Wang Long's brother was the Gang Leader of the Iron Tiger Gang, an Anjin master.
So, Qin Fang had wanted to handle this matter as peacefully as possible.
He had thought that if he just talked things out and humbled himself a little, there might be a chance for things to turn around.
'...If Wang Long and his men see they can't squeeze anything out of me, maybe they'll just drop it?'
After all, no matter what, the fact that Wang Long and his men had saved his life was undeniable.
If he had a choice, he wanted to honor that debt of gratitude.
But as it turned out... he had been naive.
Perhaps the recent period of peace, and his master's cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside nature, had made him almost forget that this was a dog-eat-dog world.
But now, his broken finger had snapped him back to reality.
Waves of pain from his index finger shot to his brain, making Qin Fang's face turn deathly pale.
But he endured it with a blank expression. Pain like this was nothing compared to what he had encountered during his exile.
He followed them from a distance. Just as they were about to leave the mouth of the alley, Qin Fang saw someone approach them.
He faintly heard a fawning voice ask, "...That refugee, is he the one you're looking for, Brother Long?"
Wang Long and his men grunted some sort of reply. Then, Qin Fang saw the man's face light up with elation before he asked, somewhat nervously, "So, about the interest..."
"You still have to pay the interest. Paying your debts is the law of the land, isn't it?" the mole-faced man beside Wang Long said with a smirk, his eyes narrowed.
The man's expression changed. "But, but didn't you say that if I confirmed it was him, you'd... you'd..."
"We'd what?"
The mole-faced man cut him off, his face darkening. "Bald Li, don't push your luck. You owe money to the Iron Tiger Gang. Why don't you try not paying it back and see what happens?"
The man, Bald Li, had his expression shift several times before he finally put on a miserable look. "But... but I really don't have any money right now! Brother Long, please, just give me two more days. Just two more days..."
Wang Long finally spoke up. "Alright. You did me a favor, kid. So, I'll give you three more days... After three days, you'll owe five taels of silver, principal and interest. Any problem with that?"
"F-five taels?!"
"Hm?"
"...Yes. I... I understand..."
The man's shoulders slumped in defeat.
The others went over, grinning, and patted his shoulder and cheek. They said a few more words before finally leaving.
The crestfallen Bald Li was left standing there alone.
Bald Li stood at the mouth of the alley, looking utterly lost as he stared blankly at the ground.
A moment later, a hoarse voice sounded in his ear.
"You're the one who told them where I live?"
Bald Li was visibly stunned for a moment before he looked up.
He was met by the sight of the deathly pale Qin Fang, who was staring at him with calm eyes.
Now, Qin Fang got a clear look at the man. 'No wonder they call him Bald Li.' He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a scrawny, stooped frame and dark skin. The crucial detail was his head: there were indeed two or three bald patches from ringworm where no hair grew, which was rather unsettling to look at.
When he saw Qin Fang, he froze for a second. Then his expression changed, and he instinctively turned to run.
WHOOSH!
But a split second later, a sharp glint of light shot past him. He caught a blur in the corner of his eye, followed by a searing pain on his ear.
He instinctively reached up to touch it, and his pupils contracted the moment he saw his hand...
Blood!
He was about to cry out in alarm.
But before he could, the hoarse voice spoke again. "Make a sound, and next time it'll be your neck."
The man instantly clamped a hand over his mouth, swallowing his scream.
Then, he turned his head in terror to look at Qin Fang.
Qin Fang was tall and thin, his face deathly pale. At the same time, Bald Li saw the red-ribboned dart in Qin Fang's right hand.
Bald Li was terrified. His whole body trembled, and he was on the verge of tears. "S-Sir! Sir, don't! I-I was wrong! I'll never do it again! Please, spare my worthless life! Please don't kill me..."
There was a large gash on his cheek, and blood was trickling out. He was utterly terrified.
He knew the other man was a refugee.
He had also heard that refugees were all ruthless killers, absolute desperados.
He hadn't believed it before, but now... now he did!
Seeing the man's submission, the pale-faced Qin Fang said calmly, "Go get the dart."
The man instinctively looked around, then spotted the dart lying a short distance away. With a miserable expression, he scrambled over to pick it up.
He carefully handed it back to Qin Fang with both hands.
Qin Fang took the dart. His calm voice sounded again. "You brought them here?"
Bald Li was on the verge of tears. He immediately realized the other man had probably seen him talking to the gang members. He wouldn't know how to deny it even if he wanted to.
All he could do was say in a choked, tearful voice, "Yes, Sir. I was wrong, truly wrong... I'm begging you, please..."
"Tell me why you told them I lived here."
Qin Fang ignored his pleading and asked calmly.
The man was taken aback. He carefully watched Qin Fang's expression.
Seeing that Qin Fang showed no particular emotion and remained calm, his own anxiety seemed to subside slightly.
Then, he stammered out the whole story.
The story was simpler than Qin Fang had imagined...
After he left Huichun Hall, Wang Long and his men had gone there looking for him. His master told them he had already left, but naturally, Wang Long's group wasn't willing to give up so easily.
So, they used their network of contacts to try and dig him up.
And their "network," of course, consisted of the various hooligans in True Martial County.
In the process, they had naturally given out Qin Fang's description...
A tall, thin refugee.
Thin refugees were not uncommon.
But one who was both tall and thin—especially as tall as Qin Fang—was a rarity.
At 1.8 meters tall, he was quite conspicuous in this world.
But ever since leaving Huichun Hall, Qin Fang had stayed inside the courtyard his master had arranged for him, never even stepping out the gate. The street hooligans naturally had no way of finding him.
And so, the search had stalled.
But this Bald Li was a notorious gambling addict who frequented the nearby gambling dens.
As one of True Martial County's local gangs, the Iron Tiger Gang naturally had its own gambling houses.
Yesterday, Bald Li had gone gambling again and lost a lot. At the same time, the high-interest loan he'd taken from the Iron Tiger Gang came due, and the mole-faced man and his crew came to collect.
Racking his brain, Bald Li suddenly remembered that Wang Long and his men had been looking for someone.
...He was a resident of this very alley, Yangjiao Alley.
Coincidentally, when Old Wu came to renovate Qin Fang's house a while back, Bald Li had been there. He'd watched curiously from outside the gate and caught a glimpse of Qin Fang.
Later, he happened to overhear some neighbors gossiping. They were all complaining that this Qin Fang fellow was a refugee and couldn't understand why Elder Wu had suddenly taken him as an apprentice...
So, when they came to collect his debt, he made a desperate gamble and told Wang Long's group what he knew.
And when Wang Long and his men heard it was the new apprentice of Elder Wu from Huichun Hall, and that he was tall, thin, and a refugee...
They knew in an instant... this was the man they were looking for.
And that's why today...
"...S-Sir, I... I really just said it offhand! I just wanted a couple more days to pay them back! I didn't... I didn't really mean to cause you any harm..."
Bald Li swore, crying as he pleaded his case.
Qin Fang's eye twitched as he stared at Bald Li.
'So that's how it happened.'
He never would have thought that a lowlife like this would be the reason he was in his current predicament.
Then, his brow furrowed. After a moment of thought, he slowly asked, "Who else knows about this?"