The Fire

"Lin Qing? This has nothing to do with you. Get lost!"

A thug shouted harshly.

At the same time, he swung a club straight at Lin Qing.

Lin Qing's gaze turned cold. He neither dodged nor evaded, but shot out his left hand like lightning and grabbed the end of the club. Then he gave it a twist!

"Crack!" The wooden club snapped cleanly in two.

The thug felt a tremendous force surge through him. The skin between his thumb and forefinger split, and the club flew from his grasp.

Lin Qing's right hand shot out like a cannon.

A simple, direct Rigid Bridge cleared the way, striking him square in the chest!

"Bang!"

The thug screamed as he flew backward, knocking over two men behind him.

Seeing this, the other thugs were shocked and furious. They all rushed forward.

"How dare you hit one of our men? You're asking to die!"

"Get him, brothers!"

Several thugs charged at Lin Qing.

Lin Qing's feet moved in quick, continuous steps as he unleashed Iron Wire Fist, his moves fierce and explosive.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

After several dull impacts, three more thugs fell to the ground, howling.

They had lost the ability to fight in no time.

Lin Qing hadn't tried to kill them.

But his decisive, powerful strikes had subdued the whole scene in an instant.

Feng Bing watched Lin Qing with a dark look.

He didn't attack right away, as if weighing his options.

After all, Lord Leopard wasn't around, and Feng Bing was probably no match for Lin Qing either.

Lin Qing paid them no further attention.

Instead, he hurried to Fan Kui, who was curled up on the ground.

The boy was barely breathing, covered in blood. He had who knew how many broken ribs, yet he still clutched the two documents to his chest, guarding them with all his strength.

On the horizon, a ray of dawn broke through the darkness.

Scattered morning light fell on Fan Kui's mangled body.

He seemed to sense Lin Qing's arrival and struggled to lift his head.

His eyes, once filled with hatred, were now strangely calm, even carrying a trace of relieved amusement.

He looked at Lin Qing, his lips moving.

Summoning the last of his strength, he whispered:

"Brother Qing, I've repaid what the Old Fan family owed you..."

Trembling, Fan Kui pulled the two bloodstained deeds from his chest and shoved them into Lin Qing's hand.

Then Fan Kui looked around at the stunned neighbors.

With the last of his strength, he declared:

"I, Fan Kui, willingly give my house deed and land deed to Brother Lin Qing..."

"Everyone... bear witness!"

His words spent, Fan Kui breathed out one last time and let his head fall to the side.

The last light in his eyes vanished completely.

His arm dropped limply.

Even in death, the boy wore a tragic smile.

Lin Qing stood frozen, holding the two deeds, stained with blood and still warm to the touch.

It felt as if something had struck him hard in the heart.

An indescribable sorrow welled up inside him.

He understood.

Fan Kui had used this fire to repay the kindness of those three strings of copper coins.

And in this almost suicidal manner,

he had given his family's last possessions to the one who had once shown them a little kindness, in a way no one could take away.

"This is proof of your collusion!"

Feng Bing pointed at the deeds in Lin Qing's hand and shouted,

"You must have ordered that Fan kid to set the fire! You wanted to take over Security Hall's shop, but were afraid the Pan Family would come after you, so you resorted to arson and murder."

"Just you wait! Lord Leopard and the Pan Family won't let you get away with this!"

Then, before everyone's shocked eyes,

Lin Qing made his move.

He stepped forward and lashed out with his left leg like an iron whip.

"Bang!"

Feng Bing, a Skin Refining martial artist, hadn't even had time to react.

Pain exploded in his abdomen. He screamed as he flew backward and slammed into the wall, sending a cloud of dust tumbling down.

The other neighbors stood with their mouths agape, their eyes wide with shock.

They had never imagined that Feng Bing, one of Lord Leopard's enforcers, wouldn't last even a single move against Lin Qing.

"What do you think you are?"

Lin Qing's voice turned cold.

Feng Bing was shocked and furious, but he didn't dare say a word.

After all, his opponent was far stronger than he was.

Just then, hurried footsteps approached.

Head Constable Wang of the local authorities arrived with several constables.

Right behind them came Pan Yun, the head shopkeeper of Security Hall.

Pan Yun looked at Security Hall, now a charred ruin, his face ashen. His gaze instantly locked onto Lin Qing, who was holding the deeds.

"Head Constable Wang, you've come at just the right time."

Pan Yun's voice was cold, his fury barely contained. He pointed at Lin Qing.

"This man, Lin Qing, ordered Fan Kui to set fire to Security Hall, property of the Pan Family, in an attempt to seize wealth and take lives, and monopolize the medicine trade on Yongning Street."

"Now you've caught him red-handed. Head Constable Wang, arrest him at once!"

Head Constable Wang furrowed his brow and looked at Lin Qing. "Lin Qing, what do you have to say?"

Lin Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart. He carefully put away the deeds, then glanced at Pan Yun. "Shopkeeper Pan, accusations require evidence. You say I ordered him to do it. Do you have proof?"

"Fan Kui and I aren't related. Why would I order him to do anything? Fan Kui willingly gave me these deeds on his deathbed. All the neighbors here can testify to that!"

"And as for the men lying on the ground, they beat Fan Kui to death. Is it a crime for me to stand up for what's right and stop them from committing murder in the street?"

"Silver-tongued knave!"

Pan Yun was furious. He had already hated Lin Qing to the bone.

Now that his shop had been burned down, old and new grudges surged up together.

Seeing that words wouldn't get him anywhere, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Ignoring Head Constable Wang's presence, he suddenly stepped forward, curled his right hand into a claw, and swept it toward Lin Qing's right shoulder with a fierce rush of wind!

It was a vicious move from the Pan Family's Silk Entangling Hand.

He meant to cripple one of Lin Qing's arms and catch him off guard.

He was confident that with his strength at the Tendon Opening Realm,

he could easily take down the boy with a surprise attack.

But Lin Qing was no longer the naïve country bumpkin he had once been.

His nerves were already taut, and he sensed Pan Yun's murderous intent as clear as day!

The instant Pan Yun's shoulder twitched and his power was about to erupt,

Lin Qing had already reacted.

"Hmph!"

Lin Qing snorted and charged forward instead of retreating.

At the same time, he drove power through his hips, dropped his shoulder and elbow, and stamped forward. He neither dodged nor evaded, but unleashed Wild Horse Parts Mane, his arms sweeping out like a galloping steed, fierce and overbearing as he met Pan Yun's attack head-on!

"Bang!"

Fist met claw, and force surged in every direction!

Pan Yun felt a powerful, tightly focused force far beyond his expectations travel up through his fingertips.

His fingers went numb, and his blood and qi roiled faintly.

He was forced back two steps,

before he finally dispelled the force, astonishment written all over his face.

Lin Qing swayed as well, and the bluestone slabs beneath his feet cracked slightly.

But he held his ground, without retreating a single step.

The two had met as equals in a single move!

The entire scene fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared at what had just happened, dumbfounded.

Pan Yun, a martial artist at the Second Barrier Realm, the Tendon Opening Realm, had attacked with all his strength.

And an apothecary's heir from the Outer City had blocked him head-on?

A flash of light passed through Head Constable Wang's eyes.

He looked at Lin Qing in an entirely new light.

This young man had hidden his strength remarkably well.

Pan Yun's face turned pale, then flushed. He was shocked and furious.

He glared at Lin Qing as if he wanted to devour him whole.

The morning light grew clearer.

It fell across the two figures, poised for a fight.

The sky over Yongning Street—

From this moment on—

seemed truly about to change.