The Liu Family

East City, Wang Family.

The head of the Wang Family sat at the head of the table with a livid expression. A figure sat on both his left and right, with several men standing below.

"Family Head, the entire Great Fog Mountain has been searched three times, yet there is still no sign of Steward Li and his three companions."

A man stood in the center with his head bowed, not daring to meet the Family Head's gaze.

Steward Li had followed the Family Head since he first began practicing martial arts and possessed his deep trust.

Otherwise, the Family Head would not have put Steward Li in charge of capturing the Purple Fur Beast; who wouldn't be tempted by such a precious medicinal treasure?

"Useless! Steward Li and the others must have been killed in Great Fog Mountain, and you lot can't even find their corpses!"

The Wang Family Head slammed his right hand down, instantly shattering the armrest beside him. He was furious over Steward Li's death, but even more enraged that his chance for a third skin-toughening breakthrough was gone.

A year ago, he had attempted the third skin-toughening, but unfortunately, he had failed.

He had originally thought it would take at least several years before he could attempt it again, but then news of the Purple Fur Beast appeared. At that moment, he felt as if the heavens themselves were granting him this third breakthrough.

But now, it was all gone.

"Please calm your anger, Family Head. Great Fog Mountain is filled with miasma and toxins; we cannot send hounds in to search. Relying solely on manpower makes it truly difficult to find them."

The man on the left spoke to persuade him: "Steward Li met with disaster this time, and the perpetrator must have planned it meticulously, having long since made foolproof preparations to destroy the bodies and erase all traces."

"Are you saying the news of the Purple Fur Beast was leaked? Is it not possible they were simply encountered by other martial artists by chance?"

"The possibility of an accidental encounter is slim."

The man on the left shook his head slightly: "Because of the miasma in Great Fog Mountain, there are very few wild beasts inside. No martial artist would go to Great Fog Mountain to hunt for no reason."

The anger on the Wang Family Head's face subsided slightly as his gaze swept across the room: "The secret of the Purple Fur Beast was known only to those present. If it wasn't an accidental encounter, are you saying someone here leaked the information?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the men standing in the room began to tremble.

"Family Head, the possibility of a leak is extremely small. It is more likely that Steward Li's movements were being watched all along."

The man on the left offered his own speculation: "Family Head, the more cautious Steward Li was when taking men out of the city, the easier it was to arouse suspicion, especially from those families who hold a grudge against our Wang Family."

The Wang Family Head's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man on the right: "Hao, investigate the Zhou Family and the Qian Family in secret. Find out which one of them did this."

The man on the right stood up: "Understood."

Three days later.

Lin Yan left Qingtian Town to enter the city. His external secret medicine had run out, and he needed to go to the martial arts hall to buy more.

The secret medicine prepared by his own martial arts hall had an expiration date; after a month, its efficacy would be greatly reduced. Furthermore, his master would prepare the medicine based on the specific condition of each disciple.

Returning to the South City, Lin Yan frowned as he looked at the locked gate of his house.

Since moving to the South City, his aunt rarely went out. Why would she suddenly lock the door today?

"Little Lin, your aunt must have returned to her maiden home. A group of people came to your house early this morning; they were your aunt's relatives."

The neighbor across the street saw Lin Yan standing in front of the door and spoke up.

"Thank you for the reminder, Old Man Zhang."

Lin Yan cupped his hands in gratitude and headed toward the Liu Family.

After his parents passed away, the Liu Family had once set their sights on his house, but his aunt had refused them. However, Lin Yan understood that as long as the two elders of the Liu Family were still alive, his aunt could not truly sever ties with them.

For his aunt's sake, he could overlook the Liu Family's designs on his property, but if the Liu Family tried to use his name or force his aunt to do anything, they were sorely mistaken.

A quarter of an hour later.

Lin Yan arrived at the Liu Family home in the north of the city.

In the old row of bungalows, many people were standing or squatting in the open space in front of the door—all of them were Liu family members or their relatives.

"Little Brother."

Lin Yan spotted Lin Mo standing alone to one side, head bowed as he counted ants on the ground, and called out to him.

"Big Brother!"

Lin Mo looked up, and upon seeing his older brother, a smile broke out on his face as he ran over.

