Chapter Nineteenth: Punishing Evil and Promoting Virtue

  "Little girl, come and smile, this silver ingot is yours!" Listening to Xia Qu, this was one of Sun Tao's most leisurely afternoons, when suddenly a discordant voice rang out in the wine tower.

  "Let go, let go, and please take care of yourself, young master."

  "Damn you, you old thing, how dare you interfere with my business, are you tired of living?"

  "Grandpa... Grandpa... why are you hitting people randomly?"

  "Hey, little girl, come on, smile for me, and follow me to eat some delicious food and drink something spicy! Why are you suffering here singing for money?" With one kick, the old man playing the erhu was knocked over. The singing girl rushed to help him up, while a slick-looking young man with a powdered face, surrounded by a group of burly men, lifted up the tear-stained face of the weak and delicate woman, and sneered at her with a lustful smile.

  "In broad daylight, you're openly flirting with a commoner's daughter! Is there still justice in this world?" The person who had ruined the pleasant atmosphere was met with some disgust by Sun Tao, who glared at the oily-faced and powdered young dandy, who looked like he had indulged in too much lust.

  Sun Tuo would listen to a little tune here every day after lunch, knowing that this grandfather and grandson were not easy either, selling songs in this wine tower to make a living, couldn't bear to see such a good girl being bullied by these bad people, unbearable! Who hasn't fallen on hard times? Since they met, they should help each other out.

  "Little brat, are you tired of living? You dare to interfere with the affairs of my Five Tigers Gang?" As soon as Sun Tao's rebuke fell, the entire wine tower became quiet. In this He Shui County, who didn't know that there was a tyrant, Wang Xiaobao, the young master of the Five Tigers Gang, was a great scourge on He Shui County, specializing in forcibly abducting women to do shameful things? Many people looked at him with discontent, but they all shut their mouths and didn't dare to provoke this jinx. Unexpectedly, someone actually spoke out against Wang Xiaobao's good fortune. Wang Xiaobao was a domineering figure in He Shui County, and his henchmen immediately shouted back when they heard the words.

  "The Five Tigers Gang, I've never heard of them. In this county, they dare to openly rob and abduct civilians? Is there still justice in this land? Those who know what's good for them should leave now, or else I'll take you to see the officials." Sun Tao swept a glance at Wang Xiaobao, who was indulging in his desires and thought himself superior, and with a slight frown on his face, he coldly shouted at Wang Xiaobao and his men.

  "Hey! You little brat is getting impatient, daring to interfere with my King Xiaobao's business. Come on! Get rid of this blind thing for me!" King Xiaobao glanced in Sun Tao's direction, with a mischievous smile staring at Sun Tao, his lips slightly curled up, revealing a hint of mockery, and with a wave of his hand, he commanded the several burly men with thick facial features and ferocious expressions behind him.

  When the thugs heard their master's voice, they rolled up their sleeves, overturned tables and kicked stools, quickly clearing a path. The surrounding diners saw Wang Xiaobao's thugs take action, and one by one, they had long since scattered, leaving a large empty space, even the owner of the wine tower was hiding behind a pillar with a fearful face, not daring to show up.

  Those four big men laughed loudly, and as they passed by, they brought up a crash of noise. This was clearly coming to make trouble. The four big men walked to Sun Tao's table, overturned the table and chairs, picked up the broken leg of the table and swung it at Sun Tao.

  "These good-for-nothings actually dare to commit murder and harm people, it seems that they really need to be taught a lesson!" These five henchmen of the Tigers Gang were cruel and ruthless, wherever they went, they caused destruction. Among these dozens of guests, not one dared to step forward to stop them, all with faces full of fear. Sun Wei's anger rose from his heart, looking at that Wang Xiaobao's arrogant and domineering appearance, Sun Wei angrily shouted and kicked out with one foot towards one of the burly men.

  Sun Tuo's cultivation was abolished, his dantian was destroyed, but the foundation he had laid down before was still there. He had taken spiritual medicine and refined his body, so his physical quality was much stronger than that of ordinary martial artists. It wasn't something these four burly men could compare to. A true master of the martial arts isn't someone who is judged by their size. Sun Tuo's divine sense spread out in all directions, his perception was extremely strong. As soon as his opponent's attack began to take shape, Sun Tuo sealed off their path, and with a light kick to their weak point, those four burly men were kicked to the ground in just a few rounds of fighting.

  "Useless trash, get up, get up quickly! Kill this little brat for me." Wang Xiaobao saw his several reliable henchmen being easily knocked to the ground by Sun Tiao, who was walking towards him step by step. Wang Xiaobao's pressure was unusually great, and he couldn't understand how this weak-looking kid could be so fierce. He yelled at his subordinates, who were still wailing in pain, with a pale face.

