The big black man clearly showed that the newcomer was not good, but Zhao Dahai didn't mind at all. With a smile, he said to his partner: "Little Li, you first give this gentleman a massage, I still need to soak for a while."

  The fellow's pale face turned red, and he lowered his head to say something to Zhao Dahan. The corners of Zhao Dahan's mouth also curled up into a smile as he said to the big black man: "Sir, if you want to vent your anger, you should go to the Eight Great Alleys or find a brothel or a courtesan to follow your heart's desire. What are you doing causing trouble in this small bathhouse?"

  The big black man suddenly became furious: "You little brat, where are you from? You also dare to challenge me?"

  Zhao Dahai sneered: "Shut up, you don't know the height of heaven and earth. When your grandpa Zhao was making a name for himself at Tianqiao, you were still playing with mud in some corner."

  Chen Zikun was confused by their conversation and whispered to Xiao Shunzi, "What's going on? What does this guy want?"

  Xiao Shunzi sneered: "Eight out of ten, he's taken a liking to Little Li's massage skills and wants to take advantage of it."

  Chen Zikun took a closer look at the young man, whose lips were red and teeth white, with delicate features and slender limbs, smooth skin, and was indeed a beautiful young man. However, no matter how handsome he was, he was still a man after all. The taste of that big black guy was really disgusting.

  It seemed as if Xiao Shunzi had guessed what was on his mind, and he explained in a low voice: "As the saying goes, three flat ones are not as good as one round one. The year of the ass is just around the corner, I reckon this guy has been bothering Little Li for some time now, but hasn't been able to get started."

  "Oh? You know him too?" Chen Zikong said.

  "Who doesn't know Xiao Liyanqing of Huaqing Pool?" said Xiaoshunzi.

  "What's with Little Li Yanqing? Who is Li Yanqing anyway?" Chen Zikong was about to ask again, but the other side had already drawn their swords. In the bathhouse, they were all bare-chested and it was clear who was stronger or weaker at a glance. The big black man was indeed large in stature, but he was all flabby, and compared to Zhao Dahan, who was all muscle, he looked clumsy. Moreover, there were three young men following him, and except for Xiao Shunzi being a bit thin, Chen Zikong and Xue Baoqing were both sturdy and strong like oxen.

  "Kid, show some guts and don't run away." The big black man was a good fellow who didn't take advantage of the situation, so he just dropped this sentence and left.

  "Grandpa won't leave, eat and drink enough, waiting for you!" Zhao Dahi said loudly.

  Xiao Shunzi got excited: "There's a good show to watch, dare to challenge Da Hai Ge, I think he's blind."

  Bao Qing was somewhat fearful: "What if he calls someone over?"

  Zhao Dahai heard this and clenched his two big fists, making a cracking sound: "It's great to have someone to call on, the more the better. My pair of fists haven't been used in half a year, today I'll have some fun too."

  Soaking in a hot bath, feeling comfortable all over, Little Li helped Zhao Dahan massage his shoulders and back again. Chen Zikun saw that Dahan had many scars on his body and secretly admired him. It seems that Brother Dahan was also a top-notch fighter back then.

  The wine and dishes from the restaurant across the street arrived, and the four of them sat up naked to drink and eat. Two cents could buy a catty of lotus root, and both dishes were thick soup. After finishing eating and drinking, they poured the leftover soup into the flour bowl, each person had half a catty of noodles, which went down their throats with a gurgling sound. Lying on the bed, they let out contented belches, holding tea pots and sipping the remaining liquid, waiting for the big black man to bring reinforcements to fight.

  Zhao Dahai didn't take the fight to heart, and lay on the bed snoring loudly. Baoqing was a bit restless, wanting to leave but not daring to do so. Xiao Shunzi, on the other hand, was delighted by the commotion, lying on the bed munching on a big radish from the bathhouse. Chen Zikong still didn't understand what had just happened and continued to ask: "What kind of person is Li Yanqing anyway?"

  "Li Yanqing, you don't know, do you? Cao Kun's right-hand man, the Grand Manager of Zhili, is said to have been a foot masseur. And Li Xiaozi is still his nephew! Just look at him, born with such good looks, who knows when some high-ranking official will take a liking to him and he'll make it big." Little Shunzi was speaking animatedly, but didn't notice Chen Zikun's expression, which looked like he had swallowed a fly.

  Men should rely on their appearance to succeed, it's even more disgusting than eating soft rice. Chen Zikun couldn't help but take another look at Little Li, and indeed, if this kid were to put on makeup, he'd be even more feminine than a woman.

  After waiting for an hour, the big black man still hadn't arrived, and Zhao Dahai had already dozed off.

  "That kid chickened out and didn't dare come, let's go stroll on Tianqiao Bridge." Da Hai Ge stretched his waist, Bao Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief, but Xiao Shun Zi was still unsatisfied, not having seen Da Hai Ge show off his strength by beating someone up, it was quite regrettable.

  When the bill came, Zhao Dahan took out a silver dollar and threw it on the counter. The younger brothers were very aware of not arguing with him about paying the bill. With an older brother around, what reason did they have to pay?

  Taking a bath and eating cost a total of 50 cents, with some change left over. The shopkeeper voluntarily gave them the change. Seeing that they were going to stroll along Tianqiao, he found a large pile of copper coins for them. Zhao Dahan put the small change in his pocket and took three younger brothers away with him.

