In Haozhao district, Anhui province, there lived a bailiff and a robber, both noted for their exceptional skill with the spear.
The robber had publicly threatened to kill the bailiff should they ever meet.
One day, while strolling outside the city, the bailiff happened upon the robber in the marketplace. Both men, spears in hand, stared each other down, neither daring to strike first. A crowd gathered, encircling them. A stratagem then occurred to the bailiff. He said to the robber, "The county magistrate is here. We are both men of prowess. Do you dare to duel before him?" The robber, who held government soldiers in contempt, agreed without hesitation. Seizing the moment when the robber was distracted, the bailiff struck him down with his spear, thus saving his own life.