Martial Arts Master in the City

Ye Xiao was openly eavesdropping. He made Xu Qiang heat up his bowl of noodles three times, and not only that, he kept asking Xu Qiang for some Baijiu to drink. Of course, Ye Xiao used his True Qi to control it, entirely just to experience that spicy sensation down the throat from the Baijiu.

Xu Qiang was a generous and easy-going person, which was evident from how Ye Xiao kept bothering him without Xu Qiang getting angry. However, Xu Qiang's patience didn't mean his staff were happy about it. Due to Xu Qiang's usual kindness, his staff felt that this young man Xu Qiang kindly advised was somewhat excessive.

"This kid has been eating a bowl of noodles for over an hour. What is he trying to do? It's been reheated four times." One restaurant staff, speaking to another tall and burly staff member, expressed dissatisfaction.

"What can you do? Brother Xu has a good heart, always adding extra noodles for him, saying that this young man is a stranger here and is unfamiliar with the place, so we should help him if we can." Another staff member replied.

"I need to have a good talk with this kid. Is he planning not to pay at the end? Turning other people's sympathy into a source of pride, this person is too..."

While the two staff were expressing their dissatisfaction and preparing to confront Ye Xiao, they suddenly saw three people under a shed eating meat and drinking wine together stand up, grab their phones, and prepare to leave. The two staff found it strange and realized it just as they were about to leave the shed.

"Gentlemen, haven't settled the bill yet, have you?" The tall and burly staff member, with a big build, naturally had a bit more courage, so when the three attempted to leave without paying, he naturally ran over to demand the money.

"What did you say?" One of the leaving men, with a flushed face and reeking of alcohol, glared at the staff demanding payment.

The restaurant staff were ordinary people, naturally unaware of the existence of martial artists, and even less aware of the danger these three posed. He only knew that if he let them leave openly, there would be no way to explain to Xu Qiang. Though Xu Qiang was generous to his staff, they couldn't be too insolent. People hire staff to help, not to make trouble.

"The three of you haven't settled the bill." The staff member forced a smile as he spoke to the three men.

"Come here and I'll give it to you!" The red-faced man laughed heartily, calling the staff member over.

Upon hearing this, the staff immediately walked over with a smile, uttering, "Our restaurant's dishes are famous around here. If you have a chance, you should visit often."

As the staff spoke, he came face to face with the red-faced man, but no sooner had the words left his mouth than he saw the red-faced man suddenly kick towards him.

Though the staff was tall and burly, and a good fighter when it came to usual brawls, he was now facing three skilled martial artists. The red-faced man hadn't used much force, yet this kick was enough to send the staff tumbling, crashing heavily onto a table and shattering it, leaving him unconscious on the spot.

"Ah?"

Zhao Xiaosi, who was just chatting with the staff member, almost broke into a cold sweat upon witnessing this. He hadn't expected the three men to be so ruthless, and their actions so fierce.

"Why did you hit people!" Zhao Xiaosi hurried to his unconscious colleague, looked at the staff member lying on the ground, and shouted at the red-faced man.

The red-faced man, named Zhuang Bisheng, was the youngest among the three. After knocking out the staff member with a kick, he felt delighted. Smirking at Zhao Xiaosi, he arrogantly issued a challenge, possibly emboldened by alcohol, "I'm Zhuang Bisheng. If you've got the guts, come over and spar with me!"

The commotion outside drew Xu Qiang's attention. As the boss, he least desired any fighting at his restaurant. If word got out that fights were frequent there, no one would dare to dine there.

"Guys, what's going on?" Xu Qiang came out to see the staff lying on the ground.

"Brother Xu, this guy knocked out Little Guang." Zhao Xiaosi looked up at Xu Qiang and shouted.

Xu Qiang didn't speak to Zhao Xiaosi but immediately focused on Zhuang Bisheng and the other men. He'd heard Zhuang Bisheng announce his name earlier. Xu Qiang knew that lately, Han City had been a bit unstable, but he didn't expect such instability would affect him directly.

"Gentlemen, I wonder what my staff did to offend you to warrant such a drastic action?" Xu Qiang's expression turned unpleasant.

Upon hearing Xu Qiang's words, Zhuang Bisheng burst into laughter, saying, "This guy is a fool for blocking our way while we were leaving. Are you trying not to do business anymore?"

"Brother Xu, that's not how it was. They finished their meal and tried to leave without paying, and Little Guang went over to ask for the money. But this guy attacked without a word." Zhao Xiaosi hurriedly clarified.

Xu Qiang listened to Zhao Xiaosi, though he already understood the situation. He had a strict rule in his restaurant that no matter how rude customers were, staff should never get angry or use force.

"Gentlemen, is what my staff said the truth?" Xu Qiang asked.

"And if it is? Today's meal is on credit. We'll come back and pay another day." Zhuang Bisheng sneered.

Upon hearing Zhuang Bisheng's words, Xu Qiang laughed. There's no way he could tolerate that. This was blatantly dining and dashing.

"So you eat without paying, then resort to violence?" Xu Qiang's face was filled with anger, and he immediately pulled out his phone, stating, "I'm calling the police now!"

Upon hearing Xu Qiang talking about calling the police, showing no respect for the three men, Zhuang Bisheng and the others became enraged. Especially Zhuang Bisheng, who lunged at Xu Qiang, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up, ready to punch Xu Qiang in the face.

Xu Qiang was stunned; he hadn't expected the man's speed or his quick aggression.

Smack!

The sound of a fist meeting flesh echoed.

Xu Qiang thought he had been hit but realized he felt no pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw a hand three centimeters away from his face, blocking the punch, while the fist was tightly held by another hand.