Chapter 174: Dealing with the Fat Man

Whoosh!
Guan Li sprinted all the way, gripping a steel pipe, looking fierce and aggressive.
The long line of vehicles continued to edge forward impatiently, but Zhang Rui's taxi remained parked right where it was, causing the drivers behind to lean on their horns incessantly. A deafening noise filled the air, and the once- orderly queue of vehicles began to grow restless.
"Oh my, what is wrong with that guy! Go ahead and move the car."
Xia Yu was utterly speechless. She lowered the car window to look at the young man's receding back and thought to herself, "Is this guy an idiot? No one else is doing anything, yet he has to be the hero, leaving his own car behind."
Zhang Rui was no pushover either. After a brief moment of thought, he said, "Can't you drive too? I've seen your driver's license! You drive, I'll go over and see what's happening."
With that, Zhang Rui broke into a run before Xia Yu could respond.
"I bought my driver's license! I didn't actually pass the test, and I've never dared to buy a car for fear of becoming a menace on the road."
Panicking instantly, Xia Yu cried out at the top of her lungs, "I can't drive! I can't drive. Come back quickly!"
There was no way Zhang Rui was turning back now. He gave Xia Yu a calm nod and had already dashed a dozen meters ahead on his own.
Whoosh!
Although Guan Li was only twenty-two, he had already spent three or four years in the trade, working his way up from unlicensed cabs to regular taxis. He frequently encountered people cutting the line at the CNG filling station. Every time, he would rush forward to put a stop to it. If the line-cutter obediently backed down, that was the end of it; but if they dared to talk back, the steel pipe in his hand would come swinging straight down!
On two occasions, the fights got out of hand and he was hauled away by the local police station, but the queuing fellow motorists always stepped up to bail him out. Guan Li walked away unscathed every single time, as his actions were classified as a courageous act of justice.
"Hey buddy, hold it right there."
Fearing that Guan Li might lack restraint and stir up serious trouble, Zhang Rui shouted from a good distance away.
Little did he know, Guan Li didn't hear him at all. He ran straight up to a Volkswagen Passat and pounded fiercely on the window.
Unexpectedly, the driver was a fierce-looking, bald, fat man with a handlebar mustache and sunglasses. The man violently shoved the car door open, nearly slamming it into Guan Li.
"What the hell do you want? What the fuck are you banging for?"
The handlebar-mustache man had a massive belly and wore a bright red cotton T-shirt with a tiger graphic emblazoned across the chest. His lower body, however, was extremely slender, clad in dark blue skinny jeans and snakeskin-patterned leather boots. His outfit was quite trendy.
Guan Li was momentarily startled by the man's aggressive stance, but by this time, dozens of drivers ahead and behind were watching him.
At an age brimming with hot-blooded pride, nothing mattered more than losing face. Though Guan Li suspected this handlebar-mustache guy might be connected to the underworld, he had no intention of backing down. Puffing out his chest, Guan Li shouted back, "Why are you cutting the line? Do you have any idea how long the people behind have been waiting?"
"Which eye of yours saw me cut the line? Who the fuck saw me cut the line?"
The handlebar-mustache man roared fiercely, then glared at the drivers who had poked their heads out from their cars ahead and behind. Terrified, those people instantly pulled their heads back, not daring to look out again.
"Look at that! Who can prove I cut the line?"
Smug and triumphant, knowing he had successfully intimidated those losers, the handlebar-mustache man yelled at Guan Li, "Get lost! I don't have time to bullshit with you." With that, he didn't forget to give Guan Li a shove.
Thud!
Caught off guard, Guan Li was violently shoved. Losing his balance, he staggered and almost fell backward onto the ground.
"Damn it! I'm gonna take you down."
Furious, Guan Li raised the steel pipe and swung it forward. To his surprise, the handlebar-mustache man was even better prepared, pulling a kitchen cleaver directly from beneath his seat. Although the blade was speckled with rust, in this day and age, anyone daring to brandish a cleaver was truly a rare sight. Moreover, the square, heavy cleaver was immensely intimidating; as a rule, thugs who hadn't spent years truly surviving in the underworld would lose their nerve the moment they laid eyes on a butcher's knife.
