Because Li Mu Yang had carried Zhang Chen and tossed him into the lotus pond—a scene so overflowing with hormones—it once again made him the talk of Fuxing High School.
Every day when Li Sinian returned from school, her little face flushed with excitement as she eagerly told him about the aftermath of the incident.
"B-Brother, do you know? There are so many boys at school worshipping you now—"
"Some people suspected it was all fake, because Zhang Chen used to be so formidable while you were so useless—but hey, then a bunch of people stood up and said they'd seen it with their own eyes. Those doubters were slapped right in the face—"
"Brother, the girls in my class wrote you a letter—a love letter! You've never received one before, have you? Come on, feel it. This is what a love letter is like. Huajuan is my best friend. Do you want to consider her?"
Li Mu Yang remained calm. No matter how enthusiastically Li Sinian spoke, he only smiled faintly. Occasionally, he found the girl amusing and would join in by teasing himself.
After throwing Zhang Chen into the lotus pond, Li Mu Yang left the school without greeting anyone. He knew that if he stayed, it would only create more trouble. He had no intention of compromising, much less apologizing.
Of course, Zhang Chen certainly would not apologize either.
He had heard that Zhang Chen's father was a very powerful figure, but so what? Was he more powerful than Crow?
Li Mu Yang had spent the past few days reflecting on himself.
The old Li Mu Yang had often been mocked or bullied like this, and many times it had been far worse than now. Back then, he had been calm. As long as it did not interfere with his sleep, or as long as they finished bullying him quickly so he could go to sleep, he had never flown into such a rage, much less gotten into a vicious fight with his classmates over a few words.
Li Mu Yang knew that his body had undergone tremendous changes.
For instance, he had punched Zhang Chen flying. He had punched Crow flying. And then there was how easily he could snap the Lapis Lazuli stone tabletop in half—
There was too much violent energy in his heart. He could feel his blood boiling.
Li Mu Yang knew that a monster lived inside his body.
Just as Crow had asked before dying: What kind of monster are you?
"What kind of monster is actually living inside my body?" Li Mu Yang had pondered this question in his heart for a long time. Fragmented scenes constantly appeared in his dreams. He dreamed of a giant dragon tearing his body apart, of the giant dragon's body being hacked into several pieces, and of two masses of light entwining in the sky. They were the sworn enemies bound to his fate—
There were also all kinds of bits of knowledge he knew without learning them, along with methods of solving problems that seemed familiar yet were utterly strange to him—
Li Mu Yang's changes were far too great—so great that he felt he was no longer the Li Mu Yang of old.
What troubled him even more was that he did not know whom he should tell about his changes. He could not find anyone who could teach him or answer his questions.
In this state of astonishment and delight mixed with caution, he waited—waited for his true form to emerge, and waited for that distant heavenly capital to send him an invitation.
"Xifeng University..." Li Mu Yang murmured the name. "Please."
Recently, Li Mu Yang had been practicing calligraphy. He had rarely written before, so his handwriting had never been very good. And whenever he felt his writing was poor, he had even less motivation to practice.
That was human nature!
Yet during this period, he discovered that his handwriting had improved greatly. The structure and brushwork had both advanced by leaps and bounds, giving it a certain carefree elegance—as though every stroke fell like drifting cloud-smoke, and the writing galloped like a fine steed.
Li Mu Yang was overjoyed when he saw it.
He had heard people say that a person's handwriting was their second face. Li Mu Yang's first face had not grown well, so he very much wanted to find some sense of existence in his second face.
Whenever he had nothing else to do, he would bend over his desk and practice. He did not deliberately imitate the handwriting of famous masters. He simply wrote naturally and freely.
The more he wrote, the better and smoother it became, as if this had always been the handwriting that belonged to him.
"So it was originally mine, and it was supposed to be mine..." Li Mu Yang sighed softly.
After writing with his brush for an hour, Li Mu Yang stood up and went into the courtyard to stretch.
The incident with Crow last time had made him realize the importance of his body.
Thus, whenever he had nothing to do, he walked according to the steps in the Body-Breaking Technique. After walking a few rounds, he could easily feel his fatigue vanish, while his mind became clear and refreshed.
While Li Mu Yang was walking, someone began pounding on the courtyard gate.
The knocking was urgent. It seemed something important had happened.
Li Mu Yang hurried over to open the door. Aunt Zhao from next door stood outside. When she saw him, she hurriedly asked, "Li Mu Yang, is your father home?"
"No. Aunt Zhao, is something wrong?"
"Mu Yang, hurry and find your father at the shop—something's happened at your family's pastry shop!" Aunt Zhao was frantic, stamping her little feet as she spoke.
Li Mu Yang panicked. "What happened at the shop? Is my mother all right?"
"When I passed by the entrance, I saw a group of thugs causing trouble in your family's shop. Your mother is all right for now, but I'm afraid she'll suffer if this drags on—hurry and bring your father back!"
