Chapter One Hundred and Three: The Big Brother of the Underworld

A person can be kind, but kindness is for the weak, for those who need help. When facing people like this... As he said that, Ling Tian turned and glanced at Scarface and the four other thugs sprawled on the floor, then went on, “For trash like this, the kinder you are, the more they trample you. So when dealing with them, you need to straighten your back, call the police, or use the method just now and give them an unforgettable lesson.”

Zhao Ming nodded hard. “You’re right, but these people are like bad luck that never leaves. What should we do about them?”

Ling Tian smiled faintly, then turned to Scarface. “I’d really like to know how you scared Zhao Ming back then. Tell me.”

Scarface, aching all over from the beating Zhao Ming had given him, clutched the doorframe with both hands and struggled upright in utter disgrace. He stared at Ling Tian, eyes wide, hating him so much he could have bitten him to death. If it weren’t for this boy, not only would the extortion have succeeded, but he might even have gotten Zhao Ming’s sister. He had coveted Zhao Ming’s sister for a long time.

Scarface had been mixed up in the underworld for many years. Though not especially outstanding, he was definitely a bully in the village, and he was very good at reading people. He knew exactly who could be pushed around and who could not. Yet before Ling Tian, he felt at a loss. Based on years of experience, he was shocked to realize he had no idea what Ling Tian was thinking.

Those eyes, as deep as the boundless starry sky, showed not the slightest ripple of emotion, impossible to fathom.

But after being hit, Scarface’s ferocity flared up too. He slapped himself hard across the face, and under the sting of pain, he bared his teeth like a mad dog and snarled at Ling Tian, “Kid, don’t think because you can fight a little that you can act all wild in front of me. This is my turf. One word from me, and dozens of men will be here.”

Ling Tian smiled. “Keep going.”

Scarface went on, “I’ll admit you can fight, but so what? You can handle one man, maybe two, but can you handle ten? Can you handle twenty?”

Ling Tian strolled leisurely up to him and backhanded him hard, slapping him straight to the floor. Scarface clutched his face and howled in pain, sounding no different from a pig being slaughtered.

After the blow, Ling Tian said coolly, “Being able to beat you is enough. Besides, let alone twenty, even two hundred pieces of trash like you—I could take care of them with nothing more than a flick of my finger. It’s not that I’m too strong; it’s that you’re too useless.”

“You still dare hit me? I told you already, this is my territory...” Scarface glared at Ling Tian, holding his swollen face.

The moment Scarface said “my,” Ling Tian’s palm came down again, this time striking him on the head and flattening him back to the ground just as he was about to get up. “You’re good for nothing and yet you’re so full of yourself. Say ‘my’ one more time and I’ll kill you. Now answer my question. How exactly did you threaten Zhao Ming to make him so worried?”

After being beaten twice in a row, Scarface finally became obedient. As the saying goes, a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. Scarface was no wise man—at best, he was scum—but he knew that much.

In a low, submissive voice, Scarface said, “This is what I said.” But speaking to the air felt pointless, so he turned to Zhao Ming and said, “Zhao Ming, don’t think about fighting me. You can’t afford it. Don’t forget, we don’t have jobs. Even if you call the police and we leave today, we can come back tomorrow. If we leave tomorrow, we can come back the day after. We’ve got all the time in the world, but you’re different. You still have to go to work, and you still have to look after your sister.”

Ling Tian asked Zhao Ming, “That’s what he said?”

Zhao Ming nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what he said. I thought about it carefully, and I realized he had a point. I’m just an ordinary man; I can’t afford to keep wasting time with these punks. Not to mention, I have a younger sister.” He paused, took a sip of the moldy tea, and asked, “Ling Tian, what do you think we should do?”

Ling Tian said lightly, “Simple. Beat them every time you see them, until they’re beaten to death.”

Though the words sounded casual, after seeing Ling Tian’s calm and decisive strike moments earlier, Scarface knew very well that he was not joking.

“All right, you can take your lapdogs and go.” Ling Tian glanced at Scarface.

Scarface thought he had heard wrong. There was actually such a good thing in this world? They were just beaten a few times, and now he was letting them go?

He quickly calculated it in his head. Once they were out of here, he would call over the big brother he had recognized in the underworld, bring more men, and give Ling Tian and Zhao Ming a vicious lesson. Better yet, he would take Zhao Ming’s sister for himself.

Zhao Ming also thought he had misheard. Scarface and the others were no good; the matter had not even been settled yet, and they were being let go? Wasn’t that asking for endless trouble later? It was nothing but a foolish act of releasing a tiger back to the mountain—no, more like releasing dogs back into the kennel. In Zhao Ming’s eyes, Scarface did not even deserve the word tiger.

But when he saw the calm look in Ling Tian’s eyes, he did not stop him. He knew Ling Tian must have his reasons for doing this.

