Rent a Shop

Within the outer courtyard.

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

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

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

The discussions exploded like boiling water.

"My heavens! Senior Brother Wang Yuan really... really won? And he won 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? Too terrifying!"

"Entry Stage for one month, First Blood Change, and he could even crush an established disciple... Senior Brother Wang Yuan's future is immeasurable!"

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

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

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

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

"Senior Brother Wang, my father has some businesses in the Inner City as well. I'll need Senior Brother's guidance in the future. Why not let this junior brother host today and celebrate for Senior Brother?"

"Senior Brother Wang..."

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

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

"Thank you for your kind intentions, senior and junior brothers. However, my family just moved into our new home today, and there are still many matters to handle. It is truly inconvenient for me to attend. Please forgive me."

His words were proper and tactful. He gave them face while making his stance clear.

Seeing this, everyone was somewhat disappointed, but none dared press the matter.

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

Wang Yuan was worried about his parents, who had just moved, and his pace unconsciously quickened.

When he returned to the quiet Small Courtyard in the South District and pushed open the gate,

he saw his sister Wang Yu busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Smoke curled upward from the cooking fire, carrying a warm scent of everyday life.

"Sis, where are Father and Mother?"

Wang Yuan looked around, saw no sign of 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'd given us so much silver, they wanted to settle the shop matter as quickly 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 he vaguely felt that something was amiss.

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

I should go out and 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 shifting restlessly. Their faces were flushed red, and they were trembling with rage.

"How can you go back on your word like this?"

"You clearly said this 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 upfront?"

Wang Gui pointed at the agent and angrily demanded.

The agent's surname was Chen, and his nickname was Chen the Monkey. He was a notorious slick operator in this area.

Seeing that Wang Gui and Madam Zhou were plainly dressed and did not speak with the accent of a wealthy South District family,

he assumed they were refugees from somewhere with a little money on them.

So crooked thoughts arose in his heart, and he intended to fleece them ruthlessly.

Chen the Monkey gave a fake smile. "Old Wang, you can't put it that way. Shops in the South District cost this much."

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

"You've wasted so much of my time. It's already merciful enough that I haven't charged you an errand fee."

Madam Zhou grew anxious as well. "You... you're bullying people! We won't rent it anymore!"

"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 think you can simply say you won't rent it?"

"How could there be such a cheap deal? Today, you'll pay this deposit whether you want to or not!"

As he spoke, he gave a meaningful look.

Four or five broad-shouldered, thick-waisted men with vicious expressions immediately emerged from the back of the shop, faintly surrounding Wang Gui and Madam Zhou.

Wang Gui and Madam Zhou had never seen such a scene before. Their faces turned pale with fright, and they backed away again and again, furious yet terrified.

Just then, an icy voice sounded at the entrance of the realty agency.

"What are you trying to do?"

Everyone followed the voice and saw a sturdy young man standing there at some unknown moment.

The young man's face was gloomy, 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 rushed over.

"Yuan'er!"

Wang Gui and Madam Zhou looked as though they had seen their savior and hurried behind Wang Yuan.

Seeing that the newcomer was merely a half-grown youth,

Chen the Monkey did not take him seriously despite his exceptional bearing. Instead, he sneered. "Oh? Someone's here to back you up?"

"Kid, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business!"

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

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

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

His body moved, like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep. The Vital Blood of his First Blood Change erupted in an instant, and he unleashed the Panshi Fist. His fists and feet rained down upon the burly men like a violent storm.

Bang! Bang! Thud! Aah!

Those seemingly fierce burly men were like earthen chickens and porcelain dogs before Wang Yuan.

They could not even withstand a single exchange. In the blink of an eye, all of them were knocked to the ground, groaning in pain and unable to rise.

Chen the Monkey was frightened out of his wits. His face turned deathly pale as he pointed at Wang Yuan and shrieked fiercely despite his inner weakness.

"Y-you dare lay hands on us?"

"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 once again.

A lazy, teasing male voice came from outside the realty agency.

"Oh? Is that so?"

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

"If someone touches you, how does that mean they can no longer survive in the business world?"

Everyone turned their heads and saw a handsome young noble in a Moon-white brocade robe, holding a folding fan, smiling as he leaned against the doorframe.

Who else could it be but Wang Yuan's senior brother, Shang Yong?

Two guards with steady auras and keen eyes followed behind him.

They were clearly skilled Blood Exchange martial artists.

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

But when he found Wang Yuan's home and heard from Wang Yu that his parents had gone out to look for a storefront, he followed after them and happened to encounter this scene.

The instant 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 arrogant air on his face vanished without a trace,

replaced by extreme fear and fawning submission. Even his voice changed pitch.

"Sh-Sh-Shang Young Master?"

"Y-you... why have you honored this humble place 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 walk over to Chen the Monkey, who was sprawled limply on the ground.

He gently lifted Chen the Monkey's chin with his folding fan. His tone remained mild, but it carried an oppressive force.

"Chen the Monkey, what impressive authority you have."

"You even dared extort the family of my junior brother, Shang Yong?"

"And you even threatened to make sure they could no longer survive in the South District?"

"J-junior brother?"

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

He never could have imagined that this pair of seemingly ordinary, poor old spouses were the family of the 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, he had kicked a steel plate!

"Young Master Shang, spare my life! Young Master Shang, spare my life! This lowly one had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai! I didn't know they were your junior brother's family!"

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

"This shop... this shop will be given to Old Master Wang for free!"

"No... not given. Transferred."

"This lowly one will sign the transfer agreement immediately, and I won't take a single copper coin."

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

Only then did Shang Yong withdraw his folding fan, wipe it with distaste, and look 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 tall once more, 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 trembled as he rapidly drafted a gratuitous shop transfer agreement, pressed his fingerprint upon it, and "gave" the fairly well-located shop to Wang Gui.

Holding that seemingly weightless yet incomparably heavy 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 term was one hundred years...

What difference was there from simply giving it away?