Martial Division Arrives, Snake Meat Comes Home!

"Red-haired Ganoderma!"

Chen Yu was the first to shout, then quickly covered her mouth, her eyes wide as brass gongs as she stared at her brother.

"Th-this... where did it come from?!" Chen Yuxu shot to his feet, reaching out to grab it but then yanking his hand back.

A Red-haired Ganoderma this big—even larger than the one Li Ming had found back then!

"Did you go to Qingshan?" Chen Yuxu hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes brimming with immense shock mixed with a trace of anger, relief, joy, and complexity.

The living room fell silent.

Inside Chen Yu's Consciousness World, the Red-dressed Woman's distant-mountain-like brows furrowed slightly before lifting again, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Chen Yan glanced at his startled father and sister, about to recount his day's experience.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the yard.

"Chen Yuxu, get out here!"

"You hit someone and think you can run, huh? Think you can get away?!"

Outside the yard, a sudden uproar broke out.

Thump thump thump!

The sound of iron bars pounding against the wooden door rang out, and the faces of the three in the living room all changed drastically.

Chen Yuxu stood up in an instant and shot Chen Yan a look.

Chen Yan nodded, took the Red-haired Ganoderma back to his room, and stuffed it into his backpack.

When Chen Yan walked back out to the living room, he saw his uncle Hu Zeyuan leading five or six men standing in the yard, facing off against Chen Yuxu.

"You little brat, you dare hit my son!"

Hu Zeyuan spotted Chen Yan first, his eyes gleaming with malice, all pretense of politeness gone.

The five or six men behind him smoked cigarettes, some holding sticks, all sneering at Chen Yuxu.

Chen Yu tugged at Chen Yuxu's arm, looking a bit nervous at the scene:

"Un-uncle... what's wrong?"

"Don't call me uncle!"

A low roar rang out as Hu Zeyuan swept a harsh glare at Chen Yu:

"Your mother's dead, so our families have nothing to do with each other anymore, got it?"

Behind him, the men Hu Zeyuan brought along all snickered.

Chen Yan's expression turned cold. It seemed Hu Yuan had told Hu Zeyuan about being knocked flying with one punch.

But so what?

It looked like Chen Yuxu was about to blow this up. Chen Yan narrowed his eyes—this kind of family tie had long since been broken.

Pulling at the nervous Chen Yu, Chen Yan prepared to step to the front, but his body was blocked by Chen Yuxu.

Chen Yuxu's face was grim. He didn't immediately ask about the incident itself; Hu Zeyuan bringing so many people had already threatened the safety of his children.

That was the priority.

But the next moment, Chen Yuxu's expression turned even darker.

Even Hu Zeyuan and his men, who had just entered, looked back, their faces strange.

Outside the open yard gate, a three-wheeled cart was parked by the roadside. A Mediterranean man in Town Martial Hall uniform watched everything happening in the yard.

It was the same man who had come to Chen Yan's house that morning looking for Chen Yuxu and told Chen Yan to pass along the message to move out of the Noodle Shop early.

He was a staff member from the town's Town Martial Hall. Though not a martial artist, his arrival instantly silenced the group about to erupt in the yard.

After a moment of surprise, Chen Yuxu's face grew even uglier.

"Heh heh." Hu Zeyuan snapped out of it too, crossing his arms to enjoy the show.

"Li Wusi, you're here." Chen Yuxu stepped forward, glanced at his children, and spoke tensely:

"The town's Noodle Shop—I'll move out tomorrow."

He already knew the shop had been assigned to Zhang Ge by the Town Mayor. This Li Wusi had come twice before, each time telling him to vacate quickly.

But now, with Hu Zeyuan causing trouble at his home, the very thing he didn't want his children to know about was exposed the moment the Martial Hall officer arrived.

Chen Yuxu took a deep breath, forcing a smile as he looked at Li Wusi.

Beside Chen Yan, Chen Yu opened her mouth, tears glistening in her eyes.

