Fang Zihao quickened his pace unconsciously.
When he reached the restroom, he didn't go in but instead turned in another direction, heading towards an even more remote and secluded backup restroom.
However, the figure following behind him was still clinging on... proving that the other person wasn't just coincidentally going the same way, but had indeed been targeting him from the start!
A surge of anger welled up in Fang Zihao's heart.
He was younger than Zhao Sanyuan, and correspondingly, his skin was a bit thinner.
At first, when he was asked to help deceive the newcomers, he actually felt a bit embarrassed, but just by saying a few words, he could earn what would take him over a month to earn...
And there were no consequences.
After all, he hadn't really lied, he had just concealed a key point.
Furthermore, his elder cousin was a senior instructor at Descending Dragon Martial Hall, and although they resented Zhao Sanyuan, they wouldn't dare to express their anger openly; while they harbored some grievances against him, they still didn't dare to speak out.
After a few times, he gradually became more practiced in the act.
Still having some sense of shame, he wanted to avoid confrontation when he saw Lin Yuan following him as if to settle accounts, but to his dismay, the other party didn't show the slightest courtesy and blatantly continued to follow him.
The embarrassment in his heart instantly turned into shame and anger...
I did indeed deceive you, but I'm just an accomplice; why don't you go after the mastermind and instead come looking for me?
He entered the men's restroom and immediately hid behind the door.
Then, he saw the other person unguardedly follow him in.
Fang Zihao slammed the restroom door shut with a bang, blocking the only exit, and with an indignant face said deliberately, "Student Lin, classes are about to start; shouldn't you hurry to class instead of following me?"
Lin Yuan didn't panic at all and asked, "Assistant Fang, I want to ask how much Zhao Sanyuan paid you for your services?"
"What benefits? I don't understand what you mean."
Lin Yuan raised his hand and waved at the only pocket on his training suit, saying, "Don't worry, it's empty, I have no recording, no tricks, and there is no one else here, just the two of us; can't I just ask?"
Fang Zihao looked deeply at Lin Yuan and said, "I haven't lied; you just never asked from the start."
"You don't need to explain to me; I just want to ask roughly how much money we're talking about."
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Knowing how much money you got would help me figure out how much you've lost."
Lin Yuan hadn't finished speaking.
The previously nonchalant expression on his face tightened as he suddenly took a diagonal step with his right foot and forcefully pushed against the ground.
In no time, he rushed towards Fang Zihao like an arrow released from its bow.
Raised his fist.
Ambush...
It could even be called a sneak attack.
But Fang Zihao wasn't panicked; in fact, he almost wanted to laugh.
Was this someone who had attended only two classes and now didn't know his place in the world?
To become an assistant, one essentially had to be a Reserve Martial Artist.
Whether it was strength, skill, actual combat experience, or physical conditioning, there might be some deficiencies that prevented them from being considered a Martial Artist, but they were only one step away from being fully qualified.
He indeed took a shortcut to become an assistant and might be slightly inferior to other assistants, but that didn't mean someone who had just started out as a Reserve Martial Disciple could compare to him.
After all, Zhao Sanyuan had a discerning eye; he deceived people who came from not-so-wealthy backgrounds, had shallow roots, and were not very strong, which was also why Fang Zihao was willing to collude for some extra cash...
Without a black heart, there wouldn't be money coming in!
Who isn't eyeing the meager possessions in the pockets of the poor?
Fang Zihao raised his hand, easily blocking the opponent's straightforward punch.
A smile appeared on his face, and he was about to throw a few mocking remarks... When suddenly, he couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
To his shock, he found himself lifted off the ground.
The force within the other's fist was unexpectedly too much for him to contend with and had sent him flying.
Huh? Huh huh huh?
In the next moment, his opponent raised the other hand, creating a violent sonic boom in mid-air.
Bang! A punch viciously struck him right in the chest.
