Chapter 286

Gao Yuan angrily said: "You just clearly said twenty taels of silver; how can you do business without honesty?"

The horse vendor chuckled: "What status does this sir have? Spending twenty taels of silver to buy a horse, this sir can't afford to lose that person."

Gao Yuan rushed forward wanting to argue with him, but Hu Xiaotian stretched out his hand to stop him; it wasn't worth arguing with such a market vendor, and the crowd was growing, continuing would surely attract too much attention. Hu Xiaotian said: "Good!" He took out a gold ingot from his money bag and handed it over: "This should be enough!"

Seeing Hu Xiaotian act so straightforwardly and generously, the vendor couldn't help but feel some regret; had he known, he should have asked for more.

Gao Yuan glared at him fiercely, stepped forward and shoved him aside, intending to untie the little horse.

But a loud voice came from the crowd: "Hold on!"

Hu Xiaotian found the voice somewhat familiar; glancing in its direction, he saw five sturdy men striding over, the leader tall and dark-skinned, imposing like an iron tower—this was Hu Xiaotian's old adversary, Tang Tiehan. Back in the capital, Hu Xiaotian had, due to a misunderstanding, snatched Tang Tiehan's sister Tang Qingxuan, which provoked the Tang brothers to lead a mob to storm the Grand Preceptor's residence, a farce that ended with Hu Xiaotian's victory.

Tang Tiehan is the eldest son of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport Tang Wen Zheng; his father is merely a sixth-rank official, not daring to oppose the third-rank grand secretary Hu Buwei of the Ministry of Revenue, so he had to suffer this mute loss, and the Tang family regarded it as a great shame, always holding a grudge. As the saying goes, ten years east, ten years west—now Hu Buwei has met misfortune, the Hu family's status has plummeted, while Tang Wen Zheng, amid this imperial power shift, has not been greatly affected; his old friend, the Minister of War Zhang Zhezhe, enjoys deep trust from the new emperor, and Tang Wen Zheng, thanks to his recommendation, has been given important posts. The present emperor, Long Yelin, loves horse racing; the eunuchs of the Imperial Stables know nothing about judging horses. Naturally, they turn to Tang Wen Zheng, who is renowned as a contemporary Bo Le, and he has exerted himself fully, recently delivering many fine horses to the palace, earning the new emperor's praise.

The Tang family's three sons had long used their father's authority to monopolize the capital's horse market. However, this part of Tuojie, being a mixed crowd with few quality horses, is where their influence rarely reaches; Tang Tiehan happened to appear here.

Upon seeing that bastard, Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, "Uh-oh," as the saying goes, enemies meet; he hadn't expected to run into him here. Tang Tiehan wasn't actually coming for Hu Xiaotian; because Hu Xiaotian had his back to him, Tang Tiehan didn't recognize him at first glance. Though Tang Tiehan isn't particularly bright, he has inherited his father's true skill in judging horses. Hearing the colt's cry from afar, he was drawn over; despite the distance, he instantly saw that the thin, long-haired colt was no ordinary beast, and thus spoke up to stop.

Almost everyone making a living in the capital's horse market knows the Tang three brothers. Seeing Tang Tiehan appear, the horse vendor smiled and said: "I wondered who it was; it turns out to be Sir Tang."

Tang Tiehan wore a haughty expression, strode over to the colt, looked it up and down, then placed his hand lightly on the junction of its neck and shoulder; the colt looked frail, but its bones were exceptionally tough. Tang Tiehan secretly praised it, thinking this colt was a rare fine steed.

Seeing Tang Tiehan touch the colt, Gao Yuan was displeased; he immediately stepped forward wanting to untie the colt's reins, shouting loudly: "Don't touch my horse!"

Tang Tiehan said: "However much he paid, I'll pay double."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed. This brat must not have seen me, yet such an adult snatching a child's thing feels no shame.

The horse vendor, hearing that, instantly beamed: "Fine, fine! Sir Tang, eighty taels of silver."

Tang Tiehan nodded; eighty taels for a rare fine steed was obviously a great bargain.

Gao Yuan angrily said: "You clearly already sold it to me. What right do you have to sell it to someone else?"

The horse vendor walked over, flung the gold ingot he had just taken from Gao Yuan back at him, and shouted: "I damn well won't sell it if I don't want to! Kid, get lost, don't interfere with my business!"

Gao Yuan seized the horse's reins and refused to let go, shouting loudly: "This horse is mine; none of you can take it away."

The horse vendor, clearly ill‑tempered, grabbed Gao Yuan's collar, shoved him aside; Gao Yuan, stubborn as ever, clung to the colt, lunged forward and hugged the vendor's thigh, heaving with all his strength and actually flinging the vendor into the mud.