  As he stepped out, Zhao Dahai habitually took out the silver-cased railway pocket watch to check the time. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Tianqiao was at its busiest hour, filled with the sounds of people and vendors, and crowds of people gathered everywhere.

  Four brothers huddled together, listening to the crosstalk and drumming. Suddenly, a shout came from the crowd: "Uncle Dahai!" Zhao Dahai turned his head and saw a young man squeezing through the crowd, wearing a military uniform with a copper badge on his collar with the word "Traffic" engraved on it.

  "Little Yong is you!" Zhao Dahai's eyebrows opened with a smile, holding the boy's hand and sizing him up and down, "Haven't seen you for years, grown so tall."

  He turned to his fellow brothers and said: "This is the son of my colleague, Zhao Jia-yong. In our early years, we lived together on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway construction site. From now on, let's all get closer."

  Then asked Zhao Jiayong: "When did you join the army and eat rations, where did you work?"

  Zhao Jiayong said: "My father dislikes me for not having a special skill, so he asked his friend in the Ministry of Transportation to send me to the Road Protection Army to eat food. Now I am serving as a duty soldier under Zhang Paichang at Qianmen Station."

  As he spoke, he saw Chen Zikun and his eyes lit up: "Aren't you that old customer from outside the pass, the one who's particularly skilled at playing with guns?"

  Chen Zikun smiled: "Just messing around."

  Everyone didn't take it seriously, people living outside the pass, there were many who were both merchants and bandits, Chen Zikun was such a handy young man, if he wasn't playing with knives and guns that would be strange.

  Zhao Dahi laughed and said: "You know each other? That's great! Come play with us!"

  "Not far away, a loud shout from the crowd: "Look inside, look inside, the big girl is taking a bath!" Xiao Shunzi's eyes slanted over, his throat made a strange noise, and everyone looked at him with disdain. In another direction, gongs and drums were ringing out, someone shouted in excitement, and the crowd surrounded them layer by layer. Zhao Dahan's eyes lit up: "Let's go take a look!"

  Five people went forward to watch, and saw a robust girl in the crowd doing flips, her waistband was tightly tied, ***not overflowing with one grasp, but her chest was undulating, her pretty face was full of vigor, she flipped all the way through, landed steadily, her face not red, her heart not racing, she bowed to all sides: "Gentlemen, I've made a fool of myself!" Her voice was clear and melodious like an oriole.

  A burst of applause erupted, and the girl temporarily retreated to rest. The middle-aged man with the gong came out, holding a treasured sword to perform his stunt of swallowing the treasure sword. After some opening remarks, the old man raised the cold, glittering sword, looked up at the sky, and slowly swallowed it down. He was clearly exerting himself, and it was very difficult for him. The onlookers were also sweating with anxiety, fearing that if he wasn't careful, the tip of the sword would emerge from the old man's back.

  After a few minutes, the treasured sword was finally swallowed, leaving only the hilt and a small section of the blade outside. The man remained lying on his back, maintaining an upright posture. The girl tapped out a rhythm on her drum and brought out a copper gong, saying: "Gentlemen, those with money can make a monetary offering, while those without can offer their bodies."

  Copper coins poured in like raindrops, hitting the copper gong with a loud clang. Zhao Dahai also threw in a large one. As someone who had mixed with the crowd on Tianqiao Bridge for a long time, he could see through the tricks inside, but it wasn't easy for those who traveled the world selling their art, and it wasn't worth breaking the rice bowl of others to expose them.

  The girl did not rush to pick up the money on the ground, cupped her hands in thanks, and the man slowly pulled out the treasure sword from his throat bit by bit, finally pulling it all out, and the audience cheered again.

  Chen Zikong was quite puzzled in his heart. Such a long and sharp treasure sword, how could it be inserted from the throat to the abdomen? Is this old man's throat made of iron? It shouldn't be, he was young and straightforward, took out the dagger hidden in his arms and raised it high: "Try swallowing this, grandpas?"

  That man took a closer look and knew that the troublemaker had arrived, so he hurriedly clasped his fists and said: "This gentleman, we two brothers have just arrived at this precious place and haven't had time to pay our respects yet, please forgive us."

  He said this in a low and humble tone, Chen Zikun felt somewhat embarrassed, but the onlookers were stirred up, shouting and urging the performer to swallow the dagger that Chen Zikun had taken out.

  That's a real bayonet for the golden hook rifle, it's more than 1.5 feet long, with a very sharp steel mouth, and can cut down small saplings with one knife. If you really stick it in your throat, you won't need to worry about your life anymore. The man couldn't get out of the situation, he just kept apologizing, while the onlookers started booing.

  "Are you playing tricks or performing magic?"

  "You think your kung fu is good enough to come to Tianqiao?"

  "What's going on here? Let's learn from the teacher's wife instead."

  "Go back and practice for a few more years, then come back and show off your skills."

  The man's face turned red and his ears were burning, he was so ashamed that he didn't know where to put himself. The girl's pretty face turned cold, her eyes staring fiercely at Chen Zikun, as if she wanted to swallow him whole.

  Suddenly a loud voice shouted: "You little rascals, so you're here! I've been looking for you guys for half a day!"

  Turning back to look, it was actually that big black man from the bathhouse, and behind him were more than a dozen hoodlums.