I was sent flying by a punch from the burly man, landing on the ground and staggering back several steps. If Zhang Dabiao hadn't caught me, I would have tumbled like a rolling gourd, and the humiliation would have been immense.
Seeing my grim expression, Zhang Dabiao asked, "How are you? Are you injured?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. My forearms have gone numb."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Dabiao quickly checked them and gently squeezed, then breathed a sigh of relief. "They're not broken, but there might be a slight hairline fracture."
"Mm!"
This turn of events made me take the burly man who had blocked Li Rui very seriously. His speed was incredible; I hadn't seen him move to block Li Rui at all, it felt as if he had suddenly appeared in front of him.
He looked to be around thirty years old, appearing thin, but his clothes, stretched taut and angular, revealed the explosive power of the muscles beneath. A scar, like a centipede, ran from the corner of his left eye to his mouth, looking exceptionally ferocious, making him resemble a demon returned from hell.
*Clap, clap—*
Li Rui's applause drew my attention.
"Kid, not bad! You didn't get smashed to death by my new bodyguard with one punch. Your bones are quite tough. But with your scrawny frame, how many times can he hit you? Once? Three times? Or five times?"
Three times? If he hit me like that again, my forearms would surely break. Five times would mean being beaten to death!
Looking at Li Rui's smug face, I regretted it, a regret so deep it turned my insides green. I should have made him fulfill the bet that morning and forced him to eat some excrement to cleanse his mouth. But there's no medicine for regret in this world, and even if there were, Li Rui's personality wouldn't allow me to buy it.
I twitched my numb arms. A wave of soreness, numbness, pain, and itchiness surged from my limbs, an agony that almost made me cry out. It was unbearable.
At the same time, my hatred for Li Rui deepened. I secretly vowed that if I ever got my hands on him again, I would make him eat excrement until he burped with fullness.
Just then, Li Rui's mocking voice reached me again. "Hurts, doesn't it? Itches, right? If you can't bear it, just scream. I once saw him break someone's arm with a single punch. The guy screamed so miserably..."
I gritted my teeth so hard they creaked, but a smile appeared on my face, as if the person being hit wasn't me but someone else. I squinted at Li Rui. "Where did you find this lackey of yours? Not bad. If he opened a massage parlor, it would surely be a booming business. The pressure would be just right, and grandmothers would love that kind of massage. Why don't you have him open one at home and see?."
"My dog... bodyguard was found by me at great expense from the county town. How is he? Not worse than that傻大个 (silly big guy) next to you, right? The happier you smile now, the more miserably you'll cry later." Li Rui's face contorted with a hint of ferocity, as if I had almost led him astray, almost made him call the burly man a lackey.
If the burly man were just an ordinary bodyguard, being called a lackey wouldn't matter much, because it would be true – taking money from the rich to serve the rich.
But he wasn't an ordinary bodyguard. Ordinary bodyguards couldn't contend with feng shui masters, not even a half-baked one like me. So, his identity must be unusual, though I couldn't determine what it was yet.
Although Li Rui eventually changed the words "dog lackey," the fleeting look of displeasure on the burly man's face didn't escape my eyes.
It seemed that to break this predicament, I would have to find a breakthrough with this burly man. With him blocking Li Rui, and dozens of bodyguards surrounding us, capturing Li Rui was likely unrealistic. Even if Zhang Dabiao was skilled, and I helped, two people couldn't fight dozens.
"Brother, what should I call you?"
"Scarface!"
Two stiff words, spat out by him, indicating his unwillingness to speak.
"I say, Brother Scarface, look at this pretty boy behind you. He's a guy full of bad intentions, doing all sorts of evil. If you follow him, you'll surely face misfortune. How much is he paying you to be his bodyguard? I'll give you double. As long as you let us pass, what do you say?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Li Rui, standing behind Scarface, burst into laughter.
"Haha... Kid, you're killing me."
I looked at him, baffled and confused.
"You have at most four million from me in your pocket. What are you going to give him as double pay? If you can produce ten million now, I'll let you leave immediately, haha..."
My face flushed with embarrassment. Oh, heavens! I had bragged too much. I didn't expect Li Rui to be so extravagant, willing to spend five million on a bodyguard. It seemed this brat truly wanted me dead!
I gritted my teeth, looking at Li Rui, and whispered to Zhang Dabiao, "Brother Zhang, it looks like we have to fight for our lives. You hold off Scarface, and I'll find a way to capture Li Rui."
"Alright, be careful."
As soon as Zhang Dabiao finished speaking, he drew his Cleaving Mountain Saber and charged at Scarface. At the same time, Li Rui ordered them to kill us.
While we were talking, my arms had regained some sensation. Although the pain was severe, I could still form hand seals. I added a Tian Qiao Seal to Zhang Dabiao, almost depleting my own Xuan Yang Qi. I also added one to myself, leaving my internal Xuan Yang Qi almost empty. This gave me a new understanding of the Tian Gang Seal Art; it seemed I shouldn't casually apply seal techniques to others in the future.
With the enhancement of the Tian Qiao Seal, Zhang Dabiao laughed heartily and charged at Li Rui. "Brother, I didn't expect you to have such a trick up your sleeve. If you had used this earlier, I could have dealt with these small fry myself."
As he spoke, he knocked down several bodyguards charging at him with the flat of his saber, appearing exceptionally effortless.
He took them down one by one. If he hadn't held back, these ordinary bodyguards wouldn't have been enough for him to handle alone.
At the same time, I began to weave through the bodyguards rushing at me, trying to find an opportunity to get to Li Rui. Without capturing this little beast, it would be difficult for us to leave here alive.
Li Rui wasn't foolish. Seeing Zhang Dabiao like a tiger descending from the mountain, and me as slippery as a loach, he hid behind Scarface and shouted, "You useless bunch, what do I keep you for? Hurry up and capture these two. Use your guns, what are you waiting for?"
Hearing this, I truly felt sorry for his bodyguards. There were only two of us, and dozens of them. In a melee like this, if they used guns, let alone whether they could hit us, they would likely kill many of their own men.
"Idiot."
While Zhang Dabiao was clearing out the lesser enemies, drawing Scarface's attention, I charged at Li Rui again. Before I could get close, I saw Scarface raise his right hand. Without a second thought, I dodged to the side.
The small bodyguard chasing me behind wasn't so lucky. He was hit as if by a train and sent flying. It was then that I saw the iron nail I had thrown at Li Rui earlier, which Scarface had thrown back, hitting the bodyguard.
Looking at the blood at the bodyguard's mouth, I realized the iron nail was as powerful as a bullet.
"I don't care what grudges you have with Young Master Li. As long as I am here today, you will not be able to touch him in the slightest."
Scarface stood before Li Rui like a god of war. Because Zhang Dabiao didn't want to injure anyone, the bodyguards he had knocked down earlier all got back up. They glared at Zhang Dabiao, surrounding