Chapter 222: Long Zhanjun Steps In
However, just as Li Yi was preparing to teach these scoundrels a lesson, he heard the door behind him suddenly open.
Immediately afterward, a pale-faced Tang Xue stepped out.
She had heard the commotion outside, and upon stepping out to see her former uncles and elders surrounding her husband like this, a wave of sorrow washed over Tang Xue.
She walked over to Li Yi’s side and stood in front of him.
“Are you here to seek justice for Tan Cheng and Tang Bing?” Tang Xue asked coldly.
“Yes. Not only did he hit Bingbing and Tan Cheng, but he also hit your Uncle Tan. He must give us an explanation!” Tang Jizhong shouted.
“Then do you know why, out of all the people on the street, Li Yi didn’t hit anyone else but those two?”
“Well…”
Tang Jizhong hadn’t actually asked about that. After hearing his youngest daughter come home in tears, he’d acted on impulse and called people over without asking for the full details.
At that moment, a man in the crowd shouted, “No matter the reason, hitting someone is wrong—he should pay compensation!”
“If we go by what you’re saying, Uncle San, that means no matter how much someone insults you, you’re not allowed to fight back!” Tang Xue retorted.
“You can’t put it that way…”
“Then how should I put it?”
Then Tang Xue shouted angrily, “Am I supposed to just let those two insult and slander us however they please? Are we not allowed to defend ourselves? What’s the matter? Do you think we’re afraid of you just because my husband is from out of town?”
“Let me tell you this: if anyone here dares to lay a finger on my husband today, I’ll haunt them from beyond the grave!”
“You disobedient daughter, you dare?”
With that, Tang Jizhong raised his hand and slapped Tang Xue hard across the cheek.
Li Yi immediately pulled Tang Xue back and, in the same motion, slapped away Tang Jizhong’s outstretched hand.
“We made it perfectly clear yesterday: from now on, we have absolutely nothing to do with each other. If you dare lay a hand on Xue again, you can kiss that hand goodbye!”
Then, Li Yi glared at the others and said, “I don’t care which of you half-wits crawled out of a loose fly—if any of you dare to keep your mouths shut here, I won’t hesitate to send you to the hospital for a few days!”
However, Li Yi’s words failed to intimidate them. Tang Lei, bare-chested, shouted, “Don’t get so cocky just because you can fight. There are over a dozen of us here—if you’ve got the guts, go ahead and knock us all down!”
“That’s right! If you’ve got the guts, take us all down. Otherwise, just pay up!”
“Exactly, pay up…”
Seeing how reckless these men were, a cold smile curled at the corner of Li Yi’s mouth.
The greatest flaw in human nature is the word “greed.” Some are greedy for money, some for lust, some for pleasure, and some for laziness.
For those whose eyes have been blinded by greed, he didn’t mind teaching them a lesson.
But just then, a cold and arrogant voice suddenly rang out from behind: “Who’s so cocky? Let your brother Jun have a look!”
The sudden outburst instantly drew the attention of everyone present.
The crowd turned to look and saw a dozen or so people appear on the other side of the corridor.
They were all young—around seventeen or eighteen—broad-shouldered and stocky, with fierce glints in their eyes.
The one leading them was particularly terrifying—none other than Long Zhanjun, the city’s notorious gangster.
There wasn’t a soul in Yong County who didn’t know the name Long Zhanjun.
Two years ago, before he returned from military service, Yong County had another gang leader named “Pockmarked Face.”
That guy had rounded up a gang of thugs and hoodlums, picking fights and causing trouble everywhere—even the police had to give them a wide berth.
No one knows exactly how that guy managed to cross Long Zhanjun, nor how Long Zhanjun went about it, but in any case, within less than a week, Ma Lian and several of his henchmen were all crippled.
Not only were they beaten to a pulp, but more importantly, their past misdeeds were exposed, and they were eventually arrested by the police and sentenced to prison.
Everyone knew it was Long Zhanjun’s doing, but there was no evidence.
From that moment on, Long Zhanjun made a name for himself in Yong County!
The members of the Tang and Tan families hadn’t expected to run into Long Zhanjun here; they were all at a loss for words.
But just then, Long Zhanjun had already walked up to them.
“Who was speaking just now?” Long Zhanjun asked calmly.
With everyone’s eyes on him, Tang Lei had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, “Um, it was me!”
His reply, however, was a resounding slap across the face, followed by Long Zhanjun’s loud shout: “You blind dog! Who do you think you’re offending?”
He then unleashed a barrage of blows on Tang Lei, beating him until he was rolling around on the ground.
At that moment, neither the Tang family nor the Tan family dared to breathe a word, and no one dared to step forward to plead for Tang Lei.
Finally, Tang Jizhong couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He stepped forward and pleaded, “Sir, I beg you to spare my son, Xiao Lei…”
But Long Zhanjun showed no mercy, continuing to slap Tang Lei across the face with such force that he left the boy’s face swollen and bruised.
“Enough, Dalong!”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Long Zhanjun stopped immediately!
This scene left not only the Tang family speechless, but even Tang Xue, standing nearby, stared in disbelief.
She had always thought Long Zhanjun was just a friend of Li Yi’s, but she never imagined he would obey Li Yi so completely, acting just like a subordinate.
Regardless of what everyone else thought, Li Yi fixed his gaze on Tang Jizhong and said coldly, “Get these scumbags out of here right now. If you dare to act up in front of us again, start preparing your own coffin!”
Terrified by his menacing words, Tang Jizhong hurriedly nodded, while the others didn’t dare breathe a word.
“Hurry up and get out!” Long Zhanjun bellowed.
Hearing this, the members of the Tang and Tan families felt as if they’d been granted a pardon. They hurriedly grabbed Tan’s father—who was still whining and moaning incessantly—and fled the guesthouse in a flash.
Once the Tang and Tan families had left, Li Yi immediately asked, “Has the car arrived?”
He didn’t ask Long Zhanjun how he’d managed to arrive so promptly—the answer was obvious even to a fool. Long Zhanjun had undoubtedly been keeping him and Tang Xue under constant surveillance.
The lookouts saw trouble brewing and immediately called him over.
It was enough that he knew this in his heart; there was no need to bring it up openly.
As for Long Zhanjun having them watched, Li Yi understood why. After all, they’d only known each other for a day, and Long Zhanjun was an extremely cautious man.
If he hadn’t sent someone to watch them, that would have been the odd thing.
“It’s coming this way!”
Li Yi glanced at Tang Xue, who was still visibly shaken, and said, “Xiao Xue, I don’t think you’re in the mood to rest right now. Why don’t we head over to the Xinjing Town Health Center early?”
“If we have time, we could also stop by the county hospital on our way back. What do you think?”
Tang Xue nodded immediately and said, “I’ll do whatever you say!”
“Alright, let’s go then!”
“Okay!”
…….