"Brother Six, you were looking for me?"
A scrawny boy, no older than fifteen or sixteen, dressed in rags, stood respectfully before a table outside a small eatery.
At the table sat a tall, thin man with a long, horse-like face. The most striking feature was that his left hand had six fingers.
He was slurping a bowl of Hu La Tang.
Finishing the last drops of the soup, the man finally looked up.
As he pulled a cigarette from the box on the table, a subordinate immediately lit a lighter and helped him light it.
The man took a deep drag, then exhaled a mouthful of smoke directly into the boy's face.
"Cough, cough, cough."
The boy choked on the smoke, but didn't move.
"Hu Zi, you've gotten bold, haven't you? Do you no longer respect me, Chen Liuzhi?"
Chen Liuzhi's eyes held a hint of darkness.
Hearing Chen Liuzhi's words, the boy's face showed fear. He swallowed hard, "Brother Six, what are you saying? In Baisha Mountain Market, who dares not give you face? They must be tired of living."
The reason the boy was so afraid was that the man before him, Chen Liuzhi, was the boss of Baisha Mountain Market.
He had dozens of thugs under him, all desperate men who had seen blood and were willing to fight and kill.
Every month, the merchants of Baisha Mountain Market had to pay a certain percentage of protection fees to Chen Liuzhi, based on their shop size and income.
Of course, this guy not only had men under him, but he had also bribed those above him, which was why he dared to be so brazen.
"Hu Zi, don't give me any flattery. You still haven't paid last month's protection fee. What, has my leniency made you think it doesn't matter if you pay or not?"
Chen Liuzhi used his left hand to forcefully slap Hu Zi's face.
After a few slaps, Hu Zi's face immediately turned red.
The boy, named Li Hu, rented an open-air stall in Baisha Mountain Market to sell small trinkets.
Even for a stall as small as his palm, he had to pay five hundred yuan in protection fees a month.
Logically speaking, given the size of Baisha Mountain Market, a mere five hundred yuan would not enter Chen Liuzhi's eyes.
He had specifically called Hu Zi because he had other intentions.
"I'm sorry, Brother Six. There was an accident last month. I promise I'll pay you in a couple of days. Please be understanding, Brother Six, and give me a few more days."
Even though his face was red from Chen Liuzhi's slaps, Li Hu still wore a smile that was more of a grimace.
As soon as he finished speaking, the bald man standing beside Chen Liuzhi chimed in, "Hu Zi, I say, why don't you just have your sister follow Brother Six? Then we'll all be family. Not only will you not have to pay protection fees, but Brother Six will look out for you. He can even get you a bigger shop, and you'll be eating and drinking well."
Hearing the bald man's words, Li Hu clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
After a moment, Li Hu forced a smile that was more like a cry, "Brother Six, my sister is not worthy of you. Tomorrow, tomorrow I will pay last month's money..."
Bang!
Before Li Hu could finish his sentence, Chen Liuzhi, who had been sitting, suddenly kicked him, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Damn it, are you playing dumb with me again? I'll ask you one thing, are you going to agree or not?"
As he spoke, Chen Liuzhi stood up and walked over to the fallen Li Hu.
The owner of the small eatery, afraid that Chen Liuzhi and his men would scare away customers or break his tables and chairs, held back the words he was about to say, thinking of Chen Liuzhi's temper and the pack of wolves standing around him. He quietly stepped aside.
"Brother Six, my sister is really not suited for you."
Li Hu's chest ached. He endured the pain and shook his head.
Chen Liuzhi sneered, "Fine, I didn't expect you to be so tough, Hu Zi. Alright, today I'll help you loosen up."
Chen Liuzhi then stood up and gestured with his head to the subordinates behind him.
As soon as Chen Liuzhi moved away, several ready henchmen rushed forward.
They kicked and punched Li Hu indiscriminately, sending him rolling around.
Kicked and beaten by the group, Li Hu could only protect his head and endure the abuse.
In a short while, a crowd of onlookers had gathered.
However, no one dared to step forward. Most of them knew who Chen Liuzhi was, and no one wanted to get into trouble.
"Hu Zi!"
"Hu Zi!"
Just then, someone loudly called Li Hu's name.
Soon, a woman, dressed simply but with a delicate and beautiful face, pushed her way through the crowd.
When she saw Li Hu being beaten and kicked, only able to protect his head on the ground, she immediately rushed over and used her body to shield Li Hu.
"Ah."
One of the thugs, unable to stop his foot, kicked the woman in the waist, causing her to cry out in pain.
Li Hu, who had been covering his head, suddenly had his eyes turn blood red. He grabbed the thug's retreating leg and bit down.
"Holy hell! Damn you!"
Li Hu bit down on the thug's leg, causing him to curse in pain.
The other thugs, who had just stopped, rushed to help when they saw their companion being bitten.
Li Hu had bitten down with such force that they couldn't pull him off even after tugging for a moment.
At this point, one of the thugs' faces contorted into a grimace, and he delivered a kick to Li Hu's jaw.
With a "thud," two of Li Hu's teeth flew out, and his biting mouth loosened.
"Hu Zi!"
Seeing this, the woman rushed forward and pulled Li Hu into her arms.
Li Hu grinned, his mouth full of blood, and said hoarsely, "Sister, are you okay?"
Despite being beaten for so long, his first concern was for his sister.
Hearing him, tears began to stream down Li Hu's sister's face like a broken string of pearls.
"Sister, did that guy hurt you? Damn it, I'll fight him to the death!"
Seeing his sister cry, Li Hu's eyes turned red again.
Li Hu's parents had passed away early, and his sister had raised him single-handedly since he was young. To him, his sister was the only family he had in the world.
Although Chen Liuzhi and his men were notorious bullies in Baisha Mountain Market, and Li Hu was no match for them,
a surge of anger now made Li Hu want to tear them to pieces.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Sister isn't hurt at all."
Li Hu's sister, afraid that Li Hu would suffer further, quickly pulled him back, telling him she was fine.
In reality, her waist was in excruciating pain, but seeing her brother looking as if he were about to fight to the death, she could only force herself to endure it.
At this moment, Chen Liuzhi, who had been sitting all this time, slowly stood up.