"Watch what you say," Li Zhonglou said coldly, meeting Cheng Daqi's gaze with an impassive expression.
He had merely come to the market to buy groceries.
He ran into Jin Jing and was invited to her shop for a drink of water.
How did that turn him into an adulterer?
Li Zhonglou's romantic history wasn't extensive, so he valued his reputation quite a bit.
Being falsely accused of being an adulterer without reason naturally put him in a foul mood.
"Oh, you dare to do it but not admit it?"
Cheng Daqi hadn't expected Li Zhonglou to dare to show him a stony face, and his expression twisted: "Kid, you f***ing stole my wife and you're still so arrogant."
"What's wrong with me saying a few words to you, have you gone too far!"
Saying this, he shot Li Zhonglou a fierce look and was about to walk towards him.
Jin Jing stopped him: "Cheng Daqi, he is my benefactor, not some adulterer."
"You're not welcome here, get out!"
*Slap!*
As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Daqi slapped Jin Jing hard across the face.
He spat, "Stinking bitch, you're helping an outsider before the divorce is even final."
"If you want me to leave, give me money."
"I'm telling you, your things are mine, and your shop is mine too."
"Not only am I not leaving, but I'm going to empty out your shop."
Jin Jing was knocked sideways by the blow.
Fortunately, Cheng Daqi was thin and lacked strength, so the slap didn't hurt her.
But a red finger mark quickly appeared on her fair, pretty face, her eyes welled up with bloodshot tears, though she gritted her teeth, refusing to let them fall.
She regretted marrying this beast, not listening to her father's advice.
After they got married, she never had a peaceful day.
Fortunately, Cheng Daqi, this beast, was crippled and couldn't consummate the marriage.
This was her only consolation.
But he was psychologically twisted and tormented her in various ways. When her father advised her against it, he had people beat him until he fainted on the spot, damaging his brainstem.
She was forced to sell her family's old house to save her father's life.
He had hidden away scared a few days ago, but now that he saw she was fine, he shamelessly returned to demand money.
This time, she would not compromise.
"Try me, believe it or not, I'll take you down with me!"
Jin Jing's voice was filled with endless hatred: "Cheng Daqi, you almost had my father beaten to death just because he called you not a man."
"When have you ever treated me as your wife? It's either domestic violence or money."
"I will divorce you!"
"Bitch, I think you've gone too far, I'll kill you!" Cheng Daqi never imagined that Jin Jing would turn against him for some outsider.
His face immediately turned ashen, his eyes filled with malice, and he raised his leg to kick Jin Jing in the stomach.
He put all his strength into this kick.
He wished he could shatter Jin Jing's uterus with one kick.
*Crack!*
At this moment, Li Zhonglou moved. Unable to use his hands with the groceries he was holding, he kicked back instead, intercepting Cheng Daqi.
He sent Cheng Daqi flying three meters away, where he landed outside the shop door.
Li Zhonglou said indifferently, "There's no need to go down with the likes of him. There are many beautiful things in life."
"I always advise harmony, not separation, but with such a beast, divorce him as you should, and get it done with sooner rather than later."
Looking at Cheng Daqi groaning on the ground outside the door, Li Zhonglou's eyes were cold.
Hitting women, domestic violence, threatening for money.
And then the audacity to slander him as an adulterer. It was a good excuse to vent his anger.
"Ouch, murder! Everyone, come quickly and see..." Cheng Daqi clutched his stomach and lay on the ground, wailing and pointing at the shop.
The marketplace, though it was afternoon, had quite a few neighbors gathered.
Hearing that there was a commotion, they all crowded around.
Seeing this, Cheng Daqi, with a snotty nose and tears streaming down his face, began to embellish and fabricate the story.
He insisted that Li Zhonglou was an adulterer who was having an affair with his wife in the shop behind his back.
The onlookers, who enjoyed a good spectacle, immediately turned their attention to Li Zhonglou.
"Does this young man have any shame? He's seducing someone else's wife in broad daylight."
"Truly depraved and wicked. In ancient times, dogs like you would be drowned in pig cages."
"The world is going downhill. They're even assaulting people for having affairs. Call the police and arrest them!"
...
At once, the old men and women transformed into embodiments of justice, not sparing their accusations.
It was as if Li Zhonglou and Jin Jing had become objects of public outrage.
Gossip could turn a person into a villain.
At this moment, Li Zhonglou was an adulterer, even if he wasn't before.
Jin Jing's pretty face turned red with anger, and her attempts to explain were drowned out.
Her eyes flashed with self-blame and helplessness.
She deeply regretted inviting her benefactor to her shop, thinking she had brought him into such trouble.
Cheng Daqi looked triumphant. The kick he received earlier was just a fall; he wasn't injured.
He thought Li Zhonglou wouldn't dare to strike hard.
With the support of these customers, if he didn't extort a hefty sum of money from Li Zhonglou today, he wouldn't let him leave easily.
He struggled to get up and shouted, "Kid, you not only stole my wife, but you also dared to hit me. If you don't give me fifty thousand, believe it or not, I'll call the police right now!"
A sky-high demand.
Li Zhonglou sneered inwardly.
This world was full of strange things. In that backward era he came from, it was normal for a husband to entertain guests outside while his wife sold herself inside.
But that was a time of chaotic order, unlike today's well-established legal system.
