Duan Chenglang must have lost everything by now, hasn't he?

Silly Pillar's foot was just about to touch Duan Chengliang's cotton trousers. With a ferocious expression on his face and teeth clenched tightly, he exerted a sudden burst of extra force, feeling a secret thrill ripple through his heart. He eagerly anticipated the satisfying moment when his kick would make Duan Chengliang howl in agony.

Silly Pillar was extremely familiar with this kind of scene; Xu Damao had been knocked down by him more than once. It was a routine, well-practiced skill of his, and he even possessed the uncanny ability to inflict precisely the level of pain he desired.

Today, he had prepared a ruthless blow for Duan Chengliang. Sending him to bed for a few days, unable to get up, was just the baseline operation.

Before you could blink, Silly Pillar delivered a vicious kick right to Duan Chengliang's groin.

In a fraction of a second, however, the ferocious look on Silly Pillar's face completely twisted into a grimace of agony. The reality turned out entirely different from his expectations.

The moment his foot made contact, it didn't meet the familiar softness. Instead, it felt as though he had kicked a solid lump of iron.

"Aow!" "Ah!"

Two simultaneous cries burst out in a wild chorus. At the same time, both men toppled backward onto the ground.

Instantly, the two of them began thrashing and rolling about on the dirt.

Duan Chengliang clutched his crotch, his body arched like a cooked shrimp. Veins popped out all over his face as he rolled back and forth on the ground, wailing in ceaseless agony.

Silly Pillar's movements were much more subdued in comparison, but anyone standing close could see his entire body convulsing violently. His teeth seemed nearly shattered from biting down so hard, and his hands clawed deep trenches into the earth.

Most notably, his right foot—the one he had just used to kick Duan Chengliang—was positioned at a rather unnatural angle and was now trembling violently beyond his control.

What on earth was going on? When Silly Pillar kicked someone else, why did he end up screaming so miserably and crashing to the ground in a trembling fit?

It was normal for Duan Chengliang to clutch himself and howl; anyone could imagine how excruciating that pain must be. Right now, quite a few onlookers felt a tight sensation in their own groins, silently cursing to themselves that Silly Pillar truly was a scoundrel. No matter the fight, why resort to such a dirty trick every single time? It was utterly shameless, with no fear of leaving oneself without descendants.

The moment Duan Chengliang let out his miserable shriek and collapsed, Qin Huairu immediately sprang to her feet. Without a single second thought—driven purely by anxiety and worry—she instinctively started to rush toward Duan Chengliang. However, before she had even taken half a step forward, she was grabbed firmly by Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting right beside her.

"Where do you think you're going? Things are getting lively over there, so don't get mixed up in it. Just stay on the sidelines and watch the show."

The restraint of Jia Zhangshi's grip and her sharp shout finally allowed Qin Huairu to regain a shred of rationality. She checked her stride and slowly sank back down onto the bench. Even so, her hands twisted together so frantically she was nearly tearing the lapels of her jacket. Her face was etched with deep anxiety as she prayed incessantly in her heart: "Please, Chengliang, let nothing be wrong with you. That bastard Silly Pillar is truly heartless—how could he launch such a vicious attack?"

Yi Zhonghai sprang up from his chair and hurried over to the spot where Silly Pillar and Duan Chengliang lay.

Yan Bugui's small eyes gleamed brightly; he had long since locked his gaze onto the donation box lying on the ground. He was plotting to kick the box apart when nobody was looking and take back his one yuan.

"Zhuzi, what's wrong with you? Are you alright?"

Yi Zhonghai's initial worry had been that Silly Pillar might have struck too hard and genuinely injured Duan Chengliang, which would make the aftermath difficult to handle.

Normally, while Silly Pillar appeared reckless, he actually knew his limits and was very measured in his strikes. Every time Xu Damao got beaten, wasn't it a case of swallowing bitter herbs with a mute mouth—having grievances he couldn't voice? With Yi Zhonghai standing by to smooth things over slightly, no real problems ever arose. On the contrary, it gradually built up Silly Pillar's image as a formidable and intimidating figure, which had been immensely helpful to Yi Zhonghai himself.

However, the current situation seemed somewhat amiss. When Yi Zhonghai rushed close, he discovered that Silly Pillar appeared to be in even greater pain than Duan Chengliang. Most critically, Silly Pillar's right foot was trembling incessantly, its angle obviously abnormal and the situation highly irregular.

