Chapter 142: The Rise of the Little Tyrant of the Siheyuan

Ma Yan sat slumped on the cold dirt, the skin on her small hands scraped raw, and a gash on her forehead; fresh blood trickled down her little face, but she was too distraught to wipe it away.

Those eyes, once bright, now held only helplessness and despair, and tears fell like beads from a broken string, pattering onto her tattered clothes.

The clothes she had worked so hard to collect were in an even more miserable state.

Several garments had been torn to shreds, and two more had been tossed into the branches of a locust tree.

Xu Damao clearly hadn't had his fill; he pulled out a match, struck it with a "hiss," and with a cruel grin, set the remaining clothes on fire.

The dry fabric caught instantly, "crackling" as a ball of flame surged up in an instant.

A few half-grown boys gathered around the fire, laughing and giggling as they held out their hands to warm themselves.

Watching the flames devour the hope of her family's livelihood, Ma Yan let out a heart-wrenching cry.

Just then, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, with a round face and a sturdy build, hurried in from the alley entrance.

She was none other than Chen Daya.

Catching sight of Ma Yan, who was crying until she could barely breathe, and the pile of burning clothes, Chen Daya understood the situation eight or nine parts out of ten; she knitted her brows and rushed over with quick strides.

Xu Damao had just been wanting to continue showing off in front of Ma Yan, but when he turned his head and saw that the newcomer was Chen Daya—someone even his own father feared—he was terrified out of his wits and scrambled to run.

But how could Chen Daya give him that chance? She chased him down in a few bounds, flew into the air, and landed a solid kick squarely on the small of Xu Damao's back.

Xu Damao let out a miserable "Ouch!" and collapsed to the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt.

Seeing this, Liu Guangqi, Yan Jiecheng, and Li Yong scattered and fled.

Chen Daya would not allow them to run; in a flash, using both fists and feet, she knocked all these good-for-nothings to the ground.

The few of them scrambled up, exchanged glances, and relying on their numbers, charged at Chen Daya together while "howling."

Chen Daya remained calm, dodging nimbly to avoid Liu Guangqi, who was in the lead, then seized his arm to use his momentum against him, tripped him, and sent him crashing down hard.

Next, she side-stepped and delivered an elbow strike to Yan Jiecheng's chest, causing him to double over in pain on the spot.

In a few quick moves, all four half-grown boys were knocked to the ground.

Chen Daya pulled the masks off their faces one by one.

Ma Yan recognized those familiar, hateful faces and exclaimed through her tears: "It's you! I... I'm going to tell my grandfather and go find your fathers!"

Chen Daya pinned down Xu Damao, who was trying to crawl away, and said sternly: "Finding their parents? That would be letting these little beasts off too easily!"

"Today, I must make sure they learn a lesson!" Before she finished speaking, she raised her foot and kicked the bad boys in the places that hurt the most but were least likely to leave marks, kicking them until they wailed and rolled on the ground begging for mercy.

Chen Daya knew how to measure her strength; the pain was real, but afterward, there were truly no major injuries visible on the surface.

Ma Yan walked up to Chen Daya and said: "Sister Daya, I want to learn Kung Fu from you."

Chen Daya was stunned and asked: "Why do you want to learn Kung Fu from me?"

Ma Yan said: "Grandfather and Grandmother are getting old, and I want to protect them."

Chen Daya hugged Ma Yan: "Alright, big sister will take you as my Apprentice."

Ma Yan looked at the burned clothes and sobbed: "But what about these clothes? My family doesn't have the money to pay for them!"

"Let's go! Take these burned clothes and make their families pay!" Chen Daya tied the four children together with a Rope and dragged them toward the Siheyuan.

Xu Damao tried to struggle, but Chen Daya punched him in the stomach, and the pain kept him from getting up off the ground for a long time.

It was time to get off work, and the people in the Siheyuan were returning one after another.

When everyone saw the children tied under the locust tree, with the charred and torn clothes piled nearby, they gathered around to ask what had happened.

Lao Ma and Ma Nainai stood under the tree, tears streaming down their faces, pointing at the tattered masks and clothes as they tearfully recounted the evil deeds of these scoundrels to their neighbors.

The courtyard was suddenly filled with curses.

Jia Zhangshi transformed into an agent of justice, hands on her hips, spitting as she cursed loudly: "These wicked, smoke-belching little things! Not learning anything good at such a young age, doing such god-forsaken things! If they aren't disciplined now, they'll be eating bullets sooner or later!"

The reason Jia Zhangshi hated these boys so much was that they did nothing right and were constantly causing trouble. They had been bothering her lately, either putting dirt in her pickle jars or stealing the dried sweet potatoes she had left out to sun on the roof.

Yan Bugui returned carrying his briefcase, and at a glance, he saw his son tied to the tree; losing face, he squeezed forward and said to Lao Ma: "Brother Lao Ma, what is the meaning of this? If there's an issue, talk it out; it's freezing cold, why tie the children to a tree? What if they get frostbite?"

