"Damn it, you little punk, stop right there..."

When Xiao Qiang heard the yelling and cursing from behind, his face full of panic, he picked up his pace and dashed into a narrow alley: "What to do, what to do..."

As Xiao Qiang twisted and turned, he found himself cornered in a dead-end alley, looking in despair at the figures approaching from afar.

San'er and his gang of thugs slowed down after seeing Xiao Qiang cornering himself in the alley, and sauntered over. San'er grinned sinisterly, "Run, kid, go ahead, run! Weren't you acting tough just a moment ago?"

It turned out Xiao Qiang was being chased by this gang because a few days ago he had seen San'er, their leader, forcibly muffling the mouth of a girl from the same school and dragging her into a nearby alley. You can guess what was about to happen.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Qiang had a quick thought and shouted, "Urban management are attacking! Urban management are attacking! Help, someone!" San'er was then beaten by the onlooking crowd. San'er had etched into his memory the image of Xiao Qiang, who was evidently young, definitely a student from the vicinity. Ever since, San'er wandered around nearby, finally bumping into Xiao Qiang who came out for a late-night snack, leading to the current events.

Xiao Qiang forced a smile and said, "Big brother, it has nothing to do with me. A few days ago, I saw you looking fierce and imposing, mistook you for urban management, and now looking at your dashing figure, I can only assume you're magnanimous, so just let me go like I'm a fart!"

Upon hearing Xiao Qiang's words, San'er sneered with his face still bruised from the earlier public beating, "Kid, enough with the nonsense. Today I'll show you why flowers are so red. If not, I'll take your surname for meddling with my business!"

As San'er spoke, he raised his club, ready to swing it at Xiao Qiang's head, when suddenly a voice full of vigor interrupted from behind: "Hold on..." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Xiao Qiang, San'er, and the group of thugs turned around, seeing an elderly man dressed in a black martial arts uniform approaching with his hands behind his back. He asked, "In broad daylight, what do you youngsters think you're doing?"

San'er observed the old man for a moment and dismissively said, "Old man, stop meddling, or we might accidentally send you to the ICU, or worse yet, to the morgue."

One of the punks next to San'er, seeing the old man in his black martial arts outfit, arrogantly said, "You old geezer! You look ready for the coffin and wear a martial arts uniform! What, are you planning to scare us with some Tai Chi moves?" At this, the group of hooligans burst into laughter, challenging, "Old codger, why don't you show us your moves?"

After hearing this, Xiao Qiang anxiously shouted, "Sir, you should leave quickly! I can handle them!"

The old man coldly laughed, "Hmph, looking down on me, eh? I've trained in Golden Bell Shield for thirty years and I fear no kids like you. Come on, if you've got the guts, hit me!" He took a horse stance, his fists clenched by his waist.

A thug next to San'er approached, saying, "Oh, I've just got to see..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the thug pushed the old man, who went down with the motion, clutching the thug's leg and loudly wailing, "They're attacking an old man! Beating an old man here!"

The thug was startled and struggled while shouting, "Let go, let go!"

Xiao Qiang and San'er stood there dumbfounded, but Xiao Qiang quickly recovered, spotted a brick lying nearby, picked it up, and swung it towards San'er's head. With a blood-curdling scream, the other thugs turned their attention towards the fallen San'er, as Xiao Qiang seized the moment, smashing the brick into another thug's head. The remaining thugs, finally realizing what was happening, cursed and charged, "You're asking for it!" Three of them came forward, swinging steel pipes at Xiao Qiang.

Xiao Qiang gritted his teeth, protecting his head with his left arm, and swung the brick with his right at the nearest thug. The first thug's swing met Xiao's guarded head, leading to a dull thud and a cry of pain as one thug fell senseless. The two remaining thugs, now wary, swung their pipes, keeping a distance from Xiao Qiang.

Xiao Qiang, as if anticipating their moves, dodged backward, letting the two thugs' swings miss. He then flung the brick at them, catching the left thug in the face with a deep, resonant thud, forcing his head back, blood splattering as he collapsed.

His companion, witnessing this, hesitated mid-swing, diminishing the force of his blow towards Xiao Qiang. Without thinking, Xiao Qiang endured a strike and rushed forward, kicking the thug in the stomach. The thug dropped his pipe in pain, and seizing the opportunity, Xiao Qiang punched him. The thug quickly blocked with his left arm and kicked Xiao Qiang, causing him to stumble. As the thug maliciously prepared to finish him off, Xiao Qiang rolled and snatched up the dropped pipe, striking the thug's leg hard. With a painful cry, the thug's leg buckled, and he fell forward to the ground. Xiao Qiang then kicked him in the side, leaving him curled up and temporarily out of action.

While all this may seem like a long recount, it occurred within merely a few minutes. The last thug, immobilized by the elder, was kicked in the groin by Xiao Qiang, and with a scream, he too, collapsed, clutching himself.

Xiao Qiang helped the elder, who was lying on the ground crying for help, and together they sprinted out through the side alley. Regaining his senses, San'er screamed, "Punk, I won't let you get away with this!"

Once out of the alley and a bit further down the road, Xiao Qiang's body finally broke out in a cold sweat, his limbs trembling uncontrollably. By his side, the elder chuckled at his condition, "Young man, what's wrong? Scared?"

Xiao Qiang, stopping his trembling by sheer will, forced a laugh and said, "No way, I've been fighting since I was little. It's just that after entering university, I've gotten a bit rusty, haha..."