Pan Ping quickly answered, "Master Tie, this is my nephew. My wife sent him to bring me some medicine."
"Your nephew? How come I never knew you had a nephew this old? And what's with the pen and paper in his hand? What are you all crowding around him for?"
Master Tie was highly suspicious and didn't believe Pan Ping at all. A vicious glint flashed across his brutish face as he strode over. "He's not a reporter, is he?" he snarled.
"Not a reporter, he's definitely not a reporter." Pan Ping shook his head frantically, terrified that Zhao Yuan would get hurt.
Li Qingbo also explained, "Master Tie, you've misunderstood. He's not a reporter. He's writing prescriptions for us."
"Prescriptions?" Master Tie walked up to Li Qingbo with a skeptical look, snatched the paper from his hand, and glanced down. He saw that it was indeed covered in the names of Chinese medicinal herbs, not interview notes, and finally relaxed.
He tore Li Qingbo's prescription to shreds. Master Tie glared at Zhao Yuan and said coldly, "Kid, I don't care whose relative you are, but this coal mine is no place for you! Hand over your phone, then get the hell out!"
"Master Tie, there's no need to take his phone, right?" Li Qingbo said with a fawning smile. At the same time, he secretly shot Zhao Yuan a look and yelled, "What are you standing there for, kid? Didn't you hear Master Tie? Get going!"
He was doing this for Zhao Yuan's own good. Zhao Yuan had just taken quite a few pictures of the Ji Family Coal Mine with his phone. If Master Tie saw them, he would be in deep trouble! At best, he'd get a savage beating. At worst, they could break his arms and legs!
"Fuck!" Master Tie raised his hand to slap Li Qingbo, cursing, "When did it become your place to tell me what to do?"
Master Tie's slap never landed on Li Qingbo's face. A hand suddenly shot out from the side and caught his wrist.
It was Zhao Yuan!
Master Tie's expression changed, and he was about to erupt in curses. But before the filth could leave his mouth, a sharp pain shot up from his hand. He felt as if his hand was caught in an iron vise, and the pain made him scream instantly. He even clearly heard several sharp CRACKS from his palm—his bones were being crushed.
"AHHH—it hurts, it hurts! Let go, you motherfucker! Let the fuck go! I'm going to cripple you!"
Master Tie was a tough one. Even as he screamed curses, he quickly reached for his waist with his left hand, drew the machete tucked there, and tried to stab Zhao Yuan.
How could Zhao Yuan let him succeed? The instant he drew the machete, Zhao Yuan lifted his foot and kicked him viciously in the groin.
"ARGH!"
This shriek from Master Tie was especially piercing. He lost all strength to stand and, with a THUD, fell to his knees. The machete dropped from his hand, and Zhao Yuan kicked it up into his own grasp.
This series of movements seemed complex, but it was all over in the blink of an eye.
One second, the miners were still worried for Zhao Yuan. The next, he had not only thrashed Master Tie but had also taken his machete.
Zhao Yuan didn't torture Master Tie. He just patted his face with the flat of the machete and said in a low voice, "A piece of scum like you is worthy of being called 'Master'? You're just a lackey. I can't be bothered to waste my breath on you. Go on, get the Ji Family Brothers!"
He lifted his foot and kicked Master Tie to the ground, sending him rolling several meters away. When Master Tie scrambled back up, his previous arrogance was gone. Covered head to toe in black soot, he looked as pathetic as could be.
"Kid, you just wait. I guarantee you won't make it out of Jiantai Village today!"
Clutching his groin and enduring the excruciating pain in his hand and crotch, Master Tie hissed a threat through clenched teeth. Then he scrambled and crawled toward the three-story building nearby.
Although Master Tie had been thrashed by Zhao Yuan, the surrounding miners showed no joy on their faces, only anxiety and worry.
Li Qingbo even pushed Zhao Yuan toward the mine's exit. "Kid, hurry up and go! Master Tie is going to get more men. That gang of his, they're all ruthless desperados!"
"Yeah, you have to go now! Once they chase you down, you won't be able to leave!" Pan Ping chimed in, joining the effort to push Zhao Yuan. "We'll hold them off for you. Run! Run!"
"If I run, you'll all be implicated, won't you?" Zhao Yuan asked.
Although Pan Ping and Li Qingbo were pushing with all their might, he didn't budge an inch, as if his feet were rooted to the ground.
Li Qingbo replied, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. The Ji Family Brothers still need us to dig coal and make them money. The worst they'll do is beat us up and dock a few months' wages."
'My strength is nothing to sneeze at, and Pan Ping is helping too. How can we not even budge Zhao Yuan?' he thought, baffled.
The other miners also spoke up, urging Zhao Yuan to leave quickly.
Seeing this, Zhao Yuan was deeply moved. He had only just met these miners, and he didn't even know most of their names, yet they were willing to put themselves in danger for him.
What Zhao Yuan didn't know was that his earlier act of earnestly diagnosing the miners' silicosis had already touched these simple mountain men. They saw him as a benefactor. How could they stand by and do nothing when their benefactor was in danger?
And Zhao Yuan also made a decision in his heart. Besides helping the miners report the Ji Family Brothers, he would also help them reclaim what they were owed!
Zhao Yuan said, "Uncles, you don't need to persuade me. Don't worry. A few lowlifes like them are no match for me! Today, I will get you justice!"
His words were righteous and impassioned, but the miners didn't believe he could contend with the Ji Family Brothers' henchmen. Instead, they thought he was too young and reckless, unaware of what he was up against. They all tried to persuade him, "Kid, you don't know how dangerous they are! They don't just have knives, they have guns!"
Just then, a loud BANG from a gunshot startled everyone.
Master Tie came running out of the three-story building.
He was surrounded by a dozen or two men.
Besides wielding various regulated blades, a few of them were also carrying homemade guns. Although Zhao Yuan had crippled his right hand, Master Tie was gripping a double-barreled shotgun with his left. Wisps of blue smoke were still curling from its barrels.
Clearly, the gunshot just now had come from the shotgun in his hand.
"If you don't want to die, then get the fuck out of my way! I'm going to kill this kid today! Anyone who stands in my way can die right along with him!"
Master Tie roared, his expression twisted into the height of malevolence.