Astonishment

Ji Fang paused and looked back, only to see a plainly dressed young man, no more than a few years older than him, approaching from the rear of the street.

Ji Fang glanced at the approaching young man, then lowered his head dejectedly again. In a hoarse voice tinged with numbness, he gave a quiet "Mm."

The young man looked into the distance, then at Ji Fang, and said:

"Do you want to save your sister?"

Ji Fang froze. A glimmer seemed to return to his dim eyes. He suddenly looked at the young man and said, "You... you can save my sister? I—I can do anything, as long as it's only ten taels of silver."

Chen Mu gently shook his head. "I don't have any silver. Do you dare go and take your sister back? If you do, lead the way. We're going to find the Black Water Gang."

The boy opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Chen Mu ignored him and walked straight ahead, his voice light and indifferent.

"If you don't dare, then forget it."

Those words sent Ji Fang's blood surging. He thought again of Ji Lan's tear-filled eyes, and his face flushed crimson once more. Gritting his teeth, he said, "If something happens to my sister, I don't want to live anymore either!"

As he spoke,

he directly overtook Chen Mu and headed toward the Black Water Gang.

Chen Mu continued walking steadily, following behind Ji Fang. Before long, they passed through several narrow alleys and arrived before a sprawling stretch of low houses.

The low houses had been pieced together in a haphazard jumble. From a distance, they could hardly be called a proper courtyard, but the grounds were quite large, occupying a considerable swath of buildings.

The main gate was tightly shut.

Raucous laughter came from inside every now and then.

"That woman's finally been brought back?"

"Yeah, she's here. She looks like a real juicy one. Once the gang leader's done playing with her, I wonder if he'll reward us brothers with a turn. If you really get your reward, don't play her to death like you did last time, you bastard!"

"No, that was an accident..."

The filthy talk drifting from the cluster of low houses sent a surge of fury straight to Ji Fang's crown. He no longer cared about Chen Mu behind him and charged directly at the gate.

If he had to watch his sister suffer such humiliation, he might as well die too. At worst, he would die and become a ghost, then drag the Black Water Gang down into hell!

Bang! Bang!!

Ji Fang kicked at the gate like a madman, shouting at the same time, "You pieces of trash, let my sister go!"

After several vicious kicks, the already-rotten door bolt snapped. Both doors were kicked open by Ji Fang, revealing the scene inside the courtyard.

Several men were sitting on stone stools in the courtyard. When they saw Ji Fang barge in, they all froze for a moment.

Once they came to their senses,

Liu San sprang to his feet and glared furiously at Ji Fang. "I see you really are an old man hanging himself from a longevity tree—you're tired of living!"

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and strode toward Ji Fang.

"Where's my sister?"

When enemies met, their eyes turned especially red. Ji Fang charged at Liu San with bloodshot eyes.

Liu San let out a cold laugh and raised his hand, preparing to knock Ji Fang down with one punch.

The other men in the courtyard, including the Black Water Gang members who had emerged from the various low houses after hearing the commotion, leaned against the walls and watched the scene with amused smiles.

But.

A strange scene unfolded.

Liu San's raised fist did not smash into Ji Fang. Instead, it halted in midair. Ji Fang pounced onto him, and then Liu San's body went limp and collapsed onto the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

With bloodshot eyes, Ji Fang swung his fists into Liu San's face, each blow landing with a meaty thud, while he shouted, "Where's my sister? Let my sister go!"

This left everyone in the courtyard stunned.

Seeing that Liu San had no intention of fighting back and was simply lying there taking the beating, someone gradually sensed that something was wrong. "Hey, Old Liu, what are you playing at?"

A man beside him stepped forward and reached out to pull Ji Fang away.

Bang!

Ji Fang flailed his fists wildly, and one fist struck the man as well.

What strength could a fifteen-year-old boy's wild punch possibly have? Yet after taking the blow, the man's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets, and his whole body instantly bent at the waist like a shrimp.

