Thunderous Means

Amid the crowd's cheers, Su Hao led He Qingqing and Little Fatty out of the restaurant. The two money pouches he had taken were both his now. It was not much—just 10 Silver Yuan in total.

He Qingqing and Little Fatty made no effort to hide the admiration in their eyes. They had known Su Hao was formidable, but they had not expected him to be far more than merely formidable.

As she replayed everything that had happened, He Qingqing suddenly said after a moment, "Xiangwu, we've already gotten all the money back. If we break his other hand too, wouldn't that be..."

Su Hao said with a laugh, "It wasn't your money he stole, so you think I went too far? Ask Little Fatty whether he thinks I went too far."

Little Fatty first glanced at Qing Qing, then said hesitantly, "How should I put it? I think breaking one hand was deserved. Breaking both hands does seem a little excessive, but it doesn't matter. As long as the money was recovered, it's fine."

Su Hao curled his lip. "You feel sorry for him because you still don't understand the weight of money. Two hands is getting off lightly. If he stole from me, I'd break another leg."

As though recalling the sight of Su Hao wrenching a hand apart alive, the two of them shuddered.

Su Hao said to them, "This is no longer Tea Mountain Outpost. From now on, we have to rely on ourselves for everything. We won't go looking for trouble, but if someone comes looking for trouble with us, we have to use Thunderous Means—beat anyone who dares provoke us until they can no longer muster another thought."

"Because once you go soft, others will think you're easy to bully, and the trouble afterward will be endless. Understand?"

He Qingqing and Little Fatty nodded as though they understood, yet did not quite understand.

Little Fatty asked, "Xiangwu, what are Thunderous Means?"

Su Hao smiled. "That depends. Thunderous Means differ according to the situation. Let me give you an example! You really like steamed buns. If I had one steamed bun and asked you to trade one arm for it, would you?"

Little Fatty shuddered and immediately hid his arm behind his back, taking two steps away. "Of course I wouldn't! Xiangwu, don't get any ideas about me."

Su Hao was speechless. "I'm just giving an example."

Then he added, "Why wouldn't you trade?"

"Of course I wouldn't trade! Only an idiot would!"

Su Hao laughed. "It's not just idiots who wouldn't trade. Even an idiot probably wouldn't. Why? Because using an arm as the price for a steamed bun is an enormous loss, right?"

Little Fatty nodded. "Right!"

Su Hao held up one finger toward He Qingqing and Little Fatty. "So you only need to understand one thing: as long as you make anyone targeting you realize that the price of bullying you will far exceed the pleasure they gain from it, no one will be willing to bully you."

Seeing the thoughtful looks on He Qingqing's and Little Fatty's faces, he summed up, "So the price the other party has to pay is what you call Thunderous Means."

With that, regardless of whether they understood, he took them to a random restaurant and began eating dinner.

After Su Hao's group of three left, several children around ten years old who were dining in a private room on the second floor of the previous restaurant began discussing what had happened.

"Brother Dayan, that short-haired boy just now was incredible. He looked like one of this year's new students too, right?" As a little girl with a bun hairstyle spoke, she leaned closer to a cold-looking long-haired boy beside her.

The handsome long-haired boy subtly shifted a little farther away. In a cool voice, he said, "Probably. He was quite impressive."

The long-haired boy was called Jin Dayan, the third young master of the Jin Clan, one of Lingyun Town's three great clans. He was praised as one of the Jin Clan's most Genius Martial Artists. At only ten years old, he had already broken through to become a High-Rank Ordinary Warrior. His talent surpassed even that of his eldest and second brothers, shaking the entire town for a time. He was currently very famous in Lingyun Town, but few had actually seen the Jin Clan's third young master, Jin Dayan.

Another little girl dressed in pink could no longer stand it. She hurriedly stood up, grabbed the bun-haired girl, and pulled her away. "Mo Xin, stay farther away from my brother!"

The girl in pink was called Jin Xiaohan, Jin Dayan's younger sister. The Jin Clan's naming convention for this generation was particularly amusing: the boys all had "Da" in their names, while the girls all had "Xiao," making it a frequent topic of conversation.

The bun-haired Mo Xin said unhappily, "Is this not far enough? Xiaohan, you're too sensitive!"

Jin Xiaohan glared. "Your face was practically pressed against my brother's!"

