Commission

On the way, Meng Lao Er still felt somewhat uneasy.

"Xiaoyu, there are more than ten of them. Are you sure this will be alright?" Meng Lao Er asked hesitantly.

More than anything, he found it hard to reconcile the frail youth from the mine pit with the Martial Artist standing before him.

He was also worried that Wang Yu would be dragged down by him and suffer grievous injuries.

"Without seeing them in person, I can't be one hundred percent certain either," Wang Yu said gravely.

"To be safe, Uncle Meng, take your family and leave first. Once this blows over, you can bring them back."

Though Wang Yu had already attained the Body Tempering Second Layer and could handle a dozen ordinary people with ease, he would not become overconfident because of it.

Wasn't Senior Brother He Tie from the gym also at the Body Tempering Second Layer? Yet while merely eating a meal, he had been beaten so badly that he lay in the Medical Hall for two months before recovering.

In Wang Yu's eyes, Body Tempering Second Layer was nothing at all. One should not even be leaving the gates of the gym at that level!

The outside world was far too dangerous.

If he had not truly been short of money, and if he had not seen Meng Lao Er in such difficulty, he would never have accepted a commission and left the gym at a time like this.

"Alright! I'll send my wife and child to stay at an inn in Island Town for the time being. But I'm going with you. I'm not leaving!" Meng Lao Er said through clenched teeth.

He had spent years mining in the tunnels, and his muscles were solid as stone. Though he could not compare to a properly trained Martial Artist, with a hoe in hand, he could at least deal with one or two little thugs.

"Uncle, don't worry either. Even if I can't handle this, I can always go back and call Master over," Wang Yu said seriously.

In truth, if Sun Chengshan had been at the gym today, Wang Yu would have called for him long ago.

Given how highly Sun Chengshan regarded him now, he would most likely have agreed to accompany him.

"Xiaoyu, I truly don't know how to thank you," Meng Lao Er said, deeply moved.

"It's nothing, Uncle. If you hadn't been in the mine pit, I might have collapsed long ago. I wouldn't have lived to return to Island Town today," Wang Yu said slowly.

Meng Lao Er had been the first person to help him after he transmigrated here. He held no small place in Wang Yu's heart.

Enough for Wang Yu to take a risk and step out of the gym.

Nan Shan Ling was the collective name for a stretch of hilly terrain inland.

Because it lay far from the town center, those willing to live here were only slightly better off than the people of Rat Street. They were all poor folk.

Otherwise, Meng Lao Er would not have worked for years in the harsh environment of the mine pit.

Meng Lao Er's home stood beneath a low hill.

It was a relatively old brick-and-mud house, ringed by a fence woven from thatch.

Aside from having the low hill at its back, raised mounds of earth stood on both sides, offering some protection from wind and rain.

At a glance, Meng Lao Er's plot was the only flat ground in the area. Everywhere else was either an earthen slope or a low hill, utterly unfit for building homes.

Within a radius of one kilometer, Meng Lao Er's household was the only one.

It had to be said that Meng Lao Er had a peculiar eye for choosing a place to live.

As Wang Yu drew closer, before he could take a good look, he heard the sound of someone smashing at a door from inside.

Meng Lao Er heard it too. His expression changed drastically, and he immediately rushed back.

Wang Yu frowned. He had not expected them to come in such a hurry, showing up early in the morning to commit evil. He promptly strode into the small courtyard enclosed by the fence.

Inside the courtyard stood a group of young men in their twenties, laughing and joking in a slovenly manner. Several held clubs in their hands.

They looked every inch the street thug, as if terrified others might fail to recognize what they were.

One of them was repeatedly kicking the door, trying to force his way into the house.

The frightened cries of a child could be heard from within.

"You bunch of beasts!" Meng Lao Er stormed into the courtyard, his eyes wide with rage. He grabbed the hoe leaning nearby and was about to fight the group to the death.

But Wang Yu promptly pressed a hand onto his shoulder. With the slightest exertion of strength, Meng Lao Er was held firmly in place.

"Oh? I thought you were hiding inside, too scared to make a sound. So you went to find help?" Wang Xiaoma said with a grin, casually weighing the iron rod in his hand. He clearly did not regard Meng Lao Er, who held a hoe, as any threat.

As for the bare-handed teenage Wang Yu, he looked even less threatening.

There were more than ten of them, each one a hero with a club. One blow apiece would be enough to beat someone to death.

"I advise you to be sensible and hand over the land deed and house deed. We've run out of patience!" Wang Xiaoma sneered.

