Chapter 3: The Dominator Among Rogues (1)

After walking three streets, I saw a crowd gathered at the eastern street corner where two people were arguing. Such a lively scene would surely attract his attention, so he immediately plunged into the crowd to see what was happening. It turned out that a porter had accidentally bumped his shoulder pole into a passerby, leading to a heated argument between the two. They rolled up their sleeves, puffed out their cheeks, and glared at each other, each trying to outshout the other, but they did not come to blows. After watching for a while, Tianqi found it utterly uninteresting. He remarked that the porter lacked the guts to fight and then said that the passerby had no temper and only knew how to talk back. Eventually, he fanned the flames and incited the two to start fighting. Before long, they were rolling on the ground together, covered in dust, their clothes torn. Tianqi stood by, clapping his hands and laughing heartily, loudly cheering for both of them.

After a while, he left the gambling house and went to the street to buy two large skewers of candied hawthorn. He then watched an old man making clay figurines and took out money to buy two generals, which he placed in his bosom. After that, he bought some sunflower seeds, candies, and other snacks, putting them in a small cloth bag that he carried in his hand, eating as he walked, feeling quite carefree

Recently, the provocations from Zhu Rouqiang have been incessant, and Ren Tianqi has repeatedly heard about them. This is an absolute contempt for his position, and his anger has long been boiling. Now that he knows Zhu Rouqiang has come again, he can no longer contain himself and shouted loudly: "Damn it, Li Yan, Yang Minggong, where is that fat pig?"

However, the arrow is now on the string and must be released. Ren Tianqi's eyes rolled around as he called a boy with a slingshot to the front, murmuring a few words. Immediately, the group of boys shouted and charged forward, stopping about ten paces away from Zhu Rouqiang. They formed two lines, loaded their stones, and began to shoot forward. As the first line finished, the second line took over, continuing in an unbroken chain, relentless and unceasing.

Ren Tianqi did not expect that Zhu Rouqiang would bring so many people, clearly intending to demonstrate. He was uncertain about winning this fight.

In the city of Hezhou, the ruffian youths were divided into two factions. One faction was led by the burly son of the butcher Wang from the East City, known as Zhu Rouqiang, who gathered a large group of followers, making them powerful in numbers. The other faction was led by Ren Tianqi from the West City, who, despite his young age, was notorious for his fighting skills and cunning tricks; however, his group was more than half the size of the East City's faction.

Leaning forward, I was taken aback to find that in front of the City God Temple stood a dense crowd of seventy to eighty young boys, playfully pushing and shoving each other, laughing and joking. Meanwhile, the tall and slightly plump Zhu Rouqiang stood proudly on the steps of the temple, scolding them with an air of confidence, as if he were certain that the boys from the West City would not dare to show their faces. The temple keeper of the City God Temple was also startled, hiding inside the temple, only daring to peek out cautiously.

Then the short man Li Yandao said: "It seems that someone in front of the City God Temple is scolding you for being a coward and not daring to show your face."

At that moment, two boys, one tall and one short, both around fourteen or fifteen years old, suddenly emerged from the crowd. Their clothes were worn and their faces dirty, and one of them was even dripping with mucus. It was evident that they were not children from well-off families

After walking for a while, before reaching the corner, I heard the loud voice of that pork vendor shouting: "Ren Tianqi is a coward, the son of a turtle, having the guts but no courage. The kids from the West City are all weaklings, so the one they recognize as their leader is also a weakling. If you don't come this time, just consider it a loss."

Among those youths, many were unafraid of trouble, and they exclaimed: "Let's take on the pork head-on." "Damn it, the East City is too arrogant; let's show them the strength of our West City." "Boss, let's do it."

However, this situation did not last long, as the pork vendor quickly reacted and shouted, "Don't panic, don't panic, there aren't many people in Xicheng, let's charge in and take care of him."

In such close combat, the youth from the West City naturally suffers losses. The strong and robust figure, possessing the strength of a pig, holds a distinct advantage in a fight, wielding his stick with such ferocity that no one can approach him. On the other hand, Ren Tianqi is not to be underestimated; having been accustomed to physical labor since childhood, he possesses considerable strength and reacts much more swiftly than others. Aware that his side is outnumbered and outmatched, he strikes fiercely, leaving many of the East City youths beside him bloodied and battered.

Ren Tianqi, upon hearing this, became even angrier and said: "You all immediately split up to inform the brothers, bring your weapons, and gather under the big locust tree. We will take care of that fat pig family in style."

Although Ren Tianqi was a fugitive, he was by no means a reckless person. He then said softly, "Don't rush, let me take a look first"

At this moment, Ren Tianqi let out a loud shout, taking the lead as he jumped out from the crowd holding a wooden stick, and the two groups immediately plunged into a chaotic melee

Gradually, Ren Tianqi confronted Zhu Rouqi. The two exchanged a glare without uttering a word, and then began to fight. Zhu Rouqi, being a skilled fighter, was tall, making it difficult for Ren Tianqi to reach him with the stick in his hand. However, Ren Tianqi was agile, jumping around Zhu Rouqi, who, momentarily dazed, shouted and lunged but could do nothing to him

However, just as Ren Tianqi had gained the upper hand, the youth from the West City could no longer hold on. It was unclear who took the lead, but they began to flee. Upon seeing his subordinates escape, Ren Tianqi realized that if he continued to fight, he would surely come to a disastrous end. Without waiting for Zhu Rouqiang to get back on his feet, he also turned and ran.

