Trouble at Home, Nighttime Encirclement and Slaughter

Several more days passed.

Bluestone Alley in autumn felt even more desolate and uneasy than usual.

A plague from no one knew where spread like an invisible shadow, shrouding this slum district.

Mournful weeping had already risen from several households in the alley—a sign that someone had suddenly died.

Food grew ever scarcer as a result, and panic quietly spread.

Thanks to Wang Yuan, his family could not be called rich or noble now.

But at least their rice jar was full, and they occasionally had meat on the table. In this alley, they were already considered a rare "well-off household."

That afternoon, Wang Gui and Madam Zhou were sorting through odds and ends at home, while Wang Yu helped nearby, calculating the silver her younger brother had brought back yesterday and happily looking forward to moving into their new home in South District.

Suddenly, a somewhat hurried knock sounded at the Courtyard Gate.

Madam Zhou wiped her hands and went to open it.

Standing outside was Widow Li, who lived at the far end of the alley.

Behind her stood a tall, powerfully built man with a hard, cold face. Though he wore ordinary coarse clothes, he could not conceal the fierce air about him.

Widow Li had lost her husband early and raised a child alone. Her life had always been difficult, and she often borrowed rice from one household and salt from another.

Madam Zhou was kindhearted and had helped support her many times before.

Seeing her at the door, Madam Zhou assumed she had come to borrow food again. Now that the family was better off, she was willing to help however she could, so she stepped aside to let them in.

"Auntie Li, come in and sit. Is there no rice left in the house again?"

Yet Widow Li's expression today was utterly unlike her usual sorrowful, timid demeanor.

Her face bore a strange flush and excitement, while her gaze drifted uncertainly.

Rather than entering at once, she stood at the doorway, cleared her throat, and said in a deliberately affected tone:

"Sister Zhou, Brother Wang, I haven't come today over some small matter like borrowing grain."

She paused, sweeping her gaze over Wang Gui and Wang Yu inside the house, then raised her voice slightly.

"I've come to bring you a tremendous blessing!"

"To introduce you to the Incense God Cult, so that you may worship Lord Incense God day and night."

"As long as you worship with sincerity, Lord Incense God will grant you divine power. You will become immune to all illness and receive Incense God's protection. You'll never have to fear this damned plague and poverty again!"

The brawny man behind her took a slight step forward at just the right moment.

Though he said nothing, his icy gaze and the faint pressure radiating from him made Wang Gui and Madam Zhou's hearts tighten.

"The Incense God Cult?"

Wang Gui frowned deeply. He had lived for half his life and had never heard of such a name.

Their family's days had only just begun to look promising. His son had made something of himself, and they would soon be moving to a better place.

All he wanted was to live a quiet, steady life. He kept his distance from these gods-and-ghosts, these sects of unknown origin.

He immediately meant to refuse. "Auntie Li, we appreciate your kind intentions."

"But our Wang family... doesn't believe in such things. There's no need for worship."

The words had barely left his mouth.

A vicious gleam flashed in the silent man's eyes. He fixed Wang Gui with a dead stare, his hoarse, icy voice carrying an unquestionable threat.

"Either join the Incense God Cult and worship with sincerity. Or else..."

Before he could finish.

A calm voice laced with chill suddenly came from behind him, cutting him off.

"Or else what?"

The brawny man's heart jolted violently!

With his senses, someone had actually approached so close behind him without making a sound—and he had failed to notice?

He spun around sharply.

A sturdy young man, nearly eight chi tall—about 180 centimeters—stood not far behind him, wearing the gray training uniform of Panshi Fist Academy.

There was still a trace of youthfulness on the young man's face.

Yet his eyes were calm and sharp. His qi and blood brimmed with vitality, and the lines of his muscles stood clear beneath his thin training clothes, like a cheetah poised to pounce.

It was Wang Yuan, returning from martial training.

