Chapter 372: The Beating

Tian Wan's long-suppressed anger finally erupted under Zou Shu's pointed finger.

Proud and arrogant as he was, the thing he hated most was someone pointing a finger at him and cursing—it gave him a feeling of being looked down upon.

"Fuck your mother! Who the hell do you think you are, daring to point at me and curse! I'll make you know that the Horse King has three eyes today!"

Tian Wan had learned a few moves since childhood from the wandering knights his father Tian Hongyu had brought home, and although he ordinarily lived a carefree life of fine wine and beautiful women, the foundation was still there.

He tucked a corner of his robe into his belt, stepped forward in one stride, used his left hand to brush aside the arm Zou Shu was pointing at him, clenched his right fist and drove it out with the momentum—one punch sealed Zou Shu's right eye—then turned sideways, raised his right leg, and delivered a side kick that sent Zou Shu sprawling to the ground.

Then he pressed his advantage, pouncing on top of Zou Shu, straddling him while swinging punches and cursing loudly.

Zou Shu, whose body had long been hollowed out by wine and women, had no strength to fight back. Beaten by Tian Wan, he cried out miserably again and again. In the blink of an eye his face was a mess of black and purple, and blood streamed from his mouth and nose.

All of this happened in an instant. The dozen or so men from Wujiang had been emboldened by their numbers, and with the thought of bullying Tian Wan's few as outsiders, they had felt safe in their arrogance.

But these men were either sons of gentry or came from official families. Accustomed to styling themselves as refined scholars, they were used to lingering in pleasure quarters—never had they witnessed such a scene. Tian Wan's behavior, like that of a crude street brawler, stunned most of them on the spot, and for a moment they had no idea how to respond.

Several young masters who snapped out of it, seeing the scene before them, felt their blood surge and charged at Tian Wan with shouts.

Before they could even get close, Tian Wan's two attendants leapt forward, kicking and striking, and in the blink of an eye knocked the several men to the ground.

Of the remaining Wujiang men, some wanted to rush forward and fight, while others, cowardly, wanted to turn and flee. Mama Liu, seeing the situation turning bad, had long since slipped aside, crying out in alarm for everyone to stop—but in the chaos and noise, no one was in control of themselves anymore.

Seeing this, Mama Liu rushed out the theater gate. The young masters' attendants were all waiting in the courtyard outside for their masters, and in her desperation Mama Liu could only run out to call for help.

She had already seen clearly: if she didn't find someone to help soon, and the fighting continued until someone died, even if she herself had nothing to do with it, she would still catch the blame in the end—and whether her troupe could survive was anyone's guess.

After knocking down several men, Tian's two attendants still felt unsatisfied, so they charged into the crowd and began kicking and punching the Wujiang men.

These two were old hands at fighting, and they struck with particular viciousness, aiming for the vital points on a person's body—usually just two hits were enough to bring a man down in agony.

And although this group of young masters was numerous, they were the sort who had never lifted a finger in their lives, who needed servants even to go to the latrine—effeminate creatures who could hardly withstand the beating of such fierce, crude men.

As a chorus of wailing and screaming rose up, the remaining young masters were all knocked to the ground within a few dozen breaths, moaning in pain.

The two men withdrew their hands with smug satisfaction, and Tian Wan also stood up, panting heavily.

Zou Shu lay on the ground groaning and whimpering. His long robe was in disarray, his hair bun had come loose and fallen about, both eyes were blackened, his face was swollen and misshapen, and blood still flowed steadily from his mouth and nose—a truly pitiful sight.

"Young master, we'd best leave this place first, or there may be trouble later!"

The attendant Liu Yong came up to Tian Wan, dusted the dirt off his robe, and said in a low voice.

"Young master, Old Liu is right—this is no place to linger!"

The other attendant, Zhao Yuan, also urged in a lowered voice.

"Fine then! Let's go!"

Tian Wan's reason, which had been lost to anger moments before, had now returned. He steadied his breathing, swept his gaze around, kicked the groaning Zou Shu beside him once, then took the lead toward the back door of the theater.

Zhao Yuan hurried a few steps ahead to scout the path, while Liu Yong lagged a few steps behind to guard Tian Wan's back. The three hurried toward the rear courtyard, leaving only the dozen or so Wujiang men lying on the ground beneath the stage, groaning without cease.

