Cruel Reality, Conflict, and Someone Steps In

The Outer Courtyard.

A burst of commotion rose.

The source of all the talk was none other

than the young man who had only recently entered the courtyard.

He was tall and dark-skinned.

But he seemed to have suffered a serious injury. He struggled to walk, and every so often, he covered his mouth and coughed. The sound was so painful to hear, as if he were about to cough up a lung.

The young man was none other than Li Tiezhu.

Li Tiezhu had joined the Fist Academy nearly two months ago.

He had quite a reputation in the Outer Courtyard. He was frank and generous, often helping his fellow disciples mediate disputes and offering them pointers on their training. He had also made plenty of friends along the way.

Whenever he showed up,

a crowd of disciples would gather around him, respectfully calling him Senior Brother Li.

But this time, when Li Tiezhu returned to the Fist Academy, it was as if the god of misfortune had come calling.

The Outer Courtyard disciples all looked at him with complicated, strange expressions. Whenever he met their gaze, they hurriedly looked away, as though afraid his bad luck might rub off on them.

Even the Outer Courtyard disciples who had once benefited from Li Tiezhu's help

now stayed silent.

As if they didn't know him.

A few of them offered the briefest greeting before making an excuse to leave, unwilling to speak with him at all.

Li Tiezhu had come to the Fist Academy to borrow money from the Outer Courtyard disciples he'd helped, so he could treat his injuries. He'd been hurt two days ago, and it was clear that he'd already spent a great deal of his savings without managing to get better.

Now he had no other choice.

He could only come to the Fist Academy and try to borrow money.

Unfortunately, many of the Outer Courtyard disciples he had helped simply shook their heads and refused.

Li Tiezhu's expression darkened, but he headed toward a figure lying asleep beneath a tree, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Junior Brother Zhang, I've injured my lungs and need some money for treatment. Could you lend me a little?"

Zhang Jing was his junior, and the two of them had gotten along well at the Fist Academy. Whenever one of them needed help, the other would lend a hand.

Whenever Zhang Jing borrowed money from him, Li Tiezhu had never hesitated to lend it.

He'd lent him dozens of strings of coins over the years.

They'd always called each other brothers, and Zhang Jing had even said that if anything happened, he'd be the first to rush over and help!

Who would have thought Zhang Jing would hurriedly shake his head as soon as he heard the request? "Sorry, Senior Brother Li. It's not that I don't want to lend you money. I really don't have any. You know how much it costs to practice martial arts. I'm lucky if I can cover my daily expenses. How could I have money to lend you?"

Li Tiezhu froze, his expression turning grim.

It seemed he hadn't expected this.

Someone he'd been so close to had refused him outright without even asking how much he needed!

Li Tiezhu sighed. "Then, Junior Brother Zhang, could you return the money I lent you before?"

"I'm short on money myself right now. Give me some time. I'll pay you back when I have some!"

Zhang Jing impatiently waved his hand. "I'll pay you when I have it. Stop asking, will you? I said I'd pay you back. It's just a little money I owe you!"

"All right..."

Li Tiezhu looked utterly dejected and didn't argue.

He turned to find some other acquaintances he could ask, but his back looked much more hunched than before.

"Strange. Why won't Zhang Jing and the others lend Senior Brother Li money?" someone asked, baffled. "I remember Senior Brother Li was a pretty decent guy. Why aren't the people he helped returning the favor?"

"Heh, you're that naive?"

A disciple sneered. "Reality is often this cruel. Just because someone helped you doesn't mean you have to help them back. Li Tiezhu is a cripple now. If you lend him money, you'll never get it back!"

"He's a good-for-nothing now. Who'd invest in him?"

"People used to follow Li Tiezhu because he had a bright future. Everyone knew it was a sure thing."

"Now that Li Tiezhu's been crippled, helping him would be like throwing money into a bottomless pit!"

"Would you throw your money into a bottomless pit?"

"Huh? But surely they could help him out a little?" the person asked, still confused. The other disciple just sneered. "You really are an idiot!"

"Does anyone get anything for free in this world? Li Tiezhu made connections through Senior Sister Zhou and got plenty of benefits. You think he won't have to pay it all back eventually?"

"And what about the people Li Tiezhu offended at the docks? What if they come after him?"

"Have you ever thought about any of that?"

"Those who never helped Li Tiezhu might not know who his enemies are, but the people who did help him—how could they not know? Would you gamble on staying clear of all the trouble tied to him...?"

The murmurs around them reached Shi Wen's ears.

Shi Wen looked at the battered figure, his heart stirred.

Back then, Senior Brother Li had been full of swagger and vigor, a man who could rally the entire Outer Courtyard with a single call.

He never would have imagined that, after not seeing him for a while,

an accident would bring him to such a sorry state.

Shi Wen was about to get up and go over when another group entered the Outer Courtyard. It was Qin Huan and the others, back from the celebratory banquet they'd gone to at noon.

Sun Mingting, the last-ranked among the Inner Courtyard's ten great disciples, was with them.

Their expressions were grim, and anger was written all over their faces.

It was hard to tell what had happened.

