Rent a Shop

In the outer courtyard.

The result of Wang Yuan's spar with Liu Yunfeng quickly spread throughout Panshi Fist Academy.

The disciples looked at Wang Yuan's calm, unruffled figure.

Then at Liu Yunfeng beside him, pale-faced and utterly dazed.

The chatter erupted like boiling water.

"My heavens! Senior Brother Wang Yuan really... really won? And so easily?"

"Senior Brother Liu looked like he didn't even know martial arts in front of him!"

"Is this the power of a High Grade Bone Structure? Terrifying!"

"One month after entering the academy, First Blood Change, and he can even crush veteran disciples... Senior Brother Wang Yuan's future is boundless!"

Some well-off, quick-witted disciples immediately crowded around him.

Their faces were piled with warm, even somewhat fawning smiles as they eagerly invited him.

"Senior Brother Wang, you have truly opened our eyes today."

"Would you honor us with your presence at Drunken Immortal Tower? This little brother will host!"

"Senior Brother Wang, my father has a few properties in the inner city as well. We'll need your guidance in the future—how about this Junior Brother hosts today to celebrate you?"

"Senior Brother Wang..."

Faced with this sudden enthusiasm and these invitations, Wang Yuan's expression remained calm.

He cupped his hands slightly and declined them one by one in a mild tone.

"Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers. But my family has only just moved into our new home today, and there are still many matters to attend to. It would truly be inconvenient for me to accept. Please forgive me."

His words were tactful, preserving their dignity while making his stance clear.

Though disappointed, no one dared press him.

They could only repeatedly say, "We understand," and, "Another time," as they watched Wang Yuan turn and leave the academy.

Wang Yuan was thinking of his parents, who had just moved house, and his pace unconsciously quickened.

Returning to the quiet Small Courtyard in the South District, he pushed open the Courtyard Gate.

He saw his elder sister, Wang Yu, busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Smoke curled from the stove, carrying the warm scent of everyday life.

"Sis, where are Father and Mother?"

Wang Yuan looked around, not seeing his parents, and casually asked.

Wang Yu wiped her hands and replied.

"Father and Mother said that since they had nothing else to do, and you gave us so much silver, they wanted to settle the matter of the shop as soon as possible."

"They went out this afternoon to find a realty agency and look at storefronts. They said they'd only look around nearby, so they should be back soon, right?"

Wang Yuan nodded, but a faint sense of unease rose in his heart.

His parents had only just arrived in the South District. They knew no one here, and they were honest by nature...

I should go look for them.

Meanwhile, on a relatively bustling street in the South District.

Inside a storefront bearing the sign of Chen's Realty Agency, the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Wang Gui and Madam Zhou stared at the sharp-mouthed, monkey-faced agent before them, his eyes constantly shifting. Their faces were flushed red with anger, and their whole bodies trembled.

"How can you go back on your word?"

"You clearly said the shop rented for five taels of silver a month. How did it become ten taels in the blink of an eye?"

"And you want us to pay for an entire year all at once?"

Wang Gui pointed at the agent and snapped.

The agent's surname was Chen, and his nickname was Chen the Monkey. He was a well-known slippery character in this area.

Seeing that Wang Gui and Madam Zhou were plainly dressed, and that their accents did not sound like those of wealthy South District families.

He had no idea where they had fled from, only that they had a bit of money.

So crooked thoughts rose in his mind, and he decided to fleece them hard.

Chen the Monkey said with a smile that was not a smile, "Old Wang, you can't put it like that. Shops in the South District cost this much."

"If you can't afford to rent it, plenty of others can!"

"I've wasted half the day on you. It's already generous of me not to charge you a legwork fee."

Madam Zhou grew anxious too. "Y-you're bullying people! We won't rent it!"

"Won't rent it?"

Chen the Monkey's face darkened as he said in a strange, mocking tone, "You looked at my shop and wasted my time, and now you're saying you won't rent it?"

"How could there be such a cheap deal? You'll pay today's deposit whether you want to or not!"

As he spoke, he shot a meaningful glance.

Four or five brawny, vicious-looking men immediately emerged from behind the shop, vaguely surrounding Wang Gui and Madam Zhou.

When had Wang Gui and Madam Zhou ever seen such a display? Their faces turned pale with fright as they retreated again and again, furious and terrified all at once.

Just then, an icy voice rang out from the entrance of the brokerage.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Everyone followed the sound and saw a sturdy young man standing there at some unknown time.

The young man's face was dark, his build powerful, and his gaze sharp as a blade as it swept over the burly men and Chen the Monkey.

It was Wang Yuan, who had hurried over.

"Yuan'er!"

As though they had seen their savior, Wang Gui and Madam Zhou hastily ran behind Wang Yuan.

