Ye Tianchen looked at Hu Long and nodded slightly, thinking he was quite a man. Although he might not be a match for those strong men, he still protected his sister tightly behind him, with a steadfast expression on his face — even if it meant death, he would not let these people take his sister away.
He was determined to protect his own kin at all costs, a trait that Ye Tianchen found similar to his own, which made him somewhat admire Hu Long, feeling that this fellow still had some vigor.
"Damn it, you little bastard, you refuse the toast only to drink a forfeit."
One of the strong men charged forward, chopping a knife towards Hu Long's head. Hu Long, nimble with his movements, dodged the slash and punched the strong man in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
"Attack together!" the leading strong man waved his hand and commanded.
Soon, Hu Long was fighting as he retreated. Five or six strong men, each wielding a machete, attacked together. Hu Long, trying to protect his sister and fend off the blows, soon found it difficult. He was quickly punched several times and kicked, with blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Whoosh!
A strong man's blade slashed Hu Long's arm, instantly cutting through his clothes and dripping blood, soaking his entire right arm, creating a fearsome sight.
"Brother… brother, are you alright?" Hu Long's sister, seeing her brother wounded by the knife, cried and sobbed as she ran to support him, calling out.
"It's nothing. Stay back, these injuries are nothing." Hu Long pushed his sister away, fearing she might get hurt as he yelled.
"Brother, brother, stop fighting, let me go with them… Please, I beg you, don't let them hurt you anymore, I will go with them…" Hu Long's sister broke down in tears, her tears continuously falling.
"Shut up, I would die to protect you, otherwise how could I face our deceased parents," Hu Long shouted loudly.
By this time, Hu Long and his sister were cornered, trapped by five or six strong men all holding machetes and wearing sinister smirks. They had nowhere to escape, making it impossible for Hu Long and his sister to flee.
"Hu Long, I am giving you one last chance, either hand over your sister, or submit to our boss, otherwise no one can save you," the lead strong man said coldly.
"Over my dead body," Hu Long said fiercely.
"Still tough-mouthed even at death's door."
Several strong men wielding machetes slowly enclosed them, clearly aiming to take down Hu Long first, then kidnap his sister to bring her back for Li Tie, the beast, to toy with.
Just as one of the strong men was about to strike Hu Long with his knife, everyone heard Ye Tianchen's voice.
"Stop!"
The strong men, puzzled, turned their heads with fierce expressions to see who was so bold as to meddle in their affairs.
Upon seeing Ye Tianchen, a few strong men sneered, "Just a greenhorn, really oblivious to death, daring to provoke us intentionally; isn't this courting death?"
"Ha, who is this kid? Does he not know what it means to court death?"
"A good deed indeed, killing one is killing, killing two is also killing."
"Daring to meddle in our business, really tired of living."
Ye Tianchen turned a deaf ear to the words of the strong men. In his eyes, these people could be dead at any moment.
"I give you three seconds to disappear, or someone will die," Ye Tianchen said indifferently.
"Huh? Do you know who we are? Daring to act tough in front of us, I'll chop you down first."
One strong man walked towards Ye Tianchen. Ye Tianchen helplessly shrugged his shoulders; he had only wanted to give this spirited man a hand, unaware that he could not avoid fighting after all.
The charging strong man gave Ye Tianchen a fierce look and swung his knife at him. Ye Tianchen coldly smiled, kicked him flying to the ground, and picked up the machete that had fallen. He looked at Hu Long and said, "Your skills are much better than theirs; it's just that you are somewhat hesitant."
Hu Long was also surprised, looking at the young man before him. This skill was too strong; even if he gave it his all, he probably would not be his match.
"You're right. I've been too timid," Hu Long lowered his head and said.
"Now that you've been cornered and can't even protect your own sister, what else is there to worry about?" Ye Tianchen asked with a smile.
Hearing Ye Tianchen's words, Hu Long was stunned for a moment, then stood up and tightly clenched his fists. Ye Tianchen was right, now he couldn't even protect himself or take care of his sister, so what else was there to worry about? If these people dared to rush at him, he would have to fight to kill.
Actually, with Hu Long's skills, the five or six brawny men in front of him were definitely no match for him. Having practiced martial arts from a young age, he could easily handle ten or even eight thugs without a problem. However, he needed to protect his sister and was also worried that fighting these brawny men would deepen his enmity with Li Tie. He wasn't afraid of death, but he had to consider his sister, who was still in school.