"Ugh~~cough cough cough cough~"
Fang Zihao fell to his knees with a thud, clutching his chest tightly, his eyes wide as a goldfish's, staring intently at Lin Yuan, unable to believe where such immense strength had come from.
For an instant, he had thought he was sparring with his cousin, who had already become a Martial Artist.
"Do you know why I asked you how much money you've taken? Because I got scammed out of sixty thousand yuan, and I'm definitely going to recover it from you. Knowing how much you've taken, I'll know how much you're short."
Lin Yuan spoke with a chilly tone.
Yet in his heart, he couldn't help but feel secretly impressed.
Turns out Assistant Fang wasn't simple either. He had launched a sneak attack to be cautious, but unexpectedly, the other still managed to block it. If it weren't for the opponent being overconfident, defeating him would likely have taken at least eight to ten moves.
But now, the person on the ground was Fang Zihao, and the one standing was him.
This only proved that Spiritual Power was more effective than Lin Yuan had imagined.
Lin Yuan bent down and rummaged through Fang Zihao's assistant coach uniform for a while, pulling out a stack of cash—all large hundred-yuan notes, thick, at least thirty of them.
He happily counted the money and said with a smile, "You're carrying quite a bit of cash, not bad. Remember to bring more tomorrow. Otherwise, it won't just be a simple punch next time. Oh, and don't tell anyone else."
"Ugh... ah..."
Fang Zihao struggled to stand up, but his chest felt as if it had been twisted into knots, causing his face to turn deathly pale with pain. He said angrily, "The person who scammed you is Zhao Sanyuan. I'm just an accomplice... Are you sure you're troubling the wrong person?"
"I have no choice. Even though he's the mastermind, it's hard for him to be alone, and I don't have the time to consume with him. I also don't know where his house is, so I can't ambush him along the way."
Lin Yuan pocketed the cash and sighed, "I can't catch him when he's alone, and since he's just an ordinary person, if I hurt him and leave evidence, I'd be the one with a crime... So instead of going through the trouble and risk of hassling him, why not you... After all, I was only scammed out of sixty thousand yuan. As long as I can get that money back, I don't mind whose pocket it comes from."
He smiled and continued, "Compared to him, you're so easy to bully. An honorable assistant coach like you, I can just use the excuse of sparring to beat you up anytime. Would you feel ashamed to tell others that a Reserve Martial Disciple beat you up? Go on, you can call the police, but if it comes out that you got scammed too, your reputation in the Martial Arts Hall is ruined. Mr. Fang, you wouldn't want to ruin your chances of becoming a formal instructor in the future, right?"
Fang Zihao retorted, "I only took a kickback of five thousand yuan!!"
"But I lost sixty thousand, and I intend to take it all back... from you. You can try to avoid me if you'd like, as long as you don't mind me beating you up in front of others."
Lin Yuan opened the bathroom door and said, "Remember, bring more money tomorrow. If you dare not to, be prepared to suffer physically... Fang, you might not be familiar with this routine of mine, it's called bullying, get it? If you don't want to be bullied by me, just bring me the money obediently. I'll stop once I've collected all sixty thousand."
Fang Zihao: ".........."
Can't provoke the mastermind, so you're forcefully fleecing the accomplice?
Even though Fang Zihao was actually the conspirator, an overwhelming sense of injustice rose in his heart...
So Zhao Sanyuan took the lion's share, you do nothing, and I, who only had a sip of the soup, not even one-tenth, am bullied like this?
Just because I'm easy to bully?
Fang Zihao's eyes moistened.
Even the previous shock at Lin Yuan's martial prowess was overshadowed by the profound feeling of unfairness.
He shouted angrily, "This is not fair..."
"You never talked about fairness to me. That's all, see you tomorrow..."
Lin Yuan considerately closed the bathroom door, thoughtfully hanging a "Under Maintenance" sign on it.
To prevent others from seeing Fang Zihao's pitiful state...