“Ouch, my hand, ah, ah!” The middle-aged man wore a look of pain, and the people drinking with him all grabbed bottles from the table and walked over.
The middle-aged man, enduring the pain, pointed at me and said, “Chop, chop this kid up for me!”
Hearing this, those people wanted to rush at me immediately, but someone stopped them, frowning as he looked at me and said, “Brother, which path are you from? You look quite young, but you sure hit hard. However, that face… it’s unfamiliar!”
“It’s not that I hit hard, it’s that he wasn’t careful!” I sipped my draft beer, barely glancing at them. I silently counted; there were five of them in total, but with the middle-aged man injured, it only left four. I felt I could handle four.
The guy who seemed to be the leader gritted his teeth and spoke harshly to me, “We are Brother Da Peng’s men. Kid, you better behave!”
“Brother Da Peng? Never heard of him.” I wasn’t very interested in outside matters; I barely knew what was going on at school, let alone things outside.
However, in his ears, my words sounded extremely arrogant.
He raised the beer bottle in his hand and pointed it at me, saying, “Looks like you’re tired of living!” He finished speaking and was about to make a move.
At this moment, the waiter from earlier walked over, looked at the man, and said, “Uncle Liu said, if you want to fight, go elsewhere. This is not the place for you to show off.”
The man who was about to make a move immediately stopped when he heard this, nervously glancing at the boss grilling skewers, swallowed hard, and then said to me, “If you’re a man, come with me!”
I chuckled, still eating meat, and said, “You idiot, can’t you see I’m eating?”
“You son of a b*tch!” The man got furious upon hearing my words, raising the beer bottle in his hand and swinging it at my head.
I was already on guard, fully alert; his movements slowed in my perception. Just as I was about to grab his wrist, a calm voice suddenly rang out, “I won’t repeat what I said earlier; you should know the rules here.”
“Uncle Liu, I’m sorry. I was provoked by this kid. I wouldn’t dare cause trouble here!” The man lowered his raised hand and smiled bitterly.
I suddenly became very curious about the owner of this barbecue stand. Turning my head, I saw that the boss was not as big and burly as I had imagined; instead, he was quite thin, smoking a c!garette while grilling skewers. Even when he spoke earlier, he didn’t raise his head. Yet, such a person managed to scare those thugs into not daring to make a move.
“Let’s go!” The man waved his hand, ready to call his underlings to leave, but the middle-aged man wasn’t having it. “Brother Feng, are we just letting them go like this? My hand…”
“Liu Zhanqian is not someone we can offend. Let’s leave first. I’ll call Brother Peng!” The man lowered his voice, but with my keen hearing, every word fell into my ears.
It seemed that the barbecue stand owner had quite a significant background. Even his name was impressive: Liu Zhanqian. Could it imply that he had killed over a thousand people?
After those thugs left, Sister Lin looked worried and said, “Xia Tian, we should leave quickly! Those people, they’re definitely not good news!”
“You know they aren’t good people, yet you still spoke up!” I looked at Sister Lin, speechless. The whole conflict started because of her one sentence.
“I’m sorry, alright? How could I have known that man’s hearing was so good!” Sister Lin glanced around and then said, “They’re gone; let’s seize the chance and leave quickly!”
“They won’t leave so easily.” I looked at Sister Lin helplessly. I had injured that guy so badly; they certainly wouldn’t just let it go.
At this moment, the waiter came over again. “Brother, you should leave quickly; otherwise, when their boss arrives, even Uncle Liu might not be able to protect you.”
“Did you hear that? We need to go!” Sister Lin urged again. Seeing that I wasn’t speaking, she turned to Mei’er and said, “Mei’er, don’t you agree with me?”
“I…” Mei’er thought for a moment and then said to me, “Xia Tian, Sister Mengxin is a girl; it’s not suitable for her to stay here any longer.”
I nodded. She was right. Keeping Sister Lin here wasn’t safe, and it also made it inconvenient for me to act. I whispered to Mei’er, “Mei’er, take Sister Lin and leave first. I’ll stay a bit longer.”
“Okay.” Mei’er nodded and left with Sister Lin. Mei’er was completely at ease with leaving me alone because she knew that with those thugs’ abilities, they posed no threat to me. But as for Sister Lin, did she leave without a word because she also trusted me too much?
After Mei’er and Sister Lin left, I took my empty beer cup and walked over to the boss.
“Boss, another cup of draft beer!” I said calmly, looking at the boss.
The boss didn’t raise his head and replied indifferently, “What, still not leaving? Waiting to get beaten?”
“I haven’t finished the food yet. It would be a waste to leave it.” I said casually, but my attention was entirely on this boss named Liu Zhanqian.
“Seems like you do have some skills.” Liu Zhanqian stopped what he was doing and looked at me.
I smiled but didn’t say anything.
“Xiao Qiang, go buy a pack of c!garettes for Uncle Liu!” Liu Zhanqian said to the waiter from earlier.
The waiter named Xiao Qiang responded and asked, “Uncle Liu, Red T0wer Mountain again?”
“Yeah…” Liu Zhanqian replied, then took the last c!garette from the pack, lit it, and began grilling skewers again.
“Uncle Liu, you must be someone with a story, right?” I probed, looking at Liu Zhanqian. He had always given me a unique feeling—this man was not simple. It wasn’t about his background or wealth but the deep, world-weary look in his eyes.
Liu Zhanqian ignored me and simply said again, “Kid, leave quickly. When Da Peng arrives, I won’t be able to help.”
“Da Peng, who’s that? I don’t know him!” I laughed indifferently.
I, Xia Tian, am not someone who likes to cause trouble, but I’m definitely not afraid of trouble either! I’m also not very forgiving. If someone wrongs me, I make sure to return it double. Since that guy wants to call this so-called Brother Da Peng to beat me, then let him come. Even if I can’t beat them, can’t I at least outrun them?
At least, I can get some satisfaction from insulting them.
Suddenly, the surroundings became noisy, and several cars pulled up nearby.
Liu Zhanqian glanced at me, his voice still calm, “Young man, arrogance comes at a price. Now that Da Peng is here, you can’t escape even if you want to!”
I turned around and saw a brawny man, about my height but with bulging muscles, leading a group of underlings, slowly walking over.
HELP:
During the recent unrest in the country I am from, our family hardware store was broken into and looted by thugs. I don’t know why they did it, since my family has always been minding our own business, without bothering anyone else. I’m guessing some people are taking advantage of the current lawless and chaotic state of the country.
Anyways, the incident now leaves me as the only earning member of my family. Long time readers know that I was already dealing with a mountain of trouble (that I inherited from my father), and was already struggling. I had created a plan of action, and was steadily moving forward. But this incident destroyed whatever plans I had, again. I don’t know why bad things keep happening to me again and again. I might as well be cursed or something.
So here I am, after much hesitation, once again asking for your support. If you are reading this, please help if you are able to, I repeat, help only if you are able to. I am not asking something for free, you can become a Patron at Patreon to gain access to more chapters, or sponsor as many chapters you can from any of the novels you enjoy on Goblinslate here at BuymeaCoffee. Or if you just want to help, you can donate any amount at the Wishlist at BuymeaCoffee.
Thank you.