Even with a great opportunity at hand, at this moment, only one sentence echoed in the sixteen-year-old girl's mind.

Their family's storefront was gone.

Inside Chen Yu's Consciousness World, the Red-dressed Woman felt her beloved disciple's emotional turmoil, a hint of tenderness in her eyes.

She was already thinking of words to encourage her disciple to learn from shame and strive harder.

Hu Zeyuan and his group exchanged bewildered glances, watching the scene unfold like a joke.

"Old Chen."

The martial officer surnamed Li spoke two words, and everyone present shifted expressions. The sudden courtesy even left Chen Yuxu stunned.

"Don't rush about the shop. Move whenever you want—just do it before the week after next."

The balding man laughed heartily, sweeping his gaze across the few people in the yard. In an instant, he grasped what had happened, then locked his eyes on Chen Yan.

Compared to his indifference this morning, he now looked at Chen Yan with a kind smile:

"Not bad, Old Chen. You really raised a fine son."

As he spoke, the balding man lifted a burlap sack from his tricycle. The sack was soaked through with blood, dripping water onto the ground.

"This is Snake Meat, ten catties. That Lord sent it over."

Saying this, he handed the Snake Meat to the stunned Chen Yuxu. Even the balding man's eyes showed envy as he looked at the sack, and he couldn't help swallowing.

He knew full well the value of this Snake Meat, but sending it to the Chen Family was That Lord's arrangement. No matter how much he craved it, he only dared to sniff it, not even touch it.

"Martial Officer Li, this is..." Chen Yuxu was dazed, as clueless as everyone else in the yard.

"Go ask your son. I don't know what happened either." The balding man laughed, then walked over to Chen Yan and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket:

"That Lord asked me to give this to you. I didn't read it, and I wouldn't dare to."

Chen Yan's eyes flickered. He took the paper:

"Thank you, Martial Officer."

The balding man was quite satisfied with Chen Yan's attitude. Then he scanned the yard, his gaze landing on the equally stunned Hu Zeyuan and his group. He immediately barked:

"Trespassing on private property, still holding clubs—what do you think you're doing?!"

Hu Zeyuan's face changed. Beside him, a young man was so startled by the shout that the club in his hand clattered to the ground.

"Old Li, I..." Hu Zeyuan hurriedly explained. Though he didn't know why the balding man was so kind to the Chen Family, he understood he was now at a disadvantage.

"Old Li?" The balding man frowned.

"Who do you think you are to call me Old Li?

All of you, come with me. We're going to the station to take statements!"

If this were an ordinary day, the balding martial officer might have let it slide. He'd even eaten with Hu Zeyuan before, so he would have turned a blind eye.

But today was different. He knew Chen Yan had ties with That Lord, which meant Chen Yan's status was no longer that of an ordinary high school student.

Gulp...

Hu Zeyuan swallowed hard. His gaze faltered as he looked around, and for some reason, his eyes landed on the youth standing behind Chen Yuxu.

Even an idiot could see that the balding man was helping the Chen Family because of Chen Yan.

What the hell did this kid do?

His mind buzzing, Hu Zeyuan tried several times to speak, but was herded out of the yard along with the others by the balding man.

As for the balding martial officer, he only turned back to look into the yard when he reached the gate, laughing as if with emotion:

"Old Chen, you really raised a fine son."

Outside the gate, Hu Zeyuan and his group stood obediently behind the tricycle, each wearing expressions of helplessness and bitterness.

As for the household next to the Chen Family, Old Master Li, who had been pressing his ear to the door to eavesdrop on the joke, now stared with dark, brooding eyes, his head lowered in silence.

The balding man glanced at the old man, opened his mouth, his eyes full of complexity, but said nothing.

The deaths of Li Xuan and his father—other martial officers would come to deal with that family later. It wasn't his business.

"You lot, keep up."

The balding man said, starting the tricycle. Hu Zeyuan and the others, faces twisted in misery, began jogging after it.

Villagers one after another pointed and laughed, jeering without pause.

The sight was utterly ridiculous.