Yang Jian had already mastered the use of the collapsible baton, actually employing traditional Chinese knife techniques, but substituting the blade with a baton.
With over a decade of martial arts training combined with extensive combat experience, even masters like Yang Fan and Lin Nan were no match for him in weapon-based combat, let alone these thugs who only knew how to act tough on the streets.
It took him only two to three seconds to incapacitate two attackers. Without a moment's hesitation, Yang Jian executed a forward roll, striking the lower legs of the two youths rushing him from behind with both batons simultaneously.
With two more cries of pain, both men fell to the ground, dropping their cleavers and writhing in agony, clutching their legs.
"Crack, crack."
With two more swift movements, Yang Jian broke the other legs of the two men before lunging at the first one he had kicked down.
This young man, named A Chao, reacted quickly. Seeing that Yang Jian had taken down all four of them in less than ten seconds, he knew he had encountered a formidable opponent. Abandoning his cleaver, he scrambled to his feet and bolted towards the car.
Brother Guang, witnessing the entire scene from inside the car, was clearly stunned. Seeing Xiao Xia get into the car and Yang Jian pursuing, he immediately hit the gas and sped away, not even bothering about his companions.
"Damn it, where did such a powerful person come from? Brother Guang, so there really are martial arts masters in this world."
A Chao, sitting in the back seat, felt a lingering fear and was immensely grateful for his quick escape, otherwise, his limbs would have been broken and he would be lying there now.
"I used to think those flashy martial arts routines were just for show, but I never imagined they could be so terrifying in actual combat. This guy is definitely from the underworld, his moves are ruthless, and he's incredibly experienced. We need to find out who he is and why he's with Old Ma."
Brother Guang, seeing Yang Jian returning in the rearview mirror, immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road, as he couldn't abandon his injured brothers.
"Alright, Old Ma works at the fruit market. I'll call our guys there later to investigate this person's background. Brother Guang, should we report this to Master Fo?"
"No need. Reporting something like this to Master Fo would be asking for a scolding. Old Sun getting hacked already made him unhappy. He threatened to stop me from managing the Liuqiao Village area if I didn't handle this properly."
"But Xiao Xia and the other two definitely have fractured bones. I'm worried this will eventually reach Master Fo."
"Don't worry. As long as we take care of Old Ma or Ma Yuan quickly, Master Fo won't blame me."
As Brother Guang spoke, he started the car again, this time making a U-turn because he saw Yang Jian and Old Ma heading their way in the rearview mirror.
Still shaken, Old Ma hurried towards the fruit market with Yang Jian. Fearing that the other party might have reinforcements, Yang Jian didn't have time to interrogate the three men.
"Little Yang, how are you so powerful? Four guys with knives couldn't beat you?"
On the way, Old Ma couldn't help but strike up a conversation with Yang Jian.
"I've been practicing martial arts since I was a child. It's a family tradition."
"Oh, no wonder. If it weren't for you today, I would have lost my life. I don't know how to thank you."
"Uncle Ma, it's too formal to thank me. The problem is serious now. These people clearly couldn't find Ma Yuan, so they started targeting you. They failed today, and they'll likely come after you again."
"What should we do? The best solution is to leave here, but I don't want to lose my job at the fruit stall. Elsewhere, I can only do manual labor."
Yang Jian said as they ran, "Don't worry. For safety commuting to and from work, I plan to buy a used motorcycle. Do you have any contacts?"
"Yes, Old Xie deals in scrap metal and is familiar with those who sell stolen motorcycles. For over a thousand yuan, you can get a very new motorcycle. Those bikes are stolen from other places and are very cheap."
"Alright, contact him and get me one as soon as possible."
Yang Jian sensed that those people wouldn't give up and would continue to pursue Old Ma. He also found himself inadvertently drawn into this conflict, unless they all left now.
But abandoning their current base meant he would have to find a new place to live, which was a troublesome affair. Renting a place alone required police registration, which was not feasible.
Therefore, the only way was to avoid direct confrontation with those people. Riding a motorcycle to and from work could avoid many risks and prevent them from intercepting him.
The two arrived at the trading company and, without mentioning the incident on the road to the boss, immediately began unloading goods.
While delivering goods, Old Ma called Old Xie, asking him to help find a motorcycle as soon as possible.
Old Xie was highly efficient. Just after lunch, he called back, saying he had found a seller and they should come to see the goods.
After taking leave from the boss's wife, Old Ma took Yang Jian to the scrap yard where Old Xie often went. Old Xie was already waiting there.
The seller was a middle-aged man as thin as a monkey. He was preparing to sell a five-year-old motorcycle that was ninety percent new. A new one would cost at least five thousand yuan.
Yang Jian was satisfied with the appearance of the motorcycle. He tried starting it, and the sound indicated good performance.
"Boss, how much for this bike?"
If it was within his budget, Yang Jian intended to buy it.
The middle-aged man sized up Yang Jian. "This bike is ninety percent new. How about three thousand?"
"Three thousand is too expensive. I can only offer one thousand."
"One thousand? Don't joke. This is a branded motorcycle, selling for eight to nine thousand new. You can't possibly buy it for one thousand."
"These bikes can't be registered and are easily caught. If the price is too high, no one will dare to buy. The loss would be huge if it's caught. One thousand is very reasonable."
Before coming, Old Ma had specifically instructed that most of these sellers were thieves. To quickly offload stolen goods, they wouldn't sell at high prices, so he could bargain hard.
Furthermore, if they didn't like the current bike, they could specify a model for pre-order, and the thieves would steal the car according to the customer's needs, but the price would be higher.
Since this bike wasn't pre-ordered, it naturally wasn't worth much.
"One thousand is too little. Add a bit more. How about two thousand?"
Seeing that Yang Jian understood the market, the middle-aged man conceded.
But Yang Jian still disagreed. "I'll pay at most twelve hundred. Any more, and I won't take it. There are many sellers, and I don't ride often. It's fine to buy a slightly worse bike."
"Forget it, forget it. Twelve hundred it is. Hand over the money."
The middle-aged man compromised after a brief consideration. It was likely that the bike had been in his hands for quite some time, and if he didn't sell it soon, it would depreciate further.
Yang Jian took out the cash, counting it as he asked, "This bike isn't from this area, is it? It would be troublesome if someone recognized it."
"Don't worry. This bike was brought in from a town in the lower regions. It's absolutely fine to ride it within the city. I won't break the rules of this trade, otherwise, how would I do business in the future? However, you need to be careful of traffic police. If you get stopped, you must abandon the vehicle and escape immediately, or you'll be in big trouble."
"Understood. Twelve hundred. Count it."
Yang Jian paid and rode the motorcycle away. He then went with Old Ma to a shop to buy two helmets before returning to the trading company.