The courtyard of the Village Office was momentarily quiet, but the atmosphere was anything but relaxed.
The young men from Xingang Brigade were all glaring at Luo Yang, some leering at Hong Jiaxin as their eyes roamed over her body. Good gracious, even a female ghost would be scared to pee by those looks.
About Us Hong Jiaxin was naturally tense, edging closer to Luo Yang until she was almost clinging to his back.
At such times, Luo Yang himself was on edge.
When Hong Jiaxin moved close, Luo Yang could feel waves of her body heat washing over him.
So he reached back to hold her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, signaling her not to be afraid.
With Luo Yang's comfort, Hong Jiaxin calmed down a bit.
Luo Yang swept his gaze around and, not knowing quite what to say, he took a deep breath.
The prepared speech had slipped his mind, and the rehearsed phrases seemed useless now, forcing him to improvise.
It was after a second deep breath that Luo Yang managed to get his disordered thoughts somewhat calmed down.
"I didn't come here to fight," Luo Yang said.
He thought that should suffice.
Just then, the sound of motorcycles came from outside, screeching to a halt.
Everyone looked towards the entrance of the courtyard just in time to see several young men, armed with knives and sticks, charging in.
Luo Yang thought, oh boy, they've come for a showdown.
The newcomers were the very same young men Luo Yang had knocked down on the road earlier; they hadn't been seriously hurt as Luo Yang had held back.
They had overheard Luo Yang's phone conversation with Cheng Xin.
After Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin entered the village, they had immediately gone home to grab weapons and stormed to the Village Office.
They weren't very drunk, but they were angered and half-drunk when they charged in. Seeing Luo Yang, they rushed to attack him.
The scene suddenly became extremely chaotic, with everyone else backing away.
"Squad leader, go to Sister Cheng," Luo Yang instructed while dealing with the young men.
Had it been six months earlier, surrounded by several people, Luo Yang would have definitely turned tail and run, not bothering to fight them.
But times had changed. Since he had True Qi in his body and had learned Shadow Fist, these ordinary hooligans, even with knives and sticks, didn't seem like a threat to him.
Luo Yang was seen navigating through the knives and sticks with ease, disarming weapons with his hands and tripping people with his feet.
Within three minutes, he had put the young men on the ground.
Those present were stunned by Luo Yang's heroic performance, their mouths agape for a long time.
"What the hell is going on?!" Yu Baiqiang demanded.
So Luo Yang recounted what had happened on the road.
However, the young men denied having had any improper intentions towards Hong Jiaxin on the road, with one brazenly claiming, "We offered her a kind lift, and he just attacked us."
At these words, the people from Xingang Brigade boiled over with rage.
"Take him down!"
"Kill him!"
"Don't let him get away!"
...
...
The situation was getting out of hand.
But Luo Yang remained calm, confident that he could handle them even if they all came at him at once.
"Have you had enough?!" Luo Yang suddenly bellowed in a low growl.
The roar was like that of a lion, buzzing in everyone's ears.
With that shout, the whole place fell silent.
The people from Xingang Brigade looked at each other, all in shock and fear; they had seen Luo Yang's prowess, and they knew if he went on a rampage, they would end up lying dead on the spot.
Luo Yang looked around, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly, "If it were a real fight, do you think you could have come back alive?"
He was staring at Yu Xianghai.
Dozens of young men from Xingang Brigade had witnessed it personally; had Luo Yang not held back, a single blow could have sent Yu Xianghai's head rolling to the ground.
Yu Xianghai felt both embarrassed and annoyed, but he didn't dare talk back.
"Who's the best fighter in your village? Get him out here to fight me!" Luo Yang said coldly.
"I'll fight you!"
Before the echo of his words had faded, a burly man with a ceremonial staff pushed through the crowd.
Luo Yang had some impression of this burly man. He seemed to be someone from Xingang Brigade, known for his fighting skills, having practiced martial arts from a young age and mastered a stick technique to perfection.
As for his name, Luo Yang wasn't clear.
