# 273. Challenge a Silver Gong
The woman appeared to be in her thirties, with an average figure and plain looks.
Xu Qi’an had seen plenty of beautiful women in the same age range, such as Imperial Concubine Chen, the Empress, or even his own Auntie. In terms of both looks and figure, each one of them could easily outshine this woman.
However, she had a certain boldness, something these noblewomen lacked.
Spoiled... yes, that was the word—spoiled and headstrong.
It was rare to see this kind of temperament in an older woman.
Xu Qi’an understood now but denied it out loud: "What purse?"
"The pale green purse with twenty taels of gold inside." The woman pressed her hands on the table, leaning over Xu Qi’an with gritted teeth. "Give it back."
*Gold—twenty taels of gold?!* Xu Qi’an’s heart skipped a beat, though he maintained a calm exterior, even feigning confusion. "Ma’am, what does your lost purse have to do with me?"
"Ma’am?!" she shrieked.
The woman’s face turned bright red with anger, her ears flushed, and she glared at Xu Qi’an with eyes full of fury.
*What kind of reaction is this? Doesn't she know how old she is?* Xu Qi’an waved dismissively, trying to get rid of her. "I didn’t pick up your purse, now go away."
The woman took a deep breath and turned around, shouting, "Come here!"
At the staircase, a child peeked out, the same one Xu Qi’an had scared off earlier, and the same one who had seen him pick up the purse.
"It was him! He picked up the purse and threatened me!" The child pointed at Xu Qi’an and loudly accused.
The surrounding customers turned their heads to look. Even the seductive woman glanced over with a smile, clearly enjoying the scene.
"Come here, kid." Xu Qi’an beckoned.
The child shook his head, keeping a wary eye on Xu Qi’an.
Xu Qi’an took out a small piece of silver from his pocket, flicked it with his fingers, and the silver rolled over to the child. With a smile, he said, "Say that again. I didn’t quite catch what you said earlier."
The child grinned widely as he picked up the silver, then loudly proclaimed, "I didn’t see anything! I don’t know anything!"
Xu Qi’an burst out laughing, "Go buy yourself some candied hawthorns."
The child happily ran downstairs.
The two Bronze Gongs laughed along with him, casting teasing glances at the plain-looking woman.
The surrounding patrons lost interest in the drama and returned their focus to the fighters on the stage. Even newcomers to the capital knew that Nightwatchers were not to be trifled with. This woman was clearly ignorant of the local power dynamics.
Forget about someone picking up your purse—if a Nightwatcher decided to take you into a private room, and you didn’t have any backing, there’d be nothing you could do about it.
The woman stared at Xu Qi’an for a moment, then suddenly smiled, a smile that carried an unexpected hint of charm.
She calmly sat down, picked up the unused utensils on the table, and began eating as if nothing had happened. She seemed genuinely hungry, eating quickly at first. Once her hunger was satisfied, her eating became more refined.
After drinking a cup of wine, she glanced at Xu Qi’an and sneered, "Hmm, this Sir won’t tie me up and drag me to the constabulary?"
Xu Qi’an replied calmly, "Ma’am, it’s just a few bites of food. No need for that."
This woman must have been hungry. When she couldn’t find her purse, she retraced her steps and ended up here.
*Ma’am...* She gritted her teeth again.
"Hmph, I bet he’s just some privileged brat riding on his elders' achievements. How else could he be a Silver Gong at such a young age?" a young swordsman at the next table whispered bitterly.
The middle-aged woman, hearing this, glanced provocatively at Xu Qi’an.
"Exactly. Anyone who would covet a mere purse from an older woman must not be a good person," another young man muttered.
The woman, expressionless, said, "You’re a Silver Gong after all. Don’t you feel angry when others slander you behind your back?"
*This woman is quite petty...* Xu Qi’an smiled and asked, "What do you think I should do?"
The woman snapped, "Lock them all up in the Nightwatcher’s prison."
The young men overheard her, but they didn’t dare argue and fell silent. In the end, they didn’t want to provoke a Nightwatcher.
"That would be excessive. They’re just gossiping a little." Xu Qi’an added, "Besides, they look pretty poor. One could hardly squeeze a few taels of silver out of them."
The young men were furious but dared not speak.
The woman stopped paying attention to Xu Qi’an. She sipped her wine and ate her food in small bites, clearly enjoying the battle unfolding on the stage.
Xu Qi’an didn’t chase her away because he found her far more interesting than she appeared.
To be clear, her appearance was indeed ordinary—no alluring curves, no stunning beauty.
However, her status was likely not as ordinary. Regular people didn’t carry so much silver on them. Twenty taels of silver was roughly equivalent to a year's savings for a common family.
If it was gold, even a small amount would be a fortune beyond imagination.
As for this middle-aged woman, she wore simple clothes, her hair neatly tied with a wooden hairpin. To put it in modern terms, she was dressed like a bargain hunter from a street market, nothing costing more than a hundred yuan.
Yet this ordinary woman didn’t seem overly upset about losing such a large sum of money. Instead, she was more angry at the dishonesty of the Nightwatcher than at the loss itself.
