49 Local Government Runner Injured and Elder Taoist beside Altar (2/2)
”Yes.” Mr. Qi answered indifferently, and then waved his hand, saying, ”I do want to make trouble, and even make big trouble. Hey brothers, go and greet these two officers.”
On hearing his instructions, those man wearing indigo darted to besiege the local government runners, who then suffered from a storm of fists and kicks without even knowing who was the first to punch them. The two local government runners were at first scolding harshly and then intended to draw out their swords after showing their status, but were immediately kicked to the ground before they could take any action. After only a short moment, their heads were broken and bleeding. They could no longer spout out any scolding, but held their heads, rolling on the ground with painful groans. Even the swords representing their status were somehow thrown out from the crowd.
Previously, Ning Que just felt that the gangs in Chang'an tackled affairs with great discipline and impressive tolerance. However, looking at the two official swords that were thrown out, he realized that those gangsters of Chang'an were so ruthless that they were even so bold as to beat up government runners!
Dumbfounded at this confused fighting outside his shop and the two local government runners being whaled on, Ning Que felt unable to utter a word. And the facial expressions of Gu Xiaoqiong and those thugs a few paces off appeared to be more ridiculous.
Because since being involved in this affair at Lin 47th Street, they had never really confronted that Big Owner and his forces, and they did not know that their opponents should behave in such an arrogant way until now!
”OK, stop!” Mr. Qi, who had been standing by indifferently with his two arms crossed in front, ordered. Following his words, those men in indigo scattered, and he walked to the two local government runners, coldly saying, ”Now that you dare to play dirty tricks with my brother, you shouldn't blame me for my cruelty.”
The younger government runner maliciously stared at him and said, ”You dare to beat government servants! What can only be waiting for you now is to be beheaded. Maybe you can think of chopping my head off directly, which is beneficial to you at present.”
Ning Que sighed with lament in his mind that people in Chang'an were really strong-minded. Even a minor government runner like him behaved so determinedly in such a situation.
Mr. Qi squatted and scornfully patted his face. ”I'm not scared. We're all flunkies of our masters and the only difference is you guys wear official uniforms but we don't. I admit that the uniforms give you noble identity for which I have no courage to kill you. However, do you think those big shots will care about a fight between flunkies in the street?”
Finishing those words, Mr. Qi turned to Ning Que to make a bow and left with unrestrained arrogance, followed by his heelers. After a short while of negotiation, Gu Xiaoqiong and the thugs came to lift up the two government runners, and also walked away without even taking a glimpse at Ning Que and Sangsang. Now that Mr. Qi had shown his attitude in such a strong way, they were quite clear that it was meaningless to threaten Ning Que before they could beat Mr. Qi with overwhelming power or even kill him, and it had no other functions but to indicate their meanness by doing so at the moment.
The chaos at Lin 47th Street ended in such a way without any follow-up. Just as what Mr. Qi had said, the patrons behind the two sides had no interest in interfering in such a conflict between flunkies. But still, there was something that Ning Que could not understand.
Although those two government runners were minor in status, their official uniforms, as well as the official swords they held, stood for the dignity of the government and the empire. No matter how powerful the man behind Mr. Qi—that middle-aged man taking shelter from the rain in his shop that day—was, whaling on government runners publicly in the street was too arrogant to incur death. Not to mention the fact that Mr. Qi had chosen to beat government runners of Chang'an rather than those thugs from the Southern Area, which was unreasonable.
Unless deep enmity had just been incurred between them.
Then his eyebrows frowned at that conjecture as well as at the things which happened just now. But soon after, he felt relieved, for the purpose today was to visit the House of Red Sleeves, and meanwhile do some shopping to disperse the excitement he got from revenge. As for that newly incurred, troublesome hatred, which was not badly in need of elimination at present, let it remain unsolved until it was essential.
There was a far distance between Lin 47th Street and the House of Red Sleeves. Usually, Ning Que would take the horse carriage for two coins. Today, however, he chose to reach there on foot because Sangsang would be his companion along the way who could dispel the boredom for him. Neither of them kept that conflict in their hearts because Ning Que had already been accustomed to such bloody and fatal situations, while for Sangsang, her mind was occupied by important things, thus having no room for others. Therefore, they both enjoyed a good mood when passing through those streets and alleys.
They visited the Prosperity Clothing Shop, Smooth Commercial Street, and the bookstore. Later they bought the cheap Lotus Leaf Rice and ran across Vermilion Bird Avenue at their fastest speed, after which a boisterous place was found. Dozens of Chang'an residents were worshipping, facing towards an altar under the lead of an elder wearing a Taoist robe. Inquiring from an on-looker nearby, Ning Que realized that this was a prayer rite held by a Taoist temple under the South School of Haotian Taoism, wishing to transfer part of the spring rain in Chang'an to the drought at the northern border.
The elder Taoist beside the sacrificial altar had fair hair and a long beard with his robe drifting in the wind, which endowed him with a sense of an immortal. The wooden sword in his hand was vibrating furiously, and in the direction where the sword pointed, several talismans were waggling to show faint scarlet handwritings. After a while, with a sharp sound, the wooden sword flew high into the sky and inserted itself into the yellow sand in the sacrificial altar. And it was not noticed that those talismans were already burnt into ashes in the wind and scattered on the surface of the sand.