Limitless Interpretations – Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Ambush and Beating; Suffering for Loyalty

“Brother Tian, there are people from New Fortune.”

Yan Wang suddenly saw the small door behind the bar open, as a few familiar little hooligans popped out of the woodwork.

Upon seeing Brother Tian and Yan Wang, these small-time thugs under the New Fortune also became stunned for a moment, only reacting when a young lady’s cheery giggle chimed in from in front, as they quickly surrounded the duo.

“Hmm?”

Brother Tian involuntarily turned his gaze towards Sister Yun, reaching out to grab her wrist. 

But he was immediately kicked in the chest by a bald man wearing a leopard-patterned suit.

Sister Yun distanced herself from him and spoke with a bitter smile, “Brother Tian, I’m a businessperson too… Sorry.”

“Damn it.”

Getting up from the ground, Brother Tian ignored her spiel, his expression slowly contorting into an ugly grimace as he observed the situation at the entrance.

The entrance was now blocked. Several hooligans, wearing vibrant floral shirts, tight-fitting pants, and carrying steel pipes, leered at them with malicious grins.

“Eii… Isn’t this Brother Tian? What are you doing here?” The bald guy cut through the crowd, swaggering up to Brother Tian, before looking at him disdainfully: “Don’t you know this is our New Fortune’s territory?”

“Ha!” Brother Tian bared his teeth in a cold smile, spat, and then retorted viciously: “Damn dogs, when did my Longbao Street become your New Fortune’s?”

“Just now.”

Huawen Bao chuckled and wrapped his arm around Sister Yun’s waist, “From this day on, Longbao Street belongs to New Fortune. Your people from the Star Society… I guess they are probably sipping tea in the police station at this point?.”

Swoosh~

A hooligan abruptly raised his steel pipe.

Hiding in the shadows, he smashed the weapon directly onto Yan Wang’s shoulder, causing intense pain to shoot through his brain. However, at the moment of impact, Yan Wang felt an odd jolt run through him as he dropped and rolled on the spot, before instinctually charging inside the thug’s physical space, drawing a dagger and stabbing it straight into his abdomen.

With a wild twist, he gouged out a bloody hole and kicked the thugs away. Grabbing Brother Tian’s hand, Yan Wang then pulled him up, dragging him towards the outside.

The blow earlier wasn’t something unavoidable. In fact, Yan Wang thought not only could he have dodged it, but that he also could have caught the bald man wearing the leopard suit in the process, threatened the remaining hooligans with his life, and easily leave the dance hall unscathed with Brother Tian in tow.

But there was no use in doing so.

This time, he wanted to establish himself as a ‘loyal guard’ who would ‘fight till the end’.

Besides… how could he take charge of the scene if the boss didn’t die?

Just imagine…

Would a perfectly fine underling taking the boss back be a persuasive statement?

Or would a battered underling, bringing back the corpse of the boss in his bloodied hands?

Thus, he needed to get injured somehow – and it had to seem grim, severe even. The ‘boss’ Brother Tian also had to die; only with his death would the Star Society, and himself, acquire the necessary justification and reason to seek vengeance, earning him more opportunities.

“Are you all useless? Block the door, don’t let them run.”

Huawen Bao harboured a long-standing grudge with Brother Tian, and had been waiting for an opportunity. Now that Brother Tian had finally bumped into him, he was determined to make him regret everything.

Bang!

Yan Wang was kicked in the back and stumbled to the ground, while Brother Tian, unsteady from being dragged around, also hit his head on a table.

Blood immediately gushed out like a leaking faucet.

In such a situation, the enemy would not allow them to get up either. Because unlike in those movies, a gang group would absolutely not surround someone just to take turns to fight, as if they were a bunch of dunces.

The encircling hooligans simply started swinging their weapons with abandon, striking down.

Sharp blades and heavy steel pipes. These didn’t require much technique to wield, since just using them with brute force was enough to injure a normal person, or maybe even kill.

Hence, the two victims involuntarily curled up into a foetal position, protecting their heads.

Yan Wang and Brother Tian were being beaten simultaneously. However, there was actually an important distinction between their individual situations, the first of which being his status, and the second… being their respective skill levels.

He was merely a henchman. A small fry. They must’ve thought three men would be enough.

Moreover, using his experience, Yan Wang was able to avoid any vital strikes. Although the blood streaming down his body seemed substantial, and his flesh was bruised in numerous places, looking particularly dire, much of ‘his blood’ was actually sprayed from the thug who he had stabbed earlier.

As for the bruising? His enhanced physique could handle it, no sweat.

“Move, get the hell out of my way.”

Huawen Bao, carrying his own steel pipe, eagerly shoved through the swarming mass of attacking thugs until he stood in front of the unsightly Brother Tian, a superior look plastered upon his face.

