Chapter Thirty-Three: The Wrong Report!

The long robe looked quite dashing when worn, giving one an air of elegance and grace. Yet when it came to fighting, it was decidedly cumbersome. Fortunately, Qin Luo had worn this attire for years and was accustomed to it; he didn’t find it awkward at all. If Li Meng were to don such a robe, he’d probably trip himself before even landing a kick on anyone.

Of course, the outfit wasn’t entirely without advantages. Its loose sleeves and hem could be used to confuse opponents. They often couldn’t tell where Qin Luo’s hands and feet were, and by the time they realized, they’d already received a punch to the face or a kick to the stomach.

Blocking an incoming knife attack with both hands, Qin Luo seized the assailant’s wrist and, with a powerful elbow strike, caught the man in the chest. The man staggered back several steps before collapsing heavily to the ground.

The crew-cut man, seeing so many of his men fail to bring Qin Luo down, cursed, “Useless bunch.”

“You’ve got a shooter, haven’t you? Give him a shot,” Li Qingyang urged from the sidelines, his hatred for Qin Luo palpable—he wanted nothing more than for the man’s fate to be as miserable as possible.

The crew-cut man sneered at Li Qingyang, pulled out a black handgun, and tossed it toward him. “Don’t you know how to use this thing? Go ahead, take a shot.”

Li Qingyang, gripping the gun, was tempted to shoot Qin Luo on the spot. But after hesitating for a long moment, he forced a smile and handed the gun back. “Brother Ran, I really don’t know how to play with this.”

The crew-cut man took the gun and tucked it back into his coat, laughing as he scolded, “Do you take me for a fool? Why didn’t you shoot? Whoever fires is finished. I’m sticking my neck out for you here—don’t try to set me up. If it weren’t for your father’s sake, I’d have walked away already, believe me?”

“Heh, I was just talking. I wouldn’t really let you do it,” Li Qingyang replied awkwardly, grinning.

The crew-cut man tossed his cigarette to the ground and stomped it to pieces. Glancing at the battlefield, he asked, “How did you get involved with him? This kid’s got some skill. I’ve lost a few men to him already. The rest probably aren’t enough to handle him.”

“He’s just a teacher. Crushing him is like squashing an ant. Brother Ran, should we call for more people?”

“Call for what? Since when does Tao Ran need reinforcements in a fight? If you’re not afraid of embarrassment, I am. We’re causing trouble in Brother Kai’s place—even if he doesn’t say anything, you’ll have to compensate him later. This isn’t good for business.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Ran. I’ll make amends with Brother Kai over drinks,” Li Qingyang replied cheerily. As he spoke, the wound on his face—a cut from broken glass—bled anew, making him grimace in pain.

Tao Ran nodded, then suddenly shouted, “Stop, all of you!”

At his command, the black-clad men he brought immediately halted their attacks. They helped up their wounded comrades, gathering around their leader.

Tao Ran looked at the battered students and smiled. “You guys went pretty hard. These are students—who’ll take responsibility if they’re seriously hurt?”

“Boss, we held back. But these punks hit hard,” one subordinate protested, pointing to his black eye.

“Heh, nothing to be done. They’re students, after all—the future pillars of the nation,” the crew-cut man said mockingly.

“So you do realize how serious this is?” Qin Luo asked with a smile. His strength was nearly spent, and if these men refused to back down, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out.

Strange—despite the commotion, none of the KTV staff had noticed, and no one had called the police.

“I know. Otherwise, they’d already be crippled,” Tao Ran admitted.

He was right; these men didn’t dare go too far. Qin Luo was a teacher, and those with him were students. If anything truly happened, it could cause a national uproar—a responsibility not easily borne.

Fortunately, the black-clad men showed restraint; otherwise, several might have ended up seriously injured.

Nowadays, even thugs know how to use their brains.

“Let them go,” Qin Luo said, gesturing to his students. “This is between him and me; it has nothing to do with my students.”

“Fine, as you wish. I really can’t do anything to them,” Tao Ran nodded.

“Li Meng, take everyone back. Hurry!” Qin Luo called out.

“Wang Jiujiu, you lead the classmates back. I’ll stay with Teacher Qin,” Li Meng growled, gripping half a broken bottle and glaring fiercely at the black-clad men.

“Xiaohua, take everyone back,” Wang Jiujiu said, stepping to Qin Luo’s side.

Xiaohua looked around, then burst into tears. “I won’t go! If we leave, we all leave together!”

“We won’t go either, Teacher Qin. We won’t abandon you.”

“Exactly! I don’t believe they can do anything to us.”

“Damn it, let’s fight them!”

