Crisis

Lu Chuan let out a cold laugh. "Ha, your whole family really knows how to play the victim and turn things around."

"It was your Xinghua who coveted my Golden Pheasant. When I refused to hand it over, she tried to grab it by force, so I slapped some sense into her. Now you're twisting the story?"

Xinghua refused to admit it. "Lu Chuan, how can you slander me like that!"

Among the gathered villagers, many were already familiar with Xinghua's family's ways, and someone immediately spoke up for him:

"That sounds reasonable! Chuanzi's always been an honest kid—he wouldn't hit someone for no reason."

"Exactly. That girl Xinghua... tsk, she's got a deep streak. She probably came here eyeing that rare game."

"I think so too. Xinghua takes after her mother—can't stand missing out on a bargain..."

The tide of gossip shifted instantly.

Seeing the situation turn against her, Lu Qinshi cut in sharply:

"Bullshit!"

Her spittle nearly sprayed onto the faces of the crowd.

"My Xinghua would steal your Golden Pheasant? What's so precious about that scrawny bird of yours? You're just a toad lusting after swan meat, and when she turned you down, you couldn't save face, so you hit her! Now you want to ruin my daughter's reputation?"

"Lu Chuan, you're so young, how can you be so vicious!"

Xinghua lifted her face at just the right moment, her voice plaintive:

"Father, mother, don't say anymore... It's my fault. I shouldn't have... shouldn't have talked to him so much..."

Lu San stepped forward, his burly frame radiating menace:

"Brat! Hitting is hitting! No matter how much you talk, that slap mark on my daughter's face—did you put it there or not? Huh?!"

Lu Chuan watched the three of them perform in perfect sync, but his heart remained utterly calm.

His voice was cold and hard. "I hit her. But I've already made clear why."

"Who saw it? Who saw my daughter steal from you?"

Lu Qinshi planted her hands on her hips, utterly shrewish.

"Anyone step up to testify? Huh? No witnesses means it didn't happen! You're just spouting venom!"

They'd met at the village entrance—where would witnesses come from?

This was pure sophistry.

Lu San took over, his tone bullying:

"Enough talk! You hit someone, so you have to apologize and make amends. We won't ask for much,"

His eyes gleamed with greed. "That Golden Pheasant you shot... give it to my daughter to calm her nerves, and kowtow properly, and this matter is settled! Otherwise..."

Lu San clenched a fist the size of a bowl, the threat plain.

Lu Qinshi chimed in at once: "Right! Hand over the Golden Pheasant! Then it's over! If you dare refuse... don't blame us for being rude!"

The two played off each other, aggressive and loud.

Among the watching villagers, some shook their heads, some stayed silent, and a few showed looks of pity.

But cowed by Lu San's brutality, no one dared step forward to speak for Lu Chuan.

Seeing Lu San finally drop all pretense, a faint sneer curled at the corner of Lu Chuan's mouth:

"This pheasant—I'm not giving it to you. What are you going to do about it?"

"Not give it? Then I'll beat you!" Lu San let out a vicious grin.

He was a brute who believed in fists—if he could fight, he never wasted words. And this half-grown kid daring to provoke him? Just what he wanted!

The words barely left his mouth before his fist, big as a sandbag, shot straight at Lu Chuan's face!

The punch carried heavy force—if it landed, his nose would surely break.

Among the watching villagers, a woman gasped.

But to everyone's astonishment, facing this swift blow, Lu Chuan's expression remained utterly calm.

He simply slid half a step back and to the side just as the fist was about to connect.

The heavy punch whistled past his ear.

Missing cleanly, Lu San paused for a moment.

"You little bastard, pretty quick on your feet!"

Lu San growled, lunging again, his fists raining down on Lu Chuan. "Let's see if your luck holds this time!"

But what happened next made everyone's eyes go wide.

Facing Lu San's storm of blows, Lu Chuan moved with uncanny agility.

