Eighteen Falls: clothes-shedding, clothes-shattering. Even if Grandmaster Zhang Qiandie himself were here to perform this technique, he could hardly have done better.
Huang Hai knew it would be hard for him to walk away from this with any dignity today, but he still clung to a shred of desperate hope.
Those who practiced the Eighteen Falls were not necessarily fighters in a real brawl, and with his years of conditioning in iron-body techniques, he certainly wasn't afraid of being thrown.
The Iron Cloth technique turned every inch of a practitioner's body into a weapon. All he needed to do was figure out his opponent's method of generating force, counter finesse with sheer clumsiness, meet power with power, and win by a single half-move—which would be more than enough to cripple a man.
Huang Hai spread his arms, slapped his palms against the wall, and rebounded like a coiled spring.
Then, mid-air, he executed a swallow-turn tumbling maneuver, followed by a weighted drop, crashing heavily onto the floor with both feet planted like iron spikes driven into the ground.
With his level of physical conditioning, once he braced his stance and dug in, a dozen men pushing together wouldn't have been able to budge him.
Yet never in his wildest dreams did he expect that the moment he set his stance, his body would go flying through the air once more.
Bang!
Once again, he smashed hard against the wall.
Refusing to give up, Huang Hai leaped back into the fray, landing a little farther away from Li Muchen this time.
Yet he didn't even see Li Muchen move before he was sent flying all over again.
After this happened seven or eight times, Huang Hai's heart went completely cold.
Although his iron-body conditioning kept him from getting broken bones, he couldn't keep going on like this indefinitely.
No matter how tough a body was, it was still made of flesh and blood; it couldn't take this kind of endless pounding.
After being thrown out for the tenth time, Huang Hai slammed into the wall and didn't jump back out; instead, he slid straight down the surface.
*I am as far from him as possible now, and I have my back to the wall. Surely you can't throw me now.*
But he was still underestimating the situation.
Before he could even register any movement from Li Muchen, the young man was suddenly right in front of him.
And Huang Hai went flying once more.
With a loud crash, he slammed into the opposite wall.
Huang Hai yielded. He surrendered completely.
His own martial arts were simply not in the same league as his opponent's.
Yet he wasn't even given a chance to surrender, because Li Muchen gave him no opportunity to stop and speak.
The moment he paused, he was instantly picked up and hurled away.
Once his fighting spirit was gone, his strength vanished with it. Towards the end, every single toss rattled his bones, muscles, and internal organs to the core, until even his iron-body conditioning could no longer withstand the punishment.
On the seventeenth time, *bang*, Huang Hai crashed into the wall and slowly slid down. This time, he couldn't even stand; he could only collapse onto the floor, feeling as though his entire body had fallen apart.
Li Muchen walked over at a leisurely pace and looked down at him.
"I admit defeat... I... yield..."
Gasping for breath, Huang Hai had to summon the very last ounce of his strength just to squeeze out those words.
"I told you it was the Eighteen Falls. There's still one last time," Li Muchen said with a smile.
Terror flared in Huang Hai's eyes.
Then, he was sent flying into the air once more.
This time he didn't hit a wall; instead, his body spun a few times in mid-air before landing squarely in the sofa—right beside Liu Hongyu, as precisely placed as if he had deliberately sat down there himself.
Startled, Liu Hongyu saw that Huang Hai was completely motionless and reached out to shove him. "Master Huang? Master Huang..."
Yet Huang Hai simply slumped stiffly against the sofa, his limbs completely limp, looking for all the world like a dead man.
Li Muchen slowly turned and walked toward Liu Hongyu.
Liu Hongyu was genuinely terrified now.
He knew just how formidable Huang Hai was; before hiring him, Liu Hongyu had tested him personally. Bullets were untested, but ordinary blades truly couldn't scratch him.
It was precisely for this reason that Liu Hongyu hadn't been afraid when Zhou Na brought up Uncle Ming.
Never had he imagined that this young man before him could defeat Huang Hai in just a few casual moves.
He was so frightened that he had completely forgotten to make a phone call.
He had come prepared today; besides Huang Hai and his usual bodyguards, there were two vans parked outside.