-----------

Tao Ran watched the scene before him, glaring fiercely at Li Qingyang and then smiling. “Such devotion between teacher and students. I almost admire you. It’s not easy to be a teacher like you these days.”

“You flatter me,” Qin Luo replied coolly, though he was anxious inside. He really didn’t feel comfortable with his students remaining here.

“How about this? You seem pretty skilled—I’ve trained in Muay Thai for a few years myself. Let’s spar for a bit. If you lose, you leave. If you win, apologize to my friend,” Tao Ran suggested.

Qin Luo shook his head.

“What, unwilling? It seems you don’t have many choices. You can either fight back or take a beating,” Tao Ran sneered.

“Whether I win or lose, I won’t apologize to him,” Qin Luo said.

“---Kid, you’re tough. Just wait and see how I deal with you,” Li Qingyang hissed viciously.

“Haha, got some spirit,” Tao Ran laughed. “But frankly, I don’t like people with too much spirit.”

He removed his suit jacket, flexed his wrists, then suddenly lunged forward—swift as a tiger descending from the mountain, charging toward Qin Luo like a bolt of lightning.

***************************************

Li Ming was the security manager at Golden Palm. He had just been enjoying a flirtatious moment with a newly hired hostess in his arms when a subordinate’s call interrupted him.

“Manager, someone’s causing trouble at Golden Palm,” came the voice of a security team leader over the phone.

“You need to ask me about something so trivial? Just beat them up and throw them out,” Li Ming replied slowly, wanting to show off his authority in front of the art college student.

“Manager, I don’t dare,” the team leader said.

“Are you stupid? Who dares cause trouble at Golden Palm?” Li Ming snapped angrily.

“Manager, it’s Brother Tao.”

“------Alright, I got it. Keep an eye out, don’t let Brother Tao get hurt. I’ll report to the boss,” Li Ming said.

“Someone’s causing trouble?” the sweet-looking girl asked.

“Heh, if someone’s looking for trouble, it’s their own fault. Go do your work—I’ll take you out for supper after your shift,” Li Ming said, pinching her cheek before striding out.

“Where’s Brother Tao?” he asked the approaching team leader.

“Second floor. Things seem to be getting out of hand. Should we step in?” the leader suggested.

“Step in for what? Don’t you know Brother Tao’s temper? When he’s angry, who dares plead with him? He and the boss are close, the boss will handle whatever happens,” Li Ming replied.

“So what do we do now?”

“What do we do? We wait. I’ll call the boss and see what he says,” Li Ming said, walking to the entrance to report.

The call connected, and a slightly hoarse male voice answered, “What is it?”

“Boss, I need to report something,” Li Ming said, bowing his head as if this would somehow convey his reverence over the phone.

“Speak,” the man said curtly.

“It’s like this. Brother Tao is having some conflict with guests in our place. Looks like there’s been a fight—it’s pretty loud.”

“What’s the other side’s background?”

Li Ming thought for a moment. “Nothing special.”

“Let them be,” the man said, then hung up with a click.

Just as Li Ming was about to re-enter the establishment, a blinding light shone into his eyes. For a moment, it felt as if he’d been struck blind.

Once his eyes adjusted, he took in the scene before him, his pupils widening in shock.

A muddy green military truck was parked outside Golden Palm. Armed soldiers were disembarking and quickly assembling in formation.

Silent, yet tense and orderly. The only sound was the heavy thudding of boots on the ground.

It was a powerful, oppressive presence.

Leading them was a young officer wearing glasses. With a sweeping gesture, he commanded, “Go in. Rescue the commander’s daughter.”

“Yes, sir!” the men shouted, brimming with murderous intent.

The officer signaled, and the soldiers charged through the lobby, boots pounding as they rushed inside.

As the manager, Li Ming should have stepped forward to intercept them and ask for an explanation.

But as those men, clutching submachine guns and staring with cold, blade-like eyes, swept past him, he found himself utterly unable to speak.

He was nothing but a bystander, ignored by the soldiers.

Perhaps his lips moved; perhaps he muttered something. Who knows? Only he could hear those words.

“Why are these soldiers suddenly storming an entertainment venue?”

“Rescue the commander’s daughter? What commander?”

A terrifying thought flashed through his mind, making his legs go weak. “Could it be that the daughter of some commander was in their establishment—and in danger?”

Recalling his subordinate’s earlier report, Li Ming became more certain of his guess.

Good heavens, this was a matter of life and death.

He hurriedly pulled out his phone and called the boss. “Boss, I reported wrong earlier. Those guys are someone big. The military’s been mobilized.”

Before Li Ming could finish, chaos erupted inside. People were running out clutching their heads, shouting, and the place was in complete turmoil.