"Brother Ma, quit wasting words on him. He even dared report us to the authorities before. Break his arms and legs first!" one of the underlings said viciously.

"You hear that? If you don't hand over the documents, I'll break your son's arms and legs today too!" Wang Xiaoma said, smashing his rod against the door behind him.

With a bang, the door finally could not endure any longer and began to crack.

"Beast!" Meng Lao Er trembled with rage, regret flooding his heart as well.

He had left in such a rush that morning that his mind had gone muddled. Had he known, he would have brought his wife and child out with him.

With so many people behind him, Wang Xiaoma was as smug as could be, clearly certain he had Meng Lao Er in the palm of his hand.

Wang Yu swept his gaze around the courtyard, then calmly asked, "Uncle Meng, were these the only people who came before? Did anyone get left out?"

Hearing Wang Yu's question, Meng Lao Er finally came back to his senses. Wang Yu was here with him this time.

"It seems their leader didn't come today," Meng Lao Er said, recalling the group's previous visit.

Wang Xiaoma had not been the one leading them then. It had been someone else.

"Idiot. Do you think dealing with you requires my big brother to step in? You truly won't shed tears until you see the coffin!" Wang Xiaoma barked, giving several underlings a look.

Four of them immediately understood. Brandishing their claws and fangs, they charged at Wang Yu and Meng Lao Er.

All of them carried clubs as weapons. One who ran particularly fast arrived first and craftily chose Wang Yu, who looked easier to deal with.

"Die!"

He brought his club down toward Wang Yu's head. If an ordinary person took a hit like that to the skull, they would likely drop to the ground and never rise again.

Meng Lao Er instinctively swung up his hoe, intending to step in front of Wang Yu and smash it down.

But Wang Yu dragged him behind himself first. At the same time, his leg lashed out like a whip and struck the thug in the waist.

The thug did not even have time to react before he was kicked flying to the side, crashing straight into two other companions who had been charging over.

After hitting the ground, the thug who had taken Wang Yu's kick felt agonizing pain in his waist, as though even the kidney there had been kicked apart. He opened his mouth and howled in misery.

Then Wang Yu stepped forward, driving out a fist like a dragon boring from the earth and striking another thug squarely in the chest.

Having trained the second level of Shadowless Fist, his skill was concentrated more heavily in his fists.

This lightning-fast punch moved so quickly that no one present could catch the path of Wang Yu's fist.

With just one punch, the thug's breastbone shattered. Blood surged endlessly from his mouth as he collapsed, unable to rise.

Wang Yu frowned slightly as he watched.

He had already held back some of his strength. Usually, he trained at the gym and was accustomed to seeing his fellow disciples spar.

This was his first time fighting ordinary people. It seemed he had used a little too much force.

The other two thugs who had come up saw this and shuddered all over, freezing in place without daring to move.

Meng Lao Er's blood boiled. His wife and child were still inside the house. He could not help roaring as he swung his hoe into the two thugs, beating them until they shrieked miserably.

Seeing four of his underlings easily dealt with by the two men, Wang Xiaoma's face turned ashen. "Go! All of you, go! Take them down together!"

Yet the remaining thugs were somewhat afraid to approach the imposing Wang Yu.

They were merely a rabble. Even the crazed Meng Lao Er, holding a bloodstained hoe, was enough to make their hearts quail.

"What are you scared of? There are so many of us!" Wang Xiaoma jumped in fury.

"Something's not right. Y-you guys, look at what he's wearing. Doesn't it look like the clothes those martial arts gym disciples wear?" one thug suddenly cried out.

Once Wang Yu drew their attention, his identity became increasingly clear.

A disciple of a martial arts gym! As long as he was not one of those provisional disciples, even the weakest would be a Martial Artist at the Body Tempering First Level.

Their fighting ability was beyond comparison to ordinary people.

Though these thugs had not immediately recognized Wang Yu's outfit as the disciple uniform of Shadowless Fist Gym, they were not fools to the bone.

At this point, they had figured out that Wang Yu was a disciple of a martial arts gym.

"How could that be?!" Wang Xiaoma shouted, but panic had already risen in his heart. His feet slowly edged backward.

Wang Yu said nothing and calmly walked toward them.

"Run!"

The remaining thugs could no longer withstand Wang Yu's pressure. The identity of a Martial Artist was enough to fill them with fear, and they immediately turned and fled.

Wang Xiaoma was among the first and fastest to run.

But Wang Yu had no intention of letting them escape just like that. In a single burst, he chased after them.

His speed was naturally beyond anything these thugs could match. He easily caught up, knocking down one little punk with each punch.