Chapter 9: Brother said, I don’t want to go, you can’t force me.

Black Mountain City, outer ring area, bluestone alley, in front of the Ji family’s house.

When Carpenter Zhang saw the young man's kind expression suddenly freeze in front of him, then frowned and looked straight at him, he couldn't help but take a half step back and felt a chill on his back.

"How come this kid has become a completely different person after not seeing him for just one night?!"

I remember yesterday evening, when Ji Xia came back limping, dressed in rags, and recounting what had happened with a dejected look on his face.

Look again at the young man in front of him, whose eyes are as sharp as an eagle, his back is straight, and his whole body is full of aggressiveness.

Carpenter Zhang couldn't help but rub his eyes, unable to believe that the boy with the same face could become two completely different people in just one day.

But he didn't change. Even though he was frightened, Carpenter Zhang still said kindly:

"Alas, you haven't returned for three days. All the neighbors and even I, your uncle, thought that you had been eaten by beasts in the mountains."

"When Jiang Zhou came back with the reward that Liu Bantou wanted, he said this."

"If you had come back two days earlier and argued with Jiang Zhou before he became a 'sergeant', there might have been a chance of turning things around, but..."

"Now, three days have passed. He has put on his official uniform, entered the official register, and has swallowed up the fortune that the government office specially granted to him as a 'runner'."

"Even if things are really as you said, the government has already spent resources. Can it still side with you?"

"It's easy to hide from the King of Hell, but hard to deal with little devils. I heard that Jiang Zhou has just taken office and his jurisdiction is our 'Bluestone Alley'."

"The day before yesterday, even the local gang leaders got wind of the news and paid tribute to him overnight, calling him their brother."

"Jiang Zhou is no longer the same person he used to be. We can't afford to play with him."

Carpenter Zhang said this earnestly.

After observing carefully for a moment and making sure there was no medicine in the porridge, Ji Xia drank the whole bowl of porridge without hesitation.

Seeing that Ji Xia remained silent, Carpenter Zhang didn't know whether Ji Xia had heard what he said or not. He just shook his head, took the bowl, and walked back.

Wait until Carpenter Zhang enters his house.

Ji Xia could vaguely hear bursts of fierce scolding coming from inside:
"You old fool, why are you wasting food?"

"I thought that the kid from the Ji family still had good legs and feet, and could go up the mountain to hunt, and bring back some meat for you from time to time?"

"He is in a very difficult situation now. If what he said yesterday was true, Officer Jiang, can he let him go easily?"

"You know, the boy surnamed Jiang is now the future official of this 'Bluestone Alley'. It's different now!"

"Before, you wanted to promise our girl to Ji Xia. Now, I think it would be better for you to make use of your friendship over the years and get married to Jiang Zhou."

"If we can give our daughter to him as a concubine, who in this 'Bluestone Lane' will not give us some respect in the future?"

"Then your good son, who is a good-for-nothing, will be able to find a good job, and won't be like your damn father, who spends all day studying lousy carpentry and can't make much money!"

These words were not at all unnoticeable, and Ji Xia, who was standing outside the door, pursed her lips and sighed softly as she looked towards Carpenter Zhang's door.

Uncle Zhang is a kind-hearted person, but he cannot stand his wife who is a snob and opportunistic person.

In the past, Zhang the Carpenter's wife was more attentive to him than his own son, and she treated him as her son-in-law. But the situation changed overnight.
"Keep your voice down, aren't you afraid that others may hear you?" Carpenter Zhang was a little annoyed and let out a low growl through the wall. But not long after, the sound of two people arguing was heard.

until
"Da da da"

He walked into the alley with hurried footsteps, stepping on the cracked bluestone floor that had been in disrepair for many years.

"Can the family inside please be quieter?"

"If you keep making a fuss, I'll peel off your skin!"

The shouting and cursing finally stopped the movement of Carpenter Zhang's family as five or six fierce young men with swords and knives walked into the alley.

At the same time, Ji Xia clenched his palms slightly, looked at those people, and his eyes slowly narrowed, which was quite scary.

Immediately, the leading young man named Chen Wu's pupils shrank. He felt as if he was being stared at by some ferocious beast and was instinctively afraid.

But as the eldest brother, how can I be intimidated by someone using their aura?
Thinking of Jiang Zhou's instructions before, Chen Wu grinned, spat, and smiled at Ji Xia:

"Hey, Brother Ji, I haven't seen you for a few days. You seem to be in better spirits?"

"You have been out hunting for a while and have not returned to our Bluestone Lane in Black Mountain City. You didn't know that Jiang Touer has become rich and held a big banquet all day to celebrate his becoming an official and now in charge of our area."

