Chapter 809: Teaching the Thugs a Lesson

Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue entered the store to find a chaotic scene. Several thugs in suits were about to break He Jun’s legs. Chen Shi demanded, “Did Lie Guoxiao send you?”

Lin Dongxue flashed her badge, “Stand still, all of you.”

The leader, known as “Impressionist,” spat on the floor with a grin, “We’re just playing around.” He then slapped He Jun’s face hard. “Tell them, aren’t we just playing?”

Though He Jun’s face was red from the slaps, he stammered, “Yes… we’re just playing. We’re having a great time with this… gentleman.”

“All right then, we’re leaving. You guys have a good chat.” Impressionist shrugged and led his men towards the exit.

Lin Dongxue pulled out her handcuffs and shouted, “Stop right there!” as she reached out to block them.

Impressionist glanced at her dismissively, “Get out of my way, bitch!” He brushed past her hand and continued walking.

Fury surged through Chen Shi. He caught up to Impressionist, calling out, “Hey!” As Impressionist turned, Chen Shi punched him squarely in the face, sending him flying out of the pawn shop.

Clutching his jaw, Impressionist looked up at Chen Shi with a mix of anger and shock, “A cop dares to hit me!?”

Chen Shi pulled out his ID and tossed it at him, “Take a good look. I’m not a cop, just a consultant. You can fight back.”

“You said it!!!”

Impressionist got up and kicked at Chen Shi. It was a common thug move. Chen Shi sidestepped, grabbed his leg, and pushed him backward. Impressionist nimbly balanced on his other leg, striking Chen Shi’s back with his elbow.

Chen Shi retaliated by grabbing Impressionist’s crotch, causing him to scream in pain and collapse. As he struggled to get up, his face contorted in pain, Impressionist pulled out a butterfly knife, flashing it around.

Chen Shi adopted a defensive stance, one fist forward, one back, eyes locked on the knife.

A thug cautioned, “Boss, the cops are watching! Using a knife will get you jailed!”

“Damn it, get me a brick!”

One of the thugs threw a brick to Impressionist, who tossed the knife back. Seizing the moment, Chen Shi rushed in and punched him in the face. In street fighting, surprise attacks are key.

Impressionist, stunned, waved the brick wildly and threw it at Chen Shi. As Chen Shi dodged, Impressionist kicked him in the chest, causing Lin Dongxue to go pale with fear.

The kick left Chen Shi’s chest tight, and Impressionist pressed his advantage with powerful punches. Chen Shi could only retreat and block. Suddenly, Impressionist launched a double-fisted attack that Chen Shi couldn’t block head-on.

Chen Shi dodged to the side, grabbed Impressionist’s elbow with his left hand, and struck his neck with his right.

Impressionist, dazed by the chop, gave Chen Shi a bewildered look. As Chen Shi retracted his right hand and prepared to punch again, Impressionist ducked, supporting himself with his hands and kicking back like a mule, a surprisingly effective but bizarre move.

This guy was no ordinary thug; he had real training. His men cheered as he displayed his skills.

Dust flew as Impressionist kicked up a storm on the ground. Chen Shi couldn’t keep up with the rapid kicks and had to keep retreating. But with every step back, Impressionist rolled forward, kicking like a skilled gymnast.

Fighting him standing up was impossible; getting on the ground to fight was equally futile, as this was his domain. This unorthodox fighting style was formidable.

Knowing he couldn’t drag this out, Chen Shi leaped and body-slammed Impressionist, a wrestling move. Impressionist, in the middle of his kicks, was startled by the descending shadow and screamed.

With a thud, Chen Shi flattened Impressionist, immediately punching his face repeatedly. After three punches, Impressionist’s face was a bloody mess, teeth scattered. He mumbled, “Who the hell are you!?”

Chen Shi raised his fist but held back, knowing more would be dangerous. He stood up and said, “Get lost!”

Impressionist’s men quickly helped him up and fled to a car parked around the corner. Once inside, Impressionist, nursing his swollen face, muttered, “I’ve fought him before, definitely fought him. Damn it, can’t remember…”

“Are you okay?” Lin Dongxue ran up, concerned, and offered a wet wipe to clean Chen Shi’s hands.

Chen Shi exhaled deeply. Despite the pain, he forced a smile to reassure her, “I’m fine.”

“You were too impulsive, fighting these thugs. I could have just called for backup,” Lin Dongxue scolded, worried.

“I couldn’t stand him insulting you,” Chen Shi smiled.

There was another reason for dealing with that guy, but only Chen Shi knew, and he would never tell anyone.

With the thugs “sent off,” they returned to the store. He Jingjing was applying iodine to He Jun’s wounds. The room was ransacked, drawers and cabinets open. There were no paintings in sight, but Chen Shi thought they wouldn’t hide them in such obvious places.

“Thank you,” He Jingjing said. “If you hadn’t come in time, He Jun’s leg would have been broken. These guys are so unreasonable.”

Today, all the pawn shops had been harassed. Some received strange phone calls, others were searched and beaten by thugs. Several pawn shop owners were now in the hospital.

Of course, many thugs had been arrested, but none admitted who sent them.

This was Lie Guoxiao’s tactic, spreading fear to force the thief to reveal themselves. He had astutely deduced the thief was among the pawnshops.

Chen Shi didn’t tell He Jingjing this. He simply said, “We’re here to investigate.”

He Jingjing shrugged, “They just searched, so go ahead. Suspicion all day long.”

“Your shop was closed this afternoon. Where were you?”

“Can’t we take a day off? We were napping inside.”

“You can vouch for each other?”

“Do I need to record a video as proof?” He Jingjing snapped.