Chapter 5

Yang Lei slowly packed up the guitar, walked out of the high school, and arrived at the small roadside convenience store that was still open.

“Boss, I’ll have a bottle…”

Before Yang Lei finished speaking, he raised his head and saw someone also making purchases at the counter.

“Fang Yu!”

Yang Lei was astounded.

Fang Yu was also buying water. Yang Lei glanced outside. There was no one else following Fang Yu, only Fang Yu’s motorcycle parked across the street in the darkness. There was something tied to it, though it couldn’t be seen clearly.

Yang Lei hadn’t expected he would meet Fang Yu here. Fang Yu was still so neat and clean. It was rare that he was wearing a black undershirt, tucked into black jeans, showing off his sturdy waist.

He had looked far and wide, yet unexpectedly ran into him here.

“You’re pretty amazing, aren’t you? Why did you run the last time I challenged you?” Yang Lei immediately started provoking him.

Fang Yu’s mood seemed quite good. He ignored Yang Lei’s provocation, leaning against the counter. His eyes scanned over the way Yang Lei was holding the guitar, and he turned his head to ask the boss for a bottle of soda.

“I’ll pay.”

Fang Yu pushed the soda in front of Yang Lei.

Yang Lei stared at Fang Yu. Without wasting any words, he picked up the bottle and drank.

“Two Hualians!”

Yang Lei finished the soda in one gulp and slapped money onto the counter. The boss gave him two Hualian popsicles that were the most popular at that time.

Yang Lei took one, pushing the other to Fang Yu.

“Pay back.”

“Ha ha!”

Fang Yu laughed out loud.

This was Yang Lei’s first time seeing Fang Yu laugh. When Fang Yu laughed, Yang Lei seemed to see another person. He was completely unable to think of him as the same person who had held a bloodstained ashtray on the streets while knocking out a person’s teeth.

Fang Yu thought Yang Lei was very interesting.

“You’re still coming out alone at night? Wang Laohu’s people are looking for you everywhere,” Fang Yu said.

“Fuck!” One word expressed all of Yang Lei’s scorn.

Yang Lei’s shot completely angered Wang Laohu, and he also became famous on the streets. Everyone in the gangdom knew that this shot had completely destroyed Yan Ziyi and Wang Laohu’s relationship. There was about to be bloodshed all over Jianghu again.

“One of Wang Laohu’s men in Lu City is called Zhao Gang. He’ll be back soon. He has amazing footwork. If you run into him, hit towards the top.”

Fang Yu finished speaking and walked out of the store.

Yang Lei froze for a while. He hadn’t thought that Fang Yu would even give him “pointers.”

“Fang Yu, the thing from last time isn’t over like this.” Yang Lei didn’t want to owe him a favor for no reason. He hadn’t forgotten the enmity from last time.

“I saw that you were willing to fight for your brother, so I spoke another word. Whether or not you listen is up to you.”

Fang Yu spoke as he straddled the motorcycle. He started the engine, disappearing into the night.

Zhao Gang was a fierce fighter under Wang Laohu. He wasn’t in Jianghai during the conflict between Wang Laohu and Yan Ziyi. He was working in Lu City, close to Jianghai. Zhao Gang, Huoguo, and Scar Face were all called the Three Great, Fierce Fighters under Wang Laohu. Now, among the Three Great, Fierce Fighters, two had fallen under Yang Lei’s hands. The moment Zhao Gang was back in Jianghai, he was eager to get revenge.

Soon, Zhao Gang found Yang Lei. The two sides brought people and fought out in the open. This fight even alarmed the Public Security Bureau at that time, because the hatred between Wang Laohu and Yan Ziyi became deeper and deeper. There was already a gang fight and a shooting. Even public security knew that these two gangs would still kill for revenge. Yan Ziyi intentionally let Yang Lei stir things up, by building up his authority and assigning his closest subordinates to Yang Lei. Yang Lei led the twenty or thirty people with powerful fighting capabilities, and went up against Zhao Gang’s people at Zheng Da Nightclub.

Zheng Da Nightclub’s back parking lot had already become the place to have a fight for these Jianghu thugs. As soon as Yang Lei fought against Zhao Gang, he understood what Fang Yu meant by “amazing footwork.” Zhao Gang’s legs seemed to be made of iron. With one kick, he sent a young boy on Yang Lei’s side falling to the ground a good five or six meters away and unable to get up. He only kicked people’s knees and ankles, nearly knocking one person over every few kicks; his aggressiveness was incomparable. A machete in his left hand firmly protected his lower body, blocking the knives that aimed at his legs. His right hand held another knife as an attacking weapon to cut and kill.

