Chapter 332: Kowtowing in Apology
Cheng Yuan’s words were like a thunderclap, leaving Hu Minjiang and the others utterly thunderstruck!
Hu Minjiang and the others thought Cheng Yuan must have lost his mind. ’How can he not see the situation for what it is?’
’You’re just some medicine merchant from out of town. Why are you trying to act tough in front of Mingtai?’
Zhou Cong shook his head slightly. ’This kid must be insane. Defying my brother-in-law? He’s a dead man.’
The muscles on Mingtai’s face twitched with rage, and he practically ground his teeth to dust as he spat out each word, "Kid, you’ve got some nerve! It’s been years since anyone dared to speak to me like that! Since you love kneeling so much, you can kneel in Wangjiang Pavilion for three days and three nights! If you’re short even a second, I’ll break your damn legs!"
Mingtai strode toward Cheng Yuan.
Overwhelmed by Mingtai’s imposing aura, the group of rich kids trembled in fear, not daring to move a muscle, let alone speak up on Cheng Yuan’s behalf.
Only Hu Minjiang mustered the courage to stand in front of Cheng Yuan. After all, Cheng Yuan had just been defending his father! He couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
"Brother Tai, Cheng Yuan’s drunk. He’s just talking nonsense. Please, be the bigger man and forgive him this one time!"
Seeing Hu Minjiang step forward, his childhood friends, as terrified as they were, couldn’t let him face this alone. Gritting their teeth, they moved to stand beside him.
"Brother Tai, for our sake, please let Cheng Yuan off the hook this once!"
"Brother Tai, you’re our senior. Please don’t stoop to our level."
"Cheng Yuan, stop talking crazy! Just back down a little, it won’t kill you!"
...
Cheng Yuan’s expression softened slightly. ’These kids are alright. They were a bit gutless at first, but they didn’t abandon their friend when it mattered. When push comes to shove, they really step up.’
"What damn ’sake’? Piss off!"
Mingtai stepped forward, swung his arm high, and brought it down in a vicious slap aimed at Hu Minjiang’s face.
The friends’ hearts all skipped a beat.
Mingtai’s movements were too fast!
They couldn’t even see it clearly!
There was no way to help!
Hu Minjiang instinctively shut his eyes. ’Am I about to get a concussion from a single slap?’
All they heard was a loud SMACK!
Hu Minjiang’s cheek twitched instinctively, but strangely, he felt no pain, no impact at all.
Hu Minjiang opened his eyes to see that Cheng Yuan had somehow appeared in front of him. He had slapped Mingtai across the face, and it was already swelling up.
The others hadn’t closed their eyes and had seen the whole thing clearly. They couldn’t stop trembling in shock.
’Is Cheng Yuan insane?’
’He actually sucker-punched Mingtai?’
’Now he’s really done it! This feud won’t end until one of them is dead!’
Zhou Cong was dumbstruck. ’This kid is courting death!’ He instinctively took a step back, trying to avoid the inevitable bloodbath.
Lin Bao, who had been watching the drama unfold with his arms crossed behind Mingtai, finally let his expression turn serious. ’This kid is fast!’
’He must be at Grandmaster Peak!’
’If he trained in the Battle Department for two years, he’d absolutely become a fearsome warrior!’
Mingtai was dazed for a full two seconds before he snapped out of it.
Mingtai refused to believe Cheng Yuan was stronger than him; he was convinced it was just a sneak attack.
Mingtai pointed a finger right in Cheng Yuan’s face and snarled, "Kid! You dare sucker-punch me?"
"Sucker-punch? Heh... Watch closely. I’m going to kick your knee."
As he spoke, Cheng Yuan sent a slow, deliberate kick toward Mingtai’s knee.
Mingtai snorted. "Too slow! Is that all you’ve got?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Mingtai’s vision swam. By the time his senses returned, he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in the back of his knee and the joint itself.
He was kneeling on the floor.
Next, Mingtai felt a hand clamp around his neck. An irresistible force slammed his head down.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
With Cheng Yuan holding him by the neck, Mingtai was forced to kowtow three times toward the Hu Mansion, his forehead striking the floor with three loud thuds.
The rich kids’ eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!
They stared at the scene in utter disbelief.
’Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?’
’Cheng Yuan actually hit the back of Mingtai’s knee, forcing him to the ground!’
’And to top it all off, Cheng Yuan forced Mingtai’s head down to kowtow three times toward the Hu Mansion!’
’This wasn’t a sucker punch. Cheng Yuan completely dominated Mingtai in a direct confrontation?!’
Zhou Cong’s mouth hung wide open, almost wide enough to swallow a goose egg.
’My brother-in-law actually lost?’
The pent-up emotions of Hu Minjiang and his friends instantly erupted, and they all roared in unison!
"Fucking awesome! Brother Yuan is a beast! Mingtai really kneeled!!"
"Holy shit! Brother Yuan is a legendary Martial Dao expert? He just easily suppressed a Grandmaster like Mingtai?"
"Could Brother Yuan be a Martial King? No, there’s no Martial King in the world this young! Brother Yuan must be at Grandmaster Peak! I’m sure that in the near future, Brother Yuan will become a top-tier expert! Maybe even the Martial Arts Alliance Leader!"
"Brother Yuan, I was way out of line earlier. To think I wanted to have your back! Looks like it’s you who should be having our backs, Brother Yuan!"
"Brother Yuan, from now on, you’re my sworn brother! If you tell me to go east, I, Ye Tian, will never go west!"
...
Even Hu Minjiang’s eyes were shining with admiration.
He had always believed his sister was a peerless beauty, that no man was good enough for her—and that included Cheng Yuan.
’My sister really didn’t need to be so devoted to him, to sacrifice so much for him!’
But now, Hu Minjiang finally understood why his sister was so willing to give her all for Cheng Yuan.
He finally understood why his father held Cheng Yuan in such high regard.
’Cheng Yuan was just too damn incredible!’
Hu Minjiang had to admit it: it wasn’t that Cheng Yuan wasn’t good enough for his sister, but that his sister wasn’t good enough for Cheng Yuan!
Hu Minjiang shook his head bitterly.
’Forget it,’ he thought. ’With my pathetic level of skill, how could I ever get revenge for my sister?’
’Besides, the way Cheng Yuan defended Dad’s honor shows he’s not an ungrateful person.’
’Maybe Cheng Yuan really doesn’t know how much my sister has done for him.’
As if he had done nothing more than swat a fly, Cheng Yuan slowly released his grip and said coolly, "Since you’ve kowtowed and apologized to Uncle Hu, take your men and scram."
When had Mingtai ever suffered such a humiliation?
"Cheng Yuan! I’ll kill you!"
Mingtai scrambled to his feet, but then let out a pained shriek as his right leg gave out, and he collapsed heavily back to his knees.
"My leg! You broke my leg?"
Cheng Yuan nodded calmly. "You were just shouting about breaking my leg. I enjoy fulfilling people’s wishes, so I thought I’d let you experience what it feels like."
Mingtai stared daggers at Cheng Yuan, wishing he could tear him limb from limb. But even at his peak, he was no match for Cheng Yuan, let alone now with a crippled leg.
Mingtai turned to Lin Bao. "Uncle Lin, please, take action and cripple this kid! My father will owe you a favor!"
"Very well."
Lin Bao gave a slight nod. He turned to Cheng Yuan and said coolly, "Kid, surrender now and you might get to keep your life. If I have to get involved myself, I can’t promise I’ll be able to hold back."
Faced with Lin Bao’s threat, Cheng Yuan spat out a single word.
"Scram!!!"