Chapter Fifteen: Conflict (Part One)

  Thank you for the straw man's reward again!

  Chen Yi immediately felt danger approaching, he could guess what these people wanted to do when they appeared in front of him.

  These people would not come to fawn on him or seek his guidance with admiration for his literary talent. It can be seen from the vicious eyes they looked at him in the wine building that they must have come to make trouble for him, let alone he also won five gold from these people, which is equivalent to fifty taels of gold.

  In front of so many people in the store, these few people reluctantly fulfilled their promise. After "recognizing" that Chen Yi's poem was better than theirs, they handed over the five metals as betting capital. It can be said that they not only lost face but also lost a considerable amount of money. From another perspective, these people were publicly humiliated and lost face, and they must have been simmering with anger, unwilling to give up!

  "Trouble is coming!" Chen Yi thought, these people came to pick a fight, even if they didn't beat him up on the street, at least they would threaten and humiliate him in public, making him lose face completely. A tricky situation had arisen, he quickly thought about how to deal with it.

  Ning Qing also saw the people blocking their way ahead, and she too recognized who they were. Seeing their ferocious appearance, she was frightened to the point of losing her composure, tightly grasping Chen Yi's hand and hiding behind him. Chen Yi could feel her small hands trembling non-stop, revealing how extremely scared she was.

  Chen Yiqiang calmed down, put on a nonchalant expression, tightly grasped Ning Qing's hand to reassure her not to worry, then let go and stepped forward to bow to the men blocking their way: "Gentlemen, I pay my respects! We just parted ways at Drunken Immortal Pavilion, didn't expect to meet again here, what a wonderful coincidence! May I ask if you gentlemen have any instructions?"

  Don't hit a smiling face, first offer some courtesy and put on a smile, hoping the other party won't make things difficult for them. Chen Yi didn't want to cause trouble, he couldn't afford to cause trouble now, so he might as well avoid it, besides, there was also Ning Qing by his side.

  "Who is this ignorant madman?" A young man with an extremely arrogant appearance stepped forward, pointing at Chen Yi and shouting angrily: "A nameless little soldier from Yue State, how dare you be so presumptuous in Chang'an? Don't you even investigate who the Young Master Wu is? You dared to steal our thunder in the wine tower, are you tired of living? Who's backing you?"

  "I apologize, I'm ignorant and really don't know who Mr. Wu is! Today, coming to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to drink and listen to music was just a whim, without any purpose or intention of stealing anyone's thunder. Your words are excessive!" Chen Yi felt anger rising up in his heart, he was a straightforward person who couldn't tolerate others pointing fingers at him like this, especially not when they humiliated him to his face. However, considering the identity of Mr. Wu and that he had just arrived in Chang'an, unfamiliar with the place and without anyone to rely on, and also having a weak woman by his side who needed his protection, he had to endure and couldn't act impulsively.

  But Chen Yi also knew that endurance was not the best strategy, and he couldn't just run away with his tail between his legs because he had been "enduring" all this time. Moreover, the people in front of him didn't seem very friendly, and they looked like they wanted to teach him a lesson. Even if he wanted to escape, it wasn't certain that he could get away. The Tang people valued martial arts, and looking at the young men in front of him, none of them seemed weak or frail. They all had good physiques, and must have practiced their skills several times. With two fists against four hands, Chen Yi's skills wouldn't be enough to take down these people.

  What to do? Chen Yi was suddenly indecisive, but the unyielding temperament deep down in his bones wouldn't let him back down!

  Chen Yi originally had a lot of presence, with an appearance that made ordinary people feel a sense of reverence. Because he was angry inside, his face turned cold, and the expression on his face was somewhat intimidating, which immediately intimidated the person who came forward to accuse him. The man couldn't withstand Chen Yi's aura and retreated two steps, his face showing surprise, "You... what do you want to do? We're not afraid of you..."

  "I don't want to say anything!" Chen Yi's face showed a faint smile, "Today I had some misunderstandings with several young masters, when I have time in the future, I will apologize to you all again. Today I still have things to do, so I'll take my leave first."

  At this time, the Wu surname young master who had stood up to offer a poem at the wine tower and another youth with a somewhat similar face walked forward, blocking the person who was starting to show a panicked expression in front of him. Facing Chen Yi, they stood still. "Chen Gongzi has such a big attitude, actually not paying any attention to Wu Gongzi's kind reminder, haha, admirable! It seems that today you really didn't put us brothers in your eyes!" The Wu surname young master who had offered the poem at the Drunken Immortal Tower slapped his palm with the fan in his hand, speaking with a mocking tone and exchanging a slanted glance with his companion.

  "Gentlemen, I've said too much. Today, I only brought some friends to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to enjoy the dance and drink, just wanting to have a good time. When I heard what the shopkeeper mentioned, I mustered up the courage to share my humble work to help with everyone's excitement, and also express some feelings about spring. There was no other intention behind it. I don't have any thoughts of competing with you, sir, or any other gentlemen."