"Yu Wang will test your moves. Choose your weapon," said the burly man, hoisting the ceremonial staff on his shoulder.
"No need. Let's begin," Luo Yang gestured with an inviting hand.
This was a fight between the practitioners of the Xingang Brigade and the practitioners of the Hongyun Brigade, so naturally, the people from Xingang Brigade cheered on their man.
"What arrogance! I've heard that the Hongyun Brigade had a capable fighter, and that must be you, right? If you get injured tonight, don't say I didn't warn you! Watch the stick!"
Yu Wang used the Wu Lang Bagua Stick technique, striking with the ferocity of a sea dragon, the wind from his stick howling.
Ten ordinary men, even armed with knives and sticks, wouldn't be able to stand after taking on Yu Wang's Wu Lang Bagua Stick technique.
Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Luo Yang, a youngster who knew the Shadow Fist.
The essence of Shadow Boxing lay in reactive dodging: as long as the enemy did not attack, Luo Yang stayed put, but once they attacked, Luo Yang gained the defensive advantage.
Speedy stick work was useless; the ceremonial staff seemed poised to hit Luo Yang, and yet, with a sudden shift, he narrowly avoided the blow.
The most infuriating part was that each time it was a hair's breadth from hitting, yet it always missed its mark.
Yu Wang grew even more impatient.
Luo Yang, hands clasped behind his back, didn't counterattack, focusing solely on defense.
After Yu Wang had executed his entire Wu Lang Bagua Stick technique, Luo Yang asked, "Do you still want to fight?"
Seeing how skilled Luo Yang was in combat, Hong Jiaxin watched him with a gaze full of admiration, seemingly saying: Having him as my master wouldn't be too bad.
Yu Wang barked in anger, "But can you defeat me?"
He was left with no way to back down and could only respond as such.
As the best fighter of the Xingang Brigade facing a young man with hands behind his back, he was unable to prevail.
It was truly humiliating.
As he spoke, Yu Wang seized the opportunity and thrust the ceremonial staff straight towards Luo Yang's body.
If that thrust had hit, given the mighty force behind the staff, it wouldn't just pierce flesh and blood - even a steel body would cave in.
The crowd thought Luo Yang would deftly dodge again, but to their surprise, he stood motionless.
Yu Wang was overjoyed, thinking the strike was sure to connect.
Suddenly, everyone saw Luo Yang's left hand reach out and grab the other end of the ceremonial staff.
Now, Yu Wang and Luo Yang each held one end of the ceremonial staff.
Luo Yang, using just one hand to control the staff and neutralize the force, left Yu Wang astonished with his skill.
Just as Yu Wang tried to pull back the ceremonial staff, he felt a massive force shake from the other end, sending a hot surge through his palms as if his fingers were about to snap from the intense pain.
Having no choice, Yu Wang had to let go and abandon the staff.
Luo Yang had infused the ceremonial staff with True Qi; with just a shake, he made Yu Wang release his grip.
The crowd inhaled sharply, struck dumb by the sight.
Yu Wang stood there for quite some time before he came to his senses and, with hands clasped in a salute, said, "I've lost!"
Throwing the ceremonial staff back to Yu Wang, Luo Yang said, "We'll have a chance to learn from each other again in the future."
Upon hearing these words, excitement immediately lit up Yu Wang's face.
"Okay!" Yu Wang nodded.
With that, Luo Yang had established a formidable image in front of the people of the Xingang Brigade.
Wherever his eyes turned, no one dared meet his gaze.
"I didn't come here to fight. The grievances between our two villages can be settled," Luo Yang said, returning to the matter at hand.
"Don't act tough here! We're not afraid of you! If you don't leave, we'll still take you down!" Yu Xianghai shouted angrily.
When Luo Yang turned his gaze to Yu Xianghai, Yu Xianghai had no choice but to avert his eyes.
This fellow was the direct nephew of Yu Baiqiang; his causing trouble would directly affect the reconciliation between the two villages.