Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Fight

Zhang Qinglin stopped at the entrance of Azure Sky, lifted his head, and stared toward the way they had come. The two men who had been tailing them stood by a little roadside stall, pretending to browse as they kept their eyes fixed on the teahouse.

Jiang Xinyue clutched the doorframe and called to Zhang Qinglin at the entrance, “Brother, brother, come quick. A shipment’s arrived. It looks like teacups.”

Seeing that Zhang Qinglin did not answer, Jiang Xinyue gave his shoulder a hard pat and went on, “Brother Qinglin, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Yueyue, what did you say just now? A shipment arrived? Didn’t one come in yesterday? Why is there another one today?” Zhang Qinglin said, coming back to himself.

Jiang Xinyue blinked at him. “Yesterday? Right, there was already a shipment of teacups yesterday. Could it be something my dad ordered again?”

“Come on, let’s take a look.” Zhang Qinglin withdrew his gaze and was about to go inside to check the goods.

Just then, a man burst out from the corner nearby and rushed straight up behind them. Grabbing Zhang Qinglin’s clothes with both hands, trembling all over, he cried, “Brother Xiao Lin, save me!”

“Chi Tan, what happened? Trouble again?” Zhang Qinglin asked.

Jiang Xinyue sidled away and looked at Chi Tan. “Chi Tan, you sneaked out again. Does your grandmother know?”

Chi Tan’s sly, glittering eyes shifted toward Jiang Xinyue, and with a mournful face he said, “Sister Xinyue, don’t tell my grandma, okay? Ah, they’re here.”

Chi Tan looked ahead and, frightened, hid behind Zhang Qinglin again, lifting Zhang Qinglin’s coat to cover his face.

Several hooligans came panting up to the entrance of Azure Sky. The leading one, a fat man with a thick waist and round build, shouted, “Chi Tan, you spineless coward! Hiding behind someone else—what good is that? My boss said hand over the thing and this is over. Otherwise, we’ll break your hand.”

“The thing isn’t with me!” Chi Tan said weakly.

Zhang Qinglin looked at Chi Tan and asked, “What did you take from them? Hurry up and give it back so they can leave. Don’t block the entrance. We won’t be able to do business like this.”

“Yeah, Chi Tan, maybe you should go talk somewhere else,” Jiang Xinyue echoed.

The fat man pointed at Chi Tan and barked, “You brat, hand over that piece of ancient jade. Quickly.”

“I already told you, it’s not with me,” Chi Tan said, peeking out.

“What ancient jade?” Zhang Qinglin pulled Chi Tan out and stared at him.

Chi Tan’s eyes darted back and forth. He lowered his head and kept his mouth shut.

The fat man, drenched in sweat from running, said, “Hmph. This brat stole a fine piece of ancient jade from my boss!”

“I didn’t steal it. I was only taking back what was mine,” Chi Tan said, standing up straight and shouting angrily.

“The item was already redeemed by my boss. Naturally it belongs to my boss now. You still want to take it back?” the fat man glared.

Chi Tan stepped forward. “I gave you money.”

“That little bit of money of yours wouldn’t even cover a pot of tea. Brothers, take him away.” The fat man called to the lackeys beside him.

“Wait. If the thing isn’t with him, tell me how much it is. I’ll pay it for him first,” Zhang Qinglin said, standing there and watching them.

He finally understood. The ancient jade Chi Tan had worn that day had indeed been a gift from his mother. When he ran out of money, he had pawned it for cash.

“Fine. Two hundred thousand...” The fat man held up his hand and gestured.

“Two hundred thousand? What kind of ancient jade is worth that much? Why don’t you just rob people outright?” Jiang Xinyue said at once.

“No money? Then hand over Chi Tan. Brothers, take him away!” the fat man roared, his face hard.

Eight or nine of them rushed forward to grab Chi Tan. Seeing this, Chi Tan immediately hid behind Zhang Qinglin.

Zhang Qinglin’s expression changed. He swung his fist and struck the man in front of him.

Fighting five against one, Zhang Qinglin was at something of a disadvantage. He had not been without experience in brawls before, but lately he had been plagued by frequent bouts of illness and had also suffered many injuries, leaving his body somewhat unable to bear it.

One of the hooligans threw a punch with his right hand. Zhang Qinglin sidestepped, caught his arm with his left hand, and countered with a punch to his shoulder. At that moment, another blow landed squarely on his face. Zhang Qinglin staggered, lost his footing, and fell forward to the ground.

Chi Tan was no longer timid either. He rushed over, shoved the hooligan who was about to hit Zhang Qinglin, and tangled with them in a scuffle.

Zhang Qinglin got back to his feet, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and, eyes blazing, clenched his fists and charged. But there were too many of them, and after only a few exchanges, the two of them were knocked to the ground.

The scene quickly spun out of control. Jiang Xinyue and Sister Zhou stood at the entrance, shouting for them to stop.

Suddenly, a man burst out from the crowd of onlookers. With a sharp “whoosh,” he hurled the backpack from his back at the fat man, then followed with a flying kick that sent the man crashing to the ground. Next, he seized the hooligan beside Zhang Qinglin and hammered several fierce punches into his stomach.

The fat man’s face twisted hideously. Clutching his belly and howling in pain, he looked up at the man in front of him and tried to strike back, only to receive a heavy blow to the eye. It swelled up at once, red and puffed.

Once Zhang Qinglin had steadied himself, he looked over in astonishment. “Wu Cheng’an?!”

Zhang Qinglin had not expected Wu Cheng’an to be in Beijing as well. Watching him beat those hooligans into utter disarray, he also let out a breath of relief.

“Kid, you’ve got a master helping you today. Fine. Just you wait,” the fat man snarled through gritted teeth.

Then he and his lackeys stumbled away in retreat.