Yang Lei had fought with both Huoguo and Scar Face. This Zhao Gang’s fighting capability was far above the two of them. Yang Lei was also a person who liked using his legs to trample, knee, and kick. But if he used his usual methods against Zhao Gang, his leg would have probably already been broken, because he definitely didn’t have as thick and strong of a lower body as Zhao Gang, who was over 190 centimeters tall. Yang Lei couldn’t help but be grateful for Fang Yu’s prior warning. In the middle of fighting, Yang Lei thought of Fang Yu’s move that had taken down Gun-zi in the streets. He accurately and violently struck the joint between the back of Zhao Gang’s head and neck.

“Hit towards the top,” Yang Lei recalled Fang Yu’s words. He didn’t even mind the pain as Zhao Gang cut at his legs with the knife. He just continuously struck Zhao Gang’s head and neck.

Yang Lei’s lower legs were viciously cut several times, while Zhao Gang’s whole head was bloody. Because his central nervous system was struck heavily, his hands and feet went weak, allowing Yang Lei’s people to rush up all at once and knock him down.

This particular vicious fight incurred an order for Zheng Da Nightclub to stop business for half a month. Yan Ziyi used his upper level connections with the Public Security Bureau to suppress the matter.

“Resolve your conflict with Wang Laohu as soon as possible, or else it will also be difficult for us!” The public security was also under a lot of pressure, letting Yan Ziyi slide. Yan Ziyi was a true gangdom member. He had a very deep relationship with the law.

After these fierce battles, Wang Laohu could be said to have been utterly defeated. Even the gold class fighter Zhao Gang, whom he had specially called back, was also taken down. Wang Laohu’s reputation in Jianghai had plummeted. The gangdom was like this. In the early 1990s, fights and bloodshed were still the main way to compete for power in the gangdom. If one wanted to become famous, maybe it would happen after only one fight. If one’s reputation were to decline, sometimes it also only took one battle.

After Zhao Gang had also fallen, Yan Ziyi took the opportunity to seize the meat market shares from Wang Laohu’s hands. Wang Laohu was exceedingly unwilling, but he had no alternative.

This was a world where the strong would eat the weak.

However, the later facts proved that Wang Laohu clearly still hadn’t given up.

The wounds on Yang Lei’s legs weren’t serious. After over half a month, they were pretty much healed. He had beaten up Wang Laohu and had fully gotten revenge for Li San, and his mood was very good. Yang Lei brought around ten brothers to the Grand Oriental Hotel for a meal.

When they arrived, there were two tables of people next to them. The leader was precisely Fang Yu. Fang Yu had also brought people here to eat.

Yang Lei glanced at Fang Yu across the table. Many people at Fang Yu’s table had participated in the Bright Billiards Room fight that day. Several of them had cut at and had been cut by the brothers that Yang Lei had brought. Presently, seeing that both parties’ expressions were not very great, each side scanned the other with hostility. But their respective leaders had let them know that the matter was already settled. So they didn’t lose their temper. Instead, each side just acted as if they hadn’t seen the other.

“Lei Ge, isn’t that the Fang Yu you were looking for all day long?” Li San’s leg was crippled, but his mouth was still as wordy as before.

“Yeah.” Yang Lei ordered wine, opening it.

“Why don’t you go say hello?”

That day, Li San had gone to Ninth High to look at girls. He hadn’t participated in the fight at Bright Billiards Room, so he didn’t have enmity against Fang Yu.

“I don’t like him.”

When Li San heard this, he questioned in his heart: wouldn’t you have gone up and dealt with those whom you disliked long ago?

The plump boy was also there on the other side. Seeing Yang Lei, his eyes instantly gave off sparks. He was Fang Yu’s cousin, Xiao Wu.

“Fuck! It’s that boy!” Xiao Wu still held a grudge from last time, when Yang Lei had viciously cut him.

“Ge, this boy is getting more and more wild!” Xiao Wu also knew about Yang Lei’s glorious “victory” against Wang Laohu.

“Look at him so full of himself! Let’s go cut him.” Some people had gotten a little fired up from drinking wine.

“Everyone stays!”

With Fang Yu’s words, no one at the table made another sound.

Both sides ate their own food peacefully. Halfway through the meal, a group of people came in from outside.

“Who is Yang Lei?”