because Wang Jiusheng enacted a plan to beat him down until he could not fight back, it's hard to say who would be the one dead right now. Furthermore, Wei Xiao lived in hiding right here in Yanning for so many years. People from both sides were looking for him but no one could find him. It was only Wang Jiusheng who could dig him out. This North Branch Master of Travellers' Sect has hidden depths."

Gan Qing's fingers that were holding onto the cypress tree dug into the tree trunk. Her heart was pounding hard enough to explode.

Big Horse Monkey said, "Wang Jiusheng had always thought that Old Zhai and I belong to Zhao. These two days, we have already sussed out where he hid that girl. We will quietly bring her out today. Didn't Zhao seize the Dog Beating Staff by force? When Travellers' Sect realise that the person they're hiding has disappeared, they will surely suspect that Elder Zhao could not keep the members quiet and is pushing them out to take the fall. When that time comes, we'll let them fight among themselves like dogs."

Yang Ping said, "I'll leave it to you."

A tendril of blood crept into Gan Qing's eyes. A blade seemed to grow out of her flesh, the tip slowly extending from between her fingers. Her fingers reflected in the body of the blade appeared eerily cold and pale, like the claws of a water demon in a horror movie.

Right at that moment, Xiao-Zhai suddenly hmm-ed. "There's a small accident."

"What?" Big Horse Monkey asked.

Xiao-Zhai made a noise of amusement and said, "Zhao and Tian were intercepted by someone, guess who? None other than that little alliance leader at No. 110 who's playing around."

The blade between Gan Qing's fingers that was "growing" outwards the whole time paused slightly.

"That's sick!" Xiao-Zhai said. "I think we don't even need to wait until tomorrow for Elder Zhao and the others to fall on their faces."

The broom handle in Yu Lanchuan's hands broke with a snap. He saw the cold glint of something metal in the hands of the Beggars' Sect member opposite him.

"Controlled weapons." He raised an eyebrow. "Do the respected and righteous sects also recruit this type of professional hoodlum?"

The person opposite him decided to give up on sneaking around. Under his hands were two concealed long daggers with blood grooves, a metal chain linking them together. They could be used to stab, pierce and slash at a close range, and the blades could also be thrown out.

The sharp edge of the blade split Yu Lanchuan's broom handle in the middle. Other than his glasses, the last metallic item on his body was his belt. He was now fighting bare-handed and was forced to retreat to the corridor entrance.

Right then, a whistling sound drew near. The chain whip struck down from the air, striking right on the metal chain in between the long daggers. With a cunning use of angles, it pulled downwards; the person holding the daggers nearly stabbed his own chin and immediately snapped his body back.

"Your mum here is not dead yet," Zhang Meizhen said.

She had just finished speaking when Yu Lanchuan heard someone call out. "Little Master Yu, catch."

Right on its heels, something flew over from behind him. Yu Lanchuan reached out and grabbed it and was shocked—that thing was an actual sword!

...Albeit—he saw when he drew it out for a look—a sword carved from peach wood.

Han Dongsheng walked towards him from the stairs, a copper clothes drying rack in his hands. He smiled at Yu Lanchuan, a little embarrassed. "When my dad was obsessed with qigong, he bought that from the 'master.' Supposedly, it will repel evil when hung on the wall. Just make do with it for now."

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

Great, he was now doing a Daoist ritual dance.

Han Dongsheng turned towards the Beggars' Sect members blocking the building entrance and withdrew his smile. In a soft and light tone, he said, "Tomorrow, the adults have to go to work and the children have to wake up early for revision classes. It is time to rest now. What is everyone doing here?"

After Han Dongsheng finished speaking, a black shadow fell swiftly on the covered bicycle racks. The new arrival resembled a large, graceful bird. The covered bicycle racks shook lightly a couple of times but there was not a single sound. It was none other than Yan Hao.

Yan Hao panted for breath. "G-Grandma Zhang told me to bring people here."

Zhang Meizhen grinded her teeth lightly. "...Good boy, you're sensible. You're the first to properly call me 'Grandma.'"

Yan Hao looked utterly confused.

They saw that at the entrance to No. 110, the two major jianbing groups and the beggars and vagrants who usually run errands for Old Yang were all there. And there were even more people rushing over...

T/N:

[1] The name of the Han Jiang "supreme skill" as described by Yu Huaide is 破釜沉舟 "breaking cauldrons and sinking boats." It is an idiom that means risking everything for the sake of victory.

[2] "Big horse monkey" 大马猴 seems to be a legit type of monkey that lives in South Africa but I can't track down the exact English name. However, this monkey is also used as a sort of bogeyman to scare children in northern parts of China and in that context, is more like a monster than an actual animal.

[3] Not really relevant to the story, but I just want to note that the Three Friends of Winter generally refer to pine, bamboo and plum. Cypress is traditionally not one of them.