Chapter 32: Fated to be with the Female Constable

"Thanks."

"My name is Tao Qianqian, a constable of the Linyuan County Yamen. I've got my eyes on you now. Come find me at the office if you ever need anything; I’ve got your back!"

The young girl stood up, gave Xu An a pat on the shoulder with a worldly air, and flashed a vibrant, youthful smile. She then turned around, picked up a long spear that had fallen to the ground, and charged toward a secluded alley, shouting, "You bastard, stop right there! You think you can just run off after ambushing me? Not a chance!"

"I really do seem to have a knack for running into female constables," Xu An muttered to himself, watching her go.

"Xu An, we're so lucky! We actually saved a constable," Li Erzhuang said with a look of envy, watching her retreating figure. "That constable owes you a big favor now. If you're lucky and stay on her good side, you might even be able to land a job at the county office!"

"You're overthinking it, Brother Erzhuang. She might just have been being polite," Xu An laughed.

"At the very least, it’s an opportunity! If you can get into the Yamen, you’ll have a chance to meet the big shots in the county. Things will be much easier to handle in the future," Li Erzhuang said with longing.

Xu An shook his head. The villagers were still too naive. Everything in this world revolved around the word "profit." If a person had no value, why would anyone bother with them? Even if he could get into the Yamen, he would only be at the very bottom. Those big shots would treat people like him as dogs; they wouldn't even look them in the eye.

"Brother Erzhuang, you don't need to dwell on these things, and don't belittle yourself. The tides turn every thirty years; never look down on a young man who is currently poor. Who knows what the future holds? Perhaps in the near future, even officials higher-ranked than the county magistrate will be begging you for favors."

"Shh! Xu An, you can't go around making jokes like that. If word gets out, you’ll be in deep trouble!" Ordinary villagers like Li Erzhuang had an innate fear of officials. Seeing Xu An say such things terrified him.

Xu An smiled and said nothing more. Most of the time, a person's vision is limited by their perception. For the current Li Erzhuang, saying anything more would be useless. Once his own understanding improved, he would naturally understand.

Before long, Xu An and Li Erzhuang arrived at the entrance of an alley. Inside stood a hall, guarded by two imposing stone lions. This was the usury den. The original owner had been brought here by a few fair-weather friends to borrow money. Xu An told Li Erzhuang to wait at the alley entrance while he went inside.

"Yo, young master, are you here to borrow money or pay it back?" As soon as he stepped in, a figure approached. This was the manager of the hall, Kou An. He was in his forties, stout, with a large mole on his face from which three thick hairs sprouted. His eyes were squinted, his brows turned downward, and he wore a perpetual smile—but beneath that smile lay a treacherous and vicious nature.

"Paying back," Xu An replied curtly.

"Oh, welcome, welcome! If you need money again in the future, just come to us. We offer lower interest rates to old customers." As he spoke, he led Xu An into the accounting room and had someone fetch his loan record. But when the clerk saw a large red cross over Xu An’s name, his expression turned troubled.

Seeing this, a flicker of unease rose in Xu An’s heart. "What’s going on?" Kou An asked, frowning.

"Sir, because the young master didn't come to pay his debt on time, the hall has already sent men to collect it," the clerk said, looking at Kou An.

"What?" Xu An was furious. "Today is clearly the due date for the money I borrowed! How could I have failed to pay on time?"

The clerk explained, "Young master, under normal circumstances, if a borrower lives outside the city and hasn't returned the money by noon, we send men to collect. It's nearly afternoon; how can that be considered on time? You understand, right?"

"How come I was never told about this?" Xu An asked in a low, angry voice. He was deeply worried about the little girl at home. He knew exactly what kind of ruthless thugs those debt collectors were, and he had no idea what might be happening to her.

"You only borrowed a tael of silver; it's not like it's a huge sum. Besides, you didn't ask!" The clerk spoke as if it were common knowledge, ignoring the rage on Xu An's face. Kou An, hearing that Xu An had only borrowed one tael, found his smile fading.

Xu An’s face turned livid. The other party’s attitude was clearly meant to bully him. If it were any other time, he would never have tolerated this; he would have shown these people the power of technology and made them regret crossing him. But right now, their men had already gone to Qinghe Village. He knew he couldn't waste time here; he had to go back immediately. He turned and walked away without another word.

