That's it?

Jumping down from the carriage, the encirclement tightened further.

Lu Bei swept his gaze over them. A dozen extras' faces, all roguish and vulgar—nothing but idlers with too much time on their hands.

He was looking for the leader among them.

Question: How could one distinguish a lackey from the boss at a glance?

Answer: Personality.

In the real world, lackeys wore plaid shirts and tattoos, while big brothers wore suits, leather shoes, and slicked-back hair. Quite a few even chose to wear gold-rimmed glasses, doing their best to look like members of the social elite.

In the world of film and television, lackeys all carried long guns and short firearms and wore bulletproof vests. Only the boss carried a small pistol and a tactical dagger, firmly believing that within seven steps, fists were faster.

As for this world...

Lu Bei had only just arrived and had yet to discover the pattern. Or perhaps the little thugs were simply too low-level. Their boss had no money to make his individuality stand out, so in terms of dress, he had blended perfectly into his own lackeys.

"Which one of you is the boss?"

Lu Bei swept his gaze over them once more and said unhurriedly, "A friendly reminder: my maternal cousin is the County Lieutenant of Dasheng Pass. Just a few days ago, I dined with Lord Zhu, the prefect. If I get hurt, you won't be able to bear the consequences."

"What a load of crap. We're beating up a spoiled rich brat like you."

"Looks like you're the boss."

Lu Bei looked toward the ruffian leader who had spoken, steadied himself, and continued, "You don't even give the prefect and the County Lieutenant any face. Should I say you're bold enough to defy heaven... or that you're utterly fearless because you have someone backing you?"

"What prefect? What County Lieutenant? Stop spouting nonsense!" the ruffian leader sneered.

"Got it. Someone hired you to teach me a lesson. Not only did they promise to keep you safe and sound, they even paid to send you to another county to eat, drink, and have fun for a while."

Lu Bei nodded and crooked a finger at the sweating ruffian leader. "Don't bother trying to hide it. It's too fake—you're sweating already. Come on, hurry over and beat me up. Once you're done, I'll report it to the authorities and collect the money."

The ruffian leader froze at that. For a moment, he could neither advance nor retreat, and no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out where he had let the cat out of the bag.

When the enemy didn't move, he launched a Sneak Attack.

Lu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. His body suddenly dropped low as he charged the nearest ruffian and thrust out his hand, landing a straight punch squarely on the man's nose.

In an instant, the ruffian became Zheng the Butcher, blood bursting forth as his nose twisted crookedly to one side. It was as if an oil-and-sauce shop had opened in his face, and all the salty, sour, and spicy flavors came rolling out at once.

The remaining ruffians saw this and charged, howling as they swung their fists.

Lu Bei charged left and blocked right among the crowd. After a few breaths, he had beaten the whole bunch of ruffians to the ground.

His understanding of fist-and-foot techniques was limited to "Handsome Guy Self-Defense." Boys had to learn how to protect themselves when they went out, and before transmigrating, he had learned a few tricks online.

At first, he hadn't wanted to learn.

But big data was simply too powerful. It had secretly figured out that he was a handsome guy and bombarded him with related videos.

Times had changed. Lu Bei had bitterly cultivated the Demon Slaying Scripture and reaped results, crushing a dozen ruffians in strength and speed. He needed no technique; even going straight at them was enough to utterly dominate the whole field.

His undefeated record was flawless. The brutality of the scene was almost like a grown man storming into a kindergarten class.

"Talk!"

Lu Bei grabbed the ruffian leader by the collar and slammed a punch into him. Before the man could beg for mercy, he followed with another punch. "Know your place. Don't be stubborn. My fists are harder."

"I'll talk."

Bang!

"I..."

Bang!

After repeating this several times, Lu Bei finally felt satisfied and gave the ruffian leader a chance to speak.

The man was very sensible. Realizing he had encountered a madman, he had no desire to keep taking punches and rapidly exposed the mastermind behind it all.

"Allow this humble man to inform the hero, it was..."

"Hm?!"

"Young Hero, spare my life!"

"Continue."

"It was Brother Feng Si. He sent us here."

The ruffian leader burst into tears as he pleaded, "I didn't want to offend you, Young Hero, but if we didn't follow his orders, the brothers wouldn't be able to make a living in Dasheng Pass anymore. We had no choice!"

"Anyone hearing this would feel heartbroken. It's truly been hard on you, having to deal with such an unreasonable person." Lu Bei nodded sympathetically, then slammed a punch into the ruffian leader's face and ground it against him twice before pulling back.

When you made a mistake, you had to admit it. When you got beaten, you had to stand firm.

