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The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Fuck! This little punk's got some nerve!" Brother Black Panther, enraged that Wei Zhao dared speak to him in that tone, lunged for his collar.
Wei Zhao's left hand shot out and seized Brother Black Panther's right; then his right hand came up, pinched the man's cheeks, and with a flick of the fingers sent the half-smoked cigarette on his lips straight into his mouth.
"Awooo—" Brother Black Panther howled as the burning butt dropped into his throat and raised a blister there on the spot.
Wei Zhao's left hand pulled and pushed, and the thoroughly rattled Brother Black Panther went staggering off to one side.
Mouth gaping wide, Brother Black Panther fanned at it frantically with his hand, wheezing like a little dog with its tongue hanging out to cool itself.
Zou Ruoming had lain in the school infirmary for half a day, and only after repeated kneading and massage did he finally come to. With a band-aid stuck across his nose, he was helped out by his underlings, his head still ringing.
"Motherfucker, what class is that kid in?" Zou Ruoming said hatefully. "Find him for me. I'll beat him so badly his own mother won't know him."
"We don't know either..." Zou Ruoming's men had no idea which class Wei Zhao was in. There were far too many ordinary students in school uniforms; the sort that drew no attention whatsoever.
"Damn it, he's from our school, that much is certain. You go and find him. After class, search class by class, and once you've got him, beat him to death!" Zou Ruoming said viciously.
"Don't worry, Brother Ming!" several underlings answered at once. They had been frightened by Wei Zhao's skill earlier, but now they had numbers on their side—surely they needn't fear one man?
When they came out of the infirmary, they found the school in the middle of morning exercises. One of Zou Ruoming's men had sharp eyes, and catching sight of Zhong Yongliang, Brother Black Panther and the rest walking in through the gate, he pointed and said, "Brother Ming, look—isn't that Zhong Yongliang and his bunch? The ones trailing behind them don't look like students from our school!"
"Oh?" Zou Ruoming lifted his head and looked where his man was pointing. Sure enough, Zhong Yongliang, Gao Xiaofu and Zhang Naipao were striding into the school grounds, puffed up with self-importance, and behind the three of them came three burly men. Zou Ruoming recognized the leader of the three—the bare-chested, tattooed brute! It was Brother Black Panther, a well-known figure in the underworld, notorious for his fighting. Zou Ruoming's elder brother had drunk with the man and had brought Zou Ruoming along once, so he remembered him clearly. He said to his men, "That's Brother Black Panther, a big name in the underworld, famous for how he fights. I wonder how Zhong Yongliang got him here?"
"Are they going after a student at our school?" one of Zou Ruoming's men guessed.
"I don't know. But isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill? Do you need Brother Black Panther to deal with a student from our school?" Zou Ruoming shook his head, unable to fathom Zhong Yongliang's intentions.
Being in the mood for a show, Zou Ruoming sat down with his men on a bench in the schoolyard to watch how things would unfold. He was curious, too—just who had made Zhong Yongliang go to such lengths?
Suddenly Zou Ruoming recalled how, the night before, Zhong Yongliang and his whole group had been beaten black and blue. When he had asked what had happened, Zhong Yongliang wouldn't say. Could it be that someone had given them a beating, and today they had come for revenge?
The more Zou Ruoming thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he could not help but find it funny. Zhong Yongliang was going from bad to worse—getting worked over by students from his own school, and then needing outsiders to settle the score. What was even funnier was that the fellow had insisted the bruises were from their own roughhousing.