The Warrior's Might

"This lowly one is Mazi, a patrol member of the Black River Gang."

"This lowly one is Scarface, a patrol member of the Black River Gang."

Before Li Chengfeng's courtyard gate, the two patrol gang members who had come over clasped their hands together and bowed deeply to Li Chengfeng in unison. "Greetings, My Lord martial artist!"

"At least you have some manners."

Seeing their behavior, Li Chengfeng smiled, then raised his brows and looked at them with an amused expression. "What? You two want to collect my protection money for him?"

"My Lord, you jest. This protection money could be collected from anyone, but never from you. I think this brat must have lost his head, to actually dare ask you for protection money. Truly, he has eyes but cannot recognize Mount Tai."

Mazi's face was piled full of smiles as he repeatedly cupped his hands and bowed toward Li Chengfeng.

"Right, right, right, My Lord. You are magnanimous; don't lower yourself to bicker with little people like us."

Scarface also hurriedly spoke, his face full of a fawning smile as he addressed Li Chengfeng.

The two of them acting like this made the fat gang member beside them look a little different.

Damn it, do you think I wanted this? How was I supposed to know he was a martial artist? If I'd known he was a martial artist, would I have dared come up and ask for protection money?

With that thought, then looking at the two colleagues beside him who only cared about currying favor and not about him, the fat man flew into a rage.

He dropped to his knees on the spot and shouted, "Grandfather, this little grandson truly didn't know!"

"..."

On either side of Li Chengfeng's home, Aunt Wang and Aunt Chen, who had just had protection money demanded from them by the Black River Gang members, stared in disbelief at the scene at Li Chengfeng's gate.

"He became a martial artist! He really became a martial artist!"

"Heavens have no justice! It's only been a month, so how did he not only avoid emptying out the family coffers, but even become a martial artist?"

The two women watched Li Chengfeng actually practice into becoming a martial artist at home, and each felt worse than the other. Jealousy twisted the expressions on their faces.

"He's too heartless. He's already become a martial artist, but he didn't even say he'd help our two families get the protection money waived too!"

"Exactly. And to think we've been neighbors for so many years!"

The two women thought of the good days Li Chengfeng would have after becoming a martial artist, then thought of Liu Yuniang, with her fair skin and beautiful looks, prettier than them, and now living days so much better than theirs...

Their hearts instantly felt as uncomfortable as if clawed by cats, uneasy no matter what, sour with envy.

Although when Li Chengfeng's family had been so poor they could barely keep the pot boiling, they had not helped at all.

Although even when Liu Yuniang went out to wash clothes for others, they had not been willing to accompany her, instead each seeking someone else, forcing Liu Yuniang to find women from farther away to go with.

But could that be the same?

They had their own difficulties in doing that. How could Li Chengfeng refuse to treat them well and help them just because they had treated him badly?

The two women, burning with jealous fire, were still talking when suddenly Li Chengfeng looked over the courtyard wall with an icy gaze.

They both shivered at once, only then remembering that Li Chengfeng was already a martial-artist lord!

With that thought, the two women's faces went pale. They no longer dared make a sound, turned their heads, lowered them, and slunk back into their own houses.

"My Lord, we had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. We hope you will forgive us this once."

Before Li Chengfeng's courtyard gate, several Black River Gang members repeatedly cupped their hands and bowed toward Li Chengfeng, their faces full of ingratiating smiles as they spoke.

The fat gang member had even acknowledged himself as a grandson, terrified that his actions had made this lord before him unhappy.

The two patrol members who had come on patrol regretted it so much their guts went green, thinking, How did my brain cramp so badly that I came and provoked this mess?

If this martial-artist lord did not care, then fine. But what if he wanted to find some fault?

With a body like mine, could I take one punch from him?

Looking at the stone Li Chengfeng had shattered in the courtyard, Scarface and Mazi regretted it endlessly. When the fat man thought of what he had said when he first entered, his back was even slick with nervous sweat.

The three of them now only prayed that this absurd existence before them, who could shut himself inside his own courtyard and practice into becoming a martial artist, would show mercy and let them off.

