Chapter 5, Defeating with Three Thousand Strikes

Sing when you are asked to, and spare me the nonsense

The water snake received the order and turned around to collect the money. Having been stripped bare by Xue Xiang himself, he could not stand to see others doing better than him, and he did not spare even those three unfortunate souls. Before long, a large pile of various wallets was brought before Xue Xiang, all of which were high-end products, indicating that this gang of motorcycle thieves had robbed quite a number of people. Xue Xiang was not polite; he gathered all the cash together, a thick bundle amounting to about one hundred thirty to forty yuan, excluding the small change and tickets, and stuffed it all into his tiger-skin wallet along with his own money. The remaining wallets were thrown back to them.

It seems that you do not particularly enjoy singing revolutionary songs, which is not good. The great leader taught us that excellent revolutionary songs are a precious asset for the entire party and army, and the vast number of revolutionary youth should inherit and carry them forward. Well, I will leave a mark for you to remember this lesson. Xu Xiang spoke in a calm tone, his expression serene. After finishing his words, he slowly grasped the middle finger of the fat man's left hand and forcefully bent it upwards. With a crack, the fat man's middle finger and the back of his hand formed a strange arc, breaking in the process. The fat man realized something was wrong when his hand was grasped and tried to pull back with all his strength, but his finger felt as if it were caught in a vice, unable to move an inch.

Stop! A clear and crisp voice of admonition rang out

The unfortunate trio saw Xue Xiangzhao walking towards them, and their hearts immediately sank: "Brother, you have already tormented us; go and torment those who have not experienced your 'dictatorial' iron fist. Why do you keep targeting the disabled?" Fortunately, their inner thoughts could not be heard by others; otherwise, the remaining members of the motorcycle gang would have torn them apart.

As the dagger-wielding man had tears streaming down his face, the stout man clenched his right hand tightly, gazing up at the heavens with a melancholic and profound expression, as if a wandering poet was desperately searching for inspiration for his creation. Gradually, his eyes became moist, and a tear rolled down his cheek, falling to the ground with a soft thud

The old lady insisted repeatedly not to take so much. With no other choice, Xue Xiang took out two one-yuan bills, and only then did the old lady accept them. However, she then wrapped the remaining ten or so intact eggs in a cloth used for lining the vegetable basket and forcefully shoved them into Xue Xiang's hands. At this moment, the people who had been in line in front of Liu Ying'er had finished buying their vegetables, leisurely watching the commotion, and had now dispersed, leaving the sales window empty. Xue Xiang propped up his fallen bicycle, picked up the vegetable basket, and without paying any attention to Liu Ying'er, he picked up the little girl. Just as he was about to help the old lady, Liu Ying'er got ahead of him, and the few of them walked towards the window. The little girl’s face, which had just been crying, was flushed red, her round face resembling a rosy apple. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, Xue Xiang casually stuffed the three large yuan bills he had just received into the little girl's pocket of her cotton jacket.

That's not good, Third Brother. If you want to listen, I can move my record player to your place, and the vinyl records are definitely authentic and original

Do not allow

"Say it again, move aside"

The revolutionary song that Xue Xiang mentioned was a popular song widely sung on the streets at that time. The chubby man could indeed sing it, but when Xue Xiang suddenly asked about the seventh line, he was truly stumped. He hummed the lyrics in his mind once before he finally remembered.

Ah

The elderly woman was wearing a gray-black cotton coat, her hair was grizzled, and her purple-blue linen trousers were smeared with egg liquid and dust. More than half of the eggs she had collected over the month were broken, causing her great distress, as these eggs were meant to be sold at the collection station after shopping to buy a school bag for her granddaughter. At that moment, she saw the young man who had just taught a lesson to a few naughty children handing her money, his tone gentle and his expression kind, completely unlike the fierce demeanor he had shown earlier. The elderly woman was momentarily at a loss, her withered hands repeatedly pushing away the cash that Xue was offering her, while she kept saying, "There’s no need for so much, there’s no need for so much, only eighteen were broken, you can just give me seventy-two cents. I’m fine, it’s just my clothes that are dirty; I can wash them when I get home. There’s no need for any compensation, child, thank you. I really appreciate your help just now."

