VIP Volume, Chapter 090: The Banner Is Taken Down

Everyone stared fixedly at Ye Xiaoxuan, looking at him as though he were a fool. After a full five seconds of silence, they all burst into roaring laughter again.

Tie Tou bent over with both hands braced on his knees, laughing so hard tears came to his eyes. He kept giving Ye Xiaoxuan a thumbs-up, but for a long while he could not say a single word.

Chen Tianfeng was also clutching his stomach beside them, saying, “Brother Tie Tou, plenty of people have planted flags before, and you never asked about it. So why is it that the moment our village’s Old Third Ye says he wants to plant one, you rush in to tear it down?”

Ye Dajun glared at Chen Tianfeng, wishing he could kick him on the spot. He knew Chen Tianfeng was not speaking up for fairness or righteousness at all; he was stirring up trouble and trying to make the world chaotic.

At last, after laughing himself empty, Tie Tou straightened up and nodded. “That’s right. I don’t care who plants a flag. If you have the nerve to plant it, you’d better have the nerve to guard it. If you can build something out of it, I’ll be the first to give you a thumbs-up. But anyone can plant a flag—except you, Ye Old Third.”

Chen Tianfeng let out an exaggerated “oh?” and said in a sly, mocking tone, “Brother Tie Tou, that’s bullying people, isn’t it? Why is our Brother Xuan any different?”

One of the younger men nearby hurried to jump in. “Because Ye Old Third is a useless bum! A man who isn’t even a martial novice still wants to plant a flag? Even my big brother hasn’t planted one—who’s qualified to?”

Ye Xiaoxuan gave a cold smile and looked at Tie Tou. “So that’s it. That’s the real reason you came here to tear down my flag, isn’t it? You put on a show so people think you’re capable without being overbearing. You don’t plant flags yourself, but whenever someone else does, you use some excuse about ‘testing the waters’ to tear theirs down. Your aim is to show everyone that you’re impressive but humble, so they all copy you?”

Hao Liuzhi understood and sneered at Tie Tou. “So this is the classic case of wanting the benefits without the title.”

A crowd of underlings erupted in furious curses. “What the hell did you say?”

Hao Liuzhi shrank his neck and quickly hid behind Ye Dajun.

Tie Tou gave a cold laugh and said to Ye Xiaoxuan, “All you’ve got is that mouth of yours. Ye Old Third, when men like us live in this world, we have our own rules. You want to plant a flag? Fine. We’ll come test your foundations. We won’t drag your family into it—that’s already doing things by the rules. But you ought to show us what you’re made of, shouldn’t you?”

Ye Xiaoxuan frowned. “I’m planting my own flag. Why should I show you anything? Whether you want to listen to my flag or not is your business. Why should I pass your test?”

Tie Tou shrugged off his jacket and said, “For no other reason than this: you’re from Top Scholar Township. Chen Tianlei was stronger than you, wasn’t he? When he planted his flag, I kept trying to tear it down, but I couldn’t. That was his skill. If you’ve got the ability, then you can stop me from tearing yours down. If you can do that, I, Tie Tou, will be the first to join your Bad Kids Alliance.”

Ye Xiaoxuan corrected him with a frown. “It’s the Bad Little Boys Alliance.”

Tie Tou waved a hand impatiently. “Whatever. Same thing.”

“Right!” the underlings shouted one after another. “If you dare plant a flag, don’t be afraid of it getting torn down!”

“Letting a useless nobody from this whole township plant a flag—doesn’t your Reed Village feel ashamed? Even we from Linhu Village feel embarrassed for you!”

“Our boss hasn’t even planted a flag yet. What right do you have? If you want to stand out, first see whether you’re worth the effort!”

“…”

More and more vicious abuse spilled from their mouths, but Ye Xiaoxuan paid it no mind. His eyes stayed fixed on Tie Tou. Suddenly he reached out and caught Tie Tou’s wrist.

