Deterrence

The large hand was black as iron, powerful and heavy. Before the attack even landed, Yang Heng felt a fiery sting bloom across his cheek.

If that hit him, he would be bedridden for ten days to half a month.

The burly man attacking him was named Li Kui. True to his name, he was exceptionally brawny and tall, with a face full of fleshy lumps and vicious eyes. He stood nearly two meters tall, with thick arms, a broad frame, and palms almost half the size of a cattail fan.

Because he was strong and knew how to conduct himself, and because he understood how to curry favor with the pharmacy's master, he was one of the most overbearing apprentices. He often bullied Yang Heng, dumping all the dirty and tiring work on him. Even his clothes had to be washed by Yang Heng, and Yang Heng's monthly wages were snatched away by him as well.

Most of the original owner's injuries had come from Li Kui. It could be said that Li Kui was the direct culprit behind the original owner's death.

Yang Heng's miserable scream just now had been loud enough to disturb Li Kui's sweet dream. When Li Kui discovered that Second Fool Yang Heng was behind it, fury surged into his chest. Without another word, he raised his large hand and swung it at Yang Heng's face.

Daring to stir up trouble on Lord Tai Sui's head? You're courting death! Li Kui thought.

As for what sort of injury this slap would inflict on Yang Heng, he did not care in the slightest. Yang Heng was nobody anyone cared about anyway, like roadside weeds left untended.

The palm drew closer and closer to Yang Heng's face, its dry hairs clearly visible. Li Kui let out a savage laugh. Thinking of Yang Heng soon being beaten until he pissed and shat himself filled him with delight, and his laughter grew even more wild and unrestrained.

"Huh! This kid actually looks so calm. He isn't even dodging. Did he get scared stupid?"

Seeing Yang Heng's unruffled face, Li Kui muttered to himself.

"I was overthinking it. He was a fool to begin with—how would he know to dodge?" Li Kui laughed and cursed himself for being stupid.

"Fools are good. They don't know pain. I'll reward him with a few more slaps later, so he'll understand who he can't afford to provoke."

Faced with this sudden, savage attack, Yang Heng had thought he could only close his eyes and await death. Who would have thought things would turn out completely differently from what he had expected?

In that instant of sparks flying from flint, a current of heat surged from within his body, galloping through his meridians in a vast, mighty torrent.

At the same time, he felt an earth-shaking transformation take place within himself.

In his eyes, the path of the descending palm became perfectly clear, as though in slow motion. Meanwhile, his strength and reaction speed soared abruptly, becoming countless times greater than before.

Unhurriedly, Yang Heng raised his right hand and shot it forward. His five fingers spread wide, then clamped around Li Kui's wrist, preventing the attack from falling.

The other apprentices in the room had been hoping to enjoy a good show of Li Kui beating Yang Heng. Yet Yang Heng moved with ghostly speed; their eyes blurred, and before they could see anything clearly, Li Kui's wrist had already been seized by Yang Heng. Li Kui's face instantly flushed red. He strained desperately to break free, yet could not escape Yang Heng's demonic grip no matter what he did.

"Let go!!"

Li Kui roared. Veins bulged on his neck and wriggled slowly like earthworms, a terrifying sight.

He used every ounce of strength he had to wrench his wrist, but it did not move an inch.

He felt as though the hand gripping him was not flesh and blood, but iron.

Looking up at Yang Heng's still-calm face, Li Kui felt fear for the first time. A chill rose in his heart, and he began to regret what he had done today.

"Let go?"

"Fine... I'll give it back to you."

Yang Heng's right hand, which gripped Li Kui's wrist, suddenly whipped outward. Immense force erupted, and Li Kui's towering body flew sideways like a torn sack. He sailed more than two meters before smashing heavily into the ground. Spitting mouthfuls of bloody foam, he screamed in agony, and the faint sound of bones cracking could be heard.

Pain...

After a brief moment, Li Kui came back to his senses. He felt excruciating pain throughout his body. Several ribs in his chest had broken, and it felt as though all his organs had shifted out of place, leaving him instantly short of breath.

