Everyone fell silent for a moment, glancing at the man who’d been thrown and still couldn’t get up, then looking toward the source of the flying arc—it was Zhang Wei! With a furious shout, Zhang Wei flashed forward, grabbed another man with lightning speed, and with a single hand tossed this hundred-and-eighty-pound guy straight out. This time she was even rougher—the man sailed clear across the street and crashed into the wall of the building opposite. He stuck to the bricks like a meat pancake, then slowly slid down, leaving a trail of blood behind.
"Huh?" Rachel Luo was a bit surprised—this brute strength felt strangely familiar. She glanced at Jack Young, who was also taken aback. Zhang Wei definitely didn’t have any internal energy, and while her vitality was a bit stronger than a regular person’s, it wasn’t by much. But at that instant, her blood energy suddenly surged, shooting up to about level four of the authentic Dragon Elephant technique. It was as if that power had just appeared out of nowhere, catching Jack completely off guard.
"Sure enough, the world is vast—there’s no room for arrogance."
Jack Young never believed that mastering internal boxing and Prajna Kung Fu meant you could see through everything—the world is far too broad, and people who think they’re invincible are usually just frogs at the bottom of a well. Today, Zhang Wei’s sudden burst of blood energy proved that point again. But because her energy exploded throughout her body, Jack finally figured out Zhang Wei’s biological sex—she’s a tough woman, though honestly, she looks way more like a dude.
"How dare you, villain! Not only do you refuse to confess, you even attack people—where’s the justice in this world?" One of the Flying Swallow Gang members shouted, "Go, go, go! Kill that shameless thief and capture those two girls—" Before he could finish, there was a loud thud—a bench had smacked him squarely in the forehead. That swift and precise strike came courtesy of Fiona Fang.
"What are you all standing around for? Help out!" Fiona Fang hooked another bench with her foot and, despite being outnumbered, charged right in. Rachel Luo jumped in to back her up, and in a flash, the whole place was utter chaos. The Flying Swallow Gang members howled as they swarmed forward like a pack of rugby players. Among Zhang Wei’s group, the two girls didn’t do anything impressive—they looked like they’d never seen this kind of scene before and were totally at a loss.
Zhang Wei, on the other hand, was pretty heroic—shouting angrily and brawling left and right. But it was clear she’d never been in a brawl like this before. She was strong, sure, but not skilled at fighting. Her fists were heavy and wild, swinging up and down like she was wielding a giant hammer. Anyone she hit was in for a world of hurt, but the Flying Swallow Gang were all seasoned pros. After a while, they started dodging her easily.
Basically, wherever Zhang Wei went, people scattered—but she wasn’t actually doing any real damage. Plus, the young gang leader had his eyes on the girls, not on killing anyone, so the gang members were all eager to capture the two women alive. With everyone distracted and trying not to hurt the hostages, Zhang Wei and her two companions were barely managing to hold their ground.
Meanwhile, Rachel Luo and Fiona Fang were actually shining—they were doing way better than yesterday. Fiona had always been talented, and last night Rachel had officially reached the first level of the Dragon Elephant technique. The two of them were like Jackie Chan in an action movie, leaping and tripping people left and right, keeping a whole crowd occupied in this chaotic scene.
"Miss, this is way too dangerous!" One of the girls called out to Zhang Wei, "You should reveal your identity—why bother tangling with these ruffians?"
But Zhang Wei shook her head, gritting her teeth as she held on. "It's no use talking now. They won't stop."
"Then you go first! Don't worry about us!"
"No way! If they catch you, you'll wish you were dead!" Zhang Wei grabbed a burly guy and hurled him, knocking down a whole group, buying a moment to breathe. Her mind cleared up: "Quick, everyone run that way!" She pointed right at Jack Young. Just now, Jack, the Boss, and Rachel Luo were sitting together. Now that Rachel and Fiona Fang came to help, odds are the two men would help too.
Jack Young's strength was hard to gauge, but the Boss's internal energy was obvious to all. If the Boss stepped in, at the very least, they'd have no problem breaking out.
"Let's go!" She dragged the two girls, struggling together in that direction.
Meanwhile, Jack Young and the Boss were still sitting cool as cucumbers. The chaos that had everyone else panicking was just child’s play to them.
"Hey, innkeeper! If guests can't even be safe in your place, aren't you slacking off as a boss?" Jack was actually itching to see the Boss's martial arts in action, maybe pick up a trick or two.
"You must be joking, sir. In the martial world, it's hard to say what's right or wrong. My place might be big, but it can't shield people from all the trouble out there. Hope you understand. Whoever started this mess should be the one to end it." The Boss made it clear: Whoever caused the trouble, deals with it. He wasn’t about to play the sucker.
