Zhang Lei swallowed very discreetly, but Li Yang noticed a faint red glow on his teeth.
The blood on Zhang Lei's clothes had clearly been there for some time, and the red residue in his mouth was definitely not from earlier. So it was certain that it was from the mouthful of something he hadn't been able to resist swallowing. If Zhang Lei didn't like betel nuts, then what he had swallowed earlier wouldn't have been saliva.
A faint smell of blood filled the air, and looking at Tang Guo's wounds, Li Yang felt he could roughly deduce what had happened.
While Tai Chi Chen possesses profound internal strength and is highly skilled at using the opponent's force against them, he may not necessarily have an advantage over Zhang Lei's aggressive fighting style. Tai Chi Chen and Zhang Lei are likely evenly matched.
However, as time goes on, although Tai Chi Chen may expend less energy, Zhang Lei's physical advantage is too great. In the end, Zhang Lei should have the upper hand. But Tai Chi Chen's Tai Chi resilience should be very strong. Even if Zhang Lei gains the advantage, he cannot defeat him easily unless he exhausts him to death. That is obviously not something that can be done in such a short time.
So this Tang Guo must have been the last straw that broke the camel's back; the wounds on his body also looked like they were inflicted by his own poisoned blade...
"Brothers, everyone saw it, and the Chen family members, you can all testify, right? It was this Li Yang who killed your Chen family's daughter. This also proves what kind of person Li Yang is, and how worthless it was for that old guy Tai Chi Chen to die because of him!" Zhang Lei's smile was incredibly bright, like a speaker giving a recruitment advertisement.
“Although Tai Chi Chen died at my hands, what we’re seeing now shows that his starting point for standing up for Li Yang was wrong from the very beginning. His death, while not entirely deserved, was certainly not honorable. Therefore, his death shouldn’t be blamed on me, but on that despicable, shameless, treacherous, vicious, ungrateful, heartless, dog-lunged, sore-headed, pus-oozing, childless, belly-naked, pig-headed, dog-brained, chicken-chested, dog-bellied beast, Li Yang!” Zhang Lei’s last sentence came out in one breath, without a single pause. After he finished speaking, something seemed to surge up, which he swallowed back down.
The family members in the Taiji Chen family all looked at Zhang Lei with resentment, but no one spoke up to refute him. Admittedly, the old master died at Zhang Lei's hands, and Zhang Lei's words were quite infuriating, but the most important thing now was to rescue the young lady.
Li Yang also felt that he had been a bit foolish. After these two acts of repaying kindness with enmity, even the best of friends would probably no longer have anyone to protect him. Moreover, after this incident, he would not be able to stay in the country, and his plan to leave would definitely have to be brought forward.
However, before that, he had to deal with Zhang Lei first. A hint of mockery appeared in Li Yang's eyes. His steps were unsteady, yet he still wanted to pretend that he was alright. Forcing down the blood in his chest would only make things worse. "That's more like it. How can you take down Tai Chi Chen, a martial arts master, without getting injured? Internal injuries aren't so easy to heal."
"Damn, what a small world!" Zhang Lei stared blankly at the girl tucked between Li Yang's severed arm.
This girl is clearly Chen Zilai from high school. Chen Zilai is about the same age as Zhang Lei, so she naturally wouldn't look like this little girl now. But if you say that this girl has nothing to do with Chen Zilai, Zhang Lei would never believe it.
Kong Liang died, and Zhang Lei felt endless regret. Even after having Tian Xiao and Liu Ning, Zhang Lei never gave up the idea of taking her as his concubine, even though it was somewhat selfish.
Looking at the girl who looked almost exactly like Chen Zilai, Zhang Lei suddenly had a thought, "I can't let her die!" Even if it's compensation, it's fine.
Just because of what Tai Chi Chen said before entering the car, Zhang Lei couldn't let his granddaughter die at Li Yang's hands, but that wasn't his top priority. To be honest, even though his second superpower didn't have much impact on combat, and a real-life reenactment wouldn't help Zhang Lei fully master Tai Chi Chen's footwork, Zhang Lei was at least confident that it wouldn't be so easy for Tai Chi Chen to entangle him again, and Zhang Lei could simply leave whenever he wanted.
For Zhang Lei, who had already decided to flee abroad, Tai Chi Chen's threats weren't very effective. However, if he could be rescued, that would be best; it was better to avoid trouble, as no one could predict what a crazed old man who had lost almost all his family might do.
Li Yang pushed the little girl forward slowly, even though he had already determined that Zhang Lei was seriously injured.
"Stop right there!" Zhang Lei was forced to take a step forward, and it was this step that completely exposed his condition. Zhang Lei stumbled and fell towards the car beside him.
Li Yang could no longer hold back. He flashed in front of Zhang Lei and slapped Zhang Lei's forehead with his right hand, which had just been healed.
Li Yang had calculated the angle perfectly. He was certain that Zhang Lei wouldn't be able to grab his arm this time. Even if Zhang Lei faked an injury, he could easily retreat and continue holding the girl hostage. The only question was whether Zhang Lei would be threatened by a little girl he had no connection with.
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Knife for a Teeth - Chapter 84: Force-feeding (Part 1)
Li Yang had considered this. If Zhang Lei wasn't injured, he would definitely have reservations about the little girl from Tai Chi Chen. Otherwise, Zhang Lei could have simply attacked him directly, and Li Yang could have retreated and taken the girl hostage without much change in the outcome. However, if Zhang Lei was indeed injured, now was the best time to eliminate this threat.