His mind was a little muddled.

His injuries had actually been inflicted by Second Fool Yang Heng, whom he usually trampled at will. His face was full of disbelief as he stood frozen.

Was this still that idiotic, slow-witted Yang Heng?

Could a ghost or monster have possessed him?

Otherwise, how could his strength have suddenly surged so greatly?

Before this, Li Kui could lift Yang Heng with one hand and leave him unable to move, free to torment him as he pleased.

Today really was cursed!

Li Kui's face filled with terror, his heart pounding wildly. He lowered his head and did not dare look in Yang Heng's direction. Carefully dragging his injured body, he crawled toward the crowd, hoping Yang Heng would not notice him.

The onlookers inside the room were astonished by what they had witnessed.

Li Kui's miserable appearance made everyone suck in a breath of cold air. Their pupils were filled with fear. Holding their breaths, they did not even dare breathe loudly, afraid that the slightest sound would draw Yang Heng's attention.

In an instant, the room fell silent as a graveyard.

Oppressive!!

Suffocating!!

An invisible pressure hung over everyone's heads, cold sweat pouring down each of them.

Every one of them had bullied Yang Heng to some extent before. Some of the injuries on his body were their doing, and they feared he would settle old scores with them now.

Although they had numbers on their side, none dared resist.

After all, even the stout and powerful Li Kui could not last a single exchange against Yang Heng. With one casual fling, he had flown away like a sandbag. As for the few of them, thin and weak as they were, a slap each would probably cost them half their lives. None of them dared take that risk.

At that moment, they were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered on the chopping block. They closed their eyes, stretched out their necks, and waited for Yang Heng to deal with them as he wished.

If they had all rushed him at once, then in this confined space, where dodging was inconvenient, Yang Heng truly would not have been their match.

Unfortunately, they had already been scared out of their wits.

Yang Heng saw Li Kui's little movements and the terror on everyone's faces with perfect clarity.

He wanted to vent his anger properly and avenge the previous owner, but his heart was willing while his strength was lacking.

The boundless divine strength and terrifying speed he had just unleashed, Yang Heng guessed, came from the residual energy left behind after the Marrow Cleansing Pearl healed his body's injuries.

That mysterious energy had now been completely depleted, and his physical condition had returned to normal.

If Li Kui charged at him again now, he would not be a match for him. He would not even be able to run away, and a vicious beating would be unavoidable. His life might even be in danger. Fortunately, Li Kui had already been intimidated by him and was hiding among the crowd without daring to make a sound.

As for the others, Yang Heng regarded them even less seriously. They were merely a pack of snobbish petty men, skilled at fawning over the high and trampling the low.

When they encountered the weak, they bullied them with all their might. When they met someone strong, every bone in their bodies turned soft; they bowed and scraped, their faces full of flattery, willing to be used like dogs.

Such people were masters at trimming their sails to the wind.

At this moment, Yang Heng knew perfectly well what they were thinking: they prayed that he would not trouble them.

Although he was now a paper tiger with mediocre strength, he still knew how to put on an act.

Yang Heng put on an expressionless face and glanced at everyone. His gaze was like blades and swords, carrying immense authority.

When they noticed Yang Heng looking their way, everyone swallowed hard. For an instant, their hearts seemed to stop beating, and they retreated again and again in terror.

As they backed away, they pushed Li Kui out in front of them.

When Li Kui realized something was wrong and tried to turn around and burrow back into the crowd, it was already too late.

Yang Heng was staring coldly at him!

"Damn it, you pack of bastards!"

Li Kui flew into a rage, gritting his teeth so hard they itched.

He had been hiding perfectly well among the crowd, yet they had unexpectedly shoved him to the very front, leaving him directly facing Yang Heng.

He wanted to kill them all.

However, the most pressing matter now was how to deal with the threat from Yang Heng.

He could not win in a fight, so there was only...

Thud!

Li Kui dropped to both knees and bowed his head to Yang Heng, smashing his forehead against the ground with loud bangs.