“What you just said—was that really true?”

Tie Tou froze.

He was already an advanced martial guard, and his body’s reflexes were such that even before an enemy moved, he would already have a sense of it. Yet Ye Xiaoxuan, who was not even a martial novice, had seized his wrist the instant he acted, without the slightest warning. Tie Tou had not even seen his shoulder move. What kind of realm was that? A realm not necessarily even reached by a martial king.

This kid really was strange.

Tie Tou began to guard himself more carefully, narrowing his eyes at Ye Xiaoxuan. “Which line?”

Ye Xiaoxuan let go, still idly searching the ground with his eyes. “The one where you said if I can stop you from tearing down my flag, then you’ll join my flag.”

Tie Tou nodded. “Of course it’s true. I, Tie Tou, always keep my word. But I think you’d better—hey, what are you looking for?”

Ye Xiaoxuan lowered his head and turned in a circle. At last, he spotted what he wanted. Grinning like a child who had found a treasure, he ran over to a younger thug sitting on the ground and said, “Excuse me, move aside a bit.”

The younger thug stared at him. “What are you trying to do?”

Ye Xiaoxuan could not be bothered to explain. He simply reached out, slipped his hand beneath the man’s backside, and with a sharp pull, yanked something free.

The young thug dropped straight onto his rear with a thud. Only after he was already on the ground did he realize that the two intact bricks he had been sitting on had been taken away by Ye Xiaoxuan.

Ye Xiaoxuan held the two whole bricks, handed one to Tie Tou, and said, “Here.”

Tie Tou stared blankly at the red brick in his hand. “Here what?”

Ye Xiaoxuan frowned. “Damn, you’re really stupid. Here this!”

With that, he sprang up and slammed his brick straight down on Tie Tou’s head.

With a crack, the brick shattered into pieces.

Tie Tou screamed miserably, dropped the broken brick, clutched both hands to his head, and crouched to the ground. Blood flowed from between his fingers.

The underlings had never imagined that Ye Xiaoxuan would actually take the initiative and strike first. For a long moment they stood stunned before finally roaring curses and rushing forward.

Ye Dajun seized a shovel and sprinted over as well, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Come on then! If you’ve got the guts, bring it all to me!”

Enduring the pain, Tie Tou shouted, “Stop!” He staggered upright, his face covered in blood, and stared at Ye Xiaoxuan. “Fine. You’ve got nerve.”

Ye Xiaoxuan picked up the broken brick for him and shoved it back into his hand. “Enough nonsense. Your turn.”

Tie Tou was stunned instead. He looked at the brick in his hand, then at Ye Xiaoxuan, who was leaning toward him. “What... what do you mean?”

Ye Xiaoxuan said impatiently, “It’s your turn to smack me, isn’t it? One hit each. Whoever goes down first loses. Don’t worry, there’s still a whole pile of bricks by the corner—enough for us to keep going.”

Tie Tou exploded with rage. “Are you out of your mind? Why would I play brick-patting games with you?”

Ye Xiaoxuan looked baffled. “Wasn’t it you who said I had to get through your test? Your name is Tie Tou, so you must practice Iron Head Skill, right? I hit you once, you hit me once. Whoever goes down first loses. That doesn’t count as bullying you, does it?”

Tie Tou nearly lost his mind. “Who the hell told you that anyone called Tie Tou must practice Iron Head Skill? I’ve had migraines since I was little, and I hate it most when people hit my head! You came up and gave me a brick right away—”

“My brother won’t hit you, so I’ll do it!” one underling suddenly charged forward and slapped a brick onto the back of Ye Xiaoxuan’s head.

Crack.

The brick exploded into fragments. The force behind that blow was plain to see.

Led by him, several others rushed in and began slamming bricks down on Ye Xiaoxuan from all sides. They shattered more than a dozen in quick succession before Tie Tou finally came to his senses and bellowed, “All of you, stop!”