Chapter Twenty-Three: Employing You

  Yu Dazhi is a pickpocket who makes a living on Tianqiao Bridge. After his parents died when he was young, he coincidentally became an apprentice to an old pickpocket and learned this ancient profession. After practicing through the bitter cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer for over a decade, Yu Dazhi grew up with exceptional skills in his craft. His knife work is so divine that it's said to be "ghostly".

  Recently, the Tianqiao Bridge has been tightly controlled, so Yu Dazhi moved to the Dashilan area to do business. There are many rich people here, and Yu Dazhi's "business" has also improved a lot. At this moment, he was staring at a young man wearing a black suit, whose Western-style dress and demeanor made him look like a wealthy person. Yu Dazhi thought that today he had caught a big fish.

  At noon, Yu Daqi was getting anxious, having followed him for an entire morning. The young man kept going in and out of various antique shops, but didn't seem to be buying anything. He just chatted with the shopkeepers, as if searching for something important.

  "Damn it, no need to wait, let's get started." Yu Da Zhi threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, flexed his fingers, and approached the young man. The fingertips of his right thumb and index finger still held a sharp blade. With a soft "click", an object fell into Yu Da Zhi's hands. He smiled slightly as he flipped his wrist and put the wallet that had fallen into his hands into his own pocket.

  "A friend" shouted in a low voice, and Yu Dazhi's hand, which had just been put into his own pocket, was caught by someone. The iron-like hand grasped Yu Dazhi so tightly that he couldn't help but cry out. "Ah, what the hell do you want to do?" Yu Dazhi turned his head with a scowl, and saw a smiling face and a pair of black eyes staring back at him.

  "Give me back my stuff and we'll call it quits." The smiling face didn't hesitate for a moment, but the hand's grip tightened by several degrees, causing Yu Daqi to feel like his intestines were about to burst. Not an easy person to deal with, Yu Daqi endured the pain and thought to himself that since he started out, no one had ever caught him red-handed before. If he returned the stuff today, his reputation in the underworld would be ruined, and how could he make a living from then on?

  "You dare to be rude? What are you talking about? Don't you know what I, Da Ye, do for a living? You dare to argue with me?" Yu Dazhi put on his usual gangster face and started yelling loudly. This was a common trick used by the thugs in the Tianqiao area - once they were discovered by the master of the house, they would resort to violence and intimidation, then gather their fellow thugs to rob the place openly, and at most, share some spoils with those who helped them."

  As expected, after Yu Dazhi's loud shout, a few thugs gathered around from the crowd, all of whom were acquaintances of Yu Dazhi. "What do you want to do?" The young man still held Yu Dazhi's wrist tightly and asked with a smile, while Yu Dazhi was still pretending to be tough.

  "That's it, report to the police, see what they say" Yu Dazhi secretly struggled a few times but couldn't break free from the man's grip. He thought to himself that things were not looking good, it seemed he had encountered a skilled opponent. However, his current predicament had already been witnessed by other hoodlums, and if he lost face today, wouldn't he become the laughing stock of the entire city tomorrow? Yu Dazhi suddenly remembered his second uncle, who was a patrol officer in this area. As long as the man in black dared to report him, his second uncle would take care of him.

  "No need, I just want my stuff back." The young man flipped his wrist and the wallet that Yu Daqi had been holding in his hand fell out. The young man lifted his foot and the fallen wallet landed right on his shoe, he raised his toes and stretched out his hand, and the young man retrieved his wallet. The whole process was as smooth as a flowing cloud, and the onlookers cheered in unison.

  "We'll meet again, farewell." The young man put his wallet back in his pocket and was about to leave. Yu Dazhi, who had lost face, couldn't just let him go like that. He gave a signal to the thugs, and they surrounded the young man. "Kid, leave your stuff behind. I'll spare your life today, or else I'll beat you until you're toothless and your own mother won't recognize you." Yu Dazhi pointed at the young man with a menacing finger, his beady eyes gleaming with malice, looking every bit like a gangster.

  "What if I don't want to give you anything and also don't want to get beaten up?" The young man hugged his arms and laughed, having seen shameless people before but never one as shameless as Yu Da Zhi. He had already been caught red-handed by the owner, yet instead of begging for mercy, he seemed to be acting like he was in the right, openly robbing him, how interesting.

  "Let's not bother with him, let's just get it over with," said a burly man with a thick beard and a copper-headed belt around his waist, wearing a small jacket with a straight collar. He charged forward, throwing a Black Tiger Heart-Grabbing Fist directly at the young man's chest. The onlookers gasped in dismay, thinking that this was going to be a one-sided fight, as the two men were vastly mismatched in terms of physical strength.

  "Ah yo" a miserable cry, several small wives who didn't dare to look directly raised their eyes and took a glance. The black big man's fist was grasped in the young man's hand, but nothing could be seen on the young man. The black big man's face turned white, and sweat beads the size of soybeans kept dripping down. It seemed that the black big man had suffered a loss, and this young man was actually a deeply hidden master.

  "Ah!" Yu Dazhi took a look at the situation and shouted, throwing himself forward. These thugs were fighting for him, he couldn't let them lose face too. Yu Dazhi's moves were obviously much better than Hei Dahuan's, surprisingly using the Mantis Fist, directly hitting the young man's arm. Yu Dazhi didn't expect to knock down the young man, as long as he could save Hei Dahuan it was enough.

  "A bit interesting" The young man chuckled and took a step back, letting Yu Dazhi's first move open. "You're really not particular, what are you hiding from?" Yu Dazhi was anxious, and pounced forward with a flurry of swift and violent attacks. The speed of the moves was very fast, but most of them landed on the black big man's body, who let him block in front of Yu Dazhi, not hitting him but hitting someone else.

  That young man dodged Yu Daqi's move with a casual stroll in the courtyard, and the onlookers didn't care about these things at all.

  Just as everyone was cheering, Yu Dazhi's eyes grew more urgent. The young man discovered an opening and kicked out the black giant with a side kick, sending Yu Dazhi flying several meters away. He rolled over on the ground several times before finally stopping.

  Young people who are reasonable and don't spare anyone, it's not equal to having a big ambition that has passed its prime. Taking a few quick steps forward, he raised his foot and stepped on Yu Dazhi's chest. "You little brat, if you have the guts, then kill your Uncle Yu, otherwise this matter won't be over between us." Ah, being stepped on the chest, a hint of panic flashed in Yu Dazhi's eyes, but immediately he still had a sly and cunning expression on his face.

  "I won't kill you, I'll pay you to do some small tasks." The young man laughed at Yu Dazhi, but his eyes revealed a hint of coldness, making Yu Dazhi shudder all over.