Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

To avoid the rush hour crowds on the main street, Wei Chen chose a relatively quiet route back through the old town. The narrow, deep alleyway, paved with bluestone slabs, was flanked by towering, mottled blue brick walls. Occasionally, a few late-blooming locust blossoms peeked out from the tops of the walls, their delicate white flowers swaying gently in the twilight breeze, releasing a faint, sweet fragrance. Few pedestrians were in the alley; only the monotonous creaking of his cart wheels echoed between the walls.

Just as he was pulling the cart and about to pass through the long alleyway called "Locust Flower Alley", a suppressed female voice, filled with obvious panic and anger, mixed with the laughter of several sleazy male voices, drifted intermittently from the fork in the road ahead.

"You...you move aside! I want to go home!" The girl's voice was clear and melodious, but it trembled as she tried to remain calm, like a taut string.

"Going home? What's the rush, little sister!" A greasy, hoarse voice rang out. "We brothers see you walking alone in this dark alley, it's not safe for you! Come talk to us for a bit, okay?"

"Yeah, look at that pretty face, so delicate! Let the older brothers get to know her?" Another voice was even more lewd.

"Don't touch me! If you don't move, I'll call for help!" The girl's voice suddenly rose, filled with a desperate resolve.

Wei Chen paused, his brows furrowing instantly. He silently leaned the cart against the shadows of the wall, his body moving like a cheetah poised to pounce. He swiftly and silently crept to the corner of the fork in the road, peering sideways.

Ahead lay an even narrower dead end.

Three street thugs, dressed in floral shirts and bell-bottoms with slicked-back hair, surrounded a girl in a faded blue Lenin suit with two black braids, cornering her against the wall.

The girl's back was pressed tightly against the rough brick wall, her thin shoulders heaving slightly with tension and anger. She clutched an old canvas backpack tightly to her chest, as if guarding her last fortress.

The last rays of the setting sun fell on her face, illuminating an excessively fair and delicate complexion. Her eyes were large, now like those of a startled fawn, filled with fear and anger; her long eyelashes trembled rapidly, but her tightly pursed lips revealed a stubborn refusal to yield.

Wei Chen's gaze was sharp as a knife, instantly sweeping over the three thugs. The leader was a tall, thin man with triangular eyes and high cheekbones, grinning as he reached out to touch the girl's braid. To his left was a short, stocky burly man with a face full of fat, blocking their way with his arms crossed. The one on the right appeared younger, his eyes darting around, seemingly a little timid, but he also chuckled strangely.

A chilling rage surged from Wei Chen's heart. His eyes darted quickly around him. The alley was deep and dark, with houses only a short distance away; a call for help might not be timely. Over there on the cart… he caught sight of a heavy, cast-iron wrench, more than half a foot long, used for self-defense, wedged into the cart's shaft.

Just as the dirty hand with the triangular eyes was about to touch the girl's braid—

"stop!"

A sharp shout, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, suddenly exploded at the entrance of the dead end! The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a penetrating power, clearly suppressing the thugs' taunts.

The three thugs and the girl were startled and turned their heads sharply to look.

At the alley entrance, backlit by the sun, stood a tall figure like an iron tower. He wore the dark blue overalls commonly seen in steel mills, his posture upright, the golden light of the setting sun outlining a cold, hard silhouette behind him.

The newcomer was none other than Wei Chen! He wasn't carrying a gun; he was simply casually holding a large, dark wrench that he had just taken off the cart, its cold metal surface reflecting the last rays of daylight.

The man with the triangular eyes was initially startled, but when he saw that Wei Chen was alone, dressed in ordinary work clothes, and holding only a car repair tool, his courage immediately grew, and a fierce glint appeared in his triangular eyes: "Oh ho? Where did this greenhorn come from? Trying to meddle in our business? If you know what's good for you, get lost! Don't fucking cause trouble!" The short, stocky man next to him also took a step forward in coordination, clenching his fists, his knuckles cracking.

Lin Wanqiu, the girl trapped in the corner, felt her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

The sudden arrival of reinforcements gave her a glimmer of hope in her despair, but when she realized that there was only one person and that the other party was three fierce-looking thugs, that glimmer of hope instantly dimmed, replaced by a deeper worry.

She opened her mouth, wanting to shout "Comrade, let's go!" but she couldn't make a sound because of nervousness, and could only look at Wei Chen anxiously.

Wei Chen's face was expressionless, but his eyes were as cold as the Siberian permafrost. He carried the wrench and walked steadily into the dead end, his leather shoes tapping on the bluestone slabs with a soft thud, each step feeling like stepping on a person's heartbeat.

He ignored the triangular-eyed man's shouts and the short, stocky man's threats, his gaze landing directly on the shifty-eyed young thug. His voice was calm and even, yet it carried a penetrating power:

"You," he pointed at the young thug with his ring, "leave now, I won't stop you."

The young thug shuddered under Wei Chen's icy gaze. Looking at the heavy weapon in Wei Chen's hand, and recalling the visceral shout from earlier, a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He had only been brought in to make up the numbers, and was the most timid. Now, being singled out by Wei Chen, his mental defenses crumbled instantly.

"I...I..." His lips trembled, and his eyes darted back and forth between Wei Chen and his two companions in terror.

