A Zhu cried out in alarm, "A Feng, why is your nose bleeding?" He sounded worried enough, but his face was full of sinister delight, every wicked thought in his belly written plainly across it. He laughed at Li Feng's misfortune, maliciously eyeing the two trails of blood beneath his nose. Shaking his head, he pulled a handkerchief from one of the girls beside him and handed it to Li Feng, sighing, "A Feng, don't I know you? You brat still dared to pretend to be grown-up in front of me? Heh heh."
Li Feng took the handkerchief irritably and wiped away the blood. Then he circulated his energy to seal several tiny blood vessels around his nostrils before complaining in a muffled voice, "What? I ate several wild mountain ginseng roots a few days ago. My internal heat was too strong, so just having them lean against me made this happen. Do you take me for some inexperienced virgin? Besides, martial artists are naturally brimming with blood and vitality. What's a little nosebleed?"
A Zhu chuckled and was just about to mock him a few more times when chaos suddenly erupted inside Chunyi Tower. Seven or eight men in black were beaten out of the building amid miserable screams, while the person pursuing and pummeling them was merely a slight young man. The youth's fists fell like raindrops, battering the men in black until they squatted on the ground, unable to move. The thudding sounds of fists striking flesh made everyone's scalp tingle.
A Zhu charged over excitedly, clapping and shouting, "Excellent! You gentlemen of the Golden Tiger Gang are in quite the mood today, aren't you? Getting beaten by a child." The dozen or twenty burly men of the Golden Dragon Gang behind him immediately burst into jeering laughter, perfectly illustrating A Zhu's words.
Li Feng hurriedly wiped the last of the blood from his face, shoved aside several girls dressed all in red and green, and squeezed over to A Zhu's side to look at the beaten men in black. Seeing that the young person doing the beating had an incomparably soft and yin-like flow of true energy circulating through her body, Li Feng could not help laughing loudly. "Ha! A bunch of grown men, beaten into this state by a little girl, and you aren't ashamed? Hahaha! Little girl, this is a brothel, a house of pleasure. Why did you come here to beat people up?"
The young person froze, then shrieked in a piercing voice, "Nonsense! How am I a woman?" She adjusted her clothes in some alarm, but was now too embarrassed to continue throwing punches. The Golden Tiger Gang men shot A Zhu deeply hostile looks, then supported one another as they hurried toward the entrance of Chunyi Tower.
A fierce glint flashed through A Zhu's eyes. He gestured to several burly men behind him, and two of them immediately split through the crowd of onlookers and ran out. Li Feng knew that those Golden Tiger Gang fellows would probably soon have bricks raining down on their heads. That was how street thugs did things. Who knew when enemies might cross paths and receive a vicious blow or two?
The little girl had already rushed up to Li Feng and began berating him with overwhelming arrogance. "You look shifty-eyed and rat-faced. One look tells me you're no good person. You're so skinny—you must have wasted yourself away with wine and women. Hmph, I am clearly a man, yet you insist on calling me a woman. There must be something wrong with your eyes too." The little girl lectured Li Feng point by point, making him sound like a villain and bastard rarer than anything in heaven and unmatched on earth.
A Zhu glanced at Li Feng and said quietly, "A Feng, I never knew you were this bad. I've done plenty of bad things myself, but it seems I still can't compare to you."
Li Feng, meanwhile, calmly watched the little girl fly into a rage and sneered, "You're a man? Fine, take off your upper clothes and let me see whether you're really a man... Hey, brothers, since we're at a brothel, is there any grown man who would dare not take off his clothes? Heh heh. If you're embarrassed in front of so many people, I can find a few girls to accompany you to a room and inspect you thoroughly. How about it? Eh? Which young lady is willing to help? I'll pay ten taels of silver." Li Feng raised a hand, waving a large-denomination flying-cash banknote.
The surrounding customers and idlers shouted their approval, afraid the world was not chaotic enough. More than ten girls from Chunyi Tower rushed over, chattering all at once. "Ha, we'll do it, we'll do it! Such a handsome young master—we'd love nothing more than to serve him... Young master, don't run! Come to our rooms, and we'll inspect you properly to prove whether you're a man. Heh heh, big sister's bed is large and comfortable. Don't run!"
Seeing Li Feng use such a deadly move, the little girl's face flushed crimson. She muttered, "Despicable and shameless," then turned and rushed into Chunyi Tower.
Li Feng shrugged and said casually, "Despicable and shameless? That's exactly what I am. Do you need to tell me? A Zhu, customs in Suzhou Prefecture have changed. A place for grown men actually has women wandering around in it. Is this the age of false phoenixes and sham dragons? No, that isn't right. I only know of the love of dragons and yang; I've never heard women liked that sort of thing too." As he spoke, he casually handed the flying-cash note to the girls. It was not his money anyway, so he did not feel the slightest heartache spending it.
