Free Web NovelChapter 6: Chapter 6: So That’s How It Is
Li Mazi squatted at the edge of the woods, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth as he eyed Xie Yuan askance.
Xie Yuan turned his head and saw the scrawny Li Mazi, his face darkening at the sight of the man’s cocky expression.
"Li Mazi, what are you doing here?"
Li Mazi’s face turned grim, and he shouted:
"What did you just call me? Is that a name you’re allowed to use? Call me Brother Jun!"
Li Mazi’s given name was Li Jun, but with his weaselly features and pockmarked face, his peers all called him Li Mazi.
He didn’t like it, but since people like the Zhang Brothers all called him that, he had no choice but to endure it.
But if any disrespectful junior dared to say it, even a clueless child, they’d get two slaps for their trouble.
He was the very definition of a man who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Xie Yuan couldn’t be bothered with him and asked again:
"What are you here for?"
"What’s it to you? You think you own these woods? Can’t I come here? What if I’m here to take a shit, huh?"
Still squatting, Li Mazi gave a couple of playful shudders with a grin, as if he were straining to defecate.
"Suit yourself."
Xie Yuan didn’t want to get tangled up with him any further. He reached for the clothes hanging on a branch—he had taken off Wang Lei’s cotton-padded jacket because it was restrictive and made him sweat.
Just then, however, Li Mazi also reached out and grabbed the jacket.
Xie Yuan and Li Mazi stood frozen in the woods, each pulling on a sleeve, one standing tall, the other squatting low.
Xie Yuan’s brow furrowed instantly.
"Li Mazi, what in the world are you trying to do?"
"I want to hear you call me Brother Jun. Say it, and I’ll let go, hehe."
Li Mazi said with a shameless grin.
Xie Yuan took a deep breath and said in a low voice:
"Brother Jun, please let go and move aside."
"Hahaha... I’m not letting go."
Li Mazi roared with laughter, his grip tightening.
Xie Yuan could feel his blood pressure rising.
Dealing with a scoundrel like this was truly disgusting, like getting a piece of sticky candy on you that you could never pull off.
Especially when he noticed that the clothes Li Mazi was wearing looked familiar—it was the very jacket Xie Lun had left for him. A vein began to throb on his forehead.
"Li Mazi, isn’t taking one of my jackets enough? Are you trying to take another?"
"That’s right."
Li Mazi said with a squinting smile:
"I didn’t expect you to have another thick jacket hidden away, you dishonest little punk."
"So I’m not allowed to wear a jacket now?"
"You’re not. It’s because you wore this jacket that I got slapped."
Li Mazi said through gritted teeth.
Only then did Xie Yuan notice that Li Mazi’s left cheek was slightly swollen, with what looked like a faint red mark.
’It was probably Zhang the Second who hit him.’
Xie Yuan sneered.
"Done with the act, are we? Did Zhang the Second tell you guys to harass me every day?"
"You think I enjoy looking at your pretty-boy face? Let’s be straight with you. Just agree to work for Second Brother already, so we don’t all have to waste our time."
"Not a chance."
"You refuse? If you refuse, don’t even think about surviving in this village.
"This winter, you won’t have a single warm jacket, not a single full meal. No matter how cold or hungry you get, you’ll just have to endure it.
"Besides, I’ve got nothing better to do. I’ll come by your house for a ’chat’ every single day. You’d better think it over."
Li Mazi said with a smug grin.
Xie Yuan gritted his teeth.
"You just try it."
Li Mazi’s face fell.
"So you want to do this the hard way, is that it? Good! I was worried you’d agree too easily, then I’d have nowhere to vent the anger from that slap!"
He abruptly let go of the sleeve, and a fist flew toward Xie Yuan’s face.
"Looks like you didn’t get beaten enough the other day!"
Li Mazi had learned a few moves from the Zhang Brothers. Though his skills were amateur at best, he was a frequent brawler, so his punches were much harder than an ordinary person’s.
If Xie Yuan were still that scrawny youth from before, he would have been in for another brutal beating today.
But he wasn’t that person anymore.
Xie Yuan jerked the axe upward, its flat side blocking Li Mazi’s wrist.
Even though it wasn’t the sharp edge, the impact of a solid block of iron against a full-force punch made Li Mazi howl instantly.
