There was also the thumbprint of my uncle where he had pressed it instead of a signature.
"No one leaves this place until you repay the amount you owe. Otherwise, I will break your legs and make sure you can no longer earn a living from this day on. Do you understand?"
Uncle Chen said menacingly.
His face was flushed red with sheer anger.
On the other hand, Li Zhenhao looked completely disoriented from the intense slapping he had just received.
His cheek was swollen from eye to jaw, and he could not even open his left eye.
"You little bastard! Do you understand what you're doing? That's your uncle, same blood as you! How can you just stand there while the man you brought does something so terrible to us?"
The woman I once called aunt glared at me and shouted in rage.
I was baffled by the sheer audacity.
Seriously?
Did she truly expect me to stop Uncle Chen?
Me, the victim of this disgusting couple?
What the hell was wrong with her head?
"Your husband was the one who said there was no longer any relationship between him and Little Tianyuan. You are nothing more than strangers to him now. Even if he wanted to let you leave, I wouldn't. I will not allow any of you to leave until you repay what you owe," Uncle Chen said coldly.
"Sun Tie, search their belongings and see if there's anything valuable--no," he paused, suddenly realizing something, and shook his head.
"They wouldn't have brought anything valuable here."
He withdrew the order and turned his gaze back to the man with the swollen cheek, asking coldly,
"Where is the land document you bought with the borrowed money?"
Tears streamed uncontrollably from Li Zhenhao's eyes.
He was absolutely terrified of Uncle Chen now and did not dare anger him further.
Still, he asked timidly, "W-why are you asking that?"
That was two mu of farmland, worth more than thirty taels of silver.
Why was he asking about it?
A terrible feeling welled up in his heart.
"What do you think?"
Uncle Chen replied.
"You're going to transfer that land to Little Tianyuan."
Li Zhenhao shook his head violently the moment he heard that.
"T-that's my land! Why should I give it to you? The money I borrowed from Li Yuan had no interest. You can't take more than what you're owed-"
Slap!
"SHUT UP!" Uncle Chen roared.
"You filthy scum. According to the notebook, you borrowed the money and promised to repay it within six months, yet you didn't pay back a single coin. Nearly eight months have passed. There's no reason to wait any longer. I will make sure that land is transferred to Little Tianyuan."
"N-no! You can't do that! I didn't use anything as collateral when I borrowed the money. This goes against the imperial law!"
Uncle Chen's face was completely devoid of warmth as he looked at the man trembling pitifully before him.
"I respect the rules only when the other party does the same. I hate people like you—those who can't even keep their own words. I loathe people like you," he said coldly.
"I will gladly break laws and rules when dealing with scumbags like you."
He leaned closer.
"I'll ask one last time. Where is the land contract?"
Li Zhenhao stepped back, trembling violently, but still forced out, "I-I won't tell you… no matter what you do."
A cold smile appeared on Uncle Chen's face.
"It seems you still don't understand the situation you're in. Sun Tie—break this man's right leg. Now."
"…!"
I could barely process Uncle Chen's words.
Was he really going to break his leg right now?
He was joking, right?
That was against the law!
I desperately tried to convince myself that Uncle Chen was only threatening him, but the very next moment, Guard Sun Tie casually walked toward Li Zhenhao.
Terrified, Li Zhenhao screamed, "D-don't come near me! No—step ba—ahhh!"
Before he could finish speaking, Sun Tie delivered a solid punch to his already swollen cheek.
Li Zhenhao was sent crashing to the ground with tremendous force.
Sun Tie stepped on Li Zhenhao's right ankle, pinning him firmly to the ground and preventing any movement.
He immediately grabbed the other leg and began to twist it.
The calm expression on Sun Tie's face throughout the entire process told me one thing clearly, this wasn't his first time doing something like this.
Uncle Chen hadn't been bluffing when he said he would break his leg.
"Stop it!"
The one who shouted was Li Wei.
He rushed forward and grabbed onto Sun Tie with all his strength, desperately trying to force him to release his father, but it was useless.
It felt as if he was trying to move a mountain.
Sun Tie didn't even flinch.
Then, suddenly, a new voice rang out from the entrance.
"OI! What do you think you're doing in our place?!"
A man in his early twenties, tall and well-built, strode into the hall.
His presence alone caused a shift in the atmosphere.
The moment he appeared, Li Zhenhao, his wife, and their son all lit up with renewed hope, as if they had just been saved.
The man looked toward Uncle Chen with a stern expression and demanded, "Who the hell are you?"
Li Wei was the first to speak.
"Uncle Li! These men came out of nowhere and started attacking us!"
His mother immediately followed, her voice trembling with urgency.
"They came here to steal our assets! They're even trying to break your brother's leg! Do something!"
Uncle Li?
That was my second uncle.
Unlike my first uncle, I had rarely seen him.
I looked at the people who had been on the verge of despair just moments ago.
Every single one of them now wore expressions filled with hope.
Then my vision was suddenly flooded with familiar text.
[Name: Li Changming]
Cultivation: Body Tempering, 2nd Realm
Cultivation Talent: None
Spirit Root: None
Fate Color: Pale Blue
Fate Value: 2507
Destiny: Born as the third son of a farmer. With no inheritance like his second brother, he went to the city to seek work. Through a certain fateful encounter, he once spoke with an old rogue cultivator. Despite having no cultivation talent and no spiritual roots, he deeply admired cultivators and longed to become one. Unwilling to accept his fate, he chose the hardest path of all, physical cultivation. At the age of 183, he finally reached the peak of the Bone Forging Realm… before dying.
Total Net Worth: 87 silver taels, 23 copper coins.]
My brain froze for a second.
My second uncle… is a cultivator?!
This is bad.
I immediately shouted, "Uncle Changming, they're lying! They're the ones trying to steal everything-"
But it was already too late.
Li Changming had already closed the distance to Sun Tie, his eyes blazing with fury.
My heart skipped a beat.
At the same time, the three despicable beings behind him broke into wide, triumphant smiles.