Chapter 162: This Dog Thief Was Too Tricky
Chapter 162: This Dog Thief Was Too Tricky
Tang Qing’s hands were truly skillful. As soon as Li Zian mentioned his requirements, she understood exactly what kind of incense he wanted to make. She even offered her own suggestions.
“Brother Zian, since what you want is incense to deal with bad guys, why not add a mechanism to it and use it as a hidden weapon?” Tang Qing said.
Li Zian was surprised. “Incense can be used as a hidden weapon?”
Tang Qing smiled slightly. “After all, I’m your personal prop maker. Let me ask you, do you light this incense from the top?”
Li Zian replied, “Of course, incense is lit from the top. Who would light it from the bottom?”
“Do you light it with a lighter?” Tang Qing asked again.
“Of course you need a lighter to light it, how else would you do it?” Li Zian was somewhat confused. He didn’t understand why Tang Qing was asking him these common-sense questions; it felt very strange.
Tang Qing explained, “If you want to use poisonous smoke to incapacitate an enemy, will they give you a chance to use a lighter? If you light it beforehand, they’ll surely get suspicious, become alert, stay away from you, or even run off. What would you do then?”
Li Zian felt a spark of realization. “You must have an idea. Let’s hear it.”
Tang Qing said, “Brother Zian, what if I make the incense you want into something like a firecracker?”
Li Zian paused briefly, then understood. “You mean adding flammable gunpowder inside the incense?”
Tang Qing nodded. “I plan to create a hidden compartment inside the incense, filled with gunpowder. At the bottom of the gunpowder compartment, I’ll embed a match striker and a matchstick. When you pull the matchstick, the gunpowder will ignite completely within one or two seconds, burning from the bottom to the top of the incense. The enemy you want to knock down won’t have a chance to escape.”
Once she explained it, Li Zian fully understood. Excitedly, he grabbed Tang Qing’s shoulders. “Amazing! You truly live up to being the Head Engineer of the Worry-Relieving Studio. That’s a brilliant design—instantly lighting a large incense stick, with a thick cloud of smoke rising. If I blow on it, no one can stand against it!”
Tang Qing’s face blushed slightly, and her gaze drifted toward Li Zian’s hands on her shoulders.
Li Zian suddenly realized his forwardness and quickly withdrew his hands, changing the subject. “I’ll go buy firecrackers, matches, paint, fluorescent powder, and such.”
“What do you need paint and fluorescent powder for?” Tang Qing asked curiously.
Li Zian grinned. “Once you’ve made the incense, I want to draw a few symbols on it to add a touch of mystery.”
Tang Qing also smiled. “That makes sense. You’re the Master, after all—once the Large Incense is lit, your Magical Power will be boundless.”
Li Zian placed the alloy toolbox on the workbench, opened it, and took out two pieces of poisonous ointment. He then told Tang Qing the proportions: eight parts of Movement-Halting Ointment to two parts of Body-Poisoning Ointment. He repeatedly reminded her to wear rubber gloves and avoid direct contact with the ointment. Only after watching her handle the poisonous ointment correctly did he leave the Studio to buy the necessary materials.
Even the hot afternoon sun couldn’t dampen the tourists’ enthusiasm. The River Embankment was still bustling with people, lively as ever.
Li Zian walked along the River Embankment, scanning the crowd for the white figure he wanted to see.
There were many women wearing white on the embankment, but none of them was Gushi Dayueer.
Then, someone he didn’t want to see appeared abruptly in his line of sight—a large, solid man in a T-shirt, floral shorts, sunglasses, and flip-flops, pretentiously fanning himself with a folding fan.
It was Da Chui, one of Huang Bo’s underlings.
Li Zian strode over.
At first, Da Chui stood still, but when he saw Li Zian approaching, he didn’t avoid him. Instead, he walked toward Li Zian and stopped just before they would have collided.
Li Zian feigned anger. “Are you spying on me?”
Da Chui snorted coldly. “You caught on? Don’t try any tricks, or I’ll make a call, and that father and daughter will be dead.”
Just as he finished speaking, Li Zian suddenly kneed him between the legs.
Thump!
“Aaargh…” One second earlier, Da Chui wore a cold, smug smile, but now he couldn’t even stand straight, his hands clutching the injured spot as he crouched down.
Li Zian snatched Da Chui’s sunglasses, threw them on the ground, and stomped on them.
Da Chui was stunned, frozen in shock and anger.
If it weren’t for the excruciating pain below and the shattered sunglasses right in front of him, he wouldn’t have believed Li Zian had actually hit him, taken his sunglasses, and crushed them underfoot!
Had he not made himself clear?
But he was sure he had—one phone call, and the hostages would die!
Yet he had said it, and he got beaten.
Li Zian looked at him with a warm, sunny smile.
Without the sunglasses, Da Chui’s face was fully exposed—triangular eyes, broken eyebrows, a short forehead—the textbook look of a short-lived criminal type.
Da Chui glared at Li Zian, his eyes nearly spewing flames.
Li Zian spoke calmly. “You’re just a small-time errand boy. How dare you try to scare me? Huang Bo hasn’t gotten what he wants yet. Would he kill the hostages just for a low-level thug like you? You’re overestimating yourself. Even if I beat you up, or even threw you into the river to feed turtles, he wouldn’t kill the hostages. Don’t believe me? Try it.”
