C3 Tang Crown Pearl

As Cao Jiang approached, Zhang Lei's thugs stepped forward, brandishing their sticks menacingly. "Kid, watch where you're going."

Cao Jiang, noticing they were holding items, managed to keep his rage in check and helped his grandfather to his feet, asking with concern, "Grandpa, are you okay?"

Cao Shunhua coughed a couple of times and, with assistance, sat down under the eaves. He gestured dismissively and said, "I'm fine, really. Go inside, I'll deal with these scoundrels."

Seeing his grandfather's white hair and the dust and footprints covering his clothes, Cao Jiang feared that Zhang Lei had not spared him in the assault. A mix of sorrow and fury welled up inside him. He turned back and demanded, "Zhang Lei, what exactly do you want?"

"What do I want?" Zhang Lei flaunted the piece of paper in his hand and retorted, "Kid, I felt sorry for you and your grandpa, so I generously lent you money. But you've reneged on your debt. What's wrong with me coming to collect what's owed? This old man stashed away tens of thousands and stubbornly refuses to pay me back. Where's the justice in that?"

Cao Jiang's eyes landed on the shoebox in his grandfather's hands. Peering through the cracks, he saw it was filled with small bills, the accumulation of who knows how many years of saving. It dawned on him why his grandfather had been so frugal all these years; he had been saving for his marriage fund. The realization brought a lump to his throat, and he nearly broke down in tears.

Clutching the shoebox tightly, Cao Shunhua lashed out, "The world has never seen someone as shameless as you. I repaid that five hundred yuan long ago. You claimed you didn't have the IOU on you and promised to bring it later. Two years have passed. What more do you want?"

Zhang Lei scoffed, "You must be senile, huh? Who pays back money without getting the IOU returned? You claim you've paid me, but where's the proof? Did anyone witness it?"

"You're nothing but a bully!" Cao Shunhua coughed in anger. Cao Jiang gently patted his back and reassured, "Grandpa, don't get worked up. I'll handle this."

Turning to face Zhang Lei, he demanded, "Where's the IOU? I want to see it."

Zhang Lei flashed a toothy grin. "You think I'm an idiot? I've been over this game since I was fifteen. Don't try to pull one over on me. If you can't cough up thirty thousand today, you and your old man are in for it."

Cao Jiang's face was a mask of ice. "What about this morning when you snatched my conch?"

"What are you on about?" Zhang Lei glowered at him. "Who stole your conch? Did anyone see it? Make your accusations clear, or are you trying to smear my name?"

It dawned on Cao Jiang that reasoning with Zhang Lei was futile. He chuckled dismissively, "Then beat it. You won't get a dime from me."

"What did you just say!" Zhang Lei's face twisted with rage, not expecting such defiance. He stepped closer to Cao Jiang and challenged, "Say that again?"

Unfazed, Cao Jiang articulated each word deliberately, "I said, you won't get a single cent from me. Got it, or are you hard of hearing?"

"You're asking for it!" Zhang Lei's fist connected with Cao Jiang's face as he spat out, "Seems like you haven't been beaten enough. You're nothing but a spineless wretch."

Cao Jiang hit the ground, blood spilling from his mouth.

Bystanding villagers tried to intervene, "Just give him the money. It's better to lose cash than to get in deeper trouble."

"Yeah, Zhang Lei is not someone you mess with."

"I won't give you any money!" Cao Jiang rose steadily, his gaze sharp and his lips curled into a chilling smile.

Startled, Zhang Lei's embarrassment quickly turned to fury. He bellowed, "Get him! Take this mutt down a peg and show him who's really in charge here!"

A gang brandishing sticks closed in.

Cao Jiang watched them with a steely gaze and silently appealed to the Dream-realizing Mall system in his mind, "I want to use the least amount of Luck Value to take down these thugs."

The system responded promptly, "Body control has been transferred to the system. Israeli combat technique engaged. Five Luck Value points deducted."

