Chapter 2228 - 2429: Far from the Emperor's Reach

The cigarette guy was infuriated by Ma Susu's words. At a time like this, this young girl still dared to contradict him; she sure was ignorant of the heights of heaven and the depths of earth. Didn't she know that the Emperor was far away? Here, he had absolute authority. It didn't matter who you were; whatever he said was what went, and he had a bunch of brothers with him. If he didn't react in some way, getting cornered by a young girl would be utterly humiliating.

"Damn it! You got some guts, don't you know who's in charge here? If I tell you to hand over three thousand bucks today, you'd better cough up three thousand bucks, try running your mouth any more!" The cigarette guy shouted furiously.

He was furious beyond measure, raising his hand to slap Ma Susu. Ma Susu, though brave, was only bold enough to argue with the cigarette guy, daring to confront him verbally. But when a big guy suddenly attacked her, she had no courage to fight back.

Beside her, Cheng Wen was already scared stiff, and seeing someone making a move frightened her even more. The only guy, Zhang Wei, had already been pushed to the ground by the cigarette guy's crew, not allowed to stand up. Ma Susu suddenly showed a frightened expression, her eyes wide with helplessness, unsure of what to do, and instinctively backed away.

"You bitch! I'll slap you to death!" The cigarette guy had already thrown out a slap.

However, at that moment, a figure suddenly flashed out from the side. Just as the cigarette guy's slap was about to land on Ma Susu's face, his hand was suddenly caught, unable to move further. The cigarette guy widened his eyes, exerting all his strength to continue, but failed to progress even an inch.

Suddenly, he came to his senses and looked up, seeing a person appear before him. This person was none other than Hao Jian, who had suddenly come forward. Seeing the cigarette guy looking at him, he smiled at the cigarette guy.

"You bastard! Let go!" the cigarette guy furiously said to Hao Jian.

The next moment, Hao Jian abruptly released his grip, but just then he kicked out his foot, directly hitting the cigarette guy's abdomen. The hand was let go, but the cigarette guy fell backward and landed heavily on the ground, ending up in a backward-fallen posture like a dog eating dirt.

"Boss!" The group rushed to help the cigarette guy upon seeing him kicked down. They quickly helped him up, but to maintain his boss image, he shoved them away again, then looked at Hao Jian with vicious eyes.

Meanwhile, the group, including those girls, rushed up to Hao Jian, surrounding him as if ready to attack. However, simultaneously, they hesitated, fearing to move forward, frightened by Hao Jian's earlier displayed prowess, daring to approach but not daring to strike.

At this point, Li Weiwei came running from the side, then stood next to Hao Jian, shielding Ma Susu and the others behind her.

"Brother Hao, teacher..." Ma Susu, Zhang Wei, and Cheng Wen looked at Hao Jian and Li Weiwei as if clutching at a lifeline, their faces showing a hint of joy.

Li Weiwei gazed at the three, saying, "Don't be afraid, the teacher is here. These hooligans can't do anything to you!"

"Mm!" The three nodded, knowing Hao Jian's prowess, feeling more at ease with his presence.

By then, the cigarette guy had crawled up from the ground, dusting off himself, his backside still faintly pained, but he chuckled and addressed Ma Susu and her group, "You ruined my girlfriend's clothes, not even the Heavenly King can let it go. Just because your teacher and classmates came, doesn't mean you don't need to compensate!"

The cigarette guy deliberately raised his voice to appear more intimidating, thinking that louder volume meant more confidence and ability to scare people. Little did he know that Li Weiwei, having worked in school for quite some time, was least afraid of this. She had seen all kinds of students.

She immediately stepped forward, looking at the cigarette guy with a fierce aura, saying, "Compensation? Compensate for what? Tell me clearly!"

The cigarette guy could tell from Li Weiwei's tone that she's not like Ma Susu, Zhang Wei, and Cheng Wen, who are easily intimidated. He could discern the difference in confidence from a glance, knowing this must be the homeroom teacher they'd mentioned. He analyzed Li Weiwei's identity right away.

But so what if the homeroom teacher came? Here, he was the king. The Emperor was far away, and a mighty dragon couldn't overpower a local snake. What threat could a homeroom teacher pose here? A bit of intimidation, and she'd be compliant.