  After bowing his head, Chen tried his best to keep his tone calm: "Please forgive me, gentlemen, for my rudeness. It's getting late, and I should take my leave. If there's another opportunity in the future, I'd be happy to chat with you again, sir, and the other gentlemen."

  Chen Yi finished speaking, took two steps back, bowed again and pulled up Ning Qing's hand, ready to leave.

  At this time, many onlookers had gathered on the street, with some people pointing and staring at the not-so-friendly pair, but most of them didn't understand what was going on. With so many people watching, Chen Yi suddenly felt a different kind of expectation, thinking that Wu's young master and his companions wouldn't dare to make any outrageous moves in public, so he thought of forcing his way out.

  "Hey, how can Chen Gongzi just leave like that!" The Wu surname young master quickly took a few steps forward, stretched out his hand to block Chen Yi's path, and also wiped the smile off his face, pulling down his expression. "Chen Gongzi thinks he can just leave like this? Does he really think we're nobody?"

  "It's true, a down-and-out scholar from Yue State, a nobody, dares to be so arrogant in front of us. How are we supposed to get along in Chang'an later?" A young gentleman with an unknown surname shook his head and approached Chen Yi with a look of disdain. "Chen Gongzi, you ruined the fun for several of us today, and now you want to leave without even apologizing? Are you tired of living too comfortably? Do we need to teach you how to get by in Chang'an?"

  "What do you want?" Chen Yi's face turned extremely ugly, he took a step back, shielding the frightened Ning Qing, and coldly stared at the few troublemakers in front of him. He knew that these people would not let him off today, and he must take decisive action. No matter what, today he would not allow himself and Ning Qing to be humiliated in front of so many people, for this point, he was even willing to take the initiative!

  Those who know etiquette can resolve misunderstandings through verbal communication, but when dealing with scoundrels, no means are spared.

  At some point, a very large and luxurious carriage with no signs appeared quietly at the corner of the street. Someone lifted the curtain to look over at the commotion, and several people mixed in with the onlookers walked towards Chen Yi and several Wu surname young masters who were arguing.

  However, Chen Yi, who was mentally tense, did not notice this situation. His mind was all on the few people in front of him, thinking about how to solve the thorny problem in front of him and protecting Ning Qing to find the best position, so as not to be attacked from both sides. He estimated that these people wanted to make a move.

  Perhaps due to his unusual growth experience, Chen Yi's face looks much more mature than his peers, and the air he exudes is not comparable to ordinary people. Adding to that, combined with the tempering of Chen Yi's thirty-odd years in the future, his cold face still looks quite intimidating. Except for the young master with the surname Wu and another young master who looked a bit like him, the others all put away their frivolous expressions, seemingly a little apprehensive.

  However, after seeing the gaze of the Wu surname young master, they did not retreat, but instead several people formed a line and pressed forward towards Chen Yi who had retreated.

  "Wu Gongzi, you've offended us today, why can't you just leave? Or else, let's set up a few tables of wine at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and have your little lady friend accompany us for a drink. Haha... This little lady is really beautiful, there are very few in Chang'an City who surpass her beauty. Why don't we let her entertain us with a dance? We'll treasure her like a precious jade!" Wu Gongzi burst out laughing, his eyes gleaming with malice as he looked at Ning Qing behind Chen Yi. His companions immediately joined in, asking Ning Qing to perform a dance for them and making lewd comments, scaring Ning Qing so much that she was shaking all over with anger and humiliation!

  Chen Yi could no longer conceal the anger in his heart, and a fierce aura even appeared on his face. However, he still forced himself to calm down and said word by word: "Several young masters are joking, please be careful not to humiliate yourself! I have something else to do, next time there is an opportunity to talk with several young masters again, so I will take my leave!" After saying that, he glared at the two of them angrily, then pulled Ning Qing and prepared to leave.

  "You want to leave, it's too late! You don't know what's good for you, today we'll let you taste the power of us brothers!" The Mr. Wu stretched out his hand to block again, and at the same time gave a signal to his companions, who nodded in understanding and prepared to surround Chen Yi and Ning Qing, several people rolled up their sleeves, clenched their fists, ready to fight, and the followers drove away onlookers, telling them not to get close!

  Seeing this scene, Chen Yi's blood rushed to his head, he already knew that his judgment earlier was wrong, these people might really have a simple identity, and they didn't care about being rough with him and Ning Qing. "Take the initiative", this thought almost subconsciously flooded into his mind, he let go of Ning Qing's hand, with extremely fast movements, grabbed Wu's hand, using a reverse wrist lock from the back, and then used his knee to heavily strike the opponent's back, in the midst of the opponent's mournful cry, he subdued him by grabbing his neck with his other hand...