dmims Chapter 38 Taking Action, Enforcing the Law
Chapter 38 Taking Action, Enforcing the Law
A sharp shout rang out, causing a disturbance among the crowd watching the performance.
Amid gasps of surprise, the crowd parted to reveal a large opening.
In the empty space, a Japanese ronin wearing wooden clogs and a kimono was loudly cursing with a ferocious expression.
The Japanese curses mixed with Chinese were filled with insults, including terms like "Shina" and "Maruta".
At the feet of the ronin, a thin old man dressed in patched coarse clothes sat slumped on the ground, with a wooden box hanging from his chest to hold items for sale, and peanuts and melon seeds scattered all over the ground.
At this moment, the elderly man with gray hair looked terrified, raised his head, and apologized tremblingly.
The details of the matter can be gleaned from the discussions among the onlookers.
The old man sells peanuts and melon seeds in the neighborhood to earn a living.
Seeing that there were people performing for money and attracting a lot of onlookers, they naturally came over to sell peanuts and melon seeds.
Just as someone bought a bag of sunflower seeds and was standing there looking for change, the Japanese ronin, preoccupied with watching the commotion, bumped right into the old man in front of him.
Judging from the ronin's pained expression as he clutched his chest, he must have hit the corner of the wooden box with considerable force.
Then, in a fit of anger, he pushed the old man to the ground, scattering sunflower seeds and peanuts all over the floor.
Still not satisfied, the ronin stomped on the old man and cursed him!
The sudden change startled the onlookers, who quickly retreated to the side.
The Chinese in the French Concession had a very low social status, especially under the oppression of the system, they could not stand up straight in front of foreigners.
In addition, the various atrocities committed by the Japanese invaders over the years made ordinary people even more afraid to provoke them.
The old man was stepped on, pleading painfully to admit his mistake.
The Japanese ronin, however, had a ferocious expression and cursed loudly as if he had been greatly humiliated.
His face turned a deep liver color with anger, and as if cursing wasn't enough to vent his anger, he raised his fist to strike.
Seeing this, the rogue knew that if he punched the thin old man, he would be seriously injured even if he didn't die.
Unfortunately, despite the large number of onlookers, not a single person dared to step forward to help.
In particular, many of the onlookers were refugees who had fled to the French Concession and were terrified of the Japanese. They hid far away, covered their mouths, and dared not make a sound.
Shen Lang, who had been watching the performance from a distance, frowned as the sudden turn of events occurred.
Upon seeing a ronin causing trouble in the street and bullying an elderly Chinese man, a flash of anger and a sharp killing intent crossed his eyes.
He threw away his cigarette butt and was about to rush over to stop them, but the distance was too far, and even jumping down from a high place wouldn't be enough.
Just at the critical moment, the ronin's fist, which was about to fall heavily, suddenly stopped.
His hand was gripped by a strong, large hand, and he roared angrily, "Baka! Let go!"
At the same time, he gritted his teeth and struggled to break free of her hand, but even though he gritted his teeth and his face was contorted, he still couldn't break free of the large, pincer-like hand.
The owner of this large hand was a young man performing for money.
Upon seeing the Japanese ronin about to beat up an old man selling peanuts and melon seeds in the street, I stepped forward without hesitation to stop him.
Otherwise, if that punch had actually hit the old man, he would have broken at least a few bones.
In this day and age, being old, frail, injured, and unable to afford medical treatment is basically a death sentence.
However, the onlookers were afraid of the Japanese and dared not help, fearing punishment from the police. They could only watch coldly from afar, which was truly a great tragedy.
Fortunately, this young man intervened, otherwise a life might have been lost.
"Baka~!"
The ronin's wrist was gripped, and he couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried. He was so angry that his eyes turned red and his face contorted.
He prides himself on being a master of Bushido!
As a result, he was unable to break free when a Chinese man grabbed his wrist, as if he had suffered a great humiliation.
He cursed loudly and punched the young man in the face with his other fist.
However, they were also trapped and unable to break free.
However, the ronin was also trained, and he had already planned his next attack when he threw a punch.
He raised his right leg to kick the other person's head, but it was easily deflected by his elbow.
Just as his raised leg was about to fall, a huge opening was revealed in the front of his body.
In the blink of an eye, the young man leaned forward and delivered a sweeping leg kick.
boom!
With a muffled thud, the ronin's body fell straight to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The entire process from parrying to counterattacking happened in an instant; the ronin didn't even have a chance to react before being knocked to the ground.
He slammed his stomach hard onto the ground, his mind still reeling.
It's obvious to anyone with eyes that the young man was holding back.
Otherwise, instead of sweeping the leg to knock him to the ground, they would attack his weak points like the chest and abdomen head-on. Even if he didn't die, he would have to stay in the hospital for two months before he could get out of bed.
The young man easily defeated the ronin, and the crowd of onlookers all showed joy. One or two of the bolder ones even cheered.
However, he spoke very softly, as if he was worried about getting into trouble.
"Baka! You...you're despicable! I'm not ready yet!"
The ronin scrambled to his feet, his face contorted with rage as he roared, trembling with fury.
Being defeated by a Chinese man as a samurai was a great humiliation for him.
He instinctively placed it at his waist and made a motion as if to draw his sword.
He only realized when he discovered his waist was empty that he was in the French Concession, not Hongkou, and he couldn't openly carry a knife.
But being hit made him lose face, so he gritted his teeth and was about to rush forward and fight again.
Just as the two sides were about to start fighting again, a sharp whistle blew.
Beep beep!
Several police officers rushed over, carrying batons, their faces showing surprise and anger.
Daring to fight in front of the police station—is this a provocation?
Just as he was about to scold them, he paused when he saw one of them wearing wooden clogs and a kimono, and swallowed back the words he was about to utter.
He asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
The young street performer hurriedly explained, "Officer, he just hit this old man."
The lead police officer glanced at the old man who was being helped up, his expression indifferent.
He turned his gaze to the young man and asked, "What's your name? Were you the one who attacked me?"
The young man nodded: "My name is Niu Daikui. I intervened when I saw this Japanese man about to hit someone."
The lead officer nodded, a look of realization crossing his face.
He said in a deep voice, "You can leave now. You've disturbed the peace; come with us to the police station for investigation!"
While smiling and gesturing for the Japanese ronin to leave, he pulled out handcuffs and prepared to take Niu Daikui back to the police station for investigation on charges of disturbing the peace.
Capturing a Japanese person doesn't necessarily bring merit; if someone has powerful connections, you might end up having to bow and scrape to get them released.
But if you catch someone who makes a living by performing, you can take them back and deal with them as well.
It can also boost sales!
There's a saying, isn't there?
If you can't afford to mess with foreigners, can't you lowly people at least be dealt with?