In school, Lin Chen learned how to write with a brush, and it seemed like he just scraped by with a fifty-nine, barely passing.

As his teacher put it, Lin Chen actually turned Wang Xianzhi's cursive script into oracle bone inscriptions, almost causing his late master to leap out of his grave in a fit of anger.

Lin Chen held the brush, a wisp of True Qi merged into his palm, he thought for a moment, and then wrote "Zhao's Homestyle Dishes" in six vigorous and powerful characters on the signboard.

Zhao Xiaowen was stunned by the dragon and phoenix dance-like calligraphy coming from Lin Chen's brush: "The characters Lin Chen wrote in her memory were a perfect blend of oracle bone script and Mayan glyphs, but the characters he wrote today, though they were still crooked, had an indescribable feeling to them, elegant and grand, the more she looked, the more appealing they seemed."

"Xiao Chen, you're too modest; your calligraphy is really good," Zhao Gang, who also loved calligraphy, couldn't help but admire Lin Chen's writing.

Lin Chen laughed a little shyly: "Uncle Zhao, don't flatter me, my calligraphy has never passed, far worse than Xiaowen's."

"Didn't pass? Your writing definitely has the style of a master," Zhao Gang said with a face full of shock as he looked at the characters.

"It's strange, Xiao Chen. The characters you used to write were simply torturous, how come they look so good today?" Xiaowen said curiously.

Lin Chen smiled without saying a word; his characters contained True Qi, giving them a vigor that wouldn't lose to any master's, and although they were crooked, they carried a certain momentum.

"Alright, let's hang up the sign now; we can open for business tomorrow." Zhao Xiaowen clapped her hands and together with Lin Chen hung out the sign.

No sooner had they hung up the sign than six vans rushed over, stopping at the front of the restaurant.

The door opened, and a bald man in his forties stepped down from the vehicle.

Doors from the other vans opened simultaneously, and more than thirty thugs wielding machetes and sticks menacingly surrounded the small shop.

"Fuck, 'Zhao's Homestyle Dishes,' that's quite the bold claim," the middle-aged man picked his teeth and cursed as he looked at the sign.

Facing the imposing crowd of thugs, Zhao Gang was stunned, so scared that his calves began to cramp.

Even Zhao Xiaowen was somewhat frightened, having never witnessed such a scene before.

Though Lin Chen was formidable, there were thirty to forty of them, and she was more worried that Lin Chen might get hurt.

Yet Lin Chen seemed utterly unconcerned, smiling at Zhao Xiaowen, he said, "Xiaowen, you and Uncle Zhao go inside and lock the door. Don't come out."

"Xiao Chen, we should call the police," Zhao Xiaowen said worriedly.

Lin Chen smiled: "They're just a few small-time hoodlums; there's no need to bother the cops."

Hearing Lin Chen's words, the bald man's brow furrowed, and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Boss, it was this kid who hurt me," at that moment, Da Fei, with a bandage wrapped around his hand, pushed through the crowd.

"Useless, you got beaten to this sorry state by a mere brat," the Boss scolded unhappily.

Lin Chen looked at Da Fei, his eyes flashing with a hint of icy coldness as he said, "Kid, I told you earlier—if you dared to come again, I'd break your legs. Seems like you didn't remember my words."

This kid was too arrogant, facing a group of thugs alone not only did he not beg for mercy, but he even made wild threats; could it be that this kid was a fool.

"Boss, this bastard dared to mess with our brothers, let's kill him!"

"Right, let's finish off this little bastard! Daring to touch Boss's men, he's simply asking for death!"

"Make him beg for life but unable to beg for death, smash his shop!"

In an instant, the gangsters waved their weapons, cursing loudly with an intimidating aura.

"Lin Chen, you son of a bitch, not only will I tear you to pieces today, I'm going to play with your woman," Da Fei, with bandages wrapped around his hand, shouted angrily from within the crowd.

Wuyi spat out the toothpick from his mouth and sized up Lin Chen, "Kid, you dare to hit my man on my territory, tell me, how do you want to die?"

Lin Chen sneered, "Your territory? Is your name written on it? You're not qualified to talk about my death."

"Damn! The kid's still wet behind the ears, but he sure talks big. Let's show him what it's like to wish for death," mocked one of the gangsters.

At Wuyi's command, the gangsters became excited, as tormenting others was always something they greatly enjoyed.

The gangsters uttered ferocious howls, converging on the steps to the shop like a pack of hungry wolves armed with clubs and knives.

Zhao Gang looked at the rushing gangsters, his face turning extremely ugly.

These hooligans roamed unchecked in this area, often committing brutal assaults. If they caught Lin Chen, he'd be lucky to escape with his skin.

"Lin Chen, take Xiaowen and run, call the police!" Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Zhao Gang made up his mind to protect the two kids, even at the cost of his own life.

Lin Chen felt a warmth in his heart at Zhao Gang's gesture, yet he simply smiled, "Uncle Zhao, take Xiaowen back inside. These few punks can't do much to me."

"I'm not going inside. If we're going to die, I'll die with you," Zhao Xiaowen clung to Lin Chen's arm, her small face showing a determined expression.

"Silly girl, listen to me. Your being here doesn't help, you're just a burden." With those words, he pushed Zhao Xiaowen and Zhao Gang into the shop and quickly locked the door behind them.

After pushing the two into the shop, Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to face the gangsters and suddenly called out, "Wait a minute."

Wuyi couldn't help but sneer, thinking Lin Chen was begging for mercy, he extended a hand and ordered, "Everyone stop, the kid wants to beg for mercy now, doesn't he?"

The gangsters stopped in front of the steps, mockingly watching Lin Chen, waiting for him to kneel and beg for mercy.

Lin Chen glanced at the gangsters who had surrounded him and then his gaze settled on Wuyi behind them, "You must be Wuyi, right? To be honest, I don't like violence. So, how about this, you break that blonde punk's leg, then slap yourself ten times and apologize to me. Then I can pretend this never happened and let you all off the hook."

"What did you say?"

The moment Lin Chen spoke, Wuyi thought he had misheard, and his followers were first stunned, then burst into a flurry of mocking laughter.

"Da Fei, did you hear that? He wants the boss to break your leg and then slap himself to beg for his mercy. Have you ever heard such a cold joke?"

"This kid is an idiot, must have water in his brain."

"Da Fei, you let a retard mess you up like this, what a disgrace."

Inside the shop, Zhao Gang and Zhao Xiaowen were almost out of their minds with worry. Zhao Xiaowen had taken out her phone thinking about calling the police, but then bursts of laughter came from outside.

Through the window, Zhao Xiaowen saw a baffling scene. Lin Chen was standing on the steps, saying something, and below was a group of gangsters nearly doubled over in laughter. What was going on? Was Lin Chen performing stand-up comedy for these thugs?

In Zhao Xiaowen's memory, she couldn't recall Lin Chen ever having such a talent.

Seeing his words prompted such joyous laughter from the ruffians, Lin Chen shook his head helplessly, a cold look in his eyes, "You think what I said is funny? Fine, if you're not going to face the music until you see the coffin, then I have no choice."