"Fair point," Jack nodded, then suddenly dumped a plate of fennel beans onto the table. The beans rolled around in every direction, bumping into each other, but when they finally stopped, they lined up in a perfect row. The Boss’s pupils shrank—he could barely manage that with internal energy, but Jack did it effortlessly, with no sign of martial arts at all.
"Die!" someone shouted, whipping out a blade—it was the short guy. He leapt up and slashed at Zhang Wei’s back, the attack vicious and deadly, like he wanted to cut her clean in half. Zhang Wei noticed too late. All she could do was widen her eyes and block with her arm, but it looked like she was about to lose a limb.
The two girls started screaming—absolutely useless, but loud.
"Let's start with you," Jack Young flicked his finger at the first fennel bean. With a soft pop, the short guy suddenly had a burst of blood on his chest, screamed, and flew backward, crashing hard onto the floor. The suddenness stunned everyone nearby, even Zhang Wei was momentarily confused, not sure why the guy dropped so fast.
Pop! Another bean shot out, and the guy attacking Rachel Luo got hit under his arm, blood spurting everywhere as he crashed onto the table, twitching like a fish out of water.
"What the hell? What's going on?" The usually calm Flying Swallow Gang's young master jumped to his feet, sensing something was off. "Could it be..." He whipped his head toward the door, where the Boss just shrugged—wasn't him. And the real Zhang Wei, in his eyes, was just a doofus playing with beans, definitely not the culprit.
"Who did this? Who?" He looked around, sweating nervously.
The real culprit, after testing a couple of beans, paused to think and made a slight adjustment. Then—flick!
Pop! This time the sound was even softer, but the bean moved faster. It zipped through the air like a ghost and hit flesh with a sound like a bullet punching into steak.
Flick, flick, flick—there goes your wrinkles—wait, no, there go the fennel beans! Jack Young's fingers worked like a machine gun bolt, and the beans lined up like a bullet chain. One by one, they shot into the Flying Swallow Gang crowd, each impact blooming blood like a psycho with a pistol on a rampage.
Each bean hit somewhere weird—some guys clutched their crotch, some their rear, some their kidneys, even their belly buttons. The twisted screams mixed with the thuds of bodies hitting the ground, making a very special kind of symphony.
"Wh-who the heck are you, senior?" The young master was stunned. He grabbed a fallen guy and pried his hand off a wound, staring—embedded in the flesh was a shattered fennel bean!
"Fennel beans?" The young master shuddered, whipping his head toward Jack Young at the door. Sure enough, there were fewer beans on his table. "No way... how is this possible?"
"Master, you're awesome!" Fiona Fang cheered, booting one guy away and pumping her fist. "Go, Master! Don't let a single one get away!"
Jack Young swept his hand, and the beans flew back into his palm as if magnetized.
Those bean flicks looked simple, but were actually super hard. Back in the day, it would've been impossible. Fennel beans are food, not bullets—flicking them fast would just shatter them. But with internal energy, it's a whole new game—protect the bean, accelerate it, and voilà! Jack Young was mixing kung fu with inner power for the first time.
Not bad, though his energy was running low—couldn’t keep up a bean barrage for long.
"No more flicking." With a clatter, Jack dumped the beans back onto the plate and stood up. Everyone froze—the brawl was over. Zhang Wei, her crew, and Rachel Luo's group all gathered around. Standing behind Jack, Zhang Wei and her friends finally breathed a sigh of relief—they were saved.
"You..." The Flying Swallow Gang's young master stared at Jack Young, finally taking him seriously. "Who are you, and why are you picking a fight with our gang?"
"Who am I?" Jack Young pointed. "He knows me."
Everyone followed his finger. Wang Wei was trying to sneak away. After the tea house fight, only he escaped unscathed, so he was the only one here to identify the culprit. Unlike the young master, who only had eyes for the ladies, Wang Wei kept his focus on the real Zhang Wei.
He never figured out why, after Jack Young put his arm around him yesterday, he was totally powerless. It was too weird, beyond his understanding, so he kept it to himself. He made up a random excuse and just let it go, especially since the young master said Jack Young was weak. But the moment Jack flicked those beans, Wang Wei knew his excuses were bogus—this Zhang Wei was a real powerhouse.
"Wang Wei! Fancy seeing you again. What brings you here this time? You brought all these people—don't tell me you're here for revenge?" Jack Young grinned slyly, making Wang Wei even more nervous.
Wang Wei froze, his face twisted as he tried to smile but looked like he was about to cry. "Zhang... Zhang Wei—no, Grandpa Zhang! How could I dare to take revenge on you, sir? I..." He glanced at his groaning buddies and the young master who probably wouldn’t back him up, then steeled himself: "I’m here to pay back the money!"