Chapter 21 - Sons of Underworld (1/2)
Hei had moved away from the water buffalos, but his thoughts were still focused on them. It bothered him having to leave the water buffalos in the clutches of people like that, but if he had tried to do something, he would have endangered not only the buffaloes but also the surrounding people who had no fault but that of being helpless to such cruelty.
Hei knew he couldn't take it out on them for not having intervened because, in the end, everyone already had people to take care of. After all, they were ordinary people who had to deal with everyday difficulties and were barely able to protect the little they had.
The problem of food and the search for the sect had already taken a back seat. Now Hei had to get information on that bastard merchant.
The problem was that it seemed difficult to implement: from the fragments of the spectators' discussion, he had realized that the merchant called Dong Zhen was a big shot in the city.
The mere presence of that guard at his side was clear evidence of this statement. He was also not the only guard owned by the merchant. Surely his shop was closely monitored.
Obviously, with his mother by his side, getting rid of them directly would have been child's play, but he didn't want always to have to depend on her. Not to mention that he had noticed his mother had become even more tired than usual after taking care of the bandits that night at Leaf Village.
Therefore, unless it was necessary, Hei decided that he would manage fights with his two sisters. So, finding information on the target was the first thing to do.
As he thought about how to act, Hei realized that while he was absorbed in his thoughts, he had ended up on the street outside the city center. The buildings around it looked worse, and everywhere there was a silence that made people shiver.
Suddenly, with the tails in his eye, he saw a boy running into an alley followed shortly after by two adult men chasing him.
Realizing that he had ended up in a blind alley, the boy tried to turn back but was stopped forcefully by the shoulders and thrown against the wall by one of the two men. The second man instead stood beside him and pulled out a knife that pointed at the boy's throat.
Intrigued by this scene, Hei decided to investigate to find out what was happening. Since it was an alley with only one exit/entrance, he opted to climb onto the roof of the adjacent building to observe unseen them from above.
”Well, well, what do we have here? A sewer rat who came to take a walk?” The man with the knife said as he laughed unpleasantly and then went on, ”I have come to know that business is going good for you and your gang, yet I also know that you are paying nothing to Lord Dong. As you know, if you want to carry out your operations in this city, you have to pay for his blessing.”
”I-I don't know what you're talking about... business, gang? I'm just a passerby who is touring the city. ”
”Do you think we're stupid? Have we written fools on the forehead? ”
”Well, I don't know. If you want, I can check, I can do it for free, what do you say- ” then the man with the knife punched him in the stomach and then slammed the boy's head against the wall.
”As I said, sewer rat, I advise you not to treat us like morons and behave yourself if you don't want to become a cripple. Did you really think that boss Dong Zhen wouldn't know about the thefts made by your companions? If your leader believed he could escape paying boss Dong, then he is foolish. As if a group of kids could dominate the underworld of this city. You are only sewer rats that you will live, and you will die in the sewers, nothing more. ”
At these words, the boy became angry and tried to free himself only to get another punch in the stomach.
Meanwhile, Hei, hearing the name Dong Zhen, was crossed by a cold shiver. Unexpectedly, he had an opportunity to learn more about this Dong Zhen.
”Mother, I'm going to attack these two. In this way, I will be able to learn more about that merchant. I ask you to leave the fight to me, Xing and Ye, okay? If only you can tell me which stage are these two.” Hei proposed with a fighting spirit; the anger inside was boiling as he remembered the poor water buffaloes. So, having someone to beat was a good thing, mainly if they were associated with that fat merchant.
'All right, don't worry, my little ones. Neither of them has awakened their spirit power. Incidentally, those you defeated at the bandits' attack on the Leaf Village were first stage spirit apprentice. So you won't have any problems beating these two men.'
With their mother's encouragement, the three of them lurked on the edge of the roof, ready to pounce like raptors on Dong Zhen's two unaware henchmen.
'Big brother, leave us the one with the knife, okay?' Xing said with a convinced tone. Usually, it was Ye who launched herself frontally at the enemy, but if Xing had advanced this proposal, it meant that she had a plan in mind.
'All right. What's on your mind?'
'I'll go down first on the head of the one with the knife. I'll hurt him on the forehead with my legs so that the blood runs on his eyes. At that point, Ye will quickly descend towards the hand holding the weapon, biting it so that he let go of the grip, and then she will move around his neck to suffocate him while I proceed to immobilize his hands with my spider webs.
Meanwhile, big brother, you will have to descend immediately, after Ye's attack, on the other man, taking advantage of the moment of distraction that will be created to knock him out. What do you think?'
'I like it. I'll make him taste the power of my fangs. He won't even be able to move his hand.'
”Ok, but don't overdo Ye. We need him alive. It is good as a plan. Good job Xing, we'll do so then.”
After receiving the consent from Hei and Ye, Xing was happy but then became severe to prepare herself for the attack.
The next moment, Xing went down as she had said and succeeded in wounding the enemy who, surprised and alarmed at the sight of blood, took a few steps back but then burst into a scream of pain when Ye bit him.
Meanwhile, the other henchman who was holding the boy nailed to the wall, was surprised at this scene. When he recovered and tried to do something, it was too late because Hei came upon him from above.
Since he was afraid of causing too severe injuries if he hit him like that with a kick or punch, Hei opted for another option. When he came down from the roof, he did this in such a way as to descend into the exact position of the man. Taking advantage that the enemy was exposed and didn't expect any sudden attack, Hei placed his left arm around his neck with his left elbow in front of the man's adam's apple, and with his right hand pushed the left hand upwards to increase the pressure on his neck.
'Snake Bind, Form 3, Guillotine Snake.'
Guillotine Snake was one of the submission techniques taught by Bao Bei to Hei. This was the second time he used one Snake Bind's forms on a human being, but this time he just had to choke him until he fainted instead of killing him.
Shortly afterward, the enemy collapsed due to a lack of oxygen and fell to the ground motionless. Although he appeared dead, if you took a closer look, you could notice that he was still alive.
At that point, Hei turned to look at his two little sisters who had finished to deal with their target. Seeing this, Bao Bei on Hei's head, smiled inwardly satisfied with how her children had gone.