Chapter Six: Intensifying Conflicts

Leaving the ancestral hall, the father and son arrived in the bustling town. Li Daqi gazed toward the mule and horse stable for a moment before saying to Li Yanqing, "Qing'er, Daddy has some business to attend to. You head back on your own first!"

Li Yanqing remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Daddy, are you planning to give Liu Chenghong another forty strings of coins?"

"This..."

Li Daqi’s face turned bright red. After a long pause, he stammered, "Even though his son wasn't bitten and there’s no medical bill to repay, I did write him an IOU. It’s written in black and white; I’m afraid it wouldn’t be easy to renege on it."

"If Liu Chenghong takes a fancy one day and forces you to write an IOU for a hundred strings of coins, would you pay him that too, just because it’s written in black and white?"

"Of course not! That wouldn't make any sense!"

"Then does this fifty strings of coins make any sense?"

"This... this..." Li Daqi was left stuttering, unable to find a response.

Li Yanqing said coldly, "Daddy, you can take this matter of the fifty strings to the clan elder to judge. If you are afraid of Liu Chenghong, then let me find a way to solve it. You shouldn’t worry about this, and you certainly shouldn't borrow money from others."

Li Daqi managed a bitter smile. A child is a child, and his words were so naive. What could a six-year-old possibly solve?

Just then, a flatbed donkey cart slowly stopped in front of the stable across the road. A withered old man hopped down, looking sullen. He threw a tattered sleeveless jacket over his shoulder and listlessly walked into the shop.

Li Daqi’s eyes lit up. He hurried to tell Li Yanqing, "You go on back now! I’m going to see if there’s a cart heading to the county town."

Li Yanqing suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "Daddy, are you going to the bookstore in the county?"

"Of course I’m going to the bookstore. Why do you ask?"

Li Yanqing reached into his tunic, pulled out a manuscript tied with oil-soaked cord, and handed it to his father. "Could you show this to the owner of the bookstore and see if he can carve it into woodblocks?"

"What is this?" Li Daqi asked, surprised as he took the bundle.

"It’s the story I’ve been telling Xiao Qing. I wrote it down as a way to practice my calligraphy. Who knows? Maybe it can be published and sold for money."

"You silly child!"

Li Daqi found it amusing, but he didn't want to disappoint his son, so he tucked the manuscript into his robes. "Fine! I’ll ask Manager Luo. You go home and study hard; the imperial examinations aren't easy to pass."

"There you go again! I know."

After giving his son a few more instructions, Li Daqi hurried toward the stable. He knew the driver, Zhang the Dull, and wanted to see if he could hitch a ride on his cargo cart to the county.

Li Yanqing walked aimlessly through the town streets alone. Poverty and hatred weighed on his heart like two heavy stones.

He was fully capable of using his own intelligence to slowly improve his family's impoverished state. For instance, writing out the story of *Journey to the West* for his father to have carved into books was a solid plan, perfectly suited to his father's skills. He could even use simple methods to create daily necessities to sell to merchants—things like matches or mosquito coils—which would earn a bit of money.

Earning money wasn't the problem. The problem was that he had no intention of paying that so-called "medical bill" to Liu Chenghong. Liu Fu’er’s words still echoed in his ears:

"My dad beat the dog owner soundly. I heard he even beat the crap out of him, and he sprayed my dad with blood. The funniest part was when he knelt on the ground and crawled like a dog, right under the crotches of four servants..."

The humiliation his father suffered was carved into Li Yanqing’s heart like a knife. While those three brats were detestable, he could teach them a lesson and be done with it, but he would never let Liu Chenghong go. Not only did he insult and beat his father, but he also snatched away his father's ten hard-earned strings of cash and was now forcing him to pay forty more. This pent-up rage boiled within Li Yanqing.

Then there were the debts his father had racked up and the way his father was bullied and marginalized within the Li clan. He was determined to turn it all around.

An unprecedented surge of hot blood flowed through his chest. Li Yanqing bit his lip and strode toward Liwen Village.

By dusk, Auntie Hu from next door brought word that his father had caught a cargo cart to the county and wouldn't be back for at least ten days. She offered to look after him if he needed anything.

Li Yanqing didn't want to trouble Auntie Hu for now; he had important things to prepare.

In the courtyard, Li Yanqing was practicing how to blow on a fire-lighting tube. This was the last one he had dug out of the woodshed. He lit it, then blew it out. Though there was no flame, one could see a red ember glowing faintly within, like the embers of an ash heap, which could last a long time. When needed, a single puff would reignite it.

However, reigniting it required great skill: a sudden, short, and forceful burst of air. Li Yanqing had mastered this a month ago, and he was more adept at it than his father.

*Whoosh!* With one breath, the fire-lighting tube flared to life.

Li Yanqing was satisfied with his technique; he could basically guarantee success every time.

Just then, Dahei, who had been sleeping at the gate, suddenly stood up and barked fiercely at the entrance.

"Who's there?" Li Yanqing called out, but there was no answer.

