Li Yang found it strange but decided to drive over and see.
"Son of a bitch, it’s him!" Gao Jinming grew cocky the moment he saw Li Yang pull in. "Block him! He won’t dare to run anyone over. Get him!"
A few thuggish-looking men immediately stepped forward.
Li Yang certainly wouldn’t run them over, but he wasn’t afraid either, so he simply stopped the car.
"Damn it, you son of a bitch! You actually bought a new car!" Gao Jinming was livid.
He had been cuckolded, all for the price of securing the Golden Pavilion Hotel’s business.
But this guy? He paid no price at all and just stole the clients away.
And now he was even driving a new car. Gao Jinming’s resentment boiled over.
"Get the hell out of the car!"
Li Yang got out. "Gao Jinming, shouldn’t you be at home keeping an eye on your wife instead of picking a fight with me?"
"Damn it, how the hell did you grow oyster mushrooms like that?" Gao Jinming snarled.
Li Yang understood. So, they were here to threaten him.
’He saw how good my mushrooms are and decided to come after the secret recipe.’
’In your dreams.’
"You want to know?" Li Yang asked with a sly grin. "Have your wife strip naked and send her over."
Li Yang was being deliberately cruel, twisting the knife right where it hurt Gao Jinming the most.
But he truly despised the man. After all, this was the person who had tried to have him secretly killed.
"Motherfucker!" Gao Jinming’s two hundred pounds of flab trembled uncontrollably. "Get him! Take him down!"
"Kid!" A burly man stepped up from behind him, glaring at Li Yang. "You do what Boss Gao tells you. Right now. Or else..."
SLAP!
Li Yang’s hand shot out and slapped him across the face—clean and crisp.
The others were stunned.
"You fucking hit me!" The burly man was dumbfounded for a second, then his eyes filled with murderous rage. "Do you have any fucking idea who I am?"
"Brother Biao, of course!" Li Yang recognized him. "You’re the guy who collects protection money and runs a loan sharking business in town. You’re famous for bullying ordinary people, like the vegetable sellers. How could I not know you? And you’re damn right I hit you!"
"Son of a bitch!" Brother Biao was stunned, then enraged. "Get him! I’m gonna cripple this..."
CRACK!
Just then, Li Yang drove a kick into his knee.
Brother Biao let out a pained cry and crumpled to the ground.
The others rushed forward.
But Li Yang moved like a phantom, appearing before them in an instant.
His strikes seemed wild and unplanned, yet they were brutally efficient.
One by one, as they came into contact with Li Yang, they dropped to the ground, unable to rise.
In less than a minute, every one of the thugs was on the ground. Only the two-hundred-pound Gao Jinming was left standing.
"You..." Gao Jinming was utterly dumbfounded.
THUMP!
Li Yang strode forward and kicked him squarely in the chest.
Gao Jinming was sent flying, landing with a heavy thud that seemed to shake the ground.
The onlookers wanted to clap and cheer. These guys were nothing but trouble, and someone was finally putting them in their place.
"Listen up and remember this clearly." Li Yang had finally vented his anger. He pointed at them and said, "If you ever mess with me again, I’ll beat you so badly your own mothers won’t recognize you. Got it?"
"We got it..." Terrified, Brother Biao and his men nodded frantically.
"Worthless punks," Li Yang muttered, satisfied. He turned, got in his car, and drove off.
’Just as I suspected,’ Li Yang thought. ’Ever since I cheated death and drank that strange drop of water in the ruined temple, my body has been completely different.’
’Taking care of these small-time thugs is a piece of cake.’
This realization sent a surge of confidence through Li Yang.
Back in the village, Li Yang parked in front of the health clinic. He was wondering if he should drive over to the school to pick up Aunt Xiu for a spin when he saw Zhou Liyun rushing toward him. Her face lit up when she saw him. "Xiaoyang, you’re back just in time! Quick, go to Aunt Lian’s house! A bunch of thugs have her surrounded. They’re demanding money and saying if she doesn’t pay up, they’re going to sell her daughter!"
What!
The moment he heard this, Li Yang broke into a sprint and raced over.
Xia Lian was a widow in the village. According to their generation, Li Yang was supposed to call her Aunt Lian.
But she was still very young—not yet thirty—and exceptionally beautiful.
Xia Lian’s husband had been a degenerate who did nothing but drink and womanize. Not only did he fail to earn any money, but he was also addicted to borrowing from loan sharks. A year ago, backed into a corner by his creditors, he had jumped into a river and drowned.
This left Xia Lian to fend for herself and her two-year-old daughter, and it was safe to say their life was incredibly difficult.
’I can’t believe those loan sharks are back for more money,’ Li Yang thought. ’How is she supposed to go on like this?’
"Move, make way..." Li Yang shoved his way through the crowd.
"Xia Lian, listen. You’re a beautiful woman, and you have no money to pay us back. The solution is simple," a bald man said, leering at her. "Come to the city with me. Do some ’work.’ You’ll make at least a thousand a night. In less than a year, you’ll have paid off your husband’s debt to us. How about it?"
"I’ll pay back your money..." Xia Lian’s face was deathly pale, but she stood her ground. "But you have to give me time."
"Time?" The bald man clapped his hands. "We’ve given you plenty of time, but you haven’t coughed up a damn cent. Let me tell you, you have two choices now. Either you pay back the money, or you pick one of two options: come with us to the city to ’work,’ or sell your daughter!"
"No..." Xia Lian clutched her two-year-old daughter and kept backing away. "You can’t do this. I’ll pay you back."
"Come on, leave them be. Life isn’t easy for a widow and her child," one of the villagers tried to mediate.
"Fuck off! Who the hell asked you to butt in while I’m doing business!" the bald man roared, pointing a finger at the villager. "A bunch of useless trash dares to talk back to me? Get the hell out of here!"
"Who are you talking to? Who are you calling useless trash?" Li Yang demanded, pushing his way into the center of the crowd with a dark expression.