Everyone was still marveling at the sheer volume of blood in the bald man's body when something even more outrageous happened. His grown frame flew five zhang through the air, then plunged straight off the dock into the surging Dragon Whisker River.
While everyone stood dumbstruck, Xu Yi charged into the fray with Qiu Wa in his arms.
In the bald man's hands, the giant hammer might have been more useful for swaggering than fighting. In Xu Yi's hands, it was a downright deadly weapon.
His strength was peerless, making him perfectly suited to wield such a heavy weapon. He swung the hundred-plus-jin hammer with astonishing force. Every blow found its mark, accompanied by the sound of bones snapping and tendons tearing. Amid showers of blood, figures flew straight into the river.
In just a few breaths, the blisteringly fierce battle was over.
Xu Yi paid no mind to whether the onlookers were flushed with excitement, swept away in awe, or trembling in alarm, their hearts jolted.
He strode toward Zhou's steward, who had fallen to the ground, and said coldly, "Since you're in charge of receiving the catch, Uncle Mu wasn't demanding a high price and was still willing to sell the Great Green Carp to you. You should have upheld justice. Why instead did you act as a tiger's accomplice, bullying the old and the weak? The Great Green Carp is worth over a hundred taels on the market. Under the Great Yue Royal Court Edict, seizing goods worth more than a hundred taels merits three hundred strokes and exile to the frontier."
"Don't try to scare me, you bastard! You don't even know whose family I belong to. The county deputy of Baima County is my brother-in-law! Damn it, you think you can use that bullshit Great Yue law to deal with me? You're still wet behind the ears!"
Xu Yi's methods had been so astonishing that he'd wiped out in an instant all the hired thugs Zhou Yaya had painstakingly gathered. Zhou Yaya had been scared out of his wits, afraid Xu Yi might lose control and kill him too. But when he heard Xu Yi bring up some edict, he suddenly remembered who he was—and immediately puffed himself back up.
Xu Yi ignored him. He looked down at the little girl in his arms and said, "Qiu Wa, take a nap first. When you wake up, we'll be home. Bearded Uncle will buy you something tasty tonight."
As he spoke, Xu Yi was about to press a hand to Qiu Wa's neck when she said, "Bearded Uncle, I want to watch you beat up the bad guys. I'm not scared!"
The little girl was frighteningly clever.
"Good. Then watch Bearded Uncle avenge you!"
With that, Xu Yi turned to Zhou Yaya and said coldly, "I was going to waste some breath explaining your crime of violently resisting the law. But it seems there's no need. Heh, what a load of bullshit, this Great Yue law. You even dare to flout the edicts laid down by the Great Yue Royal Court. It seems you truly deserve to die ten thousand deaths!"
Whoosh!
The copper hammer struck the air, rippling it like water. A deafening crash followed, and dust billowed as if the earth itself had split open beneath the blow. When the dust thinned and the onlookers looked again, Zhou Yaya was nowhere to be seen. Only a crater more than a foot deep remained, filled with a mangled heap of flesh and blood.
Zhou Yaya, who had lorded over Furong Town for years, had been smashed to death with a single blow. His death was unimaginably gruesome.
The double shock to their eyes and hearts left countless onlookers unable to believe what they were seeing.
Xu Yi, however, was as calm as if he'd crushed an ant. Dragging the copper hammer, he walked to a stop one zhang from the Black-robed youth. Beneath the golden evening sun, Xu Yi's lean, sinewy figure seemed like a god descended from heaven.
"I never expected that a mere constable from a small town would have reached the late stage of Body Tempering. You'd be more than qualified to serve as a constable captain in the Constabulary Office of Baima County. Hiding away in Furong Town is a waste of your talent. What do you say? If you're willing, I can show you the way."
The Black-robed youth spoke coolly, as if nothing that had just happened had entered his eyes.
"So it was the pack of constables behind you who attacked Uncle Mu!"
Having lived two lives, Xu Yi knew perfectly well that the Black-robed youth was offering an olive branch. But Xu Yi valued loyalty above all else. What the Black-robed youth saw as merely messing with commoners had trampled on Xu Yi's most sensitive spot. Even if the Heavenly King himself came, it wouldn't matter.
"Don't mistake my restraint for weakness. Let me warn you first: no one who crosses the Black Dragon Hall meets a good end. Yes, this whole feud started with me. You killed Zhou and made me lose face. One blow for one blow—we're even. You're young, and I doubt you've ever ventured into the martial world. Remember, in this world, one more friend means one more road!"
The Black-robed youth's face was icy, but inside he was furious. If he'd been sure he could take Xu Yi, he would have blown his top already.
"Fuck you!"
Xu Yi's voice was as cold as black ice. He pointed the giant hammer at the group of uniformed constables and declared, "You surrounded and beat the old and weak, leaving people gravely injured. Under the Great Yue law, that merits a hundred strokes. I'll enforce the law on the Royal Court's behalf. There are no rods here, so I'll use a hammer instead. A hammer blow is heavier than a rod strike, so one blow for a hundred. In other words, each of you need only take one blow from me."
At his words, a ripple of amused laughter rose from the surrounding crowd.
Anyone with a brain knew what that laughter meant. Xu Yi's hammer blows were terrifyingly heavy. The bald man, who had vanished without a trace, and Zhou Yaya, whose body had been smashed to pieces, were proof enough.
He said one blow, but what he really meant was one life. The onlookers had long resented the Black-robed youth for leading a pack of uniformed thugs into Furong Town to throw their weight around. Now that the town's own law enforcement could give them a taste of their own medicine, the crowd was thrilled—and couldn't help feeling a little proud, too.
The uniformed constables were furious and humiliated, yet none dared move. They looked at one another, holding themselves back until they could barely stand it. At last, the Black-robed youth, who had been choking on his rage, snapped.
"Damn you all! What the hell are you standing around for? The Black Dragon Hall has never been scared to death! Get him! Hack him to pieces!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, he had seized a green short blade in his left hand and gripped a duck-egg-sized white iron gall in his right. With a savage expression, he charged straight at Xu Yi.
Xu Yi had truly driven him to the brink. He had offered Xu Yi an olive branch earlier because he valued his own life and didn't want to face him head-on. From the way Xu Yi had swiftly dealt with the bald man and his men, he'd concluded that Xu Yi, like himself, had reached the late stage of Body Tempering—and that Xu Yi had been at that stage for some time, unlike him, who had only just broken through.
As for whether Xu Yi had reached Body Tempering Peak, it never even crossed his mind. Across all of Guang'an City, fewer than a handful of people under thirty had reached Body Tempering Peak.
Though the man before him was scruffy and looked rather old, the bright, clear gleam in his eyes and the hard lines of his face betrayed his youth.
Besides, if he really were a Body Tempering Peak expert, Furong Town would be too small to hold him. Even Baima County would be.
Having gauged Xu Yi's cultivation, the Black-robed youth had been willing to make a show of civility and befriend him.
He hadn't expected Xu Yi's words to cut like knives, stripping away all his dignity. If he slunk away now, the Black Dragon Hall would make him pay when he returned.
Besides, he had a hidden trump card. Even if Xu Yi's cultivation was a little higher, he was confident that if he fought with all his might, he would have a good chance of winning.
Once he had made up his mind, the Black-robed youth finally attacked.
Before you continue