Raising a Hand to Break the Deadlock!

The scorching sun blazed overhead, roasting the earth.

It was midday. The streets were sparsely populated, and customers willing to shop at the pastry store were even rarer.

In such sweltering weather, inside such a sealed room, everyone was suffering under the heat, drenched in sweat.

It was not merely a problem with the weather. It was also a problem with Tianyi.

Zhang Tianyi was known throughout the area around Shuiliu Street as its street tyrant, a local overlord for a time. He was famous far and wide for having the most underlings and striking with the greatest ruthlessness. While his shadow loomed over Shuiliu Street and the several markets surrounding it, almost no one dared stand against him.

There had once been a heroic young man named Haonan, who had risen from Hongxing Street and gathered many iron-blooded men—his diehard brothers Shanj i, Bao#pi, and others—to brandish their blades and contend with Zhang Tianyi. In the end, he suffered a crushing defeat and fled to another land.

Zhang Tianyi was the king of Shuiliu Street. If he told someone to stand, they could only stand. If he told someone to kneel, they could only kneel. If he let someone do business, they could open a shop and make a living on this street. If he denied them business, then he would end up as he was now—kneeling before Li Mu Yang, pleading guilty and begging to survive.

In the past, Zhang Tianyi had always made others kneel. This time, Zhang Tianyi himself had knelt before someone else. Once word got out, it would surely shock Shuiliu Street and shake the entire West City.

Zhang Tianyi had never been tall to begin with. Once he knelt down, he became a little lump of flesh.

He wanted to raise his head and say a few more soft words to Li Mu Yang, but the moment his head rose, Li Mu Yang barked in a deep voice, "Insolent."

Zhang Tianyi hurriedly lowered his head and no longer dared to act recklessly.

Li Mu Yang stared down at Zhang Tianyi from above. His eyes were still blood-red, gazing at the top of Zhang Tianyi's head like two sword flashes.

Thus, Zhang Tianyi felt as though two bloody holes had already been pierced through his skull.

A chill radiated from Li Mu Yang's body. It was a dignity that made people afraid to challenge its edge, and a terror that set their hearts pounding.

Zhang Tianyi's body kept trembling. He trembled when Li Mu Yang flew into a rage, and trembled even more violently when Li Mu Yang fell silent. He had discovered that the silent Li Mu Yang was even more terrifying than the speaking Li Mu Yang.

"How many times did you collect it each month?" Li Mu Yang asked.

"What?" Zhang Tianyi raised his head and asked.

Smack—

Li Mu Yang slapped him. Zhang Tianyi's forehead slammed heavily into the stone floor, splitting the skin and drawing blood.

Zhang Tianyi knew he had made a mistake and hurriedly crawled up from the ground again.

He knelt carefully, head lowered and shoulders hunched, not daring to overstep in the slightest.

"I'm talking about the management fee," Li Mu Yang said in a low voice. "How many times did you collect it each month before?"

"Once a month." Zhang Tianyi quickly answered. "According to the rules, we used to collect it once a month, at the beginning of each month. After collecting it, we wouldn't disturb the merchants again— I was wrong, Big Brother. I was really wrong. I'll never dare do it again. This time I was a bastard. I deserved to die—"

Smack—

Li Mu Yang slapped him again. Zhang Tianyi's forehead slammed heavily into the granite floor once more. Li Mu Yang had struck with too much force, leaving Zhang Tianyi's forehead a bloody mess, as though the flesh were about to rot away.

"I ask the questions, you answer them. Don't say anything I haven't asked, and don't beg either. You can't beg your life back. You can only save it yourself."

"Yes, yes—"

"Why did you change it?" Li Mu Yang asked again.

"Because—I was greedy. I've been short of money lately and lost too much at the gambling house, so I thought I'd collect the management fee from these merchants one more time to ease my living situation."

"Did you collect it from the other shops too?"

"I only just collected from two—"

"Did they pay?"

"They did."

"Which two?"

"The restaurant belonging to Widow Bai, diagonally across the street, and the teahouse next door."

Li Mu Yang thought for a moment and said, "If I'm not mistaken, both of those businesses have close ties with you? You collected management fees from your own property?"

"No, no—"

Li Mu Yang's voice grew colder. "It seems you don't want to save your life after all."

Bang, bang, bang—

Zhang Tianyi's head pounded against the floor. Again and again, he struck it with all his strength.

Zhang Tianyi was thoroughly terrified. He sobbed and pleaded for mercy. "Big Brother, I was wrong. I'll confess everything. I was ordered by someone to come collect a second month's management fee from your family. They gave me ten Gold Coins and said that if I could collect the second month's fee from your family, they would give me another hundred Gold Coins—I thought, what a stroke of luck. I was idle anyway, so I brought my brothers and charged over to your home."

"I knew your mother was in charge here. I thought a woman would be easier to bully. If I acted tough, she could only obediently hand over the money. That way, I'd get another month's management fee as well as a hundred Gold Coins—who would have thought, who would have thought your damn mother's temper would be so stubborn? She refused to give it to me, so I threatened to smash the shop—"

"I'm afraid things aren't quite that simple, are they?" Li Mu Yang understood his mother's character. Luo Qi was gentle on the outside but unyielding within, and not easily swayed. However, she was also highly skilled at judging the situation and adapting to circumstances. When she realized that her family or friends were in grave danger, she would never care about such a small amount of money—she donated no small sum to poor families every month, and even Xiaoting from the shop was someone she had brought back from the streets. In her eyes, life mattered far more than money.

Yet when the situation had become this terrible, his mother still refused to compromise. That proved things were not as Zhang Tianyi had explained.

