Seeing Lin Ming Again: Enjoy Your Big Brother's Love

The commotion alerted the Blood Wolf Gang members collecting monthly protection money at the other shops.

Soon, seven or eight thugs charged over with machetes. Seeing the miserable state of their two brothers, the scar-faced young man leading them flew into a rage.

He fixed a vicious gaze on Lin Fan, who was holding a machete. "I'll make you..."

Then his words stopped short, because he had seen the fist emblem on Lin Fan's chest.

Cold sweat instantly covered his forehead, and his lips trembled.

Lin Fan wore a faint, ambiguous smile. "Make me what?"

"Big brother, this is all a misunderstanding. I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. I offended an outstanding disciple of the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall. I deserve to die." As he spoke, the scar-faced thug slapped himself repeatedly.

"Scram!" Lin Fan could not be bothered to quibble with these thugs. Qingshan County was thick with gangs; he could never kill them all.

"Remember, this noodle shop is under my protection. My master is Yue Shan. If your gang leader has a problem with that, he's welcome to find me at the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall." Leaving those words behind, he pulled Zhang Meng into the noodle shop.

At the name Yue Shan, the thugs were scared out of their wits. Who scraping a living in Qingshan County did not know the fearsome reputation of Yue Shan, chief steward of the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall?

Yue Shan could crush their Blood Wolf Gang with a mere twitch of his finger.

"Thank you for sparing our lives, sir. I'll be sure to inform every gang. No one will dare cause trouble at this noodle shop again." The scar-faced thug gave assurance after assurance.

Seeing his subordinates standing there in a daze, his temper flared. "Why aren't you cleaning this place up? If you hurt big brother's business, I'll chop your heads off!"

Then the surrounding townsfolk witnessed a sight that turned their understanding of the world upside down: several thugs stripped off their clothes to wipe up the blood, and even brought water to wash the area.

"Wasn't that Lin Ping's eldest son just now? Didn't he work at the docks? How did he become an outstanding disciple of the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall?"

"Lin Ping raised a fine son. His days will be looking up now."

"Heh... not necessarily. I heard Lin Fan has already cut ties with Lin Ping's family."

"No way. If Lin Ping finds out Lin Fan became an outstanding disciple of the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall, won't his guts turn green with regret?"

"Tsk, tsk... I'll go tell him this good news first thing tomorrow morning."

Inside the noodle shop, Zhang Meng looked at Lin Fan standing tall before him, his head held high, and felt as though none of this was real.

"What? It's only been ten days or so, and you don't recognize me anymore?" Lin Fan teased.

"Brother, seeing you doing so well puts my mind at ease." Zhang Meng gave Lin Fan's shoulder a heavy pat, his face full of relief.

"Come on, tidy up and let's go drinking," Lin Fan called.

"All right!"

It was the same tavern where the two had drunk the night before Lin Fan left to become a Human Stake at the martial arts hall.

But their moods were completely different from that time. Back then, Lin Fan had been lost, while Zhang Meng had been deeply worried. That had been a bout of drinking to drown their sorrows.

Now, both were in high spirits. Lin Fan had found a clear path for himself and had ample confidence to follow it.

And seeing Lin Fan doing so well, Zhang Meng was genuinely happy for him.

"Brother, may your martial path flourish. Drink!"

"Brother, may your business prosper too. Drink!"

They downed bowl after bowl, and before long, Zhang Meng was half drunk.

Lin Fan escorted Zhang Meng to his doorstep, then secretly slipped two gold leaves into his clothes.

Zhang Meng had lent him two taels of silver when he had been at his most desperate and lost. Now that things had improved for him, he naturally had to repay him a hundredfold.

Lin Fan headed back toward the martial arts hall. He had not gone far when he heard a familiar voice from an alley beside him.

"Boss Xu, sorry for the trouble, but please give me a few more days. I'll have the money to repay you soon."

Lin Fan's expression darkened. He looked into the alley and, sure enough, saw that familiar, loathsome face. It was his younger brother, Lin Ming.

Clearly, a dog could not stop eating shit. Lin Ming had gone gambling again, run up a debt with loan sharks, and been cornered by the gambling house's enforcers.

Smack! Boss Xu, who stood at the front, slapped Lin Ming hard across the face. "A few more days? If you can't produce the money today, you can forget about keeping those hands."

"Spare me, Boss Xu!" Lin Ming knelt on the ground and begged desperately. "I'll go home and get the money right now. My mother saved up money for me to get a wife. I'll fetch it for you right now."

Boss Xu kicked Lin Ming to the ground. "Motherfucker, I'm coming home with you to get it. If you dare play me, I'll make you regret ever coming into this world!"

Ignoring the pain in his body, Lin Ming hurriedly scrambled back onto his knees. "Boss Xu, I wouldn't dare play you. You can come home with me to get it!"

"Lead the way!" Boss Xu barked coldly.

As though granted a pardon, Lin Ming stood up and walked toward the alley entrance. When he saw the person standing there, he froze.

Then a crafty gleam flashed through his eyes. Pointing at Lin Fan, he called to Boss Xu beside him, "Boss Xu, that's my own big brother, Lin Fan. He has money. You can ask him for it."

Boss Xu glanced at Lin Fan and waved to the enforcers behind him. "Go grab him."

Lin Fan smiled, but his smile was cold. The air around him dropped several degrees.

Four burly enforcers rushed up to Lin Fan, ready to seize him.

But one of them made out the fist emblem on his clothes in the dim lamplight, and sweat broke out all over him in fright.

"Wait!" he cried out, startling his companions.

"Bastard! Zhu Heng, what the hell has gotten into you?" Boss Xu, who was taking his time at the back, roared furiously.

"B-B-Boss... h-he..." Zhu Heng's voice shook, and his feet retreated involuntarily. The other three enforcers did the same.

"Why the fuck have you suddenly started stuttering?" Furious at his uselessness, Boss Xu kicked Zhu Heng in the backside. With Zhu Heng kicked aside, he found himself directly facing Lin Fan, and his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the fist emblem.

Then his entire body went rigid, as though frozen solid.

"B-b-big brother." His tongue seemed to have tied itself in knots.

"Heh... why are you stuttering too?" Lin Fan asked with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Beside them, Lin Ming was completely dumbfounded. He could not understand why the usually overbearing Boss Xu had suddenly called his useless elder brother "big brother."

Moreover, his elder brother, who had always been meek and as tight-lipped as a stoppered gourd, now exuded the presence of someone in authority, even more imposing than the gambling house's owner.

But Boss Xu's next words answered his questions.

Beads of sweat covered Boss Xu's forehead. He lowered his formerly raised head and spoke with extreme caution. "Well... I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. I offended an outstanding disciple of the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall. Please forgive me."

Lin Ming's eyes bulged like a bull's. "What? Lin Fan, you actually joined the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall? How is that possible?" He let out repeated cries, as though he had seen a ghost.

Then he instantly perked up. When he looked at Boss Xu again, there was no trace of fear or respect in his expression, only contempt.

"Ha ha..." He laughed arrogantly. "Xu Ping, my brother belongs to the Mountain Suppression Martial Arts Hall, and you still dare collect loan-shark interest from me? I'm telling you lot..."

Smack!

A heavy slap cut off his words. Stunned by the blow, he looked blankly at Lin Fan.

An icy smile curled Lin Fan's lips. "My dear little brother, enjoy your big brother's doting love!" His voice was as chilling as a cold wind from hell.

Then he kicked Lin Ming to the ground and drove kick after kick into him. The anger he had accumulated over so many years finally found release.