Chapter 9 - Kneel down and sing to “Conquered”

Chapter 9 : Kneel down and sing to “Conquered”

Zhao PengYu left the school with his bag slumped over his back. Glancing towards the school gate, he saw Gu Ye being taken away by some gangster. After hesitating for a moment, he followed behind because he felt uneasy.

Gu Ye was taken to a road construction site with a signboard that read: “Construction ahead, no trespassing.” It was a known fact that it often rained here, and sometimes the water would overflow, affecting traffic. Therefore, the government would start construction on the drainage pipes before the rain season. Since it was close to school, the construction work was conducted after school hours when students were in their dormitory instead of the class building as not to affect their studies. Since there was no one around during the daytime, it was convenient for these gangsters to use this place.

As soon as Gu Ye arrived, Qian Zhen’s eyes darkened and he viciously sneered, as if he couldn’t wait to skin Gu Ye alive.

His hatred toward Gu Ye was immense. There were always people who were so used to bullying others that when it was their turn to be taught a lesson, they can’t accept it. They would then feel that they had been shamed and disgraced and they wouldn’t be satisfied until they enacted their revenge. Qian Zhen had bullied Gu Ye for two years, and after being completely humiliated by the boy, he felt that everyone had started looking down on him and mocking him behind his back. Most young people were hot-headed and wouldn’t think of the consequences. Their minds were full of revenge.

Gu Ye just gave him a slight glance before looking at the hoodlums with hair dyed red and yellow. He then asked with a smile, “Yo, is this a feather dusters conference?”

“Pfftt!” Gu Yang couldn’t hold back his laughter, and Qian Zhen kicked him angrily. “The fuck are you laughing at?!”

Gu Ye’s expression immediately turned cold.

Yang Jin, the eldest of these hoodlums, took a look at the fair and slender Gu Ye before spitting disdainfully at Si HongXing. “You can’t even beat this bamboo pole? Don’t fucking call me cousin ever again, you worm!” Yang Jin was tall with thick eyebrows and a fierce face. His voice was deep and he spoke with a rough accent, making him particularly intimidating when he started to scold people.

Si HongXing smiled flatteringly. “Cousin, he’s really strong.”

Qian Zhen picked up the rope that Yang Jin had brought for them and said, “If you don’t mind, I’ll tie him up and take him away while you guys talk. I’ll make sure to drag him through the street today!”

“Okay, Master Qian. As long as you pay, your wish is our command.” A dozen of petty gangsters stared at Gu Ye like he was a lamb to be slaughtered. They didn’t think Gu Ye had the ability to resist.

Gu Ye put his bag on the ground, flicked the tip of his feet, and a crowbar with the length of two meters and the thickness of a fist flew up. Grabbing it, Gu Ye smacked it onto the ground without a word, and with a bang, the area where it hit cracked.

All the punks present were stupefied as they collectively went, “Fuck!” If that was aimed at a person, that person’s bone will break, ah! What’s more, that crowbar wasn’t exactly light either, yet this weak-looking student could swing it like it’s nothing. Was he possessed by Hercules‘s spirit or something?!

Gu Ye raised the iron crowbar, like it was a sword, to his front and said coldly, “If I were you, I would call my parents and tell them to come back, or else you will be an orphan by tomorrow.”

Si HongXing really wanted to curse, “Fuck you.” This Gu Ye actually dared to curse his parents to an early death!

Qian Zhen couldn’t stand still anymore and reminded the gangsters, “Catch him and I’ll add another 20,000 yuan!”

Gu Yang took advantage of their distraction and jumped up before giving Qian Zhen a big kick. He had heard the rumor of Qian Zhen’s tryst with another boy. His brother had become more beautiful as he grew up, so Gu Yang thought that Qian Zhen wanted to do something dirty to his brother. Why else would he want to tear his brother’s clothes if that wasn’t the case? The fourth young master was furious. He picked up a stone from the ground and decided that if Qian Zhen dared to do anything, he would kill this old rogue Qian Zhen with that stone!

Gu Ye was not happy with Gu Yang’s action, so he gave the boy a kick to the ass, “Don’t interfere!”

After being kicked, Gu Yang’s rationality returned, and he sensibly picked up his brother’s bag and stood aside, not daring to make even a peep.

Yang Jin smiled. “This young lamb really is protective of his calf, huh.”

The corner of Gu Ye’s mouth twitched. “If you had a family, wouldn’t you also cherish them?”

Yang Jin’s expression turned cold. “What do you mean?”

