Chapter 20: Trouble You Can’t Avoid
Chapter 20: Trouble You Can’t Avoid
Clang!
This sound felt like a heavy drum beating in the hearts of everyone present.
“He finally blocked it!”
The five players from the school team and the onlookers all let out a sigh of relief. Just a moment ago, when Yang Qi took the shot, they had thought it was all over.
“Did he finally miss?”
Besides a trace of disappointment, Niu Fengshan felt an odd sense of happiness. It seemed like this made Yang Qi seem like a normal person again. Otherwise, that perfect, never-miss accuracy would have been too hard to accept.
Wait!
Suddenly, he saw a figure rising rapidly behind the five players, like a divine roc spreading its wings, almost floating in mid-air.
It was Yang Qi. Starting his run from beyond the three-point line, his body leapt high into the air, almost defying Earth’s Gravity Manipulation, seeming to fly over the heads of the five players. With both hands, he caught the basketball that had bounced off the rim and slammed it forcefully into the hoop.
A tip-in dunk!
And it was a two-handed dunk! This high school student, a little over 1.75 meters tall, had completed a dunk—a two-handed dunk, a spectacular alley-oop tip-in slam!
Thud!
The basketball fell to the ground, hitting everyone’s hearts like a weight.
Looking at Yang Qi, who released the rim and descended slowly, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, he appeared dazzling and blindingly radiant!
“Holy crap!”
Underneath his stunned expression, those words burst from the depths of Niu Fengshan’s heart. After the curse, his jaw simply wouldn’t close properly.
The expressions of the others were even more exaggerated; it was a wonder their jaws didn’t hit the floor.
“Coach, does a tip-in count as scoring?”
Yang Qi walked up to Niu Fengshan and asked with a smile.
“Yes… yes, it counts!”
Niu Fengshan snapped back to reality and looked at Yang Qi with a completely changed gaze. Originally, he wanted to nurture, or rather, mentor Yang Qi out of an appreciation for his talent. Now it was different. His appreciation was even greater, but he no longer felt the courage to nurture or mentor him. This kid was simply a basketball prodigy, a basketball monster, someone who could set the whole court on fire just by being given a game!
“So, does what you said earlier about not needing training still stand?”
“It stands!” Niu Fengshan swallowed hard, his face finally relaxing into a smile. He chuckled and said, “Don’t call me ‘coach’ all the time. From now on, you can call me Old Niu like the others!”
“Alright, Old Niu!”
…
Walking out of the school, Yang Qi let out a sigh. He had to admit that Old Niu was indeed like Li Mingwei had said—an overly enthusiastic, slightly weird middle-aged man. Although Yang Qi wouldn’t be attending the training sessions, he agreed to Old Niu’s request to find some time to watch their practices and join them for a few scrimmages. After all, basketball was a team sport.
There was a mobile phone shop not far from the school. Yang Qi went and bought a SIM card, then made a call to Lu Liangjie, followed by a call to Shen Zhengfeng.
He went to the hospital. Huang Man was doing well and could be discharged after one more day of observation for safety. Returning to the courtyard in the evening, after putting the kids to sleep, Yang Qi couldn’t contain his excitement. He secretly climbed over the wall, drove the Phantom Chariot to the seaside, and joyrode several thrilling loops along the coast.
Back when dealing with Shen Zhengfeng, Yang Qi had glimpsed the ferocity of the Phantom Chariot. How could he not indulge and have some fun with it now? Even with a calm temperament, he was still a 17-year-old kid at heart.
He had already seen the power of the Photon Bomb roughly and knew he only had one left, so he wouldn’t test it again. But he thoroughly explored all the other functions of the Phantom Chariot!
Moreover, Yang Qi discovered something: the Phantom Chariot’s so-called amphibious capability wasn’t just for the water’s surface; it could go underwater too.
The Phantom Chariot could dive!
He played until midnight before finally returning home. Falling asleep with hard-to-conceal excitement, he woke up the next day, bought breakfast as usual, sent the little ones to elementary school, and then returned to Ruiyun High School.
“Finally, it’s Saturday!”
A sharp glint flashed in Qin Muchu’s eyes as he coldly glanced back at Yang Qi’s seat. Yang Qi had been skipping a lot of classes these past few days. They say out of sight, out of mind, but for Qin Muchu, Yang Qi remained a thorn in his flesh that he couldn’t pluck out. Just sending people to beat Yang Qi up was no longer enough to vent his hatred. He wanted to watch Yang Qi get beaten, and not just once!
Barely enduring until the bell rang, Qin Muchu got up and walked straight out of the classroom. His lackeys like Xun Tuizhi immediately followed. Outside the school gate, they met up with Zhuang Zhoufeng.
“The guys I called are already at the gate. Take your time and enjoy the show, Young Master Qin.”
Zhuang Zhoufeng pointed at a group of seven or eight men not far from the school entrance, speaking to Qin Muchu. He intended to excuse himself, but Qin Muchu grabbed him and said, “Watch it with me.” Seeing this, Zhuang Zhoufeng had no choice but to stay.
Of the seven or eight men at the gate, only two or three looked like street thugs. The rest appeared quite normal, without any delinquent air. The only noticeable difference was that each one looked extremely muscular and had sharp, piercing eyes.
“Young Master Feng.”