The Liu family members at the door heard the commotion and looked over. When they saw Lin Yan, several of them stiffened, but they immediately plastered smiles onto their faces.

"Lin Yan is here!"

"Lin Yan, it's been a long time since you've visited your uncle's house."

The second brother of his aunt, Liu, stepped forward with a warm, enthusiastic smile. Lin Yan ignored his words entirely and asked coldly: "Where is my aunt?"

"Third Sister is inside the house talking with Mother, Lin Yan..."

Lin Yan walked straight past him toward the doorway, calling out only when he reached it: "Aunt!"

The second brother of the Liu Family, having been directly ignored, wore a sullen expression but could only stand to the side with a forced smile.

Lin Yan was a martial artist now, a big shot; he was someone they could not afford to offend.

After a while, the door opened and Liu stepped out. Seeing Lin Yan, she looked quite pleased. "Yan'er, why have you come?"

"I just returned and heard you were here, so I came over. Aunt, are you alright?"

Liu shook her head. Just then, an old woman emerged from the house and reached out to grab Lin Yan's hand, but he sidestepped to avoid her.

The old woman's hands grasped at thin air, but she didn't seem embarrassed, immediately breaking into tears. "Little Yan, you don't know how badly our family has been bullied. Look at your uncle—he was beaten so severely by those gang members."

"Mother, stop crying."

Seeing her mother weeping, Liu interrupted her and pulled Lin Yan aside. "Yan'er, I'll be heading back in a moment. You take Mo home first."

"No rush. Tell me what happened first, Aunt."

Lin Yan didn't want to leave just yet; he wasn't at ease leaving his aunt here alone.

Seeing the resolute look in her nephew's eyes, Liu pondered for a long moment before saying, "It's nothing major. Those gangs were just collecting protection fees, and the family couldn't pay at the time. I've already paid the money, and the matter is settled."

Lin Yan only believed half of what his aunt said.

It was certainly true that she had paid the money for the Liu Family, but it was unlikely that the Liu Family couldn't afford it.

Based on his understanding of the Liu Family, now that he had broken through to become a martial artist, they definitely wanted to take advantage of him. The most likely scenario was that they wanted to use his name to avoid paying the protection fees and had hoped his aunt would get him to intervene, though she clearly hadn't agreed.

Seeing Lin Yan pursing his lips, Liu sighed inwardly. She knew he didn't believe her completely; Yan'er was becoming increasingly sharp, capable of seeing the whole picture from a mere glimpse.

Early this morning, her eldest brother had rushed to her home, claiming their mother was ill, so she had hurriedly brought Mo back with her.

She hadn't expected her mother to be perfectly fine. The reason they had tricked her into coming back was that today was the day the Flat Mountain Gang collected their dues. Her eldest and second brothers had deliberately acted tough in front of her, refusing to pay the protection fees and even choosing to get beaten, all to force her to ask Lin Yan to step in.

But she hadn't wavered. She knew exactly what her brothers and nephews were like. If she gave in today, the next time it would be something even more outrageous. If she refused, her brothers would likely drag their mother to her doorstep and threaten to hang themselves.

As a daughter of the Liu Family, she could give them the money she earned from sewing and laundry as a gesture of filial piety, but she would never let Lin Yan get dragged into this.

"Yo, you Liu folks are still here wailing and crying?"

A mocking voice came from nearby. Several burly men walked toward them. As they drew closer, the leader saw Lin Yan, and his expression shifted slightly. His tone became a bit more serious than before. "I am Liu Fei, a hall master of the Flat Mountain Gang. May I ask your name?"

Liu Fei could tell that Lin Yan possessed an extraordinary aura, and he realized the Liu Family hadn't been bluffing—they really did have a martial artist relative.

However, he wasn't intimidated. He was collecting protection fees on behalf of the gang, and he had the entire Flat Mountain Gang backing him.

According to the rules of Guangping County, martial artists were only exempt from paying protection fees for their own households; he wasn't breaking any rules.

Besides, a relative of the Liu Family couldn't possibly be a person of high status. If they had managed to complete one skin-toughening, it was already a blessing from their ancestors; they couldn't possibly be a second-stage skin-toughening martial artist.

There were a few such commoner-born, first-stage skin-toughening martial artists in the county every year, but that was the extent of their potential.