"Damn it, his foot wouldn't be broken, would it?"

At this, Yi Zhonghai lost his composure. He hurried over to Silly Pillar, squatted down, and leaned in close to inspect his right foot. "Damn it, it really looks broken. What on earth is going on here? Does that kid Duan Chengliang have an iron crotch or something? How can kicking someone in that spot end up breaking your own foot? This is truly the first time I've ever seen or heard of such a thing."

Gritting his teeth, Yi Zhonghai shot a cold, side-long glance at Duan Chengliang, who was still rolling and writhing on the ground like a shrimp, drenched in sweat and clutching his groin.

"Silly Pillar has really lost his mind this time. Why did you have to use so much force?" Yi Zhonghai couldn't help muttering resentfully in his heart.

If the attacker Silly Pillar had broken his own foot, then Duan Chengliang was probably completely ruined. Yi Zhonghai couldn't help feeling a sudden stiffness in his thighs, accompanied by a chilling sensation down below.

Yet, above all else, he felt a strange sense of vindication, as if a pent-up frustration inside his chest had suddenly cleared.

After a brief moment of satisfaction, a massive headache set in. This matter would not be easy to handle. No matter how you looked at it, crippling someone else was a major event. Even if Silly Pillar had broken his own foot, he was still the one who initiated the kick, and the other person was the victim. The entire courtyard was watching; no matter how shameless Yi Zhonghai was or how much prestige he held, he couldn't possibly stand in broad daylight, surrounded by witnesses, and distort black into white.

Besides, even if he wanted to pull off such a stunt, he simply didn't have the capability.

Didn't he hear Yan Bugui already shouting over there: "Silly Pillar, how could you resort to hitting people, and specifically target that area? It looks like a heavy blow. What are you going to do now that something's happened? Quick, quick, everyone stop just gawking and hurry up and send him to the hospital! There might be a disaster here. Move fast, and maybe he can still be saved."

Prompted by Yan Bugui's rallying cries, the residents in the courtyard began preparing to take action, figuring out ways to transport Duan Chengliang to the hospital.

Yan Bugui was only good at rallying others without organizing anything; originally, the crowd was just surrounding the area and remained orderly, but now things plunged into complete chaos. Finally, amidst the commotion, someone accidentally stepped hard on the donation box Yan Bugui had been eyeing all along, smashing it to pieces.

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up and his heart leaped with excitement. Taking advantage of someone bumping into him from behind, he let out an "Aow" and pitched forward onto the ground, landing in a spot as perfectly calculated as if it had been pre-designed—right beside the smashed donation box.

Only, his grab was a bit too aggressive; not only did he snatch back his own one yuan coin, but he accidentally grabbed another five yuan as well.

Yan Bugui froze in momentary hesitation, caught in a dilemma: should he take all of it, or just keep his own money?

Right at that instant, he felt the cash being swiftly snatched right out of his hand. Snapping back to his senses, he caught a fleeting glimpse of stick-like Banju taking advantage of his small stature and agility, weaving swiftly through the crowd and disappearing in a flash.

Yan Bugui looked down at the single yuan coin clutched in his palm, then searched between the legs and feet of the crowd for the shattered donation box. After looking around repeatedly, the shadow of the other five yuan was nowhere to be found. Pondering the situation, it was clear Banju had swiped the lot in one go.

He couldn't help shaking his head. After expending all that mental effort and worrying for half the day, he had merely managed to reclaim his own single yuan, while a mere child had effortlessly walked away with ten yuan. Today's charity drive had essentially been run entirely for Banju's benefit.

Heh, how utterly amusing.

Right on cue, he heard Duan Chengliang's hoarse, trembling voice echoing continuously: "Don't send me to the hospital! Take me back to my room instead. I don't want to go to the hospital. I'm terrified of hospitals. Who's going to pay for sending me there? Who's going to cover my medical bills? If you're willing to shell out the money, go ahead and send me! Silly Pillar, I'm not through with you. I'm going to report you to the police station, I'm going to the neighborhood committee. I'm going to make you eat free meals behind bars..."

Duan Chengliang's voice sounded wretched, repeating the same lines over and over, making the listeners' hearts shiver.

Under such circumstances, who would dare to send him to the hospital now?