Chapter 39: Terror to the Extreme

An ordinary child brought to such a chaotic place, seeing so many fierce and villainous figures, would have long been terrified out of their wits, yet Zhao Jin remained calm and composed, even speaking up at the right moments — Zhao Zhentang was naturally astonished.

Zhao Jin chuckled but offered no explanation; there was no way to explain the reason anyway. The father and son did not have to wait long before they heard the sounds of cursing, kicking, and beating coming from outside. The big man lifted the curtain and walked in. The five thugs who had gone to cause trouble at the freight yard yesterday shuffled in, utterly dejected.

"Master Zhao, Young Master, these five pieces of trash have been brought here." The big man called "Dung Egg" spoke, panting heavily. After he finished, he turned and slapped the triangular-eyed Brother Hu across the face. The blow was so heavy it drew blood from the man's nose and mouth.

"Still not kneeling, damn it!" the big man roared. The five thugs from yesterday knelt on the ground, trembling with fear. Their faces bore the old bruises from yesterday's beating, but the fresher wounds were far more numerous.

"Master Zhao, these are the worthless, blind fools. Just say the word, old sir — whatever punishment you decide, this humble one will have no second word to say." The big man spoke with murderous ferocity.

The moment these words were spoken, the five thugs collapsed limp onto the ground. These men had kept their heads lowered from the moment they entered the room. Only now did the one called Brother Hu notice Zhao Jin in the room, and his eyes widened involuntarily. At the center of his brow was a bruise mark the size of a copper coin — the very spot Zhao Jin had stabbed yesterday. Brother Hu began to guess why he had been dragged here. Being clueless was bad enough; figuring it out terrified him even more. Brother Hu's body began to tremble uncontrollably, his teeth chattering.

The other four noticed Brother Hu's strange behavior as well, and as if contagious, they too were all frozen in fright. They had thought they were just going to bully a child, never imagining they would provoke a great tiger. They did not even dare to look at the big men wearing official runner uniforms. Zhao Jin had always thought his father was just an ordinary bailiff, but he had never realized that in the eyes of these ruffians, a government runner was an existence akin to heaven itself.

Seeing them so terrified, Zhao Zhentang merely swept a disdainful glance over them and asked Zhao Jin with a smile, "Xiao Jin, what do you say we do?"

The gazes of everyone in the room converged on Zhao Jin, each thinking, What could a child possibly know? A flicker of hope stirred in the hearts of the five thugs who had been scared limp — maybe they could suffer a little less.

"The five of them will go to the freight yard. Each of them will kowtow fifty times facing the yard, and slap their own faces fifty times. The kowtows must make a sound, and the faces must be swollen from the slaps. They will do this for five days straight." Zhao Jin spoke in a clear, ringing voice.

The room fell silent at once. No one had expected this youth to produce a punishment so decisively and crisply — though the method was rather peculiar in the suffering it inflicted.

The men were still in a daze when the big man called "Dung Egg" reacted. He fiercely kicked one of the thugs beside him and roared, "What are you standing there dumb for? Hurry up and kowtow your agreement!"

The five thugs hurriedly kowtowed. Zhao Jin spoke again, "If you fail to do as I said, you will be showing disrespect to my father. Think carefully about the consequences."

"Young Master, rest assured — if they don't go, this humble one will have men tie them up and drag them there," Dung Egg said with a smile.

Zhao Zhentang could not be bothered to say another word. The five thugs fled in utter disarray. The big man called Dung Egg produced another paper packet and presented it with both hands. Zhao Zhentang stuffed both paper packets into his waistband, led Zhao Jin out the door, and the big man respectfully saw them all the way out.

Once outside the courtyard, Zhao Zhentang turned and said flatly, "Copper Head, you had better discipline the worthless trash under your hand properly. Today, I came to settle accounts with you myself — that's your good fortune. Had it been someone else coming, having your home raided and your clan exterminated would be the lightest punishment."

