Chapter 23: Beat Him for Me

Gao Jianye smacked his lips, feeling a flicker of hesitation, but then he recalled the sheer humiliation of earlier that day. He had essentially been outmaneuvered by a mere teenager.

If his mother led the relatives over to intimidate the boy and successfully retrieved the photos and the agreement, that would be for the best. He was determined to divorce Li Li; the idea that the wretched woman expected him to cough up thirty yuan a month was a pipe dream—it was utterly shameless!

With that thought, he stopped hesitating and joined his father to round up their kin. The three Gao brothers were all employees at the mine, and their sons worked there as well, so they all lived in close proximity. In the end, the Gao family mustered over twenty people, marching aggressively toward the Li residence.

The Li family was already eating. The steamed buns Li Li had made were fluffy and soft, and Li Qi had polished off five in one go, still feeling like he could eat more. Suddenly, a young boy burst in.

"Li Qi! The Gao family is rushing down from the upper end with twenty people! They look like they're coming to beat you up—run!"

Li Qi recognized him; it was Lu Gang from the house behind theirs. The boy had idolized Li Qi since he was small and had even trained in Tongbei Fist with him for a winter, though he lacked the grit and gave up halfway. Still, he always addressed Li Qi as his master and followed him around whenever he could.

Old Man Li stood up at once. "I’ll go out and call for help."

"Uncle Li, it’s too late! They’ve already passed the village grocery store; they’ll be here in a few minutes."

Li Zhe, halfway through a bun, shot a fierce glare at Li Qi. *That Li the Third, always causing trouble. Can’t he just live a quiet life? Why can’t this small house have a single peaceful desk?* He slammed his bowl and chopsticks down, stomped into his own small room, and slammed the door shut.

Li Li’s eyes were filled with terror as she clutched Li Qi’s hand. "Little brother, there are too many of them, and they’re all from the mine. Please, run away. We can just give them back the photos and the agreement; I’ll go with them and apologize. If they beat you half to death, how could I ever have the face to face our mother in the afterlife?"

Li Qi cast a disappointed look at the door of the small room. *As for Li Zhe, he’s not worth thinking of as a human being anymore.* Every time there was the slightest trouble, he acted as if he were desperate to sever his blood ties to the Li family.

Li Qi reached into his jacket, pulled out two yuan, and handed it to Lu Gang.

"You’re fast on your feet—sprint to the police station. Tell them there’s been a murder here. And ask if a man named Liang Bing is there. If he is, tell him Li Qi’s family is in trouble and to get here as fast as he can."

Lu Gang took the money and took off like a shot, disappearing in an instant.

Li Qi told Old Man Li and Li Li not to step outside under any circumstances, leaving everything to him. Old Man Li would hear none of it. In the end, Li Qi had to settle for having him stand just inside the doorway, strictly instructing him only to rush out once Li Qi opened the door—and not to help, but to position himself to take a hit, preferably one that would draw blood. Old Man Li understood the intent, nodding in agreement, though he was privately determined that if the others dared to lay a hand on Li Qi, he would protect the boy with his life. If he let Li Qi suffer on his watch, he wouldn't hear the end of it from his late wife when he joined her in the afterlife.

Li Qi locked the door and pulled two wooden poles, nearly two meters long, out of the yard. In these times, anyone living in a single-story house burned wood and coal, so there was no shortage of such things.

That strange sensation returned. Ever since his rebirth, he had felt as if something about his body was not quite right. After that day on the ice behind the elementary school, where he had swung a bicycle for ten minutes to hold off two thugs, preventing them from getting close, he had vaguely suspected he had gained some kind of advantage. Today, he would put that theory to the test.

The Gao family kicked the yard gate open with a roar. The dilapidated gate let out a screeching wail before shattering completely. Diao Xiaojiao stood with her hands on her hips, the fat on her face twitching like a small black rat as she shrieked at the top of her lungs:

"I’ll curse your Li family ancestors! You raised a shameless, whore-daughter who sleeps around and acts like a tyrant at home, bullying our Gao family just because you think you can! My son caught her in the act, and you have the gall to try and extort money from us? Everyone, judge for yourselves—is there any justice in this?"

It was dinner time, and the neighbors, hearing the commotion, had gathered around the Li residence, packing the place tight. Seeing only a teenage boy standing at the door, Diao Xiaojiao grew even more arrogant. The Li family was pathetic; they didn't even dare to show an adult, pushing a kid out to handle the mess.

"Are all the men in your Li family dead? Li Mantang, get out here! You raised a daughter who sells herself, and now that you’ve bullied our kind-hearted Gao family, you hide like a turtle? If you don't settle this to my satisfaction today, you won't have a good day ahead of you. I’ll make sure you’re all driven out of Niuxin Town!"

As Diao Xiaojiao continued her vitriolic, victim-blaming tirade, the Gao family swarmed into the yard.

Li Qi felt the door behind him shift; Li Mantang was about to come out. He gave a sharp nudge with his backside, pinning the door shut. With his father’s simple-minded nature, coming out would only mean being bullied. Seeing that the neighbors were all gathered, he cleared his throat and shouted:

"Gao Jianye! You went to sleep with a woman named Mo Chunfeng in Xiaonangou Village today. I took photos of it, and they are in my hands right now. If everyone wants to see them, I’ll hand them out one by one! My sister wants a divorce, and you signed an agreement to provide one-third of your salary as child support. What is the meaning of this? Trying to back out now? If you’re going to be heartless, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I’m going to show everyone exactly what you and that woman look like naked on the kang!"

As Li Qi spoke, he made a show of reaching into his jacket. Diao Xiaojiao wouldn't let him succeed. She let out a piercing cry:

"You’re spouting nonsense! How could my son do such a thing? It’s clearly your sister who’s been sleeping around, and now you’re trying to turn the tables! Get him! Teach this lying little brat a lesson. Since your Li family doesn't know how to raise a child, we’ll do it for you!"

With that, Diao Xiaojiao charged at Li Qi, waving her fists wildly. The priority was to snatch the photos and the agreement from the Li family and destroy them on the spot, then force Li Li to divorce her son. The idea of the Li family getting a monthly payment out of her son was a complete fantasy!

Diao Xiaojiao had spent her life brawling in the fields, a veteran of countless fights, well-versed in the arts of flailing fists, hair-pulling, spitting, and snot-throwing. But before she could even unleash her repertoire, the world went black. *Thwack.*

A lump the size of a balloon rose on her head. A massive force slammed into her, and she landed hard on her backside. She hadn't even seen Li Qi move. A moment later, a howl that sounded less than human erupted from the old woman’s throat:

"Murder! The Li family is killing people! What are you all standing there for? Beat them!"