An obvious dent immediately appeared in the hard earthen floor.

He knocked his head against the ground dozens of times in succession, only stopping when blood began to flow from his forehead and his head felt heavy and dizzy.

After several breaths passed and Yang Heng still said nothing, Li Kui assumed that his anger had not subsided. Gritting his teeth, he raised his large hand and viciously slapped his own cheek.

He struck both sides in turn, the slaps ringing out sharply.

As he slapped himself, he begged Yang Heng:

"Master Heng, this lowly one was blind before and offended you. Today, I'm offering you an apology."

"Please spare me this time. I'll never dare do it again."

Every time Li Kui spoke a sentence, he gave himself another savage slap.

Slap... slap... slap

The sounds were loud, crisp, and almost pleasant to hear. There was no need to look; hearing them alone was enough to know the slaps were solid and agonizing.

Before long, both sides of Li Kui's face had swollen as if inflated, bright red all over. Blood also covered the corners of his mouth, making him unbearable to look at.

Seeing Li Kui humiliate himself like this, Yang Heng was stunned for a moment.

He had not expected Li Kui to be so ruthless toward himself. Knowing he was no match for Yang Heng, he immediately cast aside his pride and knelt to beg for mercy.

Able to pick it up and set it down, he truly was someone who could move smoothly in every direction within the pharmacy.

Yang Heng gave Li Kui a long look and silently praised him: this man was no ordinary person.

Seeing Yang Heng stare at him so meaningfully, Li Kui shuddered. A chill pierced straight into his marrow. Thinking Yang Heng was devising another way to punish him, he hurriedly said:

"Master Heng, spare my life, spare my life!"

"I am willing to offer up all the money I've saved over the years as tribute to you. Please spare me this once."

Yang Heng's eyes lit up at those words.

Li Kui's action saved him quite a bit of trouble.

Originally, he had not yet decided how to deal with everyone or bring this matter to an end.

Yet Li Kui had provided him with a way to solve the problem.

Money was a good thing. Everyone wanted it.

Could anyone truly dislike having too much money or be uninterested in it?

Money was even more important to Yang Heng.

With money, he could buy meat and help the Marrow Cleansing Pearl accumulate energy quickly, filling it as early as possible and strengthening himself.

Relying solely on the bland, watery food from the pharmacy, who knew when the Marrow Cleansing Pearl would ever fill with energy?

If he consumed items with high nutritional value, the Marrow Cleansing Pearl would absorb more energy, and its accumulation speed would increase greatly.

Living in these troubled times, the sooner he possessed some ability to protect himself, the better.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Heng came to a decision.

He would take their money and spare them this time.

Even if he did not take their money, at most he could give them a harsh lesson and worsen their injuries. Could he really kill them?

He was only a lowly pharmacy apprentice now, while Li Kui was on good terms with the pharmacy's master. If he killed him, Yang Heng likely would not meet a good end.

As for their previous enmity, he would slowly settle it with them after he became stronger in the future.

As the saying went: a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years.

Taking one step back now was so he could take a giant stride forward later.

After thinking it through, Yang Heng's expression immediately softened somewhat. Yet he still did not speak. Instead, he put on a conflicted look, with greed, unwillingness, and fierce light all visible in his eyes.

Everyone was skilled at reading faces and weighing expressions. Seeing that Yang Heng had been moved, they all spoke up together, willing to hand over all their possessions in exchange for his forgiveness.

Afraid Yang Heng would refuse, they hurriedly took out their valuables one after another and placed them in his hands.

Before long, Yang Heng's hands and pockets were filled with Copper Coins. The weight was considerable, worth a little over three taels of silver.

Li Kui contributed the most among them. He alone handed over more than one tael of silver.

When he placed it in Yang Heng's hands, his face was full of heartache. This was all the money he had saved over several years.

After accepting the silver, Yang Heng said nothing more. He gave them a warning look and walked out the door.

Watching Yang Heng's departing back, everyone let out a long breath. One after another, they collapsed to the floor, looking like they had survived a great catastrophe.