Return Journey

A green taxi pulled up and stopped by the roadside at Binhai City South Railway Station.

Lin Yuan got out of the car and gathered his luggage.

Yesterday, he had mailed home everything that could be mailed and given up the apartment as well.

The landlord had been decent enough to honor the contract and hadn't withheld his deposit.

Now, he only had a computer on his back and a suitcase full of clothes in tow.

Lin Yuan checked his watch. It was around two in the afternoon, and his train ticket was for three.

He had originally thought there might be traffic on the way, so he had left himself extra time.

After taking out his phone and confirming his ticket information once more, Lin Yuan put on his mask and strode inside.

He swiped his ID and went through security.

As always, the waiting hall was packed with people.

His train was boarding at Gate 12, practically at the very back of the hall.

Dragging his suitcase along, Lin Yuan began planning out his future Martial Arts Practice in his head.

A poor scholar and a rich martial artist. If he wanted to study martial arts back home, he would have to find a way to make money.

Yesterday had been Mid-Autumn Festival, and Mom had called him.

He had told her that he had hit his supervisor and been fired because of it.

When she heard about it, Mom had kept laughing, saying Xu the Skinflayer deserved a beating.

Although he knew she was only trying to keep him from feeling burdened.

Still, once he got home, he had to find work that could make money. Otherwise, was he supposed to live off his parents?

Including the ten thousand yuan a friend had borrowed from him, he had a total of one hundred and eighteen thousand yuan on hand.

Oh, right. Last night, he had gone to the mall and bought Mom a Huawei phone, two outfits, and a pair of shoes, spending nearly ten thousand yuan.

Which meant he actually had just over ninety thousand yuan left.

Just as Lin Yuan's thoughts drifted away.

A shrill woman's scream suddenly came from ahead.

"Ah!!!"

The sound echoed through the entire waiting hall.

The crowd ahead seemed to have been terribly frightened and scattered in all directions.

Seeing the panicked pedestrians rushing toward him, Lin Yuan immediately looked ahead.

A young man in a black hoodie was holding a bloodstained machete, crazily chasing people around and slashing at them.

Beside him, a young woman was already lying in a pool of blood. It looked like she had been stabbed in the abdomen.

Although the assailant was alone, seeking advantage and avoiding harm was human nature.

So even though he didn't look particularly strong and was even somewhat skinny.

A single machete was enough to send everyone around him fleeing in panic.

"Ha ha ha, don't run!" the hooded young man cackled as he chased people. "You all deserve to die. This society should've ended long ago."

It was as if only this kind of revenge against society could comfort his heart and soothe his dissatisfaction and resentment toward the world.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan first placed his suitcase and backpack beneath a seat to keep them from being trampled.

Then, moving against the flow of people, he approached the hooded young man.

Martial arts gave a person courage!

If this had been the old him, he would have stayed as far away as possible.

Helping others in danger required courage first. Courage wasn't recklessness—it was acting decisively when you were reasonably sure you could handle it.

Now, in his eyes, the other man's movements were weak and powerless. His knife swings were full of openings.

If a man like that hadn't had a knife in his hand, any burly fellow nearby could have sent him flying with a slap.

The farther Lin Yuan walked forward, the fewer people remained around him. Soon, he was less than ten meters from the man.

The hooded young man's eyes were bloodshot as he swung his blade wildly through the air. He roared as he slashed, venting the hatred in his heart while concealing the trace of panic in his eyes.

There was no turning back now. He couldn't turn back anymore.

The hooded young man had already gone mad, like a rabid dog.

In fact, he had only managed to slash a few people at the very beginning, and the young woman lying in the pool of blood had suffered the worst injury.

After that, as the people around him scattered.

And used their suitcases as shields in front of themselves, it became much harder for the young man to hurt anyone else.

Most of the time, he was just swinging wildly at empty air.

But then, a little girl's tearful cry came from Lin Yuan's front right.

"Mom... Mom..."

The crowd had scattered in panic, and in the crush, the girl had gotten separated from her family.

How could a child have ever seen such a bloody scene? She was frightened into tears on the spot.

Hearing the crying, the hooded young man immediately turned around.

His vicious eyes fixed on the little girl. Having found a target, a cruel smile appeared on his face.

Machete in hand, the hooded young man walked toward the girl.

Seeing this, a surge of anger rose in Lin Yuan's heart.

With a single stride, he rushed forward.

The hooded young man reached the little girl, raised his knife, and smiled. "Little sister, don't be afraid. Big brother promises that with one swing, I'll let you leave happily. Then you won't have to see this ugly society ever again."

Some of the more timid people in the hall covered their eyes, not daring to watch the bloody scene.

The girl's mother had heard her daughter crying earlier and was already rushing over.

