"You—you're talking nonsense!"
Sister Yan trembled, her face flushed with humiliation as she shouted.
"Nonsense? What's this, Hee Yan? Planning on disowning your husband, are you? Don't you recognize the scrawl of that good-for-nothing Wang Dachun? Or do you need me to call him over so he can tell you to your face? It's written here in black and white, and you still want to deny it?!"
The blondie said arrogantly, "Let me make this clear, Hee Yan. You're Wang Dachun's wife. He lost 50,000 to me and doesn't have the money to pay. Shouldn't you pay it for him? It's only natural to repay a debt. Got it?"
At this, the blondie let out a cold, mocking laugh. "It's written here in black and white. You want me to leave you alone? Fine. Give me 100,000, and I promise I'll never bother you again. If I see you on the street, I'll take a detour!" He looked absolutely certain he had her cornered.
"Hey, Blondie, 100,000? Why don't you just go rob someone?" At that moment, Chen Fei finally couldn't hold back any longer. These shameless scumbags, always ready to make outrageous demands the second they get a chance!
"Chen Fei, this has nothing to do with you. Wang Dachun really did lose 50,000 to me. Since he couldn't pay, he signed this IOU, agreeing to use his own wife to settle the debt. If you want to protect her, that's fine by me. I'll just take this IOU and show it to all the neighbors. I'm sure they'd get a real kick out of seeing this, right!?" You had to hand it to him; even though this blondie was just a punk, he could rattle off his shameless, twisted logic so fluently it made your teeth itch with anger.
"You—you dare! You can't do this!"
Hee Yan's face paled instantly. Her eyes turned red as her whole body trembled. If something like this got out, how could she ever face anyone again? From then on, whenever she walked down the street, people would point and whisper behind her back that she'd been sold off by her own husband. What woman could possibly endure such rumors?
"Can't I? And why not? Is the money I'm owed not real? Is it just paper? Since you want to play it this way, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Seeing that Hee Yan wasn't playing along, Blondie decided to stop wasting his breath. He sneered, gestured to his cronies, and turned to leave.
"Wait!"
However, a cold voice suddenly called out from behind him. Blondie's expression soured slightly. He spun around to face Chen Fei, his voice dripping with ice. "Chen Fei, I'm warning you one more time. Don't meddle in other people's business!"
"Hmph! This isn't meddling."
Chen Fei snorted, his gaze hostile. Then, without another word, he walked right up to the thug, grabbed him by the collar, and glared down at him, barking, "Hand over the IOU!"
"Get the hell away from me!"
Blondie was clearly no pushover either. He shoved Chen Fei away forcefully, his face twisting into a vicious snarl. He pointed a finger at Chen Fei and said menacingly, "I didn't want to get into it with you, but you're asking for it! Fine! Get him!"
At Blondie's command, he and his handful of cronies rushed Chen Fei. They were a menacing sight, grabbing stones and bricks from the ground. A short, sly-looking punk even pulled a switchblade from his pocket. His eyes filled with venomous hatred as he sneered at Chen Fei, "I haven't forgotten what you did to me last time. Today, I'm gonna cripple you!"
It seemed this was the same guy whose arm Chen Fei had broken before.
"Xiaofei!" When Hee Yan saw what was happening, she shrieked. Those men all had weapons. What could they do? What could she do?
THUD!
Just as she was overwhelmed with worry, a heavy, muffled impact sounded beside her, followed by a piercing scream. The man with the switchblade had been sent flying by Chen Fei's kick. He slammed hard into the alley wall, his knife arm now twisted like a pretzel. Clearly, it was broken again.
"You... damn it!" Seeing this, the remaining thugs, including Blondie, were all stunned. Fear flashed in their eyes, and they didn't dare make another move.
"What, scared now?"
Chen Fei just sneered, his cold eyes sweeping over them. "Blondie, I'm warning you one last time. Hand over that IOU. The debt is Wang Dachun's. Go find him yourself. Stop making a spectacle of yourself here!"
