Volume Three: Storm over the Black Tortoise Gate Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Wicked Are Tamed by One More Wicked Than They

As the most powerful gang in Chang'an's western quarter, it took its name from the fierce tiger in the name of its leader, Duan Hu. Because its methods were brutal and overbearing, and its cruelty infamous, it came to be known as the Evil Tiger Gang. Far from being ashamed of the title, everyone in the gang took pride in it.

Duan Hu, the gang leader, was adept with twin short sabers. In his younger days he had been a renowned sword-fighter along the western trade routes. His skill had not come cheaply; it was the product of twenty or thirty years of arduous training, begun before dawn and ending after dusk, and in Chang'an he bore a certain reputation. Under his command were more than a hundred ruffians and cutthroats, along with a dozen wandering toughs from the martial underworld whom he kept as enforcers.

His influence reached across nearly the whole western district, into gambling dens, pleasure houses, taverns, cart and horse businesses, butcher shops, and more.

Of course, those hundred-odd underlings were not gathered in one place. They were scattered throughout Chang'an, just like the Earth God temple beyond the western suburbs was merely one of many strongholds.

As for the Hongyun gambling house, it served as the Evil Tiger Gang's lair. Duan Hu himself, together with a dozen martial desperadoes and twenty or thirty of the fiercest ruffians, personally held the place.

As one of the largest gambling houses in the Group of Worthies quarter beside the Western Market, it was naturally immense. Inside, every manner of game and wager could be found: backgammon, arrow tossing, polo-stick play, leaf games, six-sided chess, fighting cocks, fighting dogs, quail matches, and more. At intervals there were even ferocious beast fights. Countless gamblers, their heads full of dreams of sudden riches, lingered there day and night, and the place swarmed with traffic like a flood. One could say it drew gold in by the day.

Of course, in gambling nine out of ten are cheated. Greed clouds the judgment, and the end is often ruin, with everything lost. Whenever some gambler, eyes bloodshot from losing, grew desperate to recover his losses, the gang's thugs would come over with sly smiles and lend him usurious money. There were all manner of schemes: take nine and demand thirteen in return, compound interest rolling into compound interest, and so on, in endless variations.

As the saying goes: borrow at usury, repay three for one; interest rolls on and doubles year by year; borrow for a year, repay for ten; even in several lifetimes, you still cannot finish paying. And if you cannot repay? No matter. Sell the house, sell the land, sell the son, sell the daughter, sell the wife. In short, they would not stop until they had stripped you bare and driven your family to ruin and disintegration.

Duan Hu was quite a man of ability, and moreover always ruthless in his dealings. From human trafficking and child abduction to petty theft, dog control, and beggar management, he spared no profitable trade.

Though his hands were drenched in blood and his sins piled high to the heavens, he still lived in comfort, drinking, eating meat, and carousing with women, his days untroubled and free.

In the final analysis, it was nothing more than standing in the shade of a great tree. Duan Hu was merely a money-making instrument for a powerful noble family, hauling in vast sums for them and earning their favor. Openly and secretly, he enjoyed much protection. As the saying goes, if you beat the dog you must first look to the master. For all this, the authorities were helpless. They wished to intervene but dared not; they could only turn a blind eye and pretend not to see.

Under Li Mingyu's coercion, the members of the Evil Tiger Gang quickly spilled everything they knew, emptying themselves like overturned grain buckets.

The gambling house had five courtyards in all. The front was the public gambling floor, while Duan Hu and his men lived in the last two.

For his trusted enforcers, Duan Hu spared no expense. By force and violence he had seized many respectable women and daughters from the common people, as well as young ladies and wives, and placed them in the back courtyard as a means of winning over his subordinates.

Every night, after the gates of the quarter were shut and the day's profits tallied, Duan Hu would lead them into debauchery, reveling through the night until dawn.

By then Li Mingyu had learned nearly everything he needed to know. In the end, the same stories kept circling back, and as low-ranking gang members they truly had no more secrets to give.

Li Mingyu gave his long sword a shake and said coldly, "Since you've said all you have to say, then I'll send you on your way."

At that, the men began kowtowing like mad, crying out miserably, "Spare us, hero! You said just now that if we answered, you wouldn't kill us..."

"Please, young master, show mercy and let us go..."

"Pah! What kind of man do you take me for? A spoken word is a nail driven fast. How could I ever break my promise?" Li Mingyu spat and cursed.

Then a cruel smile appeared on his face. "But while death may be spared, suffering shall not. When you were doing evil in the past, why did you never think this day would come?"

With that, his sword flashed. In a blur of strokes and points, amid a chorus of agonized screams, all six men had their arms and legs shattered, their limbs utterly ruined.

It was the dead of winter, with cold wind like blades and frost biting to the bone. Snow was falling as well. With injuries like these, even if Li Mingyu no longer raised a hand to kill them, the bleeding alone would be enough to drain them dry.

For such scum, he thought a clean death would be too kind. He intended to make them suffer, to feel life leaking away bit by bit, and to die in howls, despair, and regret.

Only then would they truly pay for their crimes, and only then could the countless innocent children they had beaten, maimed, and killed over the years rest in peace.

