Zhu Ju had seen Yann Jingfu in action before, but that was a demonstration of Martial Arts, completely different from a real fight.
Only now was he seeing the true Iron Wire Fist of the Yann Family!
Yann Jingfu wore iron rings on his arms, his techniques shifting between hard and fierce, and soft and yielding. Opponents who got close were sent flying with a single touch.
Qi Blood!
Only by stimulating one's Qi Blood could one erupt with such Giant Power.
Zhu Ju's gaze shifted slightly.
A Martial Artist in the Blood Coagulation Realm, when burning their Qi Blood, was not much weaker than someone who had achieved Entering the Realm. The only drawback was a lack of stamina.
Besides Qi Blood, there were also weapons!
Few of Yue City's Martial Arts Halls taught empty-handed combat. Most used weapons, like the Six Harmonies Spear or the Lan Family Saber Technique...
This was easy to understand.
Decades of Qi Blood Nourishing Body wouldn't save you from the chop of a kitchen knife.
Even a Body Tempering Martial Artist was still made of flesh and blood; they most likely couldn't withstand the sharp edge of a blade.
Unless...
They had cultivated a Top-Notch Hard Skill like Zhu Ju!
Judging from their performance, Shen Ying was the strongest among the Martial Arts Hall masters. He wielded his spear shaft with the ease of a leisurely stroll, yet no one could block his strikes. The others were more or less on the same level.
"Ah!"
"Spare me!"
"I'll never do it again!"
The Martial Arts Hall masters moved like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. The gang of thugs immediately fell to their knees, wailing and begging for mercy.
If they hadn't held back, the ground would have been littered with corpses.
Only Zhao Er, under the cover of his subordinates, broke through the encirclement. He was pursued by the father-daughter duo, Yann Jingfu and Yann Xiuxin.
"Still running?"
"Get on your knees!"
Yann Xiuxin, with her long legs, launched a flying kick that struck Zhao Er square on the shoulder, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"Spare me, my lady! Spare me, my lady!"
Zhao Er, face covered in dirt, lay prostrate on the ground, clasping his hands together and begging the two for mercy.
"Hall Master Yann, I was just following orders! If I'd known this was your territory, I'd never have dared to cause trouble."
"Please show mercy!"
"You certainly know when you're beaten," Yann Jingfu snorted.
"If we hadn't been here today, who knows how much the cloth shop would have lost. Just be a good boy and take a trip to the Government Office."
"Ah!" Zhao Er looked up, his expression changing.
"Hall Master Yann, there's no need to take a small squabble like this to the Government Office. I'm willing to pay compensation."
"Compensation?" Yann Jingfu asked.
"How much can you pay?"
"Well..." Zhao Er hesitated for a moment before tentatively offering,
"Fifty taels of silver?"
"Fifty taels?" Yann Jingfu chuckled and shook his head, then turned to look at the figure slowly walking out of the darkness.
"It's not my call. You'll have to ask Young Master Zhu."
"Young Master Zhu?" Zhao Er looked up, his face twisting. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes, but he immediately slapped himself across the face. Slapping himself repeatedly, he said,
"I was blind and failed to recognize a great man! I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
"You are a man of great magnanimity. Please be merciful and spare a lowly one like me this time. I will never dare to do it again."
'Fucking hell!'
'A man has to bow his head when he's under another's roof. Once I get back and gather my men, I'll show you what's what.'
Zhu Ju's expression was cold.
"Steward Zhao knows Chief Jiangg. Even if you go to the Government Office, it'll just be a formality. Why go to such lengths?"
"Young Master Zhu, you may not know," Yann Jingfu explained.
"As the old saying goes: The government gates are open wide, but with reason and no money, you'd best stay outside."
"Once you enter the Government Office, you have to bribe everyone from top to bottom, from the Prefecture down to the Prison Chief. Not a single person can be missed. A mere few dozen taels of silver won't solve it. Besides, the process takes at least ten days to half a month, and the suffering you endure during that time is not pleasant."
"I see!" Zhu Ju understood.
"In that case, there's no need for all this trouble."
He lifted his foot lightly, flicking up a wooden stick someone had dropped on the ground. He caught it and gave it a test swing.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Zhao Er's expression changed slightly.
"I work for Master Wuh..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a black shadow tore through the air like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, piercing his chest.
PFFT!
The wooden stick had pierced his heart, pinning Zhao Er directly to the ground. Hot blood flowed down the rough surface of the wood.
Zhao Er's body convulsed, his life fading away bit by bit.
"Ah!"
