Chapter 295 - 281: It’s All This Humble One’s Fault
In the "beggar’s" eyes, the world around him was rapidly receding and tumbling!
Su Ling’er gave the "beggar" no chance to react, simply grabbing him with one hand and violently throwing him toward the wall on the other side!
But the leader did have a few tricks up his sleeve. At the critical moment when he had completely lost control of his body, he let out a furious roar and forcibly engaged his core, trying to twist his body around in mid-air!
He then changed his trajectory from crashing into the wall to using its momentum to flip upwards, shouting, "Hiss—Heroine! Can we talk this out? Name your price—"
But before he could finish, a small, delicate fist met him head-on.
This scene was perfectly captured by Jiang Stone’s livestream, and the chat immediately went wild.
[Is he joking right now?]
[Yeah! This is what I came to see! Get him! Beat the ever-living crap out of him!!]
[Damn! That heroine’s punch is seriously powerful!]
[I bet under that fist is an arm worthy of a muscle-bound Barbie! She must pump a ton of iron!]
[ORA ORA ORA ORA—!!]
Outsiders only heard a "BOOOOM—!!!"
The courtyard wall, built of hard bluestone, instantly exploded outward, leaving a huge hole! Bricks and stones shot out like cannonballs, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke!
The "beggar" leader was now deeply embedded in the even thicker wall of the alleyway across the way. The wall spiderwebbed with terrifying cracks, spreading out from him as the epicenter.
Before he completely lost consciousness, he seemed to see a familiar figure walking from the alley entrance through the thick smoke and countless specks of flying dust.
Using his last ounce of strength, he squeezed a single word from his throat: "Run..." Then, his head lolled to the side, and he passed out completely amidst the wreckage his own body had created.
...
Ma Tietou wasn’t in a good mood today to begin with.
Getting surpassed by those hidden speedsters in the Heaven-Ascending Run and coming away empty-handed had made him lose face in front of Liu Yue. Fortunately, after a tumble in the sheets, most of that displeasure had dissipated.
He changed into a set of ragged beggar’s clothes that wouldn’t easily give away his identity. Chewing on a blade of grass, he was leisurely making his way back to the hall to discuss some matters with the young brats.
But just as Ma Tietou turned into the alley, before he could get a clear view of the courtyard, he heard a tremendous RUMBLE. Immediately after, a black shadow, wrapped in debris and dust, "flew" straight out of his hall’s courtyard wall and smashed into the wall opposite, shrouded in a cloud of dust.
He took a closer look. Who else could it be but his most capable underling, Ah Hu? The stalk of grass in Ma Tietou’s mouth fell to the ground with a soft *plop*. He was instantly on high alert.
’Which hero did these little bastards manage to piss off? Didn’t I tell them to keep a low profile lately?’
Ma Tietou looked up. Beyond the huge hole in the courtyard wall, the dust slowly settled, revealing the figure of a woman in black, standing outside the opening and looking around.
Su Ling’er’s gaze, in turn, immediately locked onto the new figure at the alley entrance.
This was the only inhabited courtyard in the vicinity. That, combined with the fact that these people all wore similar beggar outfits, and the "Run..." that the "beggar" had uttered before passing out...
Su Ling’er’s eyes narrowed. ’This must be the leader,’ she surmised. With a flicker, her form blurred into a black afterimage and shot straight toward him.
When Ma Tietou saw the figure move, a chill shot up his spine. He made an instant judgment. He knew Ah Hu’s capabilities inside and out. And while Ah Hu was no match for him, this woman had punched his subordinate clean through a wall and into this state. Her raw power had to be far beyond his own. It seemed Anhe City had truly attracted some hidden masters lately.
Almost instantly, Ma Tietou moved too. His knees buckled, and with a THUD, he dropped to the ground in a completely undignified posture, his hands raised high above his head. He shouted with the utmost sincerity, "Heroine, spare me—!"
His surrender was so decisive, so seamless, that Su Ling’er’s murderous punch stopped dead, a mere inch from the tip of his nose. The sharp force of the blow sent the messy hair on his forehead whipping wildly.
At that moment, Ma Tietou could even feel the skin on his nose tingling from the force of the punch. A cold sweat broke out all over his body.
’Fuck, what kind of powerhouse from out of town is this? Was I just that unlucky today? How did I run into this kind of killer the moment I got back? This heroine’s fists must be made of iron.’
"Heroine! I’m just a pitiful man trying to make a living organizing beggars! Whatever you ask, I’ll tell you everything, holding nothing back." Ma Tietou knelt, not daring to lift his head, as he continued trying to appease her anger.
Su Ling’er stared at Ma Tietou, who was currently kneeling on the ground. "You’re the so-called Mr. Ma?"
"You see clearly, Heroine! You see clearly!" Ma Tietou didn’t dare raise his head, slamming his forehead against the gritty ground with resounding thuds. "This humble one is Ma Tietou, and I am indeed in charge here... Our Masterless Hall is... it’s just a place for the city’s homeless and pitiful to gather and huddle together for warmth, that’s all."
"Huddle together for warmth?" Su Ling’er scoffed. "More like huddle together to suck them dry, right? The ones getting warm are you able-bodied men, while the ones being bled dry are the truly crippled and disabled. You call that ’warmth’?"
"Yes, yes, yes! You’re right, Heroine! It’s all my fault!" Ma Tietou kowtowed repeatedly. "It’s my fault for being lax in my discipline! I kept telling them to tone it down, to stop bullying these poor souls who share our fate, but those little bastards still got carried away and broke the rules of our Masterless Hall! I deserve to die! I deserve a thousand deaths!"
Ma Tietou said, his voice filled with anguish, "If you want to take my life, Heroine, I won’t have a single complaint! But... but I beg you, for the sake of all the crippled and weak in the hall who have nowhere else to go, please leave them a way to live!"
Jiang Stone then stepped out from behind Su Ling’er, crossing one arm over his chest with a disdainful look. "Keep acting. Go on. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re some great philanthropist sacrificing yourself for others, with that tearful performance. Lax in your discipline? I’d say the fish rots from the head down, doesn’t it?"
Ma Tietou completely ignored Jiang Stone’s taunts. Instead, he immediately turned toward Jiang Stone and all the disabled beggars, and began kowtowing with even more vigor. "THUD, THUD, THUD." "He’s right! It’s me! It’s all my fault for being the one in charge!"
"I’ve wronged you all! I was blind to let these animals bully you, turning this home that was meant for mutual support into what it is today! Heroine, it’s all my fault!"
But the group of beggars didn’t seem the least bit moved by Ma Tietou’s kowtowing apology. It was as if their hearts... were already dead.