Chapter 43: Abused

Last time, Xiaowen held a blade against my neck, and that was when I truly sensed a murderous aura.

This time, simply seeing him walk toward me gave me the chilling sensation of biting winter wind sweeping across my face.

Wang Chuyi immediately grabbed a table leg and stepped in front of me and Chen Jianjun, saying, "Brother Cheng, take Brother Jianjun and go! I'll hold the line."

Brother Cai cursed angrily, "Wang Chuyi, you're done for! You must be out of your mind!"

Wang Chuyi ignored him, spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground, and raised his club in defense. At that moment, the man in the suit sprang into action. Wang Chuyi let out a roar and swung his club downward. In the blink of an eye, none of us could clearly see what the man in the suit had done. Perhaps he merely sidestepped slightly to evade the desperate blow, and then delivered a horizontal punch straight to Wang Chuyi's chest. Wang Chuyi was sent flying through the air for several meters. His eyes turned completely bloodshot, his face swelled to the color of a pig's liver, and he immediately turned around and vomited.

"Ah Cheng, we've hit a snag. I heard Brother Cai say earlier that this guy is the boss's bodyguard, named Chengyi or something. He's a trained martial artist," Chen Jianjun stammered.

"Let's fight to the death!" I said.

Just as I was about to charge forward, Chen Jianjun shoved me aside, picked up a brick from the ground, and hurled it at the man named Chengyi. He himself rushed forward like a raging bull. Chengyi dodged the flying brick with a fluid twist, braced his hands, and the moment my cousin slammed into his chest, he planted both palms squarely against Chen Jianjun's back. Chen Jianjun collapsed to the ground instantly like a limp, dead fish, struggling several times but failing to get back up.

I did not run.

Chengyi hooked his finger at me. The guy looked remarkably cool with a completely expressionless face, and simply uttered a single word: "Come."

Wang Chuyi shouted at me, "Brother Cheng, run! This guy is strong... insanely strong!"

I narrowed my eyes.

Run?

Today's plan had already been thoroughly ruined.

Would I really run away by myself while my cousin and Wang Chuyi had been beaten to the ground?

The moment I showed even a hint of cowardice, I might as well pack my bags and leave this place for good.

Instead of running, I dropped my club, walked toward Chengyi, and flashed him a traditional greeting gesture from the Spirit Modulation Sect. "Friend, must you push things to the bitter end? You might not necessarily beat me to death today."

He threw a punch without a word.

Just like Wang Chuyi, I was sent flying backward through the air. A burning, searing pain flared in my chest, accompanied by a suffocating, unbearable tightness. I forcefully swallowed down the blood that surged up into my throat and managed to stand back up. I could tell that Chengyi was an absolute madman, and moreover, a fellow who clearly didn't understand the unwritten rules of the underworld. So I turned to Awang and said, "Boss, leave us a way out."

Awang looked at me and said, "Normally, a minor fight is no big deal, but you lot fought yesterday and then picked it right back up again today. To start brawling like this right before operations kick off... If I don't establish some rules and cripple you all, there will be no order left here. Chengyi, stop playing around."

Chengyi nodded and walked toward me, saying, "Not bad physical condition. You can still get up."

He raised his hand and threw another punch. He must have used short-range explosive force because the distance of his punch was extremely short, yet the impact was astonishingly powerful. This time, I was somewhat prepared and crossed both arms to block his fist head-on, but I was still knocked flat to the ground. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself up once more, though my arms were entirely devoid of any strength.

Chengyi, who had already turned away, saw that I had stood back up. He glanced back and smiled faintly, "Actually, if you had just stayed down on the ground, I wouldn't have bothered continuing."

With that, he raised his leg and delivered a kick aimed straight at my face in a remarkably exaggerated arc.

I braced myself to be sent flying once more.

Yet, that kick stopped mere inches from my face.

Wu Dahai rushed out and grabbed Chengyi's shoulder, saying, "That's quite enough."

Chengyi frowned. He reached out to swat Wu Dahai's hand off his shoulder, but his wrist was instantly intercepted by Wu Dahai's other hand. The two locked hands in mid-air for ten whole seconds before Wu Dahai steadily and forcefully pressed his hand down.

A flattering smile crept onto Wu Dahai's face as he said, "Little Brother Yi, considering they're just three half-grown kids, do me a favor and let it go."

Then, he turned to Awang and asked, "Boss, what do you think?"

Awang glanced at Wu Dahai, nodded, and turned to walk away.

Chengyi's expression turned unsightly.

Yet, he ultimately shook off Wu Dahai's hand and followed the boss away from the backyard.

Wang Chuyi's girlfriend, Chen Mei, hurried over in tears to help Wang Chuyi up.

Though Wang Chuyi looked thoroughly battered, he still managed a smile and said, "I'm fine. Go check on Brother Cheng! I only took one hit, but Brother Cheng took two solid blows and is still standing. Badass!"

Brother Cai picked himself up from the ground at that moment, pointed at Wang Chuyi, and snarled, "Badass my ass! The three of you, just wait to die!"

I glared fiercely in his direction and snapped, "Unless you think your brother-in-law can shadow you every single second to protect you, I guarantee you'll end up in a much more miserable state than us. And leave those two thousand yuan behind!"

Brother Cai's expression turned ghastly. He let out a cold snort and said, "Is that all the ambition you have?"

Still, he dropped the envelope and turned to leave.

Wu Dahai helped us limp away from Awang Restaurant. Having gotten into a fight with the manager's relative, Brother Cai, meant my job was undoubtedly gone. But that was the least of my concerns right now; what occupied my mind entirely was Wu Dahai's martial prowess. Whether anyone else noticed, I had clearly sensed the hidden clash of strength between Chengyi and Wu Dahai just moments ago. Moreover, the seemingly ferocious Chengyi had actually been suppressed by Wu Dahai.

He was a master.

A master who surpassed even Chengyi.

Why would a martial artist of that caliber work as a mere security guard?

And why would he rack up heavy loan shark debts because of gambling machines?

"Brother Hai..." I began.

Wu Dahai waved his hand and said, "You guys go back and rest first. I'll come find you after my shift ends, and we can talk then."

The three of us didn't look severely injured on the surface, but in the parlance of martial arts novels, we had suffered internal injuries. We practically half-carried each other all the way back home. When we reached the building, Uncle Yong was chatting downstairs with a few local elderly residents. Seeing the three of us approach, Uncle Yong walked over and observed, "Looks like you lads fought a hard battle."

My face flushed with embarrassment.

I didn't want Uncle Yong to seek revenge for us, nor did I want him to witness our defeat, because I simply couldn't afford to lose face like this. The meticulous plan I had spent days mulling over had completely collapsed. Forget moving up to the third floor now; I had even lost my job at Awang Restaurant. I was terrified that Uncle Yong would look down on me because of this.

"We're fine," I forced a smile and said.

Uncle Yong pulled up the hem of my short-sleeved shirt to inspect my chest. The moment he caught sight of the purplish-blue bruise left by the punch, a chilling glint flashed through his eyes. He said, "Wait here."

With that, he went back inside his room, emerged with a bottle of medicinal liniment, and handed it to me. "Go back up and rub this in. These injuries aren't minor; stay in bed for three days."

"Thank you, Uncle Yong," the three of us chorused almost simultaneously.

Uncle Yong waved his folding fan, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Need any help?"