Die for the Young Master

"Get up. Mancang, take them with you," Zhang Yu said.

"Yes, Master!"

Zhang Yu did not ride in the carriage again. Instead, he walked toward the southern part of the city, familiarizing himself with Boundless City as he went.

Chu Qingwen followed at his side, explaining the distribution of power in Boundless City at any time.

This place was ruled by six gangs, large and small. The largest was the Ghost Alliance; its leader was a Transformation Force martial artist, and his Ghost Claw Technique had reached the pinnacle of mastery.

The second-largest was the Broadsword Gang. Its leader was half a step into Transformation Force, and his Thirty-Six Mountain-Cleaving Saber Forms were incomparably ferocious.

The third-largest was the Black Tiger Gang. Its leader was at the peak of Dark Force and had cultivated the third-rate technique Black Tiger Fist to perfection.

Niu Mancang and Li Yue looked after the thirteen children. The youngest was three, while the oldest was only six.

Wen Hua, Zhao Dun, and Xia Shuang followed within the group, curiously sizing up Zhang Yu and the others.

They found it strange. Why were there so many children?

"Boss, they aren't child traffickers, are they? Should we run?" Zhao Dun whispered to Wen Hua.

"Don't talk nonsense. Look at how spirited these children are, and how clean and presentable their clothes are. If they really were traffickers, these children would have dull eyes and be so thin they were skin and bones," Wen Hua said.

He had observed them very carefully.

Li Yue overheard their conversation and said angrily, "Hmph! These children are orphans my master took in. They're all children of refugees. Without my master, they would have starved to death long ago."

In Li Yue's heart, Zhang Yu was the best person in the world. She would never allow anyone to speak ill of him.

"Miss, my brother misspoke. I apologize to you on his behalf." Wen Hua hurriedly cupped his hands.

"Hmph!" Li Yue snorted and did not pursue the matter further.

Wen Hua desperately wanted to know more about Zhang Yu. Earlier, Zhang Yu had merely asked whether they wanted to learn martial arts; he had never said he would teach them. Wen Hua's heart was in turmoil.

Seeing that Li Yue was young, he tried to draw her out. "This young lady speaks and carries herself with composure, and has such refined bearing. You must be the daughter of a great family at a glance, right?"

"I'm not some young lady..." Thirteen-year-old Li Yue was praised a few times, then spilled everything she should and should not have said.

Wen Hua now had a rough understanding of Zhang Yu.

As Zhang Yu's group walked on, they were suddenly blocked by a group of people with tiger heads printed on the fronts of their clothes.

The man in the lead had the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear, knotted muscles and sinews, and a face full of viciousness.

"Did you kill Huang Biao?"

Sha Qi seeped from the man's entire body as he stared at Zhang Yu.

When Wen Hua saw him, he hurried over to Zhang Yu's side. "Young Master, this man is called Qian Yong, the Black Tiger Gang's deputy leader. I've heard he's a Dark Force expert."

Zhang Yu gave a slight nod and looked coldly at Qian Yong, saying only one word. "Scram!"

"Bold words. You're quite handsome too—today, this old man is going to try a different flavor. Once I catch you, I hope your mouth is still this hard. Hahaha..." Qian Yong burst into unrestrained laughter.

He did not take Zhang Yu seriously at all.

Zhang Yu looked fair and clean, every inch the pampered young master. The fluctuations of his blood and qi were only at the Bright Force level.

Looking at the laughing Qian Yong and the onlookers gathered around them, Zhang Yu moved—and arrived before the man. He said coldly, "You can die now."

Having just arrived in Boundless City, he wanted to establish his might. So there was no probing attack—he opened with Stone-Shattering Fist's Dark Force killing move: Great Avalanche!

His fist drove straight toward the man's chest.

"Good!" Qian Yong roared, meeting it with a tiger claw, confident that he could knock Zhang Yu to the ground.

Bang!

Crack, crack, crack!

The tiger claw collided with Zhang Yu's fist. The overwhelming force instantly shattered Qian Yong's Black Tiger Dark Art, followed by the sound of his bones cracking and exploding inch by inch.

Then, with another bang, half his body was blasted apart by the immense shattering force.

Bones and flesh broke apart inch by inch.

"Ahhh..."

With half his body blown into minced flesh, Qian Yong had not yet fully died. His eyes bulged wide, terror filling them as he screamed madly.

