“Discipline Li Mo? On what grounds? We absolutely refuse to accept it!”
“How can there be no grounds? Public defiance of a military instruction, inciting someone to beat up a student, you call giving a disciplinary action to such a vile conduct excessive?”
“Of course it’s excessive, extremely!”
In the headmaster’s office, Huang Lixing and Headmaster Xia Shuqin held a heated argument.
They were both quarreling over one topic, Li Mo.
Xia Shuqin wanted to discipline Li Mo and Huang Lixing opposed him completely.
“And why do I call it extremely excessive? It’s because that so-called public defiance of one’s military instructor does not exist. It was that Military Instructor Yang who challenged Li Mo to a contest and lost. Are you telling me you want my student to go down as a patsy? Truly ridiculous. Headmaster, what if Military Instructor Yang won and my student had to kneel on campus for a day and night?
“If that time came, let me ask you Headmaster Xia, would you have disciplined Li Mo or Military Instructor Yang?”
Xia Shuqin adjusted his glasses, “Alright, alright, let’s say Li Mo is absolved of this. But isn’t the fact he instigated Lu Meng into beating Su Haoyang a fact? Are you saying he should not take any responsibility?”
“He doesn’t need to. In fact, Su Haoyang tripped Lu Meng on purpose. This was the root cause of this entire matter. Headmaster Xia, have you looked at Lu Meng? That child’s face is swollen, his nose is slanted. Being tripped while running at that speed, the blow was immense. Just imagine.
“Sigh, tell me, what do you think will Lu Meng’s mother say when she finds out about this?”
Xia Shuqin shivered.
Lu Meng was a transfer student that based on his academic record, Century Middle School wouldn’t have accepted. But then, Lu Meng’s mother came to see Xia Shuqin, raving on and on that he was hard on her son on purpose. At that time, he didn’t attach any importance to the tall and robust hick woman, and had a guard threw her out.
What happened next was something that took all the bravery out of Xia Shuqin.
Xia Shuqin didn’t know how Lu Meng’s mother found his address home, but she started taking off his clothes the second she was through the door. Then he hauled Xia Shuqin like a chicken and threw him in on his bed while saying, “I know y’all city folk got this lil game called the ‘casting couch’, and if I don’t play along by these rules, then y’all gonna cause trouble fer me, yeah? Fine, I’ll just have to suck it up today an’ let you bloodsucker take advantage of me!”
That day was a nightmare Xia Shuqin never wanted to recall. What happened next no one knew, but the second day, Lu Meng came to school.
“Teacher Huang, Li Mo’s matter is settled, and I won’t pursue it. As for Lu Meng, I will leave him to you. Remember, make sure his mother never ever knows of her son’s injuries.” Xia Shuqin wiped his sweat.
“Leave it all to me.” Huang Lixing was perkier when he heard Li Mo was off the hook.
“Then I will trouble you, Teacher Huang.”
Li Mo never received any disciplinary action after his contest with Yang Honglei. As for Yang Honglei, when he made himself scares, nobody knew.
This matter had an explosive effect and the whole school was abuzz with it. And because Yang Honglei left, the military drill of the 2nd year class five ended.
Li Mo was leaving the school. The contest with Yang Honglei didn’t affect him at all. These days he was always pondering on how to find ingredients to speed up his body strengthening.
‘Are millennium and ten thousand year old ingredients impossible to find before the dimension door opens?’
Li Mo shook his head in dismay.
“Stop!”
While Li Mo was deep in his thoughts, a ten-odd group blocked his way.
Li Mo raised his head and was met with Yang Chong’s sneer.
Li Mo knew all of the people here. They were Century Middle School’s students.
“Athlete Li, you were so impressive today. You even made Military Instructor Yang be paralyzed from exhaustion. You really outdid yourself.”
Yang Chong slow clapped.
Li Mo spoke calmly, “Step aside.”
“Are you talking to me?
“Do you know what you freakin’ did that pissed me off? You stole my girlfriend, bastard. Today, I will teach you a lesson…”
Before Yang Chong could finish, he was flying. Li Mo’s kick was faster than even Su Haoyang and Yang Chong had no time to doge.
“How dare you assault people?”