Gu Ye raised the scary-looking iron crowbar and pointed it at Yang Jin before saying in a carefree manner, “You’re the second child of your family. When you were a kid, your family was quite well-off, but your father lost his money trading stocks, and your mother ran away with another guy, taking your excellent sister with her, leaving you behind to live with your drunkard father. When you were 16, your father got hit by a car when he was drunk and died, so you dropped out of school and started mixing in the streets. Unfortunately, your boss was arrested within a few days for drug possession, leaving you and a group of young gangsters to fend for yourselves. You guys didn’t dare to do anything big, so you just stuck to petty crimes like pilfering and fighting in some brawls.”

Yang Jin’s face grew uglier with each word because Gu Ye had gotten everything right!

“You can do fortune telling?” Yang Jin’s face was getting paler by the second. Like Gu Ye said, he had been mixing in the streets for around six years, so he had also heard rumors about celestial masters. It was said that if somebody accidentally offended these masters, that person would be cursed and would die without even knowing the cause. The particularly petty masters would even curse your descendants.

Gu Ye ignored his question. “You already know if I can do fortune telling or not in your heart. Now, I’ll give you two paths to choose from. Be a good citizen, and you’ll be an outstanding person in five years. Otherwise, continue making a living like this, and you’ll be stabbed to death in five years.”

Yang Jin took a deep breath. The weather was cold, but his back was drenched with cold sweat from fear.

“And you.” Gu Ye pointed at another young gangster with yellow hair. “Your elder sister is going through premature labor and her life is hanging by a thread. Your sister is like a mother to you, so what the fuck are you still doing here? Hurry and go to the hospital!”

The young gangster’s pupils shrunk with fear at this remark. “What happened to my sister?”

Gu Ye was too lazy to look at him and pointed to another one. “There’s nothing shameful about raising geese with your father in the countryside. Is being a gangster the type of glory that you want?”

The young man’s face also changed. This student actually knew what his family was making a living off of.

At this time, the yellow-haired young gangster hung up the phone with a pale face and said, “Boss, I-I’m taking the day off. My sister fell down the stairs. She’s in the hospital.”

Every gangster present knew that this young man was raised by his sister, and saying that she was like his mother was pretty accurate. Everyone looked at Gu Ye in shock, fear growing in their eyes. Is this boy an Immortal Taoist?!

Si HongXing’s complexion wasn’t pleasant either. If Gu Ye could truly fortune tell, then his parents…Thinking of this, he immediately picked up his bag and ran to a public phone booth like crazy. He couldn’t care less about the fight.

Seeing that the atmosphere suddenly changed, Qian Zhen glanced at Gu Ye and hurriedly said, “He’s lying to you! He’s a scammer! Help me beat him, will you? I’ll pay 50,000!”

“Shut up!” Yang Jin wasn’t stupid. He knew who he could and couldn’t afford to offend. Under the vicious stare of Yang Jin, Qian Zhen, who was just a high schooler, was scared.

Qian Zhen hadn’t expected this to happen. The situation was obviously favorable to him, so how could it suddenly turn like this?

Gu Ye chose this moment to smack the crowbar to the ground again, but using more strength this time around. With a bang, the asphalt that had already hardened formed a huge crack.

“Are we done yet? Do you want a controlled fight or just a simple brawl?” Gu Ye asked with a cold expression while leaning his weight on the crowbar.

“No, no, no, we’re not fighting!” All of the petty gangsters were scared by Gu Ye’s divination abilities, not to mention his strength. Their courage had been thoroughly extinguished. Why should they fight this guy? If they were really beaten up by Gu Ye, the least they could escape with was a broken bone. In the worst case scenario, they might even die! Furthermore, after they die, they might even be refined into ghost puppets! Only crazy people would fight against Gu Ye.

Yang Jin was also discouraged by the display and rubbed his hands, saying appeasingly, “No, no, you misunderstood us, Young Sir. We were just playing around. We are a group of peace loving people, so how could we fight? Fighting is against the law!”

Witnessing the whole process, Zhao PengYu chuckled, feeling that he had been worried about nothing. How could Gu Ye be bullied by petty gangsters if he could beat up ghosts? Seeing that things were going well, Zhao PengYu rode his bicycle away, smirking all the way.

Gu Ye noticed him and turned to look at his direction, the corner of his lips curling up into a smile. “It’s good that you’re not going to fight. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll take my brother away now. I’m sure we’ll meet again later, somehow.”

The group of petty gangsters said in a flattering tone, “Brother, take care and travel safely!”

“Goodbye, Brother’s lil’ bro!”

“If Young Sir ever wants to mix in the streets someday, don’t forget to contact us, ah!”

Yang Jin angrily beat the back of his younger lackey with his fist and said, “What motherfucking mix in the streets? You’re going with me to the construction site to move bricks tomorrow! We’re gonna make clean money!”

Gu Ye, at this time, was pinching Gu Yang’s ear and asked, “Are you stupid?”

Gu Yang grit his teeth in pain while covering his ears and shouted, “Brother, I’m wrong, I won’t listen to other people anymore. Let my ear go, ah! Let it go! It’s going to fall off!”

