Fiona Fang and Rachel Luo's sudden move caught everyone off guard. In an instant, teapots and teacups were flying, smashing onto the heads and faces of people all around. Blood spurted everywhere, and amid instinctive screams, the men at that table clutched their heads and collapsed. The man called "Wang Wei," whose shoulder was grabbed, couldn't believe his eyes. He glanced instinctively at Jack Young: "What the hell are you trying to..."
But what he saw was Jack Young's faint smile—subtle, but enough to make his skin crawl. Jack's hand trembled slightly, sending a physical shockwave mixed with inner strength into Wang Wei's body. In the next instant, Wang Wei couldn't say a word; his mouth went numb, his arm felt limp, and wherever Jack led him, he had no choice but to follow.
"Come on, Wang Wei, let's talk over there. Haven't seen you in ages, and you're already rushing to pay me back—such an honest guy!" Jack Young led him a couple of steps away from the center of the fight.
Wang Wei was cursing inside. Who the hell is Wang Wei? Who owes you money? Let go of me and see if I don't grab a weapon and chop you up! But damn it, why does my body feel so weak... He glanced back at the little inn—it was total chaos now. Fiona Fang and Rachel Luo had caught their opponents off guard in the first wave, but their attacks weren't strong enough for a one-hit KO. The men, all seasoned street fighters, quickly rolled away, escaped the fight zone, and got back on their feet.
"Go! Get them! Take down those two damn women!"
There were more than ten of them in total, and at once, they started shouting and rushed over, surrounding the two women from all directions.
Seeing this, Rachel Luo's face went pale. Unlike Fiona Fang, this was her very first real fight. She knew she'd improved a lot lately, but facing so many men at once, she couldn't help but feel nervous. Fiona was much calmer—without a word, she flipped the table, slowing their charge and blocking their line of sight. Then she ducked down and dashed forward, taking advantage of the chaos to aim a powerful kick between one guy's legs—
Bang! Crack! It sounded like eggs breaking. The guy collapsed to the ground, wailing like a hen, making Wang Wei flinch and instinctively want to cover his crotch.
"Go for the kill, go for the kill!" Rachel Luo was inspired by that kick, hyping herself up and charging in. "Just because they look tough doesn't mean they really are!"
They say nothing is crueler than a woman's heart, and maybe that's true. Once Rachel let loose, her moves were ruthless and smooth, making Wang Wei break out in a cold sweat just watching. He wanted to do something, but Jack Young slapped his shoulder again, and he was instantly helpless.
Jack Young saw it all clearly: these men had the blood and strength of ordinary folks, and their internal energy was about five or six years’ worth. But what can five or six years of inner strength actually do? To be blunt: basically nothing. The power of inner strength depends on how refined it is. If it’s innate, even five or six years can work wonders—like a piece of fine steel, even a little can be razor sharp—good enough for a razor blade, at least.
But these guys were the absolute bottom rung of the martial world. Their five years of inner strength was so mixed and low-quality, it was basically like a block of wood. In terms of skills, they were just average Joes.
Experience-wise, though, they weren’t bad. Besides the infamous "family jewels" kick, the two women really couldn’t do much serious damage. These guys weren’t stupid—after the first kick, they guarded their crotches for dear life, so Fiona and Rachel gradually got overwhelmed. Swords and knives were drawn, and the men charged in, some even body-slamming them in a wild brawl. There’s a saying: enough wild punches can take down even a master. Sooner or later, two ordinary girls would get flattened too.
The two women started to panic.
But just then, Jack Young flicked out a dried soybean. (Scientific name unknown, but basically a five-spice roasted soybean—cheap, crunchy, and perfect as a snack before meals. Popular with all kinds of youth, and you’ll find them at any eatery in Chengdu, Sichuan.) The tiny bean spun through the air, weaving through the crowd, and struck Rachel Luo on the small of her back.
In the next instant, Rachel felt her leg kick backward on its own, landing squarely on the throat of a guy lunging in for a bear hug. It was a perfect move—her toe pointed like a ballerina, all the power from her waist and legs focused right on his throat. "Mmph—!" The guy clutched his neck, face red, and collapsed, unable to get up for a while.
Then—whoosh—another dried soybean. "Huh?" Fiona Fang yelped in surprise as her body suddenly dodged a swinging blade with uncanny grace, then her fist shot out on its own. Before she even realized what happened, her opponent was already flying, screaming and coughing up a spectacular mouthful of blood.
With those two moves, the crisis passed. The two women immediately felt like they had more room to maneuver.
"Don’t just stand there, keep going." Jack Young’s voice floated over, snapping them back to their senses. They exchanged a glance, suddenly full of confidence, and both let out a shout as they threw themselves back into the fight.
They say showing is better than telling, but Jack Young’s teaching style went even further—it was remote control. The most direct method: let them experience his fighting style firsthand. Most of the time, he let them do their own thing, but whenever they were about to go down, a dried soybean would fly in, perfectly timed for a dodge or a precision strike.
