Chapter 21: How Could He Be So Powerful?

Lin Muhua had assumed she would not run into Li Zhi and Chen Hao today, but just as she was feeling disappointed and preparing to leave, she suddenly spotted them appearing in her line of sight as they stepped out of a taxi.

However, she noticed that the place where Li Zhi got out was not where she lived. She did not know that this was near the home of one of Li Zhi's friends. Li Zhi had arranged for Chen Hao to stay at her friend’s place, which is why they were getting off in that vicinity. Since Li Zhi's own home was not far from her friend's, Lin Muhua had managed to spot them.

At that moment, Lin Muhua could not be bothered to dwell on why Li Zhi had not gotten off near her own home. All she wanted now was to see Li Zhi and Chen Hao receive a harsh lesson. She immediately pointed at them and shouted to her boyfriend, Zou Guanchang, "It's them! Hurry, tell your friends to teach them a lesson—don't let them get away!"

Li Zhi and Chen Hao were currently taking their purchases out of the taxi. They had bought quite a lot, and some items were still in the trunk.

Zou Guanchang immediately made a call to his underworld associate. The man’s name was Yuan Weicheng. Because he had a pair of inverted triangular eyes that made him look particularly vicious, people in the criminal underworld nicknamed him "Inverted-Eye Cheng." However, Zou Guanchang dared not call him that to his face; he addressed him as "Brother Cheng."

"Brother Cheng! Those two bastards have appeared! They just got out of a taxi and are taking things out of the trunk right now. Please, help me give them a good beating!" Zou Guanchang said over his mobile phone.

Since Yuan Weicheng and his gang of thugs had been lying in wait nearby, and the road was clear of other vehicles or pedestrians—compounded by the fact that Li Zhi and Chen Hao were so easily identifiable—Yuan Weicheng locked onto them almost instantly.

"Same old rules," Yuan Weicheng replied. "Ten thousand per person. We’ll settle the bill at the usual spot afterward."

Of course, Yuan Weicheng would not help Zou Guanchang for free. He often took money to "solve problems" for others, which included physical intimidation. A standard beating cost ten thousand per person. If he had to break limbs, the price would be higher, ranging from twenty thousand to one hundred thousand per person. Since Zou Guanchang only asked for a standard beating, he stuck to the ten-thousand-per-head rate.

"No problem!" Zou Guanchang agreed readily. He was not short on cash; to make his girlfriend happy, spending twenty thousand to teach those two a lesson was nothing.

Once the deal was struck, Yuan Weicheng immediately ordered his men to drive toward Li Zhi and Chen Hao. At that moment, the pair had finished unloading their items from the taxi, and the cab drove away.

"I didn't realize we bought so much stuff today," Chen Hao said with a laugh as he looked at the piles of bags on the ground.

"It’s all daily necessities for you," Li Zhi replied with a smile.

"Is this for me too?" Chen Hao pulled a pack of sanitary pads from a bag and teased her.

"You’re dead! How could you pull that out in public? It’s so embarrassing!" Seeing a car speeding toward them, Li Zhi blushed furiously, snatched the pack from Chen Hao’s hand, and stuffed it back into the bag.

"Heh, I didn't know you were capable of being shy," Chen Hao chuckled. With that, he and Li Zhi picked up the bags, with Chen Hao insisting on carrying the heavier ones.

Just as they were about to leave, the car Li Zhi had noticed earlier came to a sudden halt beside them. The next moment, several thugs with menacing expressions jumped out and charged at them.

"Run!" Chen Hao was highly alert; he had sensed danger the moment the car screeched to a halt. He pushed Li Zhi aside and hurled the heavy bags he was holding straight at the thugs.

The thugs had not expected such a quick reaction from Chen Hao. However, they were numerous and "battle-hardened," so they assumed dealing with two people would be a breeze. They split into two groups and lunged toward Chen Hao and Li Zhi.

Watching from a short distance away, Lin Muhua and Zou Guanchang were both filled with excitement. Lin Muhua, in particular, was eager to witness the scene of Chen Hao and Li Zhi getting soundly punished.

"You two bastards! Today, you’ll taste what it’s like to go against me!" Lin Muhua gritted her teeth, a glint of malice and excitement flashing in her eyes. She felt as though she could already see them beaten black and blue.

Unfortunately, the scene that followed left her completely stunned.

As the vicious thugs rushed at Chen Hao, his figure blurred like a phantom. He easily evaded their attacks and, with lightning speed, launched a counter-offensive. Every time Chen Hao struck, a thug would collapse and be unable to get back up. In a matter of moments, all the men targeting him were down.

A few remaining thugs tried to chase after Li Zhi, but Chen Hao moved like a gust of wind, catching up to them instantly. He unleashed his skills once more, dropping a thug with a single punch. Soon, every single one of them was incapacitated. Even "Inverted-Eye Cheng" Yuan Weicheng, despite his reputation for being ruthless and skilled, was beaten to the ground, crying out for his parents.

Lin Muhua and Zou Guanchang were left completely dumbfounded.

"No way! This guy is actually a martial artist? He’s that good?" Zou Guanchang was utterly shocked. He had never imagined Chen Hao possessed such skills—a group of "battle-hardened" gangsters taken down in an instant, Yuan Weicheng included.

"Who exactly is he? How can he be this powerful?" At this moment, Lin Muhua’s face was filled with nothing but pure shock. This detestable Chen Hao had caused her to wet her pants in public and humiliate herself. She had been desperate to see him beaten to a pulp, but instead, he had turned out to be a highly skilled fighter who wiped out a whole gang of thugs effortlessly. It was completely beyond her expectations. She simply could not fathom how a man who looked like a pampered pretty boy could be so formidable.