With a single phone call, more than twenty of his brothers waiting in those vans would have rushed in.
Even if he remembered now, he no longer had the courage to make that call.
"Brother, let's talk this over," Liu Hongyu said in a panic as he watched Li Muchen walk closer. "Brother, please let me go. I'll give you money—name your price."
Li Muchen didn't say a word, his face masked in frost.
Liu Hongyu hadn't risen from a common street thug to his current wealth and status by relying solely on brute recklessness.
At critical moments, he knew how to bow his head—this was what a real man called knowing when to bend and when to stretch. Otherwise, his life would have been snuffed out long ago.
With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees. "Brother, I know I was wrong. I'll kowtow to you; I'll kowtow in apology to that young lady. I deserve to die."
"Too late," Li Muchen said coldly. "I already gave you a chance just now, and you didn't cherish it."
Liu Hongyu wanted to kowtow. If kowtowing could save his life, he was willing to kowtow a hundred times—a thousand times.
Yet he couldn't bring his head down; an invisible force held him suspended.
Li Muchen lightly raised a foot and pressed it onto Liu Hongyu's knee.
"Didn't you just say you were going to break both legs of my brother? Is that right?"
"What—what are you trying to do?" Liu Hongyu stared at Li Muchen in terror.
Li Muchen applied pressure with his foot.
The sound of shattering bone rang out simultaneously with Liu Hongyu's miserable scream.
Then Li Muchen moved his foot to Liu Hongyu's other knee and pressed down lightly once more.
Liu Hongyu collapsed onto the floor, howling like a slaughtered pig.
Li Muchen turned around, refusing to spare him another glance.
Feeling that justice hadn't quite been served, Ma Shan walked over and delivered a vicious kick straight to Liu Hongyu's crotch.
...
A convoy of over a dozen black sedans roared in like a squall, screeching to a halt with the harsh wail of brakes right outside the entrance of Lanqiao Bar.
The rear door of the lead car opened, and out stepped a man in his fifties wearing a black Tang suit, his fingers turning a string of agarwood beads.
Accompanying him was a plump middle-aged man who, despite his stout build, had a glowing, ruddy complexion and radiated boundless energy.
From the cars behind them emerged four men per vehicle—half of them in business suits, the other half dressed in white martial arts uniforms, looking like students from a martial arts academy.
The middle-aged man in the black Tang suit glanced up at the bar's signboard, then muttered something to his driver.
The driver waved a hand, and the men in black suits swarmed into the parking lot, surrounding the two vans.
The van doors flew open, and the men inside tumbled out, but upon seeing whatever awaited them, they quickly squatted down with their heads in their hands.
The man in the black Tang suit and the stout middle-aged man walked into the bar together, closely followed by the driver and a dozen disciples in white martial arts uniforms.
This entire scene happened to be witnessed by Zhang Yiping and the others, who hadn't yet gone far.
Because Li Muchen had handed Ding Xiang over to Lin Manqing, and Ding Xiang, worried sick about the safety of Ma Shan and Li Muchen, had stubbornly refused to leave, Lin Manqing had no choice but to stay behind and keep her company.
They had been waiting outside the bar the entire time.
"Who on earth is that? Such an arrogant display," Zhou Xujuan muttered, eyeing the man in the Tang suit and the heavy-set man.
Zhang Yiping said with a trace of excitement, "Uncle Ming is here. I never thought this would actually alert Uncle Ming."
"Which one is Uncle Ming?" Yao Lili asked, watching the two men walking side by side at the front.
"The one in the black clothes," Zhang Yiping replied. "The other one is Uncle Ming's bodyguard."
Zhou Xujuan said doubtfully, "First time I've ever seen a bodyguard walking shoulder-to-shoulder with his boss."
Zhang Yiping shook his head. "You don't understand. That's Master Hong, successor of Southern Tai Chi and the head of the Southern Tai Chi school here in Hecheng. All those guys in martial arts uniforms are his disciples."
"Pfft, sounds like a wuxia novel," Yao Lili said, looking unconvinced.
"You might not believe it, but real martial arts masters do exist in this world—they're just not quite as mystical as the ones in novels," Zhang Yiping said.
