"Hmmm, Gak Liu, the bravest and most skilled of the late Gak Hui's sons. Even when his father was imprisoned, he and his friends dared to storm the jail and almost freed his father. Only Gak Hui refused to be freed. Now he leads the rebels to cause chaos at the border? How disgraceful!" said the Prime Minister.
At that moment, a young man about twenty-five years old appeared, handsome and richly dressed. This was Jin Kiat, the Prime Minister's son. Jin Kui, an arrogant young man, had studied high-level martial arts as well as literature.
"Aha, so it's Uncle Hak who's come!" He exclaimed, paying respect which was returned by the dark giant, "No wonder it's so quiet here without the sound of music, it turns out my father is hosting an esteemed guest."
"Jin Kiat, sit down, we are discussing a very important matter. Hak sicu was sent by Wu-ciangkun to deliver important news about the rebels."
"What's happening again, father?"
"A troop of fighters is causing trouble at the border, and the troop is led by Gak Liu, the daughter of the late General Gak Hui."
"Hmm, is it her? The one who stormed the jail before?" Jin Kiat then sat down to listen to the conversation.
"So, what does Wu-ciangkun want?" asked Jin Kui.
"Wu-ciangkun asks for taijin's help to catch Gak Liu and punish her, taijin," said the dark giant.
"Hmmm, then I will report to the emperor, I will tell him that Gak Liu is rebelling and leading the rebel forces. After that, she will become a fugitive, and we can capture her whole family, both close and distant relatives, then the cleanup will certainly lure Gak Liu out."
"I will lead the cleanup, father! All the Gak family have already fled somewhere since the death of Gak Hui, and I think there is no one in the capital city who is she Gak. Even the Gak people are afraid and have run away. However, if investigated, there must still be distant relatives from her mother's side who are not she Gak. I will investigate, father."
"Good, if you are the one leading the cleanup, it will certainly succeed. But I will ask for your help, Hak-sicu, to assist Jin Kiat because who knows, among the family of the late Gak Hui there may be skilled people who will certainly trouble my son."
"Of course, I am always ready to help, tai-jin."
"Good, then stay here until I report to the Emperor. Because after reporting I can ask for authorization to arrest all the Gak family here. After some are caught, we can force them to reveal where we can find Gak Liu, the rebel."
So, they continued to eat and drink merrily until late at night and Hak Bu Cu stayed in the big house as an honored guest. Jin Kiat did not waste this opportunity to ask for guidance on martial arts from his guest, and while waiting for his father to make a report, he learned several moves of martial arts from the skillful dark giant.
The next day, in the meeting, Prime Minister Jin Kui reported to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I heard disturbing news that there is a rebel force causing chaos at the border, igniting battles with the Kin army. This action is very dangerous because at any moment they can turn and attack our own forces. And the one leading the force is the son of the rebel Gak Hui named Gak Liu."
Of course, the Emperor was very angry! hearing this report. "What? The rebel's son dares to cause chaos? Capture him!" he barked.
"I will carry out that order, Your Majesty. I request Your Majesty to issue an arrest warrant not only for Gak Liu, but for the entire rebel's family so that I can annihilate them completely!"
The Emperor then made the order and with the arrest warrant in hand, Jin Kui joyfully returned to his mansion.
"Well, with this arrest warrant, you can arrest anyone without fear anymore, Jin Kiat," said his proud father.
Meanwhile, Jin Kiat did not stay idle and he had already sent his men to investigate who still counted as relatives of the Gak. He heard that there was a wealthy man in the capital city named An Kiong. An Kiong was reportedly a relative of the Gak, and still counted as an uncle to Gak Liu from his mother's side. And still a distant relative of his mother.
"Ha-ha, I know who I have to catch first, father. His name is An Kiong and he is a famous wealthy man in the capital city. Come, Uncle Hak, let's prepare troops to start making arrests."
