Chapter 255: Qian Shizhong

Once Fourth Brother finished his deployments, his men began moving to their respective tasks. They hauled their gear into the beds of the pickup trucks. He Yu and I stood up, preparing to follow, but as we passed Fourth Brother, he grabbed me by the collar and waved He Yu toward one of the trucks to take a seat.

“How much do you know about your great-grandfather’s affairs?” Fourth Brother hooked an arm around my neck and pulled me toward the lead pickup. That truck was filled with the heavy hitters of the underworld; I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere near them.

Forced into the truck bed, I muttered in confusion, “I… what I know probably isn’t much different from what you know.”

As I sat down, I realized Tian Xiaoqi was right beside me, resting her eyes. Opposite us sat Liu Wan and Tan Qiu. Regarding this trip to find the elder Mr. Qian, Tan Qiu hadn’t shown any signs of impatience, which seemed out of character for him. I looked around but didn’t see Old Qian or He Yu; they must have been in the following vehicles.

The pickup was an old workhorse, its edges encrusted with dried mud that flaked off in chunks if you picked at it. Fourth Brother climbed into the bed and sat across from me. “When we arrive, you’re coming with me to pay your respects to the old man. Make sure you don’t forget your manners.”

I wanted to cry. We hadn’t even been in the truck for a minute, and he’d already mapped out everything that came next.

The three pickups, packed with people, slowly merged onto the national highway. Having been woken up so early, I eventually drifted off to sleep. I don’t know how much time passed, but when I woke, the scenery had transformed completely. The lush greenery had vanished, replaced by the yellow of barren earth, with dust billowing behind our tires.

By high noon, the trucks turned off the highway. The ground became so bumpy we felt like we were going to lose our lunch. We stopped briefly to eat some canned meat, and after finishing, the three vehicles parked in front of a stretch of dirt road. The slope was too steep for the trucks to descend; we had to continue on foot.

Old Qian pointed toward a cluster of cave dwellings in the distance. “It’s right over there. About a thirty-minute walk.”

I took a look. The dwellings were tucked away amidst towering mountains and ridges. To reach them, we had to hike over the hills. It was a small village where people lived “face to the yellow earth, back to the sky^[1].” The mountains were bald, and the air was bone-dry. The terrain was grand and treacherous, characterized by sweeping vistas and sharp drops. Before these sky-piercing cliffs, we felt as insignificant as ants. I immediately felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me.

The group left the trucks behind and began the trek along a path worn down by locals, climbing up and down the slopes. By the time I had drained my entire water skin, we finally stood before a row of connected cave dwellings. Wu Yili, supported by his students, walked up beside us, panting like a winded ox.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, my clothes soaked through. It was no wonder Old Qian said that if this didn’t work out, he was finished. Climbing this path once nearly killed me; doing it several more times was unthinkable. Even if I could handle it, these old professors with their creaky joints certainly couldn’t.

Old Qian, dripping with sweat, went ahead to knock on the door. “Dad! It’s me. Dad, open up!”

The door was opened by an old man leaning on a cane. His eyes were bright, his skin dark and weathered. He wore a navy blue tunic and a small embroidered cap. His movements were deliberate and forceful. As he opened the door, he thumped his cane against the ground and began cursing loudly, “What are you back for again?!”

His gaze swept past Old Qian and immediately landed on the rest of us standing behind. The old man’s temper flared even hotter, and he began shoving Old Qian back toward the threshold. “Get out! Get out! It’s those people again. I told you I don’t know them, I don’t know them! And yet you bring this crowd back here! Get lost!”

Old Qian was quick on his feet. He jammed his leg forward to block the door, flashing a cheeky, shameless grin. “Heh heh, Dad, don’t kick us out yet. The heads of the Five Masters are all here this time. Let me come inside and have a proper chat!”

Qian Shizhong wasn’t buying it. “To hell with the Five Masters! When your father was making his mark, those boys from the Five Masters were still in their mothers’ wombs! I won’t see them even if they come! You think just because I’m old, blind, and deaf that I’m useless? You think you can bully a dying old man!”

