Chapter 47 Roar

"You little punk, not even dry behind the ears, and you dare run your mouth off here! Today, I'll carve out that tongue of yours and teach you a lesson you won't forget..."

Before long, two burly men emerged from the front of the stable nearby. Just as they happened to see Li Po appraising the horses, they drew closer to listen, only to be consumed by rage.

Li Po hadn't paid them any mind initially, merely wishing to display a bit of skill before the old man to make his upcoming days somewhat easier, never expecting to provoke anyone.

Turning his head for a look, damned if it wasn't a case of enemies crossing paths. The memory of the whipping he took a few days ago was still fresh, and he had run right into them upon entering the commandery office.

Clearly, the man failed to recognize the insignificant refugee who had startled his horse that day, but his swaggering and clawing demeanor remained entirely unchanged.

Li Po took two steps back, pressing close to the old man. Though he looked terrified, he cursed inwardly: *Damn it, you've really got a habit of bullying people, don't you? If you dare throw your weight around again, I'll slaughter you afterward.*

He had half-hoped the old man might block them, but the old man's ferocious display far exceeded Li Po's expectations.

The man rolled up his sleeves, likely accustomed to speaking with a whip in hand. He clutched a leather lash, intending to march over and thrash Li Po, ignoring his companion's frantic attempts to hold him back.

Before anyone else could react, however, the old man leaped forward and delivered a resounding slap across the man's face—*crack*, crisp and clear. Seizing the fellow by the collar, the old man rained blow after blow upon his cheeks.

Stunned by the initial strike, the man's face twisted in rage as he swung a heavy punch.

Yet the old man parried and shoved, effortlessly dodging the blow while landing continuous slaps that drove the fellow backward.

His companion stood off to the side, flailing his arms in a panic, utterly too cowardly to step between them and break up the fight.

"Grandpa, hit him harder! Beat him up!"

The young lad, who had been weeping just moments before, was now jubilant. He jumped up and down, cheering the old man on without a care for the scale of the trouble. As it turned out, the old man and this youngster were actually father and son.

That was something Li Po truly hadn't managed to guess.

The man roared continuously until his voice cracked into a jagged pitch.

A moment later, seeing stars, he finally collapsed to the ground. The old man, seemingly unsatisfied, proceeded to stamp and kick him repeatedly until the fellow rolled around in the dirt, before finally stopping to catch his breath.

***

Li Po and Li Chun looked at each other in dismay, neither uttering a word as they played the roles of innocent bystanders enjoying a spectacle.

Even so, Li Po could tell that the old man possessed a certain mastery in hand-to-hand combat. At its core were the standard wrestling and close-quarters grappling techniques of the Great Sui military: once he latched onto you and kept you from hitting the ground, you could forget about escaping.

When the old man finally stopped, the man's companion hurriedly rushed forward to haul him up. Turning around and catching sight of the old man's glare, a smile instantly plastered itself across his face.

Before he could speak, however, the bruised and battered fellow with blood gushing from his nose pointed and cursed, "You old bastard..."

His companion was startled out of his wits and clamped a hand over the man's mouth, cursing his own bad luck inside. This fellow was truly impossible to manage; one wrong word and he immediately stirred up disaster.

In this Mayi Commandery, there was no shortage of vicious and overbearing tyrants, and with this fellow's attitude, he looked destined for an early grave.

Still, being addressed as an "old bastard" reignited the old man's fading fury. Originally, he had merely been annoyed by the fellow parading his arrogance on his turf, and a light lesson would have sufficed.

At this point, however, his anger was genuine. Ranging about with his eyes, he muttered viciously, "Fine, fine! Tough men come from Guanzhong, yet today someone actually wants to play the hero on my grounds! Just you wait, just you wait..."

With that, he turned back, picked up the whip the man had dropped, and thrashed both of them indiscriminately, raining blows down without rhyme or reason.

Hearing the insult "old bastard," the young lad's brows shot up. With a swift dart, he bolted away, returning shortly thereafter with a long saber tucked into his belt.

Releasing the spring catch, he drew the blade with a smooth motion and stepped forward to pull the old man back. "Father, save your strength. Watch me slaughter this punk to clear your anger."

*Good grief, this is escalating into a murder scene!* Li Po stood dumbfounded, instantly forming a completely new impression of this distinctly un-father-and-son-like pair.

"Elder Yuan, spare our lives! Elder Yuan, spare our lives! It was all our fault. This is the brother-in-law of Merit Officer Li; he only arrived a few days ago, hasn't met you yet, and doesn't know any better. Please forgive him, please show mercy!"

The old man delivered two more lashes before halting. Turning his head to see the young lad baring his teeth and brandishing a saber nearby, a fresh wave of irritation flared within him.

With a swift kick, he sent the youngster flying to the side. "Useless wretch! You don't bother to learn the family arts, only knowing how to play with a blade! How did I ever father such a little beast..."

Clearly, the old man was a hedgehog through and through, pricking anyone he laid eyes on.

With that, he flung the whip down onto the two figures crumpled on the ground and resumed roaring, "Go back and tell Li Four not to bring any more horses to my stables, dammit! With that good-for-nothing around, even the finest horse gets ruined... How on earth did Li Yaowang produce a son like that? Each generation really is worse than the last, dammit!"

***

"Piss off at once! Or do you expect me to invite you in for a cup of horse piss?"

The two burly men scrambled away, half-supporting one another. As they fled, one muttered complaints that the other hadn't warned him such an old monster resided within the estate, while the other cursed inwardly, *I told you plenty of times, but you had to actually listen! Now you're turning around to blame others—have you no shame at all?*

The old man's roars echoed in all directions, radiating an imposing majesty.

Now, however, chest heaving with heavy breaths, he paced back and forth twice under the watchful eyes of the group.

Once his breathing evened out, he cast a sideways glance at Li Po. "First day here, and not only are you late, but you brought a female doll along with you. Useless, humph..."

He was already back to finding fault.

Having witnessed the old fellow's formidable presence, Li Po, though unafraid, proceeded with a degree of caution. "This is my brother, you..."

The old man immediately curled his lip and turned to leave. "I've appraised horses my whole life; in my old age, could I possibly fail to tell males from females? Reeking of a woman's scent, trailing her around, not even afraid of taboos..."

"Little beast, what are you standing around for? Assign them quarters and put them to work! There's plenty to be done—are you blind, or what?"

It was only after the old man had walked away that the youngster sauntered over, puffing out his chest with an air of grand importance under their gaze. "Since you've just arrived, you'll both take orders from me..."

Dealing with the fire-breathing old man required a slow and steady approach, but Li Po had plenty of ways to handle this hothead. He immediately smiled and asked, "What should I call you, little brother?"