Chapter 36

Unexpectedly, after just one step, he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. Turning around, he saw a young man who looked like a rich family's son standing to his left. The thug was furious, thinking to himself that he would fight to the death, even if it meant getting beaten up, he would give this guy a beating. He shouted and raised his hand to strike.

Unexpectedly, as he moved forward, the young man suddenly dodged. Before he could turn around, he felt another sharp pain under his armpit, a vital spot. He convulsed and fell to the ground. Wang Zhaojing took a step back, smugly twirling the short stick in his hand.

The last thug was now desperate, no longer thinking of retaliation, only of escaping. Jixiang stood in front of him. The thug cursed and swung a punch, but Jixiang didn't dodge. He was hit on the shoulder and staggered, but Shimen Qiang bent over and rushed forward, grabbing the thug's waist and rolling to the side. The thug lost his balance, and Jixiang jumped up and kicked him in the waist, knocking him down.

The five thugs who had been so aggressive earlier were now all on the ground, unable to stand.

However, people tend to follow the crowd. At first, the young boys were hesitant, but now they swarmed forward. Zhao Jin and the others who had been in the front had already stopped, but the others had surrounded the thugs, each one surrounded by eight or nine boys, who were kicking them fiercely.

"This is our territory! If you want to cause trouble, you'd better ask if we agree!" Zhao Jin shouted loudly. Before he finished speaking, the boys roared in agreement.

At this moment, Mu Shulan ran to Zhao Jin's side, her face full of concern, and asked, "Brother Xiaojin, are you okay?"

"Zhao Jin, well done!" Before Zhao Jin could answer Mu Shulan, Chen Sheng praised him loudly. Wang Zhaojing also walked over and said with a smile, "Brother Zhao, your bravery and righteousness are truly admirable!"

Sun Dalei, Liu Yong, Shimen Qiang, and Jixiang also gathered around, their eyes and faces filled with admiration and excitement. Zhao Jin nodded to everyone and raised his voice, "Stop fighting, let them go!"

It was winter, and people were wearing thick clothes. The strength of the young boys wasn't great, but prolonged fighting could still cause problems. Zhao Jin knew when to stop.

However, the other boys were enjoying the fight. Many had been intimidated by the thugs earlier, but now they were all eager to beat the fallen. The noise was loud, and few heard Zhao Jin's words.

"Brother Zhao told you to stop! Are you all deaf?" Before Zhao Jin could shout again, Jixiang bellowed. His voice was loud and clear, and the boys all heard him and slowly stopped.

"Let them go!" Zhao Jin repeated. This time, no one dared to move. In the fight with the thugs, Zhao Jin's bravery and victory had firmly established his authority.

The boys on the cargo yard looked at each other and walked toward Zhao Jin. Chen Sheng and Wang Zhaojing stood behind Zhao Jin, Shimen Qiang, Jixiang, and Sun Dalei stood in the third row, and Liu Yong stood half a step behind Jixiang. The other boys automatically stood behind them.

The fight had already sorted out their strengths and weaknesses, and they had naturally arranged themselves accordingly.

The thick winter coats provided some protection, and the boys' strength wasn't great. After a while, the five thugs all got up from the ground. Their faces were bruised and swollen, and three of them were bleeding from the nose and mouth. They stood there, swaying unsteadily.

The thug with the triangular eyes, Hu Ge, wiped his face with his hand, seemingly still not fully aware of what had just happened. He shook his head, stared at Zhao Jin, and pointed at him menacingly, "Little brat, you—"

Zhao Jin slammed his wooden stick on the ground and said coldly, "Get lost, or I'll beat you to death!"

When the wooden stick hit the ground, Hu Ge instinctively took two steps back, tripped, and fell to the ground. The other four thugs hurriedly helped him up, but Hu Ge pushed them away and walked away, head down. Normally, the thugs would have stood there cursing and refusing to back down, making the boys nervous. But unexpectedly, they just walked away in a sorry state, and the boys burst into laughter.