As Ye Tianchen stepped forward, the leader of the brawny men furrowed his brows and asked coldly, "Who are you?"
"You do not need to know. If you do not leave, there will be decapitations," Ye Tianchen said as he continued walking forward.
"Go to hell!" one of them shouted.
Suddenly, the brawny man who Ye Tianchen had kicked to the ground scrambled up, picked up a machete, and stabbed it directly towards Ye Tianchen's heart.
With a 'Puchi' sound, that was the knife cutting through the skin. Ye Tianchen turned and dodged the brawny man who was attacking him; with one slash, blood spurted wildly from the man's throat. He clutched at his throat, looking at Ye Tianchen in utter terror, unable to believe that this young man was so fierce and ruthless that he had slit his throat with a single stroke.
The remaining brawny men, seeing their brother being slain by Ye Tianchen and falling in a pool of blood, were completely shocked. They involuntarily stepped back, trembling all over, sweating profusely.
A young man, ruthless in killing, killing as soon as he said, did not hesitate, especially his nonchalant demeanor afterward, which was chilling to behold.
"You... you... who exactly are you? I... we are Li Tie's men. You kill our brother, and you'll lose your life too," the leader said, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, trembling with fear.
The brawny men were intimidated by Ye Tianchen. Originally mocking and wanting to teach Ye Tianchen a lesson, they were now so frightened that they kept retreating, with none daring to step forward. Although they were used to fighting, their killing effectiveness was far inferior to that of the young man before them.
"Go back and tell that Li Tie, I'll visit him when I have a chance," Ye Tianchen said indifferently.
"You...you're ruthless..."
The few brawny men holding machetes ran off in utter panic, so scared they could barely keep their bodily functions under control. Ye Tianchen yawned, turned, and prepared to leave. He hadn't thought much about rescuing Hu Long and his sister; he just felt that Hu Long's spirit and humanity made him worthy of a little effort.
Seeing the man who had saved him and his sister leaving, Hu Long patted his sister's shoulder, steadying her emotions, and quickly chased after him.
"Brother, wait, thank you for saving our lives!" Hu Long chased after him and said gratefully.
"It was a minor thing. What puzzles me is, with your skills, handling these men wouldn't be a problem. Why were you so hesitant, afraid of retaliation?" Ye Tianchen casually asked.
Hu Long glanced at Ye Tianchen and finally just gave a brief account of the events, but it let Ye Tianchen learn a critical piece of information.
It turned out, Hu Long had trained in martial arts since childhood and had been an apprentice to a master of the Eight Diagrams Dragon Palm, practicing martial arts for over ten years. Who knew that his parents had been driven to their deaths by a usurer like Li Tie? Later, Li Tie had tried to make Hu Long do a job for him in exchange for wiping off his debts. Hu Long had refused, which led to today's assault.
Ye Tianchen had noticed Hu Long's moves and recognized that Hu Long was competent. In the apocalypse, Ye Tianchen had also fought against masters from Ancient Martial Sects. With five millennia of history, Chinese martial arts were profound and extensive, such as the modern Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Mount Hua, Jade Maiden Sect, etc. Even though these sects rarely appeared in society, that did not mean they had vanished; they merely lay dormant, still possessing remarkable martial experts.
"Li Tie wanted me to kill someone, which I refused, so he's been causing troubles for me," Hu Long said.
"Kill someone? I suppose with your skills, killing an ordinary person would be no issue. Could it be that the target is also difficult to deal with?" Ye Tianchen asked curiously.
"No, it's just an ordinary person, but I heard he is a good official. Though I, Hu Long, am not well-educated and know little about scholarship, I still understand national righteousness," he said.
"Killing an official? Just what kind of person is this Li Tie?" Ye Tianchen asked, puzzled.
"Li Tie is a bully in Capital City, a local strongman. He has solid connections everywhere and often does jobs for some legitimate powers. This time, I guess he wanted me to kill that good official for someone else," Hu Long explained.
"Who exactly did Li Tie want you to kill?"
"A vice mayor of H city named Ye Hong!"
"What?"
Hu Long's words indeed startled Ye Tianchen. He hadn't expected that Li Tie, the bully of Capital City, had once wanted Hu Long, a master from an Ancient Martial Sect, to assassinate his father. This matter had to be clarified.
Reborn in this life, Ye Tianchen would never allow anyone to harm his family. No matter who the adversary was, if they dared to harm his family, he would have to take care of them.
[PS: The second update today is here; please favorite and recommend, sincerely thankful for everyone's support, thank you!]