Seeing that the newcomer was only a half-grown youth, Chen the Monkey did not take him seriously despite his extraordinary bearing. Instead, he sneered. "Oh? Someone came to back you up?"

"Kid, I advise you not to stick your nose into other people's business!"

"In the South District business world, offend me, Chen the Monkey, and don't even think about renting another shop in the future."

Wang Yuan's gaze turned cold. He could not be bothered to waste words on him.

Scum like this deserved to have their hands and feet broken.

His body flashed forward like a tiger pouncing into a flock of sheep. The vigor and blood of his First Blood Change exploded from within him in an instant, and he unleashed the Panshi Fist Academy's techniques, his fists and feet falling upon those burly men like a raging storm.

Bang! Bang! Bam! Aaah!

Those seemingly fierce burly men were nothing but clay chickens and porcelain dogs before Wang Yuan.

They could not withstand even a single exchange. In the blink of an eye, all of them had been knocked to the ground, groaning in agony and unable to get back up.

Chen the Monkey was scared out of his wits, his face deathly pale. Pointing at Wang Yuan, he shrieked with outward ferocity but inward weakness:

"Y-you dare lay hands on me?"

"You mud-legged peasant, you're finished! Do you know who stands behind me? From now on, don't even think about staying in the South District—"

His words were cut off again.

A man's voice, carrying a trace of laziness and teasing, drifted in from outside the brokerage.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I'd like to know since when you, Chen the Monkey, became so important."

"Why would laying a hand on you mean one can no longer survive in the business world?"

Everyone turned their heads to see a handsome young nobleman in a moon-white brocade robe, holding a folding fan, leaning against the doorframe with a smiling face.

Who else could it be but Wang Yuan's Senior Brother, Shang Yong?

Two guards followed behind him, their auras steady and their gazes keen.

They were clearly skilled Blood Change martial artists.

Shang Yong had heard that Wang Yuan had broken through and easily defeated Liu Yunfeng, so he had come specifically to pay him a visit, intending to further strengthen their relationship.

But when he arrived at Wang Yuan's home and heard from Wang Yu that his parents had gone out looking for a storefront, he followed the trail over and happened to witness this scene.

The moment Chen the Monkey saw Shang Yong, it was as if he had seen a ghost.

His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. The arrogance on his face vanished without a trace in an instant.

In its place was utter terror and fawning servility. Even his voice changed pitch:

"Sh-Sh-Shang Young Master?"

"Y-you... why have you honored us with your presence..."

Shang Yong ignored him. His gaze swept over Wang Yuan, and he smiled and nodded, counting it as a greeting.

Only then did he slowly stroll over to Chen the Monkey, who was sprawled limply on the ground.

He gently lifted the man's chin with his folding fan. His tone remained mild, yet carried an oppressive force.

"Chen the Monkey, aren't you impressive?"

"You even dare extort the family of my little Junior Brother, Shang Yong?"

"And you threatened to make sure they couldn't survive in the South District?"

"L-little Junior Brother?"

Chen the Monkey's mind buzzed, and he nearly fainted.

He had never imagined that this pair of seemingly ordinary, impoverished old people were the family of the little Junior Brother of Shang Yong—the young master of the Wanguan Merchant Association and a True Disciple of the Panshi Fist Academy?

He had kicked an iron plate—no, a steel plate!

"Young Master Shang, spare me! Young Master Shang, spare me! This lowly one was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai—I didn't know they were your Junior Brother's family!"

Chen the Monkey kowtowed like a pounding garlic pestle, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"This shop... this shop, this lowly one will give it to Master Wang for free!"

"No... not give. Transfer."

"This lowly one will sign the transfer agreement at once. Not a single coin required."

"I only beg Young Master Shang to spare this lowly one's dog life!"

Only then did Shang Yong retract his folding fan, wiping it with distaste before looking at Wang Yuan with a smile.

"Junior Brother, are you satisfied with this handling?"

Wang Yuan glanced at Chen the Monkey, who was so frightened he was nearly incontinent.

Then he looked at his parents, still shaken but now standing with their backs straight, and cupped his hands toward Shang Yong. "Thank you, Third Senior Brother, for upholding justice."

In the end, with the "assistance" of the guards Shang Yong had brought—

Chen the Monkey, trembling with fear, hastily drew up a gratuitous shop transfer agreement, pressed his fingerprint upon it, and "gave" that fairly well-located shop to Wang Gui.

Holding that feather-light yet immensely weighty agreement, Wang Gui and Madam Zhou felt as though they were dreaming.

A shop worth five taels of silver in monthly rent had just been transferred to them for free.

And the transfer period was one hundred years...

How was that any different from giving it away outright?