From a distance, Zhang Lei taunted Cao Jiang, "Kid, if you're scared, just beg for mercy. Acknowledge me as your godfather, and I'll let the debt slide. We'll call each other grandfather and grandchild from now on. Haha, sounds good to me, doesn't it?"

Cao Jiang chuckled, "Alright, grandson."

Zhang Lei bellowed, "Take him down!"

A gang of thugs immediately swung their clubs, aiming for Cao Jiang's head. Many women in the crowd screamed, covering their eyes, unable to watch. Then, abruptly, several screams pierced the air, and when they dared to look again, the thugs were all sprawled on the ground, howling in agony.

"What just happened?"

Those who had watched without blinking saw it all. Cao Jiang was like a reincarnation of Bruce Lee, dispatching the thugs with a flurry of punches and kicks, leaving them defeated on the ground in a more bewildering display than any movie.

Now, with their arms broken, the thugs lay helpless, unable to even rise, let alone fight back.

Cao Jiang strolled up to Zhang Lei and asked, "Thirty thousand yuan, was it?"

"Drop dead!" Zhang Lei, in disbelief at Cao Jiang's sudden prowess, swung his fist at his face.

Cao Jiang caught the punch with ease, squeezing tightly. Zhang Lei's cry of pain was immediate; he went limp, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"So, you wanted to be my grandfather, did you?" Cao Jiang said, his face emotionless as he gradually increased the pressure. The sound of cracking bones filled the air, and Zhang Lei's pain was so intense that sweat beaded on his forehead, his cries turning into desperate pleas. Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer and screamed, "I was wrong, I was wrong, please, I beg you, let me go."

The onlookers from the village witnessed the scene in stunned silence, too afraid to even let out a breath.

Unmoved, Cao Jiang continued to apply pressure. Zhang Lei's face reddened, his body shaking as he cried out, "Grandfather, I was wrong, I'll bow to you, I'll bow to you!" He repeatedly knocked his head on the ground, willing to do anything, even betray his own father.

"There's a good grandson," Cao Jiang said as he let go, then kicked Zhang Lei aside. "Bring out the IOU."

Ignoring his fractured right hand, Zhang Lei hurriedly produced the IOU and presented it to Cao Jiang. With a slap to his face, Cao Jiang asked, "Have you forgotten how to speak to your grandfather?"

Zhang Lei's eyes widened in terror as he stammered, "Grandpa, your IOU."

Cao Jiang reached out, snatched the IOU, and ripped it to shreds. He then seized Zhang Lei by the hair and demanded, "Now you know what to do next time you see grandpa, right?"

"Yes, I understand," Zhang Lei replied, meek as a kitten.

"Scram!"

With a sense of reprieve, Zhang Lei was propped up by his cronies and scurried out, stumbling and scrambling as the villagers at the door stepped aside to let them pass.

Once they were at a distance, one of his underlings asked, "Brother Lei, are we really going to let this slide?"

Zhang Lei's expression darkened, and he spoke through clenched teeth, "Of course not. That Cao bastard, I swear I'll make him die at sea and become fish food. He made a fool of me in public. Damn it."

As the villagers who had gathered at the Cao family's entrance dispersed, tranquility returned to the courtyard. Cao Jiang scanned the area and noticed a plastic bag nearby filled with conches. He chided, "Grandpa, I've told you not to go to the shore to collect conches anymore. The strong winds could easily aggravate your illness."

Cao Shunhua peered at the plastic bag with his clouded eyes and said, "I didn't go to the shore. Those thugs, including Zhang Lei, brought the bag with them."

"Oh," Cao Jiang muttered, using his special vision to peer into the bag. He was taken aback by what he saw and quickly pulled out a conch to inspect it. As he pried it open, a pearl the size of a longan fell out. He picked it up for a closer look, and a holographic display materialized beside him: "Emperor's Crown Conch Pearl, 21mm in diameter, valued at over two million."