After screaming a few times, the remaining half of his body finally collapsed to the ground, devoid of life.

Hiss...

Vermilion Bird Street was packed with people at this moment. Seeing Qian Yong killed in a single move, the previously bustling street fell into a brief silence.

Only the sound of sharp intakes of breath remained.

Hiss...

"Who is this man? He's terrifyingly fierce! Qian Yong, deputy leader of the Black Tiger Gang, was killed in one move."

"I don't know him. His face is unfamiliar—he must have only recently come to our Boundless City."

"Another ruthless figure has arrived in Boundless City. Things are about to get lively."

Wen Hua was once again dumbfounded at the sight, his mouth hanging open. Zhao Dun and Xia Shuang beside him wore the same expressions.

That was Qian Yong, deputy leader of the Black Tiger Gang, a great Dark Force expert. To them, he was a figure like an immortal—yet he had died in a single move?

"Am I dreaming?" Zhao Dun asked blankly.

"This isn't a dream. Qian Yong is dead." Even Xia Shuang, who was always calm, had a tremble in her voice.

Seeing the three of them standing there in stunned disbelief, Li Yue raised her chin and said proudly, "What does a Dark Force martial artist amount to? My master can even kill a Transformation Force grandmaster in one move."

"Really? Then can we become his disciples?" Wen Hua immediately looked at Li Yue with eager hope.

"I don't know. Since Master saved you, he should teach you, right?" Li Yue said.

"That's great!" The three of them were overjoyed.

After Zhang Yu killed Qian Yong in a single move, the remaining dozen or so Black Tiger Gang members were scared witless. When Zhang Yu's gaze swept over them, their legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Go back and tell your gang leader that tomorrow, I will personally pay the Black Tiger Gang a visit. Now you can scram," Zhang Yu said coldly.

With a rustle!

The moment they heard they could leave, they turned and ran.

As for Qian Yong's corpse, no one dared come to collect it, because Niu Mancang was searching it.

"Master, he only had a few taels of loose silver on him," Niu Mancang said to Zhang Yu after searching the body.

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, a wave of irritation rising in his heart. What a poor bastard. And he was even a deputy leader. Tomorrow, I'll squeeze the Black Tiger Gang hard. If they can't satisfy me, then there's no need for the Black Tiger Gang to exist.

That day, the matter of Zhang Yu killing Qian Yong, deputy leader of the Black Tiger Gang, with a single punch on Vermilion Bird Street became the biggest news in Boundless City. The major gangs and ordinary citizens alike were discussing it.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu's group had already arrived at the Chu Family's two-courtyard residence in Boundless City.

Niu Mancang and Li Yue busied themselves cooking, cleaning the house, and arranging rooms for the children. Chu Qingwen went to contact the manager of the Chu Family's branch shop in Boundless City.

Zhang Yu called Wen Hua and the other two before him.

Thud!

The moment Wen Hua saw Zhang Yu, he knelt again and knocked his head against the ground three times.

"Please accept me as your disciple, Young Master. I want to learn martial arts."

He truly, desperately wanted to learn martial arts. He had wanted to ever since he was five.

"Why should I accept you?" Zhang Yu asked, looking at Wen Hua.

He truly did want to take Wen Hua in; otherwise, he would not have acted to save him. But that did not mean he could agree so easily.

Things obtained too easily would never be cherished.

"I..." Wen Hua raised his head to look at Zhang Yu. He had wanted to say many things, but suddenly realized that he did not seem to possess any particularly outstanding strengths.

"I can die for the Young Master."

"I can also do anything for the Young Master."

"I..."

Zhang Yu interrupted him. "Do the three of you have anyone else in your families?"

"The three of us all live with our mothers. When we were very young, our fathers went into the mountains to gather herbs and never returned," Wen Hua said.

The three of them had shared the same experiences, so they had played together since childhood and slowly grown up together.

"Today, I killed someone from the Black Tiger Gang. They won't dare come after me, but they may retaliate against your families. Go home now and bring your mothers here. Having just arrived in Boundless City, I happen to need a few women to help clean and cook. One tael of silver a month, with food and lodging included," Zhang Yu said calmly.

"Ah!" Enormous joy flooded the hearts of Wen Hua and the other two.

For the first time, they felt kindness and warmth from a stranger.