The scarred-face man was the youngest, the others were all his shixiong. Hence, he could neither hold one down nor hold back the other; he could only stand helplessly by and be the sole recipient of the young hero Liu Zhongqi's fire-spewing gaze.

"Stop hitting him!" His spirit crumbling, the scarred-face man pointed at Liu Zhongqi and asked, "What should we do with him?"

The disabled er-shixiong finally remembered that there was still this piece of disastrous debt. This worry was enough to take his life and he didn't have the mood to beat up his shidi anymore. "First, untie him!"

"No, if we untie him, he'll start yelling." The bald man didn't dare fight back, so he had taken his shixiong's elbow right in the face and his words were rather slurred. He squatted on the ground, a pair of small triangular-shaped eyes peeking out woefully. When he saw Er-shixiong lift an arm, he quickly shrank back and covered his head, curling into a lump.

Er-shixiong did things his own way. With a grave face, he walked over and tugged out the socks that were stuffed into Liu Zhongqi's mouth.

Before Liu Zhongqi's mouth closed, he was already drawing in a deep breath, preparing to shout. The young hero's wide open mouth shocked Er-shixiong into trembling, and he instinctively shoved the socks back in.

Liu Zhongqi's shout was stuffed back in and had no choice but to detour through his nasal cavity. It came out in a loud "moo" like an old cow's bellow, reverberating until his temples were aching.

With a crestfallen face, the bald man said, "If someone finds out, we can't stay even in a place like this, can we?"

Er-shixiong said, "This is all because of you!"

Even at death's door, these members of the law-breaking and criminal class were still worried about renting! Hearing the key point of these brothers' worries, Liu Zhongqi was close to exploding in rage. Consequently, his stomach steadily let out a sound like muffled thunder—it was nearly twenty-four hours from yesterday noon until now, and he had only eaten a small piece of cake.

Following that, perhaps it was to coordinate with Liu Zhongqi, the bald man's stomach also rumbled like it was joining the excitement.

The scarred-face man looked at one, then looked at the other, and said in a soft, careful tone. "Shixiong, it's almost noon. We haven't had breakfast yet."

Er-shixiong ran out of anger. He went out without a word and bought back a few pounds of dumplings.

Then, these three big ruffians sat in a circle around Liu Zhongqi and the dumplings. Er-shixiong negotiated with him, "We can let you eat, but you're not allowed to shout."

The young hero's mouth was gagged, so he used a huge eye roll to convey his words: Dream on!

The scarred-face man pinched a small dumpling and put it under his nose.

Steam was still rising from the snowy white surface of the little dumpling, making it look like there was a soft focus filter on it. There was a patch on the surface that was translucent due to the grease from the filling, making the inside faintly visible. A strong delicious scent wafted out—the filling was pork and green onion.

Liu Zhongqi, "..."

Owing to the huge disparity in strength between his enemy and himself, the young hero could endure no longer and suffered a complete defeat. Under the assault of the xiaolongbao, he laid down his arms and surrendered.

Er-shixiong skillfully changed the way he was tied up. This way, even though both his hands were still tied together, he could hold the dumplings himself and eat.

It was easy for a half-grown kid to become hungry in the first place. Once Liu Zhongqi took the first bite, he couldn't stop at all. He buried his head and gulped down more than ten little dumplings without pause, and choked until his neck was stretched out.

Er-shixiong asked, "Water?"

Angry and embarrassed, Liu Zhongqi let out a sound like a mosquito buzzing. "...Yes."

Er-shixiong studied him for a while, then asked in suspicion. "Have we met before?"

"My. Student. Card. Is still with you guys!" Liu Zhongqi blew up in anger. This shameless gang—school hadn't even reopened after summer vacation but they had already clean forgotten about their victim!

The three big ruffians exchanged looks for a while, and unexpectedly looked a little apologetic, as though they were also aware that they shouldn't scrape fleece from just one sheep^[1]!

The scarred-face man cleared his throat. "My shixiong… drank too much yesterday. He didn't do it on purpose. Look, you can see that he has already been beaten up so badly."

The bald man was reluctant to let the kid see how terrible he looked. Hearing this, he turned his head and covered his face with a hand as wide as a palm leaf fan.

