Chapter 720 Asking for the Reason
The blade slid slowly along Dou'er's trembling cheek and stopped at her neck.
"I heard that you are good at making medicine with your hands?"
Dou'er suddenly let out a shrill cry, and the strong man covered her mouth tightly and pressed her to the ground. While struggling, she kicked over the earthenware jar at her feet.
Yang Huaixi was like a trapped animal that was stung. He suddenly broke free from the arm that was holding him and threw himself forward heavily, hitting his forehead on Scarface's leather shoes.
"I admit it! It's all my fault!"
His voice had the tearing quality of a broken gong.
"Please let my brother go! He is still young, he is still young, he can't survive without his hands..."
Scarface raised his eyebrows with interest, suddenly turned the dagger around, and hit Yang Huaixi's face hard with the back of the knife.
With a dull sound, several bloody teeth fell into the mud:
“Tsk, tsk, that’s really touching.”
He straightened up and used the tip of the knife to lift up Yang Huaixi's messy hair.
"Okay, since you are so loyal--"
The blade suddenly pressed against the opponent's wrist artery.
"I'll pay my debt with these hands."
The thugs around burst into excited laughter, and some of them couldn't wait to take out the hemp rope.
Yang Huaixi seemed not to hear it. He turned his head to look at Dou'er. Seven or eight rough big hands were already pressing on him.
The hemp rope cut roughly into his flesh, and Yang Huaixi was pressed against the jujube tree with his backhanded, and the bark of the tree scratched the wound on his back.
Scarface slowly turned the dagger, and the metal reflected his twisted smile:
"Tie it tightly, so that the dog won't cry out in pain later."
Amid the sound of the hemp rope rubbing, Yang Huaixi's screams mixed with Dou'er's desperate cries echoed in the silent alley.
Dark clouds rolled in the night sky, completely blocking out the last ray of moonlight.
The backyard was filled with the smell of rust and blood, and Yang Huaixi's wrists, which were torn by the hemp rope, were still bleeding.
Dou'er's thin body curled up in the mud, with liquid dripping from the ends of his hair that was not sure whether it was rain or tears.
The weapons in the hands of the gangsters glowed coldly under the dim light of the kerosene lamp. One of them had already raised a machete with a cold glow, and the blade was only three inches away from Yang Huaixi's wrist.
"Wait a moment!"
The shout was like thunder in the dead silent courtyard. Wang Jianguo broke through the shaky wooden fence, and rotten wood chips fell down.
His coarse cloth shirt rustled in the night wind, and his cloth shoes made a teeth-grinding friction sound as they stepped on the broken porcelain pieces on the ground.
Amidst his heavy breathing, he could clearly hear his own heartbeat like a drum, and cold sweat slid down his spine into the waistband of his pants.
Yang Huaixi suddenly raised his head, which had been lowered, and an unbelievable light burst out from his left eye, which was swollen into a slit.
Dou'er stopped trembling, opened his blood-stained lips, and let out a broken whimper from his throat.
The two men stared at Wang Jianguo, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
The scarred man smacked his lips impatiently and pressed the dagger in his hand down on Yang Huaixi's face a little more, leaving a thin bloody mark:
"Where did this fool come from? You dare to interfere in our affairs? Don't you want to live?"
As he spoke, the scar at the corner of his mouth twisted with his movements, looking particularly hideous in the dim light.
Wang Jianguo took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound calmer.
He noticed the pistol on the scarred man's waist and the wary eyes of the thugs around him, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
But he still took half a step forward and steadily met the other party's fierce gaze:
"Brother, I am a friend of Yang Huaixi."
His eyes swept over the scars on Yang Huaixi and Dou'er's bodies, and his Adam's apple moved.
"I wonder what mistake they made?"
This caused a brief silence to fall on the scene. The only sound was the roar of a passing train in the distance, dully hitting the eardrums.
The scarred man suddenly burst into ear-piercing laughter, which was full of ridicule and disdain.
He loosened his grip on Yang Huaixi's neck, and the dagger drew a dangerous arc in the air, pointing at Wang Jianguo:
"What's wrong? Humph, these two people are so stupid that they dare to ruin your good deeds!"
He took two steps closer, and the strong smell of cigarettes, alcohol and blood hit him in the face.
"Boy, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, otherwise——"
He paused deliberately, letting the threat hang in the air.
Wang Jianguo felt his throat tighten, but he still straightened his back.
"Brother, let's talk."
Wang Jianguo licked his cracked lips and tried to keep his voice steady.
"Can you give us a chance to talk things out?"
As he spoke, he was thinking about how to delay time and find a turning point.
The scarred man suddenly burst into wild laughter, and the light from the kerosene lamp distorted into strange shapes on his face.
He stretched out his calloused hands, grabbed Yang Huaixi's hair fiercely, and lifted his face up forcefully so that everyone could see the bruises and scars.
He slammed Yang Huaixi's head against the jujube tree, and the bark was instantly stained red with blood.
"The 'Golden Gun Pill' made my eldest brother stay in bed for half a month!"
The thugs around started laughing, and some of them hit the ground with steel pipes, making a teeth-grinding sound.
Dou'er struggled and tried to rush over, but was held down by two strong men, and his nails left five bloody marks in the mud.
Wang Jianguo noticed the pistol on Scarface's waist. The metal handle of the gun shone coldly under the light, and cold sweat slid down his back into his waistband.
"My eldest brother is kind."
Scarface slowly took out his cigarette case, and the moment the match lit, it illuminated the centipede-like scar on his face.
"As long as he helps me get out of the black market from now on, the matter will be settled."
He exhaled a puff of thick smoke, and in the smoke, his eyes stared at Wang Jianguo like a poisonous snake.
"Why? Your friend still wants to beg for mercy?"
Wang Jianguo dug his nails deep into his palms. He thought of the carefully prepared herbs on Yang Huaixi's stall the last time he came to the black market, and the light in his eyes when he talked about the prescriptions.
The so-called "fake drugs hurt people" is just an excuse. Recently, there are indeed rumors that a new force wants to take over the black market.
Yang Huaixi and Dou'er relied on their ancestral medical skills to gain a foothold in this mixed place, and had long been a thorn in the eyes of some people.
"Brother, empty words are useless."
Wang Jianguo tried to keep his voice steady and glanced at the weapons in the hands of the thugs.
"Is there any evidence that there was something wrong with their medicine?"
"evidence?"
Scarface suddenly pressed the cigarette butt hard on the back of Yang Huaixi's hand, and the smell of burnt flesh mixed with blood filled the air.
Yang Huaixi groaned, and Dou'er cried miserably. Scarface wiped his hands slowly and sneered:
"My words are evidence."
He suddenly drew out the dagger from his waist and pressed it against Wang Jianguo's neck.
"Now, either get out or—"
The air froze instantly. Wang Jianguo could clearly hear his own heartbeat like a drum, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.