Yann Xiuxin let out a sharp cry, then clapped a hand over her mouth and staggered back.
Yann Jingfu's expression also changed. His eyes narrowed abruptly, his gaze fixed on the wooden stick.
"What's wrong?"
Shouts came from behind.
Lan Qisheng, Shen Ying, and the other Martial Arts Hall masters arrived one after another. Their expressions changed as well when they saw the scene.
The reason Zhao Er had been able to break through the encirclement wasn't because he was strong, but because the Martial Arts Hall masters had deliberately gone easy on him. After all, the Wuh Family backing these thugs was not to be offended lightly. But now...
"Hall Master Yann..."
"I did it."
Yann Jingfu lowered his gaze, his voice muffled.
"The boxing manuals say: 'One punch thrown saves you from a hundred more.'"
"The cloth shop had just opened and was already targeted. If we're soft-hearted, this kind of trouble will never end. Only by making them fear us can we have peace."
?
The men looked at each other in bewilderment.
In their impression, Yann Jingfu had always been good-tempered and easy to talk to. How could he be so decisive this time?
"Father!"
Yann Xiuxin took a step forward, about to speak.
"Shut up!" Yann Jingfu glared, cutting her off.
CLAP! CLAP!
"Excellent!"
Zhu Ju clapped his hands lightly and smiled.
"Well said, Hall Master Yann. That's exactly how it should be."
"Bandits came to rob the cloth shop in the middle of the night. We fought back with all our might and accidentally took a life. Even if the Government Office questions us, our story will hold up."
"Let's clean this up and report it to the officials!"
"Right!" Yann Jingfu took a deep breath and said to the other Martial Arts Hall masters,
"Everyone, the Wancai Cloth Shop's reputation is established and business is booming. Are you really going to give in now?"
"Didn't we join forces for moments just like this?"
"That's right!" Lan Qisheng, who had known him for many years, was the first to step forward in support.
"He's dead, so what? We didn't train in Martial Arts to be cowards. What's there to be afraid of?"
"Haha..." Shen Ying also laughed heartily.
"Well said!"
Once everything was out in the open, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
...
Yann's Boxing Hall.
"Father."
Although the matter was over and the officials from the Government Office who came to handle it didn't say much, Yann Xiuxin was still shaken.
"It was clearly Young Master Zhu who killed him. Why did you take the blame?"
"Xiuxin, you must remember." Yann Jingfu's expression was complicated as he shook his head and sighed.
"Young Master Zhu is the benefactor of our Yann Family. Without him, we couldn't even have kept this ancestral boxing hall. It is our duty to work for him and shield him from disaster."
"But..." Yann Xiuxin struggled, "That Zhao Er was from the Baixiu Workshop, which has the Wuh Family's backing. Aren't you afraid of the Wuh Family's retaliation?"
The Wuh Family!
They were a prominent and powerful family in Yue City.
"Backing?" Yann Jingfu snorted.
"He has backing, but do you think we don't?"
"What backing do we have?" Yann Xiuxin was stunned for a moment before it dawned on her.
"You mean Young Master Zhu..."
"That's right," Yann Jingfu nodded.
"Young Master Zhu is our backing. Although he has never mentioned his origins, his status is certainly extraordinary."
"Moreover..."
"That strike with the stick... I couldn't do it!"
'That strike with the stick?'
'The strike that killed Zhao Er?'
Yann Xiuxin's heart clenched. Then, realization struck her, and she whispered,
"Body Tempering?"
"Very likely," Yann Jingfu nodded.
"It could also be some kind of Method for erupting Qi Blood. But no matter what, for Young Master Zhu to achieve such a feat at his young age, reaching Body Tempering is only a matter of time. Even Gui Cang isn't out of the question."
"Sigh!"
He sighed and continued,
"My Talent is mediocre. Among the Martial Arts Hall masters, my strength is nothing special. Before, I was the only one by Young Master Zhu's side, but things are different now."
"If I want to continue earning Young Master Zhu's trust, I have to do something. What's a reputation for killing someone? Besides, the one killed was a bandit. Even the Government Office can't say we were in the wrong."
"One more thing. Go and give that Blood Nourishing Recipe to Young Master Zhu."
"Ah!" Yann Xiuxin's beautiful eyes widened.
"Father, are you sure?"
"Of course." Yann Jingfu closed his eyes.
"Since we've already decided to throw in our lot with him, what is there to be reluctant about? We need to make Young Master Zhu understand our sincerity."
"Xiuxin, there's no need to hurry back. Spend some time talking with Young Master Zhu."
