Chapter 146: The Wicked Meet Their Match

The people on this street, seeing Zhao Jin and his group sweeping toward them in a mighty procession, scrambled to the side of the road in a fluster, asking each other what on earth had happened.

Soon someone spotted Zhao Jin and the others following behind. Zhao Jin was a household name in the southern part of the city, and his appearance made the crowd even more bewildered and uneasy, unsure of what was going on.

Normally, when sixty-some thugs and ruffians swaggered down the street, their loud, blustering chatter could be heard several streets away. It had been the same when they set out today, but after walking only a short distance, everyone sensed something was off. They looked back and saw those fifteen- and sixteen-year-old "merchant house retainers" marching in orderly formation, wooden staves in hand.

Though they made no sound, they exuded an inexplicable pressure. Then, glancing at those few young men walking at the very rear and recalling the rumors about them, the thugs and ruffians all fell silent without thinking.

This silent march felt even more oppressive, and the atmosphere on Hitching Post Street grew far more tense.

Fu Quan's pawnshop was indeed different from the other shops on the street. Elsewhere, some had already put up their shutters and closed, but at his place, only a shop hand had poked his head out to glance around, with no other reaction at all.

Of course, by the time the large force surrounded his front door, the manager and shop hands inside the pawnshop realized something was very wrong.

Chen Ergou and Butcher Li looked at Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin nodded and said, "Keep the gold and silver. The rest, I don't care."

Having received their orders, Chen Ergou and Butcher Li shouted out the command: "Charge in! Smash it! Smash it to pieces!"

With a roar, the dozens of ruffians surged into the pawnshop. Those who ran pawnshops were hardly good-natured folk. The manager and the appraiser scrambled to dodge, and the shop hands also grabbed whatever was at hand and rushed forward to meet them. But in a brawl like this, whoever had the numbers won. Before long, the shop hands had been beaten to the ground, and the pawnshop was being smashed to utter ruin.

By Zhao Jin's side, only Ji Xiang remained, along with just thirty of the retainers.

"Guard this spot. Don't let them make off with everything inside the pawnshop, and don't let them beat the people inside too badly. I'm going around back." Zhao Jin gave this instruction, then left the crowd and walked toward a side path, heading for the pawnshop's rear courtyard.

"Serves them right!"

"... That Fu Quan is a blood-sucking leech..."

"The family on the front street was driven to their deaths by him..."

As he walked, the bystanders' comments drifted into his ears. Zhao Jin's expression remained impassive, but he was thinking to himself: smashing a place like this was no loss at all.

He passed through the side path next to the pawnshop and emerged onto the adjacent street. Fu Quan's pawnshop and his home were connected front to back, with his family residence on the other side.

Though the Fu family residence was not large, it was a rare sight of neatness and order in this part of the southern city. The courtyard walls and the main gate were all quite new.

Chen Sheng, Shi Manqiang, and Sun Dalei were leading the retainers, blocking the front of the Fu residence. Seeing Zhao Jin approach, Chen Sheng stepped forward and said, "No one has come out yet. The door opened for a moment, then slammed shut again."

Upon entering Hitching Post Street, Zhao Jin had split his forces into two groups, sealing off the Fu residence completely. Now, with people smashing up the front and no way to escape out the back, it was a perfect case of catching a turtle in a jar.

"Big Brother, should we climb over the wall?" Shi Manqiang rubbed his hands together. Having not been in a fight for so long, he was thoroughly excited.

Zhao Jin smiled and shook his head. He spoke: "Those with the pudao, step forward and hack the gate open!"

At his command, Lu Da led the men forward with their blades and began hacking at the gate planks.

There wasn't enough room in front of the gate, so only five men could step up. Five pudao blades chopped down in turn, sending splinters of wood flying from the gate planks as the clanging rang out without pause.

The Fu family's gate planks were of rather good quality and quite thick, but they could not withstand five thick-backed pudao hacking away without stop. Before long, a hole was chopped through, and then the door bar was hacked apart. Lu Da had been about to charge in with his blade raised when a companion behind him grabbed him, making him realize he should let Zhao Jin go first.

Before setting out today, they had brought along those dozen or so pudao as well. The ones who could carry the blades were all among the earliest dozen or so to join, and every one of them was brimming with excitement. Those who hadn't gotten one looked on with faces full of envy.

There were four men in the courtyard, holding short knives and wooden staves. Seeing the formidable display outside, they had long since been scared out of their wits. A gaunt, wiry man gritted his teeth and shouted, "Maitreya protect us! My family burns incense and keeps the faith. If you run wild like this, aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"I am Zhao Jin. Which one is Fu Quan?" Zhao Jin ignored the man's outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly words entirely and asked directly in a deep voice.

At the name "Zhao Jin," the gaunt man's hand trembled, and his short knife clattered to the ground. The faces of the three men beside him all turned pale. Though they didn't drop what they were holding, their whole bodies began to tremble, and they all looked at the gaunt man. There was no need to ask—this was Fu Quan.

"If there are womenfolk, drive the womenfolk out. Smash everything else!" Zhao Jin raised his hand and gave the order.

The retainers behind him shouted their assent and charged straight into the courtyard. The three men beside the gaunt man, seeing dozens of people rushing in with large blades and long staves, immediately threw down their weapons and dropped straight to their knees. That gaunt man, Fu Quan, however, tried to bend down and pick up his short knife.

Before Fu Quan's hand could even touch it, Shi Manqiang's wooden staff came smashing down hard, striking him squarely on the back and flattening him to the ground.

"Who went to my house to set the fire last night? If you talk, we smash and beat and that's the end of it. If you don't, you'll be thrown in jail and flayed!" Zhao Jin said coldly.

