Chapter 113: The Human Punching Bag

Sun Yibin laughed until his stomach ached, tears nearly streaming down his face. He chuckled, "What a load of boastful nonsense! That’s quite a talent. It’s my first time hearing that a fart could trigger an earthquake. Young Master Ling, I’m thinking, once we get inside, why don’t we have this kid’s brother-in-law give us a live demonstration?"

Ling Tian laughed heartily and said, "Let’s go, let’s go in and see. Today, this powerful dragon is going to suppress the arrogance of this local snake."

Zhao Ming stood up, grabbed the half-dead thug he had beaten, dragged him to the guard booth, and tied him up with a piece of rope.

The factory area was narrow and long. They walked for over thirty meters before reaching the end of the alley, where they turned left into a steel-structured workshop covering over a thousand square meters. Standing at the entrance, Ling Tian scanned his surroundings. Inside the massive workshop were four small partitioned areas; these were likely the stone-cutting workstations Zhao Ming had mentioned. Even without entering the work areas, one could hear the constant humming of machinery.

It was no wonder the thug’s earlier cries had gone unnoticed; the distance was too great, and the noise was too loud to hear anything.

Standing at the workshop entrance, Zhao Ming took several deep breaths before striding inside, with Ling Tian and Sun Yibin following closely behind.

As soon as the three entered, they saw several people in the center of the workshop. One was a fat man with a shaved head, a long beard, and a face full of flabby, cruel flesh, wearing a thick gold chain as wide as a finger around his neck. He was sitting in a chair, with two thugs holding clubs standing behind him.

In front of him stood two young men covered in stone dust from cutting, their young faces blackened and even their eyebrows coated in grey. Their clothes were tattered, clearly indicating that, like Zhao Ming, they were low-level employees working there.

"I’m asking you, how are you running this place? Zhao Ming actually had the nerve to call me and say he’s quitting," the fat man said slowly. His triangular eyes, sharp as a viper, were fixed intently on Zhao Ming’s foreman. Although his tone was calm, his demeanor was intimidatingly arrogant. The two thugs behind him looked on like hungry tigers; if the fat man gave the order, they would not hesitate to rush forward and deliver a brutal beating.

"Are you deaf, you son of a bitch? Can’t you hear me talking?" The fat man picked up a teacup, intending to take a sip, but put it down again in a fit of pique. However, he quickly picked it up again and splashed it directly into the face of Zhao Ming’s foreman. The freshly brewed tea was scalding, causing the foreman to shiver, yet he dared not speak or even move.

The fat man poured another cup of tea, took a sip, and said, "Bring Zhao Ming here immediately, or else, even if I were to agree to let it go, the two brothers behind me wouldn't."

The two thugs took two steps forward in perfect sync, swinging their clubs and tilting their heads as they looked at the workers, grinning, "It doesn't matter that Zhao Ming left, but his tone on the phone was too arrogant. He angered the boss, so you must find him and make him kneel and apologize to the boss. Otherwise... hehe."

The implication was clear: if they couldn't find Zhao Ming, they would face physical agony. Given the fat man’s character, he would likely cripple them at the very least.

Zhao Ming’s eyes burned red with rage. It was too infuriating. He immediately rushed forward and shouted, "I’m very curious, if you can't find me, what exactly do you plan to do?"

Hearing Zhao Ming’s voice, the fat man slammed his teacup to the ground, stood up, and glared coldly at him.

"You kid actually dared to come back? And you brought two lackeys with you?" The fat man peered at Ling Tian and Sun Yibin behind Zhao Ming. Ling Tian looked thin and weak, seemingly harmless, so the fat man dismissed him. As for Sun Yibin, the fat man felt he looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

He thought for a moment but couldn't quite place him.

In reality, the fat man had once gone to the Lechao Bar to drink and, on the recommendation of a few other local thugs, had met Sun Yibin once. Local bullies often introduced themselves to one another to strengthen their positions; as the saying went, "an extra friend is an extra path," so they often used such methods to avoid conflicts and turf wars.

However, it had been a long time, and given the current circumstances, the fat man couldn't immediately recall who he was.

"Listen, brothers, Zhao Ming called me yesterday and told me quite arrogantly that he was quitting. Tell me, how should we handle this?" The fat man said coldly. He walked slowly up to Zhao Ming’s foreman, grabbed him by the hair, and laughed, "As the foreman, failing to manage your workers—you should know what to do, right?"

The foreman was in much the same position as Zhao Ming; to keep his job, he dared not offend the boss. Furthermore, his family lived nearby, and since the fat man was the local bully, he was even more terrified of crossing him.

