Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Suddenly Yang Ce frowned. It seemed the refined man's every move had been seen by others—including the scene of Xia Xue kicking him to the ground. For at that moment a crowd of men in black suits, rubber hoses in hand, had already closed in around Yang Ce and Xia Xue.

The refined man on the floor saw them too, and forgetting his pain as if he had been given a shot of stimulant, he shouted, "A-Hu, grab that girl for me! Damn it, if I don't play her to death tonight, my name isn't Jia!"

At this, the dance music in the bar cut off abruptly with the appearance of this crowd. On the DJ's stage, a man in a black leather jacket with a fierce face—though bearing some resemblance to the refined man—took up the microphone: "Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies. I'm the owner of this bar. We have a bit of internal business to handle. All consumption tonight is on the house—please exit the bar through the back door. Thank you for your cooperation."

With that, the main lights came on, and the whole bar turned bright as day.

"Ah—what's going on?" Most of the men and women on the dance floor had not had their fill. The music had stopped and the lights had come up, which put them in a foul mood. But when they saw the pack of men in black with rubber hoses, looking like demons, they dared voice no further objection despite their displeasure—especially since the bill had already been waived and they had lost nothing. So one after another they filed out the back door under the guidance of the bar's security.

By now the bar's front entrance had long since been shut tight. Yang Ce glanced around at the black-clad thugs, then stepped in front of Xia Xue. Policewoman though she was, and trained in martial arts, she was still, no matter how you looked at it, a girl—and Yang Ce felt it was his duty to protect her.

One or two small-time thugs Xia Xue could handle, but against a crowd like this, she would likely be outmatched.

Originally, if Yang Ce had stayed in front of Xia Xue, no one would have noticed that he was with her. But now all those men in black had made Yang Ce a target as well.

"Why didn't you run?" Xia Xue shot Yang Ce a reproachful look. "Get out and call the police. I can hold them off here for a while."

"You're a cop yourself—what do I need to call the police for?" Yang Ce said, understanding perfectly well that Xia Xue did not want him to get hurt on her account.

"I'm—I'm just one person, aren't I?" Xia Xue rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Relax. It's just a few of them. Back at the Wang house it was far more dangerous than this, and the two of us got through it." Yang Ce smiled as he said it.

Hearing this, Xia Xue's heart settled considerably. Recalling everything she and Yang Ce had been through together, the two of them truly had the sense of sharing hardship and peril.

At that moment, the refined man, knocked to the ground by Xia Xue, was helped to his feet by two security men. He glared at Xia Xue with venom in his eyes: "Girl, if I don't make you scream and beg tonight, my name isn't Jia Siwen!"

What— Jia Siwen?

At the sound of the refined man's name, Yang Ce burst out laughing with a "pfft." The fellow's name suited him perfectly—sure enough, a fake refinement.

Xia Xue was even more exaggerated. Hearing Jia Siwen announce his own name, she gaped for a moment, then doubled over laughing.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh—laugh at your mother's—" Jia Siwen had always hated people making a joke of his name, and he cursed in a rage.

"Enough. Your name is pretty funny, but funny doesn't excuse the wrongs you've committed." Yang Ce gave a cold laugh, looked at Jia Siwen, and said in a voice with a certain chill: "Here's the deal. You leave one hand—the right hand you used to molest her just now. And this bar of yours, close it down. Sell it tomorrow. I'll pretend nothing happened, and we'll call it even."

Hearing Yang Ce's words, Jia Siwen couldn't help but laugh: "Hah, sure, then let's do it your way."

Yang Ce frowned. Clearly, Jia Siwen was treating what he had just said as a joke, and Yang Ce was growing impatient: "Forget it. You don't look like the type who'd just give in. Whatever you've got, bring it out. I don't have time to waste bickering with you."

"Hahahaha, kid, is your head filled with water?" Jia Siwen endured the searing pain in his lower body, but still could not help roaring with laughter. For however you looked at it, Yang Ce's words sounded like the ravings of a clueless fool.

In a situation like this, he still wanted Jia Siwen to cripple a hand and shut down the bar?

"You can try it and find out whose head is filled with water. Though I can guarantee you—if you make a move, what you lose will be far more than just a hand." Yang Ce spoke coldly.

"You little punk—whether you live to see tomorrow's sun is even up for debate. Talk to me about that once you've seen the sun rise." Jia Siwen sneered with contempt.

"Take that kid out. Leave the woman." The man on the DJ stage who called himself the boss finally spoke.

At once the black-clad men brandished their rubber hoses and pressed toward Yang Ce and Xia Xue.

"Stop!" Yang Ce pointed at the black-clad brute in the front and shouted, "One more step and you'll bear the consequences!"

The brute started, then with a utterly unconcerned sneer charged forward, swinging his rubber hose to strike Yang Ce.

That kind of brutish, crude attack made Yang Ce shake his head. A man like this—had it not been for Xia Xue, he would not have deigned to raise a hand against him. Lightning-fast, he snatched the rubber hose from the brute's hand, then with a sudden thrust jammed it into the brute's mouth as it opened to roar, and with a forceful shove drove it down into the man's throat.

"Urgh—urgh—" The big man's eyes flew wide open, his face contorted in agony, and he began to retch horribly.

Yang Ce had no desire to admire the fellow's pathetic display. He lashed out with his foot and drove it into the big man's belly, sending him flying off like a shot.

Yang Ce had calculated the direction of his kick precisely, and so the big man's body slammed hard into Jia Siwen. With no time to dodge, Jia Siwen and the two security guards beside him were struck head-on and all went crashing to the floor together.

"I told you—take one step forward and you bear the consequences." Yang Ce shook his head. "Some people just won't listen to well-meant advice. Only after they've tasted the bitter fruit do they learn regret."

Yang Ce could have simply killed the big man outright. Had he rammed the rubber tube into the man's eye rather than his mouth, the fellow would probably be dead by now.

But in front of Xia Xue, Yang Ce still restrained himself as much as he could. He must not kill lightly—it would only bring trouble.

The other men in black were stunned for a moment. They had not expected Yang Ce to deal with one of them so neatly. It seemed this fellow was not all talk after all—there was real skill in those hands.

"All of you, go at him together—don't give him the chance to close in on any one of you!" On the DJ stage, the boss, Jia Zhengjing, had also seen that Yang Ce's skill was no trifling matter. In single combat, probably none of the men here were his match. So he gave the order for a group assault.

There is strength in numbers. The men in black had been somewhat wary of Yang Ce's prowess, but now that they were all going in together, there was nothing to fear—a human-wave tactic would surely be the death of him.

Jia Siwen wiped his face and found that his nose had been smashed bloody. Shocked and furious, he was nonetheless delighted to see the black-clad men converging on Yang Ce. He grinned viciously: "So tough, are you? Can two fists really beat four hands? You think you're Zhou Botong or something?"

"Zhou Botong only had to fight four hands," Yang Ce said with an indifferent smile. "These wastes—I won't even need both fists. One hand will do."