045 They have a grudge against you

Zhang He's expression shifted slightly. Seeing the white-clad youth strike with such vicious intent, a surge of anger rose within him. Just then, a shrill scream erupted from the flamboyant woman behind them.

"You damn commoner! This is no place for you to be brawling! Get out at once! If you break anything here, you couldn't afford to pay for it even if you sold yourself!"

Zhang He glanced over to see the garishly dressed woman shouting anxiously in their direction. She had intended to stop the white-clad youth, but realizing that he clearly possessed a formidable background, she had redirected her hostility toward Zhang He instead.

It takes two to tango, she reasoned; if Zhang He just left, the white-clad youth would surely stop fighting.

"Damn it!" Zhang He cursed inwardly. He saw through the woman's scheme perfectly. Faced with this situation, she was actually trying to shift the blame onto him.

A sudden idea struck Zhang He. Instead of parrying the youth's attack, he dodged backward. The white-clad youth's strike immediately hit empty air.

"Such speed!" The white-clad youth felt a jolt of alarm as he watched Zhang He nimbly evade his attack. He had been absolutely certain he could seize Zhang He in an instant, yet he hadn't even brushed the hem of his opponent's clothes!

Refusing to believe it, the white-clad youth lunged forward, his hands clawing out with ferocious intensity, as if intent on tearing Zhang He to shreds.

Zhang He offered a faint, cold smile. Feeling the hard surface of a counter behind him, he waited until the youth's claws were a mere three inches from his body before slipping away with effortless grace.

The white-clad youth's attack missed once more, but the sheer momentum carried his claws crashing into the counter behind Zhang He.

"Crack!"

The counter shattered into pieces on the spot, and the jewelry displayed upon it scattered across the floor. The flamboyant shop assistant had long since scrambled to the side, but seeing her supervisor's counter smashed to bits, she felt a pang of agonizing heartbreak.

"Stop fighting! This is no place for you to brawl; go outside if you want to fight! You damn commoner, did you hear what I said? Can you afford to pay for what you've broken?" The woman shrieked, her heart aching as she cursed, though she lacked the nerve to insult the white-clad youth.

Hearing her vitriol, a cold glint flashed in Zhang He's eyes. She truly was beyond redemption. With a flicker of his body, he lured the white-clad youth toward another nearby counter. The youth lashed out with a kick, the air whistling as a flurry of leg shadows whipped toward Zhang He's head.

Zhang He moved like a willow catkin in the wind, drifting away lightly as the kick arrived. With a slight tilt of his body, the youth's powerful, whip-like leg slammed heavily into the counter behind him.

Crack!

The sturdy mahogany cabinet splintered instantly. The jewelry carefully arranged inside tumbled to the ground, some pieces shattering upon impact.

"It's over, it's all over. When the boss finds out, I'll surely be punished." The flamboyant shop assistant's eyes went vacant.

She had realized that Zhang He was doing this on purpose. He could have easily dodged in any other direction, yet he consistently led the white-clad youth toward the counters!

Nearby, the woman in black watched the scene of devastation with a flash of embarrassment. She knew they had caused a disaster! This Fengxiang Jewelry Store was a property of a prominent family in Luowang Prefecture; for their group to cause such a ruckus and leave the place in ruins would surely incite the owners' wrath!

"You won't be running off after breaking our goods!" Several shop assistants emerged, surrounding the woman in black and Zhao Feng.

They knew they had to detain these people and hold them accountable for the day's events, or they would be the ones to suffer the consequences.

"Hmph! It's merely a bit of jewelry; we don't even hold such trifles in our eyes!" The woman in black's pretty face turned cold. She raised her hand, revealing a pale green token to the assistants.

Upon seeing the emblem on the token, the assistants were struck with sudden terror: "Nobility!" They immediately stood in respectful, fearful silence.

"All of today's losses will be charged to my account," the woman in black said indifferently.

"Zhang He, if you have the guts, stop dodging!"

At this, the white-clad youth roared in fury. From start to finish, he had been attacking wildly while Zhang He hadn't parried a single blow, only dodged. It left him feeling as though he were punching at smoke!

"Stop dodging? Should I just stand here like a fool and let you hit me?" Zhang He scoffed. Hearing the woman in black's words, he couldn't help but sneer.

"It seems you lot are quite wealthy. Very well, I shall help this Fengxiang Jewelry Store perform a thorough cleaning!" Zhang He continued to dodge, guiding the white-clad youth's fists and kicks to systematically destroy the remaining counters.

Even though the woman in black had the money to spare, watching the white-clad youth destroy the shop under Zhang He's guidance made her heart ache. She had seen through Zhang He's intentions: he had been insulted by the shop, so he was using her brother as a blade to destroy the store, ensuring that the blame for the destruction would fall squarely on their shoulders!

"Brother, stop! If you keep fighting, you'll tear the whole shop down!" the woman in black couldn't help but interject.

Zhao Feng looked at Zhang He, and seeing that the man hadn't sustained a single injury, he felt a surge of disappointment and hissed viciously, "That lowly commoner!"

"Are you done fighting?" Zhang He watched the white-clad youth with an air of leisure. "If you're finished, I'll be taking my leave." His tone was laced with a faint, provocative edge.