A Zhu, however, was staring rather strangely at the main hall entrance of Chunyi Tower. He said in a low voice, "We may have kicked a hornet's nest this time. The one who was thrown out was Gou Dongxi, the Golden Tiger Gang's third gang leader. You know him too—the one known for fighting without regard for his life. He studied martial arts with people from the White Emperor Sect for several months and is quite capable. Even I can only fight him to a draw, so how was he thrown out so easily by that brat?"
A young person in a white scholar's robe, with a folding fan tucked diagonally behind her collar, came out with immense arrogance. She held Gou Dongxi by the collar in one hand and brought out the little girl who had fled inside earlier. This young person had a delicate oval face, long fine fingers, a well-proportioned figure, and beautiful features. Li Feng snorted softly. "Damn it, another fake. Could she be Gou Dongxi's wife, coming to Chunyi Tower to catch him in adultery? No, that doesn't seem right either."
The young man—no, the young woman—had exceptionally sharp hearing. From five or six zhang away, she heard Li Feng's muttering, and her face immediately turned extremely ugly. With a flick of her hand, Gou Dongxi's sturdy body was hurled more than two zhang away. Gou Dongxi opened his big mouth and began cursing furiously. "You stinking brat, once my men arrive, I'll definitely..." The little girl rushed up and stomped hard on his chest with the tip of her foot. Gou Dongxi's entire body stiffened, and he collapsed onto the ground.
The young woman pulled the folding fan from her collar and snapped it open with a swish. In a rough voice, she shouted, "Which bastard was spewing garbage from his mouth just now? Stand out here. Slap yourself twenty times, and I'll spare you... Otherwise, once I do it myself, you won't have an easy life ahead of you."
Li Feng gave a few cold chuckles, then instead retreated several steps, wearing an expression of what-can-you-do-to-me. He rolled his shoulders, cocked his head, and looked slantwise at the woman, his face full of disregard, disrespect, and frivolity. Li Feng gave a soft whistle and shook his head. "Little girl, this is a brothel, not a place women like you should visit... Hmm, if you said, 'Miss, come out here,' then I would certainly come out. But you call yourself young master—that's a little... heh heh, heh heh."
A Zhu and the burly men behind him, eager to play along with Li Feng, laughed at a most inappropriate moment. As they laughed, they swept their gazes maliciously up and down the woman's body. The woman felt as though countless slugs were crawling over her, and discomfort ran through her whole body. With a furious cry, she pounced down the steps, striking at Li Feng with her folding fan. The force of her charge was like a fierce tiger, an enraged lion lunging at a little lamb.
A Zhu cried out, "Not good!" His Iron Sand Palm, honed through years of training, came up with a whoosh to meet her attack. Several burly men understood his intent perfectly and suddenly rushed forward, shielding Li Feng behind them. They clenched fists the size of rice bowls and glared at the woman like tigers watching prey.
With a light bang, A Zhu's Iron Sand Palm collided squarely with the woman's folding fan. His palm force could snap a wooden beam as thick as a bowl's mouth, yet it could not even shake that light paper fan. Instead, A Zhu felt an enormous gale pressing down upon him. His burly body flew away like a lantern, rolling and tumbling far off before he landed sprawled on the ground in a miserable heap. The Golden Dragon Gang men roared in fury and charged together, pressing toward the woman like a wall. Fists and legs rained down like raindrops.
The woman gave a clear cry. Her left hand twisted strangely, then struck out with one palm at the dozen or so burly men. With a muffled boom, the men, each weighing more than a hundred jin, were sent flying back exactly as they had charged in. They landed hard on their backsides, screaming like ghosts and howling like wolves. The woman smiled smugly and was about to offer a few triumphant words when Li Feng silently circled to her side and shouted, "Strike!" He used the faintest thread of true force in the Little Heavenly Star Palm and slapped toward her armpit.
With a whoosh, the woman felt a baleful gale rushing toward her. Startled, she hurriedly raised a palm to block it. With a bang, Li Feng released force from his palm, and the tremendous impact sent the woman flipping backward through the air. The little girl beside her screamed, "You stinking brat! You dared injure our miss? Are you tired of living?" While shouting, she pounced like lightning. Her orchid fingers sliced through the air with hissing sounds, smashing down toward Li Feng's head and face.
Li Feng sneered. With a bend and twist of his body, he drifted past the woman still in midair. His hands darted over her body several times, producing a thick stack of banknotes and a fragrant handkerchief. Li Feng tucked the banknotes into his robe, then held the handkerchief high in the air and laughed smugly. "Ha! Everyone, look, look! This brat says he's a man. Would a man carry something like this? Ha! What a fragrant handkerchief!"
The woman's face had already turned iron-blue, while the little girl lunged at Li Feng like a madwoman. Energy surged with every movement she made; clearly, the little girl's cultivation was already far from weak. Li Feng stepped through the Heavenly Gang Steps, easily circling the yard without confronting the little girl head-on. One moment his hand groped here, the next it reached there, touching sensitive places on the little girl's body as he cried out in exaggerated surprise, "Aiya, little brother, we're both men. What's the big deal about a touch? Why be so stingy? Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha!"
