Chapter 48 Murder... Murder!

Feeling the pain, the man in the black cotton-padded jacket flashed a vicious look across his face. "Let go!"

Li Xiangyang looked at him coldly, applying even more force to his hand.

Watching the scene unfold, Li Xiaoyun felt her heart tighten.

In a standoff like this, once a physical fight broke out, Li Xiangyang would inevitably be at a disadvantage.

She knew that staying here would only force Li Xiangyang to pull his punches out of concern for her safety.

A thought flashed through her mind, and Li Xiaoyun turned and ran.

"Smelly bitch, thinking of running?" The men in the grey and blue cotton-padded jackets immediately made to chase after her.

However, the crowd in the market stirred.

One by one, the people silently shifted their footing, gradually forming a human wall behind Li Xiaoyun.

The men smoked their long-stemmed pipes, the women carried babies on their backs, and the elderly leaned on walking sticks, standing there in quiet solidarity.

Blocked in their path, the men in the grey and blue jackets were momentarily dumbfounded.

"Step aside! All of you, get out of the damn way!" the man in the grey jacket yelled drunkenly, waving a wine bottle.

No one spoke, but no one moved either. An oppressive atmosphere hung heavy in the air.

Someone in the crowd said coldly, "You folks from the Yang Family Village, you'd better look around and see whose territory this is."

"Exactly, this isn't a place for you ruffians to run amok." Another person chimed in.

"Look how full of yourselves you are. What kind of ability is it to bully an honest man?"

More and more voices joined in. Although none of them were loud, every single sentence struck like a heavy blow.

The men in the grey and blue jackets exchanged glances, their bravado faltering.

They relied on the influence of the Yang Family Village to act as local tyrants, but this was the town market, and the people coming and going were from all the surrounding villages.

"To hell with that little bitch!"

The man in the black jacket gave a grim laugh and pushed Li Xiangyang's hand away.

"Brothers, come over here! Let's teach this ignorant punk a real lesson!"

With that, he threw a punch.

Facing the incoming fist, Li Xiangyang easily dodged it.

At this moment, Li Xiangyang felt a wave of relief in his heart.

Fortunately, Li Xiaoyun was quick-witted enough to realize that staying behind would only tie his hands.

Now that she was safe, he could let loose and fight without holding back.

"A bunch of beasts no better than animals," Li Xiangyang said coldly. "Today, I'll take over for your parents and teach you how to behave like human beings!"

Hearing this, the man in the black jacket flew into a rage. "You son of a bitch, how dare you mention my father? Brothers, this punk has some moves! All together now, beat him to death!"

The three of them swarmed forward at once.

Instead of retreating, Li Xiangyang strode forward to meet the man in the black jacket, delivering a heavy right hook straight to the bridge of his nose.

With a loud crack, the man's nasal bone shattered, and blood gushed forth instantly.

"Well hit!" A burst of cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Should've taught these beasts a lesson long ago!"

"Hit him! Beat him to death!"

Taking advantage of the moment the man in the black jacket was clutching his bleeding nose in agony, Li Xiangyang closed in again, driving a knee sharply into his abdomen.

The man let out a gagging wail and doubled over.

Li Xiangyang grabbed him by the collar and delivered another heavy blow.

The man crumpled to the ground like a dead dog, groaning endlessly.

Seeing their boss beaten, the men in the grey and blue jackets sobered up by more than half.

The man in the blue jacket suddenly pulled a gleaming dagger from his waistband, while the man in the grey jacket smashed his wine bottle, gripping the jagged, broken edge.

"You dare hit our boss? We're taking your life today!" the man in the blue jacket shouted viciously.

The two closed in on Li Xiangyang from left and right.

The sharp blade flashed in the light.

Li Xiangyang looked coldly at the weapons in their hands, stepping forward instead of back.

"You two are really asking for a trip to the police station," Li Xiangyang said, his gaze growing increasingly sharp.

The surrounding crowd shrank back a few steps at the sight of the blades, but no one left.

Some people had already quietly picked up objects, ready to help Li Xiangyang.

The old man selling roasted sweet potatoes silently picked up his carrying pole, and several young men snatched wooden clubs from their stalls.

Realizing they had provoked the public wrath, the men in the blue and grey jackets exchanged glances and attacked simultaneously.