The shop assistants nearby were on the verge of tears. Kind sir, please, just leave! We beg you!

"If you have the guts, let's go outside to an open space and fight!" The white-clad youth was hopping mad. He knew Zhang He was deliberately trying to ruin him! Seeing the wreckage everywhere, his heart pounded with dread; he would ultimately be the one to pay for these losses. If his family found out, he would certainly be punished!

The white-clad youth had developed a deep, burning hatred for Zhang He.

"Brother, come back. Stop fighting!" The woman in black stepped forward to stop him, her gaze landing on Zhang He's face like a cold blade. "You have plenty of nerve, but those who are the boldest are often the first to die. Your actions today will ultimately cost you a heavy price!"

Zhang He glanced at the woman in black and laughed heartily. "I've always been a bold man. But you have plenty of nerve yourself. Others have threatened me before, and in the end, they all died! You'd best look after yourselves."

Zhang He scanned the wreckage and clicked his tongue. "I truly wonder what deep grudge you hold against this place to smash it up like this. You'll be paying a hefty sum for this, won't you?"

Despite his words, Zhang He felt a strange sensation. These people had trashed the place, and the owners...

With that, Zhang He saw the dark expressions on Zhao Feng and his companions' faces, laughed, and strode away.

"Little sister, why didn't you let me keep fighting! I wanted to catch him today and break his arms to vent the anger for our cousin!" the white-clad youth said furiously, like a bellowing bull.

"From start to finish, you couldn't even touch a hair on his head. If you kept fighting, would you have hit him? His strength is surely above yours! Even if you truly clashed, you would likely be the one to suffer," the woman in black said, her eyes flashing with cold light as she watched Zhang He's retreating back. She was deeply curious about his skills; he had remained light and effortless throughout, surely without revealing his true power.

Hearing this, Zhao Feng's expression shifted. Zhang He's cultivation was actually higher than his cousin's? He recalled the sight of Zhao Lei's gruesome death just days ago.

He couldn't help but shiver. Could it be that Zhang He was the one who killed Zhao Lei?

"Even I am no match for him..." The white-clad youth heard her words, and though he was loath to admit it, he knew his sister wasn't speaking idly.

"Are we just going to let this brat act so smug?" He felt deeply unwilling to let it go.

"In a little while, Brother Zhao Gu will return. He always doted on Cousin Zhao Feng; having him deal with this Zhang He will be a simple matter," the woman in black said calmly.

"That's right, my brother is coming back soon. When he takes action, Zhang He will have nowhere to run!" Zhao Feng's eyes lit up. In a short while, the Family Ranking Conference would begin, and his brother would return as was tradition.

"But what is Zhang He doing at Fengxiang Jewelry? Could he be here to buy jewelry? Cousin Zhao Feng, isn't Zhang He a commoner? The jewelry here is worth a fortune; how could he possibly afford it?" the woman in black suddenly asked, puzzled.

"Lian Yunbi's birthday is coming up soon, and she invited him. It seems he came here to buy a gift for her. Hmph, to dare to come to a place like this without money—how laughable. He was just lingering around the Heavenly Fragrance Phoenix Crown, wasn't he?" Zhao Feng's eyes shifted.

"The Heavenly Fragrance Phoenix Crown is worth over eight hundred gold. You aren't thinking of buying it, are you?" The young man in white looked at Zhao Feng's expression and couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

"My family wants me to get closer to Lian Yunbi. If I present this Heavenly Fragrance Phoenix Crown on her birthday, tell me, how moved do you think she would be?" Zhao Feng smiled triumphantly. If he brought out the Heavenly Fragrance Phoenix Crown at the banquet and compared it to Zhang He's gift, it would highlight how insignificant Zhang He's offering was and better win Lian Yunbi's favor!

Thinking of this, Zhao Feng felt a surge of heat in his heart. Although this Heavenly Fragrance Phoenix Crown was expensive, if he could gain Lian Yunbi's favor, it would be absolutely worth it!

"Old man, your hands are already crippled, yet you still want to freeload at Fengxiang Jewelry? Isn't that a bit too shameless? Back then, the boss took pity on you and gave you thirty gold! That was enough for you to live out your twilight years in comfort, but you spent it all on alcohol. Now you want to come back and ask for money? Do you really think Fengxiang Jewelry is your retirement home?"

A dark-faced man coldly berated the old man standing before him—the same old man Zhang He had seen before entering the shop.

"For all these years, I have given my heart and soul to Fengxiang Jewelry, even crafting the Heavenly Fragrance Phoenix Crown, the very treasure that anchors this shop! To think you would burn bridges like this! You have no humanity! If it weren't for you rushing the work, would my hands have reached this state? If I don't drink, my hands shake with pain; this is a lingering injury from overworking here. Now that my hands are ruined, is this how you treat me?"

The old man said, his face streaming with tears.

Hearing this, Zhang He felt a stir in his heart and stopped in his tracks. The Heavenly Fragrance Phoenix Crown was actually crafted by this old man?

"Get lost! If you block the way again, watch out, or I'll break your legs!" The dark-faced man lost his patience and roared.