"All right. Since you didn't know this time, forget it. Don't let there be a next time."

Li Chengfeng glanced at them indifferently, then calmly pointed at the shattered stones on the ground. "However, my courtyard was dirtied because of you."

"My Lord, don't trouble yourself, My Lord. We'll clean it up for you, we'll clean it up for you!"

Hearing that Li Chengfeng was willing to let the matter pass, all five of them were overjoyed. Seeing that what he mentioned was such a small matter, each of them scrambled to speak first.

As they spoke, the five swarmed in. One after another, they bent down to pick up the broken stones, carrying them in the folds of their clothes, their faces full of ingratiating smiles as they cleared all the rubble out of the courtyard.

"Now that it's cleaned up, all of you get lost."

Li Chengfeng stood calmly in the courtyard. Toward these gang members, he had no good attitude, and spoke indifferently.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. We'll get lost, we'll get lost."

At Li Chengfeng's words, the five people who had carefully swept the entire courtyard finally relaxed. They nodded and bowed repeatedly as they spoke, then slunk out of the courtyard together.

After they went out, when they demanded protection money from the other households, even their voices were much quieter.

Li Chengfeng watched them all leave, then calmly shut the courtyard gate. When he turned back and looked at Liu Yuniang sitting inside, graceful and soft, fair and lovely, his face was already full of smiles.

Becoming a martial artist was indeed different!

"Chengfeng, now that others know you've become a martial artist, will a lot of people come looking for you next to serve as their registered backing?"

Watching the scene unfold in the courtyard, Liu Yuniang's eyes were already shining. She could not help taking small steps over to Li Chengfeng's side, straightened his collar, and looked at him expectantly as she asked.

She had learned several days ago that Li Chengfeng had broken through to martial artist and had already been happy in advance, so just now, when Li Chengfeng suddenly displayed a martial artist's strength, she had not been too shocked.

Only, thinking of their life from now on, Liu Yuniang could not keep a trace of joy from her brow.

"Hard to say. By common sense, there should be."

Li Chengfeng held Liu Yuniang's soft hand and spoke with a smile, his eyes flickering.

So-called affiliation meant attaching one's name under a certain place of business. One did not need to stay there all the time; one only needed to lend one's name, and be willing to stand up and speak for them at crucial moments, to receive silver.

And shops that had a martial artist affiliated with them would often do business more steadily. People would not come making trouble at every turn, and there would be even less chance of some newly advanced martial artist coming to rob them and the like. So they were also willing to give silver in search of a martial artist's affiliation.

Green Mountain City had businesses of all sizes, but Li Chengfeng had not known any wealthy people before. Now, although his cultivation had been revealed, how many people would learn of it, and how many would be willing to affiliate themselves with a martial artist they did not know, was still hard to say.

"It's all right. Even if there's no affiliation, now that we don't have to pay protection money, our days will be much easier."

Hearing this, Liu Yuniang could not help hanging a smile on her delicate cheeks. Her soft white arms looped around Li Chengfeng's neck as she spoke with a beaming smile.

"This is only the very beginning. Since you've become my woman, there'll be plenty of good days ahead."

Li Chengfeng smiled, then calmly said to Liu Yuniang, "I'm in a good mood today. As they say, tension and relaxation should be properly balanced. Come on, let's go back inside and have a good rest before practicing martial arts again."

Hearing him say "go back inside and have a good rest," then seeing Li Chengfeng's gaze, Liu Yuniang's cheeks reddened. She nodded slightly, and then Li Chengfeng smilingly wrapped an arm around her waist and led her into the room.

"Chengfeng, slower..."

"..."

One hour later.

Light and refreshed, Li Chengfeng walked out of the room, stretched in the courtyard, and looked around. A wave of crisp freshness arose spontaneously in his heart.

He could not help picking up the spear at the edge of the courtyard and fiercely started practicing with it in the bamboo grove.

"Chi chi chi..."

The spear swept and stabbed, wind howling like a tiger.

Liu Yuniang, who walked out behind him, had a face full of blush. Red with embarrassment, she muttered, "That wicked donkey..."