"Then why are they here?"
"To back Sister Na up, of course."
"Will my brother and the others be alright?" Ding Xiang asked, anxiety heavy in her voice.
Zhang Yiping shook his head. "Hard to say. Even though today's mess started because of Big Scar Liu, those two actually threw punches and beat people up. Judging by the look of that arrival just now, things are likely to get even uglier inside. Since Uncle Ming himself has shown up, the situation must be grave."
Lin Manqing said, "Given Uncle Ming's status, surely he wouldn't bully a couple of juniors."
Zhang Yiping shook his head again. "Everyone in the circles knows that Uncle Ming is a man who cannot tolerate a grain of sand in his eye. With his personality, it's going to be very difficult for Ma Shan and Li Muchen to walk out of there in one piece today."
Zhou Xujuan sneered, "Serves them right! They brought this on themselves."
Lin Manqing suddenly spoke up. "Zhang Yiping, why don't you go inside and put in a good word for them? You always run in these circles, and your dad is the chairman of Yongqing—Uncle Ming should at least give you some face."
Zhang Yiping's face darkened. If it were any other matter and Lin Manqing asked, he would do it without hesitation.
But asking him to go beg Uncle Ming? He didn't have the guts.
Who was Uncle Ming? A man who wielded power in both the underworld and the upper echelons.
Ding Xiang looked at Zhang Yiping with pitiful, pleading eyes.
Lin Manqing persisted, "Zhang Yiping, this is the first time I'm ever asking you for a favor."
Zhang Yiping's expression turned grave. He hesitated for a long time before finally shaking his head.
"It's not that I'm unwilling. Forget about me—even if my dad came personally, Uncle Ming might not give him the time of day. In Hecheng, there aren't many people whose face Uncle Ming has to respect. Unless you can get your grandfather to step in; he'd probably give the Lin Family that face."
Lin Manqing frowned. She certainly couldn't bother her grandfather over something like this, and her grandfather would never step in for such a matter anyway.
After a moment of thought, she said, "Then I'll go."
With that, she grabbed Ding Xiang's hand and walked straight toward the bar.
Chapter 15: I Am Your Fiancé
Having dealt with Liu Hongyu, Li Muchen intended to leave. Ding Xiang was still outside; although she was with Lin Manqing, he couldn't shake a lingering sense of unease.
"Brother Ma, let's go," he said to Ma Shan.
"You two wrecked my place like this, and you expect to just walk away?" Zhou Na suddenly spoke up.
Li Muchen paused slightly, surprised that Zhou Na would try to block his path. Half-amused and half-exasperated, he said, "It seems I was the one who saved you today, isn't that right?"
Zhou Na naturally knew what Li Muchen was referring to. If he hadn't intervened today, Big Scar Liu would never have let her off so easily. Although she had called Uncle Ming, who knew what Big Scar Liu might have done before Uncle Ming arrived?
"Yes, you saved me, and I'm grateful," Zhou Na said. "But business is business. You beat people up inside my establishment, and you even injured my security chief. If you just walk out now, how am I supposed to keep this place running?"
Li Muchen was puzzled. "Then what do you want?"
Zhou Na's chest rose and fell slightly. She was clearly nervous, yet she slowly walked right up to Li Muchen. The distance between them was so close that Li Muchen could catch the faint, highly distinctive scent of her natural body perfume.
"You need to stay and help me." Zhou Na's eyes locked onto Li Muchen, her tone softening into a warm purr.
It had to be said that Zhou Na was intensely alluring. That mature aura, those captivating eyes, and the full curves straining against her dress—few men could resist such temptation.
Yet Li Muchen happened not to be among them.
After more than a decade of cultivation in Tiandu, if he couldn't even resist female beauty, what kind of cultivation could he claim to have?
Of course, Li Muchen wasn't averse to women; cultivation even included dual-cultivation paths—living a life that failed neither the Buddha nor his companions.
Moreover, walking the mortal world meant experiencing the affairs of the mortal world: accepting what came without clinging to it, letting go without regret—that was true detachment.
However, he detested being controlled, disliked acting as a woman's puppet.
