A piece of bad news, a piece of good news.
The bad news is that the ranking push failed; I actually didn't make it onto the new book list. Little Mo Han Yan died — well, I stayed up until 2 a.m. last night, constantly refreshing the webpage… I almost didn't get any sleep.
The good news is we have a chance to blast the chrysanthemum on top. Come on, all you heroes and heroines, use your recommendation tickets to knock those people off one by one, so they know what it means to have a tight chrysanthemum.
By the way, Martial Arts Absolutely is definitely a hot‑blooded good book; please, dear readers, keep reading patiently.
***********
Bang bang bang bang, a heavy beating — the shopkeepers on this street, though ordinary folks, suddenly erupted with astonishing combat power. These merchants have all been extorted for money at some point; they despise such people to the core. Now they have an outlet for their anger, so they won't hold back.
Especially the shop assistant of He's Rice Shop, who swung two cloth bags over his head and slammed them onto the two thugs, one each, covering them and delivering a brutal beating.
After that, the crowd's strikes grew fiercer; since the two big fellows couldn't see who was hitting them, they naturally didn't have to worry about being settled later.
With many hands, Yang Kai merely made a token move; he didn't even get a chance to strike before the merchants shoved him out.
After a while, the merchants gradually stopped, leaving only the two thugs curled on the ground, wailing nonstop. The cloth bags over their heads were knocked away; Su Mu stared inside and exclaimed, "My dear mother!" His soles even twitched. He saw that the two originally towering, hulking men now had noses that weren't noses, eyes that weren't eyes, faces swollen like pig heads — almost to the point their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.
Such a scene arose precisely because these two thugs themselves had little real strength; though they wore swords at their waists, it was just for show. If they were truly masters, would they care about attacks from ordinary folk?
Having said that, how could a true master engage in such despicable conduct?
Having knocked those two down, the many merchants felt they had vented their spite, yet they still lingered nearby, unwilling to leave.
The two thugs sensed the crowd's hostile expressions, panic rising to the extreme; one of them tremblingly reached out toward Su Mu, weakly shouting, "Su…"
Su Mu's face changed dramatically; he roared, "What 'su'? Do you still want me to give you a 'su' — to soften your tendons and bones?"
Yang Kai watched this, smiled inwardly, stepped forward and declared loudly: "These two vile scoundrels — who knows how many shops they've harmed with this trick, driving owners to ruin — truly despicable!"
Yang Kai's words were indeed a bit exaggerated, but since everyone present were merchants, for a moment it gave everyone a feeling of shared indignation. The assistant of He's Rice Shop even spat: "Pah, worthless scum, daring to cause trouble in our rice shop!"
The assistant was just letting out his anger; little did he know Yang Kai would immediately retort: "Exactly, such people are not worth dying for. Junior brother, how about you and I each take one and slash them with a blade, so they'll never dare to do evil again — also serving heaven's will."
Upon saying that, the whole crowd gasped; the two fallen thugs broke into cold sweat, staring at Yang Kai in terror, never imagining that this slight, frail youth harbored such a ruthless heart.
Su Mu widened his eyes, staring at Yang Kai, wondering if he was joking, but Yang Kai's solemn expression left no doubt he was serious.
To be frank, although these two thugs are hateful, they don't deserve death. Yang Kai's remark is undoubtedly too cruel.
Su Mu stammered: "Senior brother, isn't this going too far?"