Clang, clang—
The shelves inside the pastry shop were knocked over, and the ovens and utensils were smashed to pieces on the floor.
"Help—help—Sister Qi, save me—" The female clerk struggled desperately, pushing at the big man's fat face as she tried to escape his clutches.
But she was too weak. No matter how hard she fought, that fat bastard's stinking mouth continued to slobber all over her face and neck.
The two pastry chefs came rushing over with rolling pins in hand, but before they could make a single move, the street thugs had beaten them to the ground. They were experts at making pastries, but when it came to fighting, they were no match for these hoodlums.
"Xiaoting—" Luo Qi's eyes nearly split with rage as she lunged toward the girl. Xiaoting was a pitiful child with neither father nor mother. No matter what, Luo Qi could not let these thugs ruin her innocence.
Zhang Tianyi's burly body took only one step forward, yet it happened to block Luo Qi from the outside.
"Zhang Tianyi, I'll fight you to the death." Zhang Qi reached out to claw at Zhang Tianyi's face, but he caught her wrist in one swift motion.
"Fight to the death?" Zhang Tianyi smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits. "If we fight here, I'm afraid you won't gain much of an advantage. But if we fight on a bed, you might have a three-tenths chance of winning—"
"Zhang Tianyi—"
"That's right, keep that spicy spirit. That's exactly my type—"
Clang—
The wooden door of the pastry shop was smashed open, and Li Mu Yang stood in the doorway, panting heavily.
"Mu Yang—" Luo Qi was extremely sensitive whenever it came to Li Mu Yang. Seeing him suddenly rush into the shop, she was terrified that he might be hurt. She screamed, "Mu Yang, run! Go get your father—quickly!"
"Oh, is this the little bastard from your family? Heh heh, it's good to let him see this too. Young people should experience society a little earlier—" Zhang Tianyi cast a sidelong glance at Li Mu Yang, growing even more excited.
"Zhang Tianyi, you beast—Mu Yang, run!"
"You won't get away." As Zhang Tianyi spoke, several thugs had already closed in around Li Mu Yang.
"Zhang Tianyi—let my son go! Let my son go! I'll give you money. I'll pay the management fee as you demanded. I'll give you however much you want! Do you know who he is? If you dare hurt him, I'll make sure you die without a burial place! I'll make your entire family, old and young, accompany you to the grave—" Luo Qi screamed hysterically as she desperately charged toward Li Mu Yang, looking as though she was ready for a Never-ending Battle.
"If you'd agreed to my terms earlier, none of this would've happened. Fine, you want to protect your son, don't you? That's not impossible either. Like I said, come have a drink with me, and we'll have a nice little chat. What problem can't the two of us solve?"
At the sight of everything unfolding before him, red clouds instantly enveloped Li Mu Yang's pitch-black eyes.
It was the red of blood, as though a pair of black ink beads had been soaked in a pool of blood.
His expression was cold as frost, and his face seemed capable of wringing out handfuls of icy water.
His clenched fists crackled loudly, as though he might crush even his own bones into fragments.
On the back of his right hand, the scale that had disappeared grew even darker, like a piece of Ink Stone embedded in his flesh.
Because the Ink Stone was so black, it instead made his skin look exceptionally pale.
Li Mu Yang panted harshly as he stood motionless, waiting for those scum of the earth to pounce on him.
"Kid, you're bringing death upon yourself. Don't blame anyone else—" The pockmarked man in the lead spoke with a grin, then reached out to grab Li Mu Yang's shoulder.
"You shouldn't have provoked me." Li Mu Yang's voice was hoarse. It was cold and weathered, so much so that it was hard to believe it came from the mouth of a young man.
"Oh? The little brat has a temper." The pockmarked man threw his head back and laughed with his companions. "So what if we provoked you? Are you going to kill us or something?"
"Die."
Boom—
Li Mu Yang threw a punch.
Thunder roared, and lightning rumbled.
Countless streaks of white lightning flashed through the air, like a bolt of lightning suddenly exploding inside the shop.
Whoosh—
A wild gale of force surged outward, sweeping up the shelves and pastries scattered across the floor and hurling them into the surrounding walls. The clattering and crashing never ceased.
The four black-clad thugs surrounding Li Mu Yang bore the brunt of it. They were the first to be blown away by that tyrannical, unstoppable force.
Their bodies slammed into the walls, and then the cracking of breaking bones came from within them.
Bang—
The four bodies hit the ground at the same time, and they violently spewed mouthful after mouthful of blood.
The pockmarked man, who had taken Li Mu Yang's punch head-on, suffered the worst. Right before Li Mu Yang's eyes, his entire chest caved inward from the blow.
His body soared through the air as blood sprayed from his mouth. Blood splattered everywhere, and his body retreated backward as swiftly as the wind.
Crack—
His body smashed through the wooden partition and flew straight into the kitchen.
There was no further movement from inside. He had probably been unable to withstand the might of that punch and had been beaten to death on the spot.
