Villains Smash the Shop!

Li Mu Yang's act of throwing Zhang Chen into the lotus pond, an event that truly showcased his hormones, made him a hot topic in Fuxing High School once again.

Every day when Li Sinian returned from school, she would excitedly tell him about the aftermath of the commotion, her little face flushed with excitement.

"Brother—Brother, do you know? So many boys at school admire you now—"

"Some people suspected the incident was fake because Zhang Chen was so powerful before and you were so weak—Hey, but then many people came forward saying they saw it with their own eyes, and those doubters were proven wrong—"

"Brother, the girls in my class wrote you a letter—a love letter. You've never received a love letter before, have you? Here, touch it, this is what a love letter looks like. Hua Juan is my best friend, do you want to consider her?"

Li Mu Yang, however, remained calm. No matter how enthusiastically Li Sinian spoke, he just smiled faintly. Occasionally, finding the young girl amusing, he would tease himself along with her.

After Li Mu Yang threw Zhang Chen into the lotus pond, he left school without saying goodbye to anyone. He knew that if he had stayed, it would have only led to more conflict. He didn't want to compromise, and he certainly wouldn't apologize.

Of course, Zhang Chen wouldn't either.

He had also heard that Zhang Chen's father was a very powerful figure, but so what? Was he more powerful than the Crow?

Li Mu Yang had been reflecting on himself these past few days.

In the past, Li Mu Yang would often be subjected to similar mockery or bullying, often much worse than what happened now. Back then, Li Mu Yang was calm; as long as it didn't affect his sleep or if they just finished bullying him quickly so he could sleep, he was fine. He had never been this enraged, nor would he get into a fight with classmates over a few words.

Li Mu Yang knew his body had undergone tremendous changes.

For example, he had punched Zhang Chen away with one blow, punched the Crow away with another, and could easily snap a lapis lazuli tabletop—

He felt a surge of malevolence within him; he felt his blood boiling.

Li Mu Yang knew that a monster lived inside his body.

Just as the Crow had asked before dying: "What kind of monster are you?"

"What kind of monster is actually living inside my body?" Li Mu Yang pondered this question constantly. Fragmented images would appear in his dreams, dreams of his body being torn apart by a dragon, dreams of the dragon's body being cut into several pieces, and dreams of two streams of light entwining in the sky—those were his fated enemies—

And then there was the knowledge he acquired without learning, the various problem-solving methods that seemed familiar yet so strange—

Li Mu Yang's changes were too profound, too great. He felt as though he was no longer the Li Mu Yang of the past.

What made him even sadder was that he didn't know who he could confide in about his changes; he couldn't find anyone to teach and enlighten him.

He waited in this state of mingled surprise, joy, and cautiousness, waiting for his true self to emerge, and waiting for the distant Tiandu to extend an invitation to him.

"Xifeng University—" Li Mu Yang murmured the name. "Please."

Li Mu Yang had been practicing calligraphy recently. He rarely wrote before, so his handwriting wasn't very good. When he felt his handwriting wasn't good, he lost all motivation to practice.

That's just human nature!

However, during this period, he noticed a significant improvement in his writing. The structure and the strength of his strokes had greatly improved, giving his writing a dashing quality, like "strokes like flowing clouds, viewing them like galloping horses."

Li Mu Yang was overjoyed.

He had heard people say that a person's handwriting is their second face—Li Mu Yang's first face hadn't turned out well, so he really wanted to find some sense of presence on his second face.

Whenever he had free time, he would bend over his desk and practice. He didn't deliberately imitate the calligraphy of famous masters; he just wrote naturally and freely.

His writing got better and better, and smoother and smoother. It was as if this was his original, inherent handwriting.

"Original again, inherent again—" Li Mu Yang sighed softly.

After practicing calligraphy for an hour, Li Mu Yang stood up and went into the courtyard to stretch his body.

The Crow incident last time made him realize the importance of his body.

So, whenever he had free time, he would practice the footwork from the "Body-Breaking Technique." After walking a few laps, he could easily feel the fatigue disappear, and his mind would become clearer and more refreshed.

As Li Mu Yang was walking, the courtyard gate was suddenly knocked upon.

The sound was urgent, indicating something important.

Li Mu Yang quickly walked over to open the door. Aunt Zhao from next door stood at the entrance. Upon seeing Li Mu Yang, she quickly asked, "Li Mu Yang, is your dad home?"

"No, Aunt Zhao. Is something wrong?"

"Mu Yang, hurry and find your dad to come to the shop—something's happened at your pastry shop—" Aunt Zhao was very anxious, her small feet stomping incessantly as she spoke.

Li Mu Yang became anxious and said, "What happened at the shop? Is my mom okay?"