The men understood his intention now. Some cursed in despair, some wailed and wept, and some struggled pitifully against death.

Li Mingyu could not be bothered to argue further with the doomed. He snorted and said, "Enjoy the taste of despair, and wait for death."

He turned around and motioned to the children who had been abducted.

A cluster of children had seen everything clearly. Though most were only a few years old, they had already endured a living hell and witnessed a slaughterhouse of demons. What kind of violent shock would all this leave upon their tender minds?

At his call, they turned mechanically, their gazes cold and terrifying, their faces blank.

Children's hearts are simple. At first they felt only satisfaction and vindication at the punishment of the wicked. Then they were shaken by Li Mingyu's ruthless methods. By the end, they had grown numb to the dying screams of the villains. It was as though nothing before them had any connection to them at all, as if they were merely hearing a cat or dog cry out, or a bird keening in pain. Human lives, in their eyes, seemed no more than that.

As for what to do with these children, Li Mingyu found himself in a complete bind. The youngest were only three or four; the oldest no more than five or six. If he handed over children who did not even know their own homes or origins to the authorities, they would most likely be sent to orphan shelters or relief halls.

Yet at this critical age, when their minds should be taking shape, they had endured such terror and stimulation. If no one guided them carefully, they would likely grow into madmen with broken minds, into vacant fools, or into cold, inhuman monsters who cared for nothing.

And if that were the outcome, how would his own actions differ from the beasts of the Evil Tiger Gang? One would destroy the body; the other the spirit.

At that thought, Li Mingyu felt some regret. He should not have killed in a fit of rage; at the very least, he ought to have lured these villains elsewhere before striking.

He scratched his head, troubled, when suddenly he caught sight of a small head peeking out from behind the wall, craning and peering about with sly mischief, as though it wanted to come over but dared not. If not Little Stone, who else could it be?

Amused by the boy's comical expression, Li Mingyu laughed a little. "Little Stone, didn't I tell you to stay hidden? Why have you come out again?"

"I... I was afraid something might happen to you. You were fighting so many bad men by yourself. I was worried and came to see whether you needed help," Little Stone answered hesitantly.

"Didn't I already say it? Those trash are no match for me. Come here," Li Mingyu said, waving him over.

Little Stone stepped out and saw the corpses strewn across the ground, along with severed limbs and pooled blood. At first he was startled, but soon his expression returned to normal.

He carefully stepped over the bodies, and when he came upon a few villains who were still alive, still cursing and howling, he even walked over and stomped hard on them a few times on purpose.

Li Mingyu could not help admiring the boy's nerve. "Aren't you afraid of dead men?"

Little Stone answered without hesitation, "Why should I be afraid? When they're alive, maybe a little. Once they're dead, I'm not. Before, I even thought that if I grew a few years older, got stronger, and could take my friends and run, then I would. And if we couldn't escape, then rather than live like this in misery, we'd fight them. Killing one would be enough; killing two would be a gain."

"Heh, you've got spirit," Li Mingyu said with a smile that was half grin, half mockery. Whether he was teasing or praising was hard to tell.

Then he pointed to the children and said to Little Stone, "Take care of them for now. Find them something to eat and build a fire to warm them up. I still have matters to handle, and once I'm done I'll come back for you."

Little Stone was startled. "You... you're leaving? You won't just go and never come back, will you?"

Li Mingyu smiled. "Rest easy. I always keep my word. Here, take this for now. Consider it proof." With that, he took from his robe the jade pendant once given to him by Prince Qin and handed it to Little Stone.

Little Stone lived by stealing purses every day, and even thieves had their own rules. Taking copper coins, silver ingots, and gold ornaments was one thing. But he had always avoided touching valuable pieces like jade pendants. Anyone who could wear such an item was surely a member of a powerful family, a noble scion, and touching it would mean enormous trouble. Even if stolen, it had to be returned. Not only would there be no money to gain, but if the owner were angered, a single sentence could make the little thief who had touched what he should not have vanish from the world.

Though he dared not touch such things, he had a keen eye. He could tell at a glance that the pendant was flawless and warm in texture, likely worth more than all the silver he had ever stolen put together.

"If I do not return, then take this pendant to Prince Qin's residence in the eastern quarter. Say that Li Mingyu sent you, and naturally someone will receive you."

Only then did Li Mingyu give the boy peace of mind.

Afterward, seeing that the long sword in his hand was nicked, ruined, and no longer fit for use, he rummaged through the weapons left behind by the Evil Tiger Gang and selected two decent saber blades, which he strapped at his waist.

Seeing that Little Stone had already gathered the children and was leading them like a victorious general, Li Mingyu could finally relax a little. Perhaps for children, and for someone who had been through it himself, Little Stone's words would comfort them better.

He waved to him and called, "Let's go. Let them slowly suffer and wait for death!"

Little Stone answered, leading the children to the rear courtyard for rest and food, which need not be described here.

But matters were still not finished. In the central hall, one Ma Boliang still awaited his most severe judgment. Vengeance must strike the guilty, and Li Mingyu still needed to use his mouth to discover who stood behind all this.