Want to Hit Me? Just Pay Up!

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing stared blankly, their eyes fixed on what lay ahead.

Li Qingxue was delicately pinching a Wild Ginseng between two fingers, her expression calm, as though she had merely picked up an ordinary radish.

That ginseng was worth a fortune. In other people's eyes, it was as precious as a treasure, yet in her hands, it was no different from a weed.

At some point, she had produced a small jade knife in her other hand, thin as a willow leaf.

Her fingers moved, and a cold gleam flashed as she deftly sliced off a small piece of the ginseng, about a third of a knuckle in length.

Then she placed the small piece of ginseng root into her mouth, chewed it carefully several times, and slowly swallowed it.

The entire process was quiet and graceful, carrying even a hint of ritual-like austerity.

Three sudden "gulp" sounds rang out from the table beside them.

They were the unmistakable sounds of people swallowing their saliva, all at once.

Li Qingxue put away the wooden box and left with graceful steps, never once turning her head.

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing withdrew their gazes and looked at the roast chicken on the plate.

They had thought it was a feast of delicacies before, but now it looked so cheap and shabby.

A desperate desire to grow stronger and make money, like a flame, began to blaze wildly in both their hearts.

In the face of that Wild Ginseng, the danger of the Misty Swamp no longer seemed quite as frightening as before.

After lunch, Zhao Tianxing went to the boxing grounds.

Chu Fan returned to his lodgings and continued pondering the first layer of the "Ninefold Thunderclap Saber."

He would condense his third strand of Blood Qi tonight, so he only practiced the "Ninefold Thunderclap Saber" for two hours at his lodgings today and did not practice "Twelve Forms Boxing."

Aside from chopping firewood, he spent the rest of his time reading widely in the Library Pavilion.

When Weishi arrived, he went with everyone else to the Training Ground.

The Training Ground was already packed with people, all craning their necks in anticipation.

Cao Feng, however, was still lying in a pavilion chair, staring absently at the sky.

Zhao Tianxing walked over to Chu Fan and followed Cao Feng's gaze. He saw only a few scattered clouds in the sky and could not help muttering, "What do you think Cao Shi is looking at? What's so interesting about a few clouds?"

"What do you know?" Chu Fan raised his voice slightly. "Unshaken by honor or disgrace, watch the flowers bloom and wither in front of the courtyard."

"Care nothing for staying or leaving, gaze upon the clouds gathering and dispersing in the sky."

"Cao Shi's state of mind is far beyond what you can fathom."

Inside the pavilion, Cao Feng quietly pricked up his ears.

He felt as if he had drunk Sweet Wine, an indescribable ease filling his chest.

His state of mind had not originally been like this.

As a Protector in the gang, he had been suppressed and ostracized. He had strength with nowhere to use it and words with nowhere to speak them. The stifled resentment and frustration had left his state of mind in truly terrible shape.

Yet he had never expected Chu Fan's two sentences to enlighten him.

Unshaken by honor or disgrace, caring nothing for staying or leaving...

Not rejoicing when he gained something, not worrying when he lost it.

Not allowing external things to delight him, nor personal circumstances to sadden him.

That was it!

So it was simply that he had disdained fighting for anything!

It was as though a pair of Shackles had snapped apart with a clear crack.

Cao Feng felt utterly refreshed, even more delighted than when he had discovered Chu Fan's talent.

This boy possessed peerless talent, and his words struck straight to Cao Feng's heart.

He absolutely had to memorize these two lines.

All around them, the young men stared at Chu Fan with their mouths agape.

In the past, they had racked their brains without understanding why Chu Fan had won Instructor Cao's favor and enjoyed the same treatment as Zhao Tianxing.

Now, they finally understood...

Anything could be pierced, but flattery never failed.

This guy was a master bootlicker!

At the edge of the crowd, Li Qingxue stood with her hands behind her back and could not help taking a few more looks at Chu Fan.

At that moment, Cao Feng walked out of the pavilion with his face glowing. "Today, each of you will find an opponent and spar through actual combat."

"I will offer pointers from the side."

The silence was broken.

The Training Ground immediately became lively.

Many people found their friends, marked off sections of the Training Ground as arenas, and prepared to determine who was superior.

Chu Fan had just turned around when several unfamiliar young men blocked his path.

They were the same people he had seen in the dining hall, the ones who had wanted to "teach him a lesson."

Chu Fan's gaze passed over them and landed on the girl standing behind them.

Once he got a clear look at her, he laughed helplessly, already understanding the reason.