Now, there were still people who extorted money by catching others in the act.
Truly ignorant and fearless.
"Will you live to spend the money you receive?" Li Zhonglou snorted, a hint of impatience rising in his eyes.
He didn't even want to waste a word on such trash.
If he hadn't worried about Jin Jing's reputation being ruined if he simply walked away, he wouldn't have bothered with the fuss.
"You dare to threaten me? Everyone heard it. This pair of dogs and bitches were caught in the act and threatened to kill me!" Cheng Daqi embellished, jumping and cursing.
In an instant, Li Zhonglou, already at a disadvantage in public opinion, was put in an even more difficult position.
"Cheng Daqi, if you have a problem, come at me. If you dare to trouble my benefactor again, I'll fight you!" Jin Jing finally couldn't hold back her tears, gritting her teeth and blocking Li Zhonglou behind her.
A frail woman showing such great courage.
It was undeniably strong.
Hardship could transform a delicate and fragile woman into an unbreakable warrior.
However, the process was something that not everyone could endure.
"Do you have money? You still dare to protect your adulterer. If there's even a penny less today, I'll lie here at the door!" Cheng Daqi saw this, plopped himself back down on the ground, and acted like a hooligan.
"Hey, Cheng Daqi, what's all the excitement about?" Just then, a shrill voice rang out from outside the crowd.
Sloppy and lewd.
Immediately, three young men dressed as typical thugs pushed through the crowd.
The one leading them had dyed yellow hair, and his left little finger was wrapped in thick gauze.
Cheng Daqi's eyes lit up when he saw the three.
Pointing at Jin Jing and Li Zhonglou behind her, he exaggerated the incident once again.
Then, with a sinister grin, he said, "You're dead."
"These are my big brothers from the underworld, Brother Chen!"
"Hurry up and give us the money, or my Brother Chen will kill you!"
When he said this, the three of them should have chimed in and helped him scare Li Zhonglou and Jin Jing, that pair of dogs and bitches.
But after he finished speaking, he heard no response.
Cheng Daqi looked back and saw that the three of them had blank stares and twitching faces.
"Chen Tian, what a coincidence, we meet again," Li Zhonglou said calmly, stepping out from behind Jin Jing.
*Thump!*
As soon as he finished speaking, the three of them fell to their knees in unison, trembling all over.
Cold sweat streamed down their foreheads, and they dared not look up.
Especially the one with yellow hair, whose voice trembled with a crying tone as he pleaded, "B-big brother, we offended you last time because we didn't know any better."
"We've been punished. Please be magnanimous and spare our lives..."
As he spoke, he held up his finger wrapped in gauze.
Cheng Daqi's eyes widened in disbelief at this scene.
What...
What was going on?
The yellow-haired guy, Chen Tian, was the leader of the local thieves and had a bit of a reputation in the underworld.
He was idle and followed Chen Tian around.
Normally, if anyone offended Chen Tian, they would be dealt with secretly.
Why were they kneeling before someone today?
And it sounded like they knew each other.
"I didn't intend for you to die," Li Zhonglou said, pointing at Cheng Daqi. "But this fellow has been slandering me as an adulterer."
"And he wants to extort fifty thousand from me. And he knows you."
"Tell me, what should I do?"
"Should I call Zheng Rui now and let him handle it?"
Li Zhonglou had been troubled by Cheng Daqi, this scoundrel, and unexpectedly, the yellow-haired guy, like a pillow delivered when one needed a headrest, appeared before him with his subordinates.
Now, it was perfect; he didn't have to lift a finger.
Someone else would take care of Cheng Daqi.
Indeed.
Upon hearing this, the yellow-haired guy shivered violently and quickly said, "No, no, no..."
"This is easy to handle. I'll definitely sort it out for you."
Saying this, he rushed forward and kicked Cheng Daqi twice, knocking him to the ground.
He cursed, "You blind little bastard."
"How dare you provoke Brother Li? And you try to extort money, you're looking to die."
"Kneel and apologize to me immediately. If Brother Li isn't satisfied, I'll chop off all your fingers!"
One man's meat is another man's poison.
As the saying goes, it's easy to deal with the king of hell but difficult to deal with minor demons.
A scoundrel like Cheng Daqi might not even listen if you mentioned the president.
But a thug like the yellow-haired guy was his nemesis.
With two kicks, he sent Cheng Daqi crying with a snotty nose, leaving him completely dumbfounded.
"Why is this young man hitting people?"
"He looks like a bad guy, with his hair dyed all sorts of colors..."
"Is there no law? They start hitting people as soon as they arrive, without even asking for the facts."
...
The crowd of onlookers began to uphold justice again.
However, they had chosen the wrong target this time.
"I'll ask you about the facts, now get lost, or I'll beat you all too, understand!" The yellow-haired guy turned back and yelled at the speaker.
Although he was as timid as a mouse in front of Li Zhonglou, in front of these ordinary citizens, he was a master.
His eyes narrowed, and his tone rose, instantly frightening many people into looking ashen-faced.
They dispersed sheepishly, no longer daring to watch the commotion.
If they were actually beaten, it wouldn't be worth it.
Seeing this scene, Cheng Daqi slumped to the ground, his face filled with fear and despair.
He had never imagined that he would run into such a tough opponent just by trying to extort some money.
Even the yellow-haired guy had turned his attention to him.
He was completely finished now.