"Let's go take a look."
Xie Xie was the first to react and immediately ran toward the crowd. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue followed close behind.
Before they had even squeezed their way in, the three of them heard Uncle Li's tearful voice.
"You can't do this! You can't! This is how I make my living—"
Xie Xie's expression changed, and he picked up his pace.
When they pushed through the crowd and saw the scene before them, all three of their faces darkened.
The stove outside the Stewed Beef Shop had been overturned, leaving the ground in a shambles. Clay pots lay smashed to pieces, with beef broth and scraps of meat spilled everywhere. Steam rose with the aroma, only making the scene all the more jarring.
Uncle Li lay in the doorway, blood at the corner of his mouth and one eye already swollen, his face full of pain and desperation.
Three burly men stood outside the shop.
Their leader was bald. Though autumn had already arrived, he still kept both arms bare, dragon tattoos coiling around them. His face was thick with flesh, his eyes cold and sinister. The other two were tall and powerfully built as well, radiating menace just standing there.
"Don't spit in my face when I'm doing you a favor, Li." The bald brute sneered. "Who on this street doesn't pay protection money? You're the only one making excuses day after day. I'm here to collect, not reason with you. If you can't pay today, you can forget about ever opening this shop again."
"Brother Light Dragon, it's not that I won't pay." Uncle Li braced himself against the ground, his voice trembling. "My wife's seriously ill. Every bit I earn working from dawn till dark goes into her medicine. If you smash