Chapter 21

Comparing the workers' excrement to gold, She Dongcheng was so angry that he gritted his teeth and was furious.

But after hearing She Dongcheng's threats, Ye Yu remained calm. He first brushed off the toothpick on his clothes, then said coldly, "Opening the game? Tongcheng Snake, if you had come here today in a peaceful manner, I might have spent money to buy peace like other shops! But you asked for three thousand taels of silver right away. Do you really think I deal in gold and silver here? I don't have gold and silver, but I do have a few hundred pounds of excrement. How much do you want?"

"It seems you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin! Brothers, smash this dye house!" Seeing that Ye Yu was not being reasonable, She Dongcheng shouted, signaling the gangsters to destroy the dye house.

"Tongcheng Snake, I'm telling you upfront today, if you dare to destroy my dye house, I will break your bones!" Just as the gangsters were about to cause destruction, Ye Yu suddenly shouted loudly.

Hearing this, She Dongcheng showed a look of disdain, first signaling the gangsters to pause, then sneered at Ye Yu, "Just you? In this Qingliu County, no one dares to challenge me, She Dongcheng. What are you? A crippled bastard, and you dare to talk about breaking my bones!"

As She Dongcheng spoke, he laughed wildly, and the gangsters who followed him also burst into laughter.

Ye Yu looked around, counted the number of people, and then said, "Da Niu, go and inform the dye workers in the dye house. Today, I, Ye Yu, am willing to offer a reward of three thousand strings of cash. Whoever can cripple one of these gangsters will receive a reward of one hundred strings of cash! I, Ye Yu, will take full responsibility for the aftermath! Remember, cripple but don't kill!"

"Yes, Master!" Li Da Niu, hearing Ye Yu's instructions, gradually showed a determined look in his eyes, which had been filled with fear.

Just as She Dongcheng was shocked, in a short while, over a hundred people gathered outside the hall, all holding sticks, ready to act.

Ye Yu usually treated these workers well, and now there was a reward to be had. Even the old man Yue Huotou, who was over sixty years old and worked as a helper in the dye house, held a stick and stood trembling in the crowd to cheer on.

In this era, killing someone meant paying with one's life, but Ye Yu's requirement was to cripple but not kill. In the worst case, one might spend a year or two in prison. If the situation was less serious and one was willing to settle privately, the most one would have to pay would be for some medicine.

For these poor dye workers, even working for ten years would earn them at most one hundred strings of cash. Now, with such a good opportunity, they could earn ten years' worth of wages in one go, and even spending a year or two in prison would be worth it.

Moreover, Ye Yu promised to take full responsibility for the aftermath.

For a moment, the hall was crowded with over a hundred dye workers, all staring at the dozen gangsters inside, like hungry wolves eyeing a delicious meal.

The dozen gangsters who followed She Dongcheng, seeing this scene, immediately became less arrogant. Although they were used to bullying the weak, they were not prepared to face over a hundred tough opponents. They all showed signs of fear on their faces.

At this moment, She Dongcheng's face also showed fear. He did not expect Ye Yu to play such a move. If a fight broke out, there would be no doubt about the outcome.

He was confident in his martial arts skills, but could he handle over a hundred people? The answer was clearly no!

"What are you going to do? Ye Yu, I must tell you, my brother-in-law is the county magistrate. Don't act rashly!" She Dongcheng swallowed hard, seeing the crowd outside the hall, and his words were somewhat hesitant.

"So what? If I cripple them, I'll pay the money!" Ye Yu replied coldly, then shouted to the crowd outside, "Everyone, listen! Whoever cripples this Tongcheng Snake, I, Ye Yu, will reward them with one thousand strings of cash!"

As soon as Ye Yu finished speaking, the hall fell into a brief silence, followed by a surge of excitement.

"Did you hear that? Even if you are crippled and spend ten years in prison, someone will still do it! Even if the county magistrate intends to protect you, can you just let this go? She Dongcheng, I, Ye Yu, tell you, even if I have three thousand taels of silver, I would rather offer a reward than give you a single coin!"

"You!..."

"How you, Tongcheng Snake, operate in the city is none of my business! But don't cause trouble on my turf!"

"Fine, Ye Yu, the mountain may not turn, but the water will. We'll see!"

She Dongcheng glanced at his subordinates, who were all like frost-bitten eggplants, too scared to speak. Realizing he had met a tough opponent, he left a threatening word and prepared to leave.

But Ye Yu had no intention of letting She Dongcheng go. He said, "What, you want to leave? Do you think this place is a teahouse or tavern in the city, where you can come and go as you please?"