The onlookers shouted approval; in fact most disliked the vendor's fickleness, and now he was bullying a child, which naturally aroused their sense of injustice. Though many sympathized with Gao Yuan, nobody wanted to invite trouble, so no one stepped forward to help him.

The vendor, flung into the mud, flew into a rage, raised his whip to lash Gao Yuan.

Hu Xiaotian had no intention of revealing himself, but he couldn't stand by while his little brother Gao Yuan suffered; seeing the vendor raise his whip to strike Gao Yuan, Hu Xiaotian flicked a small brick from the ground with his toe, launched it airborne—it whistled and struck the vendor squarely on the nose, blood spraying everywhere. The vendor screamed in pain, clutched his nose, and rolled on the ground.

Only then did the crowd's attention turn to Hu Xiaotian; when Tang Tiehan got a clear look at Hu Xiaotian's face, his expression turned murderous. He bore a deep grudge against Hu Xiaotian, for the humiliation he suffered at the Hu household years ago, which he regarded as a great disgrace, hence his later ambush on Hu Xiaotian's departure from the capital—though thwarted by Murong Feiyan.

After the Hu family fell from power, Tang Tiehan gloated for a while, believing the Hu clan would be exterminated and their kin punished, yet was surprised when the emperor spared them, merely ordering Hu Xiaotian to enter the palace to atone; Tang Tiehan felt this insufficient, even declared that if he ever met Hu Xiaotian he would beat him senseless. Little did he expect that, after searching in vain, he would run into Hu Xiaotian here on Tuojie Street.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian dressed as a eunuch standing among the crowd, Tang Tiehan felt a surge of satisfaction: "Damn, you've had your day too. Oppose me, and you'll come to no good end."

Gao Yuan seized the moment to step forward and untie the horse's reins; Hu Xiaotian said: "In business you must keep faith—you took my money, so this horse is mine; going back on your word is dishonest." Had it not been for Gao Yuan, Hu Xiaotian would not have stepped forward at this time.

Tang Tiehan wore a ferocious grin and began to stride toward Hu Xiaotian.

Gao Yuan sensed something amiss, led the colt to Hu Xiaotian's side; though he didn't know who these people were, their aura warned him of ill intent. Hu Xiaotian said: "You go on ahead; I have a few words with these old friends."

Gao Yuan glanced at Hu Xiaotian, then shook his head.

Hu Xiaotian whispered: "Don't worry about me, split up!" He suddenly turned and fled.

Tang Tiehan clearly hadn't expected Hu Xiaotian to do that; seeing Hu Xiaotian break through the crowd and dash away, he bellowed: "Chase!"

Seeing Hu Xiaotian flee, Gao Yuan likewise seized the colt amid the chaos, tethered it to his cart, and drove after Hu Xiaotian's direction.

Since receiving ten years of inner strength from Quan De'an, Hu Xiaotian's physique has grown stronger each day; on Tuojie Street he strode like a shooting star, quickly leaving Tang Tiehan and his men behind in a footrace—had it been only a sprint, Tang Tiehan's crew could not match Hu Xiaotian—but their mounts were nearby; soon they reached the horses, leapt aboard, and galloped after Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian deliberately ran through crowded lanes, yet unfamiliar with Tuojie's alleys he soon found the road ahead opening up; behind him the pounding of hooves drew nearer. Hu Xiaotian turned to look and saw Tang Tiehan leading four lackeys in hot pursuit.

Knowing he could not outrun them on foot, Hu Xiaotian halted and waited for their arrival.

In the blink of an eye the five reached him, surrounding him. Tang Tiehan looked down from his mount, smirking triumphantly: "Yo, I didn't mistake you, this eunuch sure looks familiar!"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "How could you mistake me? Even if I were burned to ash you'd still know me."

"Not bad, I'd recognize you even as ashes!" Tang Tiehan snarled through gritted teeth: "Hu Xiaotian, you've had your day too!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Tiehan, grudges should be settled, not perpetuated; it's been so long—let's just let it go."

Tang Tiehan roared: "You can let it go, but I can't! You dishonored my sister, relied on your Hu family's clout to twist truth and falsehood; I've long said this debt will one day be settled." He dismounted and stepped slowly toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Spare where you can; why push so hard?"

Tang Tiehan sneered: "What are you, a eunuch, to deserve mercy? If you want me to spare you, fine." He lifted his right leg, pointed at his crotch, and said: "Then crawl under my trousers." His four companions burst into lewd laughter.

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "You really want me to crawl?"

Tang Tiehan nodded: "Crawl!"

Hu Xiaotian sighed, stepped forward, and suddenly said: "Did you ever ask your sister what I actually did to her back then?"

Tang Tiehan's face turned purple with rage at those words, and he shouted: "What could a eunuch like you possibly have done?"

"Back then I hadn't yet been castrated."

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