In the Western Market, there was Cuiwei Pavilion.
While the incident was happening on Wutong Street, the gates of Cuiwei Pavilion were closed. The local bullies from several nearby blocks were sitting together in the hall, discussing a matter that was neither too big nor too small.
Last month, the Jingzhao Prefecture specially approved the renovation and reconstruction of Ranfang Street, and the project was outsourced to the wealthy merchant Pei family in Tianshui Bridge.
Ranfang Street covered a large area. After the renovation, there would be at least a hundred shops. From renovating the houses, attracting merchants, to the subsequent maintenance of the street, it would all cost a lot of money.
Second Master Cheng Bao of the Western Market had a high seniority in Yun'an City. Today, he was sitting in the main seat, chatting with several familiar leaders about this matter:
"There are quite a few streets in the capital that no one is in charge of. But Tianshui Bridge, a mere grocery street, relying on the little connections piled up with money, has the audacity to be so arrogant. It's really shameless..."
Second Master Cheng was about fifty years old. He had a bald head and a round face, exuding a bit of a bandit air. However, he was dressed quite formally, like a vice director.
The other five people present were also dressed in a similar way, but one of them was rather special.
Yang Guan from Jiang'an Wharf was almost beaten to death by Ye Jingtang last month. He had already learned his lesson and had been very obedient recently.
But because he had had a conflict with the Pei family and could be considered someone who had "dealt with" the Pei family, he was invited by several bosses in the city to come and act as a staff member to offer advice.
Yang Guan had been stabbed twice in the arm. His muscles and bones were injured and hadn't fully healed yet. At this moment, both of his hands were in bandages and hung around his neck. He couldn't even drink tea, and his face looked very grim:
"Second Master Cheng, regarding the matter of Ranfang Street, I think it's better not to get involved. You had someone beat the people from Tianshui Bridge. I think it's better to quickly visit them to apologize and send some medical expenses over. Young Master Ye of Tianshui Bridge has extremely powerful martial arts skills, and his temper is even more overbearing than his martial arts. Moreover, he is close to the Black Yamen and is not someone to be trifled with."
Hearing these cowardly words, an old man sitting next to him, holding a tea cup, sneered:
"No matter how overbearing he is, can he be more overbearing than Second Master Cheng's fists? In terms of connections, Second Master Cheng is the brother-in-law of the current Minister of Works. He also manages several shops for the Third Madam of Prime Minister Li. Aren't these connections powerful?"
A man sitting opposite said: "We are businessmen, not here to cut off the Pei family's source of income. We all make a living in the capital. Since the government has given the order, it's only natural that their family takes the lion's share and hands the miscellaneous work to us..."
Squeak—
While they were talking, the door was pushed open.
The strong wind and heavy rain outside instantly rushed into the restaurant, blowing up the robes and hair of the people present.
Whoosh~
The conversation in the hall stopped. Everyone frowned and turned to look.
Outside the door of the restaurant, there appeared a handsome young master who was putting away his umbrella. Behind him was a wealthy young master with a look of terror in his eyes, pulling hard on the handsome young master's arm:
"No, no, no. There are hundreds of people outside. If we are beaten to death, the Pei family will be left without an heir. I'm only seventeen..."
The subordinates brought by the leaders outside the restaurant, who had originally been taking shelter from the rain in the tea houses and restaurants, saw this scene and rushed towards the door angrily:
"Who are you?"
"Are you blind..."
...
The people in the restaurant who were discussing the matter all had unhappy expressions on their faces.
Yang Guan was sitting near the door of the restaurant. Sensing something was wrong, he turned around to check. At first, he was also frowning, but when he saw the appearance of the young master outside the door...
"Sigh—"
Yang Guan was so frightened that half of his soul seemed to have flown away. He quickly stood up and took a few steps back:
"Hey, hey, hey! Young Master Ye, I didn't get involved! I swear to God, I was forced to come here. I was just trying to persuade them, but I couldn't persuade them at all..."
Ye Jingtang was putting away his umbrella. He was really surprised to find that Yang Guan, whose both arms were hanging around his neck, was also in the restaurant hall. He slightly tilted his head.
Yang Guan didn't dare to say a word of refusal. He nodded and smiled obsequiously, then ran towards the door. Seeing the eldest young master Pei walking in, he blocked him with his body:
"Eldest Young Master Pei, this is not a place for you to enter. Just stand outside."
Pei Luo was quite obedient, mainly because he didn't dare to go in. He turned around and looked:
"Master Yang?!! You're here just in time. Quickly help me stop him and apologize. Don't let him get too beaten up. The Pei family will definitely reward you handsomely afterwards..."
"Okay. Young Master Ye, don't be excited. Second Master Cheng was just confused for a moment..."
"You're pulling the wrong way! By the way, what happened to your arms?"
"Alas, it's a long story. Let's not mention it..."
...
The five people present could tell from Yang Guan's jumbled words the identities of the two young noblemen - the two young masters of Tianshui Bridge.
Second Master Cheng's expression remained normal:
"It's just right that Young Master Ye is here. I, Cheng..."
"You stay. The others, get out."
"..."
Ye Jingtang's attitude wasn't exactly arrogant, but the tone of ordering the "small fries" really made the leaders present, who had a high status, feel dissatisfied.
A man closest to him immediately slapped the armrest:
"Y..."