Ye Yu's words made She Dongcheng, who was about to leave, stop in his tracks. He turned around, his face twisted in anger, and shouted, "What do you intend to do?"

"Didn't you just boast about opening the game? There are rules in the underworld, and I, Ye Yu, know a bit about them! Why don't you wait until the game is opened before you leave?"

"You!..." She Dongcheng was speechless with anger, and finally said with a forced laugh, "I'm afraid you can't handle this game!"

"Is that so? Then I, Ye Yu, will have to see for myself!"

"Fine! Bring me a knife!"

She Dongcheng stared intently at Ye Yu, extending his right hand in front of a gangster. The gangster, understanding She Dongcheng's intention, drew a half-foot-long knife from his waist.

She Dongcheng took the knife, weighed it in his hand, and said coldly to Ye Yu, "Since you know the rules of the underworld, you should be ready to accept this!"

She Dongcheng rolled up his pants and, with a bite of his teeth, cut into his leg. As the knife pierced the flesh, blood gushed out, making everyone shudder.

Despite the pain, She Dongcheng did not make a sound. With a tearing sound, a piece of leg meat was cut off!

"Here you go!" She Dongcheng threw the bloody piece of meat on the table, looking at Ye Yu with a sneer.

"Master..." Li Da Niu and Su Tai both spoke up, realizing that this was a challenge to make their master eat human flesh.

But before they could speak to dissuade him, Ye Yu said calmly, "Da Niu, go to the warehouse and bring a bottle of wine!"

Li Da Niu wanted to say something but hesitated and followed Ye Yu's instructions to fetch the wine.

In a short while, Li Da Niu returned to the hall with the wine bottle, placed it in front of Ye Yu, and stood quietly to one side.

Ye Yu stared at She Dongcheng with a cold, stern look, said nothing, and reached for the bloody piece of meat on the table. He took a sip of wine, then put the meat in his mouth and began to chew.

As he chewed harder, the already bloody piece of meat dripped blood onto his clothes.

Li Da Niu and Su Tai watched in shock as Ye Yu chewed the human flesh like a glutton, feeling a chill run down their spines. Since they were closer, they could hear the sound of his chewing.

Ye Yu's act of eating human flesh on the spot stunned everyone present. Although there were cases of cannibalism, they usually occurred in desperate situations, when there was no other choice.

Eating human flesh was one thing, but how many people could overcome the psychological barrier?

The gangsters led by She Dongcheng, seeing Ye Yu eat the human flesh so casually, were all stunned.

Although the Song Dynasty was often bullied militarily, it had been nearly two hundred years since there had been a case of cannibalism.

She Dongcheng's intention in using the cutting of flesh as a challenge was to force Ye Yu to back down, so he could save face. But he did not expect Ye Yu to eat the human flesh in front of him, savoring it with wine.

Ignoring the gazes of the crowd, Ye Yu swallowed the last piece of meat, wiped his mouth, and said to She Dongcheng, "This is not enough!"

Looking at Ye Yu's calm and fierce gaze, She Dongcheng felt a chill run down his spine. He swallowed hard and, with a show of bravado, pointed at Ye Yu and shouted, "Damn it, I don't believe you have the guts!"

He then limped back to his chair, picked up the sharp knife, and cut another piece of flesh from his leg.

As the knife cut deeper, sweat beads formed on She Dongcheng's forehead. But he gritted his teeth and did not cry out in pain.

Thud!

Another bloody piece of human flesh was thrown on the table, this one three times larger than the previous one.

At this point, She Dongcheng was in too much pain to speak. When he regained his composure, he pointed at the piece of leg meat on the table, baring his teeth in pain, and said, "Ye Yu, if you can eat this, I... I will follow you! I will serve you!"

Without hesitation, Ye Yu grabbed the bloody piece of leg meat and put it in his mouth, washing it down with wine.

As he chewed harder, the large piece of leg meat was quickly consumed.

Throughout the process, his eyes never left She Dongcheng.

At this moment, She Dongcheng suddenly felt the terrifying gaze of Ye Yu, a gaze that looked at him as if he were a dead object. He had thought Ye Yu was just a young, weak scholar, but now he felt a sense of powerlessness in front of him. He could not understand why a handsome young man could have such a terrifying gaze!

"You... you..."

"I will match you, whatever you have!" Ye Yu looked at She Dongcheng calmly, gesturing for him to continue.

She Dongcheng pondered for a moment, then stood up shakily. His subordinates tried to help him, but he pushed them away. He limped toward Ye Yu with his bleeding right leg.