Only then did Da Chui catch his breath. He said nothing, but a malicious glint flashed in his triangular eyes. In that instant, he suddenly struck, throwing a punch straight at Li Zian’s groin.
As soon as Da Chui’s shoulder moved, Li Zian knew where he was aiming. He could have easily dodged, but he chose not to. In a split second, he gathered a large amount of Zhenqi to that area.
Da Chui’s fist was much larger than an average person’s, each knuckle covered with thick calluses. It looked like a hammer carved out of stone—rough, hard, and powerful!
Thump!
A direct hit!
Li Zian only furrowed his brow slightly.
The Zhenqi had filled the area, increasing its size by at least a third and making it as tough as a railroad tie. When Da Chui’s fist struck, the Zhenqi absorbed the impact, relieved the pain, reflected some force, and stimulated blood flow. The damage Li Zian suffered was negligible.
This was a special skill he developed from studying the Celestial Diagrams in his dreams last night, following his Zhenqi Punch.
Da Chui was dumbfounded.
He had thrown that punch in extreme anger, using all his strength. He expected to shatter anything in its path, even a stone slab. Yet it felt like he’d punched a rock wrapped in rubber, and his hand went numb from the impact!
An Aunt passed by the two men. Seeing one man crouching in front of another, with his fist pressed against the other’s crotch, she instantly showed disdain and spat. “Hmph—ptui!”
After spitting, the Aunt scurried away as if avoiding the plague.
The position was indeed indecent.
Da Chui snapped back to reality and hurriedly pulled back his fist.
Li Zian had achieved the result he wanted. Da Chui might have some skill, but he was far inferior to Huang Bo.
If this were a martial arts novel, Da Chui would be at the level of a senior disciple in a minor sect—someone who could intimidate petty troublemakers, escort goods, guard a gambling den, or collect protection money from a few streets. But against a Master like Li Zian, he was nothing.
Li Zian smiled again. “That punch wasn’t bad. I’m impressed. Stand up, I’ll punch you once, and then you can punch me back.”
Da Chui immediately shook his head.
“Scared?” Li Zian’s expression turned fierce. “If you’re too scared to fight me, why act like a big shot? Listen, I’m going to buy ice cream for my daughter. I hate being followed. If you dare tail me, I’ll make sure you can’t walk!”
Da Chui’s eyes turned vicious.
Rage burned inside him; he wanted to rip Li Zian’s head off. Only that would satisfy his hatred.
Yet he remained crouching on the ground.
“Call Huang Bo. Tell him to prepare 10 million, and make sure the two hostages are safe. If even a hair on their heads is harmed, Huang Bo won’t get what he wants,” Li Zian said.
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Da Chui’s mouth.
You still think you’ll get the 10 million?
Wait to collect spirit money in the underworld! Not just 10 million—you can have 10 billion there!
As for those two hostages, they’ll join you on the Road to the Underworld.
All these thoughts were conveyed in that cold smirk.
Li Zian suddenly raised his foot and stomped hard on Da Chui’s right instep.
“Ah!” The pain shot through Da Chui like he’d been stabbed, and he let out a sharp cry.
Many people nearby turned to look, unsure what had happened.
Li Zian had already walked past him.
Only then did Da Chui look at his foot. In that short moment, his instep had swollen like a steamed bun.
He felt a murderous rage, yet an eerie sense of desolation washed over him.
Dog thief!
You’re really pushing it too far!
And just then, Li Zian turned back and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to step on your foot. If you still want to follow me to buy ice cream, go ahead. I’ll just walk slower.”
Da Chui’s fury surged, and he nearly coughed up blood.
Li Zian strutted off.
Had he accidentally stepped on the other’s foot?
No, he had done it quite deliberately, after gathering Zhenqi in advance.
By injuring Da Chui’s foot, he effectively weakened Huang Bo’s group. Even if Da Chui hadn’t provoked him, Li Zian would have found an excuse anyway. Since Huang Bo hadn’t gotten what he wanted, Da Chui wouldn’t dare disrupt the plan with a phone call. This bully had shown up asking for it—might as well teach him a lesson.
Da Chui struggled to his feet, hunched over as he watched Li Zian’s retreating figure. He instinctively tried to follow, but as he lifted his leg, a sharp pain shot through his hip as if it were splitting, and a searing pain radiated from his right foot. There was no way he could catch up to Li Zian now.
Half an hour later, Li Zian returned, carrying a large bag of snacks—ice cream, Chocolate, potato chips, Beef Jerky, dried fruit, and other assorted items.
Da Chui was still standing in the same spot, glaring coldly at Li Zian.
Li Zian walked over and suddenly raised his hand.
Da Chui hastily stumbled back, his injured foot nearly causing him to fall.
Li Zian reached into the large snack bag, pulled out an ice cream, and offered it sincerely. “It’s hot out. You’ve been spying on me here on the River Embankment—it must be tough. Here, friend, have an ice cream on me.”
Da Chui stared blankly at the ice cream held out to him, hesitated briefly, then took it.
“See, that’s better. I’m actually quite easygoing. Well, I’m heading back now. See you tonight.” Li Zian smiled and walked away.
Da Chui immediately tossed the ice cream into the river.
This dog thief was too tricky—there might be poison in the ice cream…