Sudden Wealth!

"Now that I've told you everything, can you let me go?" Li Daqiang looked at him tremblingly.

Seeing Xu Yuan deep in thought, Li Daqiang seemed to remember something and hurriedly added, "I-I know you're learning martial arts and need cultivation resources badly..."

As he spoke, he kicked Xiao Ping, the maid beside him who had long since gone rigid with shock. "Quick, bring me that chest!"

Xiao Ping snapped out of her daze and hurried into the inner room. Before long, she came out carrying a small chest.

Li Daqiang opened it, revealing a pile of gleaming silver. With a fawning smile, he said, "Just a small token of my regard. Please accept it."

Xu Yuan gave it a cursory glance, but inwardly he was startled. There had to be at least twenty or thirty taels of silver inside. Li Daqiang had really raked in quite a fortune!

Without showing it on his face, Xu Yuan set it on the table and continued, "One last question. Where is Quan Xiong now?"

Li Daqiang looked surprised and tried to dissuade him. "You really intend to find him? The gang leader is a Two-Meridian martial artist..."

"Just answer me!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Hearing the impatience in Xu Yuan's tone, he nodded repeatedly. "The gang leader lives over by the gambling house, but he's out visiting friends. He isn't in the Prefecture City at the moment."

"Not in the Prefecture City?" Xu Yuan frowned tightly. That was beyond his expectations. "When will he return?"

"I don't know that." Li Daqiang shook his head. He truly had no idea.

Xu Yuan nodded slightly and said no more. He casually picked up the chest from the table, opened the door, and left.

Only after several breaths had passed did Li Daqiang cautiously make his way to the doorway, poking his head out to look around.

The night was cold and silent. There was not a soul in sight.

"That little bastard! Once the gang leader comes back, I'll make sure his whole family is ruined!"

A vicious look appeared on Li Daqiang's face, but it immediately tugged at the injuries on his face, making him bare his teeth in pain.

Just as he turned to go back inside, a pair of warm, powerful arms suddenly wrapped around his neck. A chilly voice followed. "Oh? You want to ruin my whole family?"

Li Daqiang's body stiffened abruptly. In a panic, he blurted out, "Y-you said you wouldn't kill me!"

Xu Yuan smiled faintly, his tone playful. "But I've never relied on mere words when I do things."

Then, no matter how Li Daqiang begged, Xu Yuan exerted force with his wrist. With a crack, he snapped his neck completely.

Li Daqiang's head drooped weakly, and his still fairly sturdy body immediately slumped to the ground with a dull thud.

Inside the room, Xiao Ping witnessed it all. She trembled from head to toe, tears streaming down her face, yet she bit down hard on her lips and did not dare make a sound.

Xu Yuan did not even look at her. He turned and searched through the room, finding several promissory notes and some slightly valuable gold and silver jewelry.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Yuan picked out several pieces of jewelry and tossed them to Xiao Ping. "You didn't see anything that happened today!"

"Take these and run while you can. Find somewhere else to make a living."

After Li Daqiang's death, the Wild Wolf Gang would only need to investigate a little to learn that he had done it. There was no need to be overly cautious.

Then, he wrapped the jewelry in cloth and gave the promissory notes a rough look. He found his elder brother's note, while tossing the others into the oil lamp without even reading them. Before long, they burned to ashes.

There was no need to keep such harmful things.

In the corner, Xiao Ping stood stunned for a long while. She looked at Xu Yuan in disbelief, then at the jewelry by her feet, and nodded tremblingly.

"You'd better leave Yuquan Prefecture City. Li Daqiang's men probably all recognize you... and I recognize you too."

After leaving those words behind, Xu Yuan tied everything into a bundle, slung it over his shoulder, and left the house. Within several breaths, he had vanished without a trace.

After returning to the alley where his elder brother's home was located, Xu Yuan looked around before hiding in a corner to take stock of his haul.

The silver, money, and jewelry combined came to an estimated total of more than sixty taels of silver!

Xu Yuan could not help sucking in a breath.

Sixty taels of silver!

His elder brother worked for the Labor Gang, laboring for an entire month to earn only three qian of silver. As for Xu Yuan, his current monthly pay was only one tael.

Not to mention that martial artists had countless costly expenses. Saving money was difficult, and even if one managed to save some, it would take years.

"As expected, robbing the robbers is the fastest way to make money."

Clutching the weighty valuables, Xu Yuan's eyes were deep and dark. His body still trembled slightly from the excessive tension.

Across both his past and present lives, he had barely fought a few times, much less killed someone with his own hands.

"First time raw, second time... No, it's those scoundrels who went too far!"

Leaning against the wall, Xu Yuan found it hard to describe the feelings churning within him. Thrill, lingering fear, and excitement rolled together in his heart, while cold sweat streamed down his back.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan forcibly suppressed his discomfort and returned to calm.

In this world, weakness was the original sin. If he had not become a martial artist, then before long, he would have been the one to fall.

Li Daqiang's death was simply the consequence of his own actions!

Shaking his head to scatter his chaotic thoughts, Xu Yuan began reflecting on this operation.

"Stance training and boxing drills are essentially just for strengthening the body. Compared with true martial techniques, they still fall short. In the end, I relied on my own instinctive reactions."

He slowly reviewed the details. "And if my strength hadn't been so much greater than his, I might have been the one to stumble and fall."

As he pondered, Xu Yuan returned to his elder brother's doorstep.

It was already late at night, and the house was pitch-black.

Xu Yuan swept his gaze around before stepping forward and gently knocking on the door.

"Who is it?"

The next moment, his elder brother's wary voice sounded from inside. Clearly, he had been waiting for Xu Yuan and had not gone to sleep.

Warmth rose in Xu Yuan's heart, and he replied softly, "It's me."

"Ah Yuan?" The voice became somewhat delighted, and a faint lamp glow soon lit up inside the house.

Xu Zheng opened the door and saw his younger brother standing outside unharmed, fine sweat beading on his forehead, something slung over his shoulder.

"Why are you only back now? I thought you'd returned to the Shangyang Family." He voiced his confusion, then immediately pulled Xu Yuan inside and shut the door.

Madam Zhang was also sitting on a chair, looking at him with searching eyes.

"Elder Brother, Sister-in-law, the matter has been resolved." Xu Yuan spoke calmly. He took out the promissory note and showed it to them, then held it over the flame of the lamp.

They watched the paper gradually curl, blacken, and finally turn to ash.

Xu Zheng let out a long breath, and Madam Zhang's tense expression slowly eased as well.

But Xu Yuan's next words made their hearts leap into their throats again.

"However, it isn't that simple." Xu Yuan selectively told them about the series of events that had occurred, leaving out the details of the fight.

But how could the two of them fail to hear the danger hidden within it?

Xu Zheng's face turned pale as he trembled. "Y-you killed Li Daqiang? Then the Wild Wolf Gang..."

"The Wild Wolf Gang probably won't let this go." Xu Yuan analyzed, "He wouldn't dare go to the Shangyang Family to cause trouble for me, so he may take his anger out on you two. You can't keep living here."

Madam Zhang panicked. "If we can't live here, where are we supposed to go?"

"The inner city!"

Xu Yuan's eyes shone as he said firmly, "We'll move first thing tomorrow morning."