"How do you expect us to help you?" Li Muchen asked with a faint smile.
Zhou Na stepped even closer, resting one hand on Li Muchen's shoulder, her nose almost brushing his face.
"You beat up Big Scar Liu; his people will definitely come back for revenge. And you blinded Leopard; right now I don't even have a single man left to keep order in the club. You have to stay and protect me."
As she spoke her final words, Zhou Na's gaze grew hazy and her body seemed to melt, as if she were about to collapse directly into Li Muchen's arms.
"I don't have time."
Li Muchen shoved Zhou Na aside without a shred of hesitation and walked ruthlessly past her.
"You stop right there!" Zhou Na called out from behind him.
Li Muchen didn't even look back; he completely ignored her.
Zhou Na trembled with anger.
Her body was her greatest source of confidence, the capital that allowed her to glide effortlessly through Hecheng's high society. Countless dignitaries and officials would have given anything for her favor, yet could not obtain it.
Zhou Na also understood human psychology well: the more those men desired her, the less she let them succeed. The more she kept them hanging on, the crazier they became.
Yet this man before her acted as if she were completely invisible.
It dealt a deep blow to her self-esteem.
Even when Liu Hongyu had spoken those crude words earlier, she hadn't been this angry—he was merely a mad dog.
But Li Muchen genuinely made her furious.
And yet, she was utterly powerless to do anything about it.
When Li Muchen reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned around.
Zhou Na's eyes lit up, and she looked at him with renewed hope.
"Brother Ma, why aren't you coming?" Li Muchen didn't look at Zhou Na; his gaze swept past her to rest on Ma Shan.
A wave of disappointment washed over Zhou Na, a hollow feeling as though she had lost something precious.
"Muchen, you go on ahead," Ma Shan said, casting a glance at Zhou Na. "Sister Na has been good to me, and she's taken care of me all these years. Since I messed up her club today, I have to stay and give her an explanation."
Zhou Na blinked, looking at Ma Shan in genuine surprise.
"Then I'll stay with you," Li Muchen said, walking slowly back inside. "We brothers haven't seen each other in over a decade; we can't just split up the moment we reunite."
Ma Shan, however, shook his head. "No, you go back and look after Ding Xiang. Big Scar Liu's influence is massive, and I'm afraid someone might retaliate against her."
He turned his gaze back to Zhou Na. "Sister Na, I'll take responsibility for what happened today. Whether I stay to keep working for you or go to jail, I accept it. Just let my brother leave."
Zhou Na fell silent for a moment before saying, "Fine. You stay, and he goes."
Just as her voice trailed off, a voice echoed from the doorway:
"Nobody is leaving."
Two men walked inside, both in their fifties—one plump, the other lean. The plump man had a glowing complexion and an imposing bearing, while the lean man wore a black Tang suit, his expression calm yet radiating an inherent elegance and nobility. Just standing there without a word, he made it clear to everyone that he was no ordinary person.
Behind them, a group of young men in martial arts uniforms filed in one after another.
"Uncle Ming!" Zhou Na cried out in pleasant surprise.
The man in the black Tang suit gave her a nod, then frowned as he surveyed the debris-scattered floor.
"Uncle Ming, things are a bit complicated..." Zhou Na started to explain what had happened.
Uncle Ming cut her off. "Nothing complicated about it. Big Scar Liu was coming for me, but he didn't dare come directly, so he came to your place to stir up trouble."
"Coming for you?" Zhou Na asked, deeply shocked. "How could he dare?"
"Hmph!" Uncle Ming took a few steps forward, glaring down at the unconscious form of Big Scar Liu sprawled on the ground. "He made friends with a few internet bigwigs and forgot whose territory he's standing on."
"Internet bigwigs?" Zhou Na's curiosity deepened. "Is Uncle Ming dabbling in internet projects now?"
"What business can escape the internet these days? Even your bar is running live streams, isn't it?" Uncle Ming turned his agarwood beads. "Though it's not about that—they're after the film city. Years ago, someone wanted to buy my shares in the film city, and I knew who was standing behind them. Until they get their hands on my shares, they can't control the entertainment industry."
Zhou Na's understanding clicked into place.
