Widow Sun chuckled sweetly as she looked at Yan San.
"Sanzi, take a break, you can continue later, look how tired you are..." Widow Sun said, handing over the large bowl in her hand. She had just gone to queue up to get a bowl of mutton soup, and hadn't even had time to drink it herself before bringing it over to Yan San.
Yan San was so excited that his eyes were blurry. He quickly wiped his hands on his clothes and took the large porcelain bowl handed to him by Widow Sun. The piping hot mutton soup made him so excited that he almost cried.
Fortunately, it was dark at night, and no one noticed Yan San's expression despite his face being covered in soot as he carried the mutton soup.
Widow Sun pointed to a rock and said, "Go sit on that rock and drink..."
Yan San sighed in agreement, behaving like a well-behaved child. This mountain-like man sat obediently on the rock, took a sip of mutton soup, and slurped it up from the heat.
Widow Sun laughed again: "Sanzi, drink slowly, or I'll blow on it for you..."
Widow Sun gently blew on the bowl, and Yan San was so excited that he couldn't speak.
"Thanks..."
"Hehehe... What are you thanking me for? Doing something good for our village shows you're a good person."
"Am I... am I really a good person... Sister Sun?" Yan San was stunned. He never expected anyone to say that he was a good person. He had never heard of such a person before.
"Yes! Of course you're a good person. Deputy Village Chief Chen was just talking about you!"
"What did he say about me?" Yan San quickly stopped to listen.
"You're such a hard worker, never slacking off or skidding. You sweat the most for the path that everyone in the village walks on. Sigh, it looks like it's going to snow lightly tomorrow. If only someone could sweep this path..."
"I...I...I'll sweep, Sister Sun, don't worry, with me, Yan San, I'll do all these things..." Yan San excitedly grabbed Widow Sun's small, tender hand.
Widow Sun blushed and quickly pulled away, saying, "Sanzi, you keep working well, I'm leaving now..."
"Sister Sun… Yesterday… Yesterday I… I'm not human… I…" Yan Sanli stood straight in the night, like a tall poplar tree.
"Sigh, it's alright. I'm already this old, I'm not afraid of people looking at me. But you have to work hard, so when you find a wife someday, don't end up like yesterday, it's embarrassing..."
After saying that, Widow Sun took small steps and walked away.
Yan San hurriedly said, "Sister Sun, you're not old, you're young, you...you're beautiful, Sister Sun, I...I will definitely work hard..."
Even after Widow Sun disappeared into the night, Yan San's heart remained unsettled. He carefully sat down, picked up the mutton soup, and slurped it down, deeply moved… His heart felt warm yet bittersweet, as if he wanted to cry. He gently shook his head and murmured sadly, "I… Sister Sun said I'm a good person… Yan San, you're not being good to her; you've let Sister Sun down with this bowl of mutton soup…"
...
That evening, Chen Chu received a phone call from Shao Xiaodong.
"Um... Dongzi, what's up?"
"Brother Chu, there are two things..." Shao Xiaodong said, sounding a little nervous.
"Speak, Dongzi..." Chen Chu lay half-reclined on the kang (a heated brick bed), the phone tucked between his ear and his left hand, touching the small jade thumb ring on the middle finger of his right hand. He was extremely calm.
A cool sensation circulated through his body from the jade thumb ring, making him extremely calm and his mind exceptionally clear.
Shao Xiaodong said, "Brother Chu, the first thing is... Yan San. Should we take care of this kid? That guy has already offered 40,000, but the people in Hancheng are still fighting each other and don't have time to take on this job. And the person who wants to cut Yan San's tendons is his old enemy..."
Chen Chu closed his eyes, thought for a moment, exhaled, and recalled the scene of Yan San working during the day.
He suddenly remembered something Ji Yang had once said: Yan San was a real man.
Chen Chu thought about it carefully for a while, then shook his head and thought, "Forget it."
"Xiaodong, don't move Yan San for now..."
"Why?" Shao Xiaodong asked.
