Unpaid Wages

After Zhou Xiu's dejected figure had vanished completely at the end of the alley, the oppressive atmosphere in the Fist Academy gradually dissipated. The sounds of boxing practice rang out again, and everything seemed to return to its usual course.

Chen Jing was still the hardest-working person in the Fist Academy. He got up at dawn to practice at the boxing gym and didn't return home until nightfall.

The River-Breaking Fist had grown increasingly familiar in Chen Jing's hands. Every punch brought a whistling gust of force, and the strength of the qi and blood surging through his meridians grew stronger by the day.

As for Liu Chuzhou's offer that day, he had long since put it out of his mind.

To Chen Jing, the Liu Family's protection and money were tempting, but far less reassuring than the power he held in his own hands.

What was more, though Liu Chuzhou hadn't said it outright, Chen Jing had seen through him. The moment he agreed, he would become a vassal of the Liu Family, and from then on, his every word and action would be constrained by them.

Worse still, his family would become bargaining chips the Liu Family could use to control him. By then, forget protecting them—he wouldn't even be able to control his own fate!

So only by making himself powerful enough to shatter every shackle could he truly protect the people he wanted to protect, stand tall beneath heaven and earth, and no longer have to live at anyone's mercy!

That evening, Chen Jing finished his boxing practice and returned home. But when he pushed open the courtyard gate, he paused in surprise.

At this time of day, Chen Sanwu was usually still out pulling his rickshaw, rushing from place to place. Today, however, he was sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, a half-smoked cigarette pinched between his fingers. His brows were tightly furrowed, as if something weighed on his mind.

Chen Jing wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, "Dad, you're home early today."

"Jing'er!"

At the sound of his voice, Chen Sanwu immediately stubbed out his cigarette and stood to meet him. He managed a smile, though his voice held a hint of apprehension. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Chen Jing's heart stirred. He led his father to sit down. "Go ahead."

"You said before that pulling a rickshaw wasn't a long-term way to make a living. You're out in the wind and sun, and you're always getting pushed around."

Chen Sanwu rubbed his rough palms together, a trace of anticipation in his eyes. "So I started thinking about what other work I could do. These past few days, I've been asking around, and I heard there's a little shop in West City. It isn't very big, but the location's decent, and the monthly rent is only half a tael of silver. I was thinking I could rent it and open a pancake stall. Then I wouldn't have to pull a rickshaw anymore. I could just sell pancakes."

"That's great!"

Chen Jing's eyes lit up at once. He immediately nodded. "Dad, you should've thought of this sooner. A pancake stall is steady work, and much less stressful than pulling a rickshaw. I'll definitely support you!"

Seeing that his son didn't object, Chen Sanwu relaxed. His smile became more genuine. "That's good! I'm planning to go to the Carriage Firm tomorrow and tell the boss. I'll return the rickshaw and quit for good."

The father and son chatted a little longer about the shop, then Chen Sanwu went to bed early.

Standing in the courtyard, Chen Jing gazed up at the night sky and took a deep breath. Then he settled into his stance and continued practicing his fists.

His punches tore through the air, and his qi and blood raced through his body. Chen Jing could clearly feel the qi and blood in his dantian growing ever thicker, faintly brushing against an invisible barrier. This was the threshold of the Blood River Realm.

At this rate, in just a few more days, he would be able to break through the bottleneck completely and enter the Blood River Realm!

Chen Jing was exhilarated. His punches grew more and more fierce, and he didn't stop until late into the night.

But who could have expected what happened the following evening?

When Chen Jing returned home, he saw Chen Sanwu sitting in the courtyard, his head buried between his knees. A deep, indescribable dejection hung over him, and he hadn't even noticed Chen Jing come through the gate.

Chen Jing's heart tightened at the sight. He hurried over and asked, "Dad? What's wrong? Did something happen with the shop?"

Chen Sanwu raised his head. His face was sallow, his eyes red-rimmed, and his voice hoarse. "The shop... the shop is fine. It's the Carriage Firm... they've withheld my wages."

"Withheld them?"

Chen Jing's brows knitted together at once. "What happened?"

"I went to tell the boss I was quitting today and asked him to settle the wages for the past two months. But he said I'd broken my agreement midway, so he was going to deduct most of my wages. He'd only give me one tael of silver to send me on my way."

As he spoke, Chen Sanwu clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He trembled with anger, his voice full of suppressed indignation. "That's the hard-earned money I nearly worked myself to death to save. What right does he have to take it?"

