A surge of anger rose in Xu Qi An’s heart. As the horse’s hooves rose, he pulled out the string of copper coins from his bosom and hurled it with all his might. Simultaneously, the blue bricks beneath his feet cracked, and his figure shot forward like lightning.

The seventy-two copper coins whistled through the air, showering towards the brocade-clad young master.

The young master showed no reaction to the incoming deadly attack, the amused expression of stepping on an ant still lingering on his face.

Instead, it was one of the attendants who reacted, his face changing dramatically as he leaped towards the young master, knocking him off the horse. The two tumbled to the ground in a mess.

Puff puff puff… Some of the coins missed their target, while others embedded themselves in the horse, splashing fresh blood onto Xu Ling’yin’s face.

Bang!

At the same time, Xu Qi An arrived. His body tilted his shoulder and back colliding with the horse, sending it flying.

The tall steed crashed several meters away, leaving a glaring trail of crimson on the bluestone-paved street.

The commoners scattered, retreating to a distance to watch the commotion.

Xu Qi An immediately embraced the little girl, holding her tightly while observing her expression and urgently comforting her, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Big brother is here.”

The little girl’s lips quivered, finally breaking free from her daze, and burst into tears.

The attendants surrounding Xu Lingyue no longer paid attention to her, rushing towards the brocade-clad young master instead.

Xu Qi An took the opportunity to hand his young sister to the pale-faced Xu Lingyue, whispering, “Take her to the Langle County yamen, beat the drum, and say I sent you. Then ask Captain Wang to send someone to Second Uncle’s house in the Imperial Blade Guard, on Huanglin Street. Hurry!”

Xu Lingyue gave Xu Qi An a deep look before fleeing with the little girl in her arms.

“You dare kill my horse,” the brocade-clad young master snarled, breaking free from his attendants and waving his hand, ordering them to surround Xu Qi An.

I wanted to kill you too… Xu Qi An thought.

That was a Snow-hoofed Black Dragon Steed, worth a thousand gold pieces. In the military, only those of vice general rank and above could ride such a horse.

Second Uncle Xu had a military background, and Xu Qi An, having grown up hearing about such things, immediately recognized the grade of this horse. In modern terms, it would be equivalent to a Lamborghini.

Those who could afford to drive a Lamborghini were undoubtedly top-tier second-generation elites, and specifically, children of officials. In this era, the children of the wealthy weren’t worth much and had no status.

Besides the Snow-hoofed Black Dragon Steed, the elaborate sky-blue and smoke-purple embroidered outfit, the white jade belt carved with chi dragon patterns, and the jingling pouches and jade pendants hanging from his waist… all these details proclaimed the young master’s identity.

A top-tier official’s son.

“I am Xu Qi An, nephew of Xu Pingzhi, a Captain of the Imperial Blade Guard. Those two earlier were my sisters. I wonder how they have offended the young master,” Xu Qi An clasped his hands and spoke politely, suppressing his temper:

“To save my young sister, I accidentally killed the young master’s beloved steed. I will certainly compensate for it.”

Xu Qi An could easily guess the cause of this conflict. This young master must have seen Xu Lingyue’s outstanding beauty and wanted to harass her, perhaps even abduct her.

Having spent a month in the yamen, Xu Qi An was well aware of how these young masters behaved – arrogant, domineering, and unrestrained.

Forcibly abducting women and casually taking lives were common occurrences.

It was also easy to settle such matters, through threats or bribes. For those who resisted, well, their entire family might not survive.

The higher the rank of their family elders, the more they behaved this way. Would the imperial court dismiss a high-ranking official for the sake of a few commoners’ lives?

In the eyes of these yamen officials, bullying ordinary people wasn’t even considered causing trouble.

The only ones who could defeat the children of officials were other children of officials.

Xu Qi An barely qualified as an official’s son. Xu Pingzhi wore the green robe of the seventh rank, at least he had an official position and wasn’t a common citizen.

While the children of officials bullied commoners without restraint, they would be more cautious with those who also ate the imperial court’s salary.

Because the waters of the capital ran deep!

After listening, the young master was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Xu Pingzhi, the one who lost the tax silver?”

“That’s right!” Xu Qi An breathed a sigh of relief.

The young master’s face suddenly darkened, and he said sinisterly, “Cripple him, just leave him barely breathing.”

Are you fucking insane… Xu Qi An almost cursed out loud.

The attendants were all trained fighters, not weak in skill. One by one, they pulled out daggers from their pockets.

In the capital, those without official positions couldn’t carry swords, and those not wearing official uniforms couldn’t carry swords. Violators would receive 80 strokes of the cane and a fine of 100 taels.

Gathering with weapons would result in immediate execution.

