Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 6 Iron Card

As the sun was setting, the members of the Changfeng Gang began to gather on the west side of the dock.

A dense, dark mass of people, at least a couple hundred, all with red scarves tied around their arms. The Jade Sand Sect members opposite them had also arrived, their arms wrapped in blue scarves.

The two groups confronted each other across an alley, their shouts of insults deafening.

"You bastards from the Changfeng Gang! Today you'll crawl back home!"

"You bastards of the Jade Sand Sect! Grandpa has been waiting for you for days!"

Jiang Xun stood at the back of the crowd and shouted a few times. Just as Ajiu had said, he shouted loudly, but no one actually rushed forward.

Ah Jiu stood right next to him, shouting louder than anyone else, her face turning red.

"The Changfeng Gang is mighty! Kill these bastards!"

Jiang Xun almost burst out laughing when he saw how excited he was.

"Why are you shouting so enthusiastically?"

"It's fun!" Ah Jiu said matter-of-factly. "My grandpa is very strict at home; I can't even speak loudly. I finally get to come out, so I have to have some fun!"

Jiang Xun remained silent.

They shouted like that for half an hour until it was completely dark.

Jiang Xun thought the day was over and was preparing to retreat with Ajiu—

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the other end of the alley.

A dozen or so burly men in tight-fitting clothes rushed out from the shadows, each holding a gleaming knife.

"Don't let a single member of the Changfeng Gang escape!"

Jiang Xun was taken aback—wait, why are these people actually making a move?

Ajiu was also stunned.

"Why...why is this different from what we agreed on—"

Before he could finish speaking, a fight had already broken out over there.

Screams and shouts of killing mingled together.

The Changfeng Gang members scattered instantly, some running away, others falling. The burly men in tight-fitting clothes were ruthless, each strike drawing blood.

"run!"

Jiang Xun grabbed Ajiu and ran away.

The two ran left and right through the alley for an unknown amount of time until the shouts of battle behind them gradually faded into the distance.

Jiang Xun stopped and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

"Alright, we should have shaken them off by now—"

"etc!"

Ajiu suddenly stopped in her tracks, her face turning deathly pale.

"What's wrong?"

"My...my iron plate..." Ah Jiu reached into his pocket, panicking. "It's gone! It must have fallen off when I was running!"

Jiang Xun frowned: "What iron plate?"

"My grandfather gave it to me!" Ah Jiu was so anxious that tears were almost in her eyes. "He told me to keep it with me at all times, and not to lose it! If I lose it, my grandfather will definitely beat me to death—"

He turned around and was about to run back.

Jiang Xun grabbed him.

"Are you crazy? They're still fighting over there!"

"But--"

Ah Jiu's eyes reddened.

Jiang Xun looked at him and remained silent for three seconds.

"Oh shit."

He let go.

"Where did you drop it? Do you remember the approximate location?"

Ajiu nodded frantically.

"Remember!"

"Walk."

Jiang Xun pulled him along, and they retraced their steps.

The two cautiously made their way back to the alley they had just run through.

The shouts of battle were still in the distance; there was no one around for the time being.

"Where?"

"There, there!" Ah Jiu pointed to a shadowy spot in the corner, "I tripped over there just now, that's when I fell—"

The two crept over and crawled on the ground to search.

"Found it!"

Ah Jiu pulled out a palm-sized iron plate from under the wall, clutched it tightly in his hand, and his whole body went limp.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness I didn't lose it..."

Jiang Xun was about to speak when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

He turned around abruptly—

Three burly men in tight-fitting clothes stood at the entrance of the alley, staring at them.

"Oh, there are two small fish that slipped through the net."

The leader grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"The Changfeng Gang? The ones with red scarves, that's right."

Ah Jiu's face turned pale.

Jiang Xun slowly stood up and shielded Ajiu behind him.

"Gentlemen, we were just there to make up the numbers, we didn't do anything—"

"Just there to make up the numbers?" The burly man laughed. "Those who are just there to make up the numbers are also from the Changfeng Gang. You're out of luck today."

With a wave of his hand, three burly men rushed forward at the same time.

Jiang Xun's mind went blank.

But the body moves faster than the brain.

He shoved Ajiu aside and went to meet the first big man.