Lin Yan didn't bother responding to Liu Fei at all. Being ignored like this left a flicker of dissatisfaction in Liu Fei's eyes, but facing a first-stage skin-toughening martial artist, he dared not provoke him further. With a soft huff under his breath, he led his companions away.

"Aunt, since the matter is settled, let's head back together."

Hearing her nephew's words, Liu glanced at her mother and finally nodded. "Alright."

Seeing his aunt agree, Lin Yan called out to his younger brother, and the three of them left. The Liu family members wanted to stop them, but under Lin Yan's sweeping gaze, they felt a chill run through their bodies. The Liu mother, in particular, had been about to wail, but she swallowed it back the moment Lin Yan looked her way.

"Senior Brother Lin?"

Just as Lin Yan took a few steps, a voice came from behind him.

Lin Yan stopped. Zhuang Zheng, dressed in the official uniform of the Patrol Bureau, walked up quickly. "It really is Senior Brother Lin. I thought I had seen wrong."

Lin Yan was somewhat surprised to run into Zhuang Zheng here, and even more surprised to see him wearing the uniform of a patrol officer.

The head of the Guangping County Patrol Bureau was a fourth-stage skin-toughening expert, and the deputy heads, like his own Senior Brother Hao, were third-stage. To become a patrol officer, one had to be at least a second-stage skin-toughening martial artist.

"Congratulations on reaching the second stage, Junior Brother Zhuang."

"I was lucky enough to break through last month. It's nothing compared to you, Senior Brother Lin."

Zhuang Zheng scratched his head, smiling somewhat shyly. Lin Yan did a quick mental calculation: from the time Zhuang Zheng joined the martial arts hall until last month was only nine months. Nine months to reach the second stage—that speed was nothing short of fast.

Most importantly, Zhuang Zheng had actually become a patrol officer.

The minimum requirement to be a patrol officer was the second stage, but that didn't mean every second-stage martial artist could hold the position.

The Patrol Bureau was a lucrative post; there were more monks than gruel, and without the right connections, one wouldn't stand a chance.

This junior brother of his was not simple.

"What brings you to the north side of the city, Senior Brother Lin?"

Zhuang Zheng glanced at the Liu family members in the distance. Seeing Zhuang Zheng in his official uniform, the Liu family didn't dare to get any closer.

In their eyes, martial artists were big shots, and patrol officers were government officials—both were existences they couldn't afford to provoke.

"I accompanied my aunt to her maiden home, and now we're heading back."

Hearing Lin Yan's introduction, Zhuang Zheng greeted Liu, "Greetings, Aunt."

"Aunt, this is my junior brother from the martial arts hall."

"Since you two have met, you must have plenty to talk about. I'll take Mo back first."

"Junior Brother Zhuang is on official duty, so I'm afraid he doesn't have time to chat. I'll head back with you, Aunt."

Lin Yan called out to his aunt, and Zhuang Zheng nodded with a smile. "Senior Brother Lin is right. I'm on duty and can't chat much with you now. Senior Brother, let's catch up when I return to the martial arts hall."

"Agreed."

Lin Yan left with his aunt and younger brother. Zhuang Zheng watched the three of them disappear into the street, slowing his pace as he instructed the constable beside him, "Go ask about the situation—every single detail, word for word."

The constable understood and walked toward the Liu Family, then questioned several nearby households, catching up after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Sir, I've cleared it up. Today, members of the Flat Mountain Gang came to collect protection money from the Liu Family. The Liu Family tried to avoid paying by invoking your senior brother's name, but since your senior brother didn't step in, it seems to me that his relationship with the Liu Family isn't very close."

Zhuang Zheng nodded. If the Liu Family had been on good terms with Senior Brother Lin, he would have asked him to look after them just moments ago.

"There is one more thing. Before your senior brother arrived, the Flat Mountain Gang members spoke quite disrespectfully toward his aunt."

Zhuang Zheng's expression remained unchanged. "Let's go."

Back home, while his aunt was busy preparing lunch, Lin Yan called his younger brother aside.

"Little brother, tell me everything that happened today. Don't leave out a single detail."

Lin Mo nodded, and as his brother recounted the events—especially hearing how the Flat Mountain Gang members had been disrespectful toward their aunt—a cold glint flashed through Lin Yan's eyes.