"When I passed by the entrance, I saw a group of hooligans causing trouble at your shop. Your mom is fine for now, but I'm worried she might suffer later—Hurry and find your dad—"

Li Mu Yang closed the courtyard gate and strode towards the pastry shop.

"Hurry and find your dad—You going won't help—" Aunt Zhao called out from behind. As neighbors, who didn't know Li Mu Yang was a sickly child?

Sinian Pastry Shop.

Luo Qi stood in front of the pastry shop, smiling and saying, "Brother Tianyi, it's not that I'm not giving you face, but it's just that we're a small business. After a hard day's work, we don't make much money—We paid the fees last month, and it's only mid-month. Why are you charging again? With this kind of charging, we really can't afford it. By the end of the month, we don't make a profit; instead, we have to put money into it."

Zhang Tianyi, the biggest street tough on Shuiliu Street, a short, stout man with a round head, stared at Luo Qi with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Boss Luo, you can say that to others, but it doesn't make much sense to say it to us old neighbors. I, Zhang Tianyi, see how busy your Sinian Pastry Shop is every day. I have my subordinates keep track of how many people come and go—Boss Luo, you're a capable person, and your Sinian Pastry Shop is quite famous in Jiangnan City—What's wrong? You don't want to pay the management fee, is that it?"

Zhang Tianyi glanced at his subordinates behind him and said with a smile, "If you don't want us to manage it, that's fine too. But if someone comes into your shop to fight or cause trouble—"

Zhang Tianyi barged into the shop, took a freshly made lotus cake from the shelf, and violently threw it onto the ground.

CRASH—

The tin tray hit the granite floor, bounced, and skittered, scattering the lotus-scented cakes everywhere.

"Brother Tianyi, why do you have to push people to a dead end? It's not that I'm unwilling to pay the management fee, it's that I already paid it last month—once a month, we can still barely afford it. Twice a month, we really can't afford it—"

"So, you're refusing to pay?" Zhang Tianyi asked with a smile, his expression as pleasant as a Maitreya Buddha.

"Can it wait until next month—" Luo Qi said with difficulty. "My two children need to go to school, and the family has expenses. We rely on the little income from the shop each month to get by; it's really difficult—"

"Brother Tianyi, don't waste your breath on her, let's smash her shop—"

"Those who are unwilling to pay a small price will surely suffer a great loss—when you don't even have a shop, how will you feed your family—"

"If Brother Tianyi comes to you, it's destiny—do you dare to go against heaven?"

"Yo, Brother Baozi, that's some good flattery, so imposing and domineering—"

Zhang Tianyi looked at Luo Qi's still charming face and had other thoughts. He smiled and said, "Have you considered it? If you're unwilling to pay, there isn't no other solution—"

"What solution?" Luo Qi asked warily. She came from a prominent family and had a clear understanding of human nature. She didn't believe Zhang Tianyi would be kind enough to waive their fees.

"How about you accompany me for a drink? We can sit together like siblings, have a drink, and chat, and maybe we'll think of other solutions? Right? Widow Bai, who runs the restaurant across from you, go ask her, when have I ever charged her a management fee?"

Slap—

Zhang Tianyi's face was slapped.

Luo Qi's smile disappeared, and she stared at Zhang Tianyi with cold eyes, saying, "Don't even think about it."

"Tsk tsk tsk—" Zhang Tianyi reached up to touch his cheek where Luo Qi had slapped him, then licked his palm with his tongue, smiling and saying, "Fragrant. So fragrant. Smells like milk."

Zhang Tianyi waved his large hand and roared, "Brothers, smash the shop."

Crash—

A shelf was knocked over.

Bang—

The stove was smashed, creating a large hole.

"Don't smash our shop." The young girl from the pastry shop rushed forward, trying to stop them, but a large man grabbed her and kissed her tenderly on her soft cheek.

"Stop, all of you, stop—" Luo Qi shouted hoarsely, rushing forward to snatch the girl from the big man's embrace.

Zhang Tianyi stepped forward, blocking her with his sturdy body, and looked at Luo Qi with a lewd smile, saying, "Boss Luo, what's your decision? If you don't agree soon, this Sinian Pastry Shop will truly have nothing left—"

"Don't even think about it, I'd rather die than agree to your request—" Luo Qi yelled sharply.

"Look, look, you're just not as smart as Widow Bai across the way—it was originally a small matter, something that could have been easily resolved, why do you have to make it so complicated?" Zhang Tianyi said with regret.

He glanced at the devastated surroundings and smiled, saying, "My name is Zhang Tianyi, and my coming to find you is destiny—if you're unwilling to go with the flow of destiny, destiny won't let you continue to scrape by on this street. I don't care about other places, but here on Shuiliu Street, I call the shots—"

He raised his arm high, then slashed it down forcefully, shouting, "Smash it, smash it with all your might, I want nothing in this shop to be left standing—"