The fist was thrown out—but it missed.

The big man's knife grazed his shoulder, leaving a cut.

pain.

That fucking hurts.

Jiang Xun couldn't care less about the pain; all he knew was that he couldn't let these people touch Ajiu.

The second burly man swung his knife at him, but he dodged to the side and kicked the man in the knee.

The man screamed and fell to his knees.

Jiang Xun himself was stunned—when did he become so good at fighting?

The third burly man's knife was already upon them.

There's no escaping it now.

This thought flashed through Jiang Xun's mind.

Then--

A surge of heat rose up from my lower abdomen.

It instantly spread throughout my body.

He felt as if every pore on his body was spewing fire, and the world before him suddenly became both slow and clear.

That knife moved so slowly it seemed to float.

Jiang Xun turned to the side and threw a punch.

He punched the big man in the chest.

"Bang!"

The burly man flew backward more than ten feet, crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and then lay motionless.

The remaining two burly men were dumbfounded.

"This, this kid—"

Jiang Xun stood there, panting heavily. The heat inside his body was still surging, and the pain made the veins on his forehead throb, but he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

"Come on," he said hoarsely, looking at the two burly men. "Again."

The two burly men exchanged a glance and didn't dare to move.

Just then, footsteps came from the alley entrance.

A group of people emerged from the shadows.

The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe, with an extraordinary air about him. Behind him were more than a dozen guards in tight-fitting clothes, as well as the shirtless leader of the Jade Sand Sect whom they had just seen at the dock.

The middle-aged man glanced at Jiang Xun, then at the burly man lying on the ground, and raised an eyebrow.

"interesting."

Beside him stood a young man in his early twenties, dressed in white with a long sword at his waist, who arrogantly sized up Jiang Xun.

"People from the Changfeng Gang?" the young man asked.

Jiang Xun didn't say anything.

The shirtless leader leaned closer and whispered a few words in the young man's ear.

After listening, the young man glanced at Jiang Xun again.

"Loyalty?" He laughed. "Fine, I'll give you face today. Get lost."

Without saying a word, Jiang Xun grabbed Ajiu and ran.

The two ran out of the alley and ran for two more blocks before stopping.

Ah Jiu plopped down on the ground, her face as white as paper.

"That scared me to death..."

Jiang Xun leaned against the wall, panting heavily. The heat in his body finally subsided, but his whole body still ached.

"That iron plate of yours..." he looked at Ah Jiu, "What exactly is it? Is it that important?"

Ah Jiu looked down at the iron plaque in her hand and remained silent for a long while.

Then he looked up at Jiang Xun.

"I should go home now."

Jiang Xun was taken aback.

"go home?"

"Hmm." Ah Jiu stood up, patted the dirt off her bottom, "I snuck out, my grandpa must be worried sick. Something almost happened today, if it weren't for you..."

He looked at Jiang Xun, his eyes a little red.

"You saved me."

Jiang Xun felt a little embarrassed by what he said.

"Just...just casually."

Ah Jiu smiled.

He walked up to Jiang Xun and shoved the iron plaque into his hand.

"for you."

Jiang Xun was stunned.

"This...wasn't this given to you by your grandfather?"

"Yes," Ah Jiu nodded, "so I can't lose it. But you can keep it."

Jiang Xun frowned: "What do you mean?"

Ajiu looked at him with a very serious expression.

"I don't know what this thing is for, but my grandpa says it's very important. If I lose it, he'll beat me to death. But giving it away is different—giving it away doesn't count as losing it."

Jiang Xun was completely confused.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ajiu smiled, a bright and cheerful smile.

"What I want to say is that you are a friend. It's only natural for friends to give each other gifts."

He shoved the iron plate into Jiang Xun's hand again.

"Here you go. If we meet again in the future, I'll treat you to some sesame cakes."

After saying that, he turned and ran.

"A-Jiu!"

Jiang Xun called out.

Ajiu didn't turn around, but just waved to him and disappeared into the night.

Jiang Xun stood still, looking down at the iron plaque in his hand.

Under the moonlight, the iron plaque gleamed with a faint glow. The back was engraved with dense patterns, resembling either designs or characters.

This kid...

What a strange person.