Thank you Anjul, Anu Hazzan, Rebecca, and Erika for supporting me on Patreon!
Chapter 81: Surrounded
How do we get away?
There was no way for them to escape when seven or eight people already surrounded them. A short guy among the group pointed at Zhao Qiang.
“Boss, it's him!”
Zhao Qiang laughed, “Good brother, please speak properly.”
The little guy angrily said, “Who is your good brother? You didn't call me good brother when you knocked out one of my teeth. Big Brother will definitely avenge me today!"
The person he called Big Brother was in his twenties. He was tall and powerful. A long green dragon was tattooed on his arm. He rolled up his sleeves and said, “Brothers, let's go.”
Who cares if he's twice their age? He'd still beat the boy standing beside Zhao Qiang. They must be partners. If they didn't fight them both, they'd only be giving him a chance to counterattack.
Zhao Qiang shouted, “What's the use of winning against us when we're so obviously outnumbered? You're preying on the weak.”
E/N: This sentence reads "An unequal contest brings no honor to the victor" in the original novel.
Lin Xinyu had long a.s.sumed a defensive stance. He'd been diligently studying Taekwondo as well as the veins in the human body for the past few years. By grasping wrists, he could skillfully disengage an arm. He fought so fast that most people were no match for him.
Although Lin Xinyu was tall, he was thin; these people did not consider him an opponent. Instead, they focused their attack on the big guy, Zhao Qiang. Only the little guy and another taller gangster faced Lin Xinyu. When they swung their sticks at him, Lin Xinyu bent down, easily dodging their attacks, and grasped one of them by the arm, skillfully dislocating it.
The man let out a cry and stepped back half a meter, his arms hanging dead; it shocked the other person. But before he could make sense of what happened, Lin Xinyu grasped his left leg. He heard a 'crack' and fell face down on the ground, wincing in pain, leaving a b.l.o.o.d.y gash on his forehead.
The short guy held his maimed right arm, exclaiming, “Ah! He died, he died!”
It was Lin Xinyu's first time staining his hands red. His heart stiffened knowing that he had caused a disaster. But compared to the blood, he feared more the possibility of Lin Xin learning of this.
He quickly moved forward to check the cut on the man's forehead.
It was a superficial wound, they only needed to stop the bleeding.
The short guy just came with his friends to join in the fray for a bit. Having no experience in this matter, he was shocked at the sight of blood.
His shout alarmed his friends. Thinking that something big had happened, they left Zhao Qiang and gathered around to check what was going on.
Lin Xinyu helped the man stop the bleeding and saw that he was fine. He felt relieved. He didn't need to be scolded by Lin Xin. Lin Xin wouldn't need to scold him anymore. A huge weight had been lifted off his chest. However, the short guy beside him kept shouting, "He's dead, dead!"
Lin Xinyu raised his head and spoke, "It's only a superficial wound. Two st.i.tches and anti-inflammatory medicine would fix him. He won't die."
The little guy furiously spoke, “Who do you think you are? Are you a doctor? You've caused someone to lose so much blood. Wait until the police take you to jail!"
Lin Xinyu glanced at the people surrounding them and said, "Do you see my school uniform? When I go to the police station, I'll tell them you guys blocked and tried extorting money from me. In self-defense, I'd unintentionally pushed him. Since he's fine, the police will believe my words rather than yours."
After all that happened, he could see these people did not have enough courage to push the issue. Just like Zhao Qiang, they only dared to blindly yell and deal superficial wounds, not serious injuries.
The person called Big Brother thought for a while and said, “You're right, but how do we calculate the medical fees now that you've beaten up my little brother like this?"
Zhao Qiang, who was beaten black and blue, shouted, "Then how about the cost of my medical fees?"
Lin Xinyu and Lin Xin had always been inseparable, their money was customarily carried by Lin Xin. He only had a few dozen yuan on him at most, so how could he afford to compensate them? Lin Xinyu didn't want to get involved with them again. He asked Zhao Qiang, "How much money do you have on you?"
Zhao Qiang fumbled in his pockets and fished out a hundred yuan.
Lin Xinyu said, “That's it. You decide.”
Seeing Lin Xinyu take out the money, the leader a.s.sumed that Lin Xinyu was someone easy to bully. He was dressed in his school uniform and looked like a child from a wealthy family; this guy must be rich, he thought.
He took the money from Zhao Qiang and said, "Just giving out this little bit of money to people asking for food?"
Lin Xinyu did not expect him to demand more after getting the money. He remembered what Lin Xin told him when they were young, 'For those who bully you, you have to hit them back or else they will bully you even more.'
He moved closer to the man called Big Brother and rummaged into his bag as if to get more money. Then he held his hand out in a tight fist and reached over as if to hand in more money to the leader.
The leader was still feeling pleased with himself as he stretched out his hand to take the "money", when Lin Xinyu suddenly grabbed onto the leader's other arm, twisted it and subdued him.