Li Mu Yang shut the courtyard gate and ran toward the pastry shop in great strides.
"Hurry and bring your father back—you won't be any use there!" Aunt Zhao called after him. They were neighbors, after all. Who did not know that Li Mu Yang was a sickly weakling?
Sinian Pastry Shop.
Luo Qi stood in front of the pastry shop and said with a smiling face, "Big Brother Tianyi, it's not that I don't want to give you face. The main issue is that ours is only a small business. After working hard all day, we barely make any money. We only paid the fee a month ago, and it's barely the middle of the month. Why are you charging us again? At this rate, we truly can't afford it. After a month, not only will we make no profit, we'll have to pay money out of pocket."
Zhang Tianyi, the biggest street thug on Shuiliu Street, was short and stocky with a round head. He stared at Luo Qi with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Boss Luo, that might work on other people, but saying it to us old neighbors is meaningless. I, Zhang Tianyi, have seen exactly how business is at your Sinian Pastry Shop every day. I even have my underlings keep track of how many people go in and out. You're capable, Boss Luo. Your Sinian Pastry Shop even has a little fame in Jiangnan City. What's this? You don't want to pay the protection fee?"
Zhang Tianyi glanced at the underlings behind him and said with a smile, "If you don't want us to protect you, that's fine too. But if someone comes to your shop to fight or cause trouble or something..."
Zhang Tianyi rushed into the shop, grabbed a plate of freshly made lotus cakes from the shelf, and violently smashed it onto the floor.
Crash—
The metal tray struck the granite floor and bounced into the air. The lotus-scented pastries rolled in all directions.
"Big Brother Tianyi, why force people into a dead end? It's not that I refuse to pay the protection fee. I already paid it a month ago. If you collect it once a month, we can barely manage. But collecting it twice a month is truly more than we can bear—"
"So you're saying you're not willing to pay?" Zhang Tianyi asked with a chuckle. When he smiled, he looked just like the Maitreya Buddha.
"Could you wait until next month?" Luo Qi said awkwardly. "The two children have to attend school, and the family has expenses too. We rely on the shop's small income to get by each month. It's truly difficult—"
"Brother Tianyi, stop wasting your breath on her. Let's smash up her shop!"
"People who refuse to pay a small sum will definitely lose a large sum. By then, she won't even have a shop left. Let's see how she supports her family!"
"Brother Tianyi coming after you—that's fate! How dare you defy heaven?"
"Yo, Brother Baozi, that flattery was smooth. Fierce and domineering too—"
Zhang Tianyi looked at Luo Qi's charming face, still carrying the grace of maturity, and developed other thoughts. He said with a grin, "Have you decided? If you're unwilling to pay, there's another way to solve this problem..."
"What way?" Luo Qi asked warily. She had come from a wealthy household and understood human nature clearly. She did not believe for a moment that Zhang Tianyi would kindly waive their fee.
"You could come have a drink with me. How about it? The two of us, brother and sister, can sit together, drink, and chat. Maybe we'll think of another solution. What do you say? Go ask Widow Bai, the woman who runs the restaurant diagonally across from you. When have I ever charged her a protection fee?"
Smack—
Zhang Tianyi was slapped across the face.
The smile vanished from Luo Qi's face. She glared coldly at Zhang Tianyi and said, "In your dreams."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Zhang Tianyi reached up and rubbed the cheek Luo Qi had slapped, then licked his palm. Grinning, he said, "Fragrant. So fragrant. With a hint of milk."
Zhang Tianyi waved his arm and roared, "Brothers, smash the shop!"
Crash—
A shelf was shoved over.
Bang—
A huge hole was smashed into the stove.
"Don't smash our shop!" The young girl from the pastry shop rushed forward to stop them, but a large thug grabbed her into his arms and planted a hard kiss on her tender cheek.
"Stop! All of you, stop!" Luo Qi screamed, rushing over to pull the young girl from the large man's arms.
Zhang Tianyi stepped forward and blocked the way with his burly body. He looked at Luo Qi with an obscene smile and said, "Boss Luo, how have you decided? If you still refuse, there won't be anything left of this Sinian Pastry Shop—"
"In your dreams! Even if I died, I would never agree to a demand like that!" Luo Qi shrieked.
"Look at you, look at you. You're not as clever as Widow Bai across the street. It was originally such a small matter, something that could have been resolved so easily. Why did you have to make it so complicated?" Zhang Tianyi said, full of regret.
He glanced at the devastation around him and said with a smile, "My name is Zhang Tianyi. I came to find you because it was fated by heaven. You refuse to submit to heaven's will, so heaven won't let you keep scraping out a living on this street. I can't control other places, but here on Shuiliu Street, what I say goes—"
He raised his arm high, then chopped it down with all his strength and shouted, "Smash it! Smash it as hard as you can! I want there to be nothing in this shop that can remain standing!"
Before you continue