The Bigger Fist Makes the Rules

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

Winter was approaching, but the weather in Southern Prefecture was hardly cold. It remained pleasantly mild, like spring or autumn.

The Four Directions Teahouse stood beside an official road at a three-way junction. It was small, but travelers taking any of the three roads toward Flying Bird City would stop in for a rest, so business was always good.

The sky was clear that day, and customers trickled into the teahouse. Before long, the tables were packed. Those who came later usually had to wait a while for a seat.

"Boss Shen, look! There's a teahouse. Let's go in and rest."

As they spoke, four figures appeared on one of the branching roads.

There were three boys and a girl, all young. The little girl looked barely ten and was especially small.

They were none other than Shen Zhou and the Three Little Ones.

After leaving White Sheep County, Shen Zhou and the others had headed west. At first, the journey had seemed novel, and walking hadn't bothered them. But once the novelty wore off, they were exhausted.

Fortunately, they hadn't been walking too fast, and they'd even hitched a ride with a traveling merchant once along the way. They had managed to make it this far.

When they reached the teahouse, it was crowded, with no empty seats. The four waited beneath a large tree nearby.

As they waited, Xi Mei listlessly leaned against Shen Zhou to rest. A Dai and San Mazi looked just as dispirited, with no energy to spare.

Shen Zhou, on the other hand, was still in good spirits. After sitting against the tree, he kept rubbing the palm of his right hand, then sighed. "Sigh... We've been walking for so many days. Who knows when we'll reach Flying Bird City? If only we'd bought a carriage in White Sheep County before setting out."

San Mazi perked up a little and replied, "Boss, we're almost there. One more day at most. Maybe we can have a proper meal at Hongbin Tower in Flying Bird City tomorrow at noon."

A Dai looked at him in surprise. "San Mazi, you sound like you know Flying Bird City pretty well."

San Mazi grinned. "Strictly speaking, I'm from Flying Bird City. I only wandered to White Sheep County later."

Shen Zhou asked curiously, "Then why go to White Sheep County? Couldn't you beg for food in Flying Bird City?"

San Mazi said, "Uh... It's not that. There are too many strong people here, and the pressure of making a living is high. It's hard to get by."

Shen Zhou and A Dai exchanged a glance.

Since when had even beggars started worrying about whether a place was easy to get by in?

A Dai shook his head, then noticed Shen Zhou was still rubbing his palm. "Boss Shen, you still haven't rubbed that 'sword' off your hand?"

At that, Shen Zhou gave a sorrowful sigh.

Before leaving White Sheep County, he'd been wondering, "A wooden sword is a sword, so why wouldn't an ink sword be one?" To test it, he'd gathered some wild berries and tender grass leaves from a roadside grove, mixed them together, squeezed out the juice, and drawn a sword on his right palm.

The result had proved that an "ink sword" wasn't a sword. At most, it was a painting in ink.

In the end, he hadn't found a way to exploit the loophole. Aside from being a little disappointed, Shen Zhou hadn't minded much—until he discovered that, for some reason, the stain wouldn't wash off. Maybe it was the berries, maybe the grass. Either way, getting rid of it was as hard as removing the blue stamp people used to mark pigs in his previous life. It was infuriating.

"Forget it. If it won't come off, it won't come off. It'll fade eventually."

The mark was still perfectly clear, so Shen Zhou finally gave up.

Just then, some customers left the teahouse. Shen Zhou and the others hurried to claim their seats and ordered a tableful of food.

While they were eating, San Mazi reminded him, "By the way, Boss, we've spent quite a bit on the road. We've only got a little over a hundred taels of silver left. We'll probably be short on money again once we reach Flying Bird City."

Shen Zhou paused, then replied, "It's fine. If we have to, we'll go challenge another martial arts school. Flying Bird City is a big city, after all. There should be plenty of schools there."

San Mazi was stunned. "Challenge another one? Boss, this isn't some remote little county like White Sheep County. This is Flying Bird City, the biggest city in Southern Prefecture. Never mind the martial arts schools, families, and merchant associations in the city... There are powerful wandering cultivators everywhere you look. Things could go very wrong here. Boss, we should keep our heads down."

Shen Zhou, however, didn't care. "There are lots of strong people? How strong can they be? Can they really be stronger than me? Don't worry, it'll be fine!"

San Mazi was at a loss.

He knew Shen Zhou was strong, but he didn't believe Shen Zhou was powerful enough to stand against an entire family—especially one with an old monster at its head. People like that were the most terrifying.

San Mazi had plenty he wanted to say, but couldn't, so he could only push those thoughts aside for now.

"Hyah..."

"Hyah..."

"Whoa..."

As they ate, a group suddenly came galloping down a road in the distance.

There were about fifteen or sixteen of them. They wore dark blue-green riding clothes and rode strange breed horses. Their auras were sharp, clearly marking them as cultivators of no small skill.

When they reached the teahouse, they reined in their horses and stopped. A young man of seventeen or eighteen was the first to jump down.

He was clearly their leader. His white brocade robes stood out, as did his handsome face and cold eyes. The air of arrogance he carried in every gesture made him even harder to underestimate.

Once inside the teahouse, he flicked out a ten-tael gold ingot and tossed it over, then ordered as if it were only natural, "Boss, I'm taking over your teahouse. Bring out the best food and wine, quickly."

The owner hadn't wanted to comply, but then he noticed the gold-inlaid jade pendant hanging from the young man's waist. The character "Xu" was engraved on it, and his heart skipped a beat. "Could this be Xu Family, one of Flying Bird City's Five Great Families?"

Flying Bird City was full of powerful cultivators and families, but only five families truly deserved to be called "great families."

