"Wh-what?"
Bald Li didn't seem to understand what Qin Fang was getting at. He stared at him, bewildered.
Qin Fang's eyes narrowed. "When you told Wang Long where I live, who else was there? Who else heard you and knew they were coming for me? And after that, did you tell anyone else?"
Bald Li froze for a second, but his expression quickly changed, and his whole body began to tremble. "Sir, what... what are you planning to do? Th-that Wang Long is no ordinary man. H-his brother is Wang Hu of the Iron Tiger Gang! He's... he's an Anjin master..."
He had clearly seen something in Qin Fang's eyes that made him uneasy.
Qin Fang didn't speak, just watched him with indifference.
Pressured by Qin Fang's stare, Bald Li finally stammered, trembling, "J-just the men who were here just now. Th-they came as soon as they heard. I... I didn't tell anyone else..."
"Who, specifically," Qin Fang's voice was calm.
"Well, Wang Long, of course. Then there was Wuzi Zhang—you know, the guy with the... the mole on his face... and..."
Stammering, Bald Li listed five or six people. Besides Wang Long, they were all referred to by nicknames; he didn't know their real names.
Street thugs usually went by nicknames.
And all of them were members of the Iron Tiger Gang.
Qin Fang listened intently, confirming them in his mind.
Including Wang Long, exactly six men had come, the same number as that day. It seemed they were all Wang Long's cronies.
From Bald Li's descriptions, he matched each person to the men he'd seen.
"Where do they usually hang out?"
Qin Fang asked after a moment of silence.
"Sir... what... what are you going to do? Please, d-don't do anything crazy! Th-that's the Iron Tiger Gang we're talking about!"
Bald Li was terrified. He desperately tried to talk Qin Fang out of whatever he was planning.
He was filled with regret.
'If I'd known this would happen, I'd have rather taken a brutal beating, even had my legs broken, than let greed blind me into snitching!'
'That son-of-a-bitch Wang Long has no honor. He breaks his promises.'
'And now I've been targeted by this vagrant—one you could tell at a glance was not to be trifled with!'
'...This is a vagrant!'
'A true desperado!'
'I witnessed the tragedy of the vagrant riots not long ago with my own eyes!'
And now...
He was being forced to face this kind of vicious man.
Cold sweat streamed ceaselessly down his forehead.
Qin Fang looked at him, and after a moment of silence, asked calmly, "You owe them money?"
"Huh?" Bald Li stared at Qin Fang, dumbfounded.
"Five taels of silver, right? You'll be in a lot of trouble if you don't pay them in three days, won't you?"
Qin Fang asked calmly.
Bald Li swallowed hard. 'Not pay? At best, I'd lose a finger or two.'
'And who knows, my family might get dragged into it, too...'
'I know the Iron Tiger Gang's methods all too well.'
"You live here?"
As he spoke, Qin Fang glanced back at the deep, dark alleyway, then turned his gaze back to Bald Li, whose face was now even more panicked. He narrowed his eyes. "Because of you, Wang Long and his men found me. If I don't deal with them, I won't live. Do you, the one who caused all this, think you'll get to live?"
Qin Fang's voice was calm as he spoke, but the frigid gleam in his eyes sent a chill through Bald Li's entire body, making him tremble.
"B-but..."
Bald Li tried to protest.
But Qin Fang cut him off coolly. "I just need one piece of information: where they hang out at night. At most, I'll need you to keep an eye on their movements. That's all... You won't have to lift a finger. When this is over, I'll give you ten taels of silver. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut about it."
Bald Li's expression flickered with interest, but it was quickly replaced by hesitation.
Qin Fang, of course, knew what he was worried about. He said calmly, "I know what you're afraid of. You're afraid I'll get rid of you afterward. But if you think about it, there's no reason for me to do that. I'm an outsider here. I've just become Elder Wu's apprentice, and all I want is to live a quiet life. If Wang Long and his men hadn't pushed me to the brink, I wouldn't be taking such a desperate risk."
"And if everything goes according to plan, Wang Hu will be sure to investigate. I'll need to stay on top of any news or intelligence about him, and for that, I'll need a local to be my eyes and ears... If you cooperate with me, you'd be the perfect choice."
"At that point, we'll be in the same boat. You're not naive enough to run to Wang Hu and rat me out after something happens to Wang Long, are you? After all, if Wang Hu finds out you played a part in it, you won't live to see another day, will you?"
"So, why would I harm you?"
Qin Fang laid out his argument, his voice persuasive. Bald Li's face twitched, his expression shifting with every word.
Then, Qin Fang added the final nail, his voice soft and chilling, "On the other hand, if you refuse me now... that puts me in a very difficult position. You already know what I'm planning. So you tell me... what am I supposed to do with you?"
Bald Li trembled violently, and the stinging pain on his cheek suddenly felt more intense.
After what felt like an eternity, he asked in a trembling voice, "R-really? I just have to watch them?"
"Yes."
"T-ten taels of silver?"
"Ten taels."
Bald Li stared at Qin Fang, but his expression was placid, revealing nothing of his thoughts.
Finally, he grit his teeth. "Fine! I... I'll do it!"
"Sir, you... you really won't get rid of me after this is done, will you?" But as he spoke, Bald Li's bravado failed, and he asked Qin Fang with a pained expression.
"Rest assured," Qin Fang said coolly. "I'm not Wang Long."
Bald Li studied Qin Fang's face. Seeing no sign of deceit, he swallowed and felt a slight sense of relief.
"So, tell me. Where will they be tonight?"
Qin Fang asked calmly.
Bald Li took a deep breath and began to speak.
Wang Long was Wang Hu's older brother, which naturally gave him a very high status within the Iron Tiger Gang.
However, his own strength was limited—he hadn't even reached Mingjin Cultivation—so in reality, he held very little power within the gang and wasn't responsible for any of its important operations.
His responsibility was overseeing several underground gambling dens in the county.
"But all the gambling dens in the county have their own territories. After all, besides the Iron Tiger Gang, there are a dozen or so other gangs, large and small. It's a real snake pit."
"The Iron Tiger Gang's dens are mostly concentrated around the South Market..."
As befitting a compulsive gambler, Bald Li's eyes lit up as he spoke about the gambling dens, describing each one with intimate familiarity.
And as a true local hoodlum, he knew Wang Long's comings and goings like the back of his hand.
Qin Fang listened quietly, getting his first real glimpse into the underworld of True Martial County from Bald Li's rambling.
Countless gangs vied for power in a complex web of rivalries.
And behind every one of these gangs, without exception, was a Martial Artist.
As he listened to Bald Li, Qin Fang began to plan his next move...
'They say a gentleman can wait ten years for his revenge?'
'Qin Fang didn't consider himself a gentleman.'
'Because when he took revenge,'
'He took it from dawn till dusk.'