Chapter 86: Changchun Martial Arts Hall

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Changchun Martial Arts Hall

"Yeah, that’s right. Uncle Liu, do you know where Dazhuang is?" Ye Xing asked quickly. Uncle Liu was Zhu Dazhuang’s neighbor, so there was a good chance he knew his whereabouts.

"Dazhuang got beaten up this morning. He’s laid up in the village hospital," Uncle Liu said with a sigh.

"What? Beaten up?" A cold glint flashed through Ye Xing’s eyes as he quickly asked, "Uncle Liu, do you know who did it? How bad are his injuries?"

"That, I don’t know. I heard people say he was ambushed and beaten at the village entrance this morning when he was coming back from delivering fish," Uncle Liu said. "He’s swollen all over. No idea who he could’ve offended."

Ye Xing’s expression changed, and he immediately broke into a run, heading for the village hospital.

The Bilin Village hospital was very small, just a five-story building. Many patients and their families were coming and going. The air inside the hospital was thick with the smell of medicine, and a few doctors and nurses in white coats were bustling about.

After entering the hospital, Ye Xing asked for directions and went to room 302.

Room 302 had three beds. On the innermost one, Zhu Dazhuang was propped up, rubbing medicinal wine onto his body.

He had several bruises, with the ones on the corner of his mouth and around his eye socket being the most obvious. Not only were they bruised, but they were also red and swollen.

"Dazhuang!" Ye Xing strode into the room.

"Huh? Brother Xing, you’re here!" Zhu Dazhuang said happily. The smile immediately pulled at the wound on his mouth, making him grimace in pain.

"What happened? Is it serious?" Ye Xing asked with concern.

"It’s nothing, just some superficial injuries," Zhu Dazhuang said as he continued to rub on the medicinal wine.

Ye Xing’s eyes shifted. "Is this about the thief?"

"Yeah." Zhu Dazhuang nodded. "Brother Xing, I think we’ve kicked a steel plate this time. These guys are bad news, and we can’t afford to provoke them."

"Tell me exactly what happened," Ye Xing said. "What’s the story with that thief?"

"The thief’s name is Wu Feng. He’s a coach at the Changchun Martial Arts Hall in Luoxian County. Last night, he tried to sneak into my place to steal the grass carp feed, but little Erhei and I stopped him. That Changchun Martial Arts Hall—they’re the local tyrants. We really can’t afford to cross them. Once I found out he was a coach there, I just let him go," Zhu Dazhuang said. "I thought if I just swallowed my anger, that would be the end of it. I never expected... *sigh*."

"Who beat you up?" Ye Xing asked.

"It was Wu Feng’s older brother, Wu Wei," Zhu Dazhuang said. "He’s also a coach at the Changchun Martial Arts Hall!"

"Changchun Martial Arts Hall!" Ye Xing’s gaze hardened. He said in a low voice, "Come with me. We’re going to get justice."

"Uh... Brother Xing, I think we should just forget it. They have strength in numbers, and they’re all trained fighters. If we go, we’ll probably just be asking for trouble," Zhu Dazhuang said with a bitter smile.

"It’s fine. We’re just going to reason with them," Ye Xing said. "That Wu Feng tried to steal our grass carp feed, so he was in the wrong from the start. Now his brother, Wu Wei, has beaten up my friend. We can’t just cower from something like this. I have to go and reason with them properly."

"I’m afraid they won’t listen. The hall was opened by some big shot from the underworld. The place is full of his people, so we really shouldn’t go. We’ll be at a disadvantage," Zhu Dazhuang quickly pleaded. "I’ll guard the grass carp feed tightly. They won’t be able to steal it anyway. Let’s just let this go."

