"Why can't it be mine?" The man's tone grew more serious. He stared coldly at Yang Xiao and said, "My dog has been lost for several days, so it's normal for it to be a bit dirty and thin. Why do you care so much?"
"Oh, you say it's your dog? Then call it and see if it responds?" Yang Xiao suddenly smiled, looking meaningfully at the man.
The man's face darkened. He glared at Yang Xiao and asked, "Are you looking for trouble? Didn't your family teach you not to meddle in other people's business? Do you think you can control what I do?"
"Just call it. If it responds to you, I'll leave immediately. How about that?" Yang Xiao spoke very directly, just calmly watching the man in front of him. The dog, Huahua, on the ground seemed frightened, at a loss, looking pitifully at Yang Xiao and the man.
"Fine, you said it!" The man was clearly angry. He had done this many times. Basically, dogs would respond when called.
So he turned to look at Huahua beside him and called out gently, "Xiao Bai, let's go home, okay?"
"Xiao Bai?" Yang Xiao laughed out loud. The dog was indeed white when not dirty, but it couldn't be named 'Xiao Bai.' Such a common name was too tacky. It was a shame this man could even think of it.
After all, Huahua was a good breed—a Papillon, also called a Butterfly Dog. So the owner naturally wouldn't name it something as common as 'Xiao Bai.'
Seeing Yang Xiao laughing at him, the man grew angrier. He said a few more words to the dog, but the dog ignored him, which infuriated him.
"You see, it doesn't pay attention to you. You'd better give up," Yang Xiao smirked, then turned to look at Huahua. "Huahua, come here."
Huahua heard Yang Xiao call its name. It seemed confused at first, then started walking towards Yang Xiao.
"See? It's coming over, isn't it?" Yang Xiao waved at Huahua, and Huahua ran straight to him.
"Are you really trying to pick a fight? Do you think I don't dare to do anything to you?" The man's face was ugly. The dog's name was clearly Huahua, but he refused to believe it belonged to this kid. It was probably the dog of someone he knew or a friend.
But so what? There were no cameras in this alley. By the time anyone called the police, he'd already be gone with the dog. Who could catch him?
Yang Xiao knew this guy wanted to resort to violence, but he wasn't nervous. Instead, he looked at the man and said, "Aren't you afraid there are cameras here, or that it's unsafe?"
"Hahahaha... I think you're the one who's unsafe!" The man sneered. "There are no surveillance cameras here, and not many pedestrians. I don't mind teaching you a lesson on behalf of your parents today for meddling in other people's business, so you learn not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong in the future!"
"That's a relief." Yang Xiao looked as if he'd suddenly realized something. Since there was no surveillance, he didn't have to worry about being recorded and exposing his strength.
Of course, he wouldn't need much strength to deal with someone like this. Maybe his raw physical power was enough. If he used his Quirk, Yang Xiao was afraid he might beat the man to death.
"What do you mean?" The man looked at Yang Xiao, confused. "Regretting meddling in other people's business now?"
Yang Xiao chuckled, looking at the man with disdain. "You think you're worth me regretting it?"
"You're really asking for it!" The man rushed at Yang Xiao, his right forearm turning a dark blue color.
Yang Xiao immediately picked up Huahua and leaped aside, dodging the man's punch. After putting Huahua down, Yang Xiao said to it, "Stay here. I'll take you home later."
Whether Huahua understood or not, he charged at the man after speaking. Holy Light covered his right fist as he punched towards the man's stomach.
"Brat, you dare to fight back?" The man was inexplicably surprised. This kid not only dodged his attack but also dared to counter-attack. Impressive!
Facing Yang Xiao's punch, the man had no intention of dodging. He also threw a punch at Yang Xiao's fist. He wanted to show Yang Xiao whose fist was harder.
This punch might break the kid's hand. He didn't care about potential after-effects. He asked for it!
Bang!
"Ah!"
The man suddenly screamed in pain. His right hand made a cracking sound. It was broken!
When Yang Xiao's punch connected, he felt a cold, hard intent from the opponent's Quirk. This guy's Quirk involved coldness, but unlike his Holy Light, it probably only affected his right or left hand.
Just now, he had covered his entire fist and used 50% of his strength, breaking the man's bone. This showed how powerful the Holy Light was—a result of his day and night training.
Hard work always pays off. Now he knew his own strength. Dealing with such people was no problem.
Perhaps this man could handle ordinary people—those with useless Quirks. This man's Quirk was clearly combat-applicable, and his combat ability wasn't low.
"How did you do that?" The man supported his right hand, which hung limply, unable to move.
He truly couldn't understand how a teenage kid could be so powerful. He hadn't even felt the other's Quirk in their exchanged punch. It was like hitting an iron wall with an unstoppable force that broke his hand.
"Don't you get it? It's obvious." Yang Xiao sneered. "I'm just teaching you a lesson. People like you who do this are hated by others. Change your profession. Otherwise, next time it won't be a broken bone, but a shattered hand."
The man gave Yang Xiao a deep look, turned, and ran away without another word. He was essentially returning the words he'd said earlier. If he didn't leave now, when would he?
Yang Xiao didn't chase him. He just wanted to teach the guy a lesson and test his training results. Both goals were achieved, so why chase?
Yang Xiao was only worried about any forces behind this guy. If the other party's group came looking for him, it would be a bit troublesome. At the very least, Yang Xiao didn't want to attract too much attention.
He had no choice in today's matter. He had to handle the Broken House's task. Huahua had been searched for so long, and they only found it today. If he had backed down, the man would have succeeded.
Sometimes you have to compromise on some principles to do the right thing. Staying low-key was Yang Xiao's current approach, but that didn't mean he would choose to remain low-key and ignore more important matters. That wasn't his original intention.
Doing what he believed was most meaningful and right was what he insisted on.