The street heroes Tian Hongyu befriended were all well-versed in ambushes and retreats, and Tian Wan, having grown up steeped in such knowledge, naturally knew the safest route of escape.

Mama Liu's troupe was housed in an elegant, quiet garden-style building, and the walk from the back stage to the front gate was considerable. By the time she ran outside and called people back, Tian Wan and his two men had long since slipped out through the corner gate of the rear courtyard, hired a small boat on the riverbank not far away, and were heading toward Suzhou.

"Young Master Zou, honored guests—I never imagined you would suffer such a calamity today! It is all this slave's fault! This slave is willing to offer five hundred taels of silver as medical compensation to all the honored guests! I beg the honored guests to be magnanimous and spare this slave this once! Waaaah~~~~~"

Mama Liu, wiping her tears, knelt on the ground and kowtowed in apology to Zou Shu and the others, who sat in chairs still groaning.

Those five hundred taels were savings she had accumulated over a long time. She never imagined she would have to give them all up in one go. The more Mama Liu thought about it, the more aggrieved and pained she felt, and she simply lay prostrate on the ground and burst into loud sobs.

Although Zou Shu and the others tipped generously, after every performance Mama Liu had to order several tables of fine food from the nearby restaurant for everyone to enjoy, and even hire singing girls from those establishments to play music and entertain—these were no small expenses.

Add to that the rent for this courtyard, the monthly wages of the troupe members, food and drink expenses, and so on—all told, managing to save this sum of money had been no easy feat.

"Mama Liu, please rise! At the root of this matter, you bear no real blame, and the medical compensation is unnecessary! We do not lack for such silver. But the humiliation of today we regard as a deep shame! If we cannot slay those three thieving dogs, what face will we have left to mingle in Wujiang? Once that thief Tian is brought to justice, I, Zou, will naturally show my gratitude to you all!"

Although he had been soundly beaten by Tian Wan, Zou Shu had not been struck in any vital spot. His head felt somewhat dizzy, but he had not lost his normal capacity for thought and judgment.

The pain from his wounds could not compare to the shame and fury in his heart at this moment. His murderous intent toward Tian Wan had already risen.

Though furious beyond measure, he was after all from a distinguished family. At this moment Zou Shu did not lose his composure by taking his anger out on others. Moreover, he still had Chen Yuanyuan on his mind, and naturally would not let a bit of silver ruin his greater plans.

Among the others, some had wanted to demand money from Mama Liu, but seeing how Zou Shu, who always acted as their leader, conducted himself, they abandoned the notion.

"Brothers all—the shame of today is something none of us can bear! In my view, you should all return to your respective homes, tell your elders of the unprovoked disaster you suffered today, and beg your families to use their resources to find that villain surnamed Tian, and then punish him severely! I will do the same shortly. But for now, I still have questions for Mama Liu, so I ask you all to go on ahead!"

Zou Shu endured the pain and rose from his chair, bowing to the assembled young masters. Some understood his meaning, others simply wanted to get home as soon as possible—after exchanging courtesies with Zou Shu, they were helped or carried away by their own servants, leaving the troupe.

Mama Liu, overjoyed in her heart, rose to see everyone off.

"This slave thanks Young Master Zou for his magnanimity! Your great kindness this slave can never repay in this life—I only wish that in the next life I might repay you even as a blade of grass or a knot of rope! Does the young master have any other instructions? This slave will do whatever is asked!"

Returning to the theater, Mama Liu knelt once more and sincerely kowtowed in thanks for Zou Shu's generosity and tolerance, and at the same time a decision formed in her heart.

The shrewd Mama Liu had actually guessed Zou Shu's intentions. Originally she had planned to drag things out another year or two to squeeze out more silver, but this sudden upheaval gave her a feeling of terror—if something like this happened again, it would simply be the death of her.

"That villain surnamed Tian came this time for Miss Chen. To prevent Miss Chen from being frightened again, I intend to bring her into the Zou residence to take shelter for a time. What does Mama Liu think? Shortly I will have a servant deliver eight hundred taels of fine silver to you, as compensation for the damage done to the troupe this time."