Volume 1 Chapter 20: The Soul-Snatching Ghost

"Where, where?" At this, the "fat bastard" began to flatter again. "Brother Fei, who doesn't know you're notoriously fierce? If you walk down the street, even the King of Heaven would have to step aside for you! Why would you be afraid of those cops?"

"Cut the crap," Ma Fei didn't give the "fat bastard" any face at all. "Tell me, why the hell did you come here? I still need to go back in and have some fun with my brothers. That little vixen, she's like a virgin; she's really fucking exciting!"

"Yes, yes, yes," the "fat bastard" nodded while pulling something out of his pocket, placing it respectfully before Ma Fei. "Brother Fei, actually, the person we wanted you to deal with... is him. You... you got the wrong person..."

"Got the wrong person?" Ma Fei looked at the item in front of him, then waved his hand while cursing. "Turn on the lights! How the hell can I see anything like this?"

The "fat bastard" hurriedly turned and pressed the light switch on the wall behind him.

As the bulb hanging above the wooden table in the room flickered to life with a dim, yellow light, I immediately frowned.

Because the "fat bastard" sitting at the wooden table was none other than the workshop supervisor who had proctored the test for Yuzhu and me!

That's right!

It was that supervisor! And what he had placed in front of Ma Fei was a photograph! A photograph of me!

It was the one taken by the factory staff when Yuzhu and I were processing our onboarding!

Damn it! The incident with my brother and Kang Youwei was just an accident! The person this supervisor paid Ma Fei to deal with was actually me!

I gritted my teeth hard! Naturally, I thought of Team Leader Li!

It seems Team Leader Li wasn't truly convinced...

No wonder he had taken a whole week off despite not having any broken bones!

He was hiding from me, making me think he was scared, only to have the supervisor hire Ma Fei to take me out!

That way, if something happened to me, no one would ever suspect he was the mastermind!

Team Leader Li, oh Team Leader Li! You really did a fucking good job!

I gnashed my teeth as the supervisor inside spoke up again.

"Brother Fei, this is the kid who hurt my nephew! My nephew wants this kid to have his hands and feet broken!"

Ma Fei laughed out loud: "Isn't this just a kid? Your nephew, Li Guangzu, is in his early thirties, and he can't even handle this kid? And he got beaten to the hospital by him? Isn't he a complete piece of trash!"

"Brother Fei! You don't understand, this kid is a bit eerie! My nephew is still terrified to this day..."

"I was just cursing your nephew, who the hell wants to hear about his pathetic stories?" Ma Fei interrupted, but then, as if thinking of something, his milky-white eyes darted rapidly. "Heh... that girl is quite nice... Listen, fat guy, how about this: tomorrow, find a way to lure both that girl and this kid over, and leave the rest to me."

The supervisor was stunned: "Bro... Brother Fei, that woman, I... my nephew..."

"Hmm?" Ma Fei's expression darkened. "Fatty, is your nephew trying to compete with me for a woman?"

"No, no!" The supervisor shook his head vigorously. "Whatever you say, Brother Fei! Tomorrow night! I'll bring them here tomorrow night! I'll leave it to you then, Brother Fei!"

Ma Fei gave a cold snort and didn't respond further. He smoked, head held high, as if daydreaming, and even perversely flicked his tongue over the corner of his mouth...

Watching this, my heart tightened. I had never expected that Ma Fei would still be coveting Yuzhu's beauty!

What to do? Should I make a move?

No, no! Not necessary!

Since it was Team Leader Li who had the supervisor hire Ma Fei to deal with me, as long as I handle Team Leader Li and the supervisor and make them cancel the contract, this matter should be resolved.

But... even if they cancel the contract, would this Ma Fei let Yuzhu go?

Watching Ma Fei licking his lips in that disgusting manner, and seeing his total lack of humanity toward women earlier, I really couldn't be sure...

Just then, as the supervisor stood up and bowed to Ma Fei to leave, a loud bang suddenly came from downstairs in the old building!

"Bang!!"

It sounded like someone had kicked down the front door!

Ma Fei stood up instantly, "whoosh," and pulled a gleaming watermelon knife from under the wooden table!

To the left, the men who had been with the woman in the room also pulled up their pants and rushed out, eyes locked on the staircase on the right side of the room leading to the first floor.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

Judging by the sound, it was only one person—someone with a very heavy tread.

Until that person gradually appeared from the stairwell.

It was a man in his twenties, dressed in camouflage.

He wore a matching camouflage cap, and his chiseled face was as cold as ice.

As he came up the stairs, he was carrying a large object. After stepping into the room, he casually tossed the "large object" into the center of the room.

It was the wolfhound from the courtyard downstairs! Its long tongue was hanging out, its body limp, showing no signs of life!

Moreover, there wasn't a drop of blood on the dog; only its head was twisted at an unnatural angle, as if its neck had been snapped by the man in camouflage!

We had been on the second floor the whole time and hadn't heard the dog, which was supposed to be in the yard, make even a single sound...

