Chapter 431: Single Combat
The grave robbers howled and shrieked in pain. They wanted to get away, but the vines held them fast. All they could do was struggle and roll on the ground, trying to dodge the whip, but there was no evading Su Qing’s whip, leaving them with no choice but to beg for mercy.
"Oh? So you’re all awake." Su Qing’s smile grew even more wicked.
The grave robbers looked at Su Qing, on the verge of tears. They were certain now: this damn girl who had appeared out of nowhere was doing this on purpose.
’But this is the heart of Xiqing Mountain! Even seasoned outdoorsmen like us have to travel in groups and be extremely careful in a wilderness this deep. How did this little girl dare to come into these mountains all by herself?’
’And look at her clothes. They’re spotless. She doesn’t look like she’s been trekking through the forest at all.’
’Hey, wait a minute. How could a mere slip of a girl like her dare to take on a group of grown men? She’s definitely not alone!’
Scarface naturally came to the same conclusion. He knew he had to bow to the circumstances; he was a fish on the chopping block, and trying to force the issue would only lead to his own suffering.
So, Scarface deliberately softened his tone and said to Su Qing, "Little girl, we’ve never met, have we? We have no history of bad blood. I don’t know how we might have offended you, miss. If one of my men accidentally offended you, just say the word. You don’t have to lift a finger; I’ll deal with him for you. How about it?"
Scarface racked his brain. He was certain he’d never seen Su Qing before. That left only one possibility: one of his men had offended someone, and now she was here for revenge.
’Goddammit! If I find out which one of those bastards it was, I’ll skin him alive! Making an enemy and getting me into this mess!’
Hearing their boss’s words, Scarface’s men looked at each other, all wondering which one of them had pissed off this little terror.
Su Qing smiled faintly and looked at Scarface. "We... have indeed never met."
Hearing her words, Scarface let out a huge sigh of relief. "In that case, it’s all a misunderstanding. Miss, I was wondering if you could..."
Before Scarface could finish, Su Qing lifted her chin. "No."
"What?" Scarface hadn’t expected her to be so blunt. He stared at her, stunned. "Miss, we have no quarrel, you..."
"I just don’t like the look of you," Su Qing said, raising an eyebrow. "Look at you. Your face is all fleshy, you’ve got a vicious glint in your bulging eyes, a collapsed nose, a drunkard’s nose, a mouth like a toad, and big yellow teeth. When you talk, your breath could kill a man. And then there’s that huge scar that looks like a centipede. The sight of you is nauseating. So, since I don’t like the look of you, I feel like beating you up. And your little gang here? They don’t look like good people either, so of course, I have to beat them all up."
"You, you, you..." Scarface was clearly enraged by her words. His bulging eyes seemed to bulge even more. He glared at her, fuming. "You damn girl, you’re just looking for trouble."
"That’s right. You only just figured that out? You’re not very bright, are you?" Su Qing gave Scarface a look you’d give an idiot, fanning the flames of his rage. "If you’ve got the guts, untie these ropes and let’s go one-on-one."
’The only reason she caught me is because she launched a sneak attack,’ Scarface thought. ’In a real one-on-one fight, there’s no way this damn girl would be my match.’
"Oh? You want to take me on by yourself?" Su Qing asked with a smile.
"What, you don’t dare? Scared?" Scarface decided to taunt her, certain the little brat wouldn’t be able to resist the bait.
Sure enough, just as Scarface predicted, Su Qing nodded and said, "Fine. If you think my victory was unfair, we can have a proper fight. Just so you can’t complain later."
’Perfect,’ Su Qing thought. ’I’ve been wanting to give this guy a good beating anyway. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve properly thrashed this bastard.’
Hearing her words, Scarface’s face lit up. "Good! Then we’ll fight one-on-one. Little girl, when you lose, just don’t go crying that I’m bullying the weak."
"Fine by me," Su Qing smiled. "And if you’re the one who loses, just make sure you don’t start crying."
"You... you damn brat, you’re spouting nonsense." Scarface was enraged by her words again. "I’m a real man! I would never cry in front of a woman."
"Heh, then let’s see about that." Su Qing lashed her whip out toward Scarface.
Scarface thought she was going to whip him again and yelled angrily, "You fight dirty, you damn brat!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Scarface realized the vines binding him had come loose. Elated, he shot up from the ground, cracking his knuckles loudly. "Little girl, you’re the one who said it: one-on-one! Don’t you worry, after I beat you, I’ll take *real* good care of you!"
With that, Scarface wasted no more words and kicked out at Su Qing, his eyes glinting with malice.
He had gotten a good look at Su Qing’s face earlier. He’d been in the mountains for two or three years without seeing so much as a female mosquito, and he was itching with pent-up desire. If it weren’t for the money, he wouldn’t be crazy enough to spend years roughing it in the mountains. Now that he’d finally seen a woman—and a stunningly beautiful one at that—his mind was already racing with all the things he would do to her after he subdued her.
Seeing Scarface’s kick coming, Su Qing sneered. Without wasting any words, she met his kick with one of her own. However, she didn’t plan to cripple him in one go, so she only used thirty percent of her strength.
"Get ’em, Boss!" Seeing Su Qing release Scarface, the other grave robbers naturally assumed that even if she was capable enough to make it into the deep mountains, there was no way a girl could beat their boss. After all, the difference in size and strength between a man and a woman was obvious.
But before they could even finish cheering, their jaws dropped.
"AHHH—" Scarface felt a sudden, sharp pain in his right leg, and his entire body was sent flying backward. He slammed with a THUD into the trunk of the tree he had been leaning against earlier, then slid down, landing right on top of the man who had been massaging his shoulders.
"AHHH—"
Another pained cry rang out.
Scarface struggled off the man and glared at Su Qing, his face a mask of fury. ’I can’t believe this damn girl is so strong,’ he thought, refusing to accept that he could actually lose to her.
Immediately, Scarface shook out his leg and charged at Su Qing again. He balled his right hand into a fist the size of a bowl and swung it at her. At the same time, he had a razor blade hidden in his fist. Being sent flying by a little girl’s kick in front of so many of his men was a complete loss of face. He no longer cared if the blade in his hand might hurt Su Qing’s face.
All Scarface wanted now was to get his pride back.