I asked in surprise, "Aren't you Lei Laosi?"
The old thug's face darkened: "Does someone of your rank deserve to see our boss?"
Oh no, all that excitement for nothing, and it's not the main event! This is getting complicated. As everyone knows, whether it was Zhao Zilong accompanying Liu Bei across the river to get married or Guan Yu going to the banquet alone, the opposing general was always present. No matter how many axemen they had hidden, if you dared to smash a cup, I'd immediately capture the leader first, regardless of the consequences. At worst, we'd all go down together. That's why neither Sun Quan nor Lu Su were willing to sacrifice themselves in the end—the current situation is: we're surrounded by axemen, and the one who came to negotiate with us… is still an axeman.
I could only say, "It's okay if you're worried about how to explain it. Just call your boss Lei and ask him. If he says there's no such thing, then we junior employees won't have to argue about it here." Even though Lei Laosi wasn't there, it didn't stop me from passing the hot potato to him.
The old thug probably didn't expect me to have this trick up my sleeve. He paused for a moment, then simply spread his hands and said, "Let me be frank with you. I've heard about this. Since you're here, young man, I can't let you come for nothing—" I didn't say anything and let him do what he wanted. If he could really pay back two or three million first, then this matter would be over.
"Go, get this young man a few bottles of good wine to calm him down." The old thug waved his hand, and a few of his men came over and put several bottles of wine on the table. I was so angry I almost blew smoke—if it were Chivas Regal, I wouldn't say anything, but it was Tsingtao!
I don't look down on Tsingtao beer, nor do I look down on domestic liquor. But do you give beer as a gift? This is bullying, it's even more vicious than a complete falling out.
I secretly glanced back and saw that Guan Yu was not in a hurry at all. He was watching with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. He probably thought it was quite interesting. I didn't realize that the old man had a playful heart.
I stared blankly at the bottles of liquor on the table, wondering what other tricks the other guy might pull. The old thug said in a tone that sounded like he was coaxing a child, "Xiao Qiang, right? I've heard of you. Bao Bao Tou always had a brick hidden in his pocket, haha, you used to be famous in the underworld. Welcome to come and hang out anytime." With that, he pushed his chair back and was about to leave.
Don't even mention that I'm someone of status now. Even if I were still the same Xiaoqiang I used to be, this wouldn't end like this. This is treating me like I'm not human. His digging up my past made it clear: you're just a petty thug, you have no right to mess with us, get lost! Actually, if he had said a few polite words, I wouldn't have been able to handle him. In the underworld, people are more responsive to gentleness than force, and you don't hit someone who's all smiles. My purpose here was to make things clear. Old Hao probably didn't really expect me to get the 5 million back right away. Once I conveyed his message, my mission was accomplished. But now it's different. If I just leave like this, even Guan Yu (a legendary figure known for his ruthlessness) would probably turn against me before I even leave the house. How am I supposed to face the other heroes after that? This is forcing me down a dead end.
I tapped the table lightly: "Sit down! Did I say you could leave?"
The old thug, who had just gotten off his chair, tripped over himself: "You... what did you say?" He probably thought he was hallucinating. In his own territory, someone dared to speak to him like that. Even his henchmen watching the show were dumbfounded.
I said coldly, "Paying back debts is a matter of course—" Then, I changed my cold demeanor and turned to Guan Yu with a grin, "Right, Second Master?" With battle about to break out, I had to make sure that Second Master, this powerful ally, was firmly in my grasp.
I thought the loyal and righteous Guan Yu would surely nod vigorously, but to my surprise, the Second Master seemed rather hesitant and awkwardly said, "This... hehe."
The old thug I called back plopped down in a chair, seemingly at a loss for what to do with me. After a long while, he finally said menacingly, "We borrowed the money, but we're not paying you back, so what?" See? The underworld is different; even when they default on a debt, it's based on admitting they borrowed the money.
At this point, I stopped being polite and smashed a bottle over my shoulder: "Then let your boss Lei talk to me!"
This really startled the old thug. He stammered, "You little brat, can't you wait to die?" I saw Guan Yu secretly giving me a thumbs up, so I just kept slamming my fist on the table: "Either pay me back, or bring Lei Laosi to see me, or I'm not leaving today!"
