Jiang Ming stood casually in the same place on the narrow, muddy road. He did not panic at all and said with a faint smile, "Guo Heizi, it's just a bit of money. It's all worldly possessions. I can give it to you. There's no need to see blood."
As he spoke, he took out a string of copper coins and waved them in front of them.
Guo Heizi's eyes brightened, and the young man beside him laughed in disdain, "I told you. Jiang Ming is a coward. Hold him down and find all his money!"
Behind Jiang Ming, a few young men snickered. Their eyes glowed green, and they rushed toward Jiang Ming.
A thin boy who looked unremarkable took out a wooden stick from his sleeve and smashed it toward Jiang Ming's head.
However, Jiang Ming's head did not bleed as he had imagined.
Jiang Ming's body slanted, and his left hand gently stretched out, pinching the thin boy's wrist, making him unable to move at all.
"Ah, let go!"
The young man cried out in pain, and his entire face contorted. He felt as if a fierce tiger had captured him, and his bones were about to be crushed. He was unable to break free even after using all his strength.
The wooden stick fell from his hand, and Jiang Ming grabbed it with his right hand. Then, he swung his arm and hit the boy's calf.
With a crisp sound, his leg was twisted, and his scream was like a pig being slaughtered.
"I said there is no need to see blood; why is there a need to do this?"
"Ten copper coins. Remember this." Jiang Ming said lightly and threw the thin boy away. The thin boy was flung away and fell into the mud field at the side, moaning in pain.
The rest of them were so scared that they retreated when the thin boy screamed. They felt cold all over and were terrified.
They usually just did some sneaky things. When had they ever seen such a ruthless guy who would break one of their legs without a word?
In their impression, only people at the level of Uncle Ba and the officials were qualified to do such a thing.
Guo Heizi was even more shocked and angry. He pointed at Jiang Ming fiercely and said, "Do you know what kind of relationship I have with Uncle Ba? You dare hurt people in my territory. Aren't you afraid that I will chop off your hand?"
"You, twenty copper coins!" Jiang Ming's response was to point at Guo Heizi's head with a wooden stick.
"Damn you! You're looking for death!" Guo Heizi was utterly enraged. He called out to the others beside him to attack together.
"Chop him up!"
The two of them rushed forward with their hatchets and slashed at Jiang Ming.
However, in Jiang Ming's eyes, their actions were no different from toddlers throwing a fit.
Over the past month, Jiang Ming had persevered in his fist technique practice. His strength, speed, and even reaction time had exceeded the limits of ordinary people.
Even if he was only practicing ordinary body-strengthening fist techniques, it was more than enough to deal with a few village punks.
In an instant, the wooden stick's shadow flew like rain and smashed into Guo Heizi and his partner's bodies.
"Ah!"
"Ow!"
Two screams, accompanied by the clear and melodious sound of bones breaking, rang out in the field.
"You were the one who tried to pin me down just now, right? Your courage is commendable. Twenty-five copper coins!"
Jiang Ming pointed at the hooligan and hit his head a few times. His face was swollen, and he was crying.
"You guys, come over for a walk," Jiang Ming said.
There was another round of crackling, and a few more people were flung to the mud field, screaming.
"You... You are seeking death. Uncle Ba will not let you off!" Guo Heizi was still wailing. "You're dead!"
"What does my death have to do with you? Didn't you come to borrow money?" Jiang Ming asked casually. "Just take your money. "
"What, what do you mean?" Guo Heizi did not quite understand.
Jiang Ming untied the rope and threw some copper coins at him. Then, he threw some to the hooligan and the thin boy according to the amounts he had just stated.
"The rest of the coins will be divided among the others." Jiang Ming threw the remaining copper coins on the ground and smiled gently at the confused young men.
"Keep the money! Remember what I'm going to say next!"
The few young men were even more confused.
"First, I didn't give you money. Instead, I blocked you at the entrance of your house, beat you up, and took all your money away. Second, you must go to town tomorrow morning and cry about what happened today. That's all you have to say. Third, you can tell Uncle Ba the truth. But remember, as long as Uncle Ba can't kill me, I will kill you all! Of course, if you tell Uncle Ba, not only would you be beaten up, you might not be able to keep the money that you got. The loss outweighs the gain," Jiang Ming said slowly, then turned around and left, leaving the young men on the ground, who were getting increasingly confused. They gathered together and muttered.
* * *
The next morning, a strange scene took place in Peace Town.
One by one, people with bruised noses and swollen faces were crying all over the town, recounting how they had been beaten up and robbed of their money.
"That was the only money I had left for my food. He was trying to kill me!"
"He's too vicious. He rushed into my room and broke my leg with a stick, hehe."
"I just want to live my life. How did I meet such a wicked person?"
At the entrance of the small bar, Guo Heizi wrapped his arms with a white cloth and sat at the door crying bitterly, looking like he was about to die.
"Jiang Ming is too vicious."
The bar was abuzz with discussion, and everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost. What the hell was going on?
Jiang Ming, the young man who was kind to everyone, actually dared do such a cruel thing?
Master Zhou and Old Jiang, who were behind the counter, looked at each other. Both of them had lived for more than a hundred years, but they had never seen such a strange thing.
Suddenly, Guo Heizi, who was outside the door, seemed to have his throat pinched. He suddenly stopped making a sound.
Rustling footsteps sounded, and a young man walked into the bar. He greeted everyone calmly, then ordered some food and wine. He sat opposite Master Zhou and began to eat and drink as if no one was around.
The bar suddenly quieted down, and everyone's eyes quietly swept over Jiang Ming.
"This is your doing?" Master Zhou lowered his voice and said with a trembling voice, "You don't want to live? Guo Heizi is with Uncle Ba!"
Jiang Ming looked up at him and sighed, "Master Zhou, you're old. You can't see how the pugilistic world works anymore. Sometimes, if you want to live a peaceful life, you can't just retreat and endure."
"The more tolerant you are, the more people will want to suck you dry until you die. I want to learn martial arts and earn money. I will attract more and more attention. If I don't want to be bullied by evil people, then I have to become evil myself!"
Master Zhou was a little confused and hesitated, "But will Uncle Ba let you off?"
"He won't just spare me." Jiang Ming picked up a piece of smoked tofu covered with chili and enjoyed the spicy and mellow fragrance. "He's gonna smile at me in a desperate attempt to win me over and take me in as a friend."