The stout middle-aged man walked over to the sofa, peered down at the shirtless Huang Hai sprawled across it, and poked and prodded his bare skin in a few places.
Uncle Ming looked at him and asked, "Master Hong, is it him?"
"Without a doubt. Iron Cloth technique, solid foundation—at least twenty or thirty years of practice. Who beat him into this state?" The heavy-set man addressed as Master Hong turned around, his gaze sweeping past Li Muchen and finally coming to rest on Ma Shan.
Zhou Na pointed at Li Muchen. "It was him."
Master Hong looked thoroughly surprised as he stared at Li Muchen. "Hah! So young, yet able to defeat Iron-Armor Huang Hai. Not bad, not bad. Who is your master?"
"Do I need to tell you?" Li Muchen said expressionlessly.
Master Hong froze, his face darkening. With a cold snort, he said, "Young man, don't assume that because you've picked up a few parlor tricks, you can look down on the entire world."
Li Muchen desperately wanted to say that the one looking down on the world was him, but he had lost all appetite for chit-chat with this Hong fellow. He simply said:
"Are you guys done talking? If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
The moment he took a step forward, the dozen disciples in martial arts uniforms who had accompanied Uncle Ming and Master Hong crossed their arms and blocked his path.
"Do you think you can just walk out?" Master Hong sneered.
Li Muchen turned around, ignoring Master Hong entirely, and looked coldly at Uncle Ming instead. "Am I not allowed to leave?"
Seeing himself completely disregarded by the youth, anger surged across Master Hong's face.
Yet since Uncle Ming hadn't given an order, he didn't dare make a move.
Sensing that the atmosphere had turned perilous, Zhou Na quickly intervened. "Uncle Ming, these two actually helped me just now. The martial arts expert brought by Liu Hongyu was defeated by him. If it weren't for them, Big Scar Liu would have..."
"I know," Uncle Ming interrupted. "Everyone knows that you are my person, and Lanqiao Bar is my establishment. Today's incident was targeted directly at me, so nobody here is leaving. If I were to just let them walk out like this, word would get out, and I wouldn't be able to show my face in Hecheng or Nanjiang anymore. The only people walking out of here today will be my people."
A flash of joy crossed Zhou Na's face as she understood Uncle Ming's intent: he clearly wanted to recruit Li Muchen and Ma Shan into his fold.
"Ma Shan, why aren't you thanking Uncle Ming? From now on, you're Uncle Ming's men." Fearing that Li Muchen might blow his temper, Zhou Na urged Ma Shan instead.
Ma Shan had certainly heard of Feng Tianming—the second master of the Feng Family, whom no one in Hecheng dared to provoke.
He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sister Na, I only follow you. As for my brother, I can't make decisions for him."
Hearing this, Zhou Na's heart skipped a beat. What an idiot! Why was he talking back at a time like this? What difference did it make whether he followed her or followed Uncle Ming?
Worse still, speaking this way sounded disrespectful, as good as refusing to give Uncle Ming face.
She could only pin her hopes on Li Muchen, figuring that Uncle Ming must have taken an interest in Li Muchen's ability to defeat the Iron Cloth master Huang Hai. As long as Li Muchen agreed, everything would be fine.
Yet, just as she feared, Li Muchen shook his head. "I am my own man. I don't belong to anyone."
"Then don't even think about leaving."
Master Hong let out a thunderous roar, his voice booming like a bell, as he struck a White Crane Spreads Wings posture.
"Southern Tai Chi successor, Hong Tiancheng!"
Chapter 16: Seeing You Home
The moment Hong Tiancheng assumed his boxing stance, Li Muchen could tell he was all show and no substance.
This man's skill was probably on par with Huang Hai of the Iron-Armor Sect; it was just that Tai Chi belonged to the internal schools while the Iron Cloth belonged to the external schools, and in the traditional martial arts caste system, internal practitioners always looked down on external ones.
In truth, these two men were leagues behind the ninja he had encountered at Lingshan Lake, to say nothing of the fisherman Qian Kun.
Li Muchen couldn't even summon the slightest inclination to fight them; he simply shook his head in exasperation.