Chương 5: The Boy Who Can’t Give Up
Yeluo Town near the West border of Central Plain mostly known for its beautiful scenery. Many visitors come here just to enjoy the sunrise from up the hill or the sunset at the lake. It has become a famous destination for people to relieve their stress, whether for people from the Central Plain or their neighbor, the Sun and Moon Kingdom.
One of the biggest kingdoms that share a border with the Central Plain. For years they had maintained good relationship with each other that is why people from both Kingdom can easily travel and trade without much hassle.
This is the first time for little Yang Fei Xia to visit this town. He really pleased with the scenery and food, but meeting his father here is what really makes him happy.
Yang Ge Xin has been sent to a region just South of this town. Few years ago, there is a huge disaster in that region. As usual famine and bandits follow a disaster. The kingdom has obligation to keep their region safe, so they sent an army to rebuild this region.
Yang Ge Xin was the one appointed to lead them more than a year ago. Now he had passed the baton and decide to have a vacation before his next assignment. He asks his family to meet him in his way home to save his precious time.
The only thing that ruin Yang Fei Xia's vacation is the Mayor of this town. He was invited their family to live at his place during their visit here. An invitation that has been refused politely by Yang Ge Xin, but he cannot refuse a visit there at least once.
Yang Fei Xia has been brought along to get introduce, but soon leave the meeting once it gets more serious. A year ago, it was Yang Ge Xin who ask the Mayor personally to accept and treat the refugees better. Now he has to give some face to the Mayor and attends his feast.
Since the city located at the border, there are a lot of Sun and Moon Kingdom's influence here. It can be seen everywhere in the city, from the food, architecture and clothing style. Each of it creating a unique fusion of culture, some even mixed to create a whole new culture can only be seen here.
As the most crowded place in the city, the market surely has the most of those unique cultures. Yang Fei Xia being bored at the inn, had choose to sneak out here. He has been absorbed by this place and wander around this market for hours, only to find something new for every step he takes.
"Filthy thief, hold there! Someone helps me! Catch that little thief!" As Yang Fei Xia enjoying his time, a shout suddenly breaks his daydreaming.
The thief is a kid around same age as him. He also very fast and agile. His chasers are all adults, they have longer feet which means longer steps. But they also have bigger body that make it harder to maneuver, especially at a narrow place that the thief usually takes. Using his knowledge of these unlikely path in the city, the thief able to widen the gap between him and his chasers.
Yang Fei Xia cannot stay still seeing this. His father had taught him about chivalry since he is a baby, he cannot let someone just get away like that after committing a crime. Having wandering around this area for a whole day, he has a hunch about the thief escape route.
The thief indeed managed to escape safely by taking the narrowest alley in the city. Not only narrow this alley also very complicated with many intersections. But a thief will not pick a crowded place as his way out and there is only one way out that will lead this thief to a quiet area behind the market. Yang Fei Xia choose this road and his hunch is correct. He intercepts him just as he run out from the alley.
"Stop right now! You have nowhere to go. Better to hand over yourself, maybe your sentence will get easier."
"Go away kid! Mind your own business." After escaped from a few adults, of course the thief is not going to turn himself just because another kid tells him to.
Yang Fei Xia also does not hope the thief to give up that easily, he tackles him down as soon as he tries to run away. The thief prepared for this and welcome him with his fist, which immediately blocked.
They brawl for a while, but Yang Fei Xia clearly has the upper hand. Chivalry is not the only thing he learnt as a kid, every Yang family are taught about martial arts as soon as they can walk. The thief might learn to fist fight from the street, but against the bigger and more skillful Yang Fei Xia he has no chance at all. Yang Fei Xia considered to be tall and muscular for a kid his age, so of course he is bigger than a thief that live in the street.
"You lose! Why did you steal in the first place?" Yang Fei Xia knocked him down with a clean punch to his jaw.
"Well, I was asking nicely and begging to him. But he did not give me any, so I stole from him."
"You cannot steal just because someone does not want to give you something you want. You have to buy it." Yang Fei Xia just cannot accept the logic behind his answer.
"Ha ha, silly kid. Why would I beg in the first if place if I have money?" The thief mockingly gives a little laugh while answering.
As soon as the thief stands up, he already starts to attack once again. Nothing has change, Yang Fei Xia is far more superior than him. In a flash the thief once again falls to the floor.
"Give up now! You cannot defeat me, it is useless to try."
Yang Fei Xia ready for the next attack when he sees the thief getting up. But this time the thief is not attacking, instead he chooses to run away. Yang Fei Xia startled, but immediately gave a chase and manage to tackled him down once again.
"Yield!" This time Yang Fei Xia got his answers in the form of a brick to his face.
The thief trying to run or fight him back and then knocked down by Yang Fei Xia. This process goes on and on, until both of them panting tiredly. While the thief is beaten up and bleeds all over his body, Yang Fei Xia's fist also starting to hurt and bleed.
