Da Hu shoved Li Ping'an aside and stepped forward, blocking the doorway.
His eyes narrowed as he stared greedily at Miss Wang. A lecherous grin spread across his face.
"So. Have you gathered the money yet? The people above are breathing down my neck."
Miss Wang forced a difficult smile.
"Please wait a little longer. I really can't come up with that much money right now. But I promise I'll pay it back."
"Promise?"
Da Hu snorted coldly.
"At this rate we would have to wait until the year of the monkey. You sell a few blocks of tofu a day and think you can pay that back? Dream on."
"I really can't raise that much money..."
Miss Wang's lips trembled. She was terrified, yet she still tried her best to remain calm.
Da Hu raised an eyebrow, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Then it's simple. Either you pay with money... or you pay with yourself."
"I... I truly don't have the money right now."
"That's fine. You still have something valuable."
His tone was casual.
The lackeys behind Da Hu burst into laughter. Someone even whistled teasingly.
Miss Wang clenched her fists. Her face flushed crimson.
She wanted to do something. Anything that could stop these men from being so brazen.
But she was only a widow with a child.
There was nothing she could do.
Da Hu continued leisurely,
"A beauty like you? Plenty of brothels would love to have you. Especially one who's already had a child."
"You wouldn't believe it. There are people out there who specialize in liking other men's wives."
"They're not interested in young virgins at all."
He turned around and glanced at his subordinates.
"Any of you like this type?"
"Me! Me! I do!"
"Get lost. You think that thing of yours is good enough?"
"Hahahaha!"
The group roared with laughter.
Miss Wang bit her lip. Tears pooled in her eyes.
At that moment she wanted nothing more than to smash her head against the wall and end it all.
If she were really sold to a place like that...
Death would be better.
But what about her child?
Da Hu was experienced in dealing with people like this.
The stick had already been used.
Now it was time for the carrot.
He casually pulled over a stool and sat down.
His tone softened, carrying a trace of feigned sympathy.
"I know life isn't easy for you. A widow raising a child alone. I don't want to make things difficult either."
"But the people above are pressuring me. What can I do?"
"Young Master Guo already said that if the money isn't paid back before the New Year... then next time it won't be me who comes."
He paused deliberately.
"Think about your son."
He did not finish the sentence.
Miss Wang was already pale with fear.
"Then... what should I do..."
Da Hu rubbed his hands together and chuckled.
"With my relationship with Young Master Guo, saying a few words for you would be easy."
"Getting you another year or so to repay the debt would be nothing."
Miss Wang looked at him suspiciously.
"You... can help me?"
"Of course. As long as..."
Da Hu reached out and patted the hand she had clenched tightly.
The meaning was obvious.
Right at that moment, a strange sound came from the doorway.
Crunch. Crunch.
It sounded like a pig eating something.
Da Hu frowned.
Then a calm voice spoke.
"You can talk to Young Master Guo?"
"That's strange. I've never seen a dog that can talk to its master."
Da Hu froze.
For a moment he did not react.
Then realization struck.
The blind man.
That blind beggar had just insulted him.
This lunatic...
Had he gone mad?
But Da Hu didn't care whether he was insane or not.
Today he was going to cut that tongue out.
Two lackeys had already dragged Li Ping'an over.
Da Hu stood with his hands on his hips. The fat on his face trembled with anger.
"You looking to die?"
"This has nothing to do with him. Ping'an, leave now!"
Miss Wang shouted urgently.
Da Hu pulled out a gleaming cleaver from his waist.
His weapon used to be a thick wooden club. But ever since he joined the Fire Bear Gang under Young Master Guo, things had changed.
New status.
New weapon.
The wooden stick had been replaced with a blade.
The cold edge pressed against Li Ping'an's cheek.
"Blind man. Instead of begging on the streets, you came here to play hero?"
"Take a piss and look at yourself first."
The moment he finished speaking, a flash of steel appeared.
Da Hu suddenly felt the blade in his hand spin strangely.
Down.
Up.
In the next instant, the blade was pressed against his own throat.
Standing before him was the blind man he had bullied countless times before.
Li Ping'an.
Holding the blade.
A bone-chilling cold spread through Da Hu's body.
His eyelids twitched.
A bead of cold sweat slid down his back.
"I'm one of Young Master Guo's men! If you have the guts, then kill me!"
Da Hu didn't believe this blind man would dare.
Li Ping'an suddenly drove the butt of the blade into his chest.
A violent impact exploded through Da Hu's body.
"WAH!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
It splattered across the ground.
The snow turned red.
[Turtle Breathing Art – 60%]
The practitioner's breathing becomes long and subtle, able to hold and circulate qi for extended periods.
It is an internal cultivation technique.
Li Ping'an had already mastered more than half of it. His internal energy was deep and steady.
If he had used a little more force just now, Da Hu's internal organs would have shattered instantly.
Da Hu's eyes bulged.
He could barely breathe.
The lackeys behind him were stunned.
Normally they only got into small street fights.
When had they ever seen something like this?
Looking at the blind man who used to let them bully him, they suddenly felt he had become a complete stranger.
"Get lost."
Da Hu was dragged away by his men.
They fled in panic.
Li Ping'an handed the bowl back to Miss Wang and wiped his mouth.
"Thanks."
Miss Wang was filled with worry.
"You should leave town for a while."
"They will definitely come back for trouble."
She was grateful that Li Ping'an had stood up for her.
But Da Hu now worked for Young Master Guo.
Someone ordinary like them could never afford to offend such people.
Li Ping'an pressed down the straw hat on his head and turned away.
But he did not go far.
Instead, he hid inside a nearby alley.
Leaning against the wall, he sat down beside the old ox.
From his robe he took out two baked flatbreads.
One for the ox.
One for himself.
Dark clouds gathered again in the sky.
Night slowly descended.
The sound of cloth shoes crunching over snow echoed through the darkness.
From the end of the street came more than twenty men marching forward.
Each carried a different weapon.
Their expressions were ferocious.
Despite the freezing weather, their chests were bare, revealing thick, brutal muscles.
This was the first time Da Hu had suffered such humiliation.
And it had been at the hands of a blind man.
If he didn't regain his face tonight, he might as well stop showing his face in this town.
"Move! Move!"
The common townsfolk quickly stepped aside.
No one dared breathe too loudly.
Leading the group was a man named Zhang Wu.
One of Young Master Guo's enforcers.
In his hand was a gleaming Japanese-style saber.
He wasn't tall, but the aura around him was savage.
The Great Sui Dynasty valued martial strength.
With wars constantly breaking out, adult men walking the streets often took pride in carrying weapons at their waists.
The group marched straight toward Miss Wang's house.
But when they passed the alley...
They suddenly stopped.
Li Ping'an leaned casually against the wall.
Behind him stood the old ox.
Completely blocking the narrow alley.
"Brother Zhang! That's him!"
The moment Da Hu saw Li Ping'an, rage exploded again.
Zhang Wu narrowed his eyes.
"A blind man?"