In the backlight of the torch, the smile on the face of the burly man with coarse features did not seem kind, but rather sinister.
He walked in a crude manner, quite awkwardly, followed by a skinny tall man who kept in step, face full of schadenfreude.
"Don't blame me, the boss, you little brats. Among the eleven begging spots on Qilin Street, only here at yours can't even get a single tael of silver, it's hard for me too, you know."
For some reason, Boss Yat's tone actually carried some sincerity: "With the Incense Master demanding a hundred taels of silver every month, it's hard for me to breathe. Otherwise, if you obediently let me break your hands and feet, cry miserably and pathetically, you might be able to beg for a bit more silver."
Everyone's heart shuddered, their bodies chilled.
Chen Ping slowly stood up by supporting himself on the incense table, taking a long breath.
In his past life, having traveled far and wide, facing various kinds of people, he certainly wouldn't misjudge this person's nature.
The other party spoke as if very sincere, asking you to understand his difficulties, but at his core, he was utterly cold-blooded, deriving pleasure from others' pain.
No, others' pain, in his view, simply did not exist; he would use any means to achieve his ends and couldn't tolerate the slightest disobedience.
Big Fool indeed wasn't foolish, wanting to escape wasn't wrong at all.
Because, he knew, if he stayed here, Boss Yat would never let him off.
"Thud..."
The Kuihua brothers, Little Table and Little Stool, immediately broke down, kneeling among the broken bricks and rubble, wailing: "Boss Yat, spare us, I've read books, can write, can keep accounts, and also..."
"Move aside, you two stinking eunuchs, reeks to high heaven here."
Boss Yat didn't even turn his head, just kept a dead stare at Chen Ping. The skinny tall guy behind him viciously shouted and kicked the Kuihua brothers into a tumble.
Zuo Duanshou's face was expressionless, standing there motionless.
He turned his head to look at Chen Ping.
Hua Lian'er trembled slightly, reached out to clutch the hem of Chen Ping's clothes, still holding his head high, glaring hatefully at Boss Yat's grotesque smile, as if etching it into his heart.
At that moment, Chen Ping finally realized why, despite having a broken leg, having died once from fever, and being weak to an unimaginable extent, no one fought him for the prime sleeping spot under the incense table.
It turns out, he was the "leader" of this group of little beggars.
So, the question arose, was Big Fool really foolish, daring to snatch food from the "leader" before.
This wasn't just because that guy wasn't smart, it could only prove that his original self might have been quite kind-hearted... capable and kind-hearted, able to unite everyone as one. Therefore, after being deliberately targeted and having his leg broken by Boss Yat, he eventually died of fever.
Indeed, good men don't live long.
This logic came full circle.
"Originally, you're a bit older, even with broken hands and feet, worse off than three- or five-year-old children, it's hard to evoke much pity, can't earn much silver. But you could at least scrounge up a bit, better than the current state."
Boss Yat flashed a trace of ruthlessness in his eyes, not bothering to say more, rushed forward in a quick step, extending a cyan-black hand, grabbing for Chen Ping's arm with a fierce wind.
His fingers curled into hooks, each thick as a radish, obviously having trained in hand techniques.
This man wasn't just brutish, he understood the principle of "capture the ringleader first," knowing that as long as he subdued the leader, the others wouldn't dare resist and would obediently let him break their hands and feet.
He wasn't even cautious, knowing from the last time when he kicked this young man's leg that although he looked handsome and composed, he wasn't actually skilled. Apart from some innate strength, he didn't even know the basics of martial arts.
He had successfully mastered Bone Forging, was strong and powerful, his moves exquisite, there was no way he could fail.
He even already envisioned catching the opponent's arm and ripping it off, then stomping his limbs into mush, the wounds as gruesome as possible.
Of course, later he'd have to scar up the opponent's face. A guy looking like this, that's not fair, is it?
If, while begging, he caught the eye of some passing wealthy miss, and she found someone to give him trouble, that would be unpleasant.
Thinking of this, a thrill rose in him; his greatest pleasure was watching someone wail under his hands, especially such "sheep" unable to resist, making him feel vividly like a big shot, with the power of life and death, how marvelous.
The "prey" in front of him finally "panicked," unable to maintain the previous composed, calm posture, arms flailing, body desperately leaning sideways to dodge, but how could he be faster than his grasp?
Boss Yat smirked coldly in his heart, suddenly seeing a spray of gray mist before him.
