Chapter 166: A Lesson

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: A Lesson

"So, you think you’re pretty tough, huh?" Zhang Wei Qiang asked, still smiling.

"Of course." Han Bingquan nodded haughtily, head held high, looking as arrogant as if he were the greatest under heaven.

"Let’s go inside and spar, then." Zhang Wei Qiang released Han Bingquan and pointed a finger toward his yard. Then, without waiting for a reply, he grabbed him by the collar and tossed him inside as if he were throwing out the trash.

"Ah—"

Following a loud THUD, Han Bingquan let out a miserable scream. He saw Zhang Wei Qiang stroll leisurely into his yard and even turn to shut the gate. Terrified, he couldn’t help but scoot backward on the ground, shouting with a bravado that belied his fear, "Wh-what are you doing? Get out of here! I-I don’t welcome you here."

The next moment, however, he cried out as a shoulder throw sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Ngh, ah..."

"Isn’t it a bit late to say I’m not welcome? You know, I have a particular hobby—I love to spar with people who claim to be tough." Zhang Wei Qiang landed a kick that sent Han Bingquan rolling over several times, his smile unnervingly gentle. "Mr. Han, I suggest you get up on your own so we can go a few more rounds. Or are you going to just lie there and let me kick you around like a soccer ball? That wouldn’t be a pretty sight for your dozen or so underlings who are willing to die for you, now would it?"

"I’m getting up! What’s so great about a sneak attack?" Realizing that just lying there getting kicked around without any way to retaliate wasn’t going to work, Han Bingquan scrambled to his feet. "Ptooey! Ptooey!" He spat a few mouthfuls of dirt onto the ground. Refusing to lose his bravado even in defeat, he let out a yell and then, with no form or technique at all, lunged at Zhang Wei Qiang—

...

"Get up—" Zhang Wei Qiang once again nudged the prone Han Bingquan with his foot. ’What a coward. I haven’t even gotten serious enough to break any bones. I’ve only slammed him to the ground a dozen or so times, and he’s already this terrified? He’s just going to lie there and give up all pretense of pride?’

"Sob... I’m not getting up. I give up! I give up, okay? Can’t we just stop?!"

"Where in the hell did you come from? I didn’t do anything to you, so why are you targeting me out of the blue?" Han Bingquan was on the verge of bursting into tears. He was having a complete mental breakdown. ’Why would a guy like this, someone ten times more savage and unreasonable than I am, go out of his way to find trouble with a small fry like me? I swear I haven’t done anything to provoke anyone lately! And even if I did, I’m not blind—I always make sure to steer clear of people with his kind of skills. I know better than to offend someone I can’t afford to provoke.’

’Just what does this man want from me?’

"You don’t know?" Zhang Wei Qiang bent down, yanked Han Bingquan up by his collar, and brought his face close. The smile he had worn the entire time turned cold, piercing Han Bingquan’s heart like an icicle. "It seems I was too courteous earlier. I didn’t use enough force to make you remember the lesson."

"..."

Han Bingquan’s mind went blank. When he saw Zhang Wei Qiang’s "gentle smile" return, a chill shot through him, making his skin crawl. He jolted and immediately blurted out, "I know! I know! I know now!"

As he was shouting, the intense fear sparked a flash of insight. He suddenly remembered seeing this man with that divorced woman from the Gu Family—the one he’d had his eye on...

"Bro, I swear I didn’t do anything! I just looked at her a couple of times, that’s all." At this point, Han Bingquan knew without a doubt that he had messed with the wrong person. His face was a mask of misery. ’He’s acting like this, and all I did was look. This God of Killing... if I had actually tried something... would I even be alive right now?’

He couldn’t help but shiver again. ’My tasteless staring must have put that woman on guard, so she called her family’s muscle to come sort me out.’

’If you’ve got a brother this terrifying, you should’ve said so! I would’ve stopped looking, wouldn’t that have been enough? Why just silently call someone to come beat me up?’

Han Bingquan wailed internally. ’Even if I am a lech, what beautiful woman is worth my life? They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and now I’ve experienced it firsthand.’

"You should take a piss and look at your own reflection. You think you’re worthy of calling me ’Bro’? Hmph. You sure think a lot of yourself." Zhang Wei Qiang snorted. He jabbed his free hand unceremoniously at Han Bingquan’s eyelid. His voice was like ice. "Listen up. Next time you see her, don’t even think about looking. Just get the hell away from her. Otherwise, you better watch your step. You might have an ’accident’ one day, and a branch or a sharp rock or something might just happen to destroy those pretty eyes of yours. Let’s see how much good crying does you when you can’t see a damn thing."

’You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s that vicious? I wasn’t peeping on her while she bathed or anything, and he’s already planning on gouging out my eyes?’

When Han Bingquan saw that Zhang Wei Qiang’s expression was dead serious, without a trace of a joke, a cold dread shot up from the soles of his feet. He nodded frantically, "I won’t look! I’ll never dare to look again!"

"And by the way, give a message to your ’dozens’ or ’dozen or so’ underlings. Tell them not to be as blind as you are, drooling over decent women you have no right to covet. Otherwise, next time I won’t be so ’polite’ and have a nice ’talk’ with you. I’ll come looking for you first, and only then will I go after the others. Remember that."

"I don’t actually have a dozen underlings! I was just bluffing to try and scare you!" Han Bingquan slapped his own face and then started crying for real. ’—what if some other moron in the village doesn’t watch his step, and this God of Killing comes looking for me? How fucking unfair would that be?!’

"Heh... I’m not going to waste my breath arguing about whether you have them or not. Just know this: from now on, I don’t want to hear a single piece of gossip in this village connecting my sister to any of you. If I do happen to hear something... do you want to test whether I can make you spend the rest of your life on your back?" Zhang Wei Qiang’s voice wasn’t loud, but it boomed like thunder in Han Bingquan’s ears.

"I believe you! I believe you..." Han Bingquan watched as the God of Killing gave him one last smile after delivering his brutal threat, then turned and left. Only when he was far in the distance did Han Bingquan dare to go shut his yard gate. Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, he grimaced and whimpered in pain, "Oww, that really hurts... Fucking... what rotten luck. It was just a few looks, it’s not like she’d lose a chunk of flesh over it, right? He beat the hell out of me and still has the nerve to call that ’courteous’? With a brother like that around, no wonder that woman with the surname Gu couldn’t stand it. If it were me... ptooey, ptooey! Even if she were a goddess from the heavens, you’ve got to be alive to enjoy her, don’t you?"

As he walked out the gate, Zhang Wei Qiang glanced around. ’Looks like this punk is disliked but also feared by the villagers,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, with all the noise I just made, there’s no way not a single neighbor would peek their head out to see what’s going on, or come to check on him.’

’It looks like I’ll have to get a better understanding of the situation here in Lihua Village, and quickly. It’s not just for my sister’s sake. Since my family is going to be starting out here, it’s essential to understand the village’s various relationships. Know the lay of the land, know the people. It’s the only way to make sure things go smoothly in the future, right?’

...