Zhang Lei hates Li Yang. Li Yang hadn't taken Zhang Lei seriously in the past, but now Zhang Lei had driven him to a dead end and even forced him to cut off his own arm. Now, Li Yang's hatred for Zhang Lei is definitely no less than Zhang Lei's hatred for him.
Therefore, Li Yang would never let go of an opportunity, especially one that was either a chance to succeed or a chance that would not cause any harm.
Therefore, Li Yang rushed in front of Zhang Lei and slammed down with a palm. This time, unlike when he attacked Zhang Lei's throat, Li Yang had gathered his inner energy and was prepared. Even if Zhang Lei used the same move as before, Li Yang would not suffer any loss.
Even if Zhang Lei wasn't injured at all, as long as that palm strike landed solidly, the soft force contained within would shatter his brains. Li Yang's status as Li's adopted son wasn't for nothing.
Li Yang had planned everything, but he never expected that there was another person in the car, and that it was a martial arts master whom he had just been admiring.
The way Zhang Lei raised his hand to meet the palm strike didn't look like he was injured at all. If he were injured, he should be busy defending himself. However, Li Yang wasn't too worried. He had reserved some force in his palm strike, so at most he would suffer a minor shock. Besides, Zhang Lei's internal strength wasn't his forte.
As expected, Zhang Lei's attack didn't cause any harm to Li Yang. He had a moment of self-reflection, and Li Yang also had his own special abilities.
A sense of unease still rose in Li Yang's heart, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Just as Li Yang was about to use the momentum to drift backward, a large, ruddy hand suddenly appeared silently behind him.
"Damn it!" Just as the hand was about to touch Li Yang, Li Yang realized what he had forgotten. If Zhang Lei was not injured, then did that mean Tai Chi Chen was not dead? It was impossible to kill Tai Chi Chen without getting hurt.
The technique of "inch force" in Tai Chi is very particular. Tai Chi Chen silently punched through the car door and pressed it against Li Yang's back, as if there was a hole in the car door all along.
At this moment, Li Yang was truly caught between a rock and a hard place. All he could do was try to prolong his death a little longer. Tai Chi Chen, filled with resentment, unleashed his attack. Even at his peak, if Li Yang were struck by Chen's palm, he would likely die.
Li Yang tried to shift his center of gravity, leaning forward and falling into Zhang Lei's warm embrace, but he soon regretted his decision.
Tai Chi Chen naturally wasn't going to let him go. He lunged forward, his other hand delivering a series of blows to Li Yang's back, clearly intending to kill him. He smashed a large hole in the car door, but since a person can't be as unimpeded as a single hand, he still slowed down slightly.
This brief pause gave Zhang Lei an opportunity. Without haste, Zhang Lei placed one hand on Li Yang's lower abdomen, preventing his internal energy from accumulating for at least several days. With his other hand, he bypassed Li Yang and exchanged a heavy blow with Tai Chi Chen. This kind of head-on collision was naturally what Zhang Lei preferred; if Tai Chi Chen had tried to fight Zhang Lei head-on before, his old bones would have been torn apart by Zhang Lei long ago.
"Senior, it doesn't seem right for you to personally put him to death!" Zhang Lei said with a smile. He was in an excellent mood. He lightly flicked Li Yang's forehead with his finger, sending him into a sweet dream.
Tai Chi Chen glanced at Zhang Lei, sighed, rubbed his wrist, and took a step back.
He wanted to kill Li Yang with one blow, not only to vent his anger, but probably also because he hoped Li Yang wouldn't fall into Zhang Lei's hands alive. He knew that neither Zhang Lei nor Tang Guo would let Li Yang die a quick death. If Li Yang died a quick death at his hands, it would probably be a kind of happiness.
Tai Chi Chen shook his head and turned to comfort his granddaughter, only to find that Zhang Lei had even outpaced him in this regard. He had somehow run over there, carrying someone, and was even faster than the old man Chen could turn around.
Tai Chi Chen's granddaughter was crying loudly on Zhang Lei's shoulder. Zhang Lei gently patted her little shoulder. Li Yang was not far from him either, and was unconscious at Zhang Lei's feet.
"Here, put this on!" Zhang Lei sensed that the pretty girl was still shivering, and disregarding the half-dried bloodstains on his outer garment, he draped it over her shoulders.
"You little brat, get up!" Tai Chi Chen was furious.
To be honest, being in Shanghai, Tai Chi Chen had heard of Zhang Lei. If Zhang Lei hadn't gone astray, Tai Chi Chen would have actually considered taking him as his grandson-in-law. For Tai Chi Chen, Zhang Lei was nothing to worry about.
But now this kid already has women by his side, and more than one. Taiji Chen is no ordinary person; he would never allow his juniors to suffer any injustice. Besides, Taiji Chen wasn't initially considering this granddaughter; the age difference is just too great.
Moreover, upon closer reflection, it seems that everything today happened under Zhang Lei's guidance. Although Tai Chi Chen couldn't say anything, he was just unhappy, extremely unhappy!
Zhang Lei was about to stand up when he realized this was a slow and steady process. He knew the chances were slim, especially with the old man nearby. He couldn't use any methods he wanted; the old man would expose him without hesitation. Although provoking him was a desperate measure, judging from the old bastard's expression, he was definitely holding a grudge. Besides, Zhang Lei didn't have time; his stay in the country wouldn't be long.
"Hmm~~" The hand that was gently holding Zhang Lei's neck suddenly tightened, and the pretty girl pressed herself tightly against Zhang Lei, humming a protesting sound through her nose. It was this gentle humming that instantly stirred up Zhang Lei's memories from the past.
Zhang Lei feigned helplessness and shrugged, indicating that he had no other choice. However, this brief moment of leaving the pretty girl's side provoked another protest from her.