"Hmm...we might become brothers in the future. You know, we don't actually have many good fighters. Long Qi is a master, but I don't know him well. Besides, his skills are far superior to mine. Our little temple can't support such a bodhisattva. In fact, we don't even have a temple right now. Your kids are enough to make up the numbers, but my men don't dare to show themselves easily right now. After all, we just finished a few deals not long ago. We need to keep quiet for now. What do you think about bringing Yan San over?"
Shao Xiaodong paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Great, really great. Yan San is skilled, ruthless, and knows a bunch of fellow inmates. To be honest, I'm also a little scared to kill Yan San. Although I could make some money temporarily, his fellow inmates might avenge him later. The bond between those who fought together and spent time in prison is different; it's closer than blood brothers..."
Chen Chu nodded indifferently, thinking to himself that Shao Xiaodong was a shrewd fellow. Just now he was about to mess with Yan San, but as soon as he heard Chen Chu mention pulling him aside, his tone immediately changed.
However, he also had a feeling that the two friends of Yan San he had taken down last time were actually quite fierce. They just didn't take him seriously at first, and he took advantage of their weakness to kick them in the groin and knock them down. If they really fought, it was hard to say who would win.
People who come out of prison have a ruthless streak, the kind of ruthlessness that's determined to cripple you.
You could tell from the blank stares in Chen Chuchong, Yan San, and his fellow inmates' eyes.
However, he wasn't afraid of Yan San now. Getting rid of him would be easy for Long Qi. He just felt that sometimes it was better to take someone down than to cripple someone, especially since Yan San was a local.
As the saying goes, a hero protects the village, and a tiger protects the forest. What can a hero do against the villagers? If he's so capable, he should go fight outsiders!
Just like a man beating his wife, what kind of skill is that? If you're so capable, fight to the death with outsiders who bully your family... It's the same with countries. Showing off to the people, what the hell are you? If you're so capable, fight a foreign country or take on the Japanese or something, then you're really something. But with the people, you're just pathetic. Ugh...
Chen Chu lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) pondering, and finally decided to leave Yan San alone.
He then asked Shao Xiaodong, "Is there anything else?"
"And...cough cough...huff..." Shao Xiaodong took a breath and stopped talking.
"Damn it! Just say what you want to say! Hesitating like that isn't manly at all! It's pointless..."
"Brother Chu, let me put it this way... um... tonight, Monkey Ma is making a move..."
"What operation?" Chen Chu asked.
"Cut Ji Yang! Ji Yang is currently at Hei Zi's billiards hall. There are seventeen or eighteen brothers there, including Jin Xing, Hei Zi, and Feng Meng. Ji Yang's wound reopened after his last attack, so he's recuperating at the billiards hall. These brothers have been relatively quiet these past few days. However, today Ma Houzi gathered seventy or eighty people, almost his entire force. Ma Houzi is convinced that Ji Yang raided his nephew's house and their hideout, so he's determined to eliminate Ji Yang this time. Ji Yang's parents moved to relatives' houses a few days ago, and Ji Xiaotao also went to relatives' houses. Tonight, Ma Houzi, Daoduo, and Lao Ba have all come out..."
Chen Chu let out a breath and asked, "Does Ji Yang know what time we're going to make our move?"
"They said they'd start at eight o'clock..."
Chen Chu suddenly glanced at the time; it was already 8:10.
He cursed, "Damn it! Why didn't you say so sooner? It's already 8:10..."
Shao Xiaodong stammered, "Brother Chu, I was just about to say something, but... but Ji Yang and his gang weren't very fair last time. They treated us badly. I found out about this this afternoon, and I'm still hesitating, but... Brother Chu, I feel like since they were ruthless last time, don't blame us for being unjust this time... we..."
"Hoo..." Chen Chu let out a long breath and said, word by word, "Xiaodong, when it comes to making friends, it's all about sincerity. Ji Yang and I are brothers, but they can be ruthless, but we can never be unrighteous... Brothers are brothers forever..."
After Chen Chu finished speaking, he hung up the phone, thought for a moment, then got off the kang (a heated brick bed), took out a machete from the storeroom, wrapped it in cloth, and put it on the motorcycle. After thinking for a moment, he called Long Qi again.
The two exchanged only a few words.
Long Qi said calmly, "I'll be in the county town in ten minutes..."
Chen Chu got on his motorcycle, and the phone rang again. It was Shao Xiaodong calling; he also needed to get his men to go over there.
