Dare Not Look, Afraid of Unable to Restrain Myself and Killing Them

Time slipped away in a rush.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

By burning both money and midnight oil, Lin Yan's skin-toughening progress continued to climb.

The Martial Dao Tree reached a height of seven inches.

His second round of skin-toughening was now seventy percent complete.

Over three hundred taels of silver for a twenty percent increase; money truly vanishes in the blink of an eye.

Lin Yan pursed his lips. By this calculation, going from the second round of skin-toughening to the third would cost nearly two thousand taels for a single success. If he were to fail...

Fortunately, he would not fail.

He retracted his fists and drew water from the well to wipe down his body.

Returning to Qingtian Town this year, no matter how Axiu pleaded, he refused to let her come to the courtyard again.

He had no romantic intentions toward Axiu. Even if the social climate in Guangping County was liberal, Axiu was responsible for his daily needs; if this continued for long, gossip would inevitably arise, and he feared it would affect her future marriage prospects.

After wiping himself clean, Lin Yan changed into fresh clothes. He went out to inform Zhang Feng and the others that he was heading into the city, then mounted his horse and left Qingtian Town.

Upon entering the city, Lin Yan headed toward his home. Before he even reached his doorstep, a figure hurried past him from behind, rushing forward.

The moment he was overtaken, Lin Yan glanced over. Wasn't that Steward Yang from his uncle's household?

"Steward Yang?"

Steward Yang, who had run ahead, stopped upon hearing the voice. When he turned back and saw Lin Yan, his face lit up with joy. "Young Master Lin, I was just on my way to find you."

"Is there some trouble at my uncle's place?"

"The eldest young master has caused a disaster. The Master and Guard Li sent me to find you; if you weren't there, I was to go to Qingtian Town."

Hearing Steward Yang's words, Lin Yan frowned. The Cai Mansion must be facing a thorny situation.

"Tell me as we walk."

"The eldest young master had a sweetheart at the Fragrant Pavilion. He went there today only to find that she had been reserved by the Young Master of the Wu Family. Enraged, the eldest young master stormed into Young Master Wu's private room, not realizing that Young Master Wu was hosting a second-round skin-toughening disciple from the Zhou Family Martial Arts Hall. In his impulsiveness, he offended the disciple from the Zhou Family Martial Arts Hall, and now he's being held captive."

Lin Yan glanced at the scorching sun overhead. To be frequenting a place like the Fragrant Pavilion in broad daylight—he certainly was diligent.

"Is there bad blood between the Cai Family and the Wu Family?"

"Yes, the Wu Family also deals in textiles, and they have always been at odds with our mansion."

With the two families at odds, combined with a dispute over a woman and the involvement of a martial arts hall disciple, Lin Yan understood immediately: this was a trap set by that Young Master Wu.

As for whether the disciple from the Zhou Family Martial Arts Hall was being used or was a co-conspirator, he would know once he arrived at the scene.

In front of the Fragrant Pavilion, the street was crowded with onlookers.

Cai Ming, the eldest young master of the Cai Family, knelt on the ground. His face was bruised and swollen, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He struggled to stand, only to be pressed firmly back down by the foot of a Wu Family servant.

"Father... Mother..."

He cried out incoherently, his voice choked with sobs.

Cai Wanlong's face was ashen, his fists clenched tight, yet he dared not step forward.

Behind him stood several servants, all with their heads bowed, none daring to move.

"Master Cai, don't look at me like that."

Wu Yan, the Young Master of the Wu Family, smiled thinly. "Your son barged into my private room and disturbed my honored guest. I am merely having him kneel to offer an apology; I've already been very generous."

Cai Wanlong trembled with rage, but he could not utter a word.

The First Madam was already a tear-stained mess. Several times she tried to rush forward to help her son, only to be held back firmly by Li Min.

"Brother Cheng, is it necessary to be this excessive?"