Li Yanqing walked up and peered through a gap in the gate. There was no one outside. Just as he was about to turn away, Dahei crouched low, growling viciously at the gate like a wild beast.

"Is there a rabbit out there? Trying to improve our dinner?"

Li Yanqing smiled and opened the gate, wanting to see what had Dahei so tense. But the moment the door swung open, a roar erupted, and a massive reddish-brown mastiff lunged inside.

Li Yanqing was caught off guard. Before he could react, he was knocked to the ground, and the mastiff opened its white, jagged teeth to bite his face.

At that critical moment, Dahei lunged, biting the mastiff’s neck with all its might. The mastiff, feeling the pain, turned to bite back. Li Yanqing seized the chance, rolled away, scrambled up, and grabbed a firewood chopper from the stack.

The mastiff was enormous, twice the size of Dahei, looking like a red wolf. It was incredibly fierce. Dahei couldn't hold it back and was pinned down, yelping in pain.

Li Yanqing picked up a thick piece of firewood and smashed it against the mastiff’s head. The mastiff’s eyes turned blood-red. With a savage roar, it abandoned Dahei and lunged at Li Yanqing.

But Li Yanqing was faster. A flash of the chopper, and one of the dog's front paws went flying, blood spraying everywhere. The mastiff let out a pathetic howl and collapsed. Li Yanqing moved with agility, stepped on its neck, and brought the chopper down with both hands. *Crack!* Half its skull was split open. The mastiff twitched twice and went still, blood pooling on the ground.

"You little brat! How dare you kill my dog!"

Several men swarmed into the courtyard. The leader was a tall, obese man with a face as dark as a soot-covered pot and wild, bristling hair. He looked like a wild boar standing on two legs. His bulging goldfish eyes and the layers of fat on his face made him look particularly hideous. Li Yanqing recognized him instantly—he was a larger, living version of his son, Liu Fu’er.

This was none other than the Li estate’s head steward, Liu Chenghong. Hearing that Li Daqi was heading to the county, he feared the man was trying to flee his debt and had come to intimidate him. He hadn't expected his own dog to run ahead and end up dead at the hands of this little bastard. He was absolutely livid, his bulging eyes burning with rage.

The four servants behind him stared at the boy in astonishment. The steward’s ferocious dog, which had even fought wolves, had been taken down by a mere child. This kid was dangerous!

Li Yanqing was also a bit puzzled. Killing the dog had been an instinct, but the speed of his strike and the clean, precise nature of the cut seemed practiced. Had he practiced martial arts before?

He looked calmly at the uninvited guests and called to Dahei, "Dahei, come here!"

Dahei, its front leg bleeding, limped behind its young master.

"Li Daqi, you dog-thief, get out here!" Liu Chenghong roared at the house.

"My father isn't here. Get out of here!"

"Get out?"

Liu Chenghong laughed with malice, stepping closer to Li Yanqing. "You little whelp, you killed my favorite dog. Do you think it’s just going to end like this? How are you going to answer to me?"

Seeing him approach, Li Yanqing lunged forward, swinging the chopper toward the man's fat belly. The strike was lightning-fast; if Li Yanqing hadn't intended it only as a warning, Liu Chenghong would have been gutted.

Terrified, Liu Chenghong recoiled, his face turning pale. He shouted to his men, "Rebellion! Rebellion! Catch him and beat him!"

The four servants brandished whips and clubs, surrounding him. Though Li Yanqing had the advantage of speed, he was, after all, only a six-year-old child; he was no match for four grown men.

Just then, a voice roared from the gate, "You’re bullying a child—have you no shame?"

A burly man walked in, wielding a white wax-wood staff. It was their neighbor, Uncle Hu. Auntie Hu had sensed something was wrong and had hurriedly fetched her son.

The four servants recognized him and backed off, moving to protect Liu Chenghong. One servant whispered into Liu Chenghong's ear, "That's 'Fearless' Hu Sheng, known for being a tough customer."

Liu Chenghong knew of Hu Sheng’s reputation and calculated that his men couldn't beat him. He snorted coldly, "I won't fight you. Reason and justice prevail everywhere."

He pointed at Li Yanqing. "This little brat killed my dog, and I’m going to settle that account!"

Li Yanqing glared at him. "You set a dog on me to kill me in my own home! I should be the one settling accounts with you!"

Hu Sheng waved his hand, silencing Li Yanqing. He blocked the boy with his body and said, "Steward Liu, we are all reasonable men. While it’s said that to beat a dog one must consider its master, if a master doesn't control his dog, the dog has to die. Besides, the other party is only a six-year-old child. No matter where you go, you won't win that argument, don't you think?"

Liu Chenghong nodded. "You're right. I shouldn't be bickering with a little brat. I’ll settle the score with his old man."

With a flick of his wrist, Liu Chenghong pulled a slip of paper from his robes and waved it. "This is an IOU written by his father, black and white, with his thumbprint. He owes me, Liu Chenghong, fifty strings of coins, to be repaid within a month. Today is within that month, and I am here to collect!"