He immediately presented a menacing appearance to Hao Jian, pulling his girlfriend over and pointing at her clothes, saying, "You're their homeroom teacher, right? Great that you came. Your three students ruined my girlfriend's clothes, which are priceless. Being damaged, you should fork over at least three thousand bucks, or else this won't end easily, and you won't be allowed to leave."

He started with asking for three thousand bucks, then threatened that they wouldn't be allowed to leave without paying. Having heard the context, Li Weiwei knew the whole story, immediately responding, "Three thousand? Leaving aside whether my students damaged the clothes, are they worth three thousand? Judging by the material, they're barely hundred-something cheap street clothes; three thousand? Open your mouth wide to demand, why not say that in front of the police station!"

Upon hearing this, the cigarette guy's anger intensified, saying, "What? You don't plan to pay, right? If you don't pay, you won't leave today!"

Li Weiwei stopped talking, instead giving Hao Jian a look. When words can solve a problem, it's best to resolve it verbally. However, when talking no longer works, the best solution is through force. Fall behind, and you get beaten; only armed force can seize power. In this instance, since words were futile, it was Hao Jian's turn to step forward.

Hao Jian understood the cue, smiled, and looked at the cigarette guy, asking, "Money can be given, but can you take it?"

"Oh, really!" The cigarette guy burst into laughter immediately, asking Hao Jian, "Are you implying I don't have the ability?"

After speaking, he immediately waved his hand, and those six lackeys gathered around Hao Jian. A group of people surrounded Hao Jian with fierce and vicious looks, not knowing that such a display was a joke to Hao Jian, not intimidating him in the least. Instead, his face carried a smile.

"Are you going to play hard?" Hao Jian retorted to the cigarette man.

The cigarette man laughed as he heard it, thinking Hao Jian was scared, so he laughed wantonly and said, "Haha... if you're scared, just say it, don't ramble on, just kneel down directly..."

Hao Jian smiled, suddenly grabbed one person's hand, pulled him over, and with a kick, hit him right in the crotch. That person's mouth immediately turned into an 'O' shape, wide open, and Hao Jian kicked him flying with a single kick.

The cigarette man saw this and immediately got furious, roaring, "Damn it, how dare you hit my men! Brothers, go, cripple this kid!"

Hao Jian showed a faint smile. This guy talks and acts ruthlessly, going straight for the kill. It was utterly vicious. Whether he could do it or not, Hao Jian felt displeased the moment he heard it, and as those five or six people ran towards him, he showed no mercy at all, knocking each one down with a punch, following up with a kick.

In less than ten seconds, Hao Jian had knocked down all the people surrounding him. Everyone watched with stunned expressions, a bit surprised, and a bit incredulous. But then Hao Jian's gaze immediately turned toward the cigarette man.

The cigarette man saw Hao Jian's unusual gaze, then looked down at his own men all lying on the ground, and in the next second, he was about to turn and run. But just as he was about to flee, Hao Jian grabbed him and pulled him in front of him, glaring at him fiercely.

"Do you still want the money?" Hao Jian asked, smiling closely.

The cigarette man, initially frightened, tried to look tough after being caught by Hao Jian, staring at him and saying, "What, are you going to hit me? Do you know whose territory this is? If you do anything, don't expect to walk out of here safely today."

Hao Jian didn't expect the cigarette man to threaten him at this point, truly used to being a boss, sometimes unable to see the situation clearly. He slapped his face and laughed, "Say it again."

"Damn! How dare you hit me!" The cigarette man raged.

"Smack!" A slap landed squarely on his face.

"Damn it! You bastard, I won't stop until I'm done with you!" It was the first time he'd been slapped in front of so many lackeys, so naturally, the cigarette man was enraged; it was such a disgrace, how could he flaunt his authority in front of his subordinates after this.

Hao Jian just smiled, "Smack" again, another slap on his face.

"Say it again." Hao Jian said.

"You mother!" The cigarette man was still quite stubborn.

"Smack!"

"Say it again." Hao Jian said.

"You mother..."

"Smack!" The cigarette man's words were cut short as another slap landed on his face.

"Speak!" Hao Jian demanded.

There was an immediate silence, but the cigarette man didn't utter a word.

"Speak!"

"Smack!"

Even though the cigarette man said nothing, Hao Jian slapped him again.