The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 12: Li Xuanba’s Overwhelming Malevolence

As they walked, Li Xuanba pulled out the highest-denomination banknote from the stack and handed it to Mei Hanxue. Then, as she stared at him in astonishment, he smiled faintly and said, “Miss Mei, here are your one hundred taels of silver back.” Hearing Li Xuanba’s words, Mei Hanxue extended her delicate hand to push away his large hand, furrowing her beautiful brows as she said, “No! Young Master Li, I only borrowed one guan from you! Besides, you’ve already helped me pay off that fifty-guan debt—we’re even!” “We’re even!” No sooner had those three words left her lips than Mei Hanxue felt a tightness in her chest, overcome by an inexplicable sense of melancholy. Seeing Mei Hanxue’s expression, Li Xuanba suddenly felt a pang of melancholy as well. He took her delicate hand in his own, paying no heed to the faint blush on her face, and declared with unwavering resolve, ““Miss Mei, you’re mistaken. How could the kindness of giving me a robe be repaid with a mere fifty taels of silver? These one hundred taels are what I truly owe you. As for those fifty taels, they were nothing more than a promise I made to you!” “But…” Before Mei Hanxue could refuse, Li Xuanba narrowed his eyes. A cold gleam flashed in them as a sneer tugged at the corners of his mouth. Then, offering her a gentle smile, he placed the silver note directly into her hand. “If you truly don’t want it, Miss Mei, then consider it my investment in your Plum Blossom Restaurant! Take this for now; I’ll go and properly entertain my ‘friends.’ ” With that, Li Xuanba spun around, shielding Mei Hanxue behind him, and watched the thugs from Hongyun Casino closing in with a cold smirk on his lips. “Hah! That Hong Dangtou sure is impatient! I haven’t even spent a single coin yet, and he’s already sent you lot to snatch the money back! How petty of him!” Gouzi, the leader of the thugs, glared coldly at Li Xuanba, his eyes brimming with icy murderous intent. “Hmph! Kid, hand over the money you won without any fuss, or else the knives in our hands won’t know where they’re going!” Damn it! Thank God we got here fast. If we’d been even a moment later, who knows where this kid would’ve spent all those nine hundred-plus taels of silver! Seeing that Li Xuanba had already spent a hundred taels of silver just after stepping out, Gouzi couldn’t help but grumble inwardly at Li Xuanba—yet he also felt a touch of envy at Li Xuanba’s flamboyant demeanor. After all, you need money to be that generous. And he? He had no money! “Squeak! Li Xuanba clenched his hands, which were as heavy as bronze hammers, and the malevolent aura of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood surged from his body once more. Icy glints shot from his eyes as he spoke words that sent chills down the spine and struck fear into the hearts of all who heard them. “Haha! I’ve said it before: anyone who dares to cross me will surely meet their end at my hands! Since you’ve dared to provoke me, let me send you on your way. Remember this: the one sending you off is Li Xuanba!” “Boom!” No sooner had Li Xuanba finished speaking than his right foot slammed violently into the ground, leaving a sharply defined, one-inch-deep footprint, the surrounding ground cracked and fissured all around it. Using the ground’s recoil, Li Xuanba—radiating a murderous aura as tangible as solid matter—transformed into a ferocious, domineering human-shaped beast and shot toward Gouzi and his companions like a bolt of lightning. “Roar! Howl!” Just as Gouzi and the others were about to swing their long swords to strike Li Xuanba, Li Xuanba swung his right fist, unleashing a roar like a dragon’s bellow and a tiger’s howl, which slammed directly into Gouzi. “Boom!” The moment Li Xuanba’s fist made contact with Gouzi’s chest, Gouzi’s entire body froze instantly. Then, amid a thunderous explosion, a mist of blood shot out from behind him, splattering onto the ground and staining it crimson. A gaping hole, as wide as a bowl, had been torn through his chest, exposing his still-beating internal organs. Li Xuanba’s single punch had punched a hole right through the dog’s entire chest, turning the flesh and blood into a shower of blood that sprayed outward. “Cough, cough… My mistake, my mistake—just a momentary lapse!” Seeing the astonishing effect of his punch, Li Xuanba felt no sense of pride; he withdrew his unstained right hand and rubbed his nose awkwardly. He had intended to shatter the dog’s heart with a single punch and send it flying, but he hadn’t anticipated that he wouldn’t be able to control the force of his Four Symbols Power. Even at just one-tenth of his full strength, it had still reduced the dog’s chest to a mist of blood! “Clang! “Gulp, gulp!” It would have been better if Li Xuanba hadn’t spoken at all. The moment he did, the thugs’ knives all fell to the ground, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably, their teeth chattering incessantly. They had been so stunned by Li Xuanba’s single punch that they could no longer hold their knives or keep their balance. “Spare our lives, sir! Spare our lives! We’ll never do it again—we’ll never do it again!” “Please spare our lives, Grandpa! Please spare our lives! This is our first time! We’ll never do it again!” Seeing that Li Xuanba’s attention had been drawn by the sound of their knives hitting the ground, the thugs’ legs gave way, and they immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Li Xuanba and begging for mercy. As they pleaded, they kept backing away, terrified that a single punch from Li Xuanba would turn them into a mist of blood! “Hmph! I’ve said it before: anyone who dares cross me will meet their end at my hands! I keep my word—no amount of begging will help you now. It’s time for me to send you on your way!” Li Xuanba paid no heed to the thugs’ pleas. Under his scanning technique, every single one of them had several lives on their hands—there was absolutely no way he would spare them! “Run!!” Seeing that Li Xuanba had no intention of sparing them, the thugs didn’t dare fight to the death. They leaped into the air, turned on their heels, and took off running as fast as they could! “Trying to run! Hmph! Rabbits are small targets—this young master has a hard time killing them! But killing you guys? That’s a piece of cake!” Watching the henchmen scatter in all directions, Li Xuanba curled his lip in disdain and strode purposefully toward the iron dagger that had fallen to the ground. “Whoosh! As he drew near, Li Xuanba kicked one with each foot, sending the iron blades flying. One by one, they turned into streaking meteors, cutting through the air with a whistling sound. Each blade pierced the back of a thug, pinning them to the ground one by one. “Smack! Not bad! You’ve improved this time. Your aim isn’t quite precise yet, but it’s good enough,” Li Xuanba said, nodding with satisfaction as he watched the henchmen pinned to the ground. Although his aim wasn’t perfect this time—not all of them were struck in the same spot—he’d still managed to hit every target. Just as Li Xuanba was striding back, full of pride, he suddenly startled the stunned Mei Hanxue, causing her to stumble back three steps. She cried out in horror, “You—you—don’t come any closer!” Li Xuanba: “……” Seeing how frightened Mei Hanxue looked, Li Xuanba scratched his head awkwardly. With memories of a man who had slain a million people etched in his mind, he didn’t see anything wrong with killing. But Mei Hanxue was just a young woman—she’d probably never witnessed such a bloody scene before. “I’m sorry! Xuanba acted rashly and startled Miss Mei,” Li Xuanba said, taking three steps back and bowing his hands toward Mei Hanxue as he offered a faint apology. If Mei Hanxue really thought he was a bloodthirsty killer, then they’d simply go their separate ways!