The Blade and the Bluster

The security door was suddenly pulled open, startling the thin man outside who was filming with his phone. His hand trembled, and he almost dropped the phone, but the camera still instinctively focused on Lü Yi, who had opened the door, and the conspicuous Western-style kitchen knife in his hand.

The stainless steel blade reflected a cold, hard luster in the pale morning light streaming through the stairwell window. The tip drooped slightly, but the hand holding the knife was steady, showing no sign of trembling.

Lü Yi leaned against the door frame, the hand holding the knife casually resting at his side, the other hand gripping the edge of the security door, exuding a lazy, even somewhat nonchalant, air.

He tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the four uninvited guests outside the door. His eyes lingered for a moment on the faces of the middle-aged man with Glasses who was in the lead and the young man next to him who looked both surprised and angry (Liu Jian). Then he grinned, revealing a smile that was not exactly friendly, but rather tinged with impatience.

"Who are you?" Lü Yi spoke, his voice a little hoarse, as if he had just woken up, but he spoke quickly, "Screwing on the door so early in the morning, trying to tear the house apart? Spit it out if you have nothing to say, or get lost."

His attitude and the knife in his hand created a stark contrast, leaving the four people outside the door momentarily bewildered. In most households, being suddenly confronted by several menacing strangers banging on the door, only to find them wielding knives, would elicit either a panicked slamming of the door or a tense questioning. But this man... seemed completely unconcerned about them?

The Glasses man leading the group—one of the "liaisons" in Old Fang's team, specifically responsible for these door-to-door "communications" and "evidence gathering"—quickly composed himself. He pushed up his Glasses, forcing a look that appeared "righteous indignation" but was actually tense. He cleared his throat and spoke in a deliberately amplified voice, as if he wanted everyone in the hallway to hear:

"We are consumer rights investigators on the Quick Sound platform! And also anti-counterfeiting bloggers!" He started by giving himself a serious accusation, "We received reports from our followers that your ' Old Lin Liquor Shop ' is selling ordinary liquor online for an exorbitant price of 1288 yuan per bottle, when its actual value is only about 20 yuan! This behavior seriously infringes on consumer rights and constitutes suspected price fraud!"

As he spoke, he gestured to his companion to continue filming, focusing on capturing Lü Yi and the knife in his hand, as well as the possible view from inside the door. He pointed to Liu Jian, whose face was ashen, beside him:

"This is our fan, and also one of the victims! Trusting your store, he bought fifty bottles of this wine, spending over 60,000 yuan! What he received was this cheap knockoff! We're here today on behalf of all consumers to demand an explanation! We demand that you immediately cease your fraudulent activities and compensate consumers according to the law!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, as if he were representing a just trial. Liu Jian also puffed out his chest at the opportune moment, his face showing the humiliation and anger of a victim, and even held up a shopping bag in his hand (containing the bottle of wine used as "evidence").

Lü Yi listened, his impatience grew even more pronounced. He picked at his ear, as if he had heard some very loud noise, and only after the other person finished speaking did he lazily open his mouth:

"Oh—" he drawled, nodding as if suddenly realizing something, "So it's just you bunch of lowly bums who spout nonsense online?"

"You!" The Glasses man's expression changed, momentarily speechless at the vulgar address.

Lü Yi ignored him and continued in that infuriatingly slow tone, "Didn't customer service tell your... Liu Jian, that if you think it's too expensive and you're not satisfied, you can return it for free, including shipping? What, can't you understand human language? Or do you just like spending over 60,000 yuan to buy dozens of bottles of cheap liquor to display at home?"

"This isn't about returns!" the Glasses man raised his voice, trying to seize the initiative. "This is a matter of principle! This is commercial fraud! You're marking up a product worth twenty yuan by more than fifty times, that in itself is..."

"None of your business!" Lü Yi interrupted him abruptly, her tone turning icy. A chilling glint flashed in her previously dazed eyes. "Whether I sell it for a little over a thousand, a little over a hundred, or a little over ten thousand, what's it to you? It's a clearly marked price, take it or leave it. What law says wine has to sell for twenty? I'll just mark it this price, so what? Did I eat your rice?"

He leaned forward slightly, still against the doorframe, but the overwhelming sense of intimidation suddenly intensified.

"If you want a refund, I'll give you one. If you don't, take your wine and go back to where you came from. What's with all the banging on the door so early in the morning, like you're announcing a death? Did your mother die and you're in such a hurry to tell me?"

The last sentence was extremely insulting, and Liu Jian, standing behind the Glasses man, was the first to lose his temper. He was already seething with anger, from being verbally abused online to being insulted on the phone, and now being verbally abused like this by this seemingly thuggish guy at his doorstep. All the old and new grievances surged into his heart, and his face instantly turned a deep purplish-red.

