Chapter Forty-Seven: It's All Gone Up in Smoke Again Liu Banzhan had never imagined he could move so swiftly. From buying popsicles at the village supermarket, to picking up the orthopedic medicine at Liu Ye’s clinic, and then rushing back home—entirely accomplished in just five minutes. That speed? Even Huo'er would have to bow to it. "No, my ankle's already injured—you're still playing tricks on me! Oh no, I can't bear it—my brother will see this when he returns." "Haha, Liu Tiao, how could your brother, with his clumsy hands, come back so quickly? Just take off your outer shirt first, then the inner one..." Before the board brick even reached Liu Tiao's room, he heard a series of utterly discordant voices. Already feeling deeply frustrated, the relentless stream of words now ignited his fury. What a shame—Leaf Qiu had taken advantage of Liu Tiao while I was away! Without a word, he charged straight to Liu Tiao's room, burst through the door, and there he saw Leaf Qiu's rather clumsy hands resting gently on his sister's neck. Without hesitation, he swung the plastic bag filled with popsicles right at Leaf Qiu's head. "Leaf Qiu, you dare to touch my sister like that in my own home? I'll shoot you dead!" It seemed as though the pile of popsicles wouldn’t do much damage to Ye Qiu, so the plank brick rushed back to his own room and dove under the bed to search for his old rifle. … When Ye Qiu lifted his hand, he smoothly caught the bag of popsicles that the plank brick had thrown to him. But Lütiao’s expression wasn’t as calm as Ye Qiu’s. Already nervous about being outdone with Ye Qiu, now with Ye Qiu about to take off his clothes, he was perfectly visible to his brother, Liu Banzhu. Lütiao could already imagine what would happen next. “Ye Qiu, you’d better go back now—I’ll be fighting you to the end,” Lütiao said, looking genuinely worried. Ye Qiu stood up with a carefree air, took a towel, removed the ice packs from the bag, wrapped them into a long strip, and gently placed them on Lütiao’s swollen ankles. He then beamed with a smile, “I know quite well what my brother’s capable of. It’s not that I don’t respect him—I’ll bet he’s already heading off to get his rifle right now.” "Liuao was so frightened her face turned pale, and she was nearly crying out, 'Yeoqi, will you listen to me? Please go back right now—I don’t want to see you and my brother clash. No matter who gets hurt, I’ll be heartbroken.' Yeoqi shrugged, smiling at Liuao, 'Right now, even if I wanted to leave, I couldn’t.' Indeed, as soon as Yeoqi finished speaking, Liubanzhuang grabbed a crude spear in his hands, stormed in angrily, and pointed the dark, empty barrel straight at Yeoqi, declaring, 'Yeoqi, you’re quite a bold little scamp! If you don’t break today, I’ll never forgive you!' 'Brother, what are you going to do? Just put down the spear—' Liuao struggled to get out of bed and tried to step in front of Yeoqi, but Yeoqi gently pushed her back, blocking her completely. 'Liuao, you’re a young lady still in school, and yet you’ve been repeatedly taken advantage of by this young man. Do you have any sense of shame? Have you not completely disgraced our parents’ faces?' " Liuao, furious, roared without pausing to consider whether his words might wound Liutiao. Liutiao was choked with anger, tears welling in her eyes. Ye Qiu's face grew cold, unflinching before the blank gun barrel, and calmly said, "You, Liuao—what's the big deal? Holding a broken gun to intimidate anyone? In such a short time, hasn't there been any powder or iron shot loaded? After all, this is a rule-of-law society—strictly prohibits individuals from privately owning or concealing firearms. You're openly threatening me with a gun like this—don't you fear I'll report you to the police and have you serve several years in jail?" The Li board brick's face turned instantly crimson. Ye Qiu was right—he had fired not a single shot; his gun was merely a hollow showpiece. As for the charge of illegally possessing a firearm, he was equally clear in his mind. Normally, the gun had been tucked beneath his bed, used only once before when he'd previously clashed with Ye Qiu and suffered a defeat. He'd never dared to bring it out for display. Just now, seeing Ye Qiu taking advantage of Li Tiao, he realized he wasn't up to par with Ye Qiu. In a moment of urgency, he remembered the rustic gun hidden beneath his bed. Yu's face turned instantly crimson. Ye Qiu was right—he had fired not a single shot, merely a hollow show. As for the charge of illegally possessing a firearm, he was equally clear in his mind. This gun had always been tucked beneath his bed, used only once before when he'd previously fought Ye Qiu and come out on the losing end. He'd never dared to bring it out for display. Just now, seeing Ye Qiu taking advantage of him, he realized he wasn't up to par with Ye Qiu, and in his moment of urgency, remembered the rustic gun hidden beneath the bed. To his surprise, however, this very showpiece failed to impress Ye Qiu. Yu struggled for a while, then erupted in anger, shouting, "Ye Qiu, come