"It's all a misunderstanding." The scarred-face man smiled as he said, "We even treated you to a meal."

If the education levels of these three brothers were added up, it would probably just reach the level of a junior high dropout. They were basically ignorant of the law but they still at least had some common knowledge. For example, for typical petty theft and minor swindling, the police wouldn't waste a lot of effort to pursue them all over the place as long as they took some care. If they were arrested every now and then due to bad luck, at most they would just need to spend a few days in the detention center.

But kidnapping was different. In the past, this was something only bandits would dare to do. When bandits met with law officers, what usually happened to them?

"We can untie you right now and let you go," Er-shixiong said to Liu Zhongqi. "You were also running away from home anyway, right?"

Liu Zhongqi nearly blurted out a 'How did you know?' but fortunately, the more than ten dumplings he had just gulped down had increased his capabilities. His brain that had stopped working for a night revived, and he stopped himself from speaking.

"It's obvious. Little kids like you have never suffered before in your lives. You don't have to worry about food and water, and you're so bored that you're throwing tantrums for no reason." Er-shixiong waved his hand. "We'll let you go, so hurry home. Study hard. You were born in a good family but you don't even appreciate it, ai!"

Never in his wildest dreams did Liu Zhongqi thought he would one day be lectured by a band of kidnappers. Even his own biological brother had never lectured him! Hence, the urge to rebel rose. "What do you know?"

Er-shixiong smiled and didn't argue with him. Then, his face suddenly sank. "But if we let you go back, you need to be careful with what you say. If you dare speak carelessly, hmph!"

This disabled er-shixiong had a square face with large eyes and thick lips. It was the appearance of a simple and unsophisticated man but once he sneered, the violence in his features emerged and he immediately looked vicious. "The police can't catch us so easily but it's not hard for us to find you. One can be a thief for a thousand days but no one can guard against a thief for a thousand days. Think carefully."

Liu Zhongqi had eaten his fill and all the blood in his body was rushing to his guts instead of wandering around his brain. Hearing that, he was indeed a little frightened. Furthermore, he couldn't anger the kidnappers when they intended to let him go, so he pressed his lips together and didn't say anything.

The disabled er-shixiong signalled the scarred-face man with his eyes. "Untie him."

Liu Zhongqi had been tied up for a long time. His arms and legs were numb, and for a moment, he couldn't stand up.

Er-shixiong came over and grabbed his leg. Frightened, Liu Zhongqi scooted back in a fluster but that man's hand was like an iron pincer. Try as he might, he could not break free.

The disabled er-shixiong extended three fingers and swiftly pressed a few times on his leg. The teenager immediately felt like there was a row of needles piercing the flesh of his numbed leg. He leaped up like a live fish, nearly biting off his tongue.

Er-shixiong rolled his eyes at him. "Bear it."

His words were still hanging in the air when he performed the same "torture" on Liu Zhongqi's other leg.

Liu Zhongqi was sweating, his mouth opened, unable to make a sound. He sprawled on the ground, tears in his eyes and panting.

But strangely, the pain faded very quickly. His cramped muscles relaxed and unexpectedly, did not hurt and was not numb.

Er-shixiong kicked his ankle lightly. "All right, get up and move around."

Liu Zhongqi wiped the tears that had leaked out due to the pain and tried to move his legs, and found that his entire body had lightened. He climbed to his feet hesitantly and walked a couple of circles where he was. He realised that both his legs were very nimble, like he could go out and run a 1,500-meter race. He looked at the disabled man in shock.

The disabled er-shixiong said, "You baby schoolkids are too delicate and can't take a bit of suffering. I'm not going to massage your arms. When you get home, do some stretches against the wall so that you don't ache tomorrow."

Liu Zhongqi rubbed his own wrists. "Are you… one of those people who practise qigong^[2]?"

Er-shixiong laughed. "No. Those are all lies."

"But you definitely know martial arts, right? That day, I saw you guys jump over the wall…" The chuuni teenager's mind started to come up with some fantasies, the way most people would. Liu Zhongqi asked cautiously, "It's like… something like qinggong^[3]?"

"It's an easy trick. Train for a year or two and you can jump over the wall too."