Li An looked at the young man standing beside Wu Yan with his arms crossed.

Cheng Zonghan, a second-round skin-toughening disciple of the Zhou Family Martial Arts Hall, had completed his second round three years ago and was quite famous among the second-round disciples in the county.

The Zhou Family Martial Arts Hall, like the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, was one of the six major martial arts halls in the county.

Cheng Zonghan glanced at Li An and said indifferently, "He ruined my mood for drinking. Making him kneel for half an hour is not excessive at all. If you are dissatisfied, you are welcome to step forward and save him."

Li An was left speechless.

He was only at the first round of skin-toughening; it was impossible for him to save anyone from Cheng Zonghan.

"Master, with Ming'er's constitution, he'll be crippled after half an hour..." the First Madam wailed.

Cai Wanlong knew this, of course, but since they had been trapped by the Wu Family and caught in the act, what could he do?

The surrounding crowd whispered among themselves:

"The Cai Family has been in business for so many years; they should have some connections."

"How can a merchant compare to a martial artist? Especially since this Master Cheng is already at the second round of skin-toughening."

"The Cai Family is finished. After offending someone like this, how will they ever do business again?"

Wu Yan listened to the chatter, the smile on his face deepening.

He wanted exactly this effect; by letting the news spread that the Cai Family had offended someone, the merchants originally collaborating with them would realize that for the sake of stable business, they ought to turn to the Wu Family instead.

"Master!" First Madam continued to plead.

"Wu Yan, this time..."

Cai Wanlong gritted his teeth. He knew what the Wu Family wanted, but for the sake of his eldest son, he had no other choice.

"Uncle-in-law."

Just as Cai Wanlong was about to speak, a commotion rippled through the crowd. People were pushed aside as Lin Yan walked in.

Lin Yan scanned the scene and headed straight toward the pinned-down Cai Ming.

Seeing Lin Yan, Cai Wanlong's eyes lit up: "Nephew Lin!"

Beside him, Li An's face also showed a look of pleasant surprise: "Junior Brother Lin."

Only Li Min wore a look of worry.

The Wu Family servants saw Lin Yan approaching and reached out to block him: "Who the hell are you..."

Before he could finish, a slap landed across his face.

Smack!

A crisp sound exploded through the air.

The servant went flying sideways, the crowd hurriedly scrambling out of the way, before he crashed heavily onto the ground.

The entire place fell silent.

The sudden turn of events left many confused as to what had just happened.

Lin Yan bent down, grabbed Cai Ming, and hauled him up from the ground, his tone indifferent: "Get up."

Cai Ming's legs were weak, and he couldn't even stand steadily, so Lin Yan simply hoisted him up and turned to leave.

The nearby Wu Family servants, having seen their companion's miserable state, didn't dare step forward to stop him. Wu Yan panicked slightly and hurriedly looked toward Cheng Zonghan.

"Stop."

Cheng Zonghan spoke, eyeing the clothing Lin Yan wore: "Someone from the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall?"

Lin Yan didn't look back, merely saying coolly: "Cai Ming was rude first and has already been punished. Let this matter end here."

Cheng Zonghan sneered. He had declared that Cai Ming would kneel for half an hour; if it ended just like this, where would his face be once word got out?

"And if I don't agree?"

Lin Yan ignored him and kept walking.

Cheng Zonghan's expression darkened. He was a man of status and reputation in the county's martial arts circle; when had he ever been ignored like this?

"If you want to take him, then let me see what you're capable of."

With a fierce shout, Cheng Zonghan kicked off the ground, his body shooting forward like an arrow, his palm striking toward the center of Lin Yan's back!

"Watch out!"

Li An hurriedly called out a warning.

Lin Yan didn't even turn his head.

The moment Cheng Zonghan's palm was about to touch his back, he suddenly sidestepped, his right hand forming a fist, and countered with a Mountain Splitting Fist!

Fist and palm collided.

Bang!

