Lin Fei didn't stay long at Old Wang's sickbed; after Aunt Wang arrived, Lin Fei chatted with her for a few minutes, declined the elderly couple's invitation to have dinner, and left the hospital.
As he was leaving, Lin Fei gave Old Wang a key to his rental room, asking him to pass it on to his niece. As for the rent and other matters, Lin Fei didn't elaborate, having decided to do a good deed, he surely intended to see it through.
"Gurgle…"
Just as Lin Fei stepped out of the hospital, the aroma of food from nearby restaurants wafted over, and his stomach, which hadn't been fed all day, voiced its complaints.
Lin Fei touched his slightly deflated belly, "I'll have to put you on hold for a bit, we need to handle important matters first."
It wasn't that Lin Fei didn't want to enjoy a meal nearby; he simply had no money left. The stack of hundred-yuan bills he had obtained from a stranger under the bridge last night had all gone to Old Wang's medical bills.
Now, Lin Fei didn't even have a coin for the bus in his pockets, let alone money for food.
If Old Wang's noodle shop hadn't been smashed, Lin Fei wouldn't have had to endure this hungry ordeal. Hunger was an unpleasant sensation, and the fact that Yang Lao San and his gang had ruined Old Wang's noodle shop and made him starve was intolerable.
Natural as it was, Lin Fei held Yang Lao San and his crew accountable for his hunger.
…
"Brother Yang, recently all of us brothers have been out of luck, we're almost losing our shorts."
Yang Lao San, who had a gold chain around his neck, had just walked a few steps out of the small gambling den when a subordinate approached him to complain.
Yang Lao San spat on the ground and cursed, "Damn it, I've been losing for several days too. Hurry up and find a way to get money. I refuse to believe this streak will continue; I must win it back."
A subordinate, whose hair was dyed yellow, said hesitantly, "Brother Yang, we've already collected all the protection money for this month. Today, we trashed Old Wang's noodle shop, but the old man refused to pay more. It's not possible to get more protection money out of those guys."
Yang Lao San slapped the subordinate across the face, swearing discontentedly, "To hell with that, I don't care. Starting tomorrow, start collecting from each household, smash their places until they pay up."
The slapped subordinate, covering his reddening face, said in distress, "Brother Yang, it's not that we aren't willing to smash, but if we make too much trouble, these guys will close their doors and go out of business. Then, it'll be difficult for us to collect protection money from them in the future."
"Brother Yang, Xiao Wu does make some sense. We definitely need to collect the money, but maybe we should change the pretext."
The first subordinate who had complained leaned closer to Yang Lao San and whispered, "In a couple of days, isn't it your birthday, Brother Yang? We could use your birthday as a reason to have those guys offer you gifts; they wouldn't dare to refuse."
"Smart kid, we'll do just as you said," Yang Lao San laughed loudly, patting the subordinate's shoulder, "I haven't celebrated my birthday in a long while. Once we collect the money, we'll all head to Heaven on Earth for some fun. I heard there are new girls there; we must try those flavors that day."
As he spoke, Yang Lao San licked his lips, seemingly reminiscing about past indulgences, with a wicked expression. His subordinates wore almost the same look.
"So, even someone like you celebrates your birthday; I thought you had long forgotten that you were born of a mother and father too. But if your parents had known you would turn out like this, they probably wouldn't have had you."
In the dim light of a narrow alley, a slightly gaunt figure leaned against the wall, cigarette in mouth.
"Motherfucker, what the hell are you talking about boy, tired of living huh?"
Yang Lao San hadn't even made a sound, when his underling with yellow hair, who he had slapped, roared out first, eager to show off in front of his boss.
"Where did this little runt come from, daring to insult me? Give me..."
Bang!
Before Yang Lao San could finish his sentence, he took a kick to the chest and was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground without any doubt.
While still in mid-air, a stream of blood sprayed from Yang Lao San's mouth. The moment he hit the ground, there was a dull thud, and he was knocked out cold.
Seeing Yang Lao San sprawled on the ground, half-dead, his few underlings were stunned. After a good while, they finally came to their senses and rushed to help him up, "Brother Yang, Brother Yang..."
Leaning against the wall, the gaunt figure took a drag on his cigarette and said impatiently, "Stop shouting, he's not going to die. At most, he'll be bedridden for a few months."
"Fuck, guys, pull out your weapons. Let's waste this asshole."
Yellow Hair was the first to draw a weapon, blustering as he charged forward. The rest of Yang Lao San's underlings hesitated for a few seconds before pulling out their weapons and following him.
The opponent was alone and unarmed. Although they didn't know how Yang Lao San had been sent flying, relying on their numbers and the knives in their hands, Yang Lao San's underlings weren't overly cautious.
This group had beaten up enough people in the past to have developed a bit of ruthlessness.
However, today they were destined for bad luck. The gaunt figure, without seeming to move, confronted the underlings rushing at him with weapons: bang, bang, bang, a few dull thuds later, they were all lying beside Yang Lao San.
Those who spat blood spat blood, those who wailed wailed; even the least injured among them had at least two broken ribs. Of course, the most seriously hurt was still Yang Lao San, who had internal bleeding.
"Better think twice before collecting protection money in the future. Next time, you might end up in Hell."
After leaving these words, the gaunt figure flicked away the cigarette butt and left the alley.
...
At the Purple Garden Pavilion, Lin Fei, having dealt with Yang Lao San and his gang, arrived here. For Yang Lao San and his group, Lin Fei was already being merciful.
Had it not been for the fact that killing them would cause unnecessary trouble in the country, Yang Lao San and his group would mostly likely already be in Hell.
Originally, Lin Fei had thoughts of educating Yang Lao San and his gang, but after seeing their true colors, he grew disinterested in educating them.
For people like Yang Lao San, no amount of reasoning was effective—only violence could subdue them.
This time, by severely injuring Yang Lao San, he would need to spend several months in hospital at least. This would give Old Wang and others who do business in the snack street a respite.
If Yang Lao San still hasn't learned his lesson after his discharge, Lin Fei might have to destroy him humanely. Today, Yang Lao San might vandalize Old Wang's noodle restaurant out of desperation for gambling money.
Tomorrow, Yang Lao San might resort to murder or robbery to cover his gambling debts. In gambling, the only winner is the house. Lin Fei has his own life; he can't always divert his attention to look after Old Wang and his family.
Lin Fei preferred solving problems at their root. In many cases, he liked to settle things once and for all.