"Are you a fool? Why don't you just give up? You cannot win, you really cannot."
Yang Fei Xia keep telling him to yield as he beat him down again and again. He knows he just win. Over and over again. But is this winning? There is no one to announce his victory, nor the loser to admit it. Is he have to kill this kid? He never been this tired his whole life. If this continues will he become the one that cannot get up anymore?
"But, I can't." This is his first words after mocking Yang Fei Xia as a silly kid. He let out mocking laughs while persistently fighting but never said anything in-between.
"Can't what?" Yang Fei Xia hears that word as a new hope, there might be a way to stop this fight.
"I can't give up?" As he answers the thief finally able to land a punch at Yang Fei Xia.
The punch does not hurt at all. With that injury the thief cannot hit hard anymore, but Yang Fei Xia also does not hit as hard as before. Him getting hit shows how much he has been slowing down since the fight first started.
What he has been eating? Why does this kid keep getting up? Anyone else get injured half that bad surely has to look for healer and rest in bed for a long time. Anyone he has known before at least; this town surely is weird. Not only the town, but the people in it.
Yang Fei Xia still get the upper hand and the thief injuries getting worse, but the fight is not looking like it is going to stop soon.
The fight continues until the thief's original chasers finally found them. Yang Fei Xia relieved a little bit as these adults quickly drag the thief away from him. These adults never bothered with him. As soon as they came, they searched the thief up and then beating him when they found nothing on him.
"Where is the stuff you stole? Give it back to us and you may leave with only losing one of your hand!" The one asking the question is surely the boss as he is wearing the nicest clothes out of them.
The thief again let out a mocking laugh, before spits at him and try to run.
"Little brat, you really having a death wish, aren't you? Beat him up! But do not let him die just yet." The other four who looks like his grunts are quickly follow his order.
This time Yang Fei Xia not only confused, he is amazed at the thief. These adults surely stronger than him and hit harder, but still there is no sign of this thief about give up. He is but a kid, how can he endure all this beating?
"Still acting tough eh kid. Cut his fingers off! Let see if he still can smile after that. Little brat you better tell me where is it right away. Otherwise when you die not even your parents can recognize your corpse." He cannot hide his anger and stole a few punches, before rubbing his own hands that was hurt because the punches he threw.
Yang Fei Xia started to gasp when he sees one of the grunts draw a knife from his belt. He never like the thief, but this is against his own conscience. He has to stop them. Before he can act, a shadow moves in extreme speed and knocked down the grunt using the knife.
Yang Fei Xia immediately recognize this shadow.
"Father!" He let out a muffled shout, as he is glad his father has arrived.
"How dare you meddle into our business? Are you looking to die?"
The boss yells angrily and the grunts don't need any order to beat up this intruder. They already attack as soon as their boss starts shouting.
Yang Ge Xin easily deal with them. He twists the hand of his first attacker and kick the other one in his face. The next two come at him received almost the exact same treatment. It was barely a fight, in less than a minute all four are already subdued.
"Hero why do you interfere with us? This kid is a thief. We are just trying to get our stuff back, while giving him a little lesson. So, he won't do any more crime in the future." The boss immediately realizes that this guy is not someone he can mess with, so he changes his tone and attitude upside down.
"I don't care, whether he is a thief or not. Five adults torturing one kid is not something I can tolerate. You are lucky, I do not want to show some violence in front of the kids. Now scram, before I change my mind."
"But..." The boss tries to argue and bargain, but when he sees Yang Ge Xin touch his sword his heart starts to fell. His grunts also run away as soon as they saw it, there is nothing he can do but to follow them.
"Are you alright?" Yang Ge Xin biggest worries surely is his son.
"I am." Instead of sobbing to his father. Yang Fei Xia shows his strong character with this short answer.
"Good, now we have to help this kid. He is dying right there."
Yang Ge Xin does not need to ask about the thief's condition. He is lying at the pool of his own blood. Half dead, half alive.
"But father, it is true he is a thief. Is it alright for us to help a criminal?" All this time Yang Fei Xia told to punish a criminal, never to help them. Sure, he does not agree to the inhuman torture before. But is helping a criminal a right thing to do?
"You are the one who saw everything before. Do you think he is deserved to be saved? I will let you make the decision. But do not make it, because of what people told you. Instead make it by your own conscience."
This thief has made Yang Fei Xia felt helpless for the first time in his life before. He did not know what to do, to make this kid gave up. When the adults came, he became even more lost at what he needs to do. His father was the one that he always relies on, the one who always able to come up with an answer. When his father came he felt relieved, but then his father left him to make the decision. What he needs to do?
He saw that the thief even through his injury, is still try to get up by himself. Never ask them for help even once. What is this kid thinking? Of course, he cannot get up. Without their help he won't even live for long.
"You said you can't you give up before. Why? It is a fight you cannot win. Isn't it easier to just give up?" It is the one question that bugging Yang Fei Xia all this time, before making his decision he has to know the answer.
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