Xu Mo originally intended to continue eavesdropping on the conversation between the two military ability users. However, the already faint dialogue was suddenly drowned out by a commotion from the crowd.
He had been too focused on listening and hadn't paid attention to his surroundings. When he looked up to find the source of the noise, he saw that a large crowd had gathered around a spot in the parking lot nearby. The noise was coming from there.
"What's going on?" Xu Mo noticed that Tang Guo had been looking in that direction and couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing major," Tang Guo casually swung her slender legs and pointed toward a black SUV faintly visible within the crowd. "That car drove up and parked there. A woman in the back seat got out and accidentally stepped on the hand of a passing beggar. She was wearing high heels, so the beggar must have been in serious pain. He instinctively reached out to push her leg away but accidentally tore the hem of her long skirt… Both were at fault. Even if they didn't apologize, they could've just walked away. But the woman refused to let it go and started cursing, which is why the crowd gathered."
"She stepped on his hand? Don't you mean his foot?" Xu Mo thought Tang Guo had misspoken.
"No, it was his hand. That beggar moves by crawling with his hands—his legs don't work."
Crawling? Xu Mo suddenly thought of the little beggar he had encountered last night after leaving "First Pavilion." The location was less than a thousand meters from where he had met her. Could it be the same beggar?
"Tang Guo, wait here for Lin Yijing. I'll go check it out."
Without waiting for a response, Xu Mo got up and rushed toward the crowd.
The moment he reached the front row, his eyes fell on a familiar figure—a little beggar curled up on the ground, being kicked by a heavily made-up woman in a red dress.
"You filthy piece of trash! So what if I stepped on your hand? Do you know how much this dress costs? Selling a cripple like you wouldn't even cover the cost of one button! Scum like you pollute the world just by existing! You can't even walk—why are you still alive? Why haven't you died yet?"
The woman kicked harder and harder, completely indifferent to the bloodstains beginning to appear on the ground.
Standing a few meters away, a muscular man, presumably her boyfriend, watched the scene with a lit cigarette in his mouth, amused. He showed no intention of stopping her.
The surrounding crowd murmured among themselves, but no one stepped in to stop the violence. A couple of hot-blooded youths wanted to intervene but were instantly intimidated by the bodybuilder-like man's glare and backed off, not daring to act.
Xu Mo couldn't hold back any longer. He forcefully pushed through the crowd, strode up to the woman, and shoved her away, shielding the little beggar behind him. His voice was cold with fury.
"Enough! Beggars are people too! It was just a torn dress—do you want to beat someone to death over it?"
"Who the hell are you, brat? Mind your own damn business!"
The red-dressed woman, seeing that Xu Mo was young, didn't take him seriously at all. She raised her hand to slap him.
Xu Mo, with reflexes nearly four times that of an ordinary person, easily caught her wrist before the slap could land. With a slight twist, the woman let out a shriek like a slaughtered pig.
"Help me, honey!"
"F***! You dare hit my girl?!"
The muscular man, who had been watching the show, hadn't expected his woman to lose. He angrily flicked his cigarette to the ground and threw a punch at Xu Mo's head.
Xu Mo sneered. He didn't take the punch seriously at all. Moving at lightning speed, he delivered a powerful kick to the man's stomach. The nearly 200-pound giant flew backward like paper, vomiting stomach acid as he crashed into the black SUV, denting its door by several centimeters.
Even if most people preferred to be bystanders in such situations, they still understood right from wrong. Xu Mo's actions immediately drew cheers from the crowd.
"This little brother, I was wrong! Please let me go… I won't pursue this matter anymore… I'll even cover the little beggar's medical expenses!"
Seeing her professional bodybuilder boyfriend floored with a single kick, the red-dressed woman realized she had provoked someone she couldn't handle. Trembling, she ignored the pain in her arm and quickly pulled out her wallet, dropping thousands of yuan in cash onto the ground.
"I'm not a robber…" Xu Mo had no intention of being polite to someone so insincere. He tightened his grip on her arm, forcing her body lower and lower until she was kneeling before the little beggar. His voice was ice-cold.
"Apologize! People like you will never understand—money can't buy dignity!"
Hearing Xu Mo's words, the little beggar, who had been curled up in silence, slowly lifted her head. A strange glint flashed in her once lifeless eyes. Large teardrops rolled down her dirt-streaked cheeks and fell to the ground.
"Y-Yes!" The woman felt like her arm was about to break. Though unwilling, she didn't dare resist. She lowered her head and muttered, "I'm sorry… Please forgive me…"
Smack!
Blood splattered as the red-dressed woman screamed and collapsed, clutching her forehead. No one had expected the little beggar to respond in such a way. At some point, she had picked up a rock the size of an egg and struck the woman with it.
By the time the thin, solitary figure crawled out of the crowd, everyone was still too shocked to react.
An eye for an eye, blood for blood… The little beggar had chosen the most direct way to respond.
The abusers had received their due punishment, and Xu Mo saw no need to trouble them further. He picked up the fallen money and placed it in front of the red-dressed woman, speaking indifferently.
"Now we're even… Take your boyfriend to the hospital. You'd better keep this money for your medical bills."
"Yes! Yes! We won't do this again!"
The woman, thoroughly terrified, nodded like a bobblehead. Struggling, she helped her boyfriend into the SUV, then sped off without looking back.
With the excitement over, most of the onlookers began to disperse, though some lingered, whispering about the dramatic scene. Xu Mo had no interest in being gawked at like a rare animal. Just as he was about to return to the bench, he spotted Lin Yijing and Tang Guo waiting for him on the edge of the retreating crowd.
"Xu Mo, that kick of yours was amazing! Have you trained in some legendary martial art? You look even stronger than my… my friend!" Tang Guo excitedly ran over, poking at Xu Mo's muscles, clicking her tongue in admiration. Her touch made him feel as if a cat were scratching him all over.
Xu Mo ignored her antics and turned to Lin Yijing with an apologetic smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's fine. We arrived just in time to see you kick that man," Lin Yijing said, shaking her head with a slight smile. Then, lowering her gaze, she murmured, "Now, I believe what you said."
"What part?"
"That even if you didn't know me, you still wouldn't stand by and do nothing in a situation like this." Lin Yijing nodded affirmatively, though a trace of concern crossed her face as she handed Xu Mo a bottle of water. "But… Xu Mo, while it's commendable to stand up for others, don't you ever worry about your own safety?"
"Yeah! Like when you saved me before—it was like you didn't care about your life at all! I've never seen someone as reckless as you," Tang Guo chimed in, still shaken by the memory of the car accident. She gave him an exasperated look.
"Because… it's a promise I made to someone." Xu Mo unscrewed the cap and took a sip, smiling bitterly. After a few steps forward, he turned back to them.
"Let's go. I'll explain on the way."