"What the hell did you say?!" Liu Jian took a sudden step forward, his finger almost poking Lü Yi's face, spitting everywhere. "You sell counterfeit goods and you still think you're right?! You even dare to swear?! Believe me or not, I'll expose you! I'll make sure your shady shop goes out of business! I'll make sure you..."

Seeing this, the Glasses man's eyes flashed with a shrewd light. Instead of stopping them, he subtly turned and gave Liu Jian a very subtle wink. The meaning was: Make a scene! Make a huge scene! The more physical the better! That would provide even more material!

Upon receiving the signal, Liu Jian's already surging anger found an outlet. He observed that Lü Yi seemed only good with words, leaning lazily against the door, and thought the man was probably just a cowardly blusterer, carrying a knife probably just for courage. He figured there were several of them; why should they be afraid of him?

"Why bother reasoning with this scoundrel!" Liu Jian roared, as if to bolster his own courage, and also as to address the people filming. "These unscrupulous merchants won't learn their lesson until they're faced with their wrath! Today, we're going to uphold justice!"

As he spoke, he actually made a move to rush into the door! His movements were large and his demeanor was imposing, as if he really wanted to force his way in to "reason" or "collect evidence." He had a good plan: as long as the other party blocked him or pushed him, the charges of "conflict" and "violent resistance to law enforcement" (in their words) would be confirmed, and once the video was released, public opinion would be completely overwhelming in his favor!

However, he clearly misjudged the reaction speed and style of this "streetwise" guy in front of him.

Just as Liu Jian leaned forward and was about to step over the threshold—

Lü Yi, who was leaning against the door frame, moved.

His movements were so fast they were almost beyond the range of human vision. It was an explosive burst of energy, a sudden shift from stillness to motion, without warning. There were no warnings, no unnecessary words, not even a significant change in his gaze; only the almost cruel curve of his lips deepened imperceptibly.

The hand holding the kitchen knife, which had been casually hanging at his side, suddenly shot up like a venomous snake emerging from its hole!

It wasn't a chop, it wasn't a slash, but the most direct, brutal, and ruthless strike—a straight thrust!

The sharp tip of the Western-style knife flashed through the air in a short, deadly arc, accompanied by a slight whistling sound as it tore through the air, heading straight for Liu Jian's face, or more precisely, for the space between his eyes!

This time, there was absolutely no holding back! Swift! Precise! Ruthless! The target was clear: to draw blood, even to kill!

"Ah--!" Liu Jian's roar came to an abrupt halt, turning into a short, extremely sharp exclamation. His pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints in an instant. All his calculations, anger, and performance were utterly crushed by primal fear in the face of this cold blade aimed straight at his vitals!

The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything. He didn't have time to think; his body reacted before his brain could issue commands—with all his might, he twisted and pulled back to his right, the opposite side of the direction from which the blade was coming!

"Call!"

The blade, carrying a chilling aura of death, grazed the edge of his left earlobe, missing him by a hair's breadth! He could even feel the unique icy touch of the metal, and the sharp wind whipped up by the blade as it cut through the air, making his earlobe sting and his hair stand on end!

"Do--!"

A dull, solid, teeth-grinding metallic clang followed, exploding in his ears!

Lü Yi's slash was extremely fierce. Although Liu Jian narrowly dodged it, the momentum was still strong. The tip of the blade plunged into the heavy metal security door behind Liu Jian without any obstruction!

The blade pierced the wood extremely deep, almost halfway in! The stainless steel blade vibrated violently from the enormous impact, emitting a low, buzzing sound. The hilt remained firmly in Lü Yi's hand.

Liu Jian remained frozen in his extremely contorted, dodging posture, his face ashen white, a layer of cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead and back, his legs trembling uncontrollably. A tiny bloodstain slowly oozed from the edge of his left ear. In that instant, he had truly felt the chilling touch of death brushing past him.

Time seemed to stand still.

The hallway was deathly silent. Only the kitchen knife, still trembling slightly, stuck in the security door, and Liu Jian's heavy, bellows-like breathing proved that what had just happened in the blink of an eye was not an illusion.

The Glasses man and his two companions, including the one filming with his phone, were all dumbfounded. They stared in disbelief at the knife deeply embedded in the door panel and Liu Jian, frozen beside it, all the color draining from their faces. The camera lens of the phone involuntarily drooped down.

Lü Yi slowly turned his head to look at the several people outside the door who were standing there dumbfounded. He didn't loosen his grip on the knife hilt; in fact, he maintained the posture of sticking the knife into the door. He tilted his head, and that strange smile reappeared on his face, but his eyes were as cold as the Siberia permafrost.

"Hey, you dodged pretty fast." He spoke casually, as if the fatal blow just now was merely a casual greeting. "Next time, things might be different."