When Ma Popo heard this, she slapped her thigh and wailed: "Teacher Yan! Did our Ma Family dig up your ancestral graves or something? Letting your child rob people—are you bullying us because we have no one? We two old folks rely on washing clothes for others to earn a few coins; is that easy? These heaven-damned brats tore and burned our customers' clothes; they aren't leaving us a way to live!"

Lao Ma was also trembling with rage, pointing at the pile of ruined clothes: "Teacher Yan, how are we going to handle the compensation? The original price of the clothes alone won't do; the owners are waiting to wear them! If we miss the deadline and ruin our reputation, the losses must be calculated higher!"

Yan Bugui's eyes darted around, he adjusted his glasses, stepped forward, and slapped Yan Jiecheng across the face, scolding: "You useless thing! Tell me, among the four of you, who was the mastermind?"

Yan Jiecheng glanced timidly at Xu Damao and didn't dare to make a sound.

Yan Bugui immediately turned to Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, was it you who came up with this rotten idea again?"

Xu Damao stiffened his neck and argued: "Teacher Yan, don't you go wronging an innocent person! It was your son Jiecheng who organized it; if he hadn't tipped us off, how would we have known when Ma Yan was going to collect the clothes?"

Yan Jiecheng's eyes widened in panic: "Xu Damao, you're full of it! It was clearly you who told me to keep watch and had me report back to you!"

Xu Damao signaled to Liu Guangqi and Li Yong: "You two tell him, wasn't it Yan Jiecheng who called us?"

Liu Guangqi and Li Yong didn't dare offend Xu Damao and nodded in quick succession to agree.

Seeing this, Yan Bugui was so angry he slapped Yan Jiecheng again: "You brainless thing!"

Just then, Liu Haizhong returned, sticking out his belly; seeing his son Liu Guangqi tied up, he was instantly furious: "Who the hell tied my son to a tree? This is lawless!"

Chen Daya stepped forward and retorted without fear: "Liu Haizhong! Your son was out robbing people and even wanted to sell Ma Yan to a brothel! Tying them up is getting off light! A few years older, and they'd be facing a firing squad! Should we go find the Patrol Police to judge this right now?"

Lao Ma also pulled the battered Ma Yan over to seek justice.

When Liu Haizhong saw Ma Yan's miserable state and the pile of charred clothes, his arrogance instantly deflated, and he said sheepishly: "Uh... I didn't understand the situation just now, sorry, sorry."

Xu Fugui, who returned last, saw Chen Daya standing in the middle with her hands on her hips and didn't dare to say a word.

Yan Bugui still wanted to pin it on the mastermind to reduce the compensation, but the other three families insisted that Yan Jiecheng was the ringleader.

Yan Bugui had no way to argue and in the end, had to accept his fate.

After some intense bargaining, the four families collectively paid the Ma Family sixteen Big Ocean coins, which finally settled the matter.

Of course, after these four little tyrants got home, they all received a "mixed doubles" beating from their parents, as four Big Ocean coins were no small sum.

For a time, the sounds of crying and wailing echoed throughout the Siheyuan.

Chen Daya went home with Ma Yan, and looking at her injuries, she remembered her own destitute past, feeling a pang of bitterness in her heart.

She said to Ma Popo, "Ma Popo, before Zhuzi left, he repeatedly instructed me to look after your family. This time it was my fault for not keeping a close watch, letting Yanzi suffer such a great grievance. I think it should be like this: since Yanzi wants to learn Kung Fu from me, your whole family should just move into my courtyard to live. Ma Laotou can help my father with purchasing supplies, you can help us tidy up the rooms and cook, and Yanzi will stay with me."

Ma Popo waved her hands repeatedly: "How can that be, Daya? It would be too much trouble for you all, we can still make do..."

Chen Daya held her hand and said sincerely, "Popo, we are truly short-handed. If you don't come, we would have to hire someone else anyway. Besides, I like this girl Yanzi; she is sensible and diligent. If you don't move away, do you think those few bad boys won't come to trouble Yanzi again?"

Ma Yan looked at her grandparents with eager eyes, her desire to move written all over her face.

In Tokyo, Japan, He Yuzhu, Zhao Ying, and Su Qing were carrying heavy suitcases, looking hurried.

They had originally planned to take the train to Yokohama Port, but dealing with that group of people took quite a bit of time, leaving only three hours until the passenger ship set sail, and Yokohama Port was still thirty kilometers away.

He Yuzhu steeled his heart.

Passing by a hotel, he happened to see two American soldiers get out of a military Jeep and walk into the hotel.

He Yuzhu used his Space Ability to stealthily take the keys to that Jeep from the American soldier without anyone noticing.

After Zhao Ying and Su Qing got into the car, he immediately started the engine and sped off in the direction of Yokohama Port.

The journey was fairly smooth, and just as the port was vaguely in sight, they were stopped at a temporary checkpoint.

Several armed American military police signaled for them to stop and walked toward their Jeep.