"Kid, you've got some guts," Su Lijiao said, sizing up Zheng Zheng. Although Zheng Zheng was dressed plainly, his calm demeanor showed no signs of panic, which only fueled Su Lijiao's rising anger.

The atmosphere in the enclosed space grew increasingly oppressive. Lin Jie was itching to start a fight several times but was held back by Zheng Zheng. If the situation continued to escalate, it was bound to end in a brawl. Zheng Zheng looked at Su Lijiao and tilted his head towards the door, saying calmly, "Let's go outside and talk."

A mocking smile spread across Su Lijiao's face as he sneered, "You really want to go out and talk?"

Ignoring Su Lijiao, Zheng Zheng turned to Lin Jie and the others seriously. "You guys stay here and don’t come out."

Lin Jie widened his eyes in disbelief. "What do you mean? Do you consider us brothers?"

Zheng Zheng forced a smile and said, "It’s fine, trust me. You all stay here; I just need to have a word with Su Lijiao."

At that moment, Hong Qianxiu rushed over, grabbing Zheng Zheng's arm, her voice trembling, "Don’t go out."

Seeing this, Su Lijiao's expression darkened, and he shoved Hong Qianxiu aside, angrily telling Zheng Zheng, "What are you hesitating for? Let’s go out and have a good chat."

Zheng Zheng once again stopped his friends’ attempts to help. He understood that he absolutely could not drag these brothers down with him. Although only three people had come in, there might be a whole crew waiting outside, possibly armed with knives. If a conflict broke out, they would certainly be at a disadvantage. The local police were notoriously efficient at cracking down on illegal activities, but when it came to fights, they would likely not show up until it was too late.

The four of them exited the private room and closed the door behind them.

Su Lijiao leaned against the wall in the corridor, lit a cigarette, and squinted at Zheng Zheng, puffing out a smoke ring. When he saw that Zheng Zheng remained unmoved, his gaze turned vicious. "Kid, given your guts, if you avoid meeting Hong Qianxiu from now on, we can let today’s incident go."

Zheng Zheng simply stared back at him, his gaze calm and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"What's with that look? Are you not satisfied, kid?" Su Lijiao shouted angrily.

Zheng Zheng sighed, shook his head, and said in a natural, calm tone, "Su Lijiao, Qianxiu is a good girl. She's kind-hearted and optimistic. Treat her well."

"Bah!" Su Lijiao spat, throwing his cigarette butt to the ground. He pointed his finger almost to Zheng Zheng's nose and shouted, "Zheng, don't push your luck. Do you dare to lecture me? Do you believe I can send you to the hospital right now?"

Zheng Zheng completely ignored the threat, calmly pushing Su Lijiao's finger away. His gaze gradually turned sharp as he said, "Su Lijiao, it’s better for you to clean up your act and start a legitimate business. If I find out you mistreat Qianxiu in any way, don’t blame me for being rude."

"Hahaha, just you..." Su Lijiao was momentarily stunned, then he began to laugh exaggeratedly, as if he had encountered something utterly ridiculous. After a while, he stopped laughing, cracking his knuckles with a ferocious expression. "To be honest, I'm just playing around. If I’m having fun, I’ll keep playing; if not, I’ll just kick you aside and let my brothers feast. So, what now? Are you going to bite me?"

"Then you’ll wish you were dead," Zheng Zheng replied with a calm smile, but his eyes revealed a surge of killing intent.

“Slap.”

“Ah!”

Su Lijiao, who had been tyrannical and unruly, found himself repeatedly hitting a wall tonight, unable to accept the humiliation, and he lashed out with a slap.

But who was Zheng Zheng? A practitioner at the first level of Qi refining. Although he had just begun his journey, years of meditation and training had sharpened his reflexes, muscles, strength, and vision far beyond that of an average drunkard. Su Lijiao's slap was neither sudden nor powerful, making it easy for Zheng Zheng to catch it firmly in his palm. With a slight squeeze, a sound akin to a pig being slaughtered echoed from Su Lijiao's mouth.

Seeing the situation go awry, the two thugs beside him rushed forward.

With just two kicks, the two thugs were sent sprawling on the ground, unable to get up while moaning.

"Zheng Zheng, you're going to die a terrible death, I swear." Su Lijiao's face twisted in pain, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Yet, even in pain, he refused to beg for mercy; instead, the fierce light in his eyes grew stronger, like a wild beast ready to strike.

"Is that so? I’ll be waiting for you," Zheng Zheng replied coldly, slightly increasing his grip.

A crisp sound echoed; it was the sound of a finger breaking.

"Ah!" Su Lijiao couldn’t help but let out a heartbreaking scream, his face turning pale as a sheet, nearly fainting from the pain.

Zheng Zheng showed no reaction, appearing as a mere observer. He continued coldly, "Su Lijiao, I warn you, this is just a light punishment today. If you don’t recognize the situation, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Even if Wang Zhiqiang comes to back you up, I will still break him in half and feed him to the dogs."

At that moment, Su Lijiao was finally cowed by Zheng Zheng's overwhelming aura. Coupled with his injuries, his mental defenses began to crumble, and for the first time, a look of fear and plea for mercy appeared on his face.

Just then, the door to the private room swung open, and Lin Jie, A Liang, and the others rushed out, each holding a bottle high in the air, clearly ready to support Zheng Zheng and prepare for a fight. But when they saw the situation in the corridor, they were all taken aback. Su Lijiao, who had been so arrogant moments ago, was curled up on the ground like a shrimp, with Zheng Zheng firmly holding him, like a wild pig awaiting slaughter.

What on earth is going on?

1 vs 3?

When did Zheng Zheng become so fierce and ruthless? Everyone looked at him in astonishment, struggling to reconcile the image of their usually calm and steady friend, who had never been aggressive, with his unexpected display of strength today.

Zheng Zheng relaxed his grip, and Su Lijiao fell to the ground as expected, rolling in agony.

"We stirred up some trouble tonight; we should leave," Lin Jie said quickly, noticing that many doors to the private rooms had already opened, with heads poking out to watch the situation.

During the time Zheng Zheng and Su Lijiao had been outside, they had learned the entire story from Hong Qianxiu. For hot-blooded youths, drinking and brawling wasn't a big deal. But tangling with reckless thugs was concerning, especially given that Su Lijiao had powerful backing. Today’s events were likely to have serious consequences.

Zheng Zheng, Lin Jie, and the others hurriedly left the Golden City Club, stopping briefly to inform the bar owner that they would settle the bill next time.

Not long after leaving the club, two vans sped down the highway and came to a halt in front of the club.

About twenty men jumped out of the vehicles, each wielding iron pipes, machetes, and other weapons, charging inside with menacing intent.

As for what happened next, Zheng Zheng wasn’t very clear; he only heard that the commotion was considerable enough to draw the attention of the county police department. In the end, how it was handled remained uncertain.