One by one, the tiny dried soybeans zipped silently and swiftly through the chaos. Nobody in the brawl had the skills to notice anything strange. Wang Wei, still held by Jack Young, felt like he was drunk—stumbling left and right, dizzy as if he had a hangover, motion sickness, low blood pressure, and a migraine all at once. The whole world seemed to spin.
At that moment, he saw some buddies charging over, howling to help him out.
Next thing he knew, those guys were rolling back like wheels—solid, fast, and totally out of control.
Not long after, Jack's grip loosened from his shoulder. Wang Wei spun in place three times, then face-planted onto the ground. He shook his head and felt much clearer. Damn, he’d just been in bad shape—now, time to settle the score! Fueled by anger, he looked up—uh, why is everyone lying down?
He saw the two women clapping hands—smack!—giving each other a high five. They were gasping for breath, but clearly happy. Meanwhile, all ten-plus men were sprawled on the ground, wailing and groaning, not a single one able to get up.
What... what just happened? How did things turn out like this in just a few minutes?
"You, come here." Someone called out from afar. Wang Wei snapped to attention and saw it was "Zhang Wei." The guy calmly sat down, took a sip of tea, and beckoned him over. So Wang Wei scrambled over, begging, "Spare me, hero! Have mercy, have mercy!"
"Wang Wei, we know each other, right? Even if you can't pay me back all at once, I wouldn’t drive you to despair—so you can drop the begging. Just pay me whatever you can." Jack Young held out a hand in front of him.
"I..." The guy glanced back and forth between Jack’s open palm and his smiling face, finally muttering, "I’m not Wang Wei, how could I owe you money..."
"Not Wang Wei? Come on, you called me out by name—who else could you be? If you really aren’t Wang Wei..." Jack Young’s smile faded as he stared him down. "Then what were you trying to pull just now? Are you up to something shady?" Jack’s eyes narrowed, and Rachel Luo immediately pulled out a confiscated knife and chopped it into the table next to him with a loud crack.
"I—I—I..." He was completely tongue-tied.
That whole routine—from sharing the table to calling out Zhang Wei—actually has a name in the martial world: 'asking for directions.' It’s a way to give the boss a chance to hit on a girl, while also pulling aside the only man to probe for info and test the waters. If the guy’s smart, great; if not, separating him makes things easier to handle.
And if the guy has some kind of powerful background, they can figure it out during the 'asking for directions' part. If things don’t go well, they can claim, 'Oops, wrong person,' and everyone goes their separate ways.
Real law-abiding folks and serious gangsters wouldn’t bother with this. Only the so-called 'gray road' types—the snake-rat crowd—pull this kind of stunt. It’s like older kids shaking down underclassmen for money: not exactly criminal pros, so instead of saying 'robbery,' they call it 'borrowing.' It’s pointless sometimes, but if they get caught, it gives them wiggle room.
But today, they got smacked down, plain and simple. What now?
He glanced back at his boss—the guy who started the whole 'sharing the table' thing. That man sighed and got up: "Sir, we admit defeat today..."
"Did I say you could talk?" Fiona Fang stepped up and slapped him on the head—smack!—sending him right back down. She glared, "Who even knows you? Our boss only knows Wang Wei. Say another word and I’ll kick your nuts into orbit!" She looked every bit the bandit queen. Then she turned to 'Wang Wei' and barked, "Well? Are you Wang Wei or not?"
"I..." He stared for ages, then suddenly realized—they were 'asking for directions' too! Today, it was crook versus crook! "Yeah, that’s right, I’m Wang Wei..." He could only admit it.
"Told you I wasn’t mistaken—it really is Wang Wei, so it’s all just a misunderstanding." Jack Young smiled warmly, then wiggled his open hand: "So what are you waiting for? Pay up!"
So all the silver got pooled together and handed to Jack Young. He passed it to Rachel Luo, who happily went off to count it. "Wang Wei, this barely covers the interest, you can pay the rest later. Oh, and make sure you pay for anything you broke." With that, Jack Young led the two women out the door.
Wang Wei gritted his teeth and finally asked, "Are you really Zhang Wei?"
Jack Young gave him an innocent look. "Yup."
"Uh—" He was at a loss for words and just plopped down, gasping for air. Watching the three walk away, he hurried back to his boss. The boss, still fuming, slapped him hard across the face. Dazed, he spun around twice, then blurted, "Boss, I have a way to make it up to you!"
"What way?"
"Aren’t they heading to Greenhill Town? Today’s the meetup day there, and since Young Master can’t resist a pretty face, let’s have him handle it..." He whispered his plan, eyes gleaming with scheming intent. The boss grinned, nodding in approval.
Meanwhile, Fiona Fang put down her money pouch, half happy, half worried. "Not bad—more than I expected. But if we’re heading to the Southern Wilds, this probably won’t be enough."
"No worries, that’s just the interest. There’s still the principal." Jack Young’s ears twitched as he overheard the distant plotting, and he grinned wickedly. "Wang Wei really is a good guy."
"Huh?" The two women were confused.
"Don’t overthink it. Just reflect on your first fight—what went well, what didn’t. The martial world is all about fighting your way forward, same for me as for you. Take the afternoon to think it over—you’ll learn a lot." Jack Young looked ahead. "Let’s get to Greenhill Town as soon as we can."