Chen Chu said, "You don't need to go, and don't look for anyone. Ma Houzi's come with ill intentions this time. Don't let any of the men you take get killed. If that happens, we're finished..."
Shao Xiaodong understood that his men were just there to take the fall. Ma Houzi was going to kill Ji Yang at eight o'clock, and the two sides must have already clashed.
However, the police cars in Hancheng didn't make a sound, which meant they had already given prior notice.
Chen Chu rode his motorcycle at breakneck speed to the county town, and immediately called Long Qi. He knew that it was futile to rely on himself, and there was no time to call Ma Huaqiang and his group. Besides, it was uncertain whether they would even be able to come.
Not long after the phone rang, Chen Chu saw a dark figure rush out from a shadowy spot. It was Long Qi, still carrying the black leather suitcase.
Chen Chu thought to himself, "You're all out rescuing Ji Yang, what are you doing carrying this tattered suitcase?"
But I don't care about that anymore.
The motorcycle stopped, Long Qi jumped on, and the two sped off towards Hancheng.
Chen Chu cursed, "Damn it, where the hell is Hei Zi's pool hall?"
He really didn't know.
At this moment, Long Qi, who was sitting behind him, said, "I know, just do as I say..."
Long Qi had taught Ji Yang a few moves, but he had also taught Hei Zi. However, Hei Zi's skill was far inferior to Ji Yang's. Kung Fu is all about comprehension; even with the same master, the students can be completely different.
It wasn't that the master was biased and held back.
The essence of kung fu lies in comprehension. With the same skill, whoever has the better comprehension will receive the so-called true teachings.
...
Ji Yang's comprehension is arguably the best Long Qi has ever seen. Of course, if Chen Chu didn't have the jade thumb ring, his comprehension wouldn't be so strong; he memorized everything after only two hours of practicing ancient Muay Thai.
It was also because Long Qi was drunk and confused that he was moved by Chen Chu's feigned offer of two thousand yuan, misjudged the situation, and thus passed on the knowledge.
Following Long Qi's directions, Chen Chu sped directly to Hancheng, a distance of sixty li, which he covered in twenty minutes.
Chen Chu sneered, thinking, "Damn it, he always acts all high and mighty, but now he's a complete idiot! He's all that swagger when dealing with ordinary people, but he's chickened out when it comes to a shootout..."
Chen Chu looked again and saw a huge, dark mass of people blocking the way, with the people at the front holding machetes and rushing in.
Inside, a fight was still going on. The two sides had been locked in a stalemate for about half an hour, and Ma Houzi and his gang still hadn't managed to take down Ji Yang. And after half an hour, the police still hadn't shown up.
Chen Chu understood. The plan was to let both sides go all out. They were all thugs anyway; killing one meant one less to kill. The police wouldn't care. Of course, after the attack, they'd come back to clean up the mess…
Chen Chu got off the motorcycle. At this time, he was about 20 meters away from the front. The streetlights illuminated the area, and apart from the police cars in the distance, there were no pedestrians. There were only the shouts and sounds of slashing from the two sides of the fight.
There were also a dozen or so injured people sitting by the roadside, covering their heads or arms. They were mostly Ma Houzi's men, while Ji Yang's men were still inside, and it was unknown how many were injured.
Chen Chu parked the car, got out, wrapped the knife with a cloth, and then wrapped the cleaver around his right hand with the cloth. Before wrapping the knife, Chen Chu had already covered his mouth and nose with a black cloth. This was partly to cover his face, and partly to prevent the other person's blood from splattering onto his face. By blocking his nostrils and mouth, he could prevent the blood that the other person sprayed onto his face from congealing and making it impossible to breathe.
Chen Chu then dragged the machete on the ground with his right hand and drew a sharp, short-handled dagger with his left.
He ignored Long Qi behind him.
He charged into the crowd first, and when he reached the outer edge of the crowd, looking at the dense mass of people, he thought, "Damn it, how am I supposed to fight these people? I'll just have to fight them anyway."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Chu leaped up, raised his right hand and cleaver high, and shouted, "Kill!"
Then the machete fell heavily, slashing into the dark mass of people...