The negotiations broke down and a fight was imminent; this was probably back to the familiar routine of the old thugs. The old man calmed down considerably, his triangular eyes glaring as he sneered, "I'm afraid you won't be able to leave even if you want to!" With that, he gestured, and the fifty-odd men on both sides stood up. The henchman who had made me bow to the statue of Guan Yu was the first to attack Second Master. I quickly grabbed his fist and said ingratiatingly, "How dare you disrespect Second Master!" As I spoke, I picked up a wine bottle and smashed the guy's head open. This caused an uproar, and the henchmen swarmed towards us like a tide. My obsequious service seemed to have won Second Master's favor. The Martial Saint sighed and kicked two of them away—thus, the Pork-to-Chicken Plan succeeded.
I grabbed two more bottles and smashed the skulls of the two henchmen who were charging ahead. By this time, Second Master had been using one of the henchmen as a single-edged sword for a while, but in the end he still felt it wasn't right. He hurried over to the clay Guan Yu statue and took the Green Dragon Crescent Blade from its hand—which was actually just an extended steel pipe with a piece of iron welded to the end.
I called out from the side, "Second Master, don't cause a death."
Second Master swung his broadsword, hacking and slashing left and right, leaving no one in his path unscathed. I watched with glee, then suddenly I took a solid kick to the waist. Before I could turn around, a bottle bottom flew towards me, and as I turned my head, I heard a scream behind me.
After taking a heavy punch from the left, I realized I had made another irreparable mistake: 50 people against 2 people, theoretically that's 25 people against 1...
Although it seemed like Guan Yu could easily handle all these people on his own, you couldn't just tell the 25 men who charged at me, "If you're so tough, don't bother me." The reality was: the 25 men who were supposed to be Guan Yu's men, seeing how impenetrable this guy's broadsword was, all rushed at me too…
They never anticipated this! Human nature! Even the underworld bullies the weak and fears the strong!
...My brick is still at the door. Wine bottles are sharp and can easily hurt you. They're also not very reusable. The two bottles I had are now just two handles left. If I wanted to get any more, all the wine bottles within dozens of steps had been collected by the other party. They didn't even leave me a cup for holding round candles!
They had plenty of ammunition, and this time they even gave me Chivas Regal, but it all flew at me, and I still got hit several times despite dodging left and right. After the ranged attacks, about ten people rushed up and engaged me in close combat—or rather, a dozen people started beating me up.
Heaven help me, it's been a long time since I've been beaten like this since I became a reserve deity. Luckily, I developed excellent military skills a long time ago. I shouted, "Hey!" and then crouched down with my hands on my head, ready to be beaten however I wanted! All I can do now is wait for Second Master to come to my rescue.
But I was wrong again. This wasn't a drunken street fight where someone beat me up to vent their anger. This was the headquarters of the underworld. These people were ruthless; their goal was to cripple me. The moment I squatted down, two bottles were swallowed by my backside, followed by several sharp blows—thankfully not knives, probably something like chair legs. I couldn't take it for long. My vision blurred, and I vaguely heard Guan Yu shouting in the distance. It seemed I'd be transported to another world by the time he arrived. Just as I was feeling hopeless, another jolt sent a package tumbling from my arms. My face was almost touching the ground, so I spotted it immediately: a bag of biscuits.
Cookies! My salary this month, which can be combined with other people's power. How could I forget about them! I covered my head with my hands, arched my back to cover the cookies, and carefully identified them. Fortunately, their order was still correct. I remembered that I had numbered them when I gave them out. The first one was Xiang Yu, the second one was Jing Ke, the third one was Zhao Bailian, the fourth one, Hua Rong's one, had already been used, and the fifth one was... Fang Zhenjiang! That was the one I gave him from the mother-and-child cookie set before he went to Singapore.
This is it! With this treasure, I'm not so panicked anymore. I put away the other cookies, slowly put the last one in my mouth and chewed it, then shouted and stood up without thinking!
You'll never guess what happened, and I have to admit I didn't either: I got knocked down again as soon as I stood up...