out here with me—I want to take you on one-on-one!" Upon hearing that the gun contained no powder, the willow branch, who had been standing behind Ye Qiu, immediately felt reassured. After all, the long-standing rivals from past lives, now adversaries in this life, had long grown accustomed to the small disputes between Ye Qiu and his brother Liu Yu. Upon hearing that the gun hadn’t been loaded with powder, Li Tiaor’s heart immediately settled. This lifelong rival, now turned adversary, had long grown accustomed to the little tiffs between Ye Qiu and her brother, Liu Banzhu. She gently tugged at Ye Qiu’s arm from behind and said softly, “Ye Qiu, go back first. I’ll go visit you for your birthday once my feet feel better.” She knew well that Liu Banzhu wouldn’t stand a chance against Ye Qiu. “Li Tiaor, don’t get involved in this—otherwise, once our parents return, I’ll tell them about all the things Ye Qiu has done to you. Then Ye Qiu will have it even worse.” Liu Banzhu held his ground, determined to make his mark even if he lost today. He was furious—how dare Ye Qiu come to his home and make a scene with Li Tiaor? He’d seen it all. If she had arrived any later, things might have escalated further. With a stern expression, he faced Ye Qiu directly, “Ye Qiu, you’re the one with the strength—come out with me.” "After that, he single-handedly carried his rifle and stepped out of the room. "Yue, don't argue with my brother—he's straightforward and won't bend. Just say a few kind things, and he'll calm down right away. If you two keep treating each other like lifelong rivals, how will you ever build a family together?" Liu Tiaojie said with genuine concern. Yue turned to Liu Tiaojie and smiled. "Don't worry—nothing will go wrong. You know better than anyone, we've fought through countless big and small battles, and yet we're still doing fine. After all, he's going to be my future brother-in-law. If I hurt him, will I still be coming to visit your house?" As she said this, she gently kissed the top of Liu Tiaojie's head. At that moment, the sound of impatient tapping from outside—her brother's wooden board—echoed through the room. "Just stay still, and I'll have you there with me for my birthday celebration," Yue added with a smile, then turned and stepped out. "And remember, be gentle with him." The willow branch sighed helplessly, shaking her head. Every time the two of them fought, Brother Liubanzhan came back with a nosebleed and a bruised face. Liutiao couldn’t stop them—she could only hope that Ye Qiu wouldn’t hit too hard. Ye Qiu made a gesture of reassurance, but inside, he was thinking: "Board brick, you're such a mindless fool—always rushing to get beaten. Today, I’m not going to let you go with your name. I’m making you carry mine." Nodding, Ye Qiu raised his hand, and Huo'er obediently stepped out of Liuaoli's courtyard, then paused at the front gate, watching the exciting scene about to unfold. Experience from multiple defeats had taught Banzhu that, without a reliable weapon in hand, he absolutely couldn't stand a chance against Ye Qiu. As a result, Banzhu developed a habit—whenever he fought Ye Qiu, he always carried something in his hands, even if it offered little real advantage against Ye Qiu's extraordinary strength. It simply gave him courage and a sense of reassurance. With the gate shut, Banzhu swung his gun butt toward Ye Qiu, ready to engage. But Ye Qiu suddenly spoke: "Wait a moment." "What's the delay? Get on with it—get out of my way!" Banzhu was puzzled. Usually, Ye Qiu wasn't one for long speeches; when they fought, they just went straight for it. What was going on now? Ye Qiu lazily replied, "Banzhu, we've been just throwing punches at each other without much point. You always enjoy betting against me—why don't we settle on another bet today?" "Pan zhan paused, hesitated, then nodded: 'Alright, what are you betting?' Ye Qiu gave a smug smile: 'If I win, you'll never interfere again with my relationship with Liu Tiao. Isn't that fair?' Pan zhan nearly jumped up to shout in frustration, his face drooping: 'You're dreaming! I know I can't beat you, so don't even think about it. As long as I'm alive, you'll never get close to Liu Tiao.' Ye Qiu remained calm, his eyes fixed on Pan zhan: 'I'll let you have one hand and two feet.' Pan zhan was taken aback—though Ye Qiu was strong, if he were to fight with just one hand, Pan zhan was confident he could knock Ye Qiu down. He always knew Ye Qiu was clever, so he scrutinized him carefully, trying to figure out what game he was playing. 'Are you afraid?' Ye Qiu asked, with a mocking smile. 'You're just a kid, fine. That's settled.' The plank brick stood with a furrowed brow, most incensed by being treated lightly. Upon being called to action, he swung his gun butt straight at Ye Qiu's head. ... No ads, fully text-based, first publication novels, 138看书网 - www.13800100.com, text-first publication, your best choice! Recommend novels? Search for the book name plus "138看书网" on Baidu. More excellent, error-free, fully text-first novels available at 138看书网.