Gu Ye sneered, “It would be good if it fell off. We can pickle it along with your eggs. It’s not like they’re useful to you, anyway.”

After watching Gu Ye leave the place, Yang Jin turned to Qian Zhen who had claimed that the boy was timid, stupid, easily frightened, and wouldn’t dare to make a sound even when beaten. Qian Zhen had said that if they ganged up on him, he would pay them 20,000 yuan. Now, the Young Sir wasn’t even close to Qian Zhen’s description, and he really wanted to beat this swindler up! Thinking of Gu Ye’s words, he kept his impulse in check and didn’t make a move. “You fuck off now! You even dare to offend such a master, be careful or you will be cursed to death one day!”

Qian Zhen was very depressed. People his age were usually quite arrogant. He was taught a lesson by Gu Ye last time, so he had wanted to get his revenge this time. As a result, everyone treated Gu Ye as if he was some kind of great immortal, and even money was useless against him. Qian Zhen was quite desperate. Gu Ye is poisonous! It’s better to stay away from him!

————

When they got home, Gu Yang couldn’t hold back and told their parents about everything that happened today as they ate lunch. He focused on how powerful his brother was. Like a Shaolin monk, his brother could use a stick as a weapon and knew Baguazhang, Southern Fist, Northern Kick etc., just like in a blockbuster movie.

Listening to his story, Mrs. Gu angrily smacked the table. “This is kidnapping! They need to bear legal responsibility! Do you think I’ll let them go just because the college entrance exam is around the corner? No way in hell! Were you two hurt?”

Gu Ye stuffed a spring roll into his mouth and shook his head, acting like an obedient child.

Mrs. Gu then calmly said, “It’s good that you’re not hurt, but they dare to bully my son?! Hah!”

Gu Yang quickly flattered her. “Mom, you’re becoming more and more powerful now.”

Gu Ye smiled. His stepmother’s greatest strength was her protectiveness toward her sons. Meaning, she could pettily scheme against Gu Ye, but others absolutely can’t. Gu Ye sincerely praised her. “Mom, you really are a man of steel! Love you~”

Mrs. Gu : “…”

Who the fuck is a man of steel? Keep your mouth shut, brat!

Gu Ye appeased her. “Don’t worry about it. They wouldn’t dare to find trouble or make a mess with me now. I’m not a child, I can’t report to you everytime something happens. What would people say?”

Mrs. Gu said coldly, “That’s true but it’s not that simple.”

Gu Ye shrugged with his arms spread and smiled. “It’s alright. Well, if I can’t handle it one day, I’ll just ask you for help again. You’re fierce and brave, invincible on the battlefield. You can— Hiss! Mom! Mom! You’re going to tear my ear off!”

Mrs. Gu was very pleased. “Who’s fierce now? You dare talk nonsense again?”

“Dad! Dad is the fiercest person in our family! You’re not fierce at all!” Gu Ye covered his ear while suspecting that this was an intentional payback because he had pinched Gu Yang’s ear earlier today.

After lunch, Gu Ye went to his room to sleep, but Gu Yang quietly crept into his room. “Brother, don’t sleep yet. When did you learn to fight? Teach me.”

Gu Ye sighed. “Kiddo, what you need the most right now is IQ.”

“I don’t like studying,” said Gu Yang.

Gu Ye said solemnly, “Not studying, IQ.”

“What do you mean?” Gu Yang tilted his head, puzzled. Glancing down, he saw a porcelain bottle placed beside Gu Ye’s pillow, and his hands quickly moved. A moment later, he was already holding the bottle, completely distracted. “Brother, this bottle is very unique.”

“Well, the things inside are even more unique. Do you want to listen to the story of this bottle?” The corner of Gu Ye’s lips curled up into a smile while he narrowed his eyes to hide the bad intention reflected within.

“Definitely!” Gu Yang was instantly hooked and pulled the big rocking horse placed against the wall next to Gu Ye before sitting on it in one go.

“This story is not free. You have to accompany me out tomorrow.”

“Okay!” The fourth son then proceeded to clap like a seal.

Three minutes later, Gu Yang threw the bottle and jumped in fright before shaking his hands. He could see the goosebumps on his arms. “Ah, ah, ah, fuuuuck!”

Gu Ye just smiled while watching Gu Yang jumping around and didn’t forget to remind him, “Take this bottle with you tomorrow. Your big brother will take you along to do something exciting.”

Gu Yang was about to cry. “Can I not go?”

“No, my lovely Young Red-Scarf Pioneer. I know you want to tag along!”

In Gu Yang’s world, there seemed to be a law. Even if you don’t want something, if your big brother says that you want it, then you definitely want it! Gu Yang really wanted to kneel in repentance.