48 Hours a Day

Wendy was pinned to the table, desperately struggling to free herself. One of her hands was fixed on the table, and her other was wounded. A man with bandages wrapped around his hand had his knife stabbed between her fingers, yelling at the same time, “You little [BEEP)! Aren’t you going to apologize? This is your last chance! I swear I will cut off your hand if you make me ask you the same question again!!!”

Instead of caving in, Wendy gritted her teeth and did not say a word. On the other side, a woman in a flower-dotted skirt was trying to talk the man out of it, while the others in the bar were watching the drama unfold before them.

The man only sought to become more and more furious. Wendy’s stubbornness had embarrassed him in front of everyone. And the wound on his hand also made him lose his mind gradually. And finally, he put on a murderous look and readied to cut off Wendy’s palm.

But the very next moment, a loud gunshot could be heard, and the knife in his hand flew away. The deafening explosion instantly silenced the noisy bar.

“I think she is quite happy with her right hand. She still wants to keep it,” the visitor sniffed.

Bacchus turned his head and saw an oriental man with yellow skin and black hair, but wearing cowboy clothes. He was still holding a revolver in his right hand, and smoke poured out from its muzzle.

The moment Bacchus’s companions saw someone shooting at him, they instinctively drew their guns as well. “I would advise you not to test your luck.”

“Who are you? What is your relationship with this little (BEEP]? Why so, nosy?!” Bacchus scoffed with an expression most unkind.

“She is my employer, and I need her to keep paying me... the full amount.”

“Is that right? Know what your employer did to me? She pierced my palm!” Bacchus raised his wounded hand, continuing aggressively, “and you know where she initially aimed at? She was going for my bowels! This little (BEEP] wanted to murder me!!!”

“Really, I’m really sorry about that. Then, what?”

“Then... until now, she hasn’t even given me a simple apology. I don’t care where you’re the f*ck you came from, but here, where I live, people have to admit their mistakes and pay the price for their wrongdoings. They have to beg for forgiveness!”

“Don’t listen to him. He touched my bum first! I just fought back in self-defense. I didn’t do anything wrong!” Wendy, who was still being pressed on the table, shouted in exasperation.

“You heard what she said,” Zhang Heng interjected. “It seems you both have a disagreement on this matter. Why not let her go, and we can talk about this like civilized

men.”

“Now, why should I listen to you?” Backus retorted.

“Because... You hurt your right hand, and I’m pretty sure you want your left hand intact, right? Otherwise, you will have to be at the mercy of others to feed you.” Zhang Heng lowered his revolver and aimed at Bacchus’s left hand, “Well, let me pay you ten dollars so you can find a doctor to bandage the wound. Whatever money that’s left after you paid the doctor will be your compensation.” “I can earn one dollar a day. Such a serious injury can’t be healed in a week!” disagreed Bucchus. “50 dollars and she must apologize first.”

“Fifteen,” replied Zhang Heng after considering a while.

“I’m not f*cking bargaining with you! Do you take me as a beggar?” Bacchus felt insulted, and the way he looked at Zhang Heng had only worsened.

Although Zhang Heng drew his gun first, this incident happened in front of so many people. Bacchus did not believe that Zhang Heng would dare to kill him. Besides, he was still holding Wendy hostage.

However, Zhang Heng seemed to know what he was thinking. “I dare you never to leave this town for eternity!”

“What is that? Is that a threat?” Bacchus grinned.

He did not expect that he would be threatened by an outsider in his territory, even when he was the one in the right.

“The one who should be watching out is you,” Bacchus sneered. “You can ask around, who hasn’t heard the name, Bison Bacchus? My brothers and I served in the Fourth Rangers. You should be worrying about how to leave Glen alive.”

“Thanks for the reminder. It seems I’ll need to buy two more boxes of ammunition.”

As soon as his voice fell, the bar’s wooden doors were pushed open again. “Damn. Can’t you guys live peacefully around here? Why do you guys have to give me trouble every single day?” resounded a husky voice.

The person here was the sheriff of Glen Town, a good-looking elderly cowboy. Someone had gone to look for him when they saw how bad the situation had become.

“Oh, Bacchus. It’s you and your people again.”

The sheriff was not happy to see them.

Sheriff, it was not us who caused the trouble this time. I am the victim!” Bacchus then showed his injured hand to the sheriff.

“So you plan to cry all day like a woman just because of a tiny gash?” The sheriff then looked at Zhang Heng, “And you. You just fired your gun in my town. I have never seen another Chinese as brave as you. Are you planning to raise your gun all night?”

Zhang Heng put away the revolver when he heard the sheriff’s comment, intending to show that he harbored no malice.

The sheriff then stared at Bacchus again, to which the latte harrumphed, and asked his allies to let Wendy go. Immediately, Wendy ran to Zhang Heng’s side.

“Okay, I already know what happened here. Twenty dollars. After that, you both should shake hands and forget everything that happened,” the sheriff said.

“Twenty dollars is too little,” Bacchus protested. “My hand is severely wounded. I can’t work for at least two months, and I need her apology!” growled Bacchus as he pointed at Wendy.

“Shut up. If you want to continue to live in this town, you’ll have to abide by my rules!” the sheriff sternly implored. “I said, twenty dollars is more than enough. As for the apology...”

“I won’t apologize!” Wendy said. Although her life was hanging by a thread earlier, she still did not intend to go soft. Zhang Heng was a little curious now. How did she become so stubborn at such a young age?

The sheriff looked at Zhang Heng, who shrugged in reply.

“Don’t look at me. I think it’s fine to apologize. But as I said before, we just share an employer-employee relationship. I can’t order my employer to do what she doesn’t want to do.”

“Never mind the apology. Man up, Bacchus! Why are you bothered by a kid?” The sheriff raised his voice and bellowed, “So many people are watching you! What more, you used to be a f*cking ranger!”