Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 23 Take it easy
If Cao Weida hadn't read the original work, he might have been fooled by Zong Xiangfang as well.

In public, Zong Xiangfang is timid, cowardly, weak-willed, avoids trouble, lacks ambition, and is subservient to everyone.

But the real Zong Xiangfang was a quick-witted, strong-reasoning, shrewd, and ruthless Kuomintang agent!
Those who can be spies are all highly skilled.
Even the joking shop assistants of the Military Intelligence Bureau have their special skills.

If his superiors hadn't ordered him to lie low and not allow him to climb the ranks, how could he, a graduate of police academy, still be a lowly patrolman?
Having come from the Military Intelligence Bureau, he should have been proud and arrogant. How could anyone with a bit of pride not be furious at being humiliated like this by a petty thug?

A hint of murderous intent flashed by, then he concealed it and said with a forced smile, "Yes, yes, I don't have any face to speak of. But Master Biao, you are a big shot, why bother with small fry like us?"

Biao Ye clearly wasn't buying it. He shoved him aside and roared menacingly, "Get lost! I'll argue with whoever I want. If you dare say another word, I'll crack your skull open today, you believe me?!"

Zong Xiangfang tugged at Cao Weida's sleeve and whispered, "Brother, bear with it, it'll pass. Quickly apologize to Master Biao."

"Thanks, brother. You can go over there. Don't drag me into this." Cao Weida smiled. Wasn't his previous groveling all for the sake of showing off in front of others now?

Apologize?

If I were to apologize to even a petty thug, wouldn't I have been fawning over Ono Oda for nothing?

Now that we have the tiger skin, wouldn't it be a shame not to rip it off?

Moreover, he couldn't apologize at this time. If Ono Oda and the others found out about this, what would they think of him?
Oh, I called you brother, and you turned around and gave in to some thug?
Fine, you can go somewhere cool and stay there. I'm not playing with you anymore!

Therefore, neither emotionally nor rationally, he could back down.

Before he transmigrated, he quite enjoyed reading novels. Most novels have a protagonist, and he, as a transmigrator with a system, should be considered a protagonist, right?
So, this Boss Biao is the first villain I've ever encountered?
That villain is way too small.

Hmph, everyone step back, I'm about to show off!

He turned his head and looked at Boss Biao with a mocking expression: "Boss Biao, right? I'm standing right here, what do you want?"

"It's quite funny. You're just a rat from a stinking ditch. Instead of staying far away from me, a cat, you actually dare to bare your teeth at me. Who gave you the guts? Fish Leong?"

Who is Fish Leong?
Biao was somewhat taken aback, but then he thought he probably wasn't a respectable person.

"Hey, you've really gone all out today, haven't you? You've got some nerve!" Boss Biao was amused, but also enraged.

In his mind, Cao Wei should be terrified and begging for mercy on his knees, but things are not developing as he expected. Cao Wei is even provoking him.

If we don't teach him a lesson today, where will I, Boss Biao, put my face? How will I ever be able to face anyone again?

Feeling humiliated, Biao Ye was furious and glared fiercely at Cao Weida: "Fine, fine, fine, it seems you've really grown bold!"

"Brothers, give them a good beating."

Before he could finish speaking, Cao Weida preemptively grabbed a stool from the side and smashed it over Biao Ye's head.

Clang~~
I have to say, the materials used in things these days are really solid. A solid wood stool makes a really loud noise when you hit someone on the head with it!
"what!!"

Biao Ye screamed in agony as blood gushed from his forehead like it was free, startling the onlookers.

Goodness, this patrolman doesn't look very strong, but he's quite bold!
"Brother Biao!" The group of underlings were also startled, clearly not expecting Cao Weida to dare to make the first move.

Biao Ye, clutching his bleeding head, cursed, "Biao your grandma! Are they all dead?! Beat them! If they die, it's on me!"

"Damn it, you dare hit your grandpa Biao! If I don't kill you today, I'll change my name!"

The group of henchmen then realized what was happening and immediately grabbed their weapons, ready to attack.

But after taking only two steps forward, they all stopped abruptly. Their previously arrogant and crazed faces froze instantly, turning into fear as they frantically tried to retreat, creating a chaotic scene of stomping and stepping.

"Go ahead and fight! Why did you stop?"

Cao Weida looked at them with a smile.

The henchmen cursed inwardly, "You bastard, put down your gun! Now that you've pulled out a gun, who dares to attack?"

Indeed, at this moment, Cao Wei Da was holding a Browning pistol, the muzzle pointed directly at them.

"Damn it, you only have one gun, and I have a dozen or so brothers here. You think you can kill us all?!" When he saw Cao Weida pull out his gun, Biao Ye's expression changed as well.

You can lose face but not pride. If you back down now, how can you hold your head high in front of your underlings?

He was afraid, but he had to force himself to be brave, which gave him a rather reserved and timid air.

