Peerless Martial Expert in the City
Chapter 319 - 322: Great Hero?

Chapter 319: Chapter 322: Great Hero?

"No, no, no... Great Hero... that... I... I..."

Upon hearing Xiao Yi’s words, Golden Monkey Brother Fa’s face immediately turned beet red. Xiao Yi had repeated the very words he had just instructed his underlings to say, but he hadn’t expected that Xiao Yi had heard everything. Cold sweat poured from his forehead, and he started to stutter in his speech.

Next to him, Tang Zhichao looked at Brother Fa’s expression and then at Xiao Yi, suddenly showing an extremely admiring and fervent gaze, incessantly praising in his heart, ’The boss is the boss, he truly deserves to be the boss, that’s so awesome!’

These street thug leaders, when seeing him, actually acted like mice who had seen a cat, no wonder he had looked so composed and unconcerned earlier on.

No wonder he had previously disregarded Gao Junjie and his crew completely. Besides their status, their method of dealing with ordinary students was nothing more than relying on these hooligans and ruffians to do the dirty work.

"Could it be I heard wrong just now?"

Xiao Yi looked at Brother Fa’s faltering demeanor and showed a hint of surprise on his face.

"Great Hero, I... I misspoke, I’m sorry, I was blinded and failed to recognize Mount Tai. I didn’t see clearly it was you earlier. If I had realized it, I would never have said such things. I... I’ll slap myself!"

Brother Fa looked at Xiao Yi’s expression, clenched his teeth, and fiercely slapped his own face.

However, just as his palm was about to hit his cheek, he suddenly discovered that his hand seemed to be clamped by a pair of iron tongs, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t swing it down.

His eyes, filled with surprise, looked towards his arm, only to see a fair, slender hand that had somehow grabbed onto his arm. Following the hand to its owner, Brother Fa’s face showed a puzzled look towards Xiao Yi.

He didn’t understand why Xiao Yi would not let him punish himself.

"Do you think that because I am sitting here today, it’s only wrong if you do it to me? If it were someone else, your actions wouldn’t be wrong?"

Feeling the time was right, Xiao Yi also dropped his earlier smile and looked at Golden Monkey Brother Fa with a calm demeanor.

"I..."

Brother Fa looked at Xiao Yi, unsure of what Xiao Yi meant by that question.

"If that’s what you think, then continue slapping yourself, I certainly won’t stop you."

Xiao Yi stated indifferently.

"I... Great Hero, I was wrong. Even if it were someone else... it would still be wrong."

Golden Monkey Brother Fa finally understood Xiao Yi’s meaning, bit his lip, and lowered his head.

"We can be considered acquaintances who have met before. I don’t know why you chose this path, and I haven’t thought about telling you to turn over a new leaf or anything like that. Every path exists for a reason. But what I want to say is, no matter which path you’re on, there are rules, and if you break them and provoke public outrage, you can imagine the consequences. Today, you’ve met me, and even if I don’t deal with you, sooner or later, someone else will."

Xiao Yi looked at Golden Monkey Brother Fa calmly.

"Yes, Great Hero... Oh no, Boss, you’re right, I understand. I’ll remember your lesson!"

Golden Monkey Brother Fa hadn’t expected Xiao Yi to say such things and was briefly stunned. Then, sensing the meaning behind Xiao Yi’s calm tone, he showed a trace of gratitude on his face.

"As long as you understand, take your men and leave."

Xiao Yi looked at Brother Fa, noticed the grateful look in his eyes, and made sure he had gotten the message, at least on the surface. He nodded, said nothing more, and waved his hand.

"Yes, I’ll leave right away. I won’t disturb your meal, Boss. Ah, today’s meal will be on me, as an apology!"

Upon finally being allowed to leave, Brother Fa let out a long sigh of relief, feeling an immense weight lifted off his shoulders. His back was soaked with sweat. After glancing at the food and drinks on Xiao Yi’s table, he quickly added another comment.

"Don’t call me boss. My last name is Xiao. I’ve finished eating, so there’s no need for the bill. I’ll handle it myself, you guys can go."

Xiao Yi frowned upon being repeatedly called ’Boss’ by Brother Fa and waved his hand again.

"Yes, yes, Brother Xiao, I understand. You’re educated, refined folks who don’t go in for that kind of thing. Regardless, please let me show my sincerity with this meal."

Seeing Xiao Yi frown, Brother Fa tensed up, hastily put on a smile, and corrected himself. While speaking, he had already called the restaurant owner over to pay the bill.

Watching Brother Fa’s expression, Xiao Yi frowned again but said nothing more. As he had said, every industry has its rules. Anyone who has been immersed in a particular environment for a long time naturally exudes its aura. It’s impossible to expect an immediate change. Brother Fa had always been a hooligan, his usual manner of addressing others being ’boss’ or ’brother’; it had become a cognitive habit.

As for the meal, he had no intention of letting Brother Fa pay. Although he had never rejected his line of work and was not a person filled with righteousness—someone who, from his teenage years, had resorted to various means to kill, even if there were ample reasons, and those killed were deserving of death—he was far from being associated with righteousness.

His few friends were also not from noble professions. Like Liu San, who made a living by taking money to solve people’s problems, he never pretended to be self-righteous.

However, he truly didn’t want to have too much interaction with Brother Fa, unrelated to Brother Fa’s identity, status, or profession, but purely out of an instinct. He had yet to regard Brother Fa as a friend or an enemy; Brother Fa was just a passerby to him, and he saw no reason to let a passerby cover his bill.

But Brother Fa was too enthusiastic, and before Xiao Yi could stop him, it was already too late, and he had to reluctantly let it go.

After paying the bill, Brother Fa respectfully bid Xiao Yi farewell and then gestured to his astonished underlings to follow him back to their private room.

———————————————————————— (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)