Volume Three: The Storm at the Gate of the Black Tortoise Chapter Sixty-Three: Setting the Dogs Loose? I Can Do That Too! Go, Little Black!

As soon as Li Mingyu finished speaking, those six or seven brutish servants charged at him viciously, each brandishing clubs and whips, swinging them at Li Mingyu with murderous intent.

Since childhood, Li Mingyu had trained in martial arts under his master, Li Xuanba. Moreover, before crossing over to this world, he had been an instructor in military special combat, with vast experience in fighting. How could he possibly take these riffraff seriously?

With a sweep of his left arm, he blocked the club coming straight at him, while his right hand clenched into a fist and delivered an uppercut squarely to the servant’s face. The man let out a shriek; a mouthful of blood and teeth spurted from his mouth as he tumbled to the ground, howling in agony.

Li Mingyu was born with tremendous strength, and this was him holding back, for he was new to Chang’an and didn’t wish to take lives. This punch had only used a fraction of his true power. Had he struck with full force, this man’s life would have ended on the spot.

He then sidestepped a whip that lashed toward his face, sprang forward with the tip of his foot, and, with a burst of speed, drove his knee into another servant’s abdomen. Before the man could even cry out, Li Mingyu spun and chopped him at the neck; the servant’s eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconscious.

These servants were thugs accustomed to street brawls, helping their masters bully ordinary folk and throwing their weight around. Against Li Mingyu, however, they were utterly outmatched. In just a few moves, he dispatched them one by one; in moments, the six or seven men lay sprawled on the ground, some groaning in pain, others unconscious.

Having dealt with the ruffians, Li Mingyu had merely loosened his limbs and steadied his breath, about to speak when suddenly the thunder of galloping hooves rushed toward him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the group of young aristocrats, infuriated by their servants’ defeat, were now charging at him on horseback, intent on trampling him to death.

Li Mingyu had come to Chang’an to seek out his second uncle, Li Shimin, and being unfamiliar with the city, he wished to avoid unnecessary trouble. Even so, seeing these arrogant youths bullying the weak, he could not stand aside. He had only meant to teach the servants a lesson so they would back down, but these young nobles were truly lawless—attempting to run him down in broad daylight.

In a flash, the riders were upon him. Two tall horses thundered forward, their riders yanking the reins to rear the steeds, raising hooves the size of bowls high above Li Mingyu’s head, ready to crush him.

At this moment, there was no time to dodge. What’s more, behind him was an old man in ragged clothes, badly injured and unable to move quickly. If Li Mingyu evaded, the old man would surely die.

Li Mingyu, bold and skilled, roared, “Foolish wretches! Stop right there!” He lunged forward, swaying to avoid the hooves, spread his arms wide, veins bulging like coiled dragons, and with all his might he threw his arms around the horses’ necks.

He met the charging warhorse head-on, blocking its neck with his arms. The horse, running at full speed, crashed into him like a car slamming into a guardrail. With a piercing neigh, the animal tumbled, sending both horse and rider sprawling. The young noble atop the horse was caught off guard and let out a wail as he was thrown to the ground.

Though Li Mingyu possessed astonishing strength, he was still flesh and blood. Absorbing the impact of a thousand-pound warhorse, he staggered back several steps, blood surging, arms throbbing and numb. Yet his will was iron, and he forced himself to look unfazed.

Striding to the fallen noble, Li Mingyu’s arms were momentarily weakened, but against these pampered, talentless scions, it was more than enough. The two aristocrats, dizzy and battered from their fall, had barely gotten to their feet to utter threats when Li Mingyu kicked them both to the ground, leaving them groaning in pain.

This clique of young nobles had come out together, six or seven in all, each with several attendants—altogether a dozen or more mounted men. Li Mingyu had disposed of most of them, leaving just three or four nobles and seven or eight attendants.

Seeing their comrades beaten so easily, the remaining nobles exchanged nervous glances, then shouted, “Damn it, this brat is tough! Everyone, get him!”

“Damn it! Release the dogs! Tear him apart!”

“Let’s fill him with arrows—shoot him like a hedgehog!”

At their command, the attendants unleashed the hounds. Seven or eight fierce hunting dogs, barking and baring their teeth, charged at Li Mingyu.

Meanwhile, the remaining nobles and attendants mounted their horses, galloping forward while nocking arrows to their bows, aiming directly at Li Mingyu.

Had it just been the nobles and their lackeys, Li Mingyu wouldn’t have cared even if they were armed and mounted. But these seven or eight trained hounds were another matter. Hunting dogs were bred and trained for the hunt, their teeth and claws sharp, skilled at working together. Such a pack could tear apart even a bear. And at this moment, Li Mingyu was unarmed and had just taken the brunt of a charging horse, so he was not at his peak.