"Little Six! You fucking chicken?!" the triangular-eyed man shouted angrily. However, Little Six was ultimately scared. He suddenly shrank his neck, turned around, and ran towards the alley entrance without looking back, disappearing from sight in an instant.

The triangular-eyed man and the short, stocky man's faces immediately turned extremely ugly. Wei Chen's psychological warfare tactic had instantly eroded a third of their fighting strength.

"Damn it! Cripple him!" The man with the triangular eyes, enraged and humiliated, completely dropped his pretense, his eyes flashing with ferocity! He yelled and suddenly pulled a gleaming dagger from his back waist. The short, stocky man also howled, brandishing his fists the size of bowls, and charged at Wei Chen like two mad dogs, one on each side! In the narrow alley, a strong wind rushed in, and the air was thick with murderous intent!

Lin Wanqiu, who was in the corner, closed her eyes in fright and let out a short gasp.

Wei Chen made a move!

Faced with the two men rushing towards him fiercely, he not only did not retreat, but instead, like an arrow released from a bow, he took a step forward to meet them! This step was as fast as a ghost, instantly closing the distance between him and the short, stocky man.

Just as the opponent's fist whistled towards his face, Wei Chen's left hand shot out with lightning speed, precisely grabbing the short, stocky man's wrist! The force was immense, locking him in place like an iron clamp!

The short, stocky man felt a sharp pain in his wrist, as if his bones were about to be crushed, and his forward momentum was abruptly halted! He stared wide-eyed in horror.

In that split second, Wei Chen's large wrench in his right hand, using the force of his forward thrust and twisting waist, transformed into a blurry black shadow, accompanied by a low whistling sound that tore through the air, and fiercely swung upwards towards the short, stocky man's ribs!

"Crack!" A tooth-grinding, crystal-clear sound of bones shattering suddenly rang out in the narrow alley, drowning out the sound of the wind and the faint sounds of the city in the distance!

"Agh—!!!" The short, stocky man let out a shrill, inhuman howl. His whole body seemed to have had its bones removed, and he instantly hunched over, clutching his limp ribs, collapsing to the ground like a lump of mud, only able to convulse and wail in pain, unable to get up again.

One strike! Just one strike! In a single exchange!

Wei Chen's movements were fluid and seamless. As the short, stocky man collapsed to the ground with a scream, Wei Chen used the force of the reverse wrench to execute an incredibly smooth spin, as if dancing a death waltz, perfectly avoiding the cold glint of the dagger that the triangular-eyed man was thrusting from the side!

The dagger grazed his clothes, the cold blade sending a shiver down his spine.

The man with the triangular eyes was horrified when his attack missed. He tried to strike again with a flick of his wrist. However, Wei Chen had already spun to his side, and the two were almost back to back!

Wei Chen didn't even turn around. His right hand was gripping the wrench that had just shattered his ribs. His arm was like a boneless whip. Using his elbow as the axis, he suddenly delivered a fierce backhand elbow strike!

"Bang!" A muffled sound, like a heavy hammer hitting a broken drum!

The heavy wrench handle slammed solidly into Triangle Eyes' right shoulder blade! Triangle Eyes felt an overwhelming force surge through him; half his body instantly went numb, and his entire right arm felt as if it had been torn apart! The dagger clattered from his hand and fell to the ground. The immense impact sent him staggering forward, crashing headfirst into the solid blue brick wall opposite him!

"Thump!" The forehead struck the brick wall with a heavy thud.

His vision went black, stars flashed before his eyes, and blood gushed from the gash on his forehead, obscuring his vision. He slumped against the wall, gasping for breath, too weak to even scream, consumed by boundless fear and excruciating pain.

The entire fight was as fast as lightning! From the moment Wei Chen made his move to the moment the two thugs fell to the ground and howled in pain, only a few breaths had passed! The alley was filled only with the chilling sounds of bones cracking, painful screams, and the dull thud of wrench handles hitting flesh and bone echoing between the walls.

Dead silence.

Only the whistling of the wind through the alleyways and the incoherent groans of two scoundrels on the ground could be heard.

Wei Chen slowly turned around, his hand still firmly gripping the wrench, its blade stained with a dark red. He was slightly out of breath, his chest rising and falling, but his eyes had regained their calm, though a lingering chill remained when he looked at the two thugs on the ground. He walked to the dagger that the man with the triangular eyes had dropped, flicked it with his toe, and sent it flying into a distant pile of garbage, completely eliminating the threat.

After doing all this, he turned his gaze to the girl who was still pressed against the wall.

Lin Wanqiu had already opened her eyes. She stared blankly at everything happening before her, as if she were in a brief but violent dream.

The tall, imposing figure, the lightning-fast, ruthless movements, and the clean, decisive, almost cold-blooded way of resolving the situation shocked her far more than the fear of being surrounded earlier.

Her face was deathly pale, her lips trembled slightly, and her knuckles turned white from gripping her schoolbag tightly. But in her clear, autumn-water-like eyes, the initial fear had been replaced by an indescribable shock and the bewilderment of surviving a catastrophe.

Wei Chen walked up to her, his tall figure exuding a profound sense of security. He deliberately softened his tone, his deep voice carrying a strange, reassuring power: "Comrade, it's alright. Don't be afraid."