Don't tell him it was unavoidable. All he knew was that he had been the one attacked. As the victim, he had to arm himself with a hard-line attitude, lest others bully him again in the future.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After three punches, Lu Bei shook the ruffian leader, then wiped the blood from his fist on the man's clothes. "One last question. Answer clearly, and in my magnanimity, I won't pursue the matter of you beating me."

"Young Hero, your righteousness is unparalleled."

The ruffian leader hurriedly nodded and forced out a smile. The tugging at his wounds made his grin uglier than a cry.

"But..."

Lu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. "Let me make the ugly part clear first. My maternal cousin is the County Lieutenant of Dasheng Pass. He's vicious and merciless, and he especially enjoys chopping off people's heads and kicking them around like balls. If he finds out someone bullied me, then the dozen or so heads on your shoulders will belong to him."

"I wouldn't dare. I'll tell you everything I know. Please, don't alarm the County Lieutenant."

"Who is Brother Feng Si? Where is he? Where did you meet?" Lu Bei pressed.

"I am Feng Si."

A voice came from outside the alley. A tall, thin figure walked in. The ruffian leader didn't dare meet his eyes. Once Lu Bei released him, he fled with his lackeys, rolling and crawling away.

Lu Bei ignored the pack of dogs' legs and frowned. "Someone already gave away your name, yet you still dared to show yourself. There must be someone else behind you. Zhu Kui sent you, didn't he?"

The tall, thin man in his vision had dark skin and steady steps. He was no ordinary man, which left Lu Bei somewhat uncertain.

He still lacked experience!

"No."

Feng Si shook his head and said frankly, "Although I know Young Master Kui, he has never instructed me to do anything. I'm teaching you a lesson to vent his anger for him."

"Looking for trouble for no reason? You're that bored?"

"You could put it that way."

Feng Si didn't deny it and continued, "Young Master Kui is generous and sincere when it comes to treating his friends. If I get this done, he certainly won't shortchange me."

"Sounds reasonable, but I don't believe you. He definitely ordered you to do it."

"Believe it or not, suit yourself."

A cold glint flashed through Feng Si's eyes. He charged toward Lu Bei in great strides, his five fingers curling into claws as they reached for Lu Bei's shoulder.

Lu Bei instinctively lowered his shoulder and dodged three steps away.

Feng Si let out a soft exclamation and attacked with both claws. The tearing sound of the wind was like silk ripping, and layers of heavy claw shadows enveloped Lu Bei without the slightest gap.

Lu Bei felt claw shadows fill the sky. His paths of retreat in every direction were sealed off, so he raised both hands to shield his head.

Just as he muttered inwardly that this opponent was troublesome and prepared to pour all of the more than one hundred thousand experience points in reserve into his stats, the Status Panel notification popped up.

Not many, just a dozen or so.

[You have been attacked. After calculation, HP -1 following defense reduction]

[You have been attacked. After calculation, HP -1 following defense reduction]

[You have been attacked...]

HP: 536/550

Lu Bei: (_)

That was it?

So he was just a wax spearhead—flashy but useless!

With a calming pill swallowed, Lu Bei no longer panicked. One hand shielded his handsome face as he suddenly stepped forward, while his other hand clenched into a fist and smashed into the very center of Feng Si's face.

Bang!

A direct hit straight to the soul.

Feng Si covered his nose and staggered backward. Blood seeped between his fingers, tears blurred his vision, and he stared at his prey in disbelief.

Something was wrong. Wasn't he supposed to have only a tiny bit of cultivation? How was he so durable?

Lu Bei had suffered from his lack of combat experience. Once he confirmed that Feng Si wasn't as powerful as he had imagined, his Bullying the Weak buff shone blindingly bright. His momentum soared, and he charged in front of Feng Si in a single stride, throwing punch after punch until Feng Si cried out in agony.

The offense and defense switched, with Feng Si reduced to struggling bitterly to block. Several times, he tried to figure out Lu Bei's punching patterns, only to be battered by those utterly chaotic blows until every strike made him grimace in pain.

This rapid assault was a victory of attributes.

After taking several heavy blows in succession, Feng Si's chest grew stuffy. He seized an opening as Lu Bei punched, then sprang forward in a Tiger Pounce Roll, using a smooth maneuver to open up the distance.

Once he got to his feet, Feng Si was panting heavily. Seeing Lu Bei still calm and composed, as though he had yet to exert himself, he decisively took a short blade from his Qiankun Bag.

He threatened coldly, "Kid, your fist-and-foot skills aren't bad, but your Fourth Uncle Feng Si has roamed the world never by relying on his fists, but on this swift blade."

"What a coincidence. So do I." Lu Bei gave a mischievous grin and drew the Hundred Refinements Blade, pointing it at Feng Si.

The blade glimmered with a biting chill and was a full section longer than the short blade in Feng Si's hand.

Feng Si: "..."

Something was wrong!

Very wrong!