Only at this moment did Zhao Zhentang use the name "Copper Head." Copper Head had worn a smile on his face the entire time, utterly humble and submissive. Yet despite his fear, deep down he probably felt some disdain, thinking, Why make such a huge fuss over a child's matter? But Zhao Zhentang's final words of warning truly frightened him. The young man standing watch at the door cautiously called out, "Big Brother." Only then did Copper Head snap back to his senses, his whole body involuntarily shuddering. He looked up — the Zhao father and son were already far away. He shook his head, turned around, and roared, "Bring me the whip! I'm going to give those pieces of trash a proper thrashing!"

On the way back, there were not so many people to greet, so Zhao Zhentang and Zhao Jin walked considerably faster. They had to get Zhao Jin to Zhao Zhenxing's place for martial training first.

Once they left the poor and filthy district south of the city and passed Pengcheng Academy, the streets immediately became much tidier. Zhao Zhentang suddenly spoke, "Xiao Jin, there was no need for you to say that last line."

Zhao Jin was taken aback for a moment before realizing his father meant the line about "showing disrespect to my father." He could not help feeling puzzled. Zhao Jin had thought that without that specific warning, those men might very well have just slacked off and let it slide.

"The fact that I went to his door was already giving Copper Head face. If he still dared to drag his feet in handling the matter..." Zhao Zhentang did not finish the sentence, merely giving two cold laughs. But those cold laughs conveyed the meaning with perfect clarity.

Zhao Jin's behavior today had been far more mature than that of his peers, so Zhao Zhentang felt inclined to say a few more words. "Those five ruffians don't have much real connection to Copper Head. But since someone said they were Copper Head's men, then Copper Head has to bear the responsibility."

Zhao Jin listened carefully, but in his mind he had already figured it out. That so-called "Brother Hu," Chen Ergou, and the others were just small-time thugs who borrowed the name of a big boss in the underworld to swagger and bully — and in truth, they had not even managed that much swagger. It was simply that someone at the freight yard had said they were Copper Head's men.

To the current Zhao Jin, all this was mere trivial detail. What truly astonished him was that his own father wielded such immense authority. Zhao Jin could tell that although Copper Head was a ruffian leader, he must have had some real ability — otherwise he could not have tracked down those five men so quickly. And yet a figure like that was utterly deferential before his father, with a reverence that came from the very depths of his being.

Wasn't his father just a runner in the yamen, who also served as an executioner on the side? How could he possess such overwhelming authority? At home, he never seemed to show it at all. Zhao Jin was thoroughly bewildered.

After Zhao Zhentang dropped Zhao Jin off at Zhao Zhenxing's place, he left to report for duty. Before leaving, he instructed Zhao Zhenxing, "The child is still young. Some things don't need to be spelled out so plainly."

This remark left Zhao Zhenxing completely baffled, but his temperament was such that he could not be bothered to ask. He simply had Zhao Jin begin his martial training straight away.

While Zhao Jin repeated those monotonous movements, Zhao Zhenxing began asking about the details of yesterday's sparring match. He had not gone to Zhao Zhentang's for dinner the previous evening, so he had not known about the ruffians causing trouble. Learning of it now for the first time gave him a start, and he proceeded to question Zhao Jin even more closely.

Once he understood the full picture, Zhao Zhenxing stared at Zhao Jin for a long while, making Zhao Jin feel somewhat unnerved. After a moment, Zhao Zhenxing finally spoke in a measured tone, "If everything you've said is true, then you are now only two things short of having completed your training."

Zhao Jin was instantly stunned. He thought his uncle was mocking him and quickly laughed awkwardly, "Second Uncle, don't tease me. I've only been training for less than two months."

"I'm not teasing." Zhao Zhenxing shook his head, but did not continue the topic.

The next to speak was Zhao Jin. Normally, one must not be distracted during martial training — the moment one's mind wandered or one spoke, Zhao Zhenxing's rattan pole or spear shaft would come lashing down. But Zhao Jin could not suppress his questions; he felt he absolutely had to ask. To be completely in the dark about his own family's affairs was truly a joke.

However, Zhao Jin had not had much family life in his previous existence and had taken it for granted that children should naturally know their parents very well. He did not realize that many parents simply never tell their children about their own affairs.

"... Second Uncle, isn't my father just a runner? How can he be so commanding? That Copper Head was scared out of his wits..."