Chapter Twelve Iron Head Kung Fu
As for why he was defeated, my explanation is that the biscuit was completely ineffective. Fang Zhenjiang, aka Wu Song, would have been helpless against such blows, like being bitten by mosquitoes.
As for why it didn't work, the only explanation is: because I stood up while the biscuit was still in my mouth, I deserved to be beaten.
Just as I fell, I felt power!
A burning sensation instantly filled my entire body, a bit swollen, as if another person inside me was trying to burst out. In addition, my senses also felt strange; I could control everything within ten steps around me—the legendary ability to see in all directions and hear from all sides. In an instant, my body was transformed into Wu Song—I wonder if Fang Zhenjiang felt a jolt at that moment?
At that moment, my body was still falling. I couldn't wait to get up again, so I suddenly stopped in mid-air. Then, as if someone below had given me a hand, I straightened up abruptly, calmly dodging an oncoming punch, and using my legs to dodge a chair leg that swept from behind. Then, with just one slap, I sent one of my henchmen flying 3 meters away. I reckon that kid will be hearing thunderous applause in his ears even when he watches pantomime from now on.
The people surrounding me were stunned.
I didn't rest for a second. I knew I didn't have much time—only 10 minutes—and I had to take down 25 people within that time. I swung my hand, stretched out my arms, and twirled like a ballerina. A loud "crack!" echoed as everyone around me was sent flying. My hand was throbbing with pain; even with Wu Song's kung fu, my body was still my own. I quickly rubbed my hand in front of my chest and started kicking. I was aiming for one of the guys' groins, but with a light lift, I hit his chin—it felt like kicking a rotten watermelon. As I pulled my foot back, I heard a gust of wind behind me and swept the guy down. Afterward, I regretted it. I should have waited until he grabbed me from behind and then kicked him on the forehead with the tip of my shoe. I get so jealous whenever that kind of scene appears in movies!
In the blink of an eye, I took down seven or eight people. I was so excited that I jumped around like a fighting rooster, shouting, "Come on! Come on!"
Guan Yu used the hilt of his sword to knock down the two men, glanced at me, and said in surprise, "Xiao Qiang, you have impressive skills!"
I jumped up and shouted, "Watch out behind you!"
Guan Yu didn't even look at him. He used his broadsword to flatten the nose of the man who had ambushed him and laughed, "He's just a little dishonest, tricking me into coming out to fight for you."
I chuckled sheepishly, and Guan Yu said, "Behind..."
I'd already noticed a kid sneaking up behind me. When he was less than three or four steps away, I suddenly turned and delivered a side kick. The kid was holding a beer bottle, which I shattered, sending shards of glass flying into my belly. I jumped around, wiping my nose with my thumb, yelling and screaming. Then I realized something was off; I was clearly using Wu Song's kung fu, what did it have to do with Bruce Lee?
After my display of power, someone shouted, "Get your weapons!" Several men quickly ran to the back to grab weapons. Weapons? We're not afraid of weapons. Wu Song, I suppose, wields double swords? I stomped on a chair, smashing it, and grabbed two wooden clubs to wait for them. Although they were gangsters, the weapons they pulled out were nothing more than baseball bats and machetes. Thank goodness for the national conditions; gunfights are impossible in China. I gripped the two clubs, striking east and west, unstoppable, quickly wounding several men. Not satisfied, I remembered that Wu Song, being from Shaolin, must have practiced Iron Head Kung Fu. So, I deflected two incoming sword strikes and stuck my head into a smashing wine bottle—proving I wasn't stupid. "Crack!" The bottle shattered, and the guy who hit me suddenly stared at me, unmoving. I grinned at him and delivered a powerful blow.
Instant kill! Instant kill! Instant kill! Shaolin Iron Head has done a great job! Shaolin Iron Head has done a great job! Don't give Lei Laosi's men any chance.
The great Liangshan hero, Wu Song! He inherited the glorious tradition of Shaolin Temple. The spirits of Bodhidharma, Jueyuan, and Zhang Sanfeng possess him at this moment! Xiao Qiang alone represents the history and tradition of Chinese martial arts. At this moment, I am not fighting alone; I am not alone!
After I knocked that kid down, I noticed everyone stopped fighting, including Guan Yu; they were all staring at me blankly. I couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Ha—ouch!"