Chapter 776 — The Iron Aegis

"Bang!"

The big man's fist slammed into Wei Zhao's body.

It was a solid hit, and the big man felt quite pleased with himself. The kid was a fool who didn't even know to dodge — he hadn't expected to land a blow on the first try. What luck! The big man pictured Wei Zhao flying backward, and the thought delighted him immensely.

But the next moment, something felt wrong — because a sudden, searing pain shot through his fist!

"Aaagh—!" the big man screamed, yanking his fist back. His hand had already changed shape; it could no longer be called a fist at all — it was a bloody pulp! Clearly the bones were broken!

"Oh dear, terribly sorry — I wasn't careful, and I've gone and broken the hand you live by!" Wei Zhao looked at the man with the broken hand with genuine regret, rubbed the spot where he'd been struck, and said, "Seems this iron aegis isn't bad at all — quite useful, wouldn't you say?"

The big man, writhing on the ground in agony from his broken hand, froze at Wei Zhao's words, then a look of bitter grievance came over his face. Why on earth would this kid go around wearing an iron aegis? If he'd known, why would he have aimed for his body at all? He should have gone straight for his head!

What rotten luck! But luck had nothing to do with it now — there's no medicine for regret in this world. He could only accept the fact of his broken hand...

The other three big men, who hadn't yet made a move, had at first thought Wei Zhao must be practicing some divine art of self-protection when they saw their companion suddenly break his own hand, and they'd been rather afraid to act. But now, hearing Wei Zhao's words, they suddenly understood!

So the kid had some treasure protecting him! Well, that was no problem at all — it wasn't that the kid could take a punch, it was that the iron aegis on him could. So the next move was simple: just aim straight for his head, wasn't it?

Black Bird Bro had been badly startled by Wei Zhao too, and had been at a loss for what to do — but when he suddenly heard that Wei Zhao carried a treasure, he was overjoyed. "At him, all of you! Take that iron aegis off the kid and bring it to me!"

Black Bird Bro's heart began to fill with visions. If that iron aegis were his, he could wear it every time he went out, and he'd never again have to fear a beating if he was caught stealing!

Anyone who dared hit him would pay in blood! Look at that henchman of his on the ground — his hand was broken, wasn't it?

Black Bird Bro almost resented not having met Wei Zhao sooner. If he'd met him earlier, if he'd seized a treasure like this earlier, then he wouldn't have been kicked by Yu Xiaoke into a one-egg man — and in that case, it would have been Yu Xiaoke who broke her foot!

He'd been born at the wrong time, truly!

Black Bird Bro felt a private pang of regret, but it wasn't too late now. At the very least, with this iron aegis, he could protect that one remaining egg of his from being attacked.

The three big men had already been eager to attack Wei Zhao, and now, hearing Black Bird Bro's order, they were desperate to prove themselves. They swung their fists and smashed them at Wei Zhao's head!

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Three dull thuds — the three big men struck Wei Zhao's head with their fists at the same moment. As far as they were concerned, even if they didn't knock Wei Zhao out cold, he'd have a concussion for sure! But they had rejoiced too soon. Before they could even react, the next moment, a terrible pain shot through their fists!

"Aaagh — my hand!"

"God, it hurts — how is his head so hard too?"

"Mine's ruined as well — how is that possible?"

All three big men's hands were twisted out of human shape at once, as wretched as could be! Three grown men rolling on the ground in pain — it was humiliating enough.

"You... you've got an iron aegis on your head too?" Black Bird Bro was struck dumb by the sight, staring in disbelief at his four henchmen, who had been so full of fight just moments ago and were now crippled.

"I do!" Wei Zhao nodded.

"How could that be? Why didn't I see it?" Black Bird Bro was taken aback.

Yu Xiaoke was just as astonished. It was one thing for Wei Zhao to claim he had some kind of protective iron armor on him, but how could he possibly have armor on his head? Besides, Yu Xiaoke had been a little suspicious of Wei Zhao's words from the very start. She was standing very close to him and could clearly see that aside from the shirt he wore, there was nothing else on his body. Where was this so-called protective iron armor?

And the fists of those four men on the ground did not look at all like they had struck something hard! Even if a person punched a sheet of iron, the worst that would happen was a swollen fist or a fractured knuckle. There was no way they would end up like this! Judging by the condition of their fists now, it looked as though some external force had crushed and compressed them by brute force, completely deforming the men's hands, as if they had been blown apart in an explosion.

So Yu Xiaoke was deeply doubtful as to whether this protective iron armor Wei Zhao spoke of actually existed.

"Of course you can't see it," Wei Zhao said, his expression unchanged. "Because it's a skill I've trained. It's called the Protective Iron Armor Art."

"Huh?! Are you screwing with me?" Black Bird Bro was instantly furious at Wei Zhao's words, feeling as though he had been played for a fool! All this time he had assumed Wei Zhao was carrying some great treasure, only to learn that Wei Zhao had nothing of the sort, and that it was merely some Protective Iron Armor Art he had trained!

"I'm not screwing with you. I told you before, it's protective iron armor," Wei Zhao said innocently.

"But you never said it was the Protective Iron Armor Art!" Black Bird Bro was grinding his teeth in rage. What a humiliation this day had been. He had meant to teach Yu Xiaoke a lesson, but never expected that a boyfriend of hers would appear out of nowhere, not only flattening his four underlings but seeming not to have suffered a scratch himself!

"I was using the abbreviated name. I thought you knew. How was I to know you were this stupid?" Wei Zhao looked at Black Bird Bro with contempt.

"Kid, don't think that just because you've trained a bit of hard chi kung you can throw your weight around. Do you even know who I am?" Black Bird Bro's words were fierce, but his courage was failing. He too had not expected Wei Zhao to be so uncanny.

"I know. Didn't you say your name is Black Bird Bro? Don't tell me you've changed it again?" Wei Zhao looked at Black Bird Bro strangely. This thing wasn't like Shen Yushu, was it, changing its name for fun whenever it pleased?

When Shen Yushu changed her name, it was cute. When this thing changed its name, it was brain-dead.

"I, Black Bird Bro, am the second-in-command of the Songshan City pickpocket gang. Now you've injured my men. How do you propose we settle this score?" Black Bird Bro was no fool. Force had already failed. His four underlings had lost all their fighting capacity, leaving him a commander without an army. If he kept fighting Wei Zhao, wouldn't that be inviting humiliation?

Besides, this kid was downright bizarre. He wasn't afraid of being hit at all, and that Protective Iron Armor Art of his was so formidable that hitting him was like punching an iron plate. Wasn't that just asking to be tortured?