Under the fat man’s intimidation, the foreman nodded hurriedly and began slapping his own face. He used so much force that blood began to trickle from the corners of his mouth, yet he continued to strike himself violently.

Zhao Ming was trembling with rage; this boss was despicable, using his influence to bully his workers at will.

Just as Zhao Ming prepared to step forward, the two thugs rushed over, grabbed him by the arms, and pinned him down.

These two were the fat man’s top enforcers, far superior to ordinary thugs. Acting in unison, they rendered Zhao Ming immobile, leaving him to stare at the fat man with fury.

"Boss, a human punching bag must feel great. Haven't you been practicing your boxing lately? Why don't you come over and try the feeling?" one of the thugs said with a grin.

The fat man laughed and said, "You know, I haven't tried a human punching bag while practicing my boxing. I'll give it a go today." He rolled up his sleeves, wiggled his fat backside, and walked over, clenching his fists in preparation.

The moment he made his move, Ling Tian flashed in front of him, grabbed his wrist, and gave it a light twist. The two-hundred-plus-pound man was sent flying like a sack of grain, landing over three meters away. "Since you like playing with punching bags so much, you can be one for a change. You two, go and hold him up for me," Ling Tian said to the two thugs.

The thugs had only seen a dark blur, and their boss had suddenly flown away. Even now, they couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

"You... what did you just say?" Realizing what had happened, the thugs released Zhao Ming, raised their clubs, and pointed them at Ling Tian’s nose. "Where did this little brat come from? How dare you touch our boss! I think you're tired of living—"

Before they could finish, Ling Tian impatiently kicked out twice, sending the posturing thugs flying.

"Chirping like sparrows; how annoying," Ling Tian said coldly.

He walked over to Zhao Ming’s foreman and asked, "Are you all really that afraid of him? He tells you to mutilate yourself, and you do it?"

The foreman stopped, trembling, and replied, "I... I’m just an ordinary person. I’m not well-educated. It took so much effort to find this job. Even if I suffer some grievances, I have to endure it. A few beatings are nothing; they’ll heal in a couple of days."

Zhao Ming walked over and said to Ling Tian, "These ordinary people have to endure whatever they can just to make a living. Besides, this damn fat man is a local tyrant; no one dares to provoke him."

Ling Tian smiled. He understood this feeling well; back in school, some of the bad students would often bully the honest ones, and the victims wouldn't dare tell the teachers. Even when teachers discovered it, the victims wouldn't dare tell the truth, often covering for the bullies instead.

The reason was simple: the bullied students feared that telling the truth would lead to retaliation.

The factory workers were in the exact same situation—similar to those school days, just with different people and a different location.

"Zhao Ming, once today’s business is settled, you can give this factory to your foreman to manage. The scale is decent; if he runs it well, the income should be good," Ling Tian said calmly.

Zhao Ming nodded, "No problem, but I’m worried the fat man won't agree."

Ling Tian’s expression shifted, and he said firmly, "He won't agree? I have a hundred ways to make him scramble to agree."

The fat man, having been thrown, wasn't seriously injured because of his thick layers of fat, and he managed to scramble to his feet.

He was dazed, wondering what had just happened. He had been ready to enjoy the feeling of a human punching bag, and then he was airborne, nearly breaking his neck.

After steadying himself, the fat man pointed at Ling Tian and roared, "Kid, you’ve got some nerve, daring to lay a hand on me! Do you know who I, Zang San, am? Within a radius of dozens of miles, everyone knows my name. I only need to stomp my foot to scare the living daylights out of people!"

Ling Tian glanced at him with disdain and mocked, "Your brother-in-law said earlier that if you fart, the whole neighborhood shakes. I’ve been watching you farting for a while now, and you haven't even stirred up any dust, let alone an earthquake."

Usually, as soon as the fat man stated his name, people would be cowed into submission. Even those with some connections wouldn't easily provoke a local bully like him. Unfortunately, his go-to tactic had failed today; Ling Tian was a dragon that truly did not fear this local snake.

"You two, go and hold the fat man up. My brother wants to try the feeling of a human punching bag. This old guy is so fat, it must feel great to hit him," Ling Tian said, casting a chilling glance at the two thugs who were trying to sneak away.

The razor-sharp, terrifying look nearly made the thugs wet their pants.

"Boss, we don't dare!" the thugs cried out with miserable expressions.

The fat man said smugly, "Hmph! They wouldn't dare touch me even if they had the guts of a lion. Don't get too smug, you lot. I’m going to call my people right now. None of you are getting out of here today!"