After all, back in high school, Ling Tian had never done anything he was not sure of.

Scarface and the others supported one another and staggered down the stairs. When they reached the entrance, Scarface turned back and glared viciously at Ling Tian and Zhao Ming. “Fine, I’ll admit defeat today, but this isn’t over. I’ll be back in a bit, and we’ll have a good talk.”

“Cut the crap and get lost!” Ling Tian said in a low voice.

Scarface led his four underlings downstairs in utter disgrace. At the gate, he spat fiercely at the entrance and cursed, “Damn it, what the hell are they? How dare they lay hands on my turf? Looks like they’re tired of living.”

After cursing for a full three minutes, Scarface finally worked off his rage. Then he said to the four thugs, “You’ve followed me for so long and learned nothing—only how to take a beating. Why didn’t you use your sticks to smash him just now? That kid is indeed capable, but I don’t believe the four of you together couldn’t handle him.”

The four thugs hung their heads and took the scolding without daring to talk back, though in their hearts they were cursing him: the boss himself got handled, and he still has the nerve to lecture us.

“You lot, go call people right now. Within ten minutes I want fifty men here. I’ll call my big brother in a bit and have him bring people too. Today I have to show them some color and let them know who the real owner of this place is.” Scarface said furiously.

The thugs split up and went to call for reinforcements.

Scarface sat at the gate, lit a cigarette, took a few satisfying drags, and leaned lazily against the doorpost. After smoking two cigarettes in a row, he finally got his fill. “As long as big brother comes, none of this will be a problem.” He took out his phone and started searching through his contacts.

Thinking of the big brother he had recently acknowledged, Scarface was thrilled. That was a real underworld boss—he could fight, had a wide network, and plenty of brothers. With one word, dozens of men would immediately come out to work for him, and every one of them carried real weapons: uniform German broadswords.

Compared with his big brother, Scarface felt utterly inferior. His big brother was a real figure in the underworld, someone with status in Cloud Sea City and, so it was said, a very deep background. As for Scarface, he spent every day holed up in this gloomy little corner of the urban village, walking the streets with a vicious dog, harassing one person today, bullying another tomorrow. He was simply not in the same league.

After the call connected, Scarface said cautiously, “Big brother, I’m sorry to bother you so late. Who am I? I’m Scarface, the little brother you took in recently. Yes, the one living in the urban village.”

“Big brother, I’ve run into some trouble today. We met a guy who can really fight, and the five of us were no match for him. He looks like he must have been in the army or something. You have to help us get revenge.”

“I’ve already sent my men to call others. We should have at least fifty people here, just waiting for you to arrive. Don’t worry, your respect will be taken care of this time. All right, I’ll have someone wait for you at the village entrance right away.”

Scarface hung up and called one of his underlings, telling him to bring people to wait at the gate. He himself stayed by the entrance to keep watch, afraid Ling Tian and Zhao Ming might run.

After about ten minutes, just as Scarface was nearly asleep, the men who had gone to call reinforcements returned with dozens of people. They flooded in like a tide, occupying half the street and blocking the entrance to the residential building tightly. They were all seventeen- or eighteen-year-old punks, carrying an odd assortment of weapons: kitchen knives, fruit knives, wooden clubs, iron pipes, chains, and even chairs.

Among the men were more than a dozen little street girls dressed in garish colors, their hairstyles outrageous, each holding a steel pipe and chewing gum with a lazy, obnoxious, begging-to-be-hit air.

“Big brother, everyone’s here. More than thirty of us in total.”

Scarface nodded in satisfaction. “Good, good. Efficiency is high this time, but why is the number so low? Didn’t I tell you to bring fifty?”

The underling said aggrievedly, “Big brother, there just aren’t that many people in our village to begin with, and a lot of them are out working. It’s already pretty good that we could find this many.”

“Good enough, then. Don’t make a move for now—sit down and rest.” Scarface ordered.

Seeing so many people, Scarface’s confidence swelled. He wanted nothing more than to rush up immediately and give Ling Tian and Zhao Ming a brutal beating. But recalling the cold decisiveness with which Ling Tian had acted, Scarface ultimately chose to wait a little longer.

An underling asked, “Big brother, now that everyone’s here, why still hold back? If you ask me, we should just rush him and hack him to death.”

Scarface slapped the underling and cursed, “What the hell do you know? Big brother will be here any minute. If I act on my own now, that’s disrespecting him.”

“Do as I say. In a bit, I’ll let you see how powerful my newly recognized big brother is. That’s a real boss of the underworld.” Scarface ordered again, then crouched by the entrance and kept smoking. He was puzzled: why hadn’t Ling Tian and Zhao Ming run?

Didn’t they know he was certain to call people back for revenge?