Daggers weren’t included in this rule, so these people were exploiting a loophole in the law.

The five attendants were not only trained fighters but had also learned group attack techniques, coordinating flawlessly.

Two attendants attacked together, thrusting their daggers simultaneously. Xu Qi An raised his hands to grab their wrists, about to counterattack, when he suddenly saw the two split to the left and right. The attendant who had saved the young master earlier leaped into the air, delivering a fierce knee strike.

Xu Qi An had to withdraw his hands, crossing them in front of his chest.

Bang!

The sturdy kneecap struck his arms, causing a burning pain.

The remaining two attendants flanked him from the sides. One’s dagger missed, while the other slashed Xu Qi An’s waist, leaving a bloody gash.

“Cut his tendons, cripple him,” the brocade-clad young master snarled.

Xu Qi An glanced at him without a word, analyzing the situation in his mind.

They’re all at the Refining Essence realm, but not at the peak. In a one-on-one fight, I could beat any of them to a pulp, but they’ve learned group attack techniques…

The daggers came at him again. Xu Qi An used the fighting techniques he had learned in his previous life to defend, pretending to gradually lose strength.

A warrior at the peak of the Refining Essence realm would have inexhaustible stamina and wouldn’t easily tire. But he couldn’t let them gauge his true abilities, or he’d lose his chance.

Seeing that the attendants were taking too long to subdue Xu Qi An, the brocade-clad young master frowned, standing at a distance and taunting coldly, “Xu, kneel, kowtow, and call me grandfather twice, and this young master might spare your life.”

Xu Qi An responded loudly, “Grandfather, your great-grandmother’s taste was quite nice.”

Instead of angering Xu Qi An, the young master himself was enraged. He shouted fiercely, “Kill him.”

Bang!

After exchanging fists with the strongest attendant, Xu Qi An pretended to be overpowered and stumbled backward.

The other four attendants, seeing an opportunity, closed in.

At this moment, the blue bricks under Xu Qi An’s feet cracked. The muscles in his legs bulged, stretching his trouser legs. He shot forward like an arrow, crashing into the attendant on his left, causing him to spit blood and break his ribs.

The attendants hadn’t expected him to have hidden his true strength and were caught off guard, allowing him to break free from their encirclement.

Xu Qi An didn’t flee but charged straight at the brocade-clad young master. Amidst the young master’s terrified expression, he grabbed his neck and delivered a fierce punch to his abdomen.

The young master’s body suddenly curled up like a shrimp, vomiting filth from his mouth.

Xu Qi An, his face unchanged, delivered a few more punches, beating the young master until he clutched his stomach and fell to his knees.

Only then did the anger in his heart slightly subside. He didn’t continue the violence but turned to shout at the approaching attendants, “Stay where you are, or I’ll kill him.”

The attendants, caught between a rock and a hard place, indeed stopped moving.

“Good, very good…” the brocade-clad young master raised his head, his face venomous. “Do you know who I am?”

Bang!

Xu Qi An stepped on his face, pressing it into the filth. His foot applied pressure silently, causing the young master to let out a heart-wrenching scream.

“Then let me teach the young master a lesson too,” Xu Qi An said with a gloomy expression. “Even a commoner has anger, and when a commoner is enraged, blood will spill five steps away.”

The two sides were at a standoff for a moment when a group of constables wearing dark uniforms and carrying sabers arrived with more than a dozen runners.

Leading them was Captain Wang.

Captain Wang was initially angry that his little brother had been beaten, but when he saw the young master’s brocade clothes, his face froze for a moment. His gaze flickered, and then he resumed his angry expression:

“Who dares to be so bold as to fight in the streets of Langle County’s jurisdiction?”

Seeing that his colleagues had already drawn their sabers and surrounded the attendants, Xu Qi An finally released the brocade-clad young master.

The young master pointed and shouted angrily, “Arrest him! This young master wants him cut into a thousand pieces!”

Captain Wang pretended not to hear, cursing, “You bastards, take them all away.”

No matter how the brocade-clad young master tried to assert his identity, Captain Wang maintained a rough demeanor of “I’m uneducated, but I can handle anything.”

Perhaps feeling that this constable was truly ignorant and brainless, the young master stopped making a fuss. Under the escort of the yamen runners, they headed towards the Langle County yamen.

Captain Wang fell a few steps behind, coming to Xu Qi An’s side. “Brother, you’ve gotten into big trouble. That bastard’s identity isn’t simple. Have you thought about how to resolve this?”

Old Wang had a sharp eye.

I, Liu Jianming, have no choice… Xu Qi An said in a low voice, “Have you notified my Second Uncle?”

They walked and talked, and soon arrived at the county yamen.