The night was inky black, the street deserted.
A single beam of moonlight fell upon An Ning.
At this mont, she was like a harbinger from hell, shrouded in Evil Qi, her gaze as cold as ice.
The man whose neck she was choking flailed one arm with difficulty. The force on his throat told him she was serious.
His windpipe was constricting, his breathing gradually cut off. He felt as miserable as a fish out of water.
"H-h-h-he—he’s over there."
It wasn’t that the four n across from them didn’t want to fight back, but their boss was in her hands—and in such a state.
They were a little scared.
To be precise, they were terrified.
The girl’s eyes were far too frightening.
"Lead the way. Now."
"O-Okay!"
"You let our bo— AARGH—"
One of the underlings who tried to set conditions was sent sprawling by a kick from An Ning.
"Lead the way."
A nearby thug scrambled to help his downed companion.
It was only then that they discovered the man on the ground had broken ribs; he couldn’t get back on his feet.
’So vicious!’
After that, no one dared to try and bargain. They scrambled to lead the way.
Pushing her bicycle with one hand and dragging their boss with the other, An Ning followed behind them.
It wasn’t far, but the location was very remote.
It was hidden in a small residential alley. If An Ning had tried to find it on her own, it would have taken a lot of ti.
"He’s right over there—"
"Second Brother!"
An Ning saw An Guoming lying on the ground.
In the next instant, it took An Ning less than five seconds to land a kick on each of them. All five n were now on the ground, their legs broken.
"Second Brother, how are you? Where does it hurt?"
Not daring to move An Guoming, An Ning first gave him a basic examination.
’Two broken ribs. They need to be immobilized.’
An Ning looked around for sothing to use as a splint, but there was nothing, not even a loose brick.
An Ning’s gaze fell upon a nearby tree, and an idea ford in her mind.
"Second Brother, wait for ."
"Little Sis... I knew you’d co... COUGH COUGH..."
"Don’t talk. I’ll be right back."
An Ning got to her feet and strode toward a large tree about twenty ters away. With a running start, she leaped.
She landed in the tree and, with a few sharp CRACKS, broke off several arm-thick branches with her bare hands.
She carried the branches back, set them down in the alley, and walked over to the five n on the ground.
"We’re sorry, we’re so sorry! We were blind and didn’t recognize our superior. Please, spare us."
"We’re begging you, we were truly in the wrong."
The five n had seen what just happened. How could they possibly have defeated soone like her?
An Ning completely ignored their apologies and pleas for rcy.
"RIIIP—"
"RIIIP—"
The sound of fabric ripping echoed ceaselessly through the alley.
When the sounds finally stopped, the five n on the ground were left in nothing but their underwear.
An Ning had torn the rest of their clothes into strips.
An Ning took the torn fabric and fashioned a simple, rigid stretcher. She carefully helped An Guoming onto it, her voice uncharacteristically gentle.
"Second Brother, I’ll handle everything."
An Ning lifted the stretcher by herself and, walking steadily, stopped beside the five half-naked n.
"My brother has two broken ribs. You’ll pay with four."
An Ning’s tone held no room for negotiation; it was a simple statent of fact.
The words had barely left her lips when her foot shot out.
Agonized screams echoed through the small alley.
Yet not a single person ca out to see what was happening.
This was their turf, a place where everyone had an unspoken agreent not to ddle.
What happened here, didn’t happen.
So, if you got beaten, you got beaten. There was no recourse.
Her work done, An Ning carried An Guoming out of the alley.
On the stretcher, An Guoming was still lost in the thought of how badass his little sister was.
"Don’t be scared, Second Brother. I’m very steady."
An Guoming watched as An Ning placed the makeshift stretcher on the crossbar of her bicycle.
Two lengths of fabric had been left at either end of the stretcher. She tied them together and slung the loop around her neck.
"Little Sis, uh, it’s... it’s not that I don’t trust you."
"Good."
An Ning’s single word silenced An Guoming. Heart in his throat, he watched her get on the bicycle.
She started pedaling, and the bicycle moved.
After a few minutes, An Guoming found he wasn’t nearly as scared as before.
But he was starting to feel woozy, his head throbbing with a dull ache.
"Little Sis, I feel a little sleepy."
"Don’t fall asleep. We’re going to the hospital."
An Ning picked up the pace as An Guoming mumbled deliriously.
"My watch..."
"Don’t worry, I got it back."
"Second Brother, tell what happened. What was all this about?"
An Ning kept talking to An Guoming to keep him from falling asleep. If he had a head injury, letting him sleep was the last thing she should do.
"Little Sis, I’m sorry. I was scamd."
As he spoke, An Guoming began to cry like a child.
"I was stupid, so stupid. I got too flashy... I’m a poor judge of character... It’s all my fault."
An Guoming was filled with regret. Things had been going too smoothly for him recently, and he’d completely lost his forr caution.
In fact, he hadn’t just lost his caution; he’d beco arrogant.
But he had forgotten that he was just a small-tir who hadn’t seen the world. His entire world was Sanhe Town, but the world outside was vast, and his experience couldn’t keep up.
An Ning didn’t press for details. She just needed An Guoming to keep talking.
Finally, they reached the hospital.
An Ning carried the stretcher inside and roused the doctor on duty.
Thankfully, she had brought money with her, so there was no issue with the admittance procedures.
The doctor gave him a thorough examination. He had nurous external injuries, but none were life-threatening. The fractures were real, but the doctor wasn’t an orthopedist and said they’d have to wait for one to co in tomorrow.
An Ning, of course, had no intention of waiting.
"Could I trouble you to give the orthopedist’s address? I’ll go and fetch him myself."
The doctor on duty didn’t give An Ning a hard ti and gave her the address.
After getting the address, An Ning said to An Guoming, "Second Brother, you wait for ."
"Doctor, could you please watch my brother for a mont? I don’t want him to fall asleep. I’m worried he might have a head injury."
The doctor was a kind man and readily agreed to her request. An Ning thanked him, ran outside, and sped away on her bicycle.
She had already morized her route to the hospital.
Fortunately, the orthopedist’s address was located along the first half of that route.
It was already past ten o’clock when An Ning began to KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on the doctor’s front door.
"Coming! Who is it?"
A man’s displeased voice called from inside.
"I’m sorry, I’m looking for Doctor Lin! My brother has fractured ribs, and the hospital doesn’t have an orthopedist on duty."
An Ning stated her purpose concisely.
In the courtyard, a man and a woman were talking. The woman said unhappily, "Honestly, in the middle of the night."
"It’s fine. I’ll go."
The man called out to the door, "Wait a mont, I’m on my way."
"Thank you!"
An Ning’s "thank you" was loud and full of sincerity.
Although the woman in the courtyard was reluctant, she still went to open the door after hearing a young girl’s voice.
When she saw An Ning in person, what little resentnt she felt vanished completely.
’It can’t be easy for a girl of seventeen or eighteen.’
"He’ll be right out, don’t worry."
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