Mo Xin merely giggled, then turned to ask Jin Dayan, "Brother Dayan, that boy looked younger than all of us, but he knocked down three Mid-stage Martial Artists in one go. Could he be a High-Rank Ordinary Warrior too?"

Jin Dayan shook his head and said uncertainly, "I'm not sure, but if it were me, I probably couldn't have knocked the three of them down as cleanly as he did."

Jin Xiaohan's and Mo Xin's smiles froze. They immediately said, "Impossible! That boy was just lucky."

A faint smile tugged at Jin Dayan's lips. "Maybe. We'll meet again."

By then, the sky had already darkened. Only a few dim lights shone within the Academy, though fortunately, moonlight spilled down like a thin veil.

After sending He Qingqing back to her dormitory, Su Hao deliberately brought Little Fatty along to meet her roommates. He made it clear that He Qingqing had people backing her, so she would not be isolated in the girls' dormitory.

Though Su Hao considered himself well-traveled and experienced, he still could not make sense of the complexities of girls' dormitories. Someone like He Qingqing, who had come out of a village for the first time and understood nothing, could easily become a target for bullying.

When Su Hao and Little Fatty returned to their dormitory, they found that their other two roommates were both there.

One was tall and sturdy, with a sun-darkened face. He stood nearly a head taller than Su Hao, his muscles bulging, and he looked at least twelve years old. He appeared to have entered the Academy right at the age limit.

The other was a small boy around ten years old. Compared to others his age, he looked somewhat malnourished, even thinner than He Qingqing. At that moment, he was curled up in a corner of his bed, staring timidly at the tall dark-faced boy.

It seemed the two were not together.

When the dark-faced tall boy saw Su Hao and Little Fatty return, he flashed a brilliant smile. "Heh! Welcome back to my dormitory. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Kong Yang. You can call me Brother Yang. From now on, I'm the boss here, and what I say goes. All right, your turn! You little runts!"

Su Hao's head began to ache. This kind of nonsense was everywhere. He glanced at Little Fatty and found that he had already lost his nerve.

Little Fatty said, "B-Brother Yang, hello. My name is Li Cunzhi. You can call me Cunzhi."

Kong Yang said with a sour face, "What Cunzhi? Hmph, you're obviously Dead Fatty."

Little Fatty dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Seeing that Little Fatty had cowered, Kong Yang immediately revealed a victorious grin. He turned proudly toward Su Hao. "What about you, little runt?"

Su Hao first straightened his clothes, then turned to Little Fatty. "Watch carefully. This is what Thunderous Means are!"

Little Fatty nodded in confusion.

Su Hao crooked a finger at Kong Yang. "Come on. Let's talk outside."

With that, he turned and walked out first.

Kong Yang gave a heh-heh laugh. "Got guts." He strode out with tiger-like steps as well.

The two stood facing each other, their expressions indistinct beneath the moonlight.

"My name is Wu Xiangwu. Are you ready?" Su Hao prompted.

"Heh heh heh, you come over first. We're roommates, so I'll go easy on you." Kong Yang's muscles began to swell high.

"Watch carefully!" With that, Su Hao moved his foot and vanished from where he stood.

Kong Yang was startled. "Where is he?"

Bang!

Su Hao circled behind him and kicked Kong Yang flying.

Kong Yang climbed back up with a dazed expression. When he saw Su Hao standing where he himself had just stood, he flew into a rage. "You ambushed me!"

Su Hao said again, "Then watch more carefully. I'm coming."

Bang!

Another punch smashed into his face, knocking him sprawling sideways.

"You..." Kong Yang had just gotten up and had not yet had the chance to accuse Su Hao.

Bang!

Another kick sent him flying several meters.

"Sir..."

Bang!

"I..."

Bang!

A moment later, Kong Yang no longer moved. He simply lay on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he cried, "Big Brother! Stop hitting me! I surrender! From now on, you're my big brother. I'll listen to you in everything!"

Only then did Su Hao stop. He turned to the dumbfounded Little Fatty and asked, "Do you know what Thunderous Means are now?"

Little Fatty stammered, "I-I know!"

At that moment, the small roommate rushed out and said to Su Hao, "Brother Xiangwu, my name is Hua Wanli. Can you teach me? I can pay tuition."

Su Hao glanced at him and laughed. "You don't need me to teach you. You can learn it at the Academy."

Thanks to Qianyou Yue Mengqi Zhiye for the reward, and Man Shui Qiao for the monthly vote.