Liu Zhongqi belonged to his school's broadcasting station and had written many scripts filled with an upright and honest spirit. The moment he opened his mouth, it was all "Let's Be Civilised, Start a New Trend^[4]." "Actually… you can try opening a martial arts gym or go into the performing arts or become a trainer or something like that… If those really won't work, you can still become a masseur. If you're really good, you can also take part in professional competitions. Why must you guys-"

Before he could finish speaking, the bald man seemed to be triggered the moment he heard the words "professional competitions." He stood up with a roar, glaring with eyes so wide they looked like copper bells.

Frightened by him, Liu Zhongqi retreated a few steps.

The disabled er-shixiong raised his hand and stopped the bald man. In a rather kindly tone, he said to Liu Zhongqi, "You know nothing, hurry up and get lost!"

After setting free the victim of the mistaken kidnapping, the bald man was pushed into a chair by Er-shixiong.

The meat dumplings had gone cold by now. The disabled man picked one up, cupped it in his hand and ate slowly. "Lao-San, don't cause anymore trouble. It's time for us to leave."

The bald man and the scarred-face man were both stunned.

"Shiniang told me yesterday night." Er-shixiong didn't look up. "It's been tough for the two of you. Shifu is no longer here, Da-shixiong is ill, I didn't teach you well and also didn't take good care of you two… I'm ashamed."

The scarred-face man asked blankly, "What about Da-shixiong?"

"We'll go back home."

"What about his illness? Is he not going to see the doctor anymore?"

"The surgery will cost at least 500,000. We have to pay first and can only make a claim when we go back. I've asked around—we won't be able to claim the full amount, there's a huge shortfall." Er-shixiong sighed. "On top of that, the doctor said that the surgery is risky. If he doesn't do it, he might be able to live a few more years. If he does it and it fails, then he's gone. Shiniang said that if that's the case, then we might as well go home. Isn't there a doctor who practises traditional medicine at the health center? We'll slowly treat his illness, leave it to fate."

The scarred-face man was discontent. "No… It wasn't easy for us to come here and we're going back just like this? Shifu and Shiniang only have this one son…"

"Then what do you think we should do? Sell off all three of us, do you think we're even worth 500,000? Would anyone buy?" Er-shixiong paused and lowered his head to look at his lame leg. "Yesterday, Shiniang told me that we shouldn't have come here. Yanning doesn't tolerate people like us."

The bald man let out a roar like he was venting his emotions and ran out.

The scarred-face man chased a few steps but didn't catch up to him. He turned back to look at his er-shixiong helplessly.

The disabled er-shixiong didn't say anything. One hand holding the dumpling, the other hand rubbing his own lame leg, he spaced out.

The bald man ran all the way out. He wandered a few circles in the rundown urban village, not knowing where he could go and not knowing what he could do. He felt like looking for a place where he could get dead drunk. Digging into his pockets, he realised that he only had a couple of coins left.

That was right, he used up his money yesterday.

Shiniang and the rest of them could only bear to order a packet of fries at the fast food restaurant. Afraid that they would be shooed out once it was eaten, no one had dared touch it. And now he couldn't even control himself and had gone out and spent all the money he had on drink.

The bald man looked around him at a loss. The water puddled on the ground was dissipating in fine wisps under the sunlight at high noon. The power lines that had been set up haphazardly and illegally knotted like a spider web above his head. Small posters advertising "Painless Abortion" and "Credentials for Loans" were stuck all over a slanted telephone pole. A few houses where the residents refused to vacate were still occupied and the residents were gathered at the little commercial area in the village, playing mahjong. The ground below them was covered in a layer of melon seed shells. At the side was an old-fashioned small radio and the radio station was currently playing a traditional crosstalk.

The people were filthy and yet, content.

The bald man stood at the side and listened for a while. The jokes were all old. He couldn't laugh, so he lowered his head like a stray dog and turned back.

Right then, the radio that hadn't been repaired for years suddenly jumped frequencies. Amidst the static, the calm and steady voice of the newscaster could be heard. "Following this, we interrupt this program with a piece of urgent local news. According to reports, a young man was kidnapped from the district of Little Pool. The victim is male, sixteen years old, 1.77 meters tall. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing blue sneakers and a denim shirt. His shirt is missing a button…"

Upon hearing that, the bald man was stunned. Then, he twitched and turned on his heels and ran.