Hezhou City is located at the confluence of three rivers, with extensive transportation links, making it a renowned bustling city in Sichuan. The streets are filled with people and horses, and various businesses thrive. Ren Tianqi first visited a gambling house to observe the excitement, but he did not place any bets. Zheng Bao'er has a familiar patron who is a dealer at the gambling house. When Ren Tianqi was young, he often ran errands for him, and when the dealer was in a good mood, he taught him a few superficial gambling tricks that left Tianqi astonished, as if witnessing a magic show. Understanding that nine out of ten bets are rigged, he would never part with his hard-earned silver to give it to the gambling house. However, observing the dealers' sophisticated cheating techniques was indeed beneficial for him. Additionally, seeing those men who lost everything and cried out in frustration also brought great amusement to Tianqi.

Li Yan listened and cursed, "Damn it, boss, we can’t endure this any longer, let’s go now"

Ren Tianqi's slingshot formation consisted of no more than ten people, which naturally could not create a deterrent effect, and they all retreated to fetch tree branches and wooden sticks

Li Yan readily agreed and went, while the tall Yang Minggong hesitated, saying: "Boss, I heard that Zhu Rouqiang is quite formidable in a fight, and this time he has brought quite a few people. Shouldn't we be wise and avoid immediate losses?"

Ren saw the crowd filled with enthusiasm and their morale was quite good. Without further ado, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go." He led a group of people towards the City God Temple.

The youths of Dongcheng were caught off guard, many of them were struck, crying out in a chorus of "Oh no, oh no," as they hurriedly sought refuge, creating a scene as chaotic as a swarm of headless flies

At this moment, the youth from the East City also noticed that the number of people from the West City was far fewer than their own, and immediately their spirits were lifted. They began to shout chaotically, brandishing sticks and charging forward amidst the stones.

Before long, Zhu Rouqiang began to pant heavily, and his movements became somewhat sluggish. Ren Tianqi suddenly feigned a jump to the left, prompting Zhu Rouqiang to lunge forward. However, this jump was merely a ruse; instead, Ren Tianqi leaped to the right, bent down, and swung his stick, striking Zhu Rouqiang squarely on the knees. In agony, Zhu Rouqiang collapsed to the ground in a position reminiscent of a dog eating feces, his nose bruised and swollen, and his front teeth nearly knocked out.

Although Ren Tianqi is young, his maturity surpasses that of his actual age by two or three years. He possesses great courage and exudes a commanding presence, which is why even those ruffians older than him respect him. He then glared and said: "Nonsense, if every time pork comes over, we, as brave men, avoid immediate losses, wouldn’t that make us cowards? Not to mention immediate losses, we would be losing even in trivial matters. Yang Minggong, if you want to be a coward, then don’t come here, lest we embarrass ourselves in front of the people of Xicheng when things get physical."

These two groups of people originally kept to themselves, not interfering with each other. However, ever since Zhu Rouqiang turned sixteen, as the saying goes, a person's ambitions grow with age, and his aspirations became grander. He began to look down on the short and thin Ren Tianqi and sought opportunities to provoke him, aiming to unify the mischievous youth community of Hezhou City. In previous encounters, when he brought his followers over, Ren Tianqi was unable to escape from the unruly youth group in the West City of "Chun Manyuan," and they had to hide. Unexpectedly, today Zhu Rouqiang made another grand appearance, and as the two youths were about to evade, they saw their leader actually enjoying the spectacle here, so they hurried over to greet him.

When Yang Minggong was scolded by him, he hurriedly said, "Who says I am afraid... I am afraid, so what? I'll go, I'll go." Saying this, he ran away.

Zheng Bao'er is indeed quite capable. After a day, Bai Fangfang indeed assigned the task of fetching water in the afternoon to Old Wang, allowing Ren Tianqi to gain an extra hour or two of free time. He then put on the new outfit that Fan Lijuan had made for him, humming a little tune, and walked out of "Chun Manyuan" with his head held high.

Ren Tianqi saw that people had arrived in almost equal numbers, so he picked up a wooden stick and stood on a high place, saying: "Brothers, the pork from the East City has come to our territory with their people. Isn't that looking down on us? What do you say, shall we confront them together?"

The short youth, upon seeing Ren Tianqi, immediately exclaimed: "Boss Ren, the pork stronghold from East City has brought Liu Erwa, Zhang Mazi, and the others to our territory, claiming that from now on, our territory in West City also belongs to him, and everyone must call him 'Boss'"

The pork is strong and robust, and he quickly got back on his feet, covering his nose, shouting and chasing from behind. He watched as the fight turned in his favor; the West City was indeed his territory.

Not long after, under the large locust tree, about one hundred feet away from the city god temple, more than forty youths aged thirteen to eighteen gathered. Some held slingshots, some clutched freshly broken thick branches, and others wielded firewood sticks from home, all displaying youthful innocence.