Xue Xiang walked up to the three individuals and patted the chubby man's greasy face, saying, "Riding so fast, what are you doing? Can't you see there are elderly people and children ahead? And you even tugged at a young lady's scarf; there's no one who behaves like that. Do you know the Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention? What is the seventh rule?" Xue Xiang always spoke in a gentle and refined manner, but one could never tell when he would suddenly become angry and launch an attack, and his methods of attack were so fierce. The stark contrast between these two images created a vivid juxtaposition, leaving the motorcycle riders both fearful and in awe, leading them to exclaim: Only when a troublemaker reaches the level of Third Brother does it truly signify a certain realm.

At that time, each egg cost only three to four cents, and the salary of an ordinary worker was only twenty to thirty yuan. In some rural areas, a strong laborer earned just over fifty cents for a day's work. Therefore, more than one hundred yuan was indeed considered a substantial amount.

After Xue Xiang dealt with the gang of bikers, he walked up to the elderly lady and handed her three large bills: "Ma'am, I hope your leg isn't hurt. This is the compensation for the eggs and nutrition they owe you. Please accept it."

"To give and to take, to give and to take, as long as Third Brother likes it, that is enough. Such high-end goods are only worthy of your temperament, Third Brother. For me, it is merely a pearl covered in dust, a waste of fine things." In that moment, Shui She's face turned bitter, yet his words remained eloquent, delivering flattery with remarkable finesse.

Xue Xiang shoved the cash and the ticket into the hands of Shui She, saying: "This little amount is hardly enough to compensate for the eggs and my mental distress. Fine, I will take a loss, and I won't make it difficult for you. Keep this money for your lunch. By the way, don't forget to put a cast on Fatty's finger; Old Zhang at Sancha Kou has good bone-setting skills."

Thus, Xue Xiang unknowingly acquired another villain card

The fat man noticed that Xue Xiang's expression was somewhat unfriendly, and for a moment he did not dare to make any jokes. However, being asked to sing this in front of so many people left him truly unable to speak, and he was momentarily frozen.

Xue Xiang turned his head and saw Liu Ying'er walking towards him from beside the old lady, blocking his path.

Seeing Xue Xiang leave, the dagger-wielding man realized he had narrowly escaped a calamity, and in an instant, tears streamed down his face, feeling saved! In his heart, the image of Liu Ying'er instantly equated to that of a certain renowned sister from Buddhist teachings.

Since you know, why are you still going around the streets boasting about the young lady's scarf? You say you can sing, come on, sing a verse for everyone to hear

The water snake is at a loss whether to laugh or cry, with so much money that it could buy a truckload of eggs, yet it puts on a face of deep gratitude and tears.

What are you still dawdling for? Have you forgotten that you need to compensate for the damaged items at their full value?" Xue Xiang patted the snake's head.

You

The dagger man, upon witnessing Xue Xiang's methods of dealing with the overweight individual, was already so frightened that his hands and feet felt weak. At that moment, when he saw Xue Xiang approaching him, he immediately froze in place. Fortunately, Xue Xiang grabbed him; otherwise, he would have surely collapsed to the ground. The dagger that Xue Xiang had knocked away had already been picked up by him and stuffed into his bag. Now, seeing Xue Xiang asking questions, despite being extremely terrified, he dared not refuse to produce it. The dagger man took the dagger out of his bag, trembling, and handed it to Xue Xiang.

Upon hearing Xue Xiang's words, the dagger man no longer trembled as he had before; the unknown is indeed the source of fear. The dagger man gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on the dagger, and was about to slash towards his left hand.

Hmph, Xue Xiang was not in the mood to admire her delicate jade-like fingers. With a cold laugh, he shouted, "Get out of the way!"

