Mu Jinyu's gaze was ice cold, exuding a bone-chilling air.
Upon making eye contact with him, Liu Zhiqiang felt a chill envelop his entire body, as if he had plummeted into an ice cellar.
He abruptly bit down on the tip of his tongue, and the searing pain quickly brought him back to his senses. Then, glaring at Mu Jinyu, he snapped, "That's right, I was playing you, got a problem with that?"
"I have a problem!"
At this moment, the long-haired youth who had followed Liu Zhiqiang in, apparently the leader of this gang, suddenly spoke up.
When Liu Zhiqiang heard the long-haired youth speak, his heart sank with a thud, feeling a bad premonition. He hurriedly turned to look at him, putting on a butt-kissing smile, and asked, "Brother Jian, what problem do you have?"
Brother Jian's face was sullen. He first cautiously glanced at Mu Jinyu, then abruptly raised his hand and slapped it towards Liu Zhiqiang's face, cursing, "Damn it, you dare deceive me, and even dare to make me go against Master Mu?"
"Puh!"
Liu Zhiqiang's face swelled on one side from Brother Jian's slap, and he stumbled and fell to the ground. Then, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, mixed with several teeth.
Without even bothering to glance at him, Brother Jian ordered his subordinates, "Beat him to a pulp for me!"
"Yes!"
The tattooed youths responded in unison, raising the plastic water pipes in their hands and began to ruthlessly beat Liu Zhiqiang!
"Crackling sounds!"
"Ahh!!!"
Liu Zhiqiang was beaten like a dead dog, letting out pitiful howls.
"It's got nothing to do with us!"
"Stop hitting, stop! This has nothing to do with us!"
The few gambling demons lying on the ground pretending to be dead were not spared either; they received a fierce whipping from the brothers called over by Liu Zhiqiang!
Yet Brother Jian couldn't care less about these goings-on. After he ordered his brothers to sort out Liu Zhiqiang, the somber look on his face vanished instantly. He quickly put on a boot-licking expression and walked towards Mu Jinyu.
Lin Qiaoxia was sitting beside Mu Jinyu, extremely frightened by the scene unfolding before her eyes. Seeing Brother Jian approaching, she was nearly in tears from fear.
Her body trembling, she tightly clenched the corner of Mu Jinyu's clothing, hoping to glean some sense of security from it.
However.
What she hadn't expected was...
After Brother Jian had taken big strides toward them, he bowed deeply at a one hundred and eighty-degree angle, and then, with a "smack", he struck himself fiercely on the face, apologizing earnestly, "Master Mu, I'm sorry. I was fooled by a petty villain's slander and offended you. Please punish little Jian..."
Watching this spectacle, Lin Qiaoxia's mouth dropped open in shock. Then, turning to look at Mu Jinyu, who remained calm and collected throughout, she suddenly came to an understanding.
So they knew each other. No wonder he was unfazed all along.
But what Mu Jinyu said next left her stunned once more.
Mu Jinyu looked at Brother Jian with a perplexed expression, questioning, "Who are you? We don't know each other, do we?"
"Master Mu, of course, you don't know me, but I know Master Mu. I am with Boss Li Heshan at that teahouse casino. The scene of your great triumph that day, I cannot forget it to this day."
Li Rujian explained respectfully, his tone still betraying a measure of panic and fear.
He was a lackey who hovered around Li Heshan, so the gambling den Liu Zhiqiang often visited was naturally the same one Mu Jinyu had been to last time.
Since Liu Zhiqiang was a loser with terrible luck, they had gotten to know each other after a few visits.
Sometimes when Liu Zhiqiang got bullied, he would call him over for help, and considering the money involved, he would often bring a few brothers to back Liu Zhiqiang up and boost his presence.
He had just received a call from Liu Zhiqiang, learning that a creditor had come to collect debts, and knowing Liu Zhiqiang might have been badly bullied by his creditor, he also came over to lend Liu Zhiqiang some support, but he hadn't planned on standing up for him.
After all, paying debts is only natural, isn't it?
His intention was simply to arrive with a show of force, to ensure Liu Zhiqiang's creditor wouldn't go too far.
But who could have imagined that Liu Zhiqiang's creditor would actually be Mu Jinyu?!
That day, Mu Jinyu dominated every corner of the underground gambling den, and even Li Heshan, the once-regarded Gambling God, was no match for him; then Wang Zhengbiao arrived and bowed before him too. That scene was unforgettable. Afterwards, Mu Jinyu's dashing elegance had been deeply ingrained in his mind.
As soon as he entered this shabby shop, he felt that Mu Jinyu, who sat on the chair, looked very familiar.
Then, as Mu Jinyu looked up and cursed at Liu Zhiqiang, a chill went down his spine, and he immediately recognized Mu Jinyu.
He was suddenly filled with unease, cursing himself for being stupid enough to have come here.
The man in front of him was a fearful existence whom even his boss had to bow down to!
If Brother Biao found out that he had brought a group of underlings to support Liu Zhiqiang and oppose Mu Jinyu, he feared that Brother Biao would flay him alive!
He hurriedly disassociated himself from Liu Zhiqiang and called his subordinates to beat Liu Zhiqiang up before coming to apologize to Mu Jinyu.
He was extremely afraid that Mu Jinyu would misunderstand him, thinking he had come to bully Mu Jinyu in support of Liu Zhiqiang's tyranny!
When Mu Jinyu heard Li Rujian's words, his eyes flashed with realization, then his gaze turned cold, and he laughed, "What, you were planning to beat me up from the start, were you?!"
"No, no, definitely not..."
Li Rujian's heart nearly jumped out of his throat, and he waved his hands frantically, stammering, "I truly didn't mean to go against Master Mu. I'm not that kind of person who kicks a man when he's down. Just now, when that idiot shouted, I thought his creditor was bullying him too much, so I wanted to give him some backing to make his creditor think twice about going too far. But paying debts is a duty, I really had no intention of bullying anyone..."
Li Rujian, fearing he hadn't explained himself quickly enough, and that Mu Jinyu would take note of him, dialed Brother Biao right away, because if that happened, he would truly be done for.
After listening to his explanation, Mu Jinyu looked up at him intently.
Seeing that Li Rujian's gaze was fearful but didn't waver, Mu Jinyu knew he probably hadn't lied.
With a light chuckle, Mu Jinyu said, "Alright, first, tell your men to stop. If they kill him, who am I going to get my money from?!"
Li Rujian immediately turned around and roared, "Did you hear that? Master Mu says to stop!"
Upon receiving the order, the men gave Liu Zhiqiang another kick before retreating and dispersing.
Mu Jinyu's gaze followed, and he saw Liu Zhiqiang and his few fellow gamblers lying on the ground, barely breathing, probably lacking even the strength to get up.
Withdrawing his gaze, Mu Jinyu turned to look at Li Rujian and said indifferently, "Can you contact his family to come and pay off the debt?"
"Yes." Li Rujian nodded continuously, saying, "He often visits our gambling den, loses a lot of money, and regularly writes IOUs. His father, Liu Zhengguo, used to come to the gambling den often to get him out of trouble. We can get in touch with him!"
After speaking, Li Rujian said, "Please wait a moment, Master Mu. I'll give Brother Shan a call and have him notify Liu Zhengguo to come and pay you."