The big man who had refused to release Xiaoting had actually helped her this time. When the force swept through the shop like a bomb, his body was also sent crashing into the display cabinet.
His body slammed heavily into the redwood cabinet, pressing the old frame until it creaked and groaned.
Xiaoting was held in his arms, protected by his flesh as a cushion, and thus managed to preserve her life.
Luo Qi's body was light, and the force blew her away. She landed on the pastry counter, her face and body smeared with flour.
Zhang Tianyi, however, knew a few techniques for tempering the body. The instant he sensed that the situation was turning bad, he immediately used the sinking technique of Iron Horse Crossing River.
He stamped both feet into the ground. The granite floor let out a series of cracking sounds, and his feet sank deep into the stone, as though they had fused with that enormous slab of granite.
Li Mu Yang was like a heavenly god descending into the mortal world, bringing a storm of such magnitude with a single move.
The might of one punch could shake heaven and earth.
The gale swept through the shop, and then everything seemed to return to normal.
No, it could not return to normal.
Before Li Mu Yang arrived, Sinian Pastry Shop had merely looked like it had been robbed by a few bandits.
After Li Mu Yang arrived, Sinian Pastry Shop looked as though it had been through a miniature tornado.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
A sheet of pastry paper fluttered through the air, drifting and swaying as it descended toward the floor.
Everyone in the pastry shop who was still alive—
Their gazes passed through the pastry paper in the air and finally landed on Li Mu Yang.
Luo Qi lifted her head from the pile of flour, white powder still falling nonstop from her face and hair.
Her face was filled with astonishment as she stared at Li Mu Yang, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Is this—my son?"
The black-clad men coughing up blood had dilated pupils. For a moment, they felt as though they were already dead.
They felt as though they had encountered the Grim Reaper.
Because aside from the Grim Reaper, no one had ever given them that suffocating feeling of despair, that feeling of being utterly unable to move as death closed in.
Although Zhang Tianyi had withstood the onslaught of Li Mu Yang's punch, the consequence of forcibly taking it with his body was that his clothes looked as though they had been slashed apart by countless knives.
After the gale passed, his clothes hung in tatters, no different from the rags worn by beggars living off handouts in the streets.
Zhang Tianyi held both arms wide, as though embracing a giant ball.
Although a cold wind had just swept past, his forehead was drenched in sweat. Beads of sweat kept falling, sliding across his fleshy face before seeping into his fat neck.
The muscles on his face twitched nonstop, like pig's head meat being heated over a roaring fire in a pot.
His short legs trembled endlessly. This time, he truly felt afraid.
The feeling of the Grim Reaper's scythe flashing past his neck filled him with terror from the marrow of his bones.
"Pfft—"
He could hold on no longer. His throat turned sweet, and he bent over, spewing out mouthful after mouthful of blood.
Li Mu Yang walked toward him step by step.
Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
Li Mu Yang wore flat cloth shoes, which did not make particularly loud sounds against the floor. But to Zhang Tianyi's ears, every step he took sounded like thunder exploding beside him.
Li Mu Yang stopped before Zhang Tianyi. His blood-red pupils examined the severely injured, blood-vomiting Zhang Tianyi without a trace of human emotion.
"Big brother—big brother, let me off this once. I was wrong this time. I won't dare come again. I promise you, I absolutely won't collect management fees here anymore—" Zhang Tianyi pleaded as he looked into Li Mu Yang's eyes.
He felt as though he had fallen into a deep pool, its waters dark and unfathomable.
He was terrified of this feeling of drowning. His body kept sinking as he thrashed desperately, yet he could not find even a scrap of duckweed to grab onto.
"I deserve ten thousand deaths. I'm willing to apologize to Luo Qi—to Boss Luo. I'm willing to compensate the shop for all its losses—as long as you let me off this time, I'll agree to anything you ask. Name your price. I'll give you however much money you want—"
"Big brother, say something—I—I won't dare do this again. I won't collect protection fees on this street anymore. I'm willing to pay you protection fees. From today onward, you're my big brother, Zhang Tianyi. I'll follow your lead in everything. I'll do whatever you tell me, even kill or set fires without hesitation—"
"Kneel." Li Mu Yang's voice was dignified.
"What? Big brother, don't do this—Boss Luo, say something for me! Your son is going to kill someone! He's going to kill someone! Stop him—quickly!"
Zhang Tianyi wanted to run, but his calves trembled violently, and he could not move his feet at all.
Luo Qi's mouth was stuffed with flour, making it difficult for her to chew.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
The Li Mu Yang before her made her feel incomparably strange and panicked.
"Kneel." Li Mu Yang spoke again. His voice now carried a faint trace of anger.
"Big brother—"
"Kneel." Li Mu Yang roared furiously, blood mist boiling in his pupils.
Thud—
Zhang Tianyi's knees gave way, and he fell heavily to his knees before Li Mu Yang.
Before you continue