"That's right! I've already divorced that bastard! His business has nothing to do with me!" Hee Yan, sobbing from the sidelines, added. It turned out she had already divorced that scoundrel.
"So what if..." Blondie still wanted to act tough, but his words died on his lips when he met Chen Fei's icy gaze. His eyes darted to his underling, who was curled up on the ground, his arm grotesquely twisted, screaming in agony. His body trembled involuntarily with fear.
"Give it to me!" Chen Fei's patience ran out. He strode forward, snatched the IOU from the man's pocket, and tore it to shreds in front of everyone.
Rage and venom flashed in Blondie's eyes, but he didn't dare say another word. With a grim expression, he ordered his men to carry the injured punk away, and they quickly left.
Seeing the annoying thugs had finally gone, Chen Fei turned to Hee Yan. "Sister Yan, are you all right?" he asked with concern.
Hearing his voice, Hee Yan's red lips parted. A shadow passed over her attractive face as she replied listlessly, "Xiaofei, thank you for today. I'm fine."
"Don't mention it, Sister Yan. You're always looking out for me, and I'm constantly freeloading meals at your place. Helping you is the least I can do." Chen Fei watched her expression carefully as he slowly continued, "That bastard Wang Dachun... to think he'd do something like this. Sister Yan, do you want me to go teach him a lesson for you?"
Hee Yan's husband—no, ex-husband—was the most notorious gambler in Stone Man Village. He was the worst kind, doing nothing but gamble all day long. It was a wonder she ever married a man like that. All the neighbors used to say she was too good for him.
"Sigh... forget it, Xiaofei. Don't you worry about this. I can handle it myself. Let's go home." Sister Yan clearly didn't want to discuss the topic any further. She tried to get up but cried out in pain. "Ouch!"
"Sister Yan, what's wrong?" Chen Fei quickly steadied her.
"I twisted my ankle." It turned out she'd twisted it sometime during the commotion. Now, it felt like it was being stabbed by needles.
Hearing this, Chen Fei immediately helped her sit back down on the curb at the side of the alley. Seeing her injury, he quickly offered, "Sister Yan, how about I take a look at your foot?"
"Oh, my memory! Xiaofei, you graduated from the University of Traditional Medicine, right? Please, help me take a look. My foot hurts so much, especially the ankle." Hee Yan's eyes lit up. She remembered hearing that Chen Fei was a top student from some medical university, so he had to be skilled. To ordinary people in their urban village, anyone who could graduate from a university was already impressive, let alone a doctor. His future was sure to be bright.
"Sister Yan, it wasn't the University of Traditional Medicine, just an ordinary Third Tier university," Chen Fei corrected her with a serious expression, though his hand had already come to rest on her soft ankle.
"Hiss! Xiaofei, be gentle." The moment he touched it, Sister Yan hissed in pain. If this isn't treated right away, she probably won't be able to go to work tomorrow.
"Sister Yan, it might hurt a bit at first. Just try to bear with it." Chen Fei averted his gaze from her alluring legs and gently placed his hands on her injured ankle, beginning to massage it.
His touch was light, yet it clearly involved a unique technique. After an initial, sharp stab of pain, Hee Yan felt her tightly furrowed brow begin to relax. A pleasant warmth spread from his hand, making her feel as if she were soaking her foot in warm water.
"Sister Yan, try getting up and walking now. It should be fine, right?" Pushing aside his distracting thoughts, Chen Fei stood up, took an imperceptible step back, and smiled at Hee Yan.
"Oh? Is it... is it really better?" Hee Yan asked, surprised, as she instinctively got to her feet.
When she stood up, Hee Yan was astonished. The foot that had felt like it was being stabbed with needles just moments before was now completely painless. She was truly amazed and praised him, "Xiaofei, you're really something else! A top university graduate indeed. I never would have guessed you had such skill!"
"Heh heh, Sister Yan, you're forgetting who I am! Haha! As long as it's better, that's what matters. Let's go home together." In the past, Chen Fei wouldn't have been so self-assured. But now, having received the legacy of a master from the Cultivation World, he was filled with confidence, certain that very few people possessed medical skills superior to his own.