The gloom in Li Feng's heart was swept clean away. Since leaving Qingyun Flat, this was the first time he had laughed so happily. He thought to himself, So I was born rotten to the bone. No matter what, I can't become a good person. Fine, then I'll happily be a bad person. With that thought, Li Feng maliciously placed a hand upon the little girl's chest and twisted hard, then lightly drifted away.
The little girl froze for a moment. Then she suddenly clutched her chest, squatted on the ground, and burst into loud tears. Her mistress, the young woman, had an iron-blue face, and baleful intent surged in her beautiful eyes. If she had not known she was no match for Li Feng, she would have pounced over to kill him long ago.
Li Feng said frivolously, "Hey, young master, are you looking at me like that because you want to kill me? Want to beat me? Come on, beat me! Why aren't you hitting me? Hahaha! Come kill me! What, you brat got no balls? You don't dare? Then what kind of man are you?" Li Feng was faintly showing signs of falling into madness again. The terrible sight of Ling Guangzi being smashed into powder by Right Saint's fist suddenly surfaced in his mind, followed by the humiliating sensation of foolishly hiding in the forest, too afraid to show himself.
He was not a good person. When he felt humiliated, he had to vent it, even if he had to build his own psychological satisfaction atop another person's suffering. He would never care, because he had never been any upright gentleman. If he felt unhappy, if he felt pain, then he would not hesitate in the slightest to make someone else suffer so that he could feel happy again.
The Profound Stone slowly released wisps of chill, calming Li Feng's emotions somewhat. Li Feng swallowed, then spat a mouthful of saliva onto the ground and cursed contemptuously, "Look at you. Think you're so impressive? Think you were born noble? So you dared dress as a man and come to a brothel to watch the excitement? You think you're looking down on these men who come to buy pleasure? Ha, how impressive you are... Damn it, you even have decent martial arts, so you dared chase after a group of men and beat them. You really have style, don't you? Noble status, right? You're incredible, right? I've humiliated you now, I've bullied your maid. What can you do to me?"
Li Feng stood there shouting with an air of flashy vulgarity, "I was born a street punk, scraping out a living on the streets since I was little. You came from some grand noble household, didn't you? What can you do to me? I'm barefoot and not afraid of you shoe-wearers. If you've got the guts, come over and hit me!"
The woman's eyes were nearly red with rage. The countless customers watching nearby were egging things on loudly, making her mind even more chaotic. For a moment, she had no idea what to do.
The gates to Chunyi Tower's courtyard suddenly exploded into countless fragments that flew high into the air. A cold voice rang out. "Who touched our Golden Tiger Gang men just now? Stand out here for me. If I don't arrange you into eighty-one positions, then I'm not the White Emperor Sect's Right Protector!" A large group of men in black charged in. At their head was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties, with palms as huge as cattail fans and a red glow flickering from his fingers.
The customers cried out in alarm and vanished like waves retreating with the tide. Li Feng nimbly ran to A Zhu's side and stood there, smiling as he pointed at the woman. "Hey, gentlemen of the Golden Tiger Gang, it was this bitch who beat your Golden Tiger Gang heroes. Ha, this young master already helped you give this bitch a thorough lesson, so there's no need to thank me... Our Golden Dragon Gang and Golden Tiger Gang are neighbors in Suzhou Prefecture. We see each other whenever we lift our heads or lower them. Hahaha, no need to thank us."
A Zhu also said blankly, "That's right. Our two gangs usually have a fairly good relationship, so there's no need to take such a tiny matter to heart. But this girl really has some skill. Be careful—getting bitten by her would not be worth it. Isn't Gang Leader Gou still lying over there? Gang Leader Gou was fine at first, but that little girl squatting there and crying is vicious. One kick, and she knocked the breath out of him. Tsk tsk... You must be an expert from the White Emperor Sect, sir? This junior, Li Zhu, offers his respects." With that, he bowed deeply. A Zhu's surname had the same origin as Li Feng's; the two had drawn lots for them at a temple.
The middle-aged man who called himself the White Emperor Sect's Right Protector stared blankly for a while at the young woman and the little girl squatting on the ground in tears. Then he suddenly roared, "Second Miss, why did you run away from the sect? The Sect Master sent carrier pigeons ordering brothers everywhere to search carefully for your whereabouts. How did you come to Suzhou? And even get into a conflict with the Golden Tiger Gang? The Golden Tiger Gang is our ally in Suzhou Prefecture, how could you..."
Li Feng and A Zhu froze. Li Feng let out a strange cry, grabbed A Zhu, and ran toward the back gate. The Golden Dragon Gang men were slick as oil themselves. Seeing their hall master and his brother fleeing, they immediately broke into a run toward the back gate, scarcely slower than Li Feng and A Zhu.
Second Miss gave a furious shout. "That skinny little bastard dared to toy with me and Xiao Lan! Catch him and beat him viciously! Are you all idiots? Catch that skinny, tall brat! I want to skin him alive!"
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