"Argh!"
This time he bumped into Leo, putting his muscular body to the test. It went relatively well for him; Leo stumbled but did not fall, while he himself only stopped in place.
"Did I hear you say you want a double date with Merry? You? A pig wooing a swan?" He asked him in a mocking tone. "And you," here it came, my turn, "We have unfinished business from yesterday. Come with us now." He acted like everyone was his servant, expecting me to obey.
He had his usual two followers, who were apparently of equal status so perhaps they defined themselves as friends. Jack and Toby stretched their chests and did their best to look intimidating. It went well for Toby, but Jack was just too slim, too short, and too white. The redness the gentle spring sun planted in his cheeks certainly did not aid his cause.
"Hmm, what for?" I asked. Leo looked at us in worry, unsure if to intervene. He didn't walk away, I will give him that. He'd probably try to help if it got too serious.
"You know what for. I want proof you held up your part of the deal between us," Steven's eyes burned in anger when he remembered yesterday's incident. His behavior was quite compelling, I will give him that. He knew how to bully those weaker than him. I should probably take a few lessons.
"Haha," I burst into laughter, remembering how he ran away at the bluff. In hindsight, I saved his life with that little stunt. Nyssa made her intention to kill them clear in case they tried to undress her. She might lack empathy for others, but it was just another charming manifestation of her straightforward personality.
"Do you think it's funny? Show us proof it's gone right now or I'm going to smash your phone to pieces to make sure," Toby, a tall and broad black man, stood several inches away from me, trying to subdue me with his size.
"What if I still had a copy on my cloud? At home? Another storage app? Smashing one device won't be enough," I pointed out the flaw in his plan, making him gape at my easygoing attitude. When the fear factor was out, all kinds of saucy answers came to mind easily.
"Do you?" The uncertainty in his voice reminded me yet again those guys were not some clever supervillains.
It was time to be edgy. Time to make the dream come true. Do whatever I want and know they can do nothing about it.
I raised my hand slowly and patted his cheek twice. It did not physically hurt and it was not even that unpleasant. But hell was it humiliating.
"No, I don't have any backups. I never even had a video, you guys just swallowed my bluff whole without chewing first."
My grin at the time was one of the only few similarities I shared with Merry, suggesting that perhaps we did share the same parents.
Ah, he was furious. I never felt so fulfilled before. The black skin usually immune to embarrassment turned red enough to be compared with Red-Face Jack.
"What did you just say?"
Now the three men surrounded me directly, only stopped by the public setting from assaulting me right there and then, however, it wouldn't stop them forever.
'If my strength is comparable to that of a pro wrestler, it shouldn't be a problem to take these three on, even without any fighting experience or knowledge.'
Those were the thoughts that led me to act all cocky. There's no way a normal human being could take a punch from a pro fighter and keep on fighting. Their push-ups won't save them, nor will their gym subscriptions.
"Wait, let's calm down everyone, there is surely a way to settle this-" Leo tried to save me but they didn't let him.
"Shut up, Fatty. Say another word and you share the same fate as him," Steven hissed. He knew his chances with Merry were abysmal after what I witnessed, and he blamed it all on me. Me, who had interrupted their triple date from the very beginning.
"It's okay, Leo, everything is under control," I nodded, "They can't do anything to me. Trust me, go to that class you wanted to see."
While I did not mind showing my relationship with Nyssa, I thought it might be wiser to hide the cultivation part. God knows who might be interested in me if the word spread. A pro wrestler might be able to contend with three normal guys, but he'd be helpless in front of a single unit of soldiers. Actually, a single policeman with a gun could beat him.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Did you grow a pair after yesterday, boy? Do you realize we can beat you up now, and then hire a dozen thugs to beat you up some more on your way home?"
Okay, I did not think of that thug part. It would be a problem if one of them chose to pull out a knife given my lack of training. Whatever, it was too late to back down now if I still wanted to keep some dignity. I can always do some extra training.
"I do, and since I act this way, it must mean I have a good reason not to be afraid. Use that little brain of yours, can it only understand what is being directly told, regardless of truth and lies?" I mocked him, referring to the way they never questioned my words yesterday.
"You… where's your confidence coming from?" Jack asked, shocked. It was one of the longest foreplays bullies have ever done. Seeing them squirm indecisively as they tried to make a choice was amusing enough not to put an end to that farce.
"Try to lay your hands on me and find out," I shrugged and walked away, pushing my way between Toby and Jack. They didn't try to stop me.
"Wait. What if he is bluffing again?" Steven asked his two friends. I did not wait, I kept walking.
"Fuck that. He is just a random dude. Let's beat him up and smash his phone. He won't dare upload the video even if he got a backup!"
The three dashed at me, and Leo, too good of a friend to leave and drool over Miss Gizelle's curves while his best friend was in danger, tried to stand in their way. Alas, he chose the wrong target to block, and Toby slammed into him with his muscular shoulder, knocking him off the ground.
'Just use the Qi,' I thought and willed the energy in my body to empower me. It immediately started being absorbed into my bones and muscles and I felt many times lighter.
'Stand sideways, hands up, right hand back, knees slightly bent.' I took the proper stance I learned from TV and threw a straight punch.
*Bang!*
Damn, that was intense. Steven got to me first, and my boxing skills got him flying three meters back, falling on his back. I stared at the result in shock, but the other two didn't.
"Pfft!"
My head got rotated back as I took a right hook to my cheek. A kick connected with my stomach, expelling the air out of my lungs. Jack tried to continue his assault but a quick reaction made me grab his hand and pull, putting him in the way of another kick from Toby.
"Go down, Red Face!"
I took one step back and sent my hand to his neck, letting his throat fit between my thumb and index finger. With a leg placed behind him to tackle him, I smashed him on the ground, headfirst. His relaxed body testified he lost consciousness.
"Fuck! Die!" Toby cursed and tried to land another hook on my face. The last one still took a toll on me, encouraging me to refuse to take another one on. Ready for the blow, I raised my arm, letting it defend the hit.
It was a heavy blow, and in my already low position, it was powerful enough to send me down to the ground. Toby didn't give up his advantage, chasing me as I rolled back in an attempt to get away to reset the battle.
His leg made a long arch in the air as it formed a roundhouse kick at waist height, which happened to be my head height as I tried to stand up.
"Ah!" I shouted as it connected with my raised shoulder yet again and sent me and my unstable stance back to the ground.
I was smarter this time, realizing I lacked experience in fighting. Instead of entering another unstable pose that would make me lose my footing again, I stayed on the floor. Toby thought he had me dazed, and he wouldn't let this opportunity go.
The bulky guy dashed toward me, but when he raised his leg to stomp me down, my leg was shot up, hitting his shin with force he could not take.
"Huh… I won,"
A long, relieved exhale escaped my lips as I threw him off me.