Though Wang Yuan had practiced martial arts only a short time, he possessed the heaven-defying aptitude of Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone.

Coupled with the ample meat and Pills that had nourished him these past days, his body had developed at an astonishing rate.

He had long shed his former thinness and frailty, becoming a robust young man brimming with vigor.

The brawny man's gaze sharpened. Sensing the fluctuations of qi and blood around Wang Yuan that differed from an ordinary person's, he knew he had encountered a martial artist.

But confident in his own strength, he did not panic. Instead, he sneered:

"Where did this little—"

Before he could utter the word "brat," a cold glint flashed through Wang Yuan's eyes. He could not be bothered to waste words on him!

The vigorous blood and qi of First Blood Change erupted from within him in an instant.

The power of Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone gathered in his right fist. With a plain, unadorned Panshi Fist, he drove straight for the target, swift as lightning as it shot toward the brawny man's face.

His fist tore through the air, carrying the heavy force of a boulder.

The brawny man had not expected Wang Yuan to attack without a word, much less with such speed and ferocity.

Caught off guard, he could only roar and circulate his blood and qi, throwing out a punch of his own in an attempt to meet force with force.

Bang!

The two fists collided violently!

In the next instant, the savagery on the brawny man's face turned into shock and agony.

His punch had not struck flesh—it felt as though he had smashed into a piece of refined steel tempered a thousand times over.

An irresistible force surged up his arm, accompanied by bone-piercing pain!

Crack!

A faint sound of bone fracturing rang out.

"Hmph!"

The brawny man let out a muffled groan, his face instantly flushing blood-red.

The tremendous force sent him staggering back seven or eight steps before his back slammed into the earthen wall of the alley, barely stopping him.

The arm that had exchanged blows with Wang Yuan hung limply at his side, trembling uncontrollably. It was clear that he had suffered no light injury.

He raised his head, glaring at Wang Yuan in shock and fury, his eyes full of disbelief.

The kid did not look very old. How could he possess such terrifying strength and such hard fists?

Gritting his teeth and enduring the agonizing pain in his arm, he forced out several words through clenched teeth:

"You... good! Kid, just you wait!"

Having thrown down that threat, he knew full well that he was no match for Wang Yuan and did not dare linger any longer.

He could only cast Wang Yuan one last venomous glare before clutching his arm, turning around in disgrace, and hurrying out of the alley.

When Widow Li saw that the "expert" she had relied on had been driven off by Wang Yuan in a single exchange, her face immediately went deathly pale.

All her earlier excitement and air of superiority vanished without a trace.

She did not even dare look at Wang Yuan. Lowering her head, she slunk away after the man.

Wang Yuan did not pursue them. His gaze was icy as he watched the two flee.

The Incense God Cult... had already extended its tentacles into Bluestone Alley, going door to door and forcing people to join?

And their methods were so direct and brutal!

He turned to his still-shaken parents and sister and said in a deep voice, "Father, Mother, Sis, are you all right?"

"If people of unknown origin come again in the future, just shut the door. There's no need to pay them any heed."

Seeing the authority their son now possessed, driving off that ferocious-looking brute with a single punch, Wang Gui and Madam Zhou felt both lingering fear and immense pride.

Wang Gui nodded repeatedly.

"Yuan'er, thank goodness you came back! This... this Incense God Cult doesn't sound like anything good!"

Thoughts raced through Wang Yuan's mind.

They could not stay in Bluestone Alley any longer. They had to move as soon as possible!

The Incense God Cult acted in strange and ruthless ways. Having formed a grudge today, they would likely not let the matter rest.

Order was much better in the South District, and Panshi Fist Academy was nearby as well. It was far safer than this place.

Looks like there isn't much time left for the family. We have to move to the South District tomorrow.

Wang Yuan gazed at the gloomy gray sky beyond the alley and thought to himself.

Then he glanced once more at the brawny man's retreating figure and murmured, "Incense God Cult? You were the ones who forced my hand first."

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