This guy in camouflage... is not simple!

"Damn!" The man closest to the stairwell stared at the camouflage-clad stranger and drew a switchblade!

"Wait!" Ma Fei, holding his knife, signaled the man to stop.

He seemed to realize the newcomer wasn't someone to mess with, so he stared at him with his milky-white eyes: "Brother, what path do you walk?"

But the man in camouflage ignored Ma Fei completely, looking coldly at the wall on the left side of the room.

That was the half-open wooden door the men had pushed aside when they rushed out.

At that moment, a woman, barely covered in rags, with disheveled hair and a face streaked with tears, crawled out from behind the door.

She was, of course, the woman who had been violated by Ma Fei and his brothers.

She leaned against the wall by the door, her legs trembling uncontrollably, a trail of red blood flowing down the inside of her thigh...

Until she saw the man in camouflage.

"Zheng... Zheng Chou? You... you're back?"

As if she had found a lifeline, she staggered toward him.

"Zheng Chou? You're Zheng Hai's younger brother?" Ma Fei raised an eyebrow and gave a cold snort. "I thought it was someone significant. Just a monkey-performing punk? Kid, you dare to barge into my place! Do you know how to write the word 'death'?"

Zheng Chou still ignored Ma Fei, nor did he look at the woman stumbling toward him.

He simply reached behind his back and drew a long, black-bodied, white-bladed machete...

The woman, Zhang Xiaoyan, froze in her tracks. As if she had just realized something, she panicked and kept retreating toward Ma Fei's side: "Zheng... Zheng Chou! What... what do you want? What are you doing!"

Even though Ma Fei and his men had just been abusing her, the look she gave Zheng Chou now was as if she were staring at a soul-reaping ghost!

"Zhang Xiaoyan, how long has it been since you went home?" Zheng Chou finally spoke in a cold voice. He pulled a piece of white cloth from his pocket and wrapped it around his right hand as he gripped the machete. "Do you know that my brother is dead? He hanged himself..."

The woman called Zhang Xiaoyan was stunned.

"He only had one hand. I don't even know how he managed to tie the knot..."

Zheng Chou paused.

"I know that after my brother became disabled, you felt he wasn't good enough for you, but did you forget why he became disabled?

You said you wanted to buy a gold necklace, so you made my brother put his fingers into the machine to crush them for the insurance money, but you... you shoved his entire hand in!

It's laughable... my brother even protected you afterward, saying your hand slipped and you didn't mean it...

I won't even mention all that.

After my brother was disabled, he could only rely on our family's ancestral monkey performances to make a living. If you felt he wasn't good enough for you, fine, you could have divorced him.

But you shouldn't have—you never should have been flirting with other men right in front of him! You shouldn't have belittled him, humiliated him, and called him a cripple every single day!

Now, I'm back, and my brother is dead. That's good, he can't protect you anymore...

Zhang Xiaoyan, you're finished..."

After Zheng Chou finished speaking, he had just finished wrapping his hand around the handle! He stared at Zhang Xiaoyan without a shred of emotion, just as one would stare at livestock waiting to be slaughtered!

Ma Fei kicked Zhang Xiaoyan in the back!

Zhang Xiaoyan let out a shriek and fell heavily into the center of the room.

"Brother Fei!" Zhang Xiaoyan looked back at Ma Fei, completely lost.

"Who the hell is your Brother Fei? How long have we even known each other? Are we close?" Ma Fei raised an eyebrow, likely sensing that Zheng Chou was not someone to be trifled with.

Zhang Xiaoyan was nearly on the verge of a breakdown, babbling to Zheng Chou, telling him not to listen to the neighbors' gossip.

"Brother, I'm a man who hates evil; the way this woman treated your brother is truly unforgivable!" Ma Fei said, looking at Zheng Chou. "I'm handing her over to you. Do whatever you want with her; I, Ma Fei, have nothing to say about it."

Zheng Chou finally looked at Ma Fei, but with that same icy, livestock-slaughtering gaze: "Everyone in this room who gave my brother a green hat... none of you are getting out of here..."

"Damn it!" Ma Fei's expression changed instantly!

He viciously raised the watermelon knife in his hand and pointed it at Zheng Chou: "You don't know what's good for you! Kill him!"

At Ma Fei's command, his brothers pulled out gleaming watermelon knives from all over the room! Roaring, they charged at Zheng Chou!

Zheng Chou shook the wrist holding his machete, his expression unchanging, and walked straight into them, picking up speed with every step!

The melee broke out the moment the blades clashed!

In an instant, a figure was kicked flying from the chaos!

It was Zhang Xiaoyan! With a "bang," she landed heavily on the wooden table!

She trembled all over, blood constantly spilling from her mouth! Across her chest and abdomen, there was a gruesome, gaping wound where the skin and flesh had been laid open!

Zheng Chou had indeed slashed her! He had slashed her with such hatred he clearly wanted to cut her in two!