Chapter 28: I Want One of His Fingers!

Once a person develops feelings, they have essentially acquired a weakness. Heaven did not grant him a second chance at life just for him to fall in love.

"I'm leaving," Chu Feng said. "By the way, leave the light on for me tonight."

"Okay." A smile appeared on Li Xueli's face again.

Leaving the light on meant that Chu Feng would return that night and not stay out. Li Xueli hummed a little tune, touched up her makeup, and changed her outfit. While Chu Feng was out, she decided to tidy up the place. She picked up the scattered clothes on the floor and then cast her gaze toward the trash can.

"There’s nearly half a bin full after just two days..." She rubbed her aching waist, feeling quite satisfied.

At thirty-something, she was in the prime of her life, while men usually started their decline at this age. She felt fortunate that she had encountered Chu Feng, who was at his most vigorous, while she was at her peak.

"He didn't clean up Zhang Yanran's room. Does he plan to have her move in later?" Li Xueli muttered to herself. At the thought of her and Zhang Yanran vying for Chu Feng’s favor, she blushed and softly spat, "Hmph! That scoundrel!"

The moonlight was thick. Chu Feng felt like a nocturnal creature, sleeping by day and prowling by night. He didn't drive, opting instead to ride a shared bicycle to an abandoned factory in the old district. Despite the late hour, flames were flickering inside the derelict building. The walls were covered in graffiti. The popular culture of the era still leaned toward Marvel and DC superheroes; on the factory’s main gate was a stencil of Iron Man’s arc reactor, surrounded by Hulk and Spider-Man.

Chu Feng stared at the Black Widow mural and muttered, "Black Widow… you drew her too small."

*Whoosh!*

In the factory courtyard, someone dumped a bottle of industrial alcohol into a fire pit fashioned from an oil drum. The flames instantly shifted from red to blue.

"Hit him! Hit him!"

"Go!"

A large crowd sat around the courtyard, surrounding an octagonal cage where two men were fighting. Chu Feng lit a cigarette and walked over to a thug with a mohawk, handing him five hundred yuan.

"Brother, who are you betting on?" The mohawk took the money and pulled out a notebook.

Indeed, this was a place for underground cage fighting. Many unemployed drifters liked to gather here to watch the matches. These death matches had few rules; the condition for victory was usually for one side to be unable to stand back up.

Chu Feng remembered that this place would be shut down in half a year. First, it was unlicensed, and second, it resulted in a death. Rumor had it that a martial artist skilled in Baji Quan had killed a novice boxer with such brutality that the victim’s brains had sprayed out of his nostrils from a single punch.

Chu Feng pointed at a young fighter in the cage: "Put it on that lad!"

"Him?" The mohawk laughed. "Brother, are you sure? He’s just a rookie! They say he’s fighting to pay for his sister’s medical bills."

"Him." Chu Feng grabbed a cola from the cooler and tossed the mohawk another fifty yuan. "Keep the change."

"Thanks, brother!" The mohawk waved him off and handed Chu Feng a betting slip.

Chu Feng retreated to a quiet corner to watch the match. The young man was Chen Meng, nicknamed "Mengzi," who would later teach Chu Feng how to fight.

"Yo, a new face?" A burly man covered in tattoos approached him.

Chu Feng frowned. "Don't block my view."

"Still feisty?" The big man laughed and hooked an arm around Chu Feng’s neck. "I saw you were pretty generous with your cash. My brothers are a bit short on funds lately. How about lending me five hundred?"

In the distance, the mohawk frowned. "Da Han, Brother Long said this is his territory. Don't cause trouble!"

"We know each other!" The big man called back to the mohawk.

Chu Feng said mockingly, "Brother Long? Ying Tianlong?"

"Oh, you know Brother Long? Let me tell you, he’s one of the top gangsters in Jiang City. He’s the man!" Da Han gave a thumbs up. "Since you know who runs this place, why don't you be smart and let’s be friends?"

"And if I don't give it?" Chu Feng glanced at him.

Da Han smiled. "If you don't, the moment you step out of this factory, I’ll have my men give you a proper 'welcome.' By the way, I have a few brothers who really love guys with skin as tender as yours!"

As he spoke, Da Han reached out to pat Chu Feng’s face.

Chu Feng frowned, grabbed Da Han’s wrist, twisted it, and sent the man crashing to the ground. The surrounding spectators were shocked and turned their eyes toward Chu Feng. Several bouncers holding lengths of iron pipe approached.

"Don't cause trouble!" one of them barked.

Chu Feng tapped the ash off his cigarette. "Are you blind? This guy started it. I was forced to defend myself!"

"Causing trouble here means you don't respect Brother Long!" The bouncers immediately surrounded him.

Da Han looked smug; he had been provoking Chu Feng specifically to make him strike first, ensuring that no one could protect him.

"Stop!" A tall, heavy figure appeared in the distance.

Everyone turned and their expressions shifted instantly.

"Brother Pang!" the crowd greeted respectfully.

Chu Feng looked up to see Pang Da, dressed in a floral shirt and wearing a thick gold chain. Da Han seized the opportunity to scramble to Pang Da’s side, pointing at Chu Feng. "Brother Pang, this punk is here to cause trouble!"

Pang Da rolled his neck and pulled a pair of brass knuckles from his pocket. "You say he’s here to cause trouble?"

Many in the crowd shot pitying looks at Chu Feng. Under normal circumstances, he would surely be in for a brutal beating. After all, Brother Pang’s reputation in all of Jiang City was formidable.

But the next moment, Pang Da gripped his brass knuckles and smashed them into Da Han’s face. "Brother Long’s guest—and you say he’s here to cause trouble?"

"Brother Long?"

The words shocked everyone. Chu Feng ignored them, calmly taking a puff of his cigarette. "Fatty, don't mind the kid. I was just bored today and came to watch the fight."

"Haha! Young Master Chu, I was wondering why my eyelid kept twitching today. So it was because you arrived!" Pang Da’s expression shifted instantly, and he took the cigarette with both hands.

Da Han, lying on the ground, was stunned. "Bro... Brother Pang, he..."

"If you make Young Master Chu lose even a single hair, I’ll have the media fish your corpse out of the river tomorrow!" Pang Da said viciously. "Young Master Chu, we can let the others slide, but this old fool needs to be taught a lesson. He’s far too ignorant."

Chu Feng took a drag of his cigarette. "Take a pinky finger. Let that be a lesson to him."

"Men! Bring the pliers and a kitchen knife!"