Didn't even have time to react, his eyes lost sight, countless tiny powder particles stinging his eyeballs with pain... In the dim light, it seemed a shadow lunged at him, wind rushing under his arm.
'Incense ash...'
The thought flashed through his mind. He roared angrily, quickly bringing his hands back to protect his face and chest, and his foot kicked up like lightning, creating a fierce wind.
With a smack, the incense table was shattered into pieces. As he pulled his leg back and hadn't yet steadied himself, a shock hit the back of his head, his body froze in place, unable to move.
Chen Ping's face was pale as paper, breathing heavily. He was already standing behind Boss Yat. The old injury at the knee of his broken right leg had split open, blood trickling down. The bamboo pole skillfully tied by Hua Lian'er had now broken, piercing into the flesh.
The recent action mobilized his entire body, employing hands, feet, body, and eyes, leaving him unable to care about much else, and his injured leg also took quite a toll.
It must be said, although his body didn't appear strong, his strength and speed were indeed standout among ordinary people. In other words, he was a natural martial arts prodigy.
Although his innate talent was quite good, after all, he had lost a leg, his body was weak, and he seemed to not have practiced any moves normally. A slight movement could twist his hip or strain a muscle...
In his consciousness, he forcefully controlled his body to use the "Flowers Hidden in the Leaves Technique" of Eight Trigrams Fist to cast a handful of incense ash, then used the "Grass-Plucking Snake-Seeking Technique" to lower his body, crawling close to the ground to get behind Boss Yat. In the undulation, he reversed his hand to stab the rusty tip of the small incense ash shovel's iron handle into his hind neck, severing the nerves.
This move looked simple, but it was a lethal move honed in half a lifetime from the previous life, through twenty years of painstaking practice.
Even if it was another body, another world, and a broken leg...
The life-and-death combat experience ingrained in the bones, etched in the soul, was not discarded.
The essence of "Flowers Hidden in the Leaves" lies in the word "hidden," which is deception.
The moves are not fixed, the stance is not fixed, regardless of fists, kicks, or swords. As long as the opponent is deceived into not seeing the action of throwing the incense ash, it's enough.
Just like magic, it seems like martial arts, but it contains deep philosophy, involving psychological tactics.
Even if Boss Yat had been on high alert, it doesn't mean he would have dodged it...
"Panicked dodging," "wild swings of arms," were all for him to see. What wasn't meant for him to see, he would never see.
For Chen Ping, the "hidden" tactic was a clever move, easy to execute; rather, it was the body moving like a dragon, crouching and rising, dodging around to stab the neck that was very difficult.
However, he managed to do it, and accomplished it rather well.
If his grandfather were to see this from the afterlife, he would also give a nod of approval.
Seeing the sudden change, Boss Yat staggered and fell to the ground, the tall and thin guy three steps behind finally reacted, drawing the semi-long iron spike from his waist, waving it wildly as he rushed forward.
Having just taken two steps forward, with a howl, he jumped up, bounced twice, and fell headfirst, convulsing madly.
Chen Ping turned his head to see clearly.
He couldn't help but have his eye twitch wildly.
At the moment when the tall and thin guy rushed forward with the iron spike, Zuo Duanshou had already rushed ahead, rolling on the ground, grabbing a thin bamboo pole from the ground, and suddenly stabbing it upwards.
The bamboo pole hit a certain spot on the tall and thin guy's buttocks, going three feet deep.
A good move, "Thousand-Year Kill"!
No matter how fierce the tall and thin guy was, he apparently couldn't remain fierce now.
Little Table was so shocked by the series of events that he lost the ability to react, his mouth wide open; Little Stool, however, didn't daze, picked up half a green brick, and took two steps forward, straddling the tall and thin guy, closing his eyes, shouting loudly as he aimed for the opponent's forehead.
"Call me an eunuch, I'll let you call me an eunuch."
Pounding seven or eight times, only when the brick shattered and fell did he open his eyes. He found that the tall and thin guy's entire face had turned into a bloody mess, leaving only the legs twitching occasionally, very soon not moving anymore.
The torch fell to the ground, gradually dimming, with wisps of green smoke swirling...
In the dilapidated Earth God Temple, only a few people were left gasping heavily.
Of course, there was also the sound of Hua Lian'er's upper teeth lightly clicking against the lower teeth.
At this moment, there was a loud "bang" outside the door, as if something had been knocked over... Immediately after, there was a series of footsteps, "thud thud thud," rapidly fading away.
"There were actually others following us, but they didn't enter the temple."
The few people looked at each other, thinking that things just got complicated...