Bald Liu

"Who sent you?" Xiao Hen asked playfully, squatting in front of Bald Man and pressing a stick against his forehead.

"L-Look here, brother, it's, it's us who were blind and mistook you for someone else, really, it was just a case of mistaken identity!" Bald Man rubbed the back of his knee. The blow Xiao Hen had just landed really hurt.

"Heh, you still won't confess?" Xiao Hen smiled, then suddenly brought the stick down with a smash, snapping the arm the bald man was using to rub his knee.

"Ah!!!"

Bald Man let out a miserable scream. Xiao Hen's brow twitched as he glanced around. It was afternoon, and Mingyue Residential Area was located in the suburbs, so pedestrian traffic within the complex was sparse at this time, but there was no guarantee someone wouldn't notice.

"Sorry, I used too much force. But if you keep screaming like that, I won't smash your arm anymore. How about I smash your head instead?" Xiao Hen said, gently tapping the bald man's bald pate.

"No, no, no... I, I'll talk!" The bald man was terrified. This guy hit really hard, and he could feel his left hand was already fractured. This person struck with incredible force; if he really smashed it against his head, his skull would literally shatter. This was no joke.

The bald man looked at Xiao Hen's smiling expression and was scared out of his wits, and the others felt the same way. As thugs, these men often took jobs involving this kind of intimidation and violence. Even when they inflicted various serious injuries, the victims rarely dared to call the police or seek justice, and even if they did, the thugs had ways to deal with it.

Yet what they feared most was encountering someone like Xiao Hen, who would directly counterattack, catching them completely off guard and wiping out their entire group in one fell swoop.

In the distance, the two men Xiao Hen had knocked down first—the two thugs who had previously prepared to attack Xiao Hen's back—were now both enduring the pain in the backs of their hands as they stood up. They exchanged glances, picked up their weapons from the ground with light steps, and slowly approached Xiao Hen. Raising their weapons high, they prepared to bring them down.

Excitement flashed in the eyes of the two men. They were about to succeed, about to land the hit. Let's see if you're done for this time!

Opposite Xiao Hen, the bald man saw this entire situation clearly, but didn't dare look directly, only peering out of the corners of his eyes. Though delighted in his heart, he dared not show it on his face. He knew Xiao Hen was an expert; once it showed and Xiao Hen noticed beforehand, the counterattack by his two subordinates would be ruined.

The bald man continued to plead, "Br-, brother, this time, w-, we admit defeat. Don't you want to know who hired us? I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything!"

Xiao Hen wore a smile, seemingly unaware of the two figures about to strike from behind, and said softly, "Really? You promise? You mustn't lie. Liars aren't good boys, and liars have to suffer!"

"N-No lies, I absolutely won't lie!" The bald man felt a surge of joy inside. The two men behind Xiao Hen had already revealed ferocious expressions, their two steel-bar weapons raised high, and with a whoosh, they viciously smashed toward his skull.

Yet Bald Man, filled with inner joy, sensed a faint sense that something wasn't quite right. Why did the other person's gaze toward him look a bit strange?

Xiao Hen's body suddenly flashed, dodging the attack from the two behind him. Then, with a kick, the two men who had attacked him flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground and sending up a cloud of dust.

"You, you..." The bald man couldn't speak.

"What about me?" Xiao Hen squatted down and said, "Don't forget what you promised just now. Liars have to face punishment!"

Xiao Hen suddenly looked up and saw a sedan driving over, but noticing the commotion here, it backed out. He knew that his fight with the four men had already been noticed, which wasn't very good.

Glancing at the four men lying on the ground, Xiao Hen's expression turned cold as he spoke, "All of you, stand up and talk."

The short, stocky man nearby immediately jumped up with a start, pulled the bald man to his feet, and stood obediently to the side. Xiao Hen looked at the two men behind him. "If you don't get up right now, you won't ever have to get up again!"

Hearing this, the two hastily endured the sharp pain in their abdomens, supported each other as they stood up, and walked over to the bald man's side.

"Speak, I'm listening!" Xiao Hen said coldly.