  "Useless things, you bunch of useless things, hurry up!"

  "Go ahead and shout! You can shout until your throat is hoarse, but no one will be able to save you!" Wang Xiaobao continued to back away, cursing the four burly men who had fallen to the ground. Sun Tao, on the other hand, sneered at Wang Xiaobao with a wicked smile. This good-for-nothing thinks he can bully people? I wonder what makes him so confident that the people of He Shui County are afraid of him.

  "Don't come any closer, don't come any closer. I'm the young master of the Five Tigers Gang. If you dare to touch a single hair on my head, my father won't let you off."

  "Get back, don't come over here!"

  Sun Tuo sneered at Wang Xiaobao, and before the burly man who had just stood up could rush towards him, Sun Tuo's back seemed to have grown eyes as he flew out with one foot and kicked the burly man flying. Step by step, he walked towards Wang Xiaobao, raising his hand to hit him, and Wang Xiaobao's pale face turned even whiter, his face filled with horror as he shouted at Sun Tuo in a shrill voice.

  "You bully people, you tyrannize this county, bringing disaster to the people. Many are afraid of you, but I'm not. You're a scoundrel who bullies men and women, robbing them of their daughters. A person like you doesn't deserve to exist in this world, only bringing harm to others." In response to Wang Xiaobao's threatening words, Sun Tao was completely unbothered, shouting angrily as he struck out with his palm knife at Wang Xiaobao.

  A slap, a kick, Wang Xiaobao was beaten with blood splashing from his mouth and nose, a row of front teeth were kicked flying, how miserable. With a terrified face staring at Sun Tao, wanting to say something? But opening his mouth, his words were unclear, mumbling, unable to utter a single sentence.

  This Wang Xiaobao indulged in lust, his body was already hollowed out long ago. He used to have some foundation in martial arts and was a second-rate martial artist on the rivers and lakes, comparable to Sun Tiao. As the Five Tigers' status rose to prominence in the River Water Prefecture, Wang Xiaobao became increasingly obsessed with women, abandoning his former martial arts foundation. In just two or three rounds, he was knocked to the ground by Sun Tiao. He had forgotten that he still had martial arts skills and could only cry out in surprise, rolling and crawling to avoid Sun Tiao's attacks. His previously unstoppable and majestic aura had long since disappeared without a trace.

  "Waaa... you... you can't kill me... you can't kill me!"

  A fierce killing intent flashed in Sun Tiao's eyes, and Wang Xiaobao looked at him with some terror, his voice trembling as he begged for mercy.

  "Brave warrior, hero, no way! This Wang Xiaobao cannot be killed! Cannot be killed!"

  Sun Tuo picked up a table leg from his feet and stabbed it at Wang Xiaobao's face. Just as Wang Xiaobao was about to be killed by Sun Tuo, Xiao Lao Han, who had been kicked over by Wang Xiaobao, crawled all the way and rushed towards Sun Tuo, begging him for mercy.

  "Why?" Sun Tao heard this and asked somewhat puzzled.

  "Hero, thank you for saving me, but this Wang Xiaobao really can't be killed. If he's killed, there will be big trouble."

  "Yes! Old Xiao is right, please spare his life, this Wang Xiaobao really can't be killed! If Wang Xiaobao dies, we won't see tomorrow's sun."

  "Hero, really, this Wang Xiaobao can't be killed! Really can't be killed! If he's killed, we'll all be in big trouble!"

  ………

  As soon as Old Xiao finished speaking, the stout owner of the Valley Fish Tower wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nervously echoed in agreement. The other diners in the main hall also chimed in to stop Sun Tao from killing Wang Xiaobao.

  "This Five Tigers Gang is really powerful in He Shui County! They've bullied people to the point where the victims will even plead for Wang Xiaobao's sake. This Five Tigers Gang must be a dominant force in He Shui County that can cover the sky with one hand." Sun Tiao thought to himself as he saw everyone pleading, "If I were to kill Wang Xiaobao in a fit of rage, I wouldn't be afraid, but it would definitely implicate all the people present." With that, he kicked Wang Xiaobao flying and said, "Considering everyone has pleaded for you, I'll spare your dog life today. Take your lackeys and get out! Don't let me run into you again in He Shui County, or next time you won't be so lucky!"

  As soon as Sun Tiao's angry voice fell, a hint of resentment flashed in Wang Xiaobao's eyes. In this Heishui Prefecture, no one has ever dared to treat him like this before. Today, this grudge is going to be avenged! If he hadn't kept the top masters from his gang hidden today, he wouldn't have suffered such humiliation!

  "What? You think you can just leave like this? Are you saying I have to compensate for the things you've smashed?"