This girl was precisely the person Zhao Tianxing had cursed away that day.

That day, Chu Fan had been seated at the table beside Li Qingxue's. The girl had mocked him and tried to sow discord between him and Zhao Tianxing.

Zhao Tianxing had chased her away with a harsh scolding.

Unexpectedly, she had taken her anger out on him and brought people to provoke him today!

The young man at the front was a head shorter than Chu Fan and wore a mocking smile. "Chu Fan, how about a spar?"

Chu Fan tilted his head. "How long have you been practicing boxing?"

The short young man's lips curled upward. "I joined the Seven Star Gang over three months ago."

"Then... no fight." Chu Fan turned around, only to be blocked by several others.

"What are you trying to do?" Zhao Tianxing shoved one of them aside. "Want a fight? Easy enough. I'll fight you!"

Those people were clearly afraid of Zhao Tianxing and instinctively retreated several steps.

How could they dare fight Zhao Tianxing?

When Zhao Tianxing had joined the Seven Star Gang, his Blood Qi had already been comparable to that of a Blood Nourishment martial artist.

He had also fought wild beasts in the Mountains and forests since childhood. How could their actual combat experience compare to his?

"Are you afraid?" The short young man ignored Zhao Tianxing and stared only at Chu Fan. "It's just a spar. Surely you're not so scared that you won't even dare?"

By then, more and more onlookers had gathered nearby.

Everyone loved watching a spectacle. The moment they noticed something happening here, many people stopped caring about the actual combat spar and formed a ring around the outside to watch.

"Even if I'm afraid, there's no shame in it," Chu Fan said indifferently. "A person who has practiced boxing for only Twenty Days being afraid of someone who has practiced for over three months—isn't that perfectly normal?"

"If you want to talk about shame, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing for someone who has practiced for over three months to challenge someone who has practiced for Twenty Days?"

"You're so young that you haven't even grown all your hair, yet you already know how to use the 'provocation tactic'?"

"You!" The short young man was rendered speechless.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Zhao Tianxing barked coldly.

"You can't figure it out?" Chu Fan said. "Your lapdog was cursed away by you, so she brought a pack of lapdogs to cause trouble for me... but what did I ever do to any of you?"

"To be honest, I'm also very curious. Why are these few lapdogs so united?"

"Shouldn't they be fighting among themselves over that woman, jealous and brawling? Why have they instead rushed to cause trouble for me, one after another, just to please her?"

The short young man froze. "What does 'lapdog' mean?"

"It describes someone who knows the other person doesn't like them, yet is still willing to give one-sidedly, falling hopelessly in love without a shred of dignity," Chu Fan explained. "Put bluntly, it means kneeling and licking like a dog at the feet of a woman who doesn't like you."

"So that's what it means... Pah! You're the lapdog! Your whole family are lapdogs!" The short young man and the others flew into a rage.

But with Cao Feng and Li Qingxue present, they did not dare act recklessly.

Besides, Zhao Tianxing was standing beside Chu Fan.

If a real fight broke out, Zhao Tianxing would have no trouble taking on all five of them alone.

Yet at that moment, Chu Fan said, "You can hit me if you want, but you'll have to give me three qian of silver."

"What did you say?" The short young man was stunned. "Have you gone mad from poverty?"

"Yes, I really have gone mad from poverty." Chu Fan nodded earnestly.

The group surrounding Chu Fan was so infuriated that they laughed.

They wanted to beat him up, and they still had to pay him?

This guy truly had no shame!

"If you don't pay, then I won't fight... I'll have Tianxing fight you instead." Chu Fan put on the appearance of a dead pig that did not fear boiling water.

"Fine, I'll pay!" The short young man gritted his teeth and pulled three qian of silver from his robes.

Zhao Tianxing stared blankly. "You can make money like this?"

The short young man's gaze turned icy. "Remember this. My name is..."

"That's not important." Chu Fan took the silver and interrupted him. "As long as you pay."

The young man's face flushed crimson, and he raised his voice several octaves. "I'm telling you, my name is..."

"That's not important at all." Chu Fan emphasized each word and interrupted him again. "Anyway, I'll remember you. I've already labeled you 'Lapdog Number One' in my mind."

"My damn name is Jiang Yuanfan!" Jiang Yuanfan was furious. "Not Lapdog Number One! Remember it! The man beating you today is called—Jiang—Yuan—fan!"

By the end, he had practically forced the name out through his Teeth gap.

In the Cold wind, he shrieked his roar, every note filled with resentment and helplessness.