Before the word "you" was fully spoken, Ye Jingtang raised his leg and delivered a knee strike, directly hitting the man's forehead with the speed of thunder.
Boom—
A loud bang echoed in the restaurant.
The man sitting on the mahogany chair leaned back suddenly, broke the back of the chair, and fell straight to the ground, motionless.
Both inside and outside the restaurant fell into an instant silence. Everyone looked at Ye Jingtang in horror, except Yang Guan, whose expression remained as usual.
The remaining three local bullies, seeing the man being taken down in one move, were stunned for a moment. Then they stood up and walked out of the restaurant door from the side, on high alert.
Second Master Cheng looked rather surprised. He put down the tea cup, stood up, and slowly rolled up his sleeves:
"You brat, do you want to settle this with martial arts?"
Ye Jingtang didn't respond. He strode forward.
Second Master Cheng frowned. Just as he was about to make a move, he heard a crisp "Crack—" sound coming from the floor.
Ye Jingtang's figure suddenly rushed forward. In the blink of an eye, he was already close. He jumped up and delivered a knee strike, landing on Second Master Cheng's chest.
Dong!
Second Master Cheng looked shocked. Before he could raise his hand, his whole body was instantly sent flying and crashed into the central hall of the restaurant.
Whoosh—
A large hole was immediately made in the wall, revealing the private room behind it and smashing the tables and chairs inside.
Second Master Cheng landed with a carp is leaping, trying to stand up. But just as he got up halfway, Ye Jingtang, who was following closely, landed a heavy punch on his forehead. His whole body instantly fell over, and the back of his head hit the floor.
Dong—
Ye Jingtang grabbed Second Master Cheng's neck with one hand and landed three consecutive punches on his forehead.
Bang bang bang—
Second Master Cheng raised his hand to fight back and didn't forget to curse: "Damn you..."
Bang—
With the last heavy punch landing, Second Master Cheng directly broke through the floor, and half of his head sank into the ground. His words stopped abruptly.
The people outside were terrified, thinking that Second Master Cheng would either die or be seriously injured this time!
But even after suffering such a severe beating, Second Master Cheng still refused to admit defeat. He shook his bald head twice and then raised his fist again to fight back.
Ye Jingtang frowned. Without wasting any more words, he pressed down on Second Master Cheng like Wu Song fighting the tiger.
Bang! Bang! Bang...
In the empty restaurant, there were sounds like rolling thunder.
After several punches, the upper half of Second Master Cheng's body sank into the pit on the ground, but he still refused to admit defeat.
Countless thugs outside turned pale. Many of them were so scared that the sticks in their hands fell to the ground, making a "clang clang" sound.
After more than ten punches, Ye Jingtang was afraid that this stubborn guy would be beaten to death and wanted to stop. But when the last punch landed, he found that there were faint cracks on Second Master Cheng's forehead.
The cracks looked like a cracked ice surface. The moment the fist was raised, due to the bleeding from the damaged capillaries, the skin quickly turned dark red, and the cracks were no longer visible.
If it weren't for the close-range beating and good lighting, this slight anomaly would never have been noticed.
?
Ye Jingtang's fist paused. He felt that there was something wrong with this guy's body. It was definitely not an ordinary external martial art.
And Second Master Cheng, whose head had already sunk into the ground, also raised his hand at this moment and slapped Ye Jingtang's arm hard:
Slap slap slap—
"I... I admit defeat..."
A trace of doubt flashed in Ye Jingtang's eyes. But hitting him any more would break the rules. After thinking about it, he retracted his fist and stood up:
"Tiefo Ridge really lives up to its reputation."
Second Master Cheng lay in the pit, his nose and mouth full of blood, breathing heavily and unable to say a word.
After looking at Second Master Cheng's forehead again, Ye Jingtang suppressed the doubt in his heart, stood up, and left.
The leaders outside turned pale and quickly made way. The hundreds of thugs gathered outside also stepped aside to the left and right.
Yang Guan bowed and scraped: "Young Master Ye, please take your time. Come again often... No, if you have anything to do in the future, just send someone to give a message. You don't have to come here in person..."
Pei Luo followed Ye Jingtang and walked through the crowd of hundreds of thugs. Seeing that no one really dared to stop them, he whispered:
"Brother Jingtang, you're so amazing! But in this place of the capital, relying solely on fists won't work. The Cheng family has connections in the government..."
While talking, he found that there was a carriage parked at the street corner. The curtain was lifted, revealing a face that exuded an air of authority even without showing anger, looking coldly in their direction.
"Who is this?"
"Jingwang."
"Oh..."
Pei Luo stopped in his tracks, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. Like Chen Biao, he trotted up to them:
"Brother, I'll hold the umbrella for you. When paying respects to Jingwang, one should have the bearing of an eldest young master..."
Ye Jingtang handed the umbrella to Pei Luo, who had been chattering all the way:
"You go back first. Study hard in the future and pass the imperial examinations to gain a reputation. The martial arts world is not a place for scholars."
"Okay, I'll go back to the academy to study right away..."
Pei Luo wanted to go back obediently, but when he saw the dispersed thugs, he felt a little uneasy.
In the carriage, Dongfang Liren gave an order: "Send Young Master Pei back to his residence. Ye Jingtang, come up."
After saying that, she lowered the carriage curtain...