The bald man gritted his teeth as a battle of heaven and man raged in his mind. He knew that if he didn't confess clearly, he and his men probably wouldn't make it out of here today. The person in front of him was truly terrifying. Zhang Quande was a real bastard for getting his four brothers to deal with someone this powerful. Wasn't this motherfucker getting them killed?

"It's Zhang Quande! That fellow paid us to come deal with you, saying that as long as we broke your bones, he'd give us ten thousand yuan each," the bald man said in a deep voice. "Had we known we were dealing with an expert like you, brother, we wouldn't have been stupid enough to take a job like this."

"Zhang Quande..." Xiao Hen muttered to himself, cold light flashing in his eyes. It really was him. This fellow just wouldn't let go. He'd targeted him constantly back when they were working together, and now that he'd resigned, he actually paid people to come cause trouble for him. Did he hate him that much?

Xiao Hen sneered inwardly. Zhang Quande, you're courting death.

Xiao Hen looked up at the four panicked men, wondering how to deal with them. These four fellows had come to deal with him; as for the price, he had broken Bald Man's arm, and the other three had sustained some injuries too. They'd been taught a lesson, and killing them was out of the question, but letting them go just like that didn't quite sit well with Xiao Hen.

"Letting you go just like that leaves me a bit unsatisfied," Xiao Hen sneered as he looked at the four of them. "Tell me, how should I deal with you?"

The four men, including the bald man, were practically ready to cry. Deal with them further? You've already broken his arm, and you're still not satisfied?

"B-Big brother... I'll call you big brother. Please spare us! We're just trying to make a living, and it's not easy to earn money these days, big brother! Please spare the four of us!" Bald Man actually burst into tears, his legs turning to jelly as he dropped straight to his knees on the ground.

A thought flickered in Xiao Hen's mind. The other party calling him "big brother" gave him a sudden inspiration. Wasn't he looking to build his own force? He could start with these few people.

"Sparing you isn't entirely out of the question..." Xiao Hen said calmly.

Hearing this, the bald man's eyes instantly lit up, and he quickly said, "Big brother, just name it. I'll agree to any demand, as long as you're willing to spare us!"

It wasn't that he was a coward, but that the other party was simply too strong—so strong that he, Bald Liu, had no way to resist at all. Truly, as long as he could get the other party to spare him this once, he was willing to pay any price he could afford.

"The four of you, come upstairs with me first. We'll talk inside; it's not very convenient here!" With that, Xiao Hen glanced into the distance, where people were gradually beginning to gather and watch.

As they watched Xiao Hen lead the four men upstairs, the onlookers muttered among themselves in confusion and left. They had thought a fight was breaking out here, but it turned out they were together—probably just messing around.

Once upstairs and inside the apartment, Xiao Hen began questioning the four men, asking about the underground world of Jiangcheng City. To his astonishment, he discovered that Jiangcheng City didn't have a genuine underground world at all, nor any so-called gangs. Thugs like them either spent their days hanging out at various debt-collection agencies or making a living in various night clubs. As for real underworld gangs, there truly weren't any.

Seeing Xiao Hen ask this, Bald Liu's heart stirred, and he roughly guessed the other man's intentions. He spoke up, "There's no help for it; the state cracks down hard on that sort of thing nowadays. Small fry like us don't matter, but if we really gathered crowds to form gangs, we'd be touching the red line. Over the past few years, there have been several crackdowns, and all those gang members left over from way back when were hauled inside. So nowadays, nobody dares to play like that."

Xiao Hen looked thoughtful, then waved his hand, telling the men to leave.

Granted the order that they could leave, the four men all showed expressions of relief. Bald Liu was especially happy, because his fractured arm could finally be treated at the hospital.

The four of them hurried away, while Xiao Hen stood on the balcony, gazing into the distance and mulling over the situation he had just learned about.

Jiangcheng City had no underground world. Since that was the case, Xiao Hen had no intention of building one. Given how closely the state monitored and cracked down on this area, if he went poking around in this sector right now, he would likely attract too much attention, which was not a wise move.

Since that was the case, he would take the commercial route instead.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Hen's mouth. Perhaps Chen's Martial Arts School would make a good entry point.