"AARGH..."
But before he could finish, the wooden handle of the axe smashed into the bridge of his nose, cutting his cry short and sending blood gushing from his nostrils.
While Li Mazi was seeing stars, Xie Yuan seized the opportunity, slapping him twice, left and right, then kicked him to the ground. freewebnσvel.cøm
"This is for last time!"
’Last time, they beat me so bad it was like I died and came back. Today is just me collecting a little interest.’
Gripping the axe, Xie Yuan finally felt a sense of relief.
’If I didn’t have this tool of my trade, I probably would’ve been on the losing end again today, fighting bare-handed.’
But with an axe in hand, boundless confidence surged through Xie Yuan. He felt he could cut down ten more men like Li Mazi.
He pointed the axe at Li Mazi on the ground.
"You’ve gone too far! You still got something to say?"
"No, no, no! Yuanzi, I was wrong, I was wrong! Don’t hit me again!"
Nosebleed pooling on the ground, Li Mazi stared at the axe before him, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief.
’When did this kid, who everyone used to walk all over, get so good at fighting?’
Xie Yuan snorted. Seeing the shock and doubt on Li Mazi’s face, his usual arrogance gone, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of satisfaction.
’I’m no longer someone that any random thug can push around!’
’But beyond these thugs, there are the village tyrants. And beyond them, there are Martial Artists...’
Xie Yuan stared down at Li Mazi and barked:
"Speak! Why is Zhang the Second targeting me?"
Li Mazi’s eyes darted around.
"How would I know... AHH! Don’t hit me, don’t hit me! I’ll talk!"
"Yuanzi, have you heard the story of how Zhang Da learned martial arts back in the day?"
Xie Yuan thought for a moment, then said uncertainly:
"You mean the one about him selling his ass?"
"Exactly!"
Li Mazi clapped his hands and said with a sly grin:
"We were all poor wretches, so how did he get ahead? The rumor that spread like wildfire back then was that he sold his ass to learn martial arts. One fuck, one move.
"After he made it big, nobody dared mention it because Zhang the Second was running wild in the village. Years passed, and people didn’t know if it was true or not.
"I wasn’t sure either, but this time, with the chance to serve the Master, I wanted in. But he told me to piss in a puddle and take a look at myself, saying only you could satisfy the Master. When I heard that, I thought, ’Isn’t this just selling your ass again?’ I’m afraid the rumors are true. He got addicted to selling it, and now he has to drag others into it too."
Li Mazi looked at Xie Yuan, his eyes filled with envy.
’In terms of looks, I might lose out to this pretty boy by a little, but if I washed my ass, wouldn’t it be pretty white too?’
’It’s a rare opportunity. Just close my eyes and take it a few times, and maybe I could also become a Martial Artist and turn my life around. Become a master myself.’ The thought made Li Mazi’s heart itch with desire.
’Too bad that son of a bitch looked down on him...’
Xie Yuan’s eyes widened as he listened, a mixture of shock and rage building inside him.
’Fuck! I thought being a house slave was bad enough, but it’s not even that! They’re trying to make me a sex slave?’
FUCK!
Xie Yuan cursed out loud. Seeing this, Li Mazi gave an awkward, fawning smile.
"Yuanzi, I’ve sold out both Zhang Da and Zhang Er for you. How about you let me go this time? I promise I’ll never bother you again!"
Xie Yuan spat.
"Give me back my jacket!"
Li Mazi froze for a second.
"I’m not holding your jacket anymore!"
"I’m talking about the one you’re wearing! Don’t you have a fucking clue where you got it?"
It finally dawned on Li Mazi. He quickly took off the cotton-padded jacket and gave it back to Xie Yuan.
Xie Yuan took the jacket and said coldly:
"Don’t ever show your face in front of me again."
With that, he lifted his axe, turned, and was about to head into the woods.
Li Mazi stared at Xie Yuan’s back, his fawning smile instantly twisting into a venomous sneer.
’You bastard. You think you can just walk away after pissing off Master Jun?’
He was always the one who bullied Xie Yuan. Today, the tables had been turned completely!
His face contorted with rage, Li Mazi grabbed a rock from the ground, raised it with both hands, and brought it down violently toward the back of Xie Yuan’s head.
