Severing Ties (Seeking Readership)

A night passed.

A piece of news spread across Old Fisher Street.

The overbearing Tiger-Wolf Gang had vanished into thin air overnight. Not only was their leader, a practitioner of Bright Force, dead, but more than half of their rank-and-file members were gone as well.

"Good! It serves the Tiger-Wolf Gang right!"

"Damn it, I've long since hated those bastards. If I were twenty years younger..."

"I just wonder which expert took action. Truly, the heavens have a way of balancing the scales!"

For a time, even the common folk eating noodles at the roadside stalls couldn't help but clap and cheer at the news.

Zhou Yun sat at a small table, slurping down a large bowl of plain noodles, having even splurged on a greasy fried egg.

"Master Sun, your noodles are still the best."

Zhou Yun drained the broth into his belly and smacked his lips.

"Heh heh, I've been at this for most of my life. I might not have any other skills, but boiling noodles is definitely a specialty of our Old Fisher Village!"

Master Sun smiled at Zhou Yun, then asked, "Young Master Yun, you really are the lucky star of my little stall. Every time you come by, I don't have to pay any protection money."

"Not to mention the last time the Tiger-Wolf Gang came looking for money, this time the whole gang was wiped out. I wonder which expert did it... The word on the street is that they must have tried to collect protection money from one of that expert's relatives, and the expert just wiped them out in passing."

Zhou Yun's expression remained unchanged as he set down the large bowl. "Where is that kid Sun Wu? Why haven't I seen him today?"

"That boy? I've already saved up enough for his tuition, and I'm planning to send him to the Black Stone Martial Hall to study martial arts tomorrow."

Speaking of this, the smile on Master Sun's face grew even wider.

"Young Master Yun, come to think of it, little Wu will be your fellow disciple. If that silly boy runs into any trouble in the future, please look out for him a bit, for the sake of these few bowls of noodles. If you truly can't help, then that's just his fate..."

"Easy enough. I'll keep it in mind."

Zhou Yun didn't decline. Not only did he eat a bowl of noodles here every time he came home, but he had also watched Sun Wu grow up; the boy had a straightforward nature and possessed the constitution of a martial artist.

Besides, he had only just entered the outer courtyard; it wouldn't take much effort for him, a senior disciple of the inner courtyard, to cover for the boy if anything happened.

Furthermore, Master Sun had a good reputation among the neighbors and was on friendly terms with his mother and Zhou Ningyue.

"In that case, I'll head home first. I won't bother you any longer, Master Sun."

Zhou Yun cupped his hands in a salute, stood up, and left in the direction of his home.

"Hey, I'll be waiting for you to come back for more noodles, Young Master Yun!"

After receiving Zhou Yun's promise, Master Sun felt even more at ease, and the smile on his face grew even broader.

Others might not know, but how could he not? That expert who wiped out the Tiger-Wolf Gang was, in all likelihood, Zhou Yun.

Not to mention the conflict at the noodle stall last time, the timing was just too coincidental.

Returning this time, Zhou Yun seemed like a completely different person; the vigor of his spirit was something even a commoner like him could clearly see.

"A true dragon has finally emerged from the shallow pond."

Master Sun sighed with emotion.

The Zhou family courtyard, a mud house surrounded by a fence.

There were chickens and ducks running around in the fenced yard—something he hadn't seen last time—and there even seemed to be a goose or two.

"Life at home has improved."

Zhou Yun silently noted these changes. Just as he reached the door, he heard a familiar voice.

"Mother Liu, you cannot just stand by and watch Chuan die! You can't just refuse to save him!"

"Grandpa Zhou, it was you who insisted that Chuan study martial arts. Now that he has failed to break through to the Bright Force and his blood and qi have collapsed, that is the will of the heavens!"

"You can't say it like that. Chuan is your nephew, after all. Now that your Yun has successfully broken through, he must have taken on a post and surely has spare Blood Coagulation Pills to help Chuan revitalize his blood..."

"Impossible! Back when our Yun wanted to study martial arts, you didn't talk about giving any Blood Coagulation Pills. Even the protection money for Zhou Chuan's family was paid with my dowry!"

As she finished speaking, Mother Liu's voice trembled. "Don't talk about whether Yun has those pills or not. Even if he did, as his mother, I wouldn't let him give them away!"

"I want him to see the coldness of the world and the fickleness of human hearts!"

Creak.

The gate was pushed open, and Zhou Yun walked in slowly.

"Oh! Yun, you've come at just the right time! Your younger brother failed his breakthrough to the Bright Force; as his older brother, you cannot just stand by and watch him die!"

Grandpa Zhou seemed to have forgotten all the past grievances, grabbing Zhou Yun's robe and squeezing out two old tears.

"Grandpa knows you have a way. Please, just help Chuan. He is still young; he cannot be ruined like this..."

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I will help Zhou Chuan."

Zhou Yun said calmly. This statement left Grandpa Zhou stunned and caused Lady Liu to gasp.

But in the end, the woman didn't speak. After all, Zhou Yun had grown up, and it was time for him to make the decisions for the family.

Even if it meant helping Zhou Chuan, who shared nothing with her but blood, she accepted it as his mother.

At worst, she would just have to wash a few more loads of laundry.

"Is that so? That's wonderful!"

Grandpa Zhou wept with joy, tears actually streaming down his face this time: "You are a good child, Yun'er. Grandfather truly didn't misjudge you..."

"But Grandfather, don't misunderstand my intentions. Isn't Zhou Chuan crippled? Let his family serve tea, pour water, and cook meals for my mother."

Zhou Yun said calmly: "For your sake, Grandfather, I'll give them one guan of cash a month. That's enough to support their family."

"What? You!"

Grandpa Zhou's beard trembled, and he nearly choked on his own breath, pointing at Zhou Yun, unable to utter a single word.

"You—is this how you treat your cousin? He is your brother, after all!"

"Indeed. In this world, being able to provide someone with a full meal is already a great act of kindness."

The corners of Zhou Yun's mouth curled up: "Or perhaps, Grandfather, you look down on this one guan of cash?"

"You! You unfilial wretch!"

Grandpa Zhou was so enraged he spat out a mouthful of blood, pointing at Zhou Yun as he said: "Just wait. Once Chuan'er breaks through to the Bright Force again..."

After rambling for a long time, the old man finally stumbled out of the house.

Only then did Zhou Yun smile and say: "Mother, I'm home."

"Yun'er, why does it feel like you've become more handsome?"

Lady Liu touched Zhou Yun's face, unable to help but laugh and scold: "Just now, Mother really thought you were going to help that Zhou Chuan's family. You scared me half to death."

"Don't worry, Mother. I know right from wrong."

Zhou Yun pulled three taels of broken silver from his pocket and placed them on the table: "When you and Sister Ning Yue are at home, don't be too frugal with food and necessities. Your son has plenty of money now."

After clearing out the Tiger-Wolf Gang yesterday, he had instantly gained over twenty taels of silver.

If it weren't for the fact that he dared not touch the silver locked in the warehouse or the important banknotes, the amount would have been much higher.

It's a pity I couldn't be too obvious; I only searched the bodies of the Tiger-Wolf Gang members.

Zhou Yun estimated that he currently had two Blood Coagulation Pills left, along with over forty taels of silver.

It was time to find a good weapon and a weapon-based martial art.

Perhaps I could go back and ask Master Liang?

Zhou Yun inexplicably thought of that Transformation Force grandmaster. The man surely knew more than just two Black Ape Martial Arts techniques; perhaps he had something suitable for him to choose from.