One thrust forward with the knife, while the other slashed horizontally with the jagged bottle.

"Watch out!"

Amidst Li Xiaoyun's cry of alarm, Li Xiangyang completely ignored the weapons and stepped directly into the attack.

His movements were clean and decisive. With a sideways dodge, he evaded the blade while simultaneously kicking the wrist of the man with the broken bottle.

With a crash, the shattered glass fell to the ground.

"Good!" The crowd erupted in cheers.

Li Xiangyang twisted the grey-jacketed man's wrist and hurled him straight into the oncoming blue-jacketed man.

The two collided heavily, knocking the dagger out of the blue-jacketed man's hand.

Li Xiangyang kicked the dagger far away, grabbed both of them by their collars, and began landing blows left and right.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Following a rapid series of muffled impacts, the faces of the two men swelled up instantly.

"Young man has quite the martial prowess! Excellent hit!"

The crowd's cheers grew even louder.

"Serves them right! This is what you get for bullying people!"

"Let's see if they dare act tough again after this!"

Applauding voices rose and fell in waves.

Li Xiangyang did not stop his hands.

If you don't thoroughly discipline beasts like this, you can be certain they'll just go right back to bullying people later.

"Spare us! Have mercy!" The man in the grey jacket was the first to break, crying for mercy. "We'll never dare do it again!"

"That's right, Boss, we were wrong!" The blue-jacketed man dropped to his knees as well, begging, "Please spare us minor offenders in your magnanimity..."

"We'll never bully anyone again!"

"We'll kowtow and apologize to you..."

The two kowtowed to Li Xiangyang repeatedly while pleading for their lives.

Their utterly spineless display drew a wave of sneers and ridicule from the onlookers.

Li Xiangyang looked down at them coldly. "Get lost!"

The two scrambled away in a flurry.

Left behind on the ground was the bruised and battered man in the black jacket. He too knelt on the ground, kowtowing incessantly. "Boss, I truly know I was wrong! I'll never dare do it again! Please spare me..."

Li Xiangyang stared at the kneeling man with an icy gaze.

"Boss, I really know I'm wrong!" The man in the black jacket wiped away blood and tears. "In your infinite mercy..."

"You know you're wrong?" Li Xiangyang grabbed him by the collar. "Then tell me, what exactly are you apologizing for?"

"I... I shouldn't have provoked you..."

Slap!

Li Xiangyang delivered a hard backhand across his face.

"I asked about the old man's sweet potatoes! How are you going to compensate him for those?"

"I... I have money, I'll pay!" The man hastily fished a handful of loose change from his pocket. "Here's two yuan, is that enough?"

Looking at the crumpled bills in the man's hand, Li Xiangyang sneered. "You think you can dismiss this with just a little pocket change? The money for the sweet potatoes might be enough, but what about compensation for beating the old man?"

"Then... how much do you want?" the man asked tremblingly.

"What? You're asking me how much to pay? It seems you don't realize how heavy your blows were. Let me help jog your memory."

With that, Li Xiangyang threw another punch.

The man in the black jacket gagged and spat out a mouthful of blood and phlegm.

"Five... five yuan! I have five yuan!" Trembling, the man pulled out a few more bills.

Five yuan was no small sum of money.

Yet Li Xiangyang was not appeased.

"I can see you really still don't understand what you did wrong!"

As he spoke, Li Xiangyang raised his fist once again.

This time, he intended to teach this local bully a lesson he would never forget.

Right at that moment, a vicious glint flashed in the eyes of the man in the black jacket.

He suddenly rolled sideways, lunged toward the dagger lying not far away, grabbed it, and stabbed upward at Li Xiangyang's back!

"Watch out!" someone in the crowd cried out in alarm.

Li Xiangyang whirled around fiercely, but it was already too late.

The sharp blade was on the verge of plunging straight into his chest!

At that hair-trigger moment, Li Xiangyang's years of instinct as a hunter took over.

He twisted his body violently while his right hand snapped forward like lightning to grab the wrist holding the dagger.

The two locked in a brief stalemate, but that brief instant was all it took.

With a sudden counter-twist, Li Xiangyang snatched the dagger away and thrust it forward in one fluid motion.

Plop!

The blade buried itself deep into the chest of the man in the black jacket.

The man's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the hilt protruding from his chest. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Murder... he's killed someone!"