A slight twist of his body, a duck of his head, or a clever retreat—and each heavy punch missed by a hair.

"Huff... huff..."

After several rounds of fierce assault, Lu San was already panting heavily, and doubt crept into his mind.

This kid was damn strange—every dodge was perfectly timed!

But admitting in front of all these villagers that he couldn't handle a half-grown boy? Where would he put his face?

"Kid! Have the balls to stop running! If you're a man, take my punch head-on!"

Lu Chuan rolled his eyes at that.

This Lu San weighed at least a hundred sixty or seventy pounds, relying on brute strength to throw wild haymakers. Taking that head-on with his own frame? That was just asking for trouble.

Only a fool wouldn't dodge!

Still, after those few evasions, he had a much clearer grasp of Eagle Eye.

It wasn't just seeing farther or sharper—the key was predicting the opponent's attack trajectory in advance!

Lu San's movements looked like they were a beat slow in his eyes, full of obvious openings.

"You've had your fun long enough." Lu Chuan's gaze sharpened.

When Lu San came swinging at him again, Lu Chuan sidestepped the heavy punch and, in the same motion, kicked at Lu San's lower body!

"Ow!"

Lu San felt a piercing pain shoot through his groin and collapsed flat on the ground.

The whole scene went dead silent.

Everyone present stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing—the burly Lu San on the ground and the half-grown boy before them.

This was nothing like what they'd expected.

After that kick, Lu Chuan didn't care if anyone called him underhanded.

He was nowhere near as strong as the other guy. If he didn't use a dirty trick, going head-to-head would only leave him at a disadvantage, wasting his strength.

With Lu San dealt with, Lu Chuan swept his gaze over to Lu Qinshi and Xinghua, who were already frozen in fear.

Lu Qinshi shuddered all over.

Seeing her husband, the family's toughest fighter, laid out and unable to get up, only terror remained.

This kid... wasn't he just a half-grown boy with no fuzz on his chin?

Her man was so solid, all that strength, never came out on the losing end in the village—how could he have lost?!

Trembling, Lu Qinshi yanked her daughter Xinghua in front of her:

"Lu Chuan! You... stop right there! What do you think you're doing? Hitting women? Is there no law anymore!"

Xinghua's face went pale with fright as she clung to her mother's arm, not daring to meet Lu Chuan's eyes.

The villagers watching from the sidelines saw Lu San taken down, and more than a few wore smug expressions.

Lu Qinshi usually threw her weight around the village thanks to her husband's strength, and she'd made plenty of enemies.

Right then, someone couldn't resist stirring the pot:

"Hey! Wouldn't have guessed it, Chuanzi's got some real skill! Look at that dodge..."

"No kidding! That sweep kick—fast, vicious, on the mark! Chuanzi's a true person who doesn't show his hand!"

"Hey, Lu San's wife, you're usually so loud, aren't you? Scared now?"

"Someone should've put her in her place long ago! Chuanzi, good one!"

Seeing no one around to speak up for her, Lu Qinshi's heart sank even further.

As Lu Chuan stepped closer to them, mother and daughter, her panic spiked.

"You... don't come any closer! One more step and I'll scream! Help! Lu Chuan's going to kill someone!"

Lu Chuan stopped in front of them, his eyes full of disgust.

"Hit you?" Lu Chuan let out a scornful laugh. "I'd dirty my hands."

His voice dropped sharply:

"Get lost!"

"Right now. Out of my sight."

Seeing that Lu Chuan was letting them off, Lu Qinshi didn't dare linger.

She quickly dragged the dazed Xinghua over to Lu San.

"Husband, get up! Let's go, go!"

The three of them fled like beaten dogs, vanishing into the darkness.

Outside the yard, the villagers who'd been watching saw the show was over and gradually dispersed.

Lu Chuan was about to turn back inside when a few stray words drifted over:

"Hey, don't think the Lu kid's so tough today—in a few days, he'll be lucky if he's not on his knees begging for mercy..."