"From now on, all of you brothers who have grown up together are the most direct descendants. You are close to the water and get the moon first. I, the younger brother who came later, am so envious."

"Just when I heard that you were back, Jiang Tou sent me here to say hello and told me that I must not treat you unfairly."

"Let's go?"

As he spoke, he smiled and slowly approached Ji Xia with his men, seemingly not caring what the short-sleeved young man in front of him said.
Today, he must take that person away!
Chen Wu, a small leader of the 'Daohu Gang' in the outer city of Heishan City, was born in Qingshi Lane and has been hanging around in this area for many years.

In the past, I met Ji Xia quite often, but because the hunters were not easy to mess with, our relationship was still pretty good.

But looking at his aggressive attitude today.
You've already been treated like a dog.

"Ah"

Ji Xia suddenly laughed:

“What if I say, “I won’t go?”

Chen Wu leaned on his knife and raised his eyebrows:
"Brother, the elbow cannot twist the thigh."

"How can you be so ignorant?"

In an instant, the bright blade light appeared!
"Remember this, everyone. Keep your eyes peeled!"

"Our 'Brother Ji' hasn't been accused of 'colluding with the devil' yet, so we can't ignore the law and really take someone's life!"

As Chen Wu finished his last sentence.

Five long swords came towards him!

At Carpenter Zhang’s home.

As the wife of Carpenter Zhang, the originally hot-tempered Chen couldn't help but shiver.

She lay through the crack of the door, listening to the noise outside with Carpenter Zhang, whose face was dark and who was almost about to push open the door.

When the sound of the long sword being unsheathed was heard, a 'swish' sound was heard.

Chen was so frightened that she trembled and her face turned pale.

Unlike her, Carpenter Zhang hesitated again and again and actually wanted to push the door open and walk out.

But in the end, Chen slapped his hands:
"You are crazy!"

Chen scolded:
"That kid is your own son?"

"You don't even want to live anymore?"

They also heard clearly what was said outside, so Carpenter Zhang's words trembled slightly:
"Can"

"Over the past few years, that kid has shared a lot of our meat. Our son and daughter have also been indebted to him, haven't they?"

"How can I watch him fall into the abyss?"

The loud noise in the morning also woke up Carpenter Zhang's son and daughter, Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yun.

After understanding the whole story, the slightly plump Zhang Yuan muttered:

"Dad, you helped Brother Ji make some furniture and often invited him to our house for dinner. Even if you have done me a favor, it's not worth risking your life!"

Zhang Yunze frowned slightly, a little hesitant, but after thinking for a long time, she shook her head at Carpenter Zhang:
"Ji Xia lost power, Jiang Zhou gained power, I am an apprentice in the inner city pharmacy, and I can still read a few words. Dad, I am a runner. The future is much better than that of a hunter with a broken leg."

"You don't deserve it."

Carpenter Zhang was stunned for a long while by what his wife and children said.

at the same time
The originally noisy outside world suddenly became eerily quiet after just a few breaths of the sword being drawn.

After a long thought, Carpenter Zhang's conscience finally overcame his fear. He could not help but push open a crack and turned around and said:
"You don't have to be too scared. Chen Wu is a bully. He has learned a few moves from the 'Knife Tiger Gang' and is not yet a martial artist. He is superior to others!"

"Even if he listens to Jiang Zhou, he's just an officer, so he can't kill people in the street, right?"

"It's nothing. I'll just take a look. I watched these two kids grow up. I can persuade them with a few words. They should be fine."

As he was speaking, Carpenter Zhang pushed open the door, but after crossing the threshold and having a wider view, he was stunned.

I didn't even finish my words when I saw
Four or five young men were lying in a mess on the ground not far away.

The young man in shorts, who had just finished his bowl of porridge,
She was holding Chen Wu in one hand and holding him behind his back with the other, her long hair flying behind her and she was laughing freely.

A long sword with a cut on it fell at the feet of the two men, as if it had been broken by something.

Chen Wu's eyes were trembling, as if he had seen something unbelievable. He was lifted up in the air and pointed at Ji Xia with difficulty:

"Wu Wu."

Before he could finish his words, he fainted.

"Look, I told you."

"I dont go,"

"you"

"You can't force it."

Ji Xia threw the man aside, twisted his neck, lowered his eyebrows, and spoke word by word with a sneer.

Then look back.

Then I saw
Carpenter Zhang and his family were stunned.

He just nodded slightly to his second uncle who had helped him with a bowl of porridge.

He straightened his clothes, shook off the dust, and then walked away in style.
To the 'Heishan Yamen' in the outer city,
Walk away with big strides!

(End of this chapter)