Is that the demeanor of a commoner?
Twenty taels of silver—if it were Xu Qi’an, he’d be fighting tooth and nail with anyone who dared take his money.
And if it were twenty taels of gold, well, Jack Ma himself would be calling the police.
"This Sir, may I have the honour of sharing a drink with you?"
At that moment, the seductive woman holding a cup of wine swayed her hips as she approached with a sultry smile.
Xu Qi’an noticed for the first time that she was wearing a tight-fitting dress, with a ribbon highlighting her slim waist. That figure... impressive...
He instinctively glanced at the plain woman beside him. She was dressed much more conservatively, wearing thick, modest clothing. And given her age, it was unlikely her figure would be anything worth noting.
"Of course."
Xu Qi’an quickly gestured for her to sit, but there was a problem—there were only four seats, all occupied. The woman with the seductive almond-shaped eyes looked around, unwilling to take a seat.
Not daring to offend the two Bronze Gongs, she turned her soft gaze toward the plain woman, laughing lightly, "Madam..."
The plain woman snapped her head around, her gaze sharp and aggressive. After sizing up the alluring woman, she let out a disdainful "hmph" and turned back to watching the fight.
*What was that look? The way she just looked at me was full of disdain...* The seductive woman narrowed her eyes. This was the first time another woman had looked at her that way.
Wherever she went, men’s gazes followed her.
Every move she made was filled with allure in the eyes of men, enchanting them and capturing their hearts.
Women envied her, hated her, and gossiped about her behind her back.
But this older woman had just looked at her with open disdain.
Xu Qi'an glanced at the Bronze Gong on his left. The Bronze Gong was quite perceptive, immediately grabbing his sabre and respectfully saying, "Sir, your subordinate will now patrol the streets."
Xu Qi'an nodded with a smile and gestured courteously, "Miss Heroine, please have a seat."
The alluring woman smiled charmingly and gracefully sat down, pressing her dress down as she did.
She had been observing Xu Qi'an for a long time. This man was an interesting prey: handsome, with finely sculpted features, eyes that sparkled like stars, and a sharp, resolute gaze.
His tall nose and thick, dark sword-like eyebrows complemented his chiseled, masculine face, exuding a strong sense of masculinity.
What intrigued her even more was his status as a Silver Gong. To have reached such a position at a young age, he was either extraordinarily talented or had influential family connections.
Either way, he was worth getting close to.
"I haven't had the pleasure of knowing Sir's name," she said.
"Xu Qi'an... And your name, Miss?" Xu Qi'an responded.
"Rongrong."
Miss Rongrong, huh? Do you have a title, by chance...? Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "A lovely name, like that of a celestial beauty, befitting such a heavenly person."
Miss Rongrong giggled, covering her mouth and added, "I also have another title — people call me 'Soul-Stealing Hand.'"
Xu Qi'an put down his wine cup and sized up Miss Rongrong. She didn't mind his brazen gaze; on the contrary, she straightened her chest.
"I've heard much about you."
Xu Qi'an thought to himself, *Am I really so lucky today? Just this morning, my second uncle told me about the four most beautiful lady heroes in the capital, and by noon, I've already run into one.*
"Ahem!"
He set down his wine cup and introduced himself, "So it's the famous 'Soul-Stealing Hand' Miss Rongrong. Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Xu Qi'an, and my uncle serves in the Imperial Yudao Guard."
Upon hearing this, Miss Rongrong felt a little disappointed.
While the Yudao Guard was one of the five guard garrisons in the capital, the level of power an office held was determined by its rank, and the Yudao Guard was not a particularly prominent post.
But Xu Qi'an's next words changed her perspective.
“My uncle once served under Duke Wei and earned numerous merits during the Battle of Shanhai Pass. It’s due to that connection that I managed to secure a minor official position in the Nightwatchers.
"King Yu is also my father's close friend. My father, the Earl, passed away early, and we didn’t manage to secure a hereditary peerage. So now, I'm just a small Viscount."
*Uncle was a trusted confidant of Duke Wei, father was a close friend of King Yu, and Xu Qi'an himself was both a Silver Gong and a Viscount...* Miss Rongrong was taken aback and stared at Xu Qi'an without blinking her beautiful eyes.
She had heard stories about the many nobles in the capital, where you could casually bump into someone and find out they held an official title.
But how many officials could compare to Duke Wei in power? How many titles could be more prestigious than that of King Yu?
In an instant, Miss Rongrong became even more enthusiastic.
In his past life, Xu Qi'an had spent a lot of time in nightclubs for work purposes and had grown skilled at dealing with women like this. He wasn’t interested in her body; he simply enjoyed the familiar feeling of the game.
Occasionally throwing in a suggestive remark or teasing her a little, this so-called Miss Rongrong, with the title "Soul-Stealing Hand," didn't seem to mind.
If she had been a proper lady, she would have already blushed and spat at him, saying, Shameless rogue!
If she were a little more fiery, a 24k titanium alloy slap would have landed on his face by now.
