Chapter Eighty-Eight: Mob Beating

Liu Hui gave a cold order. “Stuff her mouth shut.”

The three thugs guarding the woman, Li Xiaoying, hurriedly found some filthy scraps of cloth from who knew where and jammed them into her mouth at once. Li Xiaoying shook and twisted in a fierce struggle.

“Damn it! This little bitch is something else. I’ll show you something else!” said the thug called Rat. He reached out and groped Li Xiaoying’s body. “Well now, she’s soft enough. Feels damn fine.” Then his face darkened, and he lashed out with several brutal kicks.

The woman wore nothing but her undergarments, and at once she thrashed in pain. But when she looked up and saw Rat staring at her with those venomous little eyes, she wilted.

As the people on the street drew nearer, more and more of them appeared, already numbering three or four dozen.

A chill flashed through Zhou Zhi’s eyes. He exchanged a glance with Liu Hui, and before Zhou Zhi could speak, Liu Hui said with remarkable calm, “Looks like we’re in for a proper brawl tonight. Brother Zhou, speaking of it, at least the men didn’t come for nothing. Another chance to practice.”

He said it with such ease, as though he did not place the men opposite him, some armed with clubs and others with blades, in the slightest.

Liu Hui had led these roughnecks and loafers through more street fights than anyone could count. He was experienced. At that moment, every one of the thugs stood rigidly in place, waiting for his command.

Strike first and gain the upper hand.

Liu Hui said in a deep voice, “Brothers, attack!”

At the command, forty or fifty thugs surged forward in a tide.

It was Zhou Zhi’s first time seeing such a free-for-all. There was no order, no rules, no greeting to the other side, only a blind and savage melee.

These men had all come for him. How could Zhou Zhi stand aside? Since the fight was unavoidable, there was only one choice now: lead from the front.

When two tigers meet in a narrow pass, the brave wins. Zhou Zhi snatched a long club from one of the thugs guarding Li Xiaoying, handed over the bull-nosed dagger in his own hand, and then, with a hard expression, strode forward to meet the fight.

“Brother Zhou, wait! These men are enough!” Liu Hui cried in alarm.

Liu Hui had stayed at the rear of the formation all along. He rarely made a move himself, watching with ease and composure, carrying himself with something of a commander’s bearing.

Zhou Zhi smiled. “Brother Liu, how could a fight like this do without me? I may as well get some practice too.”

His body was sturdy and powerful. He swung the long club wide, and whenever he saw one of the men before him, he smashed down hard. Before long he had charged to the front line.

The thugs saw how fierce Zhou Zhi was and were instantly lifted by his spirit, afraid of falling behind, and rushed ahead all the more desperately.

Across from them were about thirty-odd men from Xin Village. When they had heard the woman’s whistle, they had come to help.

Xin Village was, to say the least, tightly knit. Every household stole, every man was a thief, every woman a harlot, and in the past there had always been troublemakers coming to raise a scene in the village. So they had long ago set a secret signal: once they heard the whistle, they would answer at once and help one another.

They had only meant to find out what had happened at the Geng household. They had never expected the other side to launch straight into a beating without a word, and for a moment they were utterly baffled.

They were all farmhands, but each had some strength, and many had been in such brawls before, so they knew their way around a fight. As long as they could avoid getting hurt themselves, they pressed forward as best they could.

By then Zhou Zhi was already at the very front. He darted left and right, keeping the men opposite from getting near him at all. The more he fought, the more heated he became, as if he meant to vent every humiliation his father, Zhou Tie, had ever suffered.

Now and then one of the men opposite was struck by his long club and let out a cry of pain.

In a chaotic melee like this, morale was everything. With Zhou Zhi leading the charge, the thugs pressed forward with wild courage. The thirty-odd men from Xin Village could not help but retreat again and again. A few sly ones quietly withdrew, then slipped into a side alley and vanished without a trace.

Indeed, they had come to help Geng Zhong, but after fighting for so long they had not once seen Geng Zhong himself, nor even the ravishing widow Li Xiaoying. Whom were they being loyal to here? If they kept fighting, they might end up injured for nothing. Wouldn’t that make them fools?

The thirty-odd men dwindled further and further. It looked as though they were about to collapse and flee in all directions. The thugs under Liu Hui became even fiercer, afraid they might miss the fun of the fight. Seeing who was shouting the loudest, they roared, “Charge! Break them! Flatten Xin Village!”

Just then, a rough voice suddenly rang out from among the men opposite.

“Run! The constables are here!”

The shout was loud and carried far.

At the sound, the village men no longer bothered with any last desperate struggle. In the blink of an eye they ran off and disappeared.

Zhou Zhi and the thugs all froze.

The constables were here? This place was supposed to be a no-man’s-land where nobody interfered, where the constables usually opened one eye and closed the other. Besides, it was well past midnight. Why were the constables so diligent that they would still show up now?

Everyone was puzzled.

The villagers on the opposite side had vanished, and in their place appeared five men wearing constable caps and uniforms. As they drew nearer, the face of the leader came into view.

He was not tall, but he was not badly favored. A thick black beard covered his dark, glistening face, and a curved saber in its sheath hung diagonally at his waist. Altogether, he carried himself with a certain martial bearing.

Thugs were still only thugs. Ordinary brawls were one thing, but the moment they truly saw a constable, they were instantly dumbstruck. One by one they stood there, stunned, scarcely daring to breathe.

Liu Hui had been at the very back of the crowd. Now he stepped forward with measured strides.

In truth, he too was somewhat afraid of constables. After all, he was a man of no proper calling, and he usually avoided contact with them whenever he could. Better to keep as far away as possible.

But tonight was different. He was the leader of this band of thugs, and had no choice but to steel himself and meet the constable.

Zhou Zhi remained silent, his eyes fixed tightly on the constable with the beard as his mind raced, seeking a quick solution.

The bearded constable swept a cold glance over the scene and then cursed in a rough voice, “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Brawling in a group? Hmph! Do you still know there’s law in this world?”

Liu Hui hurried forward with an ingratiating smile. “Officer, of course we know there’s law. We were just forced into this.”

As he spoke, Liu Hui had already taken about two taels of silver from his robes and extended his hand toward the constable. The man’s eyes were sharp; he reached out at once, took the silver, and tucked it into his robes with practiced ease, then continued in that same rough voice, “Hmph. A gang fight, yes, but at least no one’s dead. From now on, you unruly people had better not make trouble like this again.”

Even as he spoke, he strode into the courtyard and immediately spotted the widow Li Xiaoying, bound hand and foot with ropes. At once his face darkened like water, and he barked, “You rabble, you truly are a pack of rabble. Hurry and set that woman free. In this cold weather, are you not afraid of freezing her to death?”

It was easy enough to hear from his voice that he was quite concerned for Li Xiaoying.

Li Xiaoying, seeing the constable, was instantly in tears, her body struggling desperately all over again.

At the constable’s order, the three thugs guarding her dared not delay and hurriedly moved to untie the woman.

Zhou Zhi, who had said nothing all along, watched from the side with a cold eye. Then he suddenly roared, “Don’t let her go! Brothers, don’t be afraid. These constables are fake. Hit them!”