Ruthlessness and Suspicion

The three of them all clutched their heads like headless flies.

Their screams were shrill.

Then, a figure leaped out from the darkness at the end of the road!

It was Chen Fan.

He stepped forward, already holding a head-sized rock in both hands, and walked straight up to the bald man covering his face.

The bald man covered his eyes. Seemingly sensing someone approach, he opened his pain-filled eyes but saw only a blur. He released his hands and grabbed wildly about, but how could he possibly catch Chen Fan as he approached?

Chen Fan was no weaker than him to begin with, let alone now that his sneak attack had succeeded.

"Brat Chen, I know it's you! Don't make a mistake. Your family hasn't practiced martial arts, right? We know where your family lives and who's in it. If you—"

At this, Chen Fan's eyes turned even colder as he gripped the large rock tightly.

He took a step forward.

Bang!

He smashed it down onto the bald man's head.

An even more agonized scream immediately rang out, crimson liquid pouring down in streams!

The bald man instantly collapsed to the ground, his whole body convulsing before he lost consciousness.

Chen Fan's expression remained calm. He turned around with the rock clenched tightly in his hands and walked toward the other two.

The two of them were far worse off than the bald man. They grasped wildly in every direction, yet caught nothing at all.

Chen Fan's eyes were icy. With two ruthless blows, he smashed down.

Whew!

Only after all three had fallen and blood had splattered everywhere did Chen Fan finally let out a breath and put down the rock.

He was confident in his own strength. Even facing these three head-on, he would not have feared them. But this was no arena match, with a referee watching from the sidelines.

In a real fight like this, even if the enemy did not intend to kill him, it was still far more dangerous than an arena battle!

Chen Fan did not dare use lime and pepper water casually in the arena, but in this situation, he would show no mercy.

He stepped forward to check their breathing, only to quickly discover that aside from the bald man, the other two had already stopped breathing entirely. They were dead!

Even the bald man's breathing was weak. If not for his cultivation at the second level of martial arts, he likely would not have survived either.

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and could not help but sigh. "Humans really are fragile..."

Even after cultivating true martial arts, they still could not withstand lime or pepper water. A blow to the head with a rock was enough to kill them.

Smashing down with a huge rock was simply more convenient and useful than any martial art!

"Those three were just too stupid. They thought I was only a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy, that I was truly afraid of them. They only cared about running and never considered that I might ambush them..."

In the end, it all came down to underestimating their enemy.

There was no one around.

Chen Fan dragged the three bodies off the road. Under the moonlight, he hauled them through the wilderness toward the nearby riverbank.

The reason Chen Fan had chosen to expose the three men following him here was because this place was remote and deserted. No one would discover them, making the aftermath easier to handle!

In truth, he had not intended to kill them at first, not until the bald man had threatened him...

The river surged onward.

"Urgh..."

With a pained groan, the bald man slowly regained consciousness from the haze beneath the night sky.

The intense pain in his head continuously assaulted his mind.

He instinctively wanted to raise his hand to cover his throbbing head, only to discover that his hands had been tightly bound. He could not move at all!

"You're awake."

His eyes, still aching, widened. He could only vaguely make out a figure working in front of him.

After a long while, his vision finally cleared, and his eyes suddenly widened.

He saw...

A mild-mannered youth tying a huge stone to the person in front of him with clothing. He then lifted both the man and the stone, tossing them high into the river!

With a splash, water flew everywhere, and the man and stone sank into the river together.

He recognized the youth. It was Chen Fan, the target of this operation.

And the person thrown into the river was one of his brothers!

"Mm!"

He desperately opened his mouth wide, only to discover that something had long been stuffed inside. He could not make a sound at all.

Chen Fan then brought over a third large stone and repeated the same process, tying it to the bald man's other brother.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

The bald man almost forgot the pain in his head. As though falling into an abyss, he struggled violently.

Chen Fan raised his head with a smile and glanced at him. "Don't worry. Soon... it'll be your turn!"

It would have been better if Chen Fan had said nothing. Once he spoke, the bald man struggled even more violently.

Chen Fan silently continued what he was doing.

Until...

Splash!

After sinking that man's corpse into the Qingling River as well, Chen Fan finally clapped his hands and walked over to the bald man.

He crouched in front of him and said, "I'll give you a chance to live. Tell me... who sent you?"