Yang Chong’s men were shocked. They thought Yang Chong was going to provoke Li Mo and, after embarrassing him, he would give them the signal to jump Li Mo with punches and kicks, then swagger off carefree.
But what just happened? This wasn’t how it’s supposed to go down!
Yang Chong groaned on the ground, taking a long time to get up. He shouted, “What are you staring around for? Waste him!”
“Ahhh!”
“Attack!”
Yang Chong’s men woke up and charged Li Mo.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Each time Li Mo moved, a man smacked the ground. In less than ten seconds, the fight was over and the ten-odd men laid on the ground. One was struggling to his feet, but when he saw Li Mo then his friends littering the ground, he suddenly realized something and chose to join his friends.
Li Mo didn’t even spare Yang Chong a glance and left.
Yang Chong barked, “Li Mo, don’t think you’re so tough. You offended me today and you’ll get yours sooner or later.”
Li Mo stopped, recalled something and walked back to Yang Chong.
“What did you say just now?”
“I said don’t think you’re so tough. You will get yours sooner or later.”
“Oh, then it’s best if you die right here.
Li Mo lifted his leg.
“Li Mo, what are you doing? Stop!”
Vice-class monitor An ran over while yelling.
Yang Chong scampered behind An Yuxin.
“Li Mo you’re going too far. You angered the military instructor into leaving, and now you are beating these… group of students. Uh…” An Yuxin was left speechless by the image before her.
She knew Yang Chong’s character and Li Mo’s. And she also knew the conduct of those on the ground. She needn’t ask what happened, it was clear as day.
A group ganged on a single person, only to be beaten to the ground…
An Yuxin had no words.
Li Mo left.
An Yuxin yelled, “Li Mo, you… you won’t even explain?”
“I don’t need to explain what I do to anyone.”
Yang Chong saw Li Mo’s back and cursed under his breath.
An hour later, Yang Chong and his gang met up in his house.
“Bro Chong, Li Mo is too rampant. But we can’t beat him. I’m so angry right now but have nowhere to vent.”
“Yeah, too rampant. Damn it, if word gets out, we’ll be shamed. We, a group, were beaten by one man.”
“Li Mo’s body was originally better. This is something we can’t compete with.”
Yang Chong sat on the sofa, listening to their chatter with a darker and darker face.
“Enough! I, Yang Chong, have never been so miserable in my life. I will definitely get my revenge!”
“But bro Chong, we truly can’t beat him.”
Yang Chong spat, “So what? What’s so great about fighting anyway? In this world, nothing is impossible without money!”
Yang Chong threw a photo on the coffee table. It depicted a buffed youth with scars running all over his body and wearing boxing gloves as his eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
“How fierce…”
“Bro Chong, who’s he? Those muscles make him look strong.”
Yang Chong sneered, “He is Du Jiu, a former boxer. He is now a dark boxer in the underground boxing arena.”
“I only need to give him money and a name, and he will kill!”
“Bro Chong, you’re going to send Du Jiu to kill Li Mo?” One of Yang Chong’s men jumped in fright.
Teaching Li Mo a lesson and roughing him up was one thing, but killing, that was a whole nother matter.
“What, Is killing that scarry? It’s not my fault I find that Li Mo insufferable. Who told him to provoke someone he shouldn’t have?”
Yang Chong’s men were silent.
“Leave for now. And remember, you don’t need to participate in this matter. You only have to keep you mouth shuts is all!”
“Bro Chong, rest assured, we won’t tell a soul.”
“Right, right, we won’t speak a word.”
They all left as if they were fleeing. Who would want to get involved in a murder?
“Bro Chong is going a bit too far.”
“Yeah, how could he think of killing?”
“What are you guys spouting? What killing? We don’t know anything about this, do we?”
“Yep, yep, we know nothing, nada.”
Once they left, Yang Chong sat on his sofa in the quiet living room. The more he thought the angrier he got, so he picked up the phone and called Du Jiu.
He waited for a long time, but no one answered.
Yang Chong was puzzled, so he called again, with the same result.
“Looking for someone to get rid of me?”
As Yang Chong sat there puzzled, he saw Li Mo entering through the door.
Yang Chong’s face fell.