"Master... Master Jin, I am a minor evangelist of the Smelling Incense Sect. If you do this..."

His words were cut off midway, turning into a piercing shriek of agony. Zhao Jin's spearhead had already pierced through his palm, pinning it directly to the ground.

"I know it was your Smelling Incense Sect that did it. Tell me who!" Zhao Jin pressed his arm down and demanded again.

As he applied more force, Fu Quan's palm seemed about to split open, and he let out another scream. Inside the house, chaos had erupted into a cacophony—the retainers had already begun smashing things.

Fu Quan, gripped by terror and desperation, ground his teeth and said, "Master Jin, our Smelling Incense Sect has a million followers, from top to bottom..."

Zhao Jin twisted his hand. The spearhead turned inside the wound in Fu Quan's palm, the pain boring into his very bones, and Fu Quan howled again at the top of his lungs.

The pawnshop was not large, and the men Chen Ergou and Butcher Li had brought quickly smashed it clean. They had also bundled up a heap of whatever was worth taking and directly opened the door connecting the shop to the residence. Someone had just poked their head out on this side when Zhao Jin's retainers drove them right back.

Butcher Li and Chen Ergou hurriedly circled around from the other side, only to see Zhao Jin in the middle of an interrogation. At the sight of the bloody, mangled wound on Fu Quan's hand, both men shuddered.

Though he could feel the pain himself, Butcher Li's face still showed an expression of schadenfreude. Fu Quan looked up and saw Butcher Li, and his face immediately twisted with venomous hatred.

Zhao Jin, however, pulled his spear back and said with a smile, "From start to finish, all you've talked about is how many followers you incense-burners have and how great your power is, yet you've never once said you don't know. It seems you're being stubborn and refusing to talk!"

Hearing this, Fu Quan's whole body jolted. Zhao Jin could not be bothered to say more. He waved his hand and said, "Tie him up and throw him on the cart. Let him taste some hardship in the yamen first, then we'll talk."

The retainers shouted their assent and used the ropes they had prepared long in advance to tie the man up tightly.

Over on the other side, Lu Da led two men over, bringing a bundle of items. On it were silver ingots, copper coins, and even some gold ingots—a hundred taels of silver at the very least. Zhao Jin nodded and said, "Wrap it up into a bundle and keep it safe."

Among the retainers under Zhao Jin, Lu Da had the most seniority and trained the hardest. In terms of sheer courage, he was also top-tier. But now, Li Wu and the others all had opportunities to lead teams and handle matters on their own, while Lu Da never did.

This was because Zhao Jin felt Lu Da was simple-minded—he had enough drive but lacked flexibility. If left to his own devices, charging and fighting recklessly, he would easily cause trouble. Only by keeping an eye on him at all times could Zhao Jin be at ease. In a situation like today, others might be tempted to do a little petty pilfering and skim some profit, but Lu Da would not. What's more, he would keep an eye on the others as well.

The residence in the back was quickly searched and stripped clean, but the pawnshop in the front was still in chaos. Some were even brawling over the spoils.

Seeing this scene, Butcher Li and Chen Ergou both felt they were losing face and hurried over to restore order. Even from here, one could hear their loud curses and shouts. It took considerable effort before things quieted down.

While order was being restored over there, Chen Sheng asked in a low voice, "Isn't this wild smashing spree a bit improper? Couldn't we have just grabbed the man directly? I think this Fu Quan must know something. If we press a little harder, he might just confess."

"Yesterday, someone set fire to my house. That is an attempt to murder an official officer. With that righteous cause in hand, and what's more, since we're going after a notorious villain, no matter how we rough him up, no one will say we're in the wrong," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Seeing that Chen Sheng's face still showed a lack of understanding, Zhao Jin patiently explained, "If you grab one man and torture a confession out of his accomplices, only those few people suffer. The Smelling Incense followers in Xuzhou city won't feel fear—they'll only feel resentment. This time, we're going to beat down everyone, whether they deserve it or not, and let them know that if they offend us, every last one of them will suffer. That's how we make them afraid."

Over on the other side, Chen Ergou brought over the gold, silver, and copper coins they had searched out from the front pawnshop. Zhao Jin couldn't even be bothered to look. He had them wrap it into a bundle and hand it over to Lu Da's side. Chen Ergou and Butcher Li's underlings had surely pocketed plenty for themselves, but there was no need to quibble over that now.

They all walked out the gate together. Zhao Jin took out the list and gave it a quick glance, then spoke: "Next, to Wang Dehong's house."

Someone at the front immediately led the way, and the large group headed toward Wang Dehong's residence. As he walked, Zhao Jin said to Chen Sheng, "The retainers can't just train every day; they need real combat experience too. An aboveboard opportunity like this is far too rare. And one more thing—this time, we'll spread the awe of our brothers far and wide. All of us are honest, law-abiding sorts who wouldn't go picking fights. Even if we built up some prestige by killing before, after a while, people forget. This is the perfect time to reassert our authority."

Chen Sheng shook his head as he listened and said, somewhat baffled, "Zhao Jin, how is it that your way of thinking is just like my father's and his generation's? You think things through far too thoroughly."

Zhao Jin smiled but did not answer. The southern city was full of idlers. After the smashing of the Fu residence, quite a crowd had already gathered to watch the excitement. Seeing that Zhao Jin, leading his large force, showed no sign of turning back, these idlers all followed along.

"Big Brother, should we drive these people away?" Ji Xiang asked in a low voice. Zhao Jin shook his head and spoke: "Find a few sharp ones and have them spread the word about how my house was set on fire last night. The more people who know about this, the better."