“Oh, Dad! Stop making a scene. Once we settle this, you can do whatever you want and no one will bother you!”

Tan Qiu stepped forward with a smile, holding up some gifts. “Elder, we’ve brought some things to visit you. Why don’t you let us in first?”

Seeing the opening, Fourth Brother and the other leaders rushed up to help Old Qian hold the door, eventually prying the two struggling men apart.

Fourth Brother quickly grabbed Qian Shizhong’s hand. “Elder Qian, do you still recognize me?”

Distracted by the interruption, Qian Shizhong forgot what he was doing. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Fourth Brother. “Young man… I do feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before… You’re… aren’t you someone’s apprentice? Ah, I’m getting old, I used to remember whose apprentice you were…”

“Gan Rukui,” Fourth Brother said.

Qian Shizhong let out an “Oh” of realization. “Right, right, the boy from the Gan Clan. Listen, young man, don’t push me. I washed my hands of that life years ago. I can’t remember those things anymore. I don’t know anything. Don’t you go bullying an old man.”

As Qian Shizhong tried to pull his hand away from Fourth Brother, I watched from a distance. Suddenly, Chen Si turned back and shot me a sharp glare. I jolted so hard I nearly stumbled, and I quickly wiped my sweat as I rushed forward, taking two steps at a time.

Before I could even come to a full stop, Fourth Brother shoved me hard toward Qian Shizhong. I was already off-balance, and the push made me look incredibly clumsy. I grabbed the door panel to steady myself, making the wooden frame creak loudly behind me.

“And who is this blind youngster? Careful you don’t kick the door down.”

Qian Shizhong slowly turned his gaze toward me. I felt his eyes linger on me for a moment, and the atmosphere instantly froze. A chill ran down my spine under his stare. Fourth Brother was frantically signaling me with his eyes, telling me to say something quick.

How was I supposed to know what to say? No one had rehearsed this with me on the way here. I didn’t even know how to address him or what our relative standing was.

I could only brace myself and stammer out, “Elder… w-we mean no harm…”

Qian Shizhong suddenly stepped forward and seized my wrist. Before I could even register his movement, he abruptly flipped back the hem of my coat and drew the Horse-Head Blade hanging at my waist. The sight sent Old Qian scrambling over in a panic to stop him.

“Young man, who are you? And where did this blade come from?” Qian Shizhong demanded.

Old Qian stepped in to block him. “Dad! Dad, have you lost your mind? Put the blade down!”

Despite Old Qian’s intervention, I felt no slackening in Qian Shizhong’s grip. I raised my head and looked straight at him from less than half a meter away. “The blade belonged to my ancestors,” I said. “Ye Yuzhu of Linying was my great-grandfather.”

The moment the name left my lips, I feared he might strike me dead with his cane. To my surprise, Qian Shizhong simply took a deep breath, tapped his own head, and muttered a few words under his breath. The hostility he had shown moments ago had completely vanished.

He silently returned the Horse-Head Blade to me. His grip shifted from a restraint to a pull as he led me into the cave dwelling. Fourth Brother and the other leaders exchanged glances, following us inside one after another.

Qian Shizhong pulled me over to sit on the edge of the kang^[2]. Old Qian tried to sit down beside us, but Qian Shizhong struck him down with his cane. The old man casually pointed toward the door. “Go outside and bring some stools in. That goes for the rest of you back there, too.”

I suddenly felt like I was sitting on pins and needles. The leaders of the Five Masters, along with the scholars and professors, all obediently went out to fetch stools. In an instant, I was the only one left sitting on the kang with Qian Shizhong. Seeing this group of people who usually swaggered about like big shots in the trade now reduced to sitting on simple wooden stools only doubled my psychological pressure.

“Young man, what brings you here?” Qian Shizhong asked me.

Tan Qiu started to speak, but Fourth Brother clamped a hand down on him to keep him quiet. Qian Shizhong had asked “you,” singular, not “you all.”