Zong Xiangfang, who was standing nearby, was also stunned. He hurriedly looked around and ran over to whisper, "Brother, are you crazy?! Where did you get a gun? We patrol officers aren't armed. There are Imperial Army soldiers right next to us. Are you out of your mind?! Put it away right now!"

"Don't worry, this gun is registered." Cao Weida gave him a reassuring look. Of course, this gun wasn't something he carried privately; it was specially approved for him by Ono Oda. After all, Beiping was in chaos, and someone as sensible as Cao Weida, who could also help them make money, naturally deserved some consideration.

It's just a pistol, nothing serious.

After offering an explanation, he looked at Boss Biao and the others with a forced smile.
“You’re right. My Browning only has seven bullets, and there are about ten of you. I can’t kill you all.”

Before Biao Ye could even get smug, Cao Weida continued jokingly, "But I only need to kill seven people. Whoever dares to come up, I'll kill them."

"I'll trade my life for your seven lives. That's a pretty good deal."

"So, anyone willing to sacrifice themselves and come with me?"

The group of underlings looked terrified and took several steps back in unison.

What the hell is this selflessness?!

Who's being a good person and who's being a fool!
Just kidding, whose life isn't a life? In this world, it's just a few bucks, who the hell would risk their life!
Upon seeing this, Cao Weida couldn't help but laugh. He thought to himself, "If you had such a high level of self-sacrifice, who the hell would be willing to be a slacker?"

Biao Ye naturally saw it too. His face stiffened, but unwilling to lose face, he could only force out a sentence through gritted teeth: "You're good today, but I'm not convinced! If you're a man, let's have a one-on-one fight!"

“…” Cao Weida rolled his eyes and sneered twice, “Whether I am a man or not is none of your business. What a clumsy attempt to provoke me.”

"But you, who keep claiming to be a man, brought a dozen or so thugs here to bully a little girl. Is this what you call a man? You don't even deserve to be called a man!"

"Pah! That's an insult to the word 'man'! Even a woman would have more shame than you!"

Biao Ye blushed deeply and his breathing became rapid.

Although there wasn't a single swear word throughout, those words were even more unbearable for him than swear words.

"What, still not convinced?" Browning's cold gunshot slapped against Biao Ye's flushed face. "What I, Cao Weida, like most are those who are obsessed with saving face and suffer for it."

"How about I give you a chance, and you give me a chance? You fight back, and then I'll shoot you dead?"

puff~
The scene was originally quite serious, but then this sentence suddenly came out, and everyone present couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Mo He, who had just been bullied, couldn't help but laugh as well. She quickly covered her mouth and looked at Cao Weida, just as Cao Weida was looking over at her.

Their eyes met, and Mo He immediately lowered her head shyly.

The trope of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress has existed since ancient times; it's a very old-fashioned but extremely useful trope.

Cao Wei Da suddenly appeared like a hero and saved her, his aura suddenly shining brightly.

At this moment, Mo He's heart was pounding, as if it wanted to jump out of its shell.

Looking at Master Biao now, he didn't find it funny at all.

He was closest to Cao Wei and could clearly sense that what others might find amusing was not what he thought!

Cao Weida wasn't joking; he genuinely wanted to shoot himself!
The murderous aura is mysterious and mysterious, yet it is real. Perhaps even Cao Wei Da himself did not know that after killing a Japanese soldier and two puppet soldiers, once his emotions changed, a faint murderous aura would constantly emerge.

Although Biao Ye, enveloped in murderous intent, was not about to wet his pants, he was too frightened to move.

"Tsk, looks like you're not planning to give me that chance." Cao Weida looked regretful, which made Boss Biao's heart pound. He then turned to look at his group of underlings beside him:
"There's a saying that goes, 'The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.' Who among you wants to be the nail that sticks out? You can step forward now. I'm a kind-hearted person, and I'll definitely do my best to fulfill your request."

The group of underlings took two steps back again, afraid of falling behind.

They still have some guts when it comes to slashing each other with knives.

But knowing it's suicide, who would be an idiot to go up there?

“You guys are useless too.” Cao Weida shook his head regretfully and stretched out his hand to Zong Xiangfang, “Brother, can I borrow your baton?”

"..." Zong Xiangfang had no problem with such a simple request. He handed over the baton and whispered, "Take it easy. Boss Biao is a gangster who follows Xi Batian Fude. Although he's just a small leader, if he goes too far, he might lose face."

Clearly, he knew why Cao Weida wanted the baton.

"Oh, so it's that bastard Fu Decheng. No wonder these guys are all trash."

Fu Decheng, the tyrant of the west, came to Beijing at the age of 25 and made a living by running a teahouse in Tianqiao. Later, when the Japanese army entered Beiping, Fu Decheng colluded with the puppet army and organized hooligans to traffic people, rape women, run casinos, and operate brothels. He carried the burden of many people and committed all kinds of evil deeds.

Anything a human being would do, nothing less, nothing so utterly rotten that it's oozing pus—calling someone a scumbag is an insult to scumbags.

(End of this chapter)