"That won’t do. You can’t just get beaten for nothing. This isn’t over! Come with me!" Ye Xing said. He immediately led Zhu Dazhuang out of the hospital, and they sped off toward Luoxian County in the Porsche. On the way, Zhu Dazhuang told Ye Xing about that underworld big shot. His name was Wu Qiang, a Luoxian County native who used to be in the Fu City triads. He was a big deal. However, as law and order in Fu City improved, it became harder for gangs to get by, and the profits dried up. So, he decided to turn over a new leaf, returned to his hometown in Luoxian County, and started doing business. Relying on his complex network of connections, he opened a martial arts hall, KTVs, internet cafes, and bars—a bit of everything—and business was booming.

Of course, some of his old bad habits hadn’t been completely shed. For example, he still liked to resort to fists and clubs whenever a conflict arose. If not for the fact that no one in the area dared to provoke him, he’d probably be getting into fights every day.

By telling Ye Xing all this, Zhu Dazhuang was naturally hoping that Ye Xing would see the situation clearly and, ideally, not go. Otherwise, they might get beaten up and end up on the losing side.

SCREECH!

The Porsche stopped in front of the martial arts hall’s main gate.

The hall’s gate was closed, but waves of shouts from training could be heard from within. This was a legitimate National Martial Arts hall that had even hired several coaches with impressive backgrounds. This was because Wu Qiang was a National Martial Arts enthusiast with a deep love for it. Of all the businesses he owned, from bars to KTVs, he spent most of his time here at the Changchun Martial Arts Hall.

BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

Ye Xing got out of the car, walked to the main gate, and knocked. The strikes seemed light, but they hit like a sledgehammer, making the heavy gate rattle and boom.

"Who is it?! Dammit, what’s all the racket!" The gate opened to reveal a group of people training inside, both coaches and students. The one who opened the door was a young man with a red mohawk. He glanced at Ye Xing and Zhu Dazhuang and frowned. "Who are you? Never seen you before. You’re not from our hall, are you? What do you want?"

"Huh, it’s this kid. You got beaten to a pulp and you still dare to come back?" A well-built young man in his late twenties, who had been practicing his punches inside, glanced toward the doorway. When he saw Zhu Dazhuang’s bruised and swollen face, a cold, disdainful sneer crossed his lips.

"Awei, you know these two?" the red-haired young man asked.

"Of course I do. That big, dark-skinned dumbass hurt my little brother’s leg, so I cornered him at the village entrance this morning and beat the hell out of him. And he still dares to show his face? Haha, maybe he thinks I was too soft on him, that I didn’t cripple him. He must be asking for another beating," the well-built young man sneered.

"Haha, so that’s how it is. Daring to provoke someone from our hall... you’re really looking for death. If you don’t want a beating, then get lost—" Before the red-haired young man could finish, Ye Xing’s hand shot out and clamped around his neck. He lifted the man’s entire body into the air with one hand. The youth’s face instantly turned beet red, his legs kicking frantically as he struggled to breathe, unable to get any air.

"Holy shit! He’s a beast!"

Everyone was stunned. The red-haired youth weighed at least 140 pounds, yet he had been lifted clean off the ground with a single hand. That kind of strength was simply monstrous.

"Young man, to attack someone the moment you walk in... that’s hardly appropriate, is it? May I ask what business brings you here?" a bald, middle-aged man in a training uniform said as he approached. Although the bald man had a fierce appearance, his tone was quite polite. After all, the strength Ye Xing had just displayed with his arm alone was not to be underestimated. More importantly, for someone with such power to barge in so brazenly, he was clearly fearless, which probably meant he had a powerful background.

Seeing this, Zhu Dazhuang felt a surge of joy. ’I never thought Brother Xing was this incredible! He shocked them with his very first move. It looks like both sides might actually be able to sit down and talk this out reasonably. As long as we can reason with them, we have nothing to fear. After all, they’re the ones in the wrong.’

Just as Zhu Dazhuang was thinking this, his heart leaped when he heard Ye Xing say, "Isn’t this a martial arts hall? I’m here to challenge it!"

The moment he spoke, the room fell silent, and the atmosphere seemed to freeze.