  Wang Xiaobao was supported by his several lackeys and retreated like this, Sun Tiao saw the situation and suddenly couldn't help but remind him, it seems that these guys haven't received enough lessons yet, they still think they are the local tyrants of He Shui County, they broke things and don't want to compensate, just walking away like nothing happened!

  "We'll pay, we'll pay. You bunch of trash, hurry up and pay the money." Hearing Sun Tao's calm and authoritative inquiry, Wang Xiaobao seethed with anger in his heart, thinking that he would make him look good after today. With a somewhat unclear tone, he responded to Sun Tao and then ordered the few henchmen beside him. "You bunch of useless trash, aren't you usually quite capable? But at the critical moment, you all chickened out and almost got me killed!"

  The boss of the Kui Yu Building received the money bag sent by Wang Xiaobao's men with a restless soul, and asked Sun Tao in a flustered manner: "Hero... this..."

  "This is compensation for your loss, take it! This old man was also injured, if there's any extra, you can give him some. At his age, it's not easy." Sun Tuo heard this and glanced at the pale-faced Xiao Lao Han beside him, and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.

  "Hero, you're a good man! But you've offended the villainous leader of the Five Tigers Gang. You won't have a good ending now, so hurry up and leave River Water County!"

  "Yes! Hero, today we'll grant your wish, hurry up and leave! If it's late, it will be too late."

  …………

  Everyone saw that Wang Xiaobao led the people to leave with a dejected look, one by one came forward to salute and thank Sun Tiao, followed by seven mouths and eight tongues advising Sun Tiao to hurry up and leave this place of right and wrong.

  "Don't worry, everyone. I can handle Wang Xiaobao once, and I can handle him again. Thank you for your kind intentions, but let's all disperse now. Everyone should go do what they need to do."

  "Old man, you're not having an easy time either. Take this little bit of silver and leave! Don't stay in this River Water County anymore, go elsewhere and do some small business!" Sun Tuo said to Xiao Lao Han as he took the silver handed over by Gu Yilou's servant.

  Having received the silver, Old Xiao was extremely grateful to Sun Tiao. Even without Sun Tiao's reminder, they knew that being targeted by the evil Wang Xiaobao made it impossible for them to stay in He Shui Jun anymore. After bidding farewell to Sun Tiao, they packed their bags and prepared to leave He Shui Jun overnight.

  A Jianghu gang, Sun Tuo didn't take them seriously, were they even as powerful as the Xian Shi? The matter from this morning was quickly forgotten by Sun Tuo, returning to the Hongtu Inn, he began a new day of cultivation.

  ……

  Wang Xiaobao returned to the Five Tigers Gang, and Wang Heihu, the leader of the Five Tigers Gang, saw that his son had been beaten into this state. His handsome face was almost disfigured, and he was furious. He vowed to exterminate Sun Tiao's family. Fortunately, he was held back by Huang Baitu, the Dog Head Military Advisor. It wasn't easy for someone to find trouble with Wang Xiaobao in the River Water County, so they sent out scouts to gather information about Sun Tiao. The entire Five Tigers Gang was put on high alert, and many skilled fighters who were out on missions were recalled. The five leaders of the Five Tigers Gang gathered at the Five Tigers Hall to secretly discuss how to deal with Sun Tiao.

  Sun Tuo was just an outsider, who stayed indoors all day and only showed his face during meals. His daily routine was a straight line between the wine house and the inn. Only a few people had seen Sun Tuo, and within half a day, news of his whereabouts reached the Five Tigers Hall of the Five Tigers Gang. Sun Tuo's background was shrouded in mystery, and he stayed at the inn every day. The Five Tigers Gang knew nothing about Sun Tuo's background, nor did they know if he was an enemy or a spy sent by opposing forces. The gang members were unsure how to handle him, so on that night, instead of taking action against Sun Tuo, they dispatched numerous informants to monitor his every move.

  Sun Tuo came to this river water county for cultivation, rarely showing his face, except for meal times, he had little contact with outsiders, sometimes even not leaving the house, calling the shopkeeper to send food to his room, all day in the house is unknown what to do! The eyes of the Five Tigers Gang leader Wang Black Tiger did not investigate any clues.

  Three days passed, and Sun Tao was still safe and sound. However, the Five Tigers Gang couldn't take it anymore. Their young master had been bullied, and the culprit was still roaming free outside. This made the brothers of the Five Tigers Gang resentful, especially Wang Xiaobao, who kept shouting that he wanted to chop Sun Tao into a thousand pieces. The leader of the Five Tigers Gang, Wang Heihu, was really at his wit's end and decided to take action tonight to avenge his son Wang Xiaobao by dealing with Sun Tao.