Chapter 49: Poor Li Hong

Seeing this situation, I flew straight over, launched a flying kick at one of the men, and then quickly struck the few people beside Su Xueya. When Su Xueya saw me, her expression was strange, but she still said to me, "Thank you!"

I ignored Su Xueya's words and looked around. There were at least a dozen people here; a dozen people were clearly more than enough to deal with Chen Duxiu. Fortunately, I had arrived, otherwise, Su Xueya would definitely have been dragged away.

When these people saw me coming, they all stopped beating Chen Duxiu and turned to attack me instead. Seeing the dozen or so people rushing over, I didn't panic at all. Instead, I shielded Su Xueya behind me, then flew up and kicked the person in front of me away, turned around, and landed a side kick on two others. The combat power of this group was no match for me at my current level. In a short while, seven or eight of them had fallen. The remaining people saw this, stood there not daring to step forward, and finally, the group turned around and ran away.

Seeing that the people had left, I turned to look at Su Xueya and asked with concern, "How are you? Are you alright?"

Su Xueya shook her head to indicate she was fine.

I looked at Chen Duxiu, who was beaten black and blue on the ground, walked over to help him up, and asked, "How about it? Are you alright?"

Chen Duxiu slowly climbed up, his face looking terrible. He shook his head and said, "I'm fine!"

However, Su Xueya beside us didn't give him a pleasant look. Su Xueya said to Chen Duxiu, "I already told you to stop following me, but you wouldn't listen. Are you not annoying all day long? Don't follow me ever again!"

Hearing Su Xueya's words, Chen Duxiu's expression dimmed. I knew Chen Duxiu's feelings at this moment, because I had felt this way before—the powerlessness of being unable to protect the girl you like, and feeling particularly hateful toward yourself. However, I didn't interject, because after all, this was their business, and it wasn't appropriate for me to interfere.

After a long while, Chen Duxiu said to Su Xueya, "I'm sorry, I won't annoy you again in the future!"

I knew that when Chen Duxiu said this, he had summoned great courage, and his heart must have been completely shattered. But no one could help with this kind of thing; what a man fears most is meeting the person he loves most at a time when he is powerless.

Seeing Chen Duxiu like this, Su Xueya also knew she had spoken a bit too harshly. She said to Chen Duxiu, "That's not what I meant. It's just that I really don't like you, and you aren't the type I like. If you don't mind, we can still be friends in the future!"

Chen Duxiu smiled slightly and nodded without replying. I knew that in Chen Duxiu's heart, if he remained unable to protect Su Xueya, being friends would definitely be impossible, because that was a man's self-respect.

Su Xueya then prepared to leave. I grabbed her and said, "Be careful lately. If anyone gives you trouble, come find me. Or how about I walk you home after school?"

"No need. As long as you guys stay away from me, I reckon no one will trouble me!" Su Xueya said bluntly and turned to leave.

However, her words had invisibly stung Chen Duxiu once again. I sighed slightly; Su Xueya was truly completely different from Su Xueyan. Su Xueya was like a little hedgehog that couldn't be approached. Of course, I knew this might also have something to do with her sister.

I gently patted Chen Duxiu on the shoulder and said, "It's alright, you don't need to take it to heart. People always grow. Believe that one day you will definitely become stronger!"

Chen Duxiu suddenly had a struggling expression as if he had made some decision. He knelt directly on the ground and called out, "Master, please teach me Wu Gong!"

I was completely bewildered by this move from Chen Duxiu. I hurriedly helped him up and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I want to learn martial arts. I can tell that you must have practiced martial arts, so I want to take you as my master to learn Wu Gong!" Chen Duxiu knelt on the ground waiting for my answer.

"I think you're overthinking it. I just started learning myself, and I don't even know how to teach you!" I said helplessly. When the old beggar passed on the skills, he specifically told me not to reveal them easily in front of others, and I didn't know how to teach. Was I supposed to touch his head and pass it on like the old beggar did? I couldn't do that at all.

"It's fine, as long as you let me watch from the side whenever you practice in the future!" Chen Duxiu seemed determined to learn from me. The incident with Su Xueya had stimulated him quite a bit; it was clear he desperately wanted to become strong.

Chen Duxiu's request wasn't too excessive. Usually, when I practiced with San Mao, there was no one around, so letting him watch wouldn't be a big deal. However, I reckoned that even after watching, it would be very difficult for him to learn it.

I nodded and said to Chen Duxiu, "You can watch from the side, but there's really no need to take me as a master. I don't have the ability to take on apprentices!"

"No, things that I, Chen Duxiu, decide, no one can change. From now on, you are my master. Master, please accept your disciple's bow!" After saying this, he knelt directly on the ground.

Honestly, I was speechless at this moment. I really didn't know what was going on in this guy's head; he actually wanted to take me as his master. I helplessly scratched my head and said, "Suit yourself!"

However, Li Hong was furious at this moment. He had finally found an opportunity to grab Su Xueya to threaten Chen Duxiu, but he hadn't expected it to be ruined by me. Now, this guy hated me to the bone.

I told San Mao about today's situation. After hearing it, San Mao was so angry he cursed, "Damn, this guy Li Hong is really pushing his luck. Damn it, I'll go give him a lesson first!"

I hurriedly grabbed Xu Hongzhi and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

"Of course, go beat someone up!" San Mao said abruptly.

After saying this, San Mao walked straight out of the classroom door, and Wang Xiaopang and I hurriedly followed. San Mao rushed straight into Li Hong's classroom, completely ignoring the surrounding classmates, and went straight up to give Li Hong a beating. Several people around wanted to help, but how could they be San Mao's match? However, what made me strange was that Li Hong didn't resist at all. According to my thinking, this guy should have at least put up a symbolic resistance. After all, Li Hong had a connection with Li Heng, so he should know at least some martial arts. But looking at it now, it seemed I had overthought it. If it wasn't that, then this guy was truly too good at enduring and too good at hiding.

After beating Li Hong up, San Mao stepped on Li Hong in front of everyone and cursed, "Let me tell you, Li Hong, I'm treating you like a little brat and don't want to bother with you. If you dare to act up again, or dare to touch our people, don't blame me for being ruthless next time!"