When Chen Jianghe stepped into the courtyard, everyone's eyes converged on him.
He wore an indigo martial arts uniform—the standard outfit issued by the escort agency. The Butchery Blade that had been with him for years hung at his waist, and his steps were steady.
Su Derong's eyes flew open. When he saw Chen Jianghe, he first froze, then his expression changed. "Jianghe? What are you doing here? Go back!"
Chen Jianghe ignored him and walked straight to the open space in the courtyard, stopping five paces in front of Zhao Mingyuan.
He cupped his fists toward Zhao Mingyuan and spoke calmly. "Instructor Zhao."
Zhao Mingyuan's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He recognized Chen Jianghe. They had met once at Zuichun Brothel. He was the new junior brother his master had taken in, and supposedly had some talent.
But no matter how gifted he was, he was still just a disciple of a down-and-out martial arts school. What kind of trouble could he stir up here?
Li Tian let out a derisive laugh. "Well, if it isn't Junior Brother Chen. Come to see your Third Senior Brother off?"
Chen Jianghe ignored him.
Zhao Mingyuan spoke slowly, his voice carrying a condescending indifference. "Chen Jianghe? This has nothing to do with you."
"It does." Chen Jianghe took a coarse cloth bundle from inside his robes and untied it.
He set the bundle on the ground and pushed it forward half a step. "There are two hundred taels' worth of gold notes here, along with forty-two taels of silver."
The courtyard fell abruptly silent.
Even the banners snapping in the wind could be heard clearly.
Zhou Yong, Wang Gui, Zhao Tieshan, and the others stared wide-eyed at the pile of money on the ground, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Su Derong trembled all over. His folding fan snapped shut with a smack, and he stared fixedly at Chen Jianghe.
Li Tian froze for a moment, then burst into a mocking laugh. "Well, Junior Brother Chen, look at you throwing money around! You just happen to have gold notes lying around? You didn't steal them, did you?"
Chen Jianghe looked up at him, his voice still steady. "If you don't believe me, you can check them here and now. The notes are from Tongbao Silver Bank. They're genuine, no tricks."
One of the attendants behind Zhao Mingyuan hurried forward and crouched down to inspect them carefully. A moment later, he looked up, surprise showing on his face. "Instructor Zhao, they're genuine."
Zhao Mingyuan fixed his gaze on Chen Jianghe, his eyes growing more intent. "Where did you get so much money?"
The corner of Chen Jianghe's mouth lifted in an almost mocking curve. "Why should I explain the source of my private property to you, Instructor Zhao?"
Zhao Mingyuan narrowed his eyes but didn't press him further. Instead, he looked at Su Derong. "The principal of four hundred taels is settled."
Su Derong was just about to breathe a sigh of relief—
"What about the interest?" Zhao Mingyuan said coolly. "The IOU makes it perfectly clear. The odd amount has been rounded off, leaving one hundred taels of gold."
"One hundred taels?!" Zhou Yong couldn't help shouting. "What money house would calculate it that way?!"
Li Tian sneered. "It's all there in black and white. Su Jingming put his seal on it himself. What, trying to wriggle out of it?"
Chen Jianghe fell silent, but he understood.
In troubled times, might made right.
The Zhao Family was determined to swallow the Su Family Escort Agency today. Naturally, they weren't going to settle for the four-hundred-tael principal.
He slowly let out a breath. "So, Instructor Zhao, you're saying we still owe one hundred taels of gold?"
Zhao Mingyuan replied coldly, "Debts must be repaid. It's only right. It's all in black and white; there's no denying it."
He couldn't come up with one hundred taels of gold.
Unless...
He instinctively touched the manual for Phantom Shadow Steps inside his robes.
If he pawned the manual, it could fetch several hundred taels of gold.
But it belonged to the Green Dragon Guard. If it got out, and the Green Dragon Gang traced it back to him...
As he hesitated—
"What, can't scrape it together?"
A derisive chuckle rang out.
Chen Wanglong stepped out from beside Zhao Mingyuan. He wore a brocade robe and jade belt, his face cold.
