Wang An's words gave the two of them a sudden jolt, and they subconsciously looked toward Chu Hanshan and the others below the arena.
Seeing that Chu Hanshan had no reaction, the two boys finally relaxed slightly.
As "blades, spears, and cannons" raised by Chu Hanshan, they were terrified of losing this money-making rice bowl.
However, even after Wang An finished speaking, the two of them still didn't make a move.
Wang An blinked a few times and took the initiative to walk toward them.
Mainly, Wang An didn't have time to keep wasting it with them; who knew what kind of nonsense would happen if they stalled for too long.
Seeing Wang An walking toward them, the two kept swallowing hard, but the arena was only so big—where could they possibly hide?
With a loud shout, the two of them swung their fists at Wang An simultaneously.
They had no choice; as "blades, spears, and cannons," if they didn't even have the courage to fight, Chu Hanshan would absolutely not keep them around.
Only, in Wang An's eyes, the skills of these two were no different from ordinary people. Thus, with one "Black Dragon Swaying Claw" and one "Single Palm Pushing the Monument," Wang An knocked both boys out of the ring, sending them crashing into the railings.
Truth be told, the railings made of steel pipes were a bit shitty. The main issue was that they had no elasticity; as long as a person hit them, the resulting impact force was entirely absorbed by the body. A collision like that was truly brutal.
The two were hit by the railing and then slammed into the ground. When they shakily stood up, leaning against the railing, their eyes were filled with terror as they looked at Wang An.
Wang An stepped forward, intending to give them a kick or a punch, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
They had no grudge, and he had never even met them before. Wang An truly couldn't bring himself to strike two people who were already unable to resist and with whom he had no enmity.
Turning his head, Wang An asked Chu Hanshan below the arena with a smile
"Boss Chu, I reckon there's no need to keep fighting, right? If I injure all your men, you'll have to spend money to treat them. That's not worth it, don't you think?"
Chu Hanshan looked at Wang An with a dark, unpredictable expression, who knows what was going through his head.
After a few seconds, Wang An added
"We're both just odd-jobbers; we do whatever the people above us tell us to do. Boss Chu, just give us the money, and we'll leave immediately. Does that work for you?"
These words were absolutely Wang An's honest feelings.
Because Wang An truly didn't want to fight in such a meaningless arena match.
While Chu Hanshan was considering it, the man called Brother Sheng took the initiative to speak to him
"Dashan, let's just leave it at that. It won't be easy to wrap things up if this gets too loud. Wu Dong and Wang Shuai didn't even dare come over, precisely because they don't want a conflict with us."
Chu Hanshan glanced at Brother Sheng and suddenly said
"No, I have to fight him. I reckon this kid's skills might be about the same as that Tiger-Brained Shuai."
Brother Sheng rolled his eyes at Chu Hanshan and whispered
"Why are you always comparing yourself to Wang Shuai? You trying to lure his wife over? I'm telling you, if that tigress comes over, I'm not getting involved. You can do whatever the hell you want by yourself then."
One could tell that the "tigress" Brother Sheng mentioned was likely Wang An's non-biological elder sister, Comrade Zhang Shuya.
As soon as Brother Sheng finished, Chu Hanshan's momentum instantly stalled. He said, somewhat exasperated
"Damn it all, when the hell is that tigress going to get lost?"
Brother Sheng's lips curled as he said
"Hmph, she came here specifically to deal with you. I reckon she'll leave whenever you leave."
Standing on the arena, Wang An couldn't hear exactly what the two were saying, but he could get the gist of it.
In short, these second-generation heirs weren't very harmonious; it was just a matter of different factions fighting each other, though the specific purpose of the struggle remained unclear.
After a while, Chu Hanshan said with a hint of boredom
"Fine then. I'm going to take a piss. You send those two away. This damn daily routine is really boring, fuck."
With that, Chu Hanshan stood up and left.
Brother Sheng said to Wang An on the arena
"Come down. You win this time. Oh, and when you go back, tell Wu Dong that if this happens again, he should come himself. Don't be such a pussy and shrink back the moment money is involved."
The term "shrink back" here was a local dialect meaning to retreat or avoid moving forward.
Hearing this, Wang An didn't hesitate to squeeze through the gap in the arena railing and said with a smile
"Yup, don't worry, Boss Sheng. I'll definitely pass that along."
Unexpectedly, Brother Sheng smiled playfully
"My surname is Bai. I'm called Bai Shenghuo. 'Huo' as in 'suddenly enlightened.' I'm the 'Bai Huo-zi' that Wu Dong talks about. Didn't he tell you that?"
Wang An almost burst out laughing. The "Huo" in "suddenly enlightened" was the same character as the "Huo" in "gap-toothed"!
However, Wang An pretended to be completely unaware and said
"I haven't heard that. Brother Wu just told me to come get the money; he didn't tell me anything else."
Bai Shenghuo smiled, pointed to the three bundles of "Big Unity" bills on the ground, and waved his hand
"Alright, take the money and go report back."
Wang An pretended to be very happy and smiled
"Aye, alright! Thanks, Boss Bai."
And so, this farce of demanding money ended abruptly. Aside from the "blades, spears, and cannons," the only person who truly suffered was Wang Li.
Wang An noticed that after resting for a while, Wang Li's large face had become even more swollen and bruised.
If someone didn't understand what the phrase "black and blue" meant, they would understand instantly just by looking at Wang Li.
Beyond his face, Wang Li's arms, torso, and legs were covered in purple and blue bruises; there wasn't a single spot left untouched.
Fortunately, these were only superficial injuries that would fully recover with some rest. However, before the full recovery, Wang Li was bound to suffer; he'd likely be jolted awake by the pain while sleeping.
But there was no other way; this was the price of demanding money. How could one expect to get money without paying a price?
Wang An felt that once they got home, Wang Daliang and Yao Ping might not even recognize Wang Li.
This was perhaps the legendary "beaten so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him."
When Wang An and Wang Li put on their clothes and carried the money back to the car, Huang Zhong looked at the transformed Wang Li and was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.
Once he regained his composure, Huang Zhong asked
"Fifth... Fifth Brother, you... what happened to you?"
Wang Li grinned with his thick lips and said nonchalantly
"Got beaten up, obviously. Anyway, I didn't lose out. Let me tell you, Xiao Zhong, I took down a full ten people just now!"
Immediately after, Wang Li impatiently recounted his "glorious" combat record in the arena to Huang Zhong, which naturally included a fair amount of exaggeration.
However, Wang An didn't expose the exaggerations in Wang Li's story and even cooperatively helped him prove them.
It was clear that although Wang Li had been beaten quite severely—to the point where he barely looked human—he was actually quite happy. Not just happy, but excited, like a triumphant rooster returning in glory.
Wang An drove fast, and by the time they reached home, it was already past one in the afternoon. Yet, Wang Daliang and Yao Ping were still waiting at Wang An's house for the return of Wang An and Wang Li.