Upon hearing this, Yann Xiuxin's pretty face flushed red, and she slowly lowered her head.
*
*
*
「Main World.」
「Leping County.」
'Three Treasures Blood Replenishing Soup!'
Zhu Ju put down the paper in his hand, a look of surprise in his eyes.
'I never thought Yann's Boxing Hall would have something this good. A blood-replenishing soup from some Martial World Sect.'
'Velvet antler, musk, lingzhi mushroom, fo-ti root... nineteen herbs in total. A unique Method is used to activate their medicinal properties to nourish and strengthen Qi Blood.'
'This is so much better than what the other Martial Arts Halls offered!'
He wasn't too surprised by Yann Jingfu's decision, but this Qi Blood recipe was a pleasant surprise.
With this,
his Cultivation of Qi Blood Martial Arts could be thirty percent faster. And since it was a soup, he could drink it often, as long as his body could handle it—provided he could gather the ingredients.
'A pity!'
'Not only are the medicinal ingredients expensive, but they're also hard to find. Otherwise, with this recipe, Yann Jingfu might have had a chance at reaching Body Tempering.'
Shaking his head, Zhu Ju tapped lightly on the desk.
'It's hard to find them in the Zheng Kingdom, but not in Daqi. The Martial Arts of the Main World are flourishing. All sorts of rare treasures from the mountains and seas are cultivated, and there are many undeveloped deep forests and old mountains. As long as I'm willing to spend the money, gathering them won't be difficult.'
"Hmm..."
'Is it snowing?'
Pushing open the window, he saw snowflakes drifting outside. The ground was gradually being cloaked in a layer of white, and the restlessness in his heart quieted along with it.
"HYAH!"
"HAH..."
After taking Elder Qin as his master, Ma Xun practiced his Martial Arts daily. Now, as he threw punches and kicks in the falling snow, he was already starting to look quite proficient.
'He's about to achieve Entering the Realm!'
'Such Talent...'
'No wonder Elder Qin took a liking to him. His aptitude is much better than this body of mine.'
'If not for Qi Blood Martial Arts, I'm afraid it wouldn't be long before Ma Xun surpassed him in Martial Arts Cultivation.'
"Young Master."
Elder Qin approached from the front courtyard.
"The Lord County Magistrate had someone deliver an invitation."
...
「A few days later.」
"Whoa!"
Zhu Ju lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the Tavern ahead, the location mentioned in the invitation.
The front of the Tavern was already packed with carriages. Many splendidly dressed figures were coming and going, greeting each other.
"Are you the third young master of the Zhu Family?"
A somewhat green, youthful voice came from not far away.
"My name is Hex Leshan. Our families live near each other."
Zhu Ju followed the voice and saw a youth with red lips and white teeth standing in the falling snow, clasping his hands in a salute.
"Ah, it's Brother Hex."
Stepping out of the carriage, Zhu Ju returned the salute.
"As I am in a period of mourning, it was inconvenient for me to pay a visit. I hope you'll forgive me."
"Not at all, not at all." Hex Leshan waved his hands hastily, exuding a simple-heartedness unique to youth.
"I wanted to visit you too, Brother Zhu, but my father also said it wasn't a convenient time. I didn't expect to see you here today."
"Indeed," Zhu Ju nodded and asked casually,
"Brother Hex, do you happen to know why the Lord County Magistrate has summoned us?"
"What else could it be?" Hex Leshan shook his head, a look of helplessness on his face.
"To collect money!"
"Collect money?"
"To collect money for bandit suppression."
Hex Leshan lowered his voice.
"Every year, they extort money in the name of suppressing bandits, yet the number of bandits outside the city only grows, and the harm they cause gets worse year after year."
"Sigh!"
He sighed and said,
"Now that it's snowing and the ground is frozen, it's even more impossible to go out of the city to suppress bandits. In my opinion, he just wants our money!"
"Brother Hex, watch your words." A burly young man appeared behind him, shaking his head.
"You can't just say things like that."
"You must be the third young master of the Zhu Family. I am Leng Xing. A pleasure to meet you."
"Brother Leng," Zhu Ju nodded. He had heard of this person.
"I've long heard that Leping County has a Martial Arts prodigy who has already achieved Great Success in Entering Strength at a young age. Seeing you today, I see the rumors are true."
"Martial Arts prodigy?" Leng Xing shook his head.
"Just exaggerated praise from a small town. It's nothing to be taken seriously."
Behind Leng Xing were a few other young people, their eyes filled with curiosity and surprise as they looked at Zhu Ju.
It was like...
...children from a small town seeing someone from the big city for the first time.