Unexpectedly, when Hu Ge reached the street corner, he turned around and pointed at the crowd, gritting his teeth, "Brats, you laugh now, but do you think Grandpa doesn't know who you are? You, aren't you the son of Old Roast Chicken? I'll smash your stall tomorrow. You, I'll set fire to your blacksmith shop. And you—"

Jixiang, Shimen Qiang, and Liu Yong were all named. Zhao Jin was annoyed and raised his wooden stick, throwing it. Hu Ge was scared and ran away with his group, turning back to shout, "You wait!"

"Rats!" Zhao Jin sneered. Chen Sheng and Wang Zhaojing laughed, but the enthusiastic atmosphere had dissipated, and only the three of them were laughing. Zhao Jin was puzzled and looked back, only to see that most people looked very nervous, and some were even afraid. Sun Dalei, however, seemed unconcerned.

Zhao Jin shook his head and said, "Jixiang, we haven't finished our fight. Let's go!"

Jixiang waved his hand, looking worried, and said, "Brother Zhao, I admit defeat. You win."

Usually, Jixiang would fight even if he knew he couldn't win, and he always had a positive attitude, saying, "Even if I can't win, I can learn something." But today, he was very dejected.

Zhao Jin was taken aback and quickly realized what had happened. The threats from the thugs before they left had made everyone worried and afraid.

The problem with thugs is that they might not be very good at fighting, but they have no limits and will keep harassing you. Most ordinary people don't want to go to court, and even if they do, these thugs are like scoundrels who don't fear the law. Ordinary people don't have the time to deal with them, and historically, people have always been reluctant to go to court or see officials.

As a result, these thugs are not to be provoked; once you do, you can't get rid of them.

Everyone had enjoyed the fight, but after hearing the threats and thinking about the consequences, they realized the seriousness of the situation. The boys were young, but they had seen and heard enough on the streets to know the trouble they could face.

However, the five thugs recognized Jixiang, Shimen Qiang, and others but didn't recognize Zhao Jin, Chen Sheng, and the others. It seemed that these thugs from the Black Tiger Temple in the southern part of the city had mutual recognition with Jixiang and his group, while Zhao Jin and the others, who lived in the wealthy northern part, were strangers.

"Who told them? Who is so irresponsible?" Shimen Qiang shouted angrily. The boys all looked down. The news of the daily competitions and prizes at the cargo yard had spread throughout Xuzhou, and anyone could have told them.

Zhao Jin patted Shimen Qiang's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about that."

"Brother Zhao, what... what should we do?" Liu Yong hesitated for a moment and then asked. He was actually older than Zhao Jin, but after what had happened, he called him naturally.

Zhao Jin looked at him and saw that Liu Yong was on the verge of tears. Zhao Jin had a good idea of what was going on but still asked, "What's the matter?"

"... They live close to my house. If I tell my mother, I'll get beaten, but if I don't, they'll cause trouble for my family. What should I do?" Liu Yong's voice was tinged with tears.

Liu Yong, who usually acted quite domineering, was now in such a state, and Zhao Jin just wanted to laugh, but he held back. He also noticed that not just Liu Yong, but the other boys were also very afraid and worried.

Zhao Jin pondered for a moment and then raised his voice, "Everyone, today we all fought off those thugs. We all did a good job. Come, let's share this food!"

Zhao Jin and the others had brought a lot of food. Although some had been damaged by the thugs, there was still enough for everyone to have a share.

Hearing about the food, everyone's spirits lifted a bit. They gathered around, each taking a piece and eating it. Chen Sheng and the others didn't seem to care. Zhao Jin walked to the platform and asked loudly, "Will everyone come back tomorrow?"

Many of the boys had nowhere else to go and didn't want to stay at home, so they came here every day. Normally, this question would be a given, but today was different. When Zhao Jin spoke, someone hesitated and said, "Brother Zhao, I... I don't dare to come tomorrow."