Bang!

Another punch landed on his head.

This time, the man pitched headfirst to the ground and lay motionless. Blood slowly trickled from his nose, ears, and mouth.

Now everyone realized that something was wrong.

"Hey! Eighth Brother!"

"Careful, this kid's strange! Grab your weapons!"

The Black Water Gang members who had been watching the show all changed expressions. They shouted as they snatched up a mass of wooden clubs, along with spiked maces, cleavers, and other weapons.

Each of them fixed a wary gaze on Ji Fang.

Ji Fang was also baffled by the tremendous power in his fists, but anger and worry for his sister outweighed everything else. The thought flashed by in an instant, and he roared as he pounced at the nearest man.

That man gripped a wooden club. His gaze turned cold as he swung it viciously down at Ji Fang's head.

He had practiced martial arts under the gang leader Zhang Hai and achieved modest success. He was now a Ninth Rank martial artist. With this blow, he could smash an adult man's skull into complete ruin!

Ji Fang was empty-handed and raised his arm to block.

A trace of mockery appeared in the Black Water Gang member's eyes. His weapon might not be a cleaver, but it was still not something flesh and blood could withstand. That frail arm would surely have its bones broken into several pieces.

But.

Another eerie scene unfolded.

After Ji Fang's arm blocked the club, there was only a muffled thud. He seemed to feel no pain at all. Instead, he grabbed the wooden club with his other hand and punched the man in the chest and abdomen.

The punch made him feel an irresistible impact slam into him, as though a full-speed cavalryman had rammed a spear through him. The force pierced straight from his chest through to his back!

His eyes instantly flooded with blood-red veins.

Pfft!

The man spat out a great mouthful of blood. He stared at Ji Fang in disbelief before collapsing limply to the ground.

"Fourth Brother!"

A Black Water Gang member was frightened out of his wits and stared at the scene in horror.

Especially the two Black Water Gang members who had followed Liu San to capture Ji Lan earlier. At this moment, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

Only a moment ago, the boy before them had clearly been a useless weakling. How had he suddenly become a beast? He had even knocked Wang Si, who had reached the level of a Ninth Rank martial artist within the gang, into an unknown state between life and death with a single punch!

"Everyone attack! Quickly, attack together!"

Someone shouted.

The nearby Black Water Gang members gritted their teeth. For a moment, cleavers, long swords, spiked maces, and all kinds of weapons rained toward Ji Fang's head, intending to smash him into a bloody pulp in one blow.

Ji Fang watched helplessly as the gleaming cleavers and heavy spiked maces came crashing down. With nowhere to dodge, he thought, To hell with it—if I die, I die. I somehow gained this strength and killed several of them anyway, so we might as well descend into hell together.

Ji Fang stopped dodging. He swung a punch at the nearest man, wanting to kill one more.

Bang!

That man was sent flying backward by Ji Fang's punch.

At the same time, a series of clanging metallic collisions rang out overhead. The gleaming blades and weapons all struck Ji Fang's head, yet he did not feel the slightest pain!

Overcome with astonishment,

Ji Fang struggled with all his might. In an instant, he flung every weapon away. Then, after a wild bout of pulling and yanking, he sent the Black Water Gang members surrounding him flying in all directions, leaving them scattered and battered.

By this point, no matter how furious Ji Fang was or how little reason remained in him, he had realized what was happening.

His sudden increase in strength was one thing, but the fact that even gleaming blades could strike his body without harming him was clearly bizarre. How could he possibly possess such abilities himself?

In his astonishment, countless images flashed rapidly through his mind, finally freezing on Chen Mu's figure.

Could it be him?!

Although it was difficult to believe, aside from Chen Mu, no one else seemed likely to help him. But Chen Mu looked only a few years older than him—could he really possess such incredible abilities?

Thanks to Alliance Leader Ye Feng6 for the support. The Alliance Leader bonus chapters will come after the book goes on sale~