A night passed.
A piece of news spread through Old Fisher Street.
News had spread that the domineering Tiger-Wolf Gang had vanished into thin air overnight. Not only had its Bright Force leader died, but more than half of its members were gone as well.
"Good! The Tiger-Wolf Gang got what it deserved!"
"Damn it, I've hated those bastards for ages. If only I were twenty years younger..."
"Just wonder which expert took action. Heaven's justice always comes around!"
For a while, even the ordinary folk eating noodles at the roadside stalls couldn't help applauding the news.
Zhou Yun sat at a small table, slurping from a big bowl of plain noodles. He'd even added a fried egg, rich with oil.
"Master Sun, your noodles are still the best."
Zhou Yun slurped down the broth along with the noodles and smacked his lips.
"Heh heh, I've been at this for more than half my life. I may not have any other talents, but when it comes to cooking noodles, I'm the best in Old Fisher Village!"
Master Sun smiled at Zhou Yun, then asked, "Brother Yun, you really are a lucky star for my little noodle stall. Every time you come by, I don't have to pay a penny in protection money."
"Not only did the Tiger-Wolf Gang come demanding money last time, but this time the whole gang was wiped out. I wonder which expert did it... People all along the street are saying they demanded protection money from some expert's relative, so the expert wiped them out on a whim."
Zhou Yun's expression remained unchanged as he set down his bowl. "What about Sun Wu? How come I haven't seen him today?"
"That boy? I've scraped together enough for his tuition. I'm planning to send him to Black Stone Martial Hall tomorrow to study martial arts."
At the mention of it, the smile on Master Sun's face widened.
"Brother Yun, little Wu will be your fellow disciple from now on. If that foolish boy runs into trouble, please lend him a hand for the sake of the few bowls of noodles I've given you. If you really can't help, then so be it. That's his fate..."
"Of course. I'll keep it in mind."
Zhou Yun didn't turn him down. Not only did he get a bowl of noodles from Master Sun every time he came home, but he'd also watched Sun Wu grow up. The boy was straightforward by nature, and he had First Form Bone, too.
Besides, he'd only just entered the Outer Courtyard. If anything came up, it wouldn't take much effort for him, a senior in the Inner Courtyard, to help out.
What's more, 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 keep you, Master Sun."
Zhou Yun cupped his hands, stood up, and headed home.
"Hey, I'll be waiting for you to come back for noodles, Brother Yun!"
After getting Zhou Yun's promise, Master Sun felt much more reassured, and the smile on his face grew even broader.
Other people might not know, but how could he not? The expert who'd wiped out the Tiger-Wolf Gang was almost certainly Zhou Yun.
The earlier clash with the gang at the noodle stall had happened at just the right time. This time, too, Zhou Yun had returned like a completely different person. Even a mere mortal like Master Sun could see how vigorous and spirited he was.
"At last, a true dragon has emerged from a shallow pool."
Master Sun sighed with emotion.
The Zhou family's courtyard was a mud house surrounded by a fence.
Chickens and ducks were running around inside the fence, something he hadn't seen last time. There seemed to be one or two geese as well.
"The family's doing better now."
Zhou Yun silently noted the change. As he reached the door, he seemed to hear a familiar voice.
"Mother Liu, you can't just watch Chuan'er die and refuse to save him!"
"Grandpa Zhou, you insisted that Chuan'er practice martial arts. He failed to break through to Bright Force, and his qi and blood are now depleted. That's Heaven's will!"
"You can't put it that way. Chuan'er is your nephew, after all. Your Yun'er has already broken through, and he must have secured an official position by now. Surely he has some Blood Coagulation Pills to help Chuan'er restore his blood..."
"Impossible! When our Yun'er wanted to practice martial arts, you didn't offer him any Blood Coagulation Pills. You even made me pay the Zhou family's protection money out of my dowry!"
When she finished speaking, Mother Liu's voice trembled. "Don't talk to me about whether Yun'er has any Blood Coagulation Pills. Even if he does, I won't let him give them away!"
"I want him to see just how cold the world is, and how warm or cold people's hearts can be!"
Creak.
The door swung open, and Zhou Yun slowly walked in.
"Oh, Yun'er, you came at just the right time! Your younger brother failed to break through to Bright Force. As his older brother, you can't just stand by and do nothing!"
Grandpa Zhou seemed to have forgotten everything that had happened before. He tugged at Zhou Yun's sleeve and squeezed out two tears.
"Grandpa knows you can help. Please help Chuan'er. He's still young. He can't be left crippled like this..."
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll help Zhou Chuan."
Zhou Yun's calm reply left Grandpa Zhou stunned, and Lady Liu couldn't help opening her mouth.
But in the end, the woman said nothing. Zhou Yun had grown up, and it was time for him to make the decisions in the family.
Even if he wanted to help Zhou Chuan, who shared nothing with them but blood, she would accept it as his mother.
At worst, she'd wash a few more clothes.
"Really? That's wonderful!"
Grandpa Zhou wept with joy, and this time his tears were real. "You're such a good boy, Yun'er. Grandpa knew I was right about you..."
"But don't get the wrong idea, Grandpa. Isn't Zhou Chuan crippled now? Have his family pour tea for my mother, wash clothes, and cook for her."
Zhou Yun spoke calmly. "For your sake, Grandpa, I'll give them one string of cash a month. That'll be enough to keep their family alive."
"What? You!"
Grandpa Zhou's beard quivered. He was so enraged he could hardly breathe, and he pointed at Zhou Yun, unable to get another word out.
"You—you would treat your own cousin like this? He's your younger brother, after all!"
"That's right. In this world, giving someone a full meal is already a great kindness."
Zhou Yun's lips curled. "Or is one string of cash beneath you, Grandpa?"
"You! You're a disgrace!"
Grandpa Zhou was so angry he spat out a mouthful of blood. Pointing at Zhou Yun, he said, "Just you wait. Once Chuan'er breaks through to Bright Force again..."
After ranting for a while, the old man finally stumbled out of the house.
Only then did Zhou Yun smile and say, "Mother, I'm home."
"Yun'er, why do I feel like you've gotten more handsome?"
Lady Liu touched Zhou Yun's face and couldn't help chiding him with a laugh. "I really thought you were going to help Zhou Chuan's family just now. You scared me half to death."
"Don't worry, Mother. I know right from wrong."
Zhou Yun took three taels of silver from his pocket and set them on the table. "You and Ning Yue shouldn't be too frugal with food and daily necessities. Your son has plenty of money now."
Yesterday, he'd swept through the Tiger-Wolf Gang and come away with more than twenty taels of silver.
If he'd dared to touch the silver locked in the storehouse and some of the valuable banknotes, he would have gotten much more.
"Shame I couldn't make it too obvious. I only searched the gang members for the money on them."
Zhou Yun estimated that he still had two Blood Coagulation Pills and more than forty taels of silver.
It was time to find a good weapon and a weapon-based martial art.
"Maybe I can go back and ask Master Liang?"
For some reason, Zhou Yun thought of that Transformation Force master. The man surely knew more than two Black Ape Martial Arts. Perhaps he had something suitable for Zhou Yun to choose from.
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