Ptui! 

Spitting phlegm, the bald man softly tapped on Brother Tian’s knee with his pipe.

Like an innocent child, playfully tugging an adult’s shirt, trying to grab their attention.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Before his lips contorted into a ferocious smile as he swung with all his might.

“Ahhhhh!” Brother Tian, who had been slipping in and out of consciousness, suddenly came to when he was subjected to this heart-piercing pain, issuing a raspy scream of agony.

Crunch! 

Huawen Bao stepped on his now broken leg, twisting it back and forth.

“Scream. Won’t you scream again?”

“Bast-”

Bang!

Brother Tian lifted his head crazedly. 

Grinding his teeth in hatred, he glared daggers at the bald man. However, his curse was cut off by another swing of the pipe, directly to his cheek this time. The second half of his words turned into a stream of blood, peppered with the glint of a few shiny teeth.

Yan Wang held his patience. 

He focused his attention on Brother Tian, his gaze never wavering even as his arms became beaten and battered. When he saw Brother Tian’s pupils abruptly dilate, followed by a series of unconscious convulsions… Yan Wang knew his opportunity had arrived.

“Ah ah…!”

Yan Wang suddenly erupted with strength, grabbing the legs of two gangsters and forcefully dragging them down. Holding his dagger in a reverse grip, he slashed across another thug’s throat, before barrelling towards his ‘dear’ Brother Tian.

Slamming his full weight into the unprepared Huawen Bao and his men, Yan Wang, as swift as the wind, lugged Brother Tian onto his back and booked it.

Nearing the entrance, he kicked down a thug who was still in shock and crazily ran outside.

“What the hell, stop him!”

The bald man, helped to his feet by the underlings, instantly roared and grabbed a machete, throwing it furiously at Yan Wang. Gritting his teeth and glaring murderously at the retreating figure, Huawen Bao muttered darkly under his breath: 

“I’m going to cripple you.”

Whoosh~

The thrown machete danced through the air; his fighting instincts allowed him to dodge that attack, but Yan Wang, at that moment, forcibly stopped his evasion. Instead, he accelerated and kicked open the door of the Dance Hall.

Thud!

Blade entered flesh, ripping muscles and sinew with a disgusting, fleshy sound. Brother Tian regained consciousness once again, spewing out a mouthful of fresh blood. He gripped Yan Wang’s collar tightly, trying his utmost to say something. However, seemingly inadvertently, Yan Wang shrugged his shoulder, accidentally fracturing Brother Tian’s already cracked jaw.

“Brother Tian, hold on. I’m taking you – I’m taking you to the hospital…!”

At this moment, Yan Wang’s acting skills surged. Bloodied and gasping for breath, he bolted towards Chunyang Street; there was a gang spot. As long as they reached Chunyang Street, they would be safe from New Fortune’s assault.

“Chase him!”

Huawen Bao casually smashed a bottle on the table and rushed out.

“Brother Long, we, while collecting protection fees on Longbao Street, were ambushed by people from New Fortune. We desperately ran away and are now running to Chunyang Street. Brother Tian, he…! Brother Tian is injured…”

He leisurely took out Brother Tian’s phone and dialled Brother Tian’s boss’s number.

After the call was connected, Yan Wang’s trembling voice babbled incoherently over the line, speaking in hushed, panicking tones, before suddenly hanging up. He threw away the phone and sped up towards Chunyang Street.

“New Fortune? Damn it, grab your weapons…”

Brother Long, who was watching a movie in the cinema, had a dramatic change of expression after receiving this call. Bounding from the chair, the imposing figure roared at his underlings as he pulled a steel pipe from underneath the table, rushing out in a hurry:

“Those bastards are playing dirty! Brothers, follow me.”

“Ha… ha… We’re here…”

Yan Wang turned the last corner, panting heavily. However, when he heard the noisy sounds ahead, the corners of his mouth curved imperceptibly. Exhausted, he spat out blood, before stumbling and falling unconscious to the ground.

…

“Quick, get them to the hospital.” Brother Long, seeing the duo’s tragic states, turned quite ashen. Like a roaring wild lion, he bared his fangs with a ferocious expression, taking only a steel pipe in his hands and running towards Longbao Street:

“The rest of you, follow me. We’ll kill them all!”

But his frenzied fervour didn’t last for long.

“Brother Long, stop.”

Just then, a sleek sedan turned the corner. As the window rolled down, it revealed a refined, middle-aged man. He called out to Brother Long, before leaving the vehicle, directing some of his underlings to lift Yan Wang and Brother Tian onto it.

The dignified man’s voice held a tone that was colder than ice as he commanded:

“To the hospital.”