At that moment, Rongrong turned her gaze to the arena, asking a question that was half inquisitive, half testing him: "What does Sir Xu think? Who will win?"
"Obviously, the young swordsman will win," Xu Qi'an replied without hesitation.
"Even a fool can see that," the older lady huffed, inserting herself into the conversation.
The young swordsman had been dominating the axe-wielding man from the start, his swordplay refined and precise, eliciting cheers from the onlookers from time to time.
"Before reaching the Refining Qi stage, physical strength determines superiority. The axe-wielding man is clearly stronger and more physically imposing than the young swordsman. So why is he losing? The swordsman's techniques are merely for show," Xu Qi'an explained.
The older lady didn't respond, but she was clearly paying close attention.
"My guess is that he's an actor," Xu Qi'an revealed the truth.
"An actor?"
Miss Rongrong hadn’t heard that term before.
"It means he's just putting on a performance," Xu Qi'an clarified.
Rongrong suddenly understood and admired him, saying, "I see. Sir Xu has sharp eyes indeed."
She deliberately displayed a look of admiration in her gaze.
*She's quite the seasoned player...* Xu Qi'an thought, but he didn’t expose her. Instead, he grinned smugly in return.
Miss Rongrong was skilled, keeping her true strength hidden, definitely not someone to be underestimated. She had likely seen through the charade on the stage long ago. Only the middle-aged lady still hadn’t figured it out and remained doubtful about Xu Qi'an’s words.
At that moment, the young swordsman on stage parried the man's axe with his sword, then kicked him squarely in the chest. The man’s axe flew out of his hands and off the stage.
After that, no one else came forward to compete for quite some time.
"I'm full. Give me back my purse," the old lady reluctantly tore her gaze away from the stage and glared at Xu Qi'an.
Xu Qi'an pretended not to hear. She didn’t push the matter, instead staring at him for a long time before silently getting up and heading downstairs.
"She’s got quite the figure," the remaining Bronze Gong commented wistfully.
After speaking, he realized both Xu Qi'an and Miss Rongrong were looking at him with disdain.
"Were you deprived of maternal affection as a child or something?"
Xu Qi'an patted the young Bronze Gong on the shoulder, then reached into his robe and pulled out a light green purse. He opened it to reveal several bright golden ingots.
"Wow, it really is gold!" The Bronze Gong's eyes widened with joy. "Sir, we've struck it rich!"
Xu Qi'an tied up the purse’s tassel and said, "Forget about ill-gotten gains like this."
With a light toss, he threw the purse out of the window.
Immediately after, a woman’s scream came from below. The purse had squarely on the middle-aged woman’s toes. She squatted down, her skirt spreading out, tears welling in her eyes as she looked up at the second floor, gnashing her teeth in anger.
"Ma’am, you'd better go home," Xu Qi'an kindly advised.
The old lady bit her lip, picked up the purse, and limped away.
…
Xu Qi'an continued his verbal sparring with Miss Rongrong. Both were trying to reel each other into their respective "ponds." Women like her, who flirted shamelessly and cultivated admirers, were ancient equivalents of modern-day "green tea"s.
Xu Qi'an hadn’t encountered a "green tea" woman in a long time and was thoroughly enjoying the exchange.
About a quarter of an hour later, a furious roar erupted from the direction of the arena: "Xu Qi'an, get down here, you coward!"
"???"
Xu Qi'an looked out in confusion and saw a burly man dressed in coarse cloth standing on the stage. The man was eight feet tall, with a bushy beard and eyes like bronze bells.
Standing proudly on the stage, he exuded a powerful aura.
Even the onlookers could sense that this man's presence was entirely different from the other fighters.
Xu Qi'an was bewildered. *Who the hell are you?*
"Does Sir Xu know him?" Miss Rongrong asked, her red lips pursing slightly in worry as she eyed the man.
Xu Qi'an shook his head. "No idea."
"Then just ignore him," Miss Rongrong said softly. "That man's body gleams with a divine glow — he’s an expert in the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones realm... Sir Xu surely wouldn’t be afraid of him, but with so many commoners around, a fight might harm the innocent."
Her words were tactful, allowing Xu Qi'an to save face. But Miss Rongrong knew full well that ten Xu Qi'ans wouldn’t be able to take on this master.
After all, Xu Qi'an had secured his Silver Gong title due to his family background.
"Nightwatcher Silver Gong Xu Qi'an, get out here and kneel to apologize, or your old man will crush your balls today!" The man roared.
The crowd immediately erupted in shock and excitement.
So Xu Qi'an was a Nightwatcher — and a Silver Gong at that? Finally, so many days after the Heroic Platforms’ construction, someone was challenging the pigs!
The young heroes at nearby tables were stunned, then quickly turned to look at Xu Qi'an.
Their expressions were almost identical: gloating delight.
"Come out and call me Daddy! Kowtow and apologize, or I’ll shout every day until you do. Nightwatcher Silver Gong Xu Qi'an, your father is calling — son, get out here!"
The man’s loud, booming voice echoed throughout the area, drawing even more people from nearby taverns and teahouses to witness the spectacle.
…