Bald Liu

"Who sent you?" Xiao Hen crouched in front of the Bald Man, a playful glint in his eyes as he pressed a club against the man's forehead.

"Th-this brother, we, we were blind, we mistook you for someone else, really, just a mistake!" The Bald Man rubbed his leg where Xiao Hen had struck him—that hit had hurt like hell.

"Heh, still not fessing up?" Xiao Hen smiled, then swung the club down hard. A crack sounded as the Bald Man's arm, the one he'd been rubbing, snapped.

"Ah!!!"

The Bald Man screamed. Xiao Hen's brow twitched as he glanced around. It was afternoon, and this Mingyue Residential Area was on the outskirts, with few people around at this hour—but there was no guarantee no one had noticed.

"Sorry, I used too much force. But if you keep yelling like that, I won't hit your arm again. How about your head?" Xiao Hen tapped the Bald Man's bald pate lightly.

"No, no, no... I, I'll talk!" The Bald Man was terrified. This guy was ruthless. He could feel his left arm was already broken. The man struck hard—if he aimed for the head, his skull would shatter. No joke.

The Bald Man stared at Xiao Hen's smiling face, scared stiff. The others felt the same. As thugs, they'd taken plenty of jobs like this—intimidation, beatings. Even if they left someone badly injured, the victims rarely dared to report it. And if they did, the thugs had ways to handle it.

But what they feared was someone like Xiao Hen, who fought back hard, caught them off guard, and wiped them out.

In the distance, the two men Xiao Hen had taken down first—the ones who'd tried to attack him from behind—were now gritting their teeth against the pain in their hands. They got up, exchanged a glance, quietly picked up their weapons from the ground, and crept closer to Xiao Hen, raising their arms high, ready to strike.

Excitement flickered in their eyes. Almost there. Almost got him. This time, you're done for!

Across from Xiao Hen, the Bald Man saw everything clearly but dared not look directly. He only stole glances from the corner of his eye. Inside, he was thrilled, but he kept his face neutral. He knew Xiao Hen was a skilled fighter—if he let it show and Xiao Hen caught on, his men's ambush would fail.

The Bald Man kept pleading: "Br-brother, this time, we, we admit defeat. Don't you want to know who sent us? I'll tell you everything, everything!"

Xiao Hen smiled gently, as if unaware of the two men closing in behind him. "Really? You promise? No lying, now. Liars aren't good kids, and liars have to suffer!"

"No, no lying, I swear I won't lie!" The Bald Man's heart soared. Behind Xiao Hen, the two men had twisted their faces into snarls. They raised their steel rods high, then swung them down viciously at his head.

But the Bald Man, brimming with joy, felt a nagging unease. Why did the guy's gaze seem so strange?

Xiao Hen's body flickered, dodging the attack from behind. Then he kicked out, sending both attackers flying backward. They crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"You, you..." The Bald Man couldn't find words.

"Me what?" Xiao Hen crouched down. "Don't forget what you just promised. Lying means punishment."

Xiao Hen suddenly looked up. A car had driven over, spotted the commotion, and backed away. He knew someone had noticed the fight. That wasn't good.

He glanced at the four men sprawled on the ground. His face turned cold. "All of you, get up and talk."

The stocky man beside him quickly scrambled to his feet, pulled up the Bald Man, and stood obediently to the side. Xiao Hen looked at the two behind him. "If you don't get up now, you never will."

Hearing this, the two forced themselves to ignore the sharp pain in their guts, helped each other up, and shuffled over to stand beside the Bald Man.

"Talk. I'm listening." Xiao Hen's voice was icy.

The Bald Man gritted his teeth, his mind a battlefield. He knew that if he didn't come clean, none of them would leave here today. This man was terrifying. Zhang Quande was a bastard for sending the four of them after someone like this. Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

"It was Zhang Quande! He paid us to take you out. Said if we broke your bones, he'd give each of us ten thousand." The Bald Man's voice was low. "If I'd known we were up against a brother like you, a real expert, we'd never have been stupid enough to take this job."

"Zhang Quande..." Xiao Hen muttered, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. So it was him. That bastard really was a persistent ghost. He'd been targeting Xiao Hen back when they worked together, and now that Xiao Hen had quit, he was still hiring thugs to cause trouble. Did he hate him that much?

Xiao Hen sneered inwardly. Zhang Quande, you're digging your own grave.

He looked up at the four terrified men, unsure what to do with them. They'd come to hurt him. He'd already broken the Bald Man's arm and left the others with some injuries. They'd been taught a lesson. Killing them wasn't an option, but letting them go so easily didn't sit right with him either.

"Just letting you walk away? That doesn't sit well with me." Xiao Hen's smile turned cold as he eyed them. "So, how should I deal with you?"

The Bald Man and his crew were on the verge of tears. Deal with them? He'd already broken one guy's arm—wasn't that enough?

"B-big brother... I'll call you big brother. Just let us go. We're all just trying to make a living. Money's hard to come by these days, big brother! Please, let the four of us go!" The Bald Man actually started crying, his legs giving out as he dropped to his knees.

Xiao Hen's eyes flickered. That "big brother" gave him an idea. Wasn't he looking to build his own power base? He could start with these guys.

"Letting you go isn't out of the question..." Xiao Hen said calmly.

The Bald Man's eyes lit up. "Big brother, name your terms. I'll agree to anything, as long as you let us go!"

It wasn't that he was a coward—it was that the man was too strong. Too strong for Bald Liu to resist. Really, if he could get out of this, he'd pay any price he could afford.

"You four, come upstairs with me. We'll talk inside. It's not convenient here." Xiao Hen glanced into the distance, where people were starting to gather.

As Xiao Hen led the four upstairs, the onlookers muttered in confusion and drifted away. They'd thought a fight was breaking out, but it turned out they were all together. Probably just messing around.

Upstairs, inside the room, Xiao Hen started questioning the four about Jiangcheng City's underworld. To his surprise, he found that the city had no real underground, no organized gangs. Thugs like them either scraped by working for debt collection agencies or hung around nightclubs. As for actual criminal syndicates—there were none.

Bald Liu caught on to Xiao Hen's line of questioning and guessed his intent. "Can't help it. The government's been cracking down hard on that stuff. Us small fry can get by, but if anyone actually tried to form a gang, they'd be asking for trouble. They've made arrests in the past few years—rounded up all the old gangsters. So now, nobody dares to play that game."

Xiao Hen nodded thoughtfully, then waved his hand, dismissing them.

At the signal that they could leave, the four lit up with relief. Bald Liu was especially happy—he could finally get his broken arm treated at the hospital.

They hurried out, but Xiao Hen stood on the balcony, staring into the distance, mulling over what he'd learned.

Jiangcheng City had no underworld. Since that was the case, Xiao Hen decided not to create one. The government was clearly keeping a close watch and cracking down on that area. If he stepped into it now, he'd draw too much attention. That wouldn't be smart.

Instead, he'd go the business route.

A faint smile crept onto Xiao Hen's lips. Maybe Chen's Martial Arts School was a good place to start.