A single blow

Neither of them wanted trouble, yet trouble kept coming one after another.

With a sharp crack, Mu Qingxi turned to look behind her. A boy with a fat face and big ears stood there, holding a stick in his hand.

Mu Qingxi realized that this boy had just struck Bai Fanhao on the forehead. Anxiously, she looked at Bai Fanhao, who swayed unsteadily, his body tilting. Just as he was about to collapse, Mu Qingxi reached out and grabbed him, letting him lean against her.

She shouted at the boy, “What do you think you’re doing?”

The boy didn’t answer. Not far away, Wu Li heard the commotion and walked over, cursing as he approached, “San’er, I sent you out to embarrass them, why are you taking so long? Is it done? If it’s done, hurry up and leave.”

“Wu Li, what is the meaning of this? You had your man knock him out.” Mu Qingxi angrily addressed Wu Li.

Wu Li, surprised to hear Mu Qingxi’s voice, wondered why they hadn’t left yet. But when his gaze fell on Bai Fanhao, slumped against Mu Qingxi, he was shocked. “What happened?”

Mu Qingxi snorted coldly, “Ask your own people what happened.”

Wu Li turned to the boy and scolded, “San’er, I told you to embarrass them, not to hit them.”

Chubby San’er protested, “Boss, they looked down on you. What else was I supposed to do?”

Wu Li was rendered speechless by San’er’s words, breathing heavily in anger. After a few seconds, he said to Mu Qingxi, “Sorry, I apologize on San’er’s behalf.”

San’er, cheeks puffed out in defiance, said, “Boss, I hit him, so you don’t need to apologize. Let me do it.”

Wu Li, frustrated beyond words, shouted at San’er, “Get out of my sight!”

Then, turning to the others who had gathered, he ordered, “Si’er, you guys, take them home.”

The boy called Si’er replied, “Boss, they’ve witnessed our business. We can’t let them go.”

Mu Qingxi glanced at them coldly, her guard up, fists clenched, ready for a fight. Hearing Si’er’s words, Wu Li reached out and knocked him on the forehead, cursing, “Are you brainless? Go do as I say.”

Even after being struck by his boss, Si’er persisted, “No, boss, they can’t leave. Otherwise, word of what we did today will get out.”

At last, Mu Qingxi spoke up, “Fine, let’s see who among you can keep me here.”

Wu Li grew anxious at her words. He knew Bai Fanhao—if Bai Fanhao remembered this, no one would escape consequences. He hurriedly said, “Miss, sorry to trouble you…”

Mu Qingxi snorted, cutting him off. She eased Bai Fanhao onto a nearby stone, stood up, flexed her wrists and ankles, and said, “No need for trouble, Wu Li, right? I’ll remember you, but I won’t come looking for you. However…”

She pointed at the fat San’er and the dark-faced Si’er. “They, on the other hand, won’t be so lucky.”

As she spoke, Mu Qingxi’s right fist shot out, landing squarely on San’er’s fleshy face. She then raised her leg and kicked him hard on the forehead, sending San’er sprawling unconscious to the ground.

Wu Li watched Mu Qingxi with an inscrutable gaze. “Don’t go too far,” he warned.

Mu Qingxi said nothing, only eyed Si’er and Er, who were charging toward her. She bent low to dodge, dropped into a squat, swept her leg sideways, and sent Si’er tumbling to the ground. Mu Qingxi sprang up and planted her right foot on Si’er’s chest.

The others began to rush forward, but Mu Qingxi calmly spoke, “If you don’t want anything to happen to him, you’d better stay put. I’m not someone you can reason with.”

Wu Li stretched out his arm to block them. “Stay where you are,” he commanded.

Someone, furious, called out, “Boss, she’s beating up our brothers!”

Mu Qingxi’s eyes widened as she stared coldly at the speaker. “Watch carefully,” she said. Then her foot shot up and crashed down again with force, stomping—