The young man, carrying the arrest warrant, then invited his guest to prepare a dozen selected soldiers taken from the security forces. With Hak Bu Cu by his side, a dozen soldiers were more than enough. The soldiers were just for intimidation, because if Hak Bu Cu helped him, without soldiers, he would dare to arrest anyone. After the troops were ready, Jin Kiat, in his luxurious general's attire, accompanied by Hak Bu Cu, proudly left his father's mansion towards the victim's house.
0odwo0
Since early morning, many people were lining up in front of An-wangwi's house (Wealthy An). Almost every day, Wealthy An distributed rice and sometimes money to the poor. At that time, as a result of the war, many poor people were neglected.
Therefore, every time Wealthy An distributed rice or wheat, many people lined up for a share. Both those dressed like beggars or ordinary people, many were in line.
Wealthy An Kiong was very famous in the capital city as a generous man. His hand was loose and open to help anyone who needed help.
That morning, while the crowd was lining up and receiving distribution of rice, five kati each, suddenly there was a commotion. A tall, big man in line, pushed forward demanding to be prioritized. Yet, he came late. The man was still young, about thirty years old and his attitude was very rude. He just pushed the people in line in front of him, not caring whether the pushed were women, old men or children and he demanded the rice distributor to fill his bag with rice.
The distributor saw the man and recognized him as someone who got his share in the morning, "Eh, didn't you just get five kati this morning?"
"That was earlier. But I got in line again and each person in line should get five kati," he insisted.
"Hm, whose rule is that?"
"My rule!" said the tall man glaring angrily. "Hurry up and give me my share, or should I take it myself?"
"Hey, are you asking or robbing?" the rice distributor shouted.
"If I were to rob, what would you do?" the tall man replied. A fight ensued, but the five officers were no match for the tall man who beat and kicked them until they fell down.
Suddenly, a beautiful woman and a cute younger girl appeared at the place. The girl was about nineteen years old, her face was very sweet and she looked at the man with furrowed brows. This girl was none other than Siang Hwi, a disciple of Ban-tok Sian li who was also present at the scene.
The teacher and disciple were in the capital city, they had just arrived and they were very interested to see the crowded people, so they approached and saw that the crowd was people receiving rice from a generous wealthy man. They were greatly impressed by the wealthy man. At that time, there were few wealthy men who were so generous, distributing rice to the poor and anyone who needed it.
An Kiong who was quickly informed came out. He politely greeted the tall man who had just beaten up his men. "Friend, please don't be angry. If you want rice, let me get it for you."
"Good, that's better. Now, fill this bag until it's full!" he ordered.
An Kiong furrowed his brows. "Friend, usually we give five kati to each person. If you ask for more, we are afraid that our supplies might run out."
"I don't care. Your people were rude to me. This bag must be filled or I will take it myself!"
"You despicable thief!!"
0odwo0
The man turned to see who dared to call him a despicable thief. And he was stunned to see that the one who insulted him was a very beautiful teenage girl. He then stepped forward to approach.
"What did you say, miss?" "I said you are a despicable thief, the most shameless and lowest person in this world!" the girl insulted again, this time even more harshly.
"Hey, watch your mouth!" the man shouted. "You insulted me, now quickly give me a kiss or if you refuse, I will rip your mouth as punishment!" the man approached even closer and tried to grab her.
Glossary
- Gak Liu: The most skilled and bravest son of the late Gak Hui, currently leading a rebellion.
- Gak Hui: The late leader of a rebellion, father of Gak Liu.
- Jin Kiat: The arrogant and skilled son of the Prime Minister.
- Hak sicu: A martial arts master and close ally to the Prime Minister.
- Wu-ciangkun: An influential figure mentioned as the one sending Hak sicu to Jin Kui.
- An Kiong: A wealthy man in the capital city, rumored to be a relative of the Gak family.
- Ban-tok Sian li: The martial arts master of Siang Hwi.
- Siang Hwi: A disciple of Ban-tok Sian li who was present at the scene.