Why didn't you come out to save me when he was marking me, little girl? Why do you only show up now to play the good person? Why the differential treatment? Why the discrimination? Why! Why! Why?! The fat man was filled with a hundred thousand whys in his heart, with endless grievances soaring to the sky

"Third brother, my car's brake is broken, I can't stop the car for the moment. The song you mentioned, I can sing it. The seventh rule, the seventh rule is, oh, it is not allowed to tease women." The fat man was being patted on the chubby face by Xue Xiang, yet he did not dare to move at all. He tried to lower his vocal cords to make his voice sound calm and harmless. He fabricated a reason about the brake failure for himself and couldn't help but feel pleased with his cleverness, after all, the car was definitely damaged by your kick, the brake must have been broken.

"Yes, yes, yes, we will compensate, hurry up and take out the money, what are you all standing there for, just do as San Ge said." Upon hearing this, Shui She felt that the situation seemed to have taken a turn for the better, and immediately became overjoyed, shouting for several motorcycle gang members to take out their money.

The water snake pulled out a wallet from the bottom layer of the underwear. The wallet was about the length of a palm and approximately three inches wide, made of a yellow and white striped animal pattern. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be made of tiger skin, a material that had no protection status in this era. As the water snake pondered how much money would be appropriate to take, Xue Xiang, without a word, snatched the wallet away, opened it, and found a considerable amount of cash inside: three large bills, several five-yuan and one-yuan notes, with very few coins. The tiger skin wallet also contained a photograph in its compartment. Xue Xiang did not examine it closely, pulled out the photo, and handed it to the water snake, saying: "The wallet is quite nice, I really like it, I will keep it. You wouldn't be reluctant to part with it, would you?"

As soon as these motorcycle gang members saw Xue Xiang wave to let someone go, they had no time for psychological activities like a water snake. They picked up their bicycles and jumped on, speeding away in a cloud of dust, their pace even faster than before. The bald, overweight man was the most ferocious; he didn't care about the 'Big Phoenix' that Xue Xiang had kicked to pieces. He just revved up, his legs spinning like wheels, and his rear end seemed to have a rocket booster attached. Despite his weight, he managed to leave the pursuing motorcycle gang members far behind, no matter how hard they tried to catch up.

"How can you be so cruel? They are despicable, but they have already learned their lesson. Why do you still have to harm their bodies?" Liu Ying'er pointed her right hand at Xue Xiang, her fingertips trembling slightly, indicating her agitation. Liu Ying'er is a nurse at the Central Hospital of the capital, and she has always been unable to tolerate those who harm others' bodies. Even if Xue Xiang is punishing evildoers, she cannot bear to watch.

Xue Xiang let the fat man go and pulled over the guy who had just been playing with the dagger, saying coldly: "Where did that nice dagger of yours go? It was quite beautiful; let me have a look at it."

A piercing scream made one's jaw ache; the fat man's face turned pale, and large beads of sweat continuously rolled down his forehead, his teeth grinding in pain. Hao Yunlai's act of "hitting the old woman" was something the rascals often did, and Xue Xiang did not see anything wrong with it. However, this group of scoundrels bullied the elderly and harmed the young, which Xue Xiang deeply resented. Who does not have elderly people in their family? Which family does not have young children? Especially in Xue Xiang's current situation, with his uncle being sent down and his younger siblings being so young, the fat man's behavior touched his sore spot. A dragon has a sensitive scale; touching it will surely provoke its wrath. Therefore, Xue Xiang struck with great force.

"Alright, you have quite an eye for things. Go collect their compensation and bring it over," Xue Xiang said with a smile.

Xue Xiang did not accept it, and coldly laughed, "Weren't you just trying to act like my grandfather and wanted to draw some blood from me? Fine, I won't make it difficult for you. I'll just use this needle to mark myself, so I won't recklessly throw my life away in the future"

I will not let you go; if you have the ability, then hit me.

The situation momentarily became tense, and Xue was at a loss for what to do; after all, he could not resort to violence against a woman, as that was not his inclination. With no other options, he realized that reasoning with this foolish girl was futile, and he could not resort to hitting her either. Thus, he chose to ignore her and turned to walk towards the group of water snakes.