From afar, she saw that her daughter was about to fall victim to the young man.

The girl's mother screamed heart-rendingly, "Nini!"

The next second, she tried to rush over, but the people around her held her back tightly.

Just as everyone thought the child was about to be brutally killed, they saw a figure dart forward.

"Bye-bye, little sister."

The moment the hooded young man finished speaking, he felt as if a gust of wind had rushed at him. Then he vaguely heard a low voice by his ear.

"Scum!"

Before the hooded young man could react, he felt the hand holding the knife being gripped tightly. Then a piercing pain shot through his wrist.

The sound of shattering bone and the young man's scream rang out at the same time, and the machete fell from his hand.

Afraid that it would bounce up and hurt the child, Lin Yuan lightly hooked it backward with his right foot, dissipating its falling force. Then he gently lifted and stepped down, pinning the machete firmly to the ground.

The entire sequence was completed in the blink of an eye!

At the instant he stepped down, force rose from the ground and traveled from his legs to his waist.

Lin Yuan bent his knees slightly. His other hand opened into a palm, fingertips pointing down as it traced a half-circle at his side before striking fiercely at the hooded young man's waist.

This technique—first seizing the opponent's wrist, then striking his waist—was the "Elbow Push and Yin Supplement" from Yang Style Tai Chi's Tai Chi Thirty Scattered Hands.

The hooded young man felt as though his kidneys were about to shatter, and his face instantly turned livid.

With a miserable scream, his entire body was sent flying several meters away.

Bang!

The hooded young man slammed heavily onto the ground and passed out.

The waiting hall fell completely silent!

Lin Yuan withdrew his palm and straightened up, looking at the hooded young man lying motionless on the ground.

This time, he had mixed in a little personal resentment.

In truth, the moment he had seized the man's wrist, the other man had already lost his ability to fight.

But if the police could just take him away easily and lock him up, that would be letting him off too lightly.

The people Lin Yuan despised most were this kind of scum who took revenge on society!

You could complain and vent your frustrations, but you should still be kind. Don't do something so cruel and evil.

And he had actually dared to attack a child. Only an utterly cowardly and useless person would do something like that.

Lin Yuan's gaze moved away from the young man, and the chill in his eyes gradually faded. He turned around, crouched before the little girl, stroked her head, and wiped the tears from her face.

He comforted her, "Don't be scared. The bad guy's already been beaten away."

At that moment, the girl's mother rushed over, grabbed her child in her arms, and began to cry.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan quietly got up and left, heading toward where he had placed his luggage.

Everyone in the hall was looking at him.

There was surprise, curiosity, and gratitude.

That fluid, clean, and decisive set of movements had truly opened their eyes.

Some of the more carefree people quickly emerged from their fear and began discussing it animatedly.

"That young man was so brave."

"If anyone dares tell me National Martial Arts can't fight from now on, I'll be the first to slap him in the mouth."

"That really opened my eyes. Catching a knife barehanded—what a clean move."

"That handsome guy was so cool. My sense of safety is completely maxed out."

"That was terrifying. Luckily that young man stepped in, or that girl would've been in grave danger."

"Did you see that? That's what a real man looks like."

"That move just now was way too cool. He actually sent that guy flying several meters."

"Did you notice? Before he struck with his palm, he lifted his lower leg backward and made that machete land steadily. I'm guessing he was afraid the blade would bounce off the floor and hurt the little girl."

"Damn, was he really that meticulous?"

Lin Yuan returned to where he had left his suitcase and pulled his things out from beneath the seat.

A crowd had already gathered around him, all thanking him.

Lin Yuan waved his hand. He still didn't like being the center of attention.

By then, the police and ambulances had also arrived.

Several nurses and doctors hurriedly gave the injured people basic treatment before carrying them onto the ambulances on stretchers.

Two police officers handcuffed the hooded young man and took him away.

Another middle-aged police officer quickly walked up to Lin Yuan and first thanked him for his brave actions.

Then he said, "Little brother, could you come with us to make a statement?"

Lin Yuan checked the time. It was almost three.

So he said, "My train is about to arrive. Can I give the statement here?"

"This... all right. It doesn't exactly follow procedure, but since your train is about to arrive, we'll make an exception."

Lin Yuan cooperated with them and quickly finished giving his statement.

The officer reminded him, "If anything is needed afterward, we hope you'll cooperate with us."

"Sure. Just call me when the time comes."

A few minutes later, an announcement for Lin Yuan's train arriving sounded through the hall.

Lin Yuan quickly walked to the ticket gate. Under everyone's gaze, he passed through the turnstile, entered the passageway, and set foot on the journey home.

That evening, news of the attacker incident at Binhai City South Railway Station shot to the top of the trending searches.