One of them greeted Zhuang Zhoufeng upon seeing him, then looked at Qin Muchu beside him and said with a smile, “This must be Young Master Qin, right?”
Qin Muchu nodded and said, “I’ll trouble you gentlemen in a moment.”
“Don’t mention it.” The man waved his hand, pointing to a nearby park. “Young Master Qin, why don’t you head over there and wait? We’ll bring the kid there in a bit.”
“Mhm.”
Qin Muchu gave an appreciative look and walked towards the park.
“This guy seems good. Is he one of your dad’s men?” Qin Muchu politely asked Zhuang Zhoufeng.
“Sort of. Officially, he’s an employee under my dad’s company,” Zhuang Zhoufeng replied.
Hearing this, Qin Muchu laughed and said, “Then he must be an underground boxer, right? Speaking of which, I’m quite interested in your dad’s underground boxing ring. I’ll go check it out sometime.”
A flicker of displeasure crossed Zhuang Zhoufeng’s eyes, but he quickly smiled and said, “If Young Master Qin would honor us with a visit, it would be the ring’s great privilege.”
He felt uneasy inside. He had seen Yang Qi kick and snap a tree trunk, but he couldn’t outright refuse Qin Muchu’s demands forcefully. He had asked his father for help in advance and told him about Yang Qi’s strength. Clearly, his father didn’t quite believe Zhuang Zhoufeng’s words, but due to the importance of Qin Muchu, he still sent an underground boxer over.
Zhuang Zhoufeng knew this boxer’s capabilities. He held a winning streak record at the boxing club and was a formidable fighter.
“That’s right, having strength doesn’t necessarily mean having strong fighting skills! And that kid definitely doesn’t have real combat experience!”
Zhuang Zhoufeng comforted himself this way.
The seven or eight men all held phones with a photo of Yang Qi. They checked each student coming out against the photo and soon spotted Yang Qi.
“You’re Yang Qi, right?”
One man walked up to Yang Qi, checked the photo again, and sneered, “Come with us to that park over there.” As he spoke, three more men approached, blocking Yang Qi’s path.
“Who are you?” Yang Qi frowned slightly.
“You’ll know once you get to the park,” one of them said. “Kid, I know you can fight a bit, but if things get messy right at the school gate, it won’t look good for you.”
“So, you’re here to cause trouble for me?” Yang Qi glanced towards the park and said calmly, “It was Qin Muchu who sent you, right?”
“Since you know, let’s go then!”
Yang Qi touched the Black Iron Chain on his wrist and walked straight towards the park. Trouble was something you couldn’t avoid, and Yang Qi had been tolerating this particular trouble for far too long.
Sure enough, upon entering the park, Yang Qi saw Qin Muchu looking at him with a smug expression.
“Are these your people?”
Yang Qi didn’t look at Qin Muchu but instead at Zhuang Zhoufeng standing beside him.
Hearing this, Zhuang Zhoufeng turned his head away, pretending not to hear. He was still uneasy and didn’t know how to answer, so he chose not to.
Qin Muchu felt disdain for Zhuang Zhoufeng’s cowardice, then looked at Yang Qi and said, “You really do have guts. Even now, you dare to act so arrogantly.”
“Now?” Yang Qi looked coldly at Qin Muchu.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Qin Muchu said to the seven or eight men behind him. “Beat him up. Hit him hard. As long as it’s not fatal, I’ll cover for everything.”
The seven or eight men immediately surrounded Yang Qi. Like hungry tigers pouncing on a lamb, they charged at him. The ones in front threw punches and leg sweeps, their momentum fierce.
Yang Qi bent his body slightly, like a crouching leopard or tiger. He swept with his leg—thwack, thwack, thwack—knocking down three men. Then followed a flurry of punches, each landing solidly, causing the remaining men to cover their faces and stagger back, their eyes filled with pain.
In almost less than three seconds, only one of the seven or eight men remained standing. That man’s eyes gleamed sharply; he was the underground boxer Qin Muchu had mentioned.
This was the first time Qin Muchu had witnessed such a terrifying side of Yang Qi. A hint of fear appeared in his expression. He had only heard that Yang Qi could fight, but he never imagined he was this skilled. Those other guys were all street thugs!
“Never thought there’d be someone who could fight this well among high schoolers.”
The boxer cracked his neck twice, his eyes showing interest. Originally, he was slightly unhappy being called by his boss to bully a high school student. Now it seemed a bit more interesting.
This boxer wasn’t particularly tall, about 1.7 meters, and his weight likely didn’t exceed 70 kilograms.
The boxer stepped forward, hands hanging loosely by his sides, appearing very casual without any fighting stance. His footwork wasn’t fast, but each step was steady and firm.
Yang Qi’s expression turned serious. He could clearly see the calluses covering this man’s fists.
The man suddenly lashed out with a leg, whipping it towards Yang Qi’s head like a whip. The whooshing wind from the kick indicated significant power. Simultaneously, his fist came at an extremely awkward angle, almost reaching Yang Qi’s face at the same time.
This man went straight for heavy moves right off the bat, without any flashy techniques. It was instinct honed in underground boxing rings—to go all out against any opponent. After all, even a lion hunting a rabbit could get tripped up if careless.
Seeing this, Yang Qi reached out one hand to intercept the sweeping leg and the other to grab the incoming fist.
This wasn’t a block—it was an attack!