"Damn it, punk, I'm going to hack you to pieces."
Roaring with rage, the handlebar-mustache man lunged forward, wielding the large cleaver.
Guan Li had never witnessed such a terrifying sight. Back in his village, he hadn't even been deemed vicious enough to join Wei Yong's gang, let alone go toe-to-toe with a cleaver.
The steel pipe he had intended to use for an attack was instantly yanked back and held horizontally across his chest in a defensive posture.
Clang!
The cleaver struck the steel pipe directly, sending a numb shockwave through Guan Li's palms and nearly causing the pipe to slip from his grip.
"Damn, punk! You still dare to mess with me!"
Seeing this, the handlebar-mustache man laughed triumphantly, "I'm going to finish you off."
Swish!
A piercing cold wind swept past. The rusty cleaver swept horizontally in a single fluid motion, aiming straight for Guan Li's coat. If that blow connected, Guan Li's stomach would likely be carved wide open!
Too ferocious! This was far beyond an ordinary street fight.
Guan Li was completely dumbfounded. He had never encountered someone who had a disregard for life, executed attacks with ruthless efficiency, and possessed actual combat techniques.
In Guan Li's mind, the timid feared the aggressive, and the aggressive feared the reckless. Now, it seemed this handlebar-mustache man was not only reckless, but a seasoned, methodical desperado. He had truly kicked a hornet's nest today.
Boom!
Just as the handlebar-mustache man attempted a "heavy slash" aimed at Guan Li's shoulder, Guan Li was too slow to dodge. His foot slipped, and he stood there stupidly, rooted to the spot, completely at a loss for what to do.
Seeing the cleaver descending, at that very split second, the handlebar-mustache man expertly flipped the blade over and struck with the dull back of the knife!
Even though it was the blunt side, Guan Li had already tested the man's formidable strength; if this strike landed, his shoulder would probably hang limp for the next three months.
Thump! Thump!
At that moment, sweat poured down Guan Li's forehead in sheer terror. Just as the cleaver was about to graze him, a flying kick materialized out of thin air, snapping forward to strike the handlebar-mustache man squarely on the wrist. Following up instantly with a side-spinning kick, the blow connected solidly with the man's chest. The two-hundred-pound man was sent stumbling backward several meters, dropping the cleaver as his back slammed violently against the body of the Passat, leaving a noticeable dent in the car door.
The scene fell dead silent instantly. The handlebar-mustache man, Guan Li, and the drivers hiding on the sidelines watching the spectacle were all stunned into speechlessness.
Where on earth did that kick come from? That move was so blindingly fast that, in the blink of an eye, the two-hundred-pound behemoth had been sent flying.
Dusting off his hands, Zhang Rui stepped up and steadied Guan Li beside him. "You alright? I told you to take it slow and you wouldn't listen!"
Swallowing hard, Guan Li stared at Zhang Rui in sheer awe. "You are truly badass! Thank goodness you got here in time, otherwise..."
"Damn it! How dare you ambush me."
Right then, the handlebar-mustache man puffed out his thick, fat lips, pointed at Zhang Rui, and roared, "Where the hell did another punks come from? I'm going to hack you to death."
With that, he started to bend over to retrieve the cleaver from the ground. Before he could even bend his waist, however, Zhang Rui strode forward and casually slapped the semi-crouched man flat onto the ground with a single kick. Much like crushing a cucumber, the handlebar-mustache man's massive frame came crashing down in a classic face-plant.
Although he was brawny and possessed a repertoire of moves, his sheer bulk made his movements sluggish. Before Zhang Rui, he was utterly helpless, like a defenseless child.
The heavy impact knocked all the fight right out of the handlebar-mustache man. His face was bruised from the collision, and his large belly was half-exposed, flushed red from the fall.
"Drive your car to the back of the queue right now, or I'll break your legs."
Pointing down at the man on the ground, Zhang Rui spoke in measured, deliberate tones.