Most worrisome of all, he had no confidence he could escape unscathed. If one of these dogs bit him or even scratched his skin, this was the Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago—there would be no rabies vaccine to save him.

So Li Mingyu shouted, “Release the dogs? Damn it, I know how to do that too! Blackie, get over here!”

Blackie, having been told to stay put, had been lying quietly on the side. Li Mingyu’s scuffle with the nobles and their servants had only taken a moment. Blackie had grown up with Li Mingyu and knew well his master’s prowess, so he hadn’t worried. But upon hearing Li Mingyu’s call, Blackie pricked his ears, shook his head, got up, and bounded toward Li Mingyu, opening his jaws wide and letting out a roar like thunder.

The saying goes: when the tiger roars, all beasts tremble. Dragons may be the stuff of legend, but the might of a tiger is well known. Blackie’s roar was deafening, shattering the air. The crowd gathered at the city gate turned pale with fright, livestock trembled and wailed, and those nearby collapsed in terror.

Blackie was no longer a cub, but a full-grown tiger now, over three meters long, majestic and imposing. In a single bound, he was at Li Mingyu’s side.

As the king of beasts, Blackie would not tolerate a pack of dogs acting so brazenly before him. Another furious roar erupted as his massive body lowered to a predatory stance, muscles taut as a drawn bow. His enormous paws unsheathed claws like steel hooks. His gaping maw revealed dagger-like fangs, a crimson tongue licking his nose, and his coppery eyes glinted with deadly menace as a deep growl rumbled from his throat.

A tiger’s emergence terrifies all creatures. Hunting dogs only dare challenge a beast when they have numbers on their side, emboldened by human backers. Even wolf packs in the wild hesitate to provoke a tiger; how much less would a pack of trained dogs? There are records of a full-grown female Bengal tiger encountering a sizable pack of dholes—fierce, clever, and notorious for holding grudges, always working together. The dholes tried to drive the tiger away, but she killed twenty-three in a single breath. Exhausted, she finally fell and fled, the frenzied dholes in pursuit. During her retreat, she killed another twenty-odd before finally succumbing to the pack. Though the tiger died, she took more than fifty dholes with her, a testament to the tiger’s ferocity. If a female tiger is so fearsome, how much more so a full-grown male? On the African plains, even lone male lions are rarely challenged by hyenas or wild dogs; the aggressors risk being killed instead.

The moment Blackie appeared, the pack of hounds lost all courage. Their bravado evaporated; the lead dog whimpered, tucked its tail, and, ignoring its master’s shouts, fled in all directions.

As for the nobles and their attendants, riding and drawing their bows, Blackie’s roar startled their horses into a frenzy. The animals reared and bucked, sending arrows flying wildly in every direction, none finding their mark. These were not trained warhorses and had never encountered such a terrifying beast. Seeing the black tiger’s murderous gaze fixed on them, the horses panicked, tossing their riders and bolting.

Li Mingyu folded his arms and laughed heartily, soothing Blackie. Watching the nobles and attendants thrown from their mounts, he sneered inwardly at their incompetence—nothing more than wine sacks and rice bags. This would serve as a suitable lesson.

Ordinarily, things might have ended there. The nobles, having been humiliated, could have swallowed their pride for now and sought revenge later. But these young lords, long used to running wild in Chang’an, could not accept such disgrace in front of so many at the city gate.

They cursed and shouted, “Damn you, you fatherless cur! How dare you injure us! Go fetch more men for me!”

“Blind fool! Do you think Chang’an is your playground? Announce my clan’s name! Have the Chang’an Yong Prefecture—no, the Capital Commandery—send men to arrest him! Break his arms and legs and throw him in the dungeon!”

“You little bastard! You dare cross the Dugu family? You’re finished! No one in this city can protect you! I’ll have you chopped up and fed to the dogs! I’ll wipe out your family, sell all your women to the lowest brothel!”

Li Mingyu’s anger simmered as he listened to their filthy mouths spewing insults. Then he caught one of them declaring his family—Dugu—the old enemy of his master. He asked, “Dugu? Dugu Wudu?”

The Dugu scion sneered, “Afraid now, are you? Too late! No one who offends the Dugu family lives! I’ll have every male in your family killed and all your women sold to the vilest brothel, and then you’ll know the price of crossing me!”

Li Mingyu chuckled coldly. “Well, isn’t the world small! As it happens, I know someone who’s crossed your Dugu clan and is living quite well. Today, I’ll offend you Dugu people again—let’s see what you can do to me!”