"I'll go find him!"

Chen Jing sprang to his feet. The qi and blood around him stirred faintly, beyond his control. A chilling look flashed in his eyes, and even the air around them seemed to turn colder.

His father rose before dawn and worked late into the night, braving wind and rain as he pulled his rickshaw through every street and alley. His hands were worn raw, his back bent with exhaustion. Every coin he earned was soaked in sweat and blood.

And that Carriage Firm boss had the nerve to say he'd broken his agreement midway, withhold most of his wages, and send him away with a single tael of silver. What kind of logic was that?

Sure enough, the filthy business of wage theft and exploitation was impossible to hide, no matter where you went!

These so-called bosses fattened themselves by bleeding the working people dry. They put on the face of benefactors, but their hearts were black as ink, and they preyed on honest people.

They knew the rickshaw pullers had neither power nor influence, and that even if their wages were withheld, they could only swallow their anger. So they became ever more brazen, treating exploitation as their God-given right!

Scum who sucked the blood of the working poor were the most detestable of all!

If he didn't get justice today, not only would his father's hard-earned money go down the drain, but that Carriage Firm boss would only grow more vicious and keep bullying more rickshaw pullers like his father!

"Don't go!"

Chen Sanwu hurriedly grabbed Chen Jing, his voice urgent. "That boss isn't an ordinary man. He has ties to the Blue Scarf Gang in West City, and there's even a First Blood Martial Artist on their payroll!"

"Jing'er, you may be a martial artist now, but don't act rashly. It's not worth getting yourself into trouble over this little bit of money!"

Chen Jing looked down at his father's face, etched with fear and exhaustion. The anger in his chest threatened to explode.

But in the end, he slowly forced the killing intent down.

"Dad."

Chen Jing's voice was soft, yet unusually steady. "Don't worry."

"I know what to do."

"Get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, just go rent the shop."

Then Chen Jing helped his father back to his room and closed the door.

Chen Jing stood where he was, slowly tightening his fingers. His fists clenched hard, his knuckles grinding together with a crisp crackling sound that rang especially clearly in the still night.

The anger that had flared when he heard his father's wages had been withheld hadn't made Chen Jing lose his reason. Instead, after a brief moment of thought, it had turned entirely into cold resolve.

With a bully like that Carriage Firm boss, a piece of trash who made a living sucking the sweat and blood from the working poor, there was no point in reasoning with him, and begging would be useless. Only real blades and fists could make him hurt, make him learn his lesson, and make him feel the threat of death. Only then would he obediently spit out the hard-earned money he'd swallowed!

But Chen Sanwu's warning still echoed in his ears.

The Carriage Firm boss had connections behind him, and a First Blood Martial Artist backing him up.

Chen Jing wasn't reckless, either. He knew that though he had already reached the peak of First Blood, if it came to a head-on fight, he might not have the upper hand. Worse, he could end up dragging his father into an even more troublesome situation.

So, to be safe, he'd wait until he broke through to the Blood River Realm!

Once he entered the Blood River Realm, both his qi and blood and the force of his punches would undergo a qualitative leap. And by then, Fei Feng and Zhuang Tao would think even more highly of him.

When that time came, never mind a First Blood Martial Artist on the Carriage Firm's payroll—even if the boss had more powerful connections behind him, Chen Jing would have the confidence to demand justice!

At the thought, Chen Jing drew a deep breath of the cool night air and calmed the restlessness in his heart. He picked up a piece of Green-skinned Horned Pig meat wrapped in oil paper and took a fierce bite.

The fat melted across his tongue, releasing a rich meaty aroma. It slid down his throat and into his stomach, instantly turning into a warm current of energy that nourished his ceaselessly circulating meridians.

At the same time, Chen Jing's mind stirred, and he suddenly sped up the circulation of the Five Harms Technique.

The qi and blood in his dantian surged like a raging flood set ablaze, racing wildly along their established meridians. Every circuit made them denser and more powerful.

His meridians swelled, his qi and blood surged, and the flesh all over his body trembled faintly, as though a mighty force were about to break through its shackles.

Chen Jing could clearly feel that his qi and blood had already climbed to the utmost limit of the First Blood Realm. He was like a balloon about to burst, needing only the slightest final push to pierce that invisible barrier.

He had already reached the brink of breaking through to the Blood River Realm!