The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

The silent atmosphere in the small courtyard didn't last long. The burly man with iron rings on his arms noticed the bamboo backpack behind Lu Jing. His expression shifted, "Oh, I haven't asked yet, how are you related to Old Man Zhang?"

"Oh, I don't live here. I'm just a newly accepted disciple of Old Man Zhang, just started yesterday," Lu Jing answered truthfully. "I came today because I have some questions I wanted to ask…"

But before he could finish, the burly man with iron rings on his arms interrupted him, "You're a disciple of 'Soaring Sky Hawk' Zhang Sanfeng?"

Lu Jing wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a flash of joy in the man's eyes as he spoke. Then he quickly exchanged glances with the others beside him. When he turned back to Lu Jing, his face had become serious.

"Very good, if the master isn't here, the disciple will do."

"? ? ?"

This was the second time Lu Jing had been dumbfounded today. He didn't like it at all, and he couldn't figure out where the disciple and master were the same. Zhang Jinming wasn't his son. What was the point of these people blocking him, a passerby, instead of going to find the real person?

Lu Jing opened his mouth to argue, but the burly man with iron rings on his arms had already pulled Zhang Jinming out from behind him. "This young brother was drinking in the tavern this morning and had a dispute with one of my brothers, punching him three times."

Hearing this, Lu Jing first looked at Zhang Jinming, who was thin and probably weighed less than 110 pounds, and then looked at the muscular, iron-tower-like man surnamed Fang, giving him a 'are you kidding me?' look.

Although Zhang Jinming was the only son of Zhang Sanfeng, he had always hated martial arts and preferred literature. Zhang Sanfeng originally thought that the child was disobedient mostly because he needed a beating, and a few beatings would fix it.

But after a few beatings, Zhang Jinming not only didn't fall in love with martial arts, but the father-son relationship rapidly deteriorated. Until one time, Zhang Sanfeng used a heavy hand and beat his precious son so badly that he couldn't get out of bed for half a month. After Zhang Jinming recovered, he still refused to practice stances. From then on, Zhang Sanfeng, disheartened, could only let him do as he pleased.

The man surnamed Fang seemed to understand what Lu Jing wanted to say, and his old face blushed slightly. "I have many brothers, and not all of them are built like me." He coughed and changed the subject, then pointed to Zhang Jinming and continued, "In short, your son… oh no, your master's son beat my brother. You can ask him yourself if you don't believe me."

Lu Jing didn't need to ask to know that Zhang Jinming must have gotten into a fight at the tavern, but whether he had actually beaten this man's brother was debatable.

But there was no point in saying such things now. The other party was obviously prepared and was just focusing on Zhang Jinming's assault, planning to make a fuss about it.

Lu Jing sighed. Just now, he was still wondering if Qin Xiaotou was trying to scam him, but now he had run into a group of people who were really trying to scam him. But judging from the appearance of these people, they didn't seem like street thugs.

The other party seemed to know Zhang Sanfeng quite well, able to call out Zhang Sanfeng's old Jianghu nickname. It was impossible that they didn't know the relationship between Zhang Sanfeng and the Green Bamboo Gang, yet they still dared to come to his door. This matter was probably not as simple as it seemed on the surface. He didn't know if it was an old enemy that Zhang Sanfeng had made during his early years as an escort, or if they had some other background.

Now, Lu Jing also understood that today's matter would probably be difficult to resolve peacefully, so he could only bite the bullet and ask the question he didn't want to ask before.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?"

"We wouldn't dare to instruct you, we just want to discuss with you how to settle this matter."

"How do you want to settle it?" Lu Jing asked back.

The man surnamed Fang smiled, but didn't rush to answer. Instead, he asked again, "Young man…"

"Lu Jing."

"Since young brother Lu is a distinguished disciple of Old Man Zhang, then naturally he is also a martial artist. Presumably, you are also clear about the rules of the martial world, which is an eye for an eye." The man surnamed Fang said slowly, "Your master's son punched my brother three times. The simplest way is for you to take three punches from me, and from then on, we will be even. But…"

"Come on," Lu Jing said simply. It was just taking a beating, it wasn't like he hadn't been beaten before. He was getting used to it. That's how life was, if you couldn't avoid it, you could only find a way to enjoy it.

The man surnamed Fang was stunned. His previous words were just an introduction, to lead to the real intention of this trip, because even Zhang Sanfeng, let alone the young man in front of him, would never be able to withstand three punches from him. In fact, no one with a sane mind would accept his condition. The reason he brought this up was to better force Lu Jing to accept the second solution.

He didn't expect Lu Jing to agree so readily. Was this kid's brain broken?

Before the man surnamed Fang could say anything, Zhang Jinming, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head, snorted coldly, and said angrily in a voice still tinged with drunkenness, "Don't try to be a hero, I don't need you to interfere in my affairs!"

Hearing this, Lu Jing looked around at the group of people surnamed Fang again, but unfortunately, they didn't seem to accept Zhang Jinming's reasonable suggestion.

The man surnamed Fang and his companions exchanged glances again, then raised a thumb. "Good! In the past, there was Master Jikong cutting flesh to save others, and now there is young brother Lu taking punches on behalf of his master. Both of you deserve the title of unparalleled benevolence! Since that's the case, then I won't be polite."

After saying that, he took a half step forward with his left foot, his toes touching the ground, his right knee slightly bent, and at the same time, he made a fist with his right hand, his left hand with four fingers pointing to the sky, slowly pushing it out, cupping his hands. This was the opening salute.

After completing this set of actions, the man surnamed Fang spoke again, "Be careful, my punch is coming. Your master's son punched my brother three times, respectively in the side ribs, right shoulder, and left chest. I won't take advantage of you, I will only hit these three spots as well. If you can't take it, hurry up and speak up, this isn't the only way to resolve this matter."

Lu Jing understood that the other party was planning to let him taste some suffering first, so that he would have to cooperate with their actions later. To this, he could only sigh again, "Let's try it first."