C12 The Night Is Dark and the Wind Is Strong

Under a pitch-black sky whipped by a howling wind, Su Weiwei, Chen Le, and Soong Fei left the nightclub and made their way to the school's lowest wall. A few strategically placed bricks served as an unofficial entry point for many late-returning students.

Su Weiwei eyed the wall, then glanced down at her skirt. Despite the safety shorts she wore underneath, she hesitated. "I think I'll pass. I'll just get a hotel room for the night."

"What a waste of money!" Soong Fei protested, craning his neck and stretching. "Us two guys can easily help you over."

"How's that going to work?" Su Weiwei inquired.

"I'll climb up first and pull you up, then help Chen Le."

"Let me go first! I'm heavier. If I can't make it, you can give me a boost from below. That'll be more effective."

"No way. I need to be up there to give a good pull. Plus, if Su Weiwei can't make it, you can cushion her with your shoulder."

"Seriously? You're all about the ladies. Bros before... well, you know." Chen Le grumbled, stepping aside.

"Today, you'll see who leads you to victory and glory."

With those words, he effortlessly flipped himself over the wall, his agility nothing short of impressive.

Soong Fei could already sense the advantages of his combat training.

"Come on up!" Soong Fei called, extending his hand.

"I can't make it," Su Weiwei replied.

"Just grab my hand."

"I can't reach. Let Chen Le go first, then he can lower his belt to help."

"Mine works too!"

"It's not long enough."

"Great, I'm the butt of the joke again."

This was a roundabout way of calling him fat.

Chen Le backed up a few steps and leaped, reaching the top. Soong Fei grabbed his hand and pulled.

"Man, what did you eat today?" Soong Fei grunted, straining to haul up the hefty Chen Le, who tipped the scales at over two hundred and forty kilograms.

Despite his martial arts skills, Soong Fei's raw strength was lacking. He clenched his teeth and heaved, inch by inch.

Out of nowhere, a group of four or five people emerged, grabbed Chen Le by the waistband of his pants, and yanked downward.

With a resounding crash, Chen Le, all two hundred and forty-plus kilograms of him, hit the ground, sprawling into an undignified heap.

Soong Fei sensed trouble the moment he realized who had come calling; after all, good folks don't show up unannounced. He was in for it again.

With a swift roll, Soong Fei leaped down from the wall.

"What's your game?" he challenged, unwilling to abandon Chen Le and Su Weiwei and flee alone.

"Do we really need to spell it out? Who have you ticked off? Don't you have a clue?"

The ruffians' accents were thick with Nanjing dialect.

"It's because I crossed your cousin, isn't it?"

"Our cousin? Who are you talking about?"

They were clearly confused.

"Hee Zheng! She's your cousin, right? When a cousin gets pushed around, the others come running to the rescue!" Soong Fei taunted them, not taking the thugs seriously and mocking them in their own tongue.

Despite her fear, Su Weiwei couldn't help but crack a smile at Soong Fei's antics.

"Damn! You dare insult our patron. You're like someone lighting a lantern in the toilet – blatantly asking for trouble. Today, you'll see what we're made of. Don't hold back for my sake – give them a thrashing."

No sooner had he finished his tirade than the loudest of the bunch was sent flying by a punch from Soong Fei.

He hit the ground hard.

The others hesitated, taken aback.

"Your leader's out cold. No matter how hard you fight, he won't see a thing," Soong Fei said, employing a bit of psychological warfare.

"You think the loudmouth is the boss?" The actual leader gestured, and his crew charged.

Cleverly, this leader had hired someone to do the trash-talking, knowing they'd draw the most attention.

A thug swung a kick at Soong Fei, who sidestepped and delivered a chop to the nose.

Blood gushed, and the thug howled, "Ah, I'm hurt!"

It was a humiliating moment for the petty criminal, who thought his tough-guy image made him untouchable. At the sight of his own blood, he cried out.

"If you're going to mix it up, you should expect days like this," Soong Fei said, landing another solid punch to the thug's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him into unconsciousness.

With a deft shoulder throw, Soong Fei slammed him to the ground.

Witnessing the spectacle, Chen Le was utterly astounded, his eyes bulging like brass bells, pupils shrinking to the size of pinholes.

Su Weiwei, initially fearful, now blinked her beautiful, large eyes rapidly.

Victory was within her sight.

Her gaze at Soong Fei had transformed in that instant.

The scene was overwhelmingly stunning, a hundred times more captivating than any movie.

Soong Fei had dispatched each of the eight thugs with a single move.

No second strikes were necessary.

The final, battered leader charged at him, only to be swiftly dispatched with a shoulder throw by Soong Fei, knocking him out cold.

The small grove soon fell silent.

"Move out! Let's make a quick exit," Soong Fei's voice pierced the night's calm.

He gestured towards the brick pile, now fashioned into a makeshift staircase of bodies, a simple climb to easily scale the wall.

He had flung the thugs there himself.

"Brother, I had no idea you were this formidable. Where did you learn these skills?" Chen Le's eyes were filled with admiration as he gazed at Soong Fei, "My respect for you is like the endless flow of the Yangtze, like the Yellow River's uncontrollable flood."

"Keep it low-key," Soong Fei replied, grinning.

He casually pressed his hands down as he spoke.

Soong Fei certainly wasn't about to admit to Chen Le that he'd just picked up these moves from Guo Yan.

"Let's get moving."

Soong Fei prompted.

Chen Le nodded and swiftly ascended the human staircase.

Reaching the top, he pushed off with his legs, vaulted the wall, and flipped to the other side.

A thud echoed from beyond the wall.

Soong Fei and Su Weiwei exchanged worried glances. Surely the big guy hadn't hurt himself!

As their concern peaked,

"Come on, I've made it down. It's perfectly safe."

Relieved by these words, Soong Fei inhaled deeply, backed up a couple of steps, then took a short run, stepped on the makeshift steps of fallen foes, and vaulted over the wall.

"Your turn now."

It was Su Weiwei's turn to follow.

This was her first time scaling a wall, and she felt a twinge of nervousness.

"I've never scaled a wall before!" Su Weiwei, a well-bred young lady, found the idea quite unsettling.

"Life is full of firsts. Imagine going through college without ever scaling a wall—that would be a real shame. You'd be missing out on a thrilling chapter of your life," Soong Fei remarked.