"I—I had some other intentions too—I lost my head to lust for a moment. I thought—I thought—" Zhang Tianyi truly could not bring himself to say, I wanted to sleep with your mother.

In the past, he could have proudly told others, I slept with your mother. But now, kneeling before this young man and having personally witnessed the might of that young man's fist, he truly had no such courage.

Shamelessness was something that required strength to support it!

"I understand." Li Mu Yang's expression grew even more unpleasant. He stared coldly at Zhang Tianyi and said, "Unfortunately, you didn't save your life."

"Big Brother, Big Brother—Luo Qi, Boss Luo, hurry and save me! Your son is going to kill someone—he's really going to kill someone—"

"Mu Yang—" Luo Qi called out.

Li Mu Yang turned to look at her. The blood in his eyes faded, and a gentle smile appeared on his face. His gaze was filled with affection—yes, that was exactly what Luo Qi felt when she met his eyes.

He did not seem like her son. He seemed more like a compassionate elder who cherished her.

"It's all right," Li Mu Yang said softly.

Li Mu Yang threw a punch.

Puff—

There was a sound like flesh exploding, and then Zhang Tianyi's body vanished into thin air.

His body, flesh, blood, and bones all disappeared without a trace, as though they had never existed at all.

In a corner of the street, in front of a roasted sweet potato stall, an old man eating a sweet potato stopped peeling it when he heard the commotion. He could not help crying out, "Supreme Golden Body Art. This boy can actually destroy the physical body and burn away the blood, leaving not the slightest trace—"

After thinking for a moment, he gently shook his head.

"No, it doesn't seem so. It isn't the 'Supreme Golden Body Art.' The 'Supreme Golden Body Art' is a Daoist treasure. All Daoist techniques carry a flavor of desirelessness and non-action. This boy's punch was murderous, and the wild, domineering force and bloody aura within it were far too heavy—it looks more like a demonic art. To achieve the might and effect of the 'Supreme Golden Body Art' through sheer brute force alone, what exactly is this boy's background?"

"It seems things are becoming more and more interesting." The black-robed old man tossed several copper coins onto the table, then hunched over and walked down the lonely, deserted street.

Yan Bolai was burying himself in work when the potted cherry tomatoes on his desk suddenly began to tremble slightly. A small tomato fell onto the desk and rolled toward the manuscript he was writing.

Uncle Yan picked up the little fruit and glanced at it, then tossed it back into the flowerpot before pressing the eyes of the bronze beast pen holder on the desk.

Whoosh—

The Tiger Roaring Mountains Painting parted to both sides, revealing a pitch-black hole in the middle of the wall.

A man in black robes walked out and stood before Uncle Yan's desk. He said respectfully, "We had someone test him. This boy is extremely well-hidden, and his attacks are extraordinary. With a single punch, he actually created the momentum of wind and clouds changing color. The final punch was especially wondrous, possessing the mighty energy and authority of the Daoist 'Supreme Golden Body Art' that destroys the physical body."

Uncle Yan set down the brush in his hand, lifted his teacup, took a sip, and asked, "How does he compare with Xiangma?"

"The young master is probably slightly inferior," the black-robed man said solemnly.

When a subordinate said "slightly inferior," it meant "far behind." Uncle Yan understood such polite words.

Yan Xiangma slightly furrowed his brows and asked, "Did you discover his origins?"

"No." The old man said with regret, "I heard him fight from close by. His method of attacking was simple and direct, without any technique, and there were no signs of any sect or school. He relied solely on the brute force within his body to injure and kill his enemies."

"That is strange." Uncle Yan's squarish face revealed a faint smile. "Relying solely on brute force to injure people, yet earning such praise from you? Even Yan Xiangma, who is at the mid-stage of the High Mountain Realm, is 'slightly inferior'—who exactly is he?"

"This subordinate does not know."

"If he has a hidden identity, then why did he erupt into violence and kill someone after suffering such a minor setback? If he has no hidden identity, why conceal his true strength? Could it be that he was simply born with divine strength, and the rest is not worth worrying about?"

The man in black did not answer. His master naturally had an answer in his heart.

"Born with brute strength, but lamentably short on intelligence." Uncle Yan's voice carried a mocking edge. "Xiangma had only just helped him conceal his identity and hide him somewhere safe. Who would have thought that after tossing out a few insignificant fish, he would impatiently leap out again? And what a leap it was—Xiangma's painstaking efforts have all gone to waste."

"You are right, Master. Now that Li Mu Yang has displayed his might, those who originally believed the young master was the mastermind behind the killing of the Crow's main force will probably shift their attention back onto him once again. They'll think the young master wanted to take the credit for himself and used his authority to seize Li Mu Yang's achievements and reward. Didn't the young master specifically have someone send him fifteen hundred Gold Coins? That can also be considered proof—Li Mu Yang will once again be swept into a treacherous maelstrom of circumstances."

"We must find a way to pull Xiangma out of this." Uncle Yan sighed softly. "That boy doesn't know the weight of things or how dangerous this matter is. For the sake of loyalty and affection, he actually stepped forward and made himself a target. Once those people act, it will be a Never-ending Battle. With Yan Xiangma's little cultivation, how will he protect himself if he encounters a powerful enemy?"

"Master, your raising a hand to break the deadlock is truly admirable. That Li Mu Yang—"

"Since we've already thrown him into the sunlight to be scorched, whatever demons and monsters are hidden within his body—those people probably want to find out even more than we do, don't you think? I can't see the whole picture alone, so let's have everyone else take a look as well."