He walked slowly up to Chen Jianghe and looked down at his half-cousin, a man he had never once regarded.
He spoke slowly, his tone mocking. "So it's you. The illegitimate cousin from Loach Bay."
He paused, his tone growing even more dismissive. "For a bastard son, you've done all right for yourself. But stay out of things that aren't your concern. And don't show off when you shouldn't."
Chen Jianghe remained silent.
Seeing him like this, Chen Wanglong felt the inexplicable irritation in his heart grow stronger.
This half-cousin, ignored by the family from childhood and trampled beneath his feet, actually dared to stand here and look at him so calmly?
What gave him the right?
He suddenly recalled the disdain on Grandfather Chen Qingyi's face months ago in the main hall of the Chen Family, when he had brought up Chen Jianghe. "What future could a bastard son have? Wanglong, you're the future of the Chen Family."
And yet now, this "good-for-nothing" bastard son had brought out a full two hundred taels of gold!
A sinister glint flashed through Chen Wanglong's eyes.
He wouldn't allow it.
He wouldn't allow a bastard son to stand before him wearing that air of calm composure.
His voice suddenly rose. "Chen Jianghe, do you know that before a true genius, your paltry abilities are no more than an ant trying to shake a tree?"
Before his words had even faded, he suddenly attacked!
No warning, no windup.
His right fist shot straight for Chen Jianghe's vitals!
The punch was vicious in the extreme. He was plainly trying to cripple Chen Jianghe's cultivation and destroy his martial arts foundation!
Everyone around them was startled.
No one had expected Chen Wanglong to attack without warning, much less to unleash such a vicious killing blow!
Su Derong's expression changed drastically. He shouted, "How dare you!"
Zhao Mingyuan frowned but made no move to stop him.
Li Tian grinned, delight shining in his eyes. That brat Chen Jianghe was done for today!
In the blink of an eye, Chen Jianghe moved.
He didn't retreat or dodge. He didn't even take a stance.
He merely lowered his hips slightly, raised his right fist, and met Chen Wanglong's vicious punch with a simple, straight one.
His fist moved without sound, wind, or force.
It was as if he had merely raised his hand at random.
Their fists met.
"Bang—!"
A muffled impact exploded through the courtyard like a great drum being struck!
The sneer on Chen Wanglong's face froze.
He felt an overwhelming, yielding force seep through Chen Jianghe's fist and bore into his arm, threading its way through his muscles and tendons!
Everywhere it passed, his flesh went numb and his blood qi stagnated. His entire right arm lost all feeling in an instant!
Worse, a surge of Dark Strength slithered through him like a poisonous snake, striking straight into his dantian and churning his blood and qi until his throat turned sweet!
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Chen Wanglong staggered back three steps, each one leaving a deep footprint in the blue bricks. By the third, he could no longer hold his balance and dropped to one knee!
He jerked his head up and glared at Chen Jianghe, his eyes full of shock and disbelief. "You... you have Dark Strength too?!"
The entire courtyard fell deathly silent.
Every gaze was fixed on Chen Jianghe.
Shock and confusion filled those eyes... then all of it gave way to an almost absurd disbelief.
Dark Strength?
This boy looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. He came from a collateral branch in Loach Bay and had learned martial arts at a run-down place like Xingyi Martial Arts Hall... and he had Dark Strength?!
Zhou Yong, Wang Gui, Zhao Tieshan... Every escort guard of the Su Family stared in stunned silence, as if seeing the young man before them for the first time.
The smile on Li Tian's face froze completely.
Even Zhao Mingyuan, who had remained cold and expressionless all along, now had pupils that shrank sharply.
Chen Jianghe slowly lowered his fist and straightened up.
He looked calmly at Chen Wanglong on one knee and spoke in the same even tone. "Cousin, I let you win."
"You... you..." Chen Wanglong trembled all over, whether from anger or injury, it was hard to tell. "You hid your strength well!"
