You Dare Lay a Hand on Me

The old tailor's cane tapped on the ground.

"Young Master, this shop has been run by the Chen family for forty years. The land deed was passed down from my ancestors, with official seals and written in black and white. How could it have expired?"

"Oh? I said it's due, so it's due."

The young man strode over, grabbed the old man by the collar, and shoved him away.

The old man stumbled and bumped into the door frame, his cane slipping from his hand and falling to the ground.

"Grandfather!"

The girl lunged forward, but the young man grabbed her wrist.

The young man sized her up and down, then leaned closer to her face. "Chunya, right? Regardless of whether the land deed has expired or not, I have two things to say today. First, this shop is transferred to me. Second—" He grinned, "You come back with me to be a maid, and I'll guarantee your grandfather will have meat every meal and won't have to hunch over sewing clothes anymore. Pretty generous, right? Think it over?"

The old tailor propped himself up from the doorframe, pointing a trembling finger at him. "You... you're dreaming! My Chen family would rather starve to death than sell my granddaughter!"

"Old man, you won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences."

The young man's face darkened, and he grabbed Chunya's wrist and dragged her backward.

Chunya was pulled and stumbled two steps, desperately trying to pry his fingers off with her other hand, her fingernails leaving two bloody scratches on the back of his hand.

"You dare scratch me, you little brat?"

The young man slapped him across the face.

Smack

Chunya was slapped so hard she fell to the ground, blood immediately seeping from the corner of her mouth, and half of her face visibly swelled up.

"Chunya!"

The old tailor, his eyes red, lunged forward, only to be kicked in the chest by a thug beside him. He fell to the ground, struggled to his feet but couldn't get up, and his hand still reached forward.

The other two thugs had already rushed into the shop, ransacking it.

"Find the property deed quickly! Once we find everything, this shop will be under the Ma family's name!"

By the window on the second floor of the teahouse.

The teacup clattered against the table.

Xiao Wu stood up. "Isn't this bullying?!"

Dugu Yan stood up and slammed her hand on the window frame. "That bastard, I'm going down there right now and knock his teeth out one by one."

Dugu Bo held the teacup, rubbed his fingertips back and forth along the rim a couple of times, glanced down at the window, then looked back and took a sip of tea.

Lin Chen glanced at him.

Dugu Bo didn't look up.

Why are you all looking at me?

He slammed his teacup on the table, his voice hoarse. "If I were to take action, there wouldn't be anyone alive on the street by now. Don't you think things have gotten worse already?"

Xiao Wu panicked. "Senior, that's a young lady, and she was beaten up like that—"

"What's the rush?" Dugu Bo gestured towards the window with his chin. "Go check on him first."

As they were talking, Lin Chen had already reached the bottom of the stairs.

People on the street were all hiding, except for a few people craning their necks to look in this direction from the entrance of the teahouse.

The young man was dragging Chunya out of the shop by her braid. Chunya was dragged so hard that she rubbed her knees raw on the ground, and her hands were digging into the door threshold so hard that her fingernails were turned inside out.

Lin Chen walked over.

He didn't shout or greet him; he simply reached out and grabbed the young man by the back of his collar, pulling him up.

The young man's toes left the ground, his hands and feet flailed in the air, and he mumbled "you you you" for a long time without managing to utter a coherent sentence.

Lin Chen's arm suddenly slammed down, shoving him onto the ground.

Thump.

The young man crashed onto the bluestone slab, his back pressed against the ground, unable to catch his breath, his face turning purple.

"Cough—you... do you even know who I am?!"

He struggled to his feet, his voice hoarse from straining.

"My father is Baron Xize Ma Xiu! My uncle is the warden of Suotuo City! If you lay a finger on me, I'll make sure you never leave Suotuo City— "

Lin Chen ignored him.

He bent down and helped the old tailor up, supporting the old man's back with one hand and picking up his cane with the other, placing it in his hand.

"Grandpa, how are you? Does your chest hurt?"

"Cough, cough, cough, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt..." the old man gasped. "Young master, you've messed with the Ma family. Leave quickly before they recover, lest you be implicated..."

"It's alright, don't panic." Lin Chen said, taking out a pill and feeding it to the old man.

Xiao Wu rushed out of the teahouse and squatted down next to Chunya.

"Don't be afraid, sister. Let me wipe it for you. Just bear with it."

She took out a clean handkerchief from her bosom, folded it into a strip, and carefully pressed it to Chunya's lips. Then she used her sleeve to wipe away the ash from Chun Ya's face little by little.

Chunya trembled violently, tears streaming down her face, mingling with blood as they flowed down her chin.

"You... my grandfather..."

"Your grandpa is fine. Brother Lin Chen gave him medicine; it's specially for internal injuries, and it works wonders."

As Xiao Wu spoke, she turned her head and glared at the young man on the ground. "What kind of skill is it to hit a girl? Didn't your mother teach you that?"

The seven thugs then realized what was happening.

"Young Master! Are you alright?"

Four men roared and pounced on him. Two grabbed wooden sticks from the doorway, while the other two were empty-handed, and they attacked Lin Chen from both sides.

The first blow came whistling down from Lin Chen's right shoulder. He sidestepped half a step, grabbed the man's wrist with his other hand, pressed it down, and twisted it outward.

The thug's arm was twisted behind his back, his knees buckled and he knelt down, the stick clattering to the ground.

The second one tried to pounce from the side, but Lin Chen kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling like a shrimp and rolling two steps sideways.

The third one pressed against his back, trying to wrap his arms around him from behind. Lin Chen didn't retreat but advanced, lowering his waist and grabbing the front of his shirt with his other hand, using the momentum of the other man's movement to push him forward.

The man flipped over his back and fell backward onto the stone slab, hitting his head with a thud.

The fourth one paused for a moment, then turned and ran.

Dugu Yan stretched out a foot from the side and tripped him up on the ankle.

The man stumbled forward, falling flat on his face, his front teeth hitting the stone slab, blood and saliva flowing out together.

Dugu Yan stepped on his back, bent down, grabbed his ear, and lifted him up. "Little brat, run! Run again, let's see how many steps you can take."

Another one lunged at Chunya, but Xiao Wu kicked him in the ribs, sending him crashing into the fabric rack. The remaining bolts of cloth landed on top of him, and he groaned in pain.

With a loud crash, in the blink of an eye, five out of the seven were lying down.

The remaining two stood there, unsure whether to advance or retreat, their faces deathly pale.

"So, do you want to fight?" Dugu Yan stood on the steps with her arms crossed and her chin raised.

Nobody dared to move.

Lin Chen dusted off his hands, walked back to the old tailor, and squatted down to look him in the eye.

"Grandpa, what exactly happened?"

The old tailor's hands were still trembling. He gripped his cane and gasped for breath before he could speak coherently.

"About two weeks ago... someone from the Ma family came and said they wanted to buy my shop."

"Buy? What price are you offering?"

"One Gold Soul Coin." The old man smiled bitterly, his wrinkles deepening. "Young master, you're from out of town and don't know this land. This shop has three rooms facing the street. Don't be fooled by its dilapidated appearance; it's right across from the main street entrance, with a constant flow of people coming and going. The land itself is worth at least a couple hundred gold soul coins. One Gold Soul Coin? That's not buying land, that's outright robbery!"