Chapter 5: Riot

  Caoshou Snake hadn't read any books after all, and even if he had learned the tone of the storyteller, there were many things he couldn't explain clearly, leaving everyone in a state of confusion. It wasn't until many years later that someone found a record of the events that took place at the slave market that day in an old book. The author was probably one of the people involved, but it's impossible to investigate who the author was.

  That day, although it was discovered early in the morning that something was amiss on the streets, the laborers thought to themselves: "We're just a few poor devils, what can they do to us?" Moreover, most of these laborers were living from hand to mouth, and those who truly had no food for the next day were, as usual, huddled together in the labor market waiting for work. However, things developed in an increasingly ominous direction, with the Japanese seemingly determined to cause trouble to the end, showing not the slightest intention of restraining themselves. Even the "stinky feet" (the nickname for the patrol police) who normally patrolled the streets were nowhere to be seen. The laborers watched as several nearby familiar shops were looted and burned, their owners and employees fleeing slowly being hacked down on the street, their lives hanging in the balance. Moreover, the Japanese were laughing and joking as they set fires inside the shops, even the small baozi shop that the laborers loved to frequent was also affected. As for beating pedestrians, it was done with reckless abandon, regardless of whether they wore Western suits or traditional Chinese clothing.

  The coolies couldn't take it anymore, with the situation being so chaotic, where would customers dare to come? The Japanese were getting more and more aggressive, if it weren't for the fact that the coolies' side was all sturdy young men, in large groups, the Japanese might have already come over to provoke them. Even so, they would occasionally glare over with a fierce gaze, making the coolies' livers tremble, their spines also covered in goosebumps, and some had even begun to worry about their families. It's no wonder that these coolies were timid, they were just kind-hearted people from the lower rungs of society, without grand ideals of revenge or superior martial arts skills, it was really difficult for them to stand up for themselves at this time, after all, this was something even the police didn't dare to handle.

  Fan Siye, after all, had some experience and saw that this task was impossible to complete. He feared that if they stayed here for too long, something would happen, so he let everyone return home separately. On the way back, those who were lucky enough to have a smooth journey should try to travel in groups. If someone fell behind and got killed by the Japanese, it would be a loss. But just as they were about to leave, an accident occurred.

  Kulou Zhong and Dasui Niub were originally soldiers, so they had some guts. Especially Kulou Zhong, who still had a hint of chivalry in his bones. Seeing the familiar owner of the baozi shop being hacked at with a knife, he wanted to stand up as he fled in a hurry, but was pulled down by Dasui Niub and Fan Siye. It's better to stay out of this matter that doesn't concern him.

  When Fan Siye sent everyone back, he was afraid that the big water buffalo would cause trouble, so he specially instructed Cao Tou She and Xiao Shunzi to take care of him. However, when they arrived, they still couldn't keep an eye on him, which led to another disaster.

  The human market is adjacent to the martial arts arena, or it can be said that with the existence of these idlers in the human market, the hardworking people who live a day at a time rely on their meager rewards to make a living for the martial artists in the arena. Therefore, the human market and the martial arts arena are like conjoined twins in this city, with many familiar faces among them.

  The porters had not yet reached the entrance of the city when they saw a woman escaping from the direction of the theater, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be "Dagu Niang" (a famous actress) whose stage name was Sai Gui Fei.

  Sai Gui Fei was indeed a stunning beauty, with a full and sensual figure, especially her eyes, which were particularly alluring. Not only was she beautiful, but she also knew how to dress up, with her black hair styled in large waves, and she had bought seven or eight cheongsam dresses of different colors and patterns, the slits reaching all the way up to her thighs, making people's blood rush upwards just by looking at her. The laborers would throw a few coins into her courtyard every day after work. But today, Sai Gui Fei was in a sorry state, her hair disheveled, her high heels gone, the slit of her cheongsam torn all the way down to her waist, her face covered in tears and snot, yet she still couldn't escape. A few Japanese devils behind her were shouting and chasing after her, pinning her against the wall, lifting up the back of her dress, ready to rape her, right out in broad daylight!

  If they had offended someone else, the laborers would have endured it, after all, it didn't concern them. But Sai Gui Fei was also an "idol" and a dream lover of these laborers. As the saying goes: even a clay Bodhisattva has three parts of fire energy. Although the laborers were timid, they relied on their numbers to muster courage, and with a loud shout, they burst into the camp. However, only Da Shui Niu took action, while the others stood behind him cheering.

  The big water buffalo rushed forward and moved over a Japanese soldier's shoulder, punching him in the face with great force, causing the little fellow to roll on the ground twice. Cao Tou She took advantage of the situation to push away the Japanese soldier who was holding onto Sai Guifei's waist, pulling Sai Guifei down to one side to comfort her.

  Seeing his companions being beaten, this group of Japanese naturally wouldn't let it go easily. Although they only had three or five ninjas, they didn't put these ten or so laborers in their eyes at all. One of the Japanese picked up a bamboo spear and suddenly stabbed at the big water buffalo with a single thrust. His technique was old-fashioned, obviously having received military training. However, the big water buffalo wasn't easy to deal with either, as he had also practiced fighting with knives back then. He dodged to one side, and the bamboo spear pierced through empty air. Then, he quickly took another step forward, clamped down on the spear with his left arm, turned his wrist, and grasped it tightly, freeing up his right hand to punch the young man's face twice, knocking out a tooth and immediately causing his eye socket to swell. But this young man was still quite tough, stubbornly refusing to let go even as he was dying. The big water buffalo met him head-on with another kick, sending the young man tumbling to the ground.

  "Who's next?" Big Water Buffalo puffed out his chest, looking quite heroic. Unfortunately, he didn't stay heroic for more than a few seconds. A Japanese soldier pulled out a "Type 94 pistol" and shot him in the chest. Big Water Buffalo felt like someone had punched him hard in the chest, stumbled backward two steps, and sat down on the ground with a thud. He looked down to see blood gushing out of his chest. He tried to get up, but his arms and legs felt weak and he couldn't muster any strength.

  The Japanese saw that the leader had been knocked down and immediately charged over with knives and guns. The coolies, although they were all sturdy men, had never seen such a battle array before, and with a loud shout, they scattered in all directions. Fortunately, Fan Siye and Cao Tou She had some courage, and together with Xiao Shunzi and Sai Gui Fei, they carried the big water buffalo and escaped together.

  At first, the big water buffalo was fine, but after running a few hundred meters, blood kept flowing out of his chest, his eyelids were fighting, and he couldn't even stand up. Unfortunately, he had a tall and strong body, and neither Cao Tou Snake nor Xiao Shunzi could carry him on their backs. Fan Siye was old and didn't have the strength, and Sai Gui Fei was a woman, so it's not worth mentioning.

  The boat was leaking and encountered a headwind, just then, from the opposite alley, four or five Japanese with white cloth strips wrapped around their heads emerged, all of them were young, about 16 or 17 years old, holding knives, guns, clubs in their hands. Fan Siye saw this and said: "It's not that I'm not chivalrous, it's just that I really can't handle this matter." Before he finished speaking, he had already run away without a trace.

  Xiao Shunzi's legs were trembling with fear, and he stammered to the grass-headed snake: "Big brother, wh...what should we do?"

  The snake spat a mouthful of saliva on the palm of his hand and said fiercely, "What else can we do? If you're a man, let's fight them together with me."