Chapter 40 Trouble Comes Knocking
Liu Ergou had slept soundly until well into the morning, showing no signs of waking up.
Xu Yulan had stopped by once during that time. Seeing him sleeping so peacefully, she didn't have the heart to wake him and left to busy herself with other tasks.
Not long after Xu Yulan left, a few voices suddenly broke the silence from outside the gate of Liu Ergou's house.
"Boss, this is the house of that kid who hit me!"
"Last night, a few of us brothers saw his sister-in-law working alone in the fields, so we kindly went up to help! Who would've thought that as soon as the kid saw us, he came up and beat the hell out of us without saying a word! And you know what? When we mentioned your name, he hit us even harder! He even said he was aiming for us specifically. Boss, he's spitting right in your face!"
"We have to teach this punk a lesson!"
Immediately, another voice chimed in.
"Relax, Wu Dahu. It's been a long time since I've heard of anyone daring to hit one of my boys. I'm Li Dafa, and I want to see for myself just who is so tough! Go on, bang on his door!"
As soon as the words were spoken, someone stepped forward and began pounding heavily on Liu Ergou's gate.
"Damn it, Liu Ergou! Get your ass out here!"
"Hurry up and get out here, you hear me?!"
"I brought my boss today, so you better get moving!"
Liu Ergou, who had been fast asleep, was jolted awake by the pounding. He rubbed his groggy eyes and glanced toward the door, his face a mask of confusion.
Just then, the shouting came again.
"Liu Ergou, you punk! Don't play dead in there, get the hell out here!"
Hearing this, Liu Ergou was instantly wide awake.
Someone's here looking for trouble?
With that thought, he rolled out of bed, pulled on a pair of pants, and grabbed a shirt, dressing as he walked toward the door.
Soon, Liu Ergou reached the front gate and pulled it open.
The underling who had been shouting perked up the moment he saw Liu Ergou.
"Liu Ergou! Weren't you so tough yesterday?"
"Let me tell you, my boss's boss is here today! Let's see if you can still act so arrogant now!"
At that moment, Liu Ergou's head was stuck in the collar of his shirt. He was yanking it down forcefully, completely oblivious to what the man was saying. He just mumbled vaguely in response, "Mmhmm…" and continued to wrestle with his clothes.
Standing to the side, Li Dafa couldn't help but frown as he saw Liu Ergou's build. He looks familiar, but I can't quite place where I've seen him.
Seeing Liu Ergou only grunt in response, the lackey at the door assumed he was scared and became even more arrogant.
"My boss's boss said you'd better come forward and let him give you a beating. Then we can call this settled. Otherwise, he'll take matters into his own hands!"
Just then, Liu Ergou finally managed to pull his shirt down, revealing his face.
"Huh? I didn't quite catch that. Say it again!"
Seeing Liu Ergou like this, the lackey wasn't angry at all and simply repeated his threat.
However, he had barely finished speaking when Li Dafa, who was standing behind him, finally snapped.
Li Dafa shot forward, landing a vicious kick on the speaking lackey. He sent the man tumbling to the ground, then straddled him and began slapping his face repeatedly.
"Dammit! Who do you think you're talking to?" he roared while hitting him. "You got the balls to say that again? Say it! I swear to God I'll kill you today!"
As if that wasn't enough, Li Dafa viciously delivered two more flying kicks to his subordinate, leaving the man dizzy and reeling.
Nearby, Wu Dahu stared at the scene, dumbfounded. He had brought his boss here to get revenge for him, not to watch him beat up his own men. What the hell is going on?
Thinking fast, Wu Dahu rushed forward and grabbed Li Dafa.
"Boss! Boss, you're hitting the wrong person! We're supposed to be beating this guy, Liu Ergou, not my man! Boss, stop!"
However, to Wu Dahu's complete shock, his plea only seemed to enrage Li Dafa further, who now started hitting him too.
"Fuck! You think I was only talking to him and not you?" Li Dafa snarled. "You're trying to get me killed so you can take my place as boss, aren't you!"
Li Dafa grew angrier with every blow. It got to the point where he started scanning the ground for a weapon.
Just then, his eyes landed on a piece of brick. Without hesitating, Li Dafa snatched it and brought it crashing down on Wu Dahu's head. The blow was fast and vicious.
Even Liu Ergou couldn't help but frown. I can't believe Li Dafa is so ruthless, even with his own men! A hit like that could kill someone.
Thinking this, Liu Ergou quickly reached out and stopped Li Dafa.
"That's enough! Keep this up and someone's going to die!"
Stopped by Liu Ergou, Li Dafa finally paused, a fawning smile spreading across his face.
"Uh, Brother Ergou," he stammered, "I-I didn't realize it was you. If I'd known, I never would have let them cause this trouble! This whole mess... Brother Ergou... I..."
At this point, Li Dafa couldn't continue. Liu Ergou was staring him down, his eyes filled with a murderous glare.
Lying on the ground, Wu Dahu heard their exchange and was utterly stunned. He never could have imagined that the man before him was someone even his own boss didn't dare to cross, yet he had done just that. The moment that realization hit, Wu Dahu's eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted dead away.
At that moment, Liu Ergou spoke. "Li Dafa, I didn't expect we'd meet again either. It looks like you're doing pretty well for yourself around here!"
Hearing this, Li Dafa felt like crying. It's all because of this useless subordinate of mine! If it weren't for him, how could I have run into this scourge, Liu Ergou?
"Brother Ergou, please," Li Dafa practically whimpered. "We're all in the same line of work here, show a little professional courtesy!"
"Oh?" Liu Ergou nodded. "That's your business. It has nothing to do with me. Now, let's talk about our problem. You actually dared to show up at my house, Li Dafa. Looks like you haven't had enough of a beating yet, have you?"
As he spoke, Liu Ergou tilted his head and cracked his neck.
A series of loud CRACKING sounds echoed in the quiet.
The sound alone was enough to make Li Dafa want to cry. I never should have come here!