Huo Qiyuan looked at the group of men crowding over, and taking Su Muqing’s hand, he stepped back with a hint of disgust. Leng Ren and the others stepped forward expressionlessly, naturally placing themselves between the two.
Looking at the eager men before them, everyone except Leng Nuo, who loved excitement the most, seemed rather unenthusiastic. Dealing with such a bunch of good-for-nothings felt pointless even if they won.
Brother Li watched his subordinates standing with their hands raised but hesitating to charge, and couldn't help but roar, "Are you just standing at attention? What's there to see! Hurry up and go fight them!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
The few men standing at the front rushed forward, only to be kicked flying a considerable distance, one by one, before they even got close. The most terrifying thing was that all of them were kicked by the same person. The other men merely stared at them with contempt, showing no intention of making a move.
Leng Nuo flicked his leg, slightly dissatisfied with his last kick. It seemed the speed was a bit slow; that man he kicked only flew about two meters, much closer than the others.
Brother Li was still thinking of winning by sheer numbers, but unexpectedly, the opponents were capable of fighting five against one with ease, and there were still several men on the sidelines who hadn't made a move. Could his men possibly match them?
"All of you, go up together, and call everyone from outside in. Whoever can take them down today, I'll treat you to wine and meat!" Brother Li roared loudly, his voice cracking slightly.
The remaining dozens of men swarmed forward in unison. Now, no matter how fast Leng Nuo’s movements were, he couldn’t deal with over twenty people simultaneously, so Leng Ren and the others had no choice but to join the fray.
The brothers Brother Li had called from outside hadn't even managed to squeeze in yet. The twenty-odd men who had just charged forward were, in the blink of an eye, all clutching their bodies and lying on the ground, groaning, "Ouch! Ouch!" Their faces looked extremely pained!
"You... you..." Brother Li pointed at Leng Ren and the others, trembling. He had never dreamed that these outsiders would be so formidable.
Looking at his subordinates rolling on the ground in groups of three and five, Brother Li swallowed nervously. He couldn't utter a single word and, terrified, stumbled back towards the front hall.
More than a dozen more men ran in from outside. Upon seeing their brothers lying on the ground and Master Gong hiding in the distance, they didn't wait for any orders. Raising their fists, they charged forward, shouting.
By the time Brother Li and the man called the Little Hegemon Qi arrived, the backyard was already filled with groaning men lying on the ground. They were covered in dust, and everyone bore a neat and uniform boot print.
"What's going on? Who did this!" Qi Longxin roared angrily, looking at the thugs rolling on the ground.
Su Muqing, peering past Leng Ren and the others, scrutinized this little hegemon. He was in his early twenties, about 1.6 meters tall, and weighed at least a hundred kilograms.
His face was as round as a steamed bun, flushed red from the heat. His neck was barely visible. He held a folding fan, constantly fanning himself to cool down, with two people specifically following behind him to do so.
No wonder the shopkeeper said this Little Hegemon Qi was a glutton. Whatever good food anyone had, they had to send a portion to him. Just look at his physique! Without those good things, or if the family was poor, it would be impossible to grow this way!
However, to be honest, this little hegemon looked plump and round, with a fair complexion. When he pouted, his lips looked tender and pink, giving him a somewhat cute, simple-minded appearance, not at all as frightening as the shopkeeper had described.
Qi Xiaobawang’s body was dripping with sweat. He couldn't help but roar at the people behind him, "Are you people not eating? Fan faster, fan harder! You're going to make this young master die of heat!"
After finishing his scolding of the two fan-bearers, Qi Xiaobawang turned to the people beside him and asked, "Hey, you… didn't you say someone here brought good food? Where's the food? And who beat up these people?"
Hearing Qi Xiaobawang's outburst, the man called Brother Li scurried up again, bowing and scraping obsequiously. He then pointed at Leng Ren and the others and said.
"Young Master, it's the food they brought. Look! That sheep and wild chicken are right over there. They look so oily and smooth. Oh! And there are a few particularly fat live fish, you can tell they're very fresh."
"Right! They also beat people up. And this Wang Changwen, he's the shopkeeper. He knew they brought good food but quietly let them leave. Luckily, you are wise, Young Master, and sent people to guard the back door early, otherwise, they would have escaped!" Brother Li said, pulling the shopkeeper over, waiting for the little hegemon to make a decision.
The little hegemon fanned himself irritably, his eyes fixed on the plump wild sheep, saliva almost dripping out. After staring for a while, he unhappily shouted at Leng Ren and the others, "Who are you people? How dare you cause trouble in my territory! You have food but don't offer it, and you dare to beat up my men?"
Hearing his words, Leng Nuo immediately bristled, "Offer it to you? You think you're worthy? We're not your father, why should we yield to you?"
"Say that again!" Seeing Leng Nuo's attitude, the little hegemon's face turned red and his neck bulged with anger. Sweat dripped down his forehead in large drops.
"Leng Nuo, step back!" Huo Qiyuan didn't want to cause trouble, or rather, he didn't want to cause trouble for the shopkeeper's family. This little hegemon clearly was pampered, and it was possible they would cause trouble for this inn after they left.
Receiving Huo Qiyuan's gaze, Leng Ren stepped forward to reply, "Young Master Qi, right? We are just travelers passing through Yong'an Town. We didn't know your local rules at first. After hearing them just now, we didn't want to cause trouble, which is why we threatened the shopkeeper to take us away through the back door."
The little hegemon glanced at Leng Ren, thinking that although this person was expressionless, his words were much more pleasant to hear than the previous man's. He looked at Leng Ren with confusion, "Since that's the case, why did you beat people up?"
Su Muqing stared at the little hegemon for a while, noticing the obvious softening of his expression. She felt that this chubby little fellow was probably not a bad person.
Leng Ren answered him, "Young Master Qi, it was your men who rushed forward and attacked us first. We didn't make the first move."
Upon hearing this, the little hegemon turned to look at the people beside him. Hearing these people shift all the blame onto his own men, Brother Li immediately pulled Master Gong forward and yelled at him, pointing at his face.
"You're spouting nonsense! You attacked us first, and you dare to lie with your eyes open! Look at how you beat Brother Gong, you knocked out several of his teeth!"