In Flying Bird City, these five families had not only vast influence and formidable strength, but at least three to five Celestial Firmament Realm masters standing guard over each of them. Without that, they couldn't have held on to their place among the Five Great Families.

Xu Family was one of the newest additions.

With a background like that, it was no wonder the young master acted so arrogantly.

As they spoke, the men under Young Master Xu had already begun driving customers out of the teahouse, provoking a steady stream of complaints.

Some people hadn't wanted to give up their seats, but they were outnumbered and up against a powerful family. They couldn't afford to provoke them, so they could only leave in frustration.

Before long, the Xu Family men reached Shen Zhou and the others' table.

Seeing how young the four were, the Xu Family men took them even less seriously.

Three swaggered over. One grabbed San Mazi by the collar and hauled him up, then shooed them away. "Get lost, get lost... You brats, move along. This spot belongs to us now!"

Shen Zhou and the others had been traveling for days and were already hungry and tired. They'd waited a long time when there hadn't been any seats, and now, just as they'd started eating, they were being chased off without so much as a reason. Who would put up with that?

So before Shen Zhou could even lose his temper, San Mazi couldn't hold back and shouted, "What are you doing? Let go of me! We got here first. Why should we leave?"

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Seeing San Mazi put up a fight, the Xu Family men froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

The man holding San Mazi by the collar was especially brazen. He lifted him high into the air, then said with a mocking grin, "Why? Because I'm a Xu Family man. Because my fist is bigger than yours. How's that sound? If you don't leave now, don't blame me for what happens!"

With that, he tossed San Mazi aside.

"You... You..."

San Mazi got up from the ground, his face flushed red, but he could do nothing about it.

At last, Shen Zhou stood up. He stared at the three men and said, "So, according to what you just said, whoever has the bigger fist is the one in the right?"

One of them looked at Shen Zhou with disdain. "What, you've got a problem with that?"

"I do!"

"Well, look at you, a real stubborn mule. Then I'll—"

"Fuck you!"

Before the man could finish, Shen Zhou turned his hand over, and a handspan-long wooden sword appeared in his grasp.

He'd made this little wooden sword earlier, while traveling, because carrying the long wooden sword was too much trouble. It was easier to carry and easier to hide.

He had one at his waist and another at his leg, just to be prepared for anything.

The instant the wooden sword was in his hand, power surged through his entire body.

Then he spun, sprang onto the table, lashed out with his leg, and kicked the man—all in one fluid motion.

Crack!

The sound of breaking ribs rang out, and the Xu Family man went flying. He sailed more than ten meters before hitting the ground, rolling three times, then spitting blood without end. He twitched twice and went still.

It all happened so fast that the other two Xu Family men didn't react in time.

When they finally came to their senses, they flew into a rage. "You actually dared to hit him?"

Smack! Smack!

Without a word, Shen Zhou whipped out his hand and slapped them both across the face, knocking them to the ground. Only then did he look down at them and say, "You said it yourselves. Whoever has the bigger fist is in the right. As it happens, my fist's not small either!"

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

The commotion finally drew the attention of the rest of the Xu Family men. In an instant, more than ten rushed over, all glaring at Shen Zhou with hostility.

One stepped forward and stared coldly at him. "Kid, who are you? You dare pick a fight with Xu Family? Are you tired of living?"

Surrounded by them, Shen Zhou didn't panic in the slightest. "So what if you're Xu Family? Does that mean you can do whatever you want and twist right and wrong? I've hit your men now. What are you going to do about it?"

The Xu Family men gaped at him.

Usually, they were the ones who swaggered around and bullied others. Today was truly bizarre—someone actually dared to act tough with them!

One of them was about to attack, but then seemed to remember something. The group turned around and looked toward the white-clad young master.

The young master surnamed Xu was already sitting at a table. He'd seen what happened, but didn't seem to care. As he poured himself a cup of tea, he said coolly, "Since you've already started fighting, don't stop now. Didn't he say whoever has the bigger fist is in the right? Then weigh him and see just how big his fist is!"

The travelers who'd been driven out shuddered at his words.

It had only been two simple sentences, but the Xu Family young master's bullying arrogance and confidence sent a chill down their spines.

Such was the might of a great family!

Shen Zhou frowned slightly and muttered, "Does this guy have to act so damn tough?"

With the order given, the Xu Family men no longer held back.

A young martial artist stepped forward first. "Kid, I'll see how much you weigh. Come on, make your move!"

Seeing the Xu Family men move back to make room, apparently agreeing to a one-on-one, Shen Zhou laughed. "Good, very good. I like people who don't reason, because then I can be even more unreasonable. But... You think you can take turns coming at me one by one, like I'm playing around with you?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Zhou's expression changed. He casually swung the handspan-long wooden sword, and a sword arc more than ten meters long swept out with a flash.

"What? A sword arc?"

"Not good, get back!"

"This kid's an expert!"

The Xu Family men were horrified. By the time they tried to retreat, it was already too late.

The sword arc swept through everything in its path.

The Xu Family disciples, still waiting their turn, were flung into the air in an instant. A string of bright-red blood sprayed through the air, a horrifying sight.

Shen Zhou blurred into motion and appeared right in front of the Xu Family young master.

To capture the bandits, capture their leader first!

Then, as the young master stared at him in shock and disbelief, Shen Zhou grabbed him with one hand and hauled him over. Without the slightest mercy, he swung his hand and slapped him twice as well.

"Why the hell are you putting on such a show? You want to weigh me? Go on, weigh me..."

"Go on, weigh me!"

"..."

The Xu Family young master was stunned by the beating.

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