Chen Jianghe didn't respond. He merely turned to Zhao Mingyuan and held out the bundle again. "Instructor Zhao, here are four hundred taels of gold. Take the principal first. The Su Family will gather the remaining interest within three months. Please return the IOU."
Zhao Mingyuan stared at him for a full three breaths.
Then he suddenly smiled.
His smile was cold, carrying a condescending scrutiny and amusement. "Chen Jianghe... I underestimated you. An eighteen-year-old with Dark Strength would count as a genius even in the Inner City. But..."
He paused, his voice turning sharp. "Even a genius has to know the rules!"
"The rules?" Chen Jianghe looked up. "Repaying debts is the greatest rule of all. But if you're trying to force someone into ruin with exorbitant interest... I doubt that rule will hold up."
Zhao Mingyuan gave a cold snort. "You've got a sharp tongue. I can take the money. I can return the IOU, too. But—"
His gaze swept over Chen Wanglong on one knee, then returned to Chen Jianghe. "You injured someone from the Zhao Family. How are we settling that score?"
Su Derong could no longer hold back. He stepped forward. "Zhao Mingyuan! Chen Wanglong struck first. Jianghe was only defending himself! There are plenty of witnesses here. You're trying to twist right and wrong!"
"Self-defense?" Zhao Mingyuan said indifferently. "Chen Wanglong is a prized disciple of Zhenlei Martial Arts Hall and an honored guest of the Zhao Family. He was disciplining an unworthy junior of his own family. What did he do wrong? Your junior brother, on the other hand, overstepped his station and struck viciously... If I don't teach him a lesson today, what will become of the Zhao Family's dignity?"
Before his words had faded, the seven or eight Zhao Family Bodyguards behind him all stepped forward, locking their auras onto Chen Jianghe.
Li Tian gave a savage grin and drew his long saber. "Senior Brother, why waste your breath on this brat? Cripple his cultivation and see if he still dares act so arrogant!"
Chen Jianghe's gaze turned cold.
His right hand slowly dropped to his waist, his fingertips touching the hilt of his blade, while his left hand quietly reached for the pouch of lime powder inside his robes.
It wouldn't do much against experts with Dark Strength, but in a melee, it could still create an opening or two.
Just as the situation grew taut as a drawn bowstring—
"What, two Zhao Family dogs planning to win by outnumbering us?"
Su Derong's voice suddenly rang out. His folding fan snapped open, and he stepped in front of Chen Jianghe, shielding him behind his back.
His pale-moon silk shirt stirred in the wind. The face that usually wore a carefree smile was now completely expressionless.
"Su Derong," Zhao Mingyuan said, narrowing his eyes. "You want to get involved?"
"He's my junior brother." Su Derong waved his fan, his tone casual. "Touch him, and you touch me. If the Zhao Family wants to win by outnumbering us... fine. You'll have to step over my corpse first."
"Young Gang Leader!" Zhou Yong, Wang Gui, and the others shouted, their eyes reddening. They rushed forward with their sabers and stood shoulder to shoulder with Su Derong.
The Zhao Family Bodyguards stopped and looked toward Zhao Mingyuan.
Zhao Mingyuan stared at Su Derong, then suddenly smiled. "Good, good. What touching brotherly affection. Since that's how it is..."
He slowly drew the long saber at his waist.
"I'll grant you your wish."
The blade was dark, with a faint glimmer of blood.
The tension snapped tight to its breaking point!
But just as Zhao Mingyuan was about to give the order—
Chen Wanglong, still kneeling on the ground, suddenly let out a beastlike growl!
He jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot, and glared fixedly at Chen Jianghe. His voice rasped, "Chen Jianghe... I'll kill you!"
Before the words had faded, he sprang into action!
This time, he held nothing back. His Dark Strength burst forth in full, his blood and qi steaming around him. His fist tore through the air, carrying the tragic fury of a man ready to die with his enemy, and shot straight at Chen Jianghe!
That punch gathered all his hatred, humiliation, and resentment!
He would utterly crush the half-cousin standing before him!