Chapter 218: Chapter 218: One Hundred Slaps
The muscular man didn’t even have a split second to react before Li Juezhou hoisted him up as if he were a tiny chick.
His throat was tightly gripped, leaving him utterly powerless to resist. His mouth hung wide open, his tongue lolling out, and his face was plastered with terror.
Li Juezhou’s expression was frosty, his eyes devoid of any warmth. His five fingers tightened, making it seem like the next moment he was about to snap the man’s neck.
"Did you just insult my girlfriend?" Li Juezhou’s voice came cold and sharp, chilling as if it were delivered by a ghost.
"I... didn’t..." The burly man struggled to squeeze out a denial, gasping for breath.
Li Juezhou shot him a disdainful glare. Seeing the man’s eyes rolling back and his breath faltering, with the barest hint of restraint, he released his grip and let him drop onto the ground.
The gang members were utterly shaken by Li Juezhou’s action. Their leader, a hefty man weighing at least 160 pounds, had been lifted effortlessly as if he weighed nothing.
Li Juezhou took off his leather jacket, frowned slightly, then began meticulously wiping his hands, bit by bit.
Without even glancing up, he spoke in a commanding tone, "I don’t want to dirty my hands. A hundred slaps—you’re doing it yourself, or should I have someone do it for you?"
The burly man finally managed to catch a breath and, clutching his chest, coughed violently. Hearing Li Juezhou’s words made him cough so hard he nearly passed out.
"Are you all dead or what? I’m being humiliated, and you’re standing there doing nothing! Get him! Kill that bastard!"
The burly man snarled at his subordinates.
The others clenched their fists and prepared to rush forward, but as soon as their eyes met Li Juezhou’s fierce gaze, they hesitated.
Truth be told, they were just hired muscle, doing dirty jobs for pay—not the kind to risk their lives in reckless abandon.
Having wiped each finger spotlessly clean, Li Juezhou carelessly tossed his leather jacket onto the ground. Then, lifting his gaze, he scanned the group before him with a faint, chilly glance.
"I’ve already called the cops. Feel free to sit tight here and wait for the police to come take you away."
The cops? He actually called the police!
In an instant, the group, who had been holding back in fear, now contemplated knocking Li Juezhou unconscious.
If the cops caught them, they were finished!
Without waiting for orders, the group suddenly roared and, fists clenched tightly, charged at Li Juezhou in unison.
"I told you—I don’t want to get my hands dirty." Li Juezhou tucked both hands into his pockets, his tongue pushing against his back molars, his expression carrying an air of nonchalant insolence.
He stepped back a few paces, and as they lunged toward him, he lowered his body slightly. Then, with a precise heel push-off, he spun mid-air and landed a perfect spinning kick directly against two snarling faces.
As he landed, his long leg swept across horizontally, and with another motion, he retracted his foot and delivered two consecutive strikes, knocking them flat onto the ground.
Throughout the entire process, Li Juezhou’s hands remained tucked in his pockets, and not a single strand of hair was out of place.
The burly man realized the situation had taken a turn for the worse. His earlier bravado dissolved instantly, leaving him crouched and afraid to even lift his head.
Li Juezhou stepped closer, his tall figure shrouded in the moonlight, exuding an intimidating presence.
"A hundred slaps—are you doing it yourself, or should I do it for you?"
A hundred slaps? Wouldn’t that ruin the man?
Just imagining it made the burly man’s lips tremble uncontrollably.
Keeping his head bowed, he noticed Li Juezhou’s shoe tip approaching, triggering a murderous impulse within him.
How dare this punk bully him? He was just a reckless kid—nothing more!
A flicker of malice crossed his eyes as he produced a folding knife and lunged at Li Juezhou’s knee. "Die!"
The blade glinted coldly in the dim light, but Li Juezhou had already detected it.
Faster than the burly man, Li Juezhou kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him sprawling backward before the knife could connect.
Li Juezhou bent down, picking up the fallen knife, and toyed with it casually as he slowly approached the burly man.
Terrified, the man scrambled backward on all fours. When the cold blade pressed against the skin of his neck, terror consumed him, choking his voice and rendering him speechless.
"Li Juezhou, impulsiveness is the devil! I told you, no killing!"
Hearing Sang Ning’s voice, Li Juezhou deftly withdrew the folding knife and flung it forcefully toward the lakeshore.
Turning to Sang Ning, he smirked faintly, his tone innocent. "Relax, it’s just self-defense."
Sang Ning let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I was worried you’d let your emotions take over and kill someone—hard to explain to the cops later."
The burly man could feel warm blood seeping from his neck. His entire body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Just when he thought he’d escaped the worst, Li Juezhou leaned down again, lowering his voice with a threat only the two of them could hear. "A hundred slaps."
The burly man’s body trembled violently once more. Li Juezhou was colder, fiercer—and utterly unrelenting. He couldn’t afford to mess with him.
Even though his limbs felt like mush, the burly man still managed to kneel shakily. With trembling hands, he slapped his own face repeatedly, one cheek then the other.
As he slapped, he counted aloud.
"One... two... three..."
The other gang members watched their leader capitulate entirely, losing any courage they might have had to challenge Li Juezhou. They exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what to do next.
In their swirling mix of fear and confusion, they heard Li Juezhou coolly order, "Hands on your head, squat in a row. Don’t move until the cops arrive!"
The gang, without their leader to guide them, obeyed every word thrown their way.
They thought staying put would be safe enough, but suddenly someone let out a miserable cry. When they looked up, they saw their leader had been kicked to the ground once more.
The burly man wailed indignantly, "I’m already slapping myself! Why won’t you let me go?"
Sang Ning planted her foot firmly on his chest, grinding it mercilessly against him, her voice chillingly low. "What did you do to Wen Jiu?"
"I swear on my life, all we did was drug her unconscious! We hadn’t even done anything before you showed up and ruined our plans—"
The burly man stammered defensively. Then, realizing his mistake, he abruptly corrected himself, "Ah, no, no! I mean, you stopped us from doing something terrible!"
Sang Ning hoisted Wen Jiu onto her back—the woman still unconscious, her arms dangling limply in front of Sang Ning.
Delivering a forceful kick to the burly man first caused Wen Jiu to slide slightly off her back.
Sang Ning adjusted her position, firmly lifting her again, then turned to Li Juezhou. "This is your scene now. I’m taking Xiao Jiu to the hospital."
Li Juezhou raised a hand, intending to stop her. "I’ve already called for an ambulance—"
"No, an ambulance won’t be fast enough." Sang Ning rejected his suggestion without hesitation. An ambulance couldn’t possibly be quicker than her on a motorbike.
"I called for a high-speed ambulance. It’ll be here in at most fifteen minutes."
Sang Ning blinked in surprise—high-speed ambulances? That was a first for her.
Li Juezhou glanced at his watch. "Hold on. It should be here soon. She’ll be more comfortable in the ambulance than on your bike."