The bald man was utterly terrified. He kept making muffled sounds through the gag, nodding frantically like a pecking chicken. There was no trace left of his earlier arrogance!

Chen Fan smiled faintly.

He reached out and removed the gag from the bald man's mouth.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Following another splash, Chen Fan clapped his hands and looked toward the huge spray in the distance.

"Sorry, I lied to you."

Using the rushing river water to briefly wash the blood from his body, Chen Fan turned and disappeared into the darkness once more.

The bald man had threatened him with his family. Naturally, Chen Fan could not possibly leave someone like that alive!

According to the bald man, he came from a rather loose underground organization in Flying Spirit County known as the Black Alliance. The organization handled all sorts of shady business.

Simply put, they did jobs for money, asking neither the reason nor the employer's identity.

Murder, arson—they accepted any kind of task!

Someone had paid thirty taels of silver to issue a task to teach Chen Fan a lesson that day. Apart from demanding that he be left alive, there were no other requirements.

That employer had also provided Chen Fan's location and some basic information. The three men had followed Chen Fan from Jiangshan Tower all the way here!

"I stayed at Jiangshan Tower for too long and got targeted."

Chen Fan licked his lips and narrowed his eyes.

From this, he could conclude that the Black Tiger Gang had not discovered that he had killed Pi Liu and acted against him because of it.

And Chen Fan could not think of who else it could be...

The only person he had offended recently was Yu Xingzheng. No matter what kind of society it was, there would never be a shortage of idiots like this. Chen Fan was not surprised.

But if it truly was Yu Xingzheng, this retaliation had come far too quickly...

He frowned deeply. "I can't stay in the outskirts anymore."

He immediately returned home. After changing clothes, he told his sister-in-law and niece to move at once. He escorted the two of them into the county town overnight, leaving behind some belongings that had not yet been fully moved so they could relocate them later.

Their new home was not only in the county town, but also not far from White Cloud Martial Academy and Bao Residence. It was much safer.

Early the next morning.

Chen Fan entered White Cloud Martial Academy once more.

He went straight to see Bao Tianyou, briefly telling him about the attack he had encountered the day before. He asked Bao Tianyou to help look after his family while also inquiring about Yu Xingzheng's background.

Bao Tianyou was taken aback. "You suspect Yu Xingzheng did it?"

Chen Fan nodded. "There's no one else."

Bao Tianyou frowned. "I've met Yu Xingzheng a few times. He seems close to the master of the Four Symbols Sect, and his family background is unusual... Still, although his personality is indeed terrible, he is not so petty and vengeful. Besides, you only clashed yesterday, and he acted that same night. Wouldn't that be far too obvious...?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "Maybe that's exactly the reverse logic he's relying on?"

He was merely a disciple from an ordinary family. Talent did not equal strength. A wealthy young master with too much power could destroy him on a whim!

With an organization like the Black Alliance around, anything was possible.

Bao Tianyou furrowed his brow and sighed.

"If the Black Alliance is involved, this will be troublesome. Especially since they did not intend to take your life... I'm afraid even if the academy master personally went to question them, it would be difficult to get an answer. Besides, the academy master is unlikely to make a special trip to the Black Alliance over such a minor matter of yours."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.

Yu Xingzheng was not some hoodlum like Pi Liu. As a genius disciple of the Four Symbols Sect, his family was also quite wealthy. He was not easy to provoke.

"In any case, Chen Fan, don't act rashly. I'll have someone investigate this thoroughly. Don't return to your old home for the next few days."

Chen Fan nodded without saying more.

With Bao Tianyou's help, Chen Fan naturally felt at ease.

Only then did he go to collect the White Cloud medicinal soup. When he took out silver to pay for it,

the uncle responsible for brewing and serving the soup did not take his money.

"Student Chen Fan, your talent is extraordinary. The academy master has already given instructions. From now on, you won't need to pay extra for your weekly bowl of medicinal soup!"

Chen Fan's eyes lit up as well.

Although Bao Tianyou's support had given him quite a bit more silver, being able to drink the soup for free was naturally still a wonderful thing.

The only pity was that the White Cloud Martial Academy's medicinal soup was special. A person could take at most one dose per week, or toxins might accumulate in the body!

"Showing my talent really will make the martial academy nurture me specially!"

Chen Fan was overjoyed.

He had already received Bao Tianyou's support, and once he made it into the top eight in the martial competition, thirty taels of silver would be guaranteed.

But getting something for free was still a happy thing!