But before he had taken a few steps, Kou An’s voice rang out. "Young master, since you’re already here, why not settle the debt before you go? Your home is quite far; if our debt collectors don't return by midnight, you’ll face a double penalty. You won't be paying two taels then—you'll be paying four! Don't be upset, young master; I'm doing this for your own good."

Xu An stopped in his tracks. He turned around, his eyes filled with killing intent, and glared at Kou An. "I’ll pay you your ancestors! You better pray that the people you sent haven't done anything out of line, or I swear, I’ll make sure you all die without a complete corpse!"

Xu An was livid; he wanted to kill. These scum were pushing him too far.

"Heh, young master, I called you that to be polite, but I suggest you don't take yourself too seriously. In all these years, no one has dared to threaten us like that." Seeing Xu An dare to insult him, Kou An’s expression chilled. His squinted eyes flickered with malice as he stared at Xu An. "I’ll say this: if you pay the money now and kneel to kowtow three times to apologize for your insolence, you can leave safely. Otherwise, you aren't going anywhere!"

As soon as he finished speaking, five or six burly men rushed out from the corners, surrounding Xu An. Xu An’s expression turned icy. It seemed there would be no peaceful resolution today.

"Then let's see if you have the ability to make that happen! Brother Erzhuang, come in and help me handle these guys!" Xu An sneered. Kneeling and begging for mercy was impossible. As a frail scholar, he couldn't fight them all, so he didn't hesitate to call for help.

Hearing Xu An’s call, Li Erzhuang didn't hesitate either; he rushed into the hall at top speed. "Who dares to touch my brother?"

Seeing that Xu An had actually brought someone, Kou An was humiliated and enraged. He roared at his men, "Get him! What are you standing there for?"

The men lunged at Xu An with their fists. Xu An didn't dodge or retreat, remaining perfectly calm. Sure enough, just as a fist was about to land on him, several figures around him shrieked as they flew through the air. Xu An was pulled away by a large hand, narrowly avoiding the attack. It was Li Erzhuang, who had acted just in time.

"Brother Erzhuang, don't get tangled up with them; getting back is the priority," Xu An said.

"Right!" Li Erzhuang nodded, grabbing Xu An and running out.

Watching his men get knocked down in a few blows, Kou An was overcome with fury. "A bunch of useless trash! What are you lying there for? Chase them! If you don't bring them back, don't even think about getting your wages for this month—no, this quarter!"

The men scrambled to their feet and gave chase. Once outside, Xu An and Li Erzhuang jumped onto the donkey cart and raced toward the city gate.

"Xu An, who were those people? How did you get into trouble with them?" Li Erzhuang asked anxiously.

"I'll tell you when we have time. Let's just focus on getting back; they seem to be catching up," Xu An said, looking behind him. He didn't want any delays.

Li Erzhuang looked back, confirmed they were being pursued, and focused on driving. They raced through the streets, causing pedestrians to scatter. Suddenly, more men appeared ahead, blocking their path—they had clearly taken a shortcut to cut them off. The two had no choice but to stop the cart.

Seeing the crowd closing in, now numbering over a dozen—double the previous amount—Xu An’s heart sank.

"Brother Erzhuang, can you handle them? I can hold off one!" Xu An said with a straight face.

Li Erzhuang: "???" He looked at Xu An, thinking, *There are so many of them; what’s the difference between you holding off one and holding off none?* But this wasn't the time to argue. He whispered, "It’ll be tough, but we can give it a try!"

"Then let's fight!" Xu An’s expression hardened. "If you get hurt, I’ll cover the medical expenses."

Li Erzhuang hesitated. "And if I die?"

Xu An replied, "With your skills, you shouldn't die, right? They aren't even carrying blades."

"True, you're right!" Li Erzhuang nodded.

Just as they prepared to fight for their lives, a crisp voice rang out. "What are you doing? What are you all doing? Daring to hold a street brawl in my jurisdiction? Do you have a death wish?"

A young girl leaped into the scene, a long spear resting on her shoulder.