Cheng Zonghan felt a massive force surge from his palm, his entire arm instantly going numb. A look of shock crossed his face—the opponent's punching power was unexpectedly this strong!

Before his shock could fade, Lin Yan's second punch arrived.

This punch was faster and fiercer.

The wind whistled as the fist slammed directly into his chest!

Bang!

Cheng Zonghan went flying backward, his back slamming hard against the door pillar of the Fragrant Pavilion. The wooden pillar cracked with a snap, and he slid to the ground a few moments later.

The entire scene was deathly silent.

The Wu Family servants, in particular, felt a wave of relief.

It was fortunate they hadn't tried to stop him earlier; if even this Master Cheng had been sent flying, they would likely have lost their lives had they stepped in.

Cheng Zonghan slumped under the pillar, clutching his chest, staring at Lin Yan in utter disbelief.

How could this be? He hadn't even been able to take two punches?

It wasn't as if he hadn't seen the second-stage skin-tempering disciples from the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall before; he knew all those who were stronger than him. Because Lin Yan's face was unfamiliar, he had clearly assumed he was just a new disciple who had recently entered the second stage of skin-tempering, which was why he had been so stubborn and refused to give him face.

Could this person be a hidden genius of the Yang Family?

Lin Yan didn't look at Cheng Zonghan again; he was afraid that if he looked any longer, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from beating Cheng Zonghan to death.

Since he began practicing martial arts, everyone he had crossed hands with, save for Junior Brother Zhao, had been beaten to death by him.

Wu Yan stood on the steps, the smile on his face frozen solid.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at Cheng Zonghan slumped against the door pillar, then at that back retreating without a glance, he couldn't spit out a single word.

Lin Yan carried Cai Ming back before he finally greeted Master Cai and Senior Brother Li.

"Junior Brother Lin, your strength has improved to a heaven-defying level!"

Li An slapped Lin Yan's shoulder hard, as excited as if he were the one who had defeated Cheng Zonghan.

Two punches.

A mere two punches.

Cheng Zonghan, who had been famous for so long, had been defeated; Junior Brother Lin's strength was simply terrifying.

Li Min's red lips parted slightly, and she still hadn't recovered from the shock. She didn't know much about the martial path, but she knew that for the aforementioned Master Cheng to be so arrogant while the Master and Guard Li could only endure it, it was enough to prove how formidable he was.

Yet, such a formidable person had been knocked down by her nephew in two punches.

Earlier, she had been worried that her nephew would get hurt.

From Li Min's perspective, Cai Ming was born to the First Madam, so it would be a good thing if he were crippled; however, she was not so short-sighted. Today, the Wu Family was out to slap the face of the entire Cai Family, which concerned the Cai Family's business.

Seeing Lin Yan appear, she was both happy and worried. She was happy because it would naturally be good if Lin Yan could uphold the Cai Family's reputation, but worried because if Lin Yan were injured, it would be a bad thing for both the Cai Family and herself.

Fortunately, her nephew was incredibly capable.

Li Min was now immensely grateful that she had helped Lin Yan back then out of kinship.

With Lin Yan around, regardless of whether Cai Ming was crippled or not, as long as the Master didn't lose his mind, the Cai Family's estate would be passed down to Jun'er in the future.

The onlookers didn't even dare to look at Lin Yan. It wasn't until Lin Yan and the Cai Family had left that they suddenly began to discuss the event:

"Who is that guy..."

"From the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, and he sent Master Cheng flying with two punches?"

"Since when did the Cai Family... get involved with someone like this?"

"I... I heard Master Cai call him nephew just now. Is he a relative of the Cai Family?"

"With such a formidable relative, no one will dare to trip up the Cai Family's business in the future."

Listening to these discussions, Wu Yan's expression was incredibly ugly, but thinking of the scene where the other party sent Master Cheng flying with two punches, he felt a chill run through his entire body and couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.