"Shixiong, Shixiong!" He ran back to the small house they rented, nearly pissing his pants in fright. Before he could speak to Er-shixiong, the disabled er-shixiong's phone rang.

Er-shixiong's eyelid twitched for no reason. He picked up the call. "Shiniang… Yes… What!"

The bald man panted harsh breaths. He stood at the front door, unsure of what to do. From the noise leaking out of the phone, the old lady who had told them not to be ignorant frogs in a well could be heard crying. Her sobbing echoed in the cramped and dim little single-storey house.

"I'll go over right now," Er-shixiong said quickly, then hung up. While rushing out the door, he said to his two shidi, "Shixiong's condition suddenly worsened critically and he was sent to the emergency treatment room. Hurry!"

The scarred-face man and the bald man had yet to regain their wits, and ran out after him in a daze.

The bald man's beaten-up face was swollen and gleaming. When the wind blew, it hurt like it was burning. All of a sudden, he realised that when Shiniang said they were bringing Shixiong home, it wasn't to "leave it to fate."

It was to wait for death.

It was like there was thunder booming and lightning flashing in his chest, striking fit to split the earth and collapse mountains, sparing not even a single blade of grass. Yet, he had nowhere to vent his emotions.

Right at that moment, out of the corner of his eye, the bald man saw a sorry figure. The urban village covered a wide area, its topography messy and complicated. Liu Zhongqi didn't have his phone with him so he didn't have a navigation app and he also couldn't find anyone to ask for directions. After losing his way in there for a long while, he still hadn't left the place.

The bald man stared at him and came to an abrupt stop. His eyes turned red.

500,000 can save a life. All these rich people, which one of them doesn't have 500,000? He thought. The police are already coming after us anyway.

Gan Qing let two Rapid buses go by. Finally, an Ordinary bus came. She opened the navigation app and searched for the urban village that was awaiting demolishment.

It wasn't far, just five stops away.

She didn't use Beggars' Sect but she had her own ways.

It was hard to find news of Liu Zhongqi but it wasn't hard to find news of the bald man. The bald man was tall and burly, and had fierce, menacing features. When people like him entered the shadowy Mudpool Backlane, people would definitely notice him. She asked a few of those who frequently drank at Mudpool Backlane and found out that the bald man was also addicted to drink. He was even a terrible drunk, and stirred up trouble whenever he had too much to drink.

There was a jianghu veteran who had quietly found out about his background. The bald man was tight-lipped but he had once drank too much and revealed where they were staying in Yanning. It seemed to be this nearby urban village.

Whether or not that was the place, she decided to go and try her luck.

T/N:

Quick rundown of the kidnappers' gang: There's a Shifu (not present) and a Shiniang (the old lady); the kids are: 1. Da-shixiong (Shifu and Shiniang's biological son, in hospital for medical treatment); 2. Er-shixiong (the disabled one); 3. the bald one (either called Shixiong by #4 or Lao-San by #2); and 4. the scarred-face one.

[1] Scrape fleece from sheep 薅羊毛 - Originally referring to people who watched the sheeps for rich owners secretly scraping a bit of fleece from each sheep for their own use. Later on, this phrase was used to refer to the practice of taking advantage of many different promotions and discounts to earn monetary or non-monetary benefits.

[2] Qigong 气功 is a way of coordinating body posture, movement and breathing to regulate the flow of qi (life energy) in the body. It has a long history and has many forms, and there are many unsubstantiated claims of what qigong can do. It (or a simplified and standardised version I guess) is commonly practiced to maintain health, especially among the older generation.

[3] Qinggong 轻功 is a martial arts technique that enables a person to move really quickly, jump great heights, or even seem to fly, depending on how fantastical the wuxia setting is. Qigong and qinggong are both terms that will appear repeatedly in the story and are listed in the Glossary too.

[4] "Let's Be Civilised, Start a New Trend" 讲文明、树新风 is an official slogan to promote good, "civilised" behaviour.