But it was obvious they hadn't made it to the celebratory banquet at noon. Instead, they'd come back with a bellyful of pent-up rage!

"Let's go talk to Senior Sister Li first. Damn it, those people from the Flying Cloud Pavilion are way too arrogant. They think having more people makes them so great?"

"If they hadn't outnumbered us, I'd have gone over and slapped that guy. Damn it, they look down on Li's Fist Academy, even though plenty of their disciples were crippled by our senior brother back in the day. What are they putting on airs for now?"

"Find people. Get all ten of our Inner Courtyard disciples together and go challenge the Flying Cloud Pavilion!"

"We can't swallow this grudge without getting revenge..."

Wei Shan and several other Inner Courtyard disciples cursed furiously.

Just as they were about to enter the Inner Courtyard,

Sun Mingting stopped Zhou Heling and instructed her, "Junior Sister Zhou, Master Li asked you to keep an eye on the Outer Courtyard this month. Stay here and watch over it. We'll call for you if anything comes up!"

His voice was cold. Clearly, the trouble earlier had something to do with Zhou Heling.

Wei Shan, Qin Huan, and the others also gave her unfriendly looks.

Zhou Heling froze, her expression darkening as she realized that the little circle was pushing her out.

Her breathing grew heavy, but in the end, she numbly agreed.

Watching Sun Mingting and the others enter the Inner Courtyard, Zhou Heling clenched her fists until they cracked. Then she suddenly took her anger out on the nearby Outer Courtyard disciples. "What are you looking at? If you're not taking a nap at noon, go practice! What the hell are you staring at?"

"Keep looking, and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Everyone in the Outer Courtyard knew Zhou Heling had a fiery temper.

They all lowered their heads, hunched their shoulders, and pretended to get busy. No one dared provoke her!

In a foul mood, Zhou Heling chased away the many Outer Courtyard disciples resting beneath the trees, then sprawled alone in a grand armchair to keep cool, her expression sour.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she seemed to get. Every so often, she let out a curse.

Her eyes swept harshly over the Outer Courtyard disciples, clearly looking for an excuse to vent her anger.

Suddenly, she spotted Li Tiezhu and called out, "Li Tiezhu, get over here!"

"Yes, Senior Sister Zhou."

Li Tiezhu hurried over, a glimmer of hope still on his face.

If Senior Sister Zhou helped him, the trouble at home would be nothing, and even his injuries would be easy to treat!

But who could have guessed that the moment he got there, Zhou Heling would unleash a torrent of abuse on him? She snapped angrily, "Damn it, I didn't think you'd turn out to be such a useless good-for-nothing. I invested so much in you, and even helped you make connections with several gangs and merchant associations in the city to get resources. And now you've been crippled?"

"You owe me for all the resources I've spent on you these past few days, and for the breach-of-contract fees from three merchant associations and a boat gang."

"Two thousand strings of coins. If you don't pay me back, you'll see what happens!"

Li Tiezhu looked up in disbelief, stunned. "Senior Sister Zhou, the resources I got from you didn't even add up to two hundred strings of coins. How can you ask for two thousand?"

Zhou Heling spoke roughly. "Damn it, you think the merchant associations and boat gang don't have to pay compensation for breaking their contracts?"

"Senior Sister Zhou, I don't have that much money. My family was even fired from the restaurant over what happened at the docks, and I've already spent a lot on treatment. Now I..."

"Shut up! Damn it, that's your problem!" Zhou Heling had already been stewing with anger, and now she simply unleashed it all on Li Tiezhu. "Two thousand strings of coins. Just try not to pay!"

"Senior Sister Zhou, you were the one who asked me to put on a show of strength. I got hurt by those outsiders because of you. How can you be so heartless?"

Li Tiezhu's eyes filled with sorrow.

But when Zhou Heling heard that, she jumped to her feet in fury and cursed, "Damn it, the Xingshui Gang was wiped out, and I couldn't get my money back! Why are you whining as if you're the only one who lost out? You think I can make you step in whenever I want?"

"I thought you were clever, but it turns out you're just as stupid as the rest!"

"Damn good-for-nothing, get lost! You'd better bring me two thousand strings of coins within five days."

"I've wasted all this time trying to build you up..."

The scene unfolded before the eyes of many Outer Courtyard disciples.

They could only sigh.

Although they felt sorry for Li Tiezhu, no one dared step forward.

Besides, that was just how cruel the world was.

When you were useful to someone, they'd all smile and rally around you. But once you became useless, you'd face every kind of brutal treatment!

Li Tiezhu felt stifled and humiliated. His eyes reddened as he glared at Zhou Heling, his chest heaving and his breathing ragged.

But that look only enraged Zhou Heling further.

She pointed at Li Tiezhu's nose and shouted, "Get lost right now! Don't make me slap you!"

"Damn it, you don't know when to quit, do you?"

Enraged, Zhou Heling raised her hand to slap Li Tiezhu, but someone who had approached at some point stopped her. "Senior Sister Zhou, there's no need to take things this far, is there?"

When they saw who it was,

the Outer Courtyard disciples stared in disbelief and burst into an uproar.

Shi Wen?

That poor kid?

He actually dared to stand up for Li Tiezhu?