Immortals and Demons Forever

Chapter 20: That’s How You Show It

“You—you…” Tang Kuan looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Guo Yan and his group were so startled they froze in their tracks. How come the guy who got hit was fine, but the one who hit him still had a trembling hand? Su Mu walked over and handed him the stick again. “Put some more force into it. That last blow just made my scalp itch. Give me another one to scratch that itch.” Tang Kuan had never heard such humiliating words—he was so enraged he felt like killing someone! He snatched the stick, gripped it with both hands, and swung it down with all his might! The stick whistled through the air. “Fuck you!” “Su Mu, get out of the way!” Guo Yan couldn’t help but shout; he sensed a murderous intent in that swing. Thud! Crack! Su Mu didn’t move an inch, while Tang Kuan fell flat on his back, clutching a broken half-stick in his hand, blood trickling down from a gash in the web of his palm. “I told you to put some power into it, but now it just tickles even more.” Su Mu ran his fingers through his hair a few times, frowned as he looked at the broken staff on the ground, and said, “If you don’t like my gift, you don’t have to keep it, but you shouldn’t have destroyed it—that’s a bit of a bully move.” Everyone stood there speechless. What on earth was Su Mu’s head made of? It was harder than iron! Su Mu strode forward with a displeased expression. Tang Kuan sensed danger and immediately did a backflip to his feet—this kid was nothing short of a monster. “W-what are you… going to do?” “Replace my staff.” “What did you say? Who do you think you are!” “You won’t pay, huh?” Su Mu lunged forward, his “Iron Finger Technique” striking Tang Kuan’s chest five times in rapid succession—thud, thud, thud, thud, thud! Tang Kuan couldn’t dodge at all—his reaction was too slow. Each strike felt like a nail being driven into his chest, causing excruciating pain. By the fifth strike, he was already curled up like a shrimp. Su Mu grabbed him by the collar. “Trying to pull a fast one, are you? Even though you look like a total scoundrel, are you going to pay up or not?” “No…” “You’ve got some nerve! You just hit me with those first two sticks for nothing, so now I’ve got to get even—that’s only fair. You’re lucky you broke the stick; now I’ll just have to use my head instead.” Thud! He rammed his head straight into Tang Kuan’s forehead. Blood gushed out instantly, and Tang Kuan let out a cry of pain that nearly knocked him unconscious. Su Mu’s head was much harder than the stick. Thud! The second blow followed immediately. As soon as Su Mu let go, Tang Kuan staggered as if he were drunk and collapsed to the ground. “What a loser. Collecting protection money with skills like that? Is this some kind of joke?” Su Mu kicked Tang Kuan, who was lying on the ground, twice. “Get up. Stop playing dead.” “Su Mu, did you beat him to death?” someone shouted. “We’re done for! Su Mu, are you trying to get us all killed?! You need to pick a better place to show off your power—this isn’t the outer sect of Blazing Flame Peak!” “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You can’t get your own life together, so you don’t want anyone else to either—dragging us all down with you! How can you be such a vicious person?” People all around him jumped in to accuse him, eager to distance themselves from him. Su Mu chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility for my own actions. If you’re happy to run around like dogs doing other people’s bidding, go ahead—no one’s stopping you. I never had any real connection with any of you to begin with, so don’t try to take credit for this. I’ll explain everything to him later. This has nothing to do with you. Stop yelling—it’s getting on my nerves.” “W-what kind of attitude is that?” “What? I’m being polite to you, and you don’t appreciate it. You want me to curse at you, don’t you? Shut your fucking dog mouth! If you dare say another word, I’ll have you lying on the ground too—believe it or not?!” The man who’d been shouting immediately fell silent. On his very first day, Su Mugang had already beaten up one of Song Dachui’s guys. Who could possibly mess with a madman like that? Tang Kuan had taken two headbutts and was completely out of it; his head ached as if it were about to split open. “Go get a basin of water—make sure to bring several,” Su Mu ordered. He was already speaking in a commanding tone. Guo Yan was completely terrified—this was not the Su Mu he used to know at all; he was like a completely different person. He used to be a lamb, but now he was a lion. He hurriedly called two men to fetch water. There were wooden basins in the room, and the water was brought in quickly. “Pour it on his face.” These men still didn’t dare to cross Tang Kuan, even though he’d been beaten to a pulp. “If I tell you to pour it, just pour it! He’s unconscious right now—he won’t even know who did it. What are you afraid of?” Su Mu shouted. That made sense, so the men took turns pouring water on Tang Kuan’s face, instantly turning him into a drenched chicken. The men pouring the water actually felt quite vindicated inside. Did they really want to go out of their way to curry favor? Of course not—but they had no choice once they were on someone else’s turf. Since they lacked Su Mu’s skills and guts, they had no choice but to swallow their pride and go along with it. As the cold water washed over him—and more of it poured into his nose and mouth—Tang Kuan let out a cry and sat up abruptly, gasping for air with his mouth wide open. He was finally awake. “Listen up. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. I have absolutely no connection to them—if there’s a problem, take it up with me.” ” Su Mu crouched down and patted Tang Kuan on the cheek. “I’m Su Mu—no need for fancy names or titles. The tricks Song Dachui pulls here won’t work on me. When you get back, tell him I’ll follow the first and second rules you just mentioned, but forget about the third—I won’t pick a fight unless I’m provoked. Got it?” Tang Kuan didn’t dare act cocky anymore and nodded obediently. “Feel free to keep the gifts they sent. That’s just their way of showing respect to Song Dachui—it’s none of my business. This is my first time here, and as a newcomer, I should make a gesture of goodwill. You refused that stick I gave you and even broke it. So here’s what we’ll do—” Su Mu glanced around, then picked up a palm-sized stone from the ground. “This is my gift to him as a token of our first meeting. Hold on to it tight—don’t break it again, or I’ll get really angry.” Tang Kuan stared at the stone in his hand, completely dumbfounded. Is this supposed to be a welcome gift? “Oh, right, and don’t tell me there’s a housing shortage. I see plenty of empty rooms—they’re just deliberately not assigning us any. Get those nine people out of this big room right away. Just seeing them annoys me.” Tang Kuan quickly nodded. “Now get lost.”