093 Playing a Song for Good Fortune
“Let’s get to work.”
Boss Li changed into a fresh outfit and had a dinner with abysmal value for money on Gongyuan Street.
The restaurant was still bustling, and it would remain open throughout the first month of the lunar year.
Today was the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month. Gongyuan Street was lively all day long—after all, it was a rare holiday, finally drawing crowds of people from Jianye into the night, shoulder to shoulder and elbow to elbow.
The crowds were here to see the lanterns; many were tourists, likely families traveling together for the New Year.
Wherever people gathered, that place felt like home—it was rather pleasant.
By half past seven, the lanterns grew more numerous. The following day would be New Year’s Eve, and the merchants were preparing for the busiest time of the year.
At eight o’clock, the scenic area launched fireworks and various celebratory salutes, all marked by vibrant bursts of red and prosperity.
Boss Li watched the lively scene on Gongyuan Street, then put on his headphones, which were playing a recently produced demo of “Good Luck Comes.”
Su Mengyao had tried her hand as a songstress. Though not professional, with the “Tuning Technician (Junior)” skill, having Yao Yao as a “sound card warrior” was quite fitting.
The December sky grew dark early and heavily. Despite the brilliant lights, the biting cold made the shadows seem even darker.
Boss Li, gloved, one hand in his pocket and the other swinging, found the tune of “Good Luck Comes” truly festive.
Far better than that New Year’s single by Wang Tianxian.
He threaded through streets and alleys, then crossed a bridge. At one end stood two grinning men, a rolled-up newspaper tucked under their arms with a knife handle sticking out.
They drew the blade, brandished it with a flick, and the paper fluttered away on the wind—a piercingly cold northwest breeze.
“Damn, why’s it so cold here?”
“Buddy, how about lending me some cash to spend?”
Both held machetes.
In the center of the bridge, Boss Li glanced back to see two more men—one wielding an axe, the other the same.
Quite the spectacle.
“Wait a moment.”
Li Jie signaled to pause, then hit replay on his music, pulling out a “Black Cat Hero Police” themed thermal balaclava from his pocket before putting his headphones back on.
There was surveillance here, but...
It was broken.
Don’t ask who broke it.
The answer was simply the cold had frozen it into malfunction.
“Good luck comes, wishing you good luck comes...”
Yao Yao as a “sound card warrior” wasn’t bad at all.
“Attack!”
Killers surged up from both sides, blocking the streets at the bridge’s ends. Li Jie noticed the leader was behind him, then spun around, charging forward. With arms spread wide, his fists struck simultaneously at the throats of two men.
Crack!
Thud!
The move came too swiftly; the killers charging from front and back staggered for a moment. Li Jie stepped firmly, sent an axe flying into midair, caught it, and struck the struggling man on the ground directly across the neck with a powerful chop.
Ssshh!
Blood sprayed instantly. Rolling aside, he wielded another axe, slashing it down to sever two legs in one mighty blow.
His strong frame rose instantly, delivering an elbow smash that crushed an eyeball, snatching the attacker’s dropped machete. With a reverse grip, he plunged the blade into another man’s neck.
Ssshh! Ssshh!
Everything happened in an instant. In the flash of a moment, Li Jie had slain four men.
“Kill him—”
Though Du Gu Sheng was mentally prepared, seeing with his own eyes what his cousin described as “like a beast” was something else entirely.
This was truly a rare and exotic creature!
Still, fifty against one, the advantage was his!
“Fold a thousand paper cranes, then tie a red ribbon~”
Ssshh!
“May kind people have good luck every day~”
Crack!
“You live a hardworking and beautiful life, health and spring everlasting~”
Pfft! Pfft!
Blades slashed and axes chopped in mere seconds. Li Jie’s extraordinary strength, arm power, and stamina allowed him to easily dominate in this cold-weapon brawl.
Most importantly, he stood in the center of the bridge—the high ground. The momentum of his downward charges was unstoppable.
“Hahaha ha ha ha...”
He hurled an axe that struck a man squarely between the eyebrows. Pivoting, he caught another’s wrist with one hand, gently pushed and pulled, dislocating the wrist and fracturing the bones, then chopped straight through the carotid artery with his axe, blood spurting three feet!
“Damn it, that move really hurts!”
Seeing this, Du Gu Sheng knew things were dire and shouted for retreat—but it was too late. Li Jie tossed a throwing knife like a magic trick, piercing the back of his neck.
The throwing knife didn’t kill him, but paralyzed him on the spot.
“Junior Chairman!”
“Take the Junior Chairman out of here!”
“This is impossible to fight, retreat quickly!”
Swish!
The windcoat fluttered noisily as three throwing knives flew out—almost a mere flash—and three more men collapsed.
Behind the bridge, the forces crumbled like a landslide. The attackers charging ahead had no idea what had happened.
All they heard were screams and calls to “take the Junior Chairman away.”
For a bounty of twelve million taels, many seasoned veterans had no intention of going home for the New Year.
Boss Li didn’t plan on letting them go home either.
Swish!
Another three throwing knives, this time “cat claw darts” with LED lights that glowed brilliantly in the dark, casting dazzling multicolored flashes—cool beyond measure.
“What the hell is going on!”
“Bad news, retreat!”
Swish!
Three more cat claw throwing knives shot out, LED lights flickering like stars.
“You dance the peaceful years, you soar the new era~”
Thud!
Li Jie delivered a heavy side kick that sent a man flying, his head striking the bridge pillar and collapsing immediately.
Crack!
An axe chopped down on the man’s head, then he casually threw the axe again, striking another!
“Spare me! Spare...”
Snap!
A foot stomped on the man’s chest, breaking his sternum.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The man was crushed utterly motionless beneath his feet. Li Jie then approached a crawling assassin, pulled the axe from his back, and casually chopped the back of his neck. He then leisurely walked over to where Du Gu Sheng was being lifted.
“I’ll fight you...”
Swish!
Li Jie flicked up a machete and, with a reverse cut, beheaded him instantly.
“Oh ho!!”
Picking up two more machetes, Li Jie swayed to the rhythm of “Good Luck Comes,” taking down one after another, two at a time.
Anyone standing in his path was cut down.
Only when he reached Du Gu Sheng did he stop, lean in, and cup his ear close. “What? Your cousin’s name is Yang Ying? Oh, I see. Thanks.”
“Cousin~ I’m coming~~”
With a swift stroke, Du Gu Sheng’s head rolled to the side.
“Wow...”
Looking at the chaotic scene behind him, Li Jie tossed his weapons aside. “A bit overboard. Better get out of here.”
Time to make a swift exit.
End of the third update.
Progress: 29,400 words of 200,000 total.
(Chapter complete)