Unable to Sleep or Eat in Peace

Xu Yunfan's kick had not been vicious to the extreme, but he had certainly had no intention of holding back in the slightest.

His foot landed squarely on Fei Shimei's body, his movement crisp and decisive without the slightest hesitation. It was obvious that he had shown no mercy at all.

The sight nearly made Qin Bo lose control. His blood surged, and he almost rushed forward recklessly to fight Xu Yunfan to the death.

He knew full well that if anything happened to Fei Shimei, he would never escape blame. Even death ten thousand times over would not absolve him.

When the time came, Fei Qi, the master of the Surging Wave Sect, would definitely take it out on him.

Xu Yunfan was also feeling utterly vexed.

He had merely bought a courtyard on a whim. Who could have imagined that it had once belonged to a Great Accomplishment Martial Master returning home in glory—and that the man happened to want to buy it back?

There was, in fact, another empty courtyard next door. Though its location was slightly worse, Xu Yunfan could accept it.

If Qin Bo had come politely from the start, explained his purpose amicably, and offered sufficient compensation, Xu Yunfan might actually have seriously considered selling the courtyard.

But Qin Bo had come in shouting about killing and fighting. The moment he realized he was no match for Xu Yunfan, he immediately changed his tune.

Xu Yunfan thought to himself, for an ordinary person, if a Great Accomplishment Martial Master wanted the house they had just bought, they would not dare utter a single word of protest.

They would probably have been utterly manipulated by Qin Bo, swallowed whole without even a place to seek justice.

Qin Bo's expression shifted between green and white. He knew that the man before him clearly had no intention of letting this go easily.

But Fei Shimei had indeed been in the wrong first. She had drawn her sword and started shouting about killing and fighting—without strength, who could endure that?

After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and forced out the words, "Fei Shimei has banknotes on her. Brother, you may take five hundred taels as our apology."

Xu Yunfan raised his brows upon hearing this. He truly had not expected Qin Bo to endure this much. It genuinely surprised him.

After pondering for a moment, under Qin Bo's nearly twisted gaze, he reached into Fei Shimei's robes and searched around. Sure enough, he pulled out a stack of banknotes.

He casually glanced at them. Most were worth one hundred taels of silver each, and the thick stack was quite eye-catching.

Without hesitation, Xu Yunfan stuffed the entire stack into his pocket. Qin Bo immediately grew anxious and said in a deep voice, "Brother, isn't that a little unreasonable?"

Xu Yunfan sneered. "What's unreasonable about it? Besides the cost of your apology, there's also compensation for my emotional distress, lost wages, nutritional expenses, psychological counseling, daily operating costs, loss of time, and all sorts of other expenses. Add it all up, and this silver still isn't enough! I'm only letting it go so easily because you're young and inexperienced, ignorant of the ways of the world. Otherwise, how could I possibly let this end so easily?"

The veins on Qin Bo's forehead throbbed violently. It took tremendous effort for him to suppress his rage before he said quietly, "Then... could you sell the courtyard to me?"

"I'll think about it."

Xu Yunfan answered unhurriedly.

Upon hearing that, Qin Bo could only swallow his anger and agree.

Watching Xu Yunfan remove his foot from Fei Shimei's stomach and retreat several steps, Qin Bo did not dare relax in the slightest. He warily glanced at Xu Yunfan before stepping forward and scooping Fei Shimei up.

"Brother, mountains remain unchanged and green waters flow on. We will visit again another day!"

Xu Yunfan's eyes flickered as he watched Qin Bo's departing figure leave behind those words and quickly depart. He remained silent.

He knew that with someone like Fei Shimei around—someone who did not know the limits of her own strength and spoke of killing at every turn—the phrase "visit again another day" lodged in his heart like a thorn.

To put it simply, he would be unable to sleep or eat in peace.

But this Surging Wave Sect...

Xu Yunfan silently let out a breath. Sitting quietly at home, yet disaster fell from the sky.

After Qin Bo turned a corner and vanished completely from sight, Xu Yunfan immediately strode after him without hesitation.

He understood that if he truly fought Qin Bo here, the commotion would certainly be enormous.

A Martial Master who had reached Great Accomplishment could split steles and shatter rocks with a casual blow. Unless Xu Yunfan could crush his opponent outright, once a fight broke out, the surrounding houses might suffer as well. If it drew the authorities' attention, they might uncover the previous owner's identity. He had to find another way—one that would resolve the matter silently was the simplest and most effective.

Of course, it would be best if no conflict arose.

But when he recalled the girl's vicious appearance, he felt that a peaceful resolution was unlikely. From his previous life in the workplace, Xu Yunfan had learned that lesson deeply.

Xu Yunfan followed far behind Qin Bo at an unhurried pace. His hunting skills allowed him to keep a high chance of remaining undiscovered while tracking prey.

Following someone without drawing attention was incredibly simple for him.

The bustling crowds on the street and the clutter piled beside the road served as his cover. He always maintained a distance from Qin Bo that was neither too close nor too far.

Xu Yunfan stopped at the street corner and calmly watched Qin Bo support Fei Shimei into an inn.

Having confirmed Qin Bo's lodgings, Xu Yunfan did not linger. He quietly turned around and swiftly returned to his own courtyard.

Inside the inn, Qin Bo hurriedly carried Fei Yao to the bed and gently laid her down. Then he straightened, his expression complicated as he stared at her.

His face looked as though a jar of seasonings had been overturned upon it, all kinds of emotions intertwining. At times, it was as dark as ink; at others, a faint, inscrutable ripple surfaced.

Along the way, Fei Yao had been arrogant and domineering to the extreme, stirring up trouble everywhere she went.

Qin Bo had followed behind her, cleaning up one mess after another. He had no idea how much effort he had spent tidying up after her.

Especially today. Fei Yao had actually drawn her sword and tried to charge into the courtyard on her own, utterly disregarding the consequences.

In the past, it had not mattered much. Most of the people they encountered had been ordinary commoners, and killing them was no great issue. But now she had encountered someone tough like Xu Yunfan and kicked an iron plate.

Qin Bo pondered privately. If they ultimately failed to redeem the courtyard, had that fellow already obtained the thing hidden inside?

At that thought, his gaze fell upon the unconscious Fei Yao, and an almost imperceptible viciousness flashed through his eyes.

A thought he could not suppress arose in his heart.

Find an opportunity to send this junior sister to someone they could not afford to provoke. With only a few provoking words from him, he could easily get rid of this troublemaker.

But the moment that thought appeared, he hesitated again. Fei Yao had Fei Qi behind her. If he truly did this, what would happen if Fei Qi came to settle accounts with him later?

The more Qin Bo thought about it, the more agitated he became, and his heart sank in frustration.

Back then, he had attached himself to Fei Yao in order to enter the Surging Wave Sect. He had thought it would be a path to greatness, but now it felt as if he had fallen into a swamp and was suffering the consequences of his own actions.

Just then, Fei Yao let out a soft groan. Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly woke.

She opened her eyes groggily, and the first thing she saw was Qin Bo's seemingly concerned face.

When Qin Bo saw that she was awake, his face immediately filled with concern. He anxiously asked, "Fei Shimei, how are you feeling? You're all right, aren't you?"

Fei Yao felt her face grow warm, and a trace of shyness rose in her heart.

Hearing his question, she instinctively covered her stomach and frowned slightly as she carefully felt herself over. Then she gently shook her head and said softly, "I'm fine. That man's kick was somewhat strong, but fortunately, it did not injure anything vital."

After a pause, Fei Yao asked, "Senior Brother, did you deal with that man?"