No Grudges Overnight

After the time it took to burn an incense stick.

Chen Fan clapped his hands, wiped the blood from them, and looked across at the others.

Bao Tianyou was now holding a sheet of paper—the confession the young man had signed and stamped with his handprint.

The young man was named Han Sen, an outer disciple of the Four Symbols Sect.

The confession detailed the entire course of Yu Xingzheng's plot against Chen Fan.

Bao Tianyou also had evidence of this man following them, which could indirectly prove the matter!

He looked at Chen Fan with a complicated expression. "Hand this over to the academy master. He'll definitely stand up for you!"

Li Linliu had voluntarily given him medicinal pills, which also showed that he valued Chen Fan more and more.

But Chen Fan merely sneered and shook his head. "Even if the academy master steps in, would the Four Symbols Sect hand Yu Xingzheng over for us to deal with?"

Bao Tianyou froze.

Yu Xingzheng might not have been the Four Symbols Sect's greatest genius, but he was still one of its notable talents, and he was related to the sect master.

Even if this matter were exposed, he would at most receive a few verbal reprimands. There was no way he would pay any real price for it.

After all, Yu Xingzheng had never intended to kill Chen Fan, and Chen Fan had not suffered any serious losses because of it.

"Then what do you mean, Junior Brother...?"

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes. "We can keep this paper as evidence. As for how to settle things, it's better to do it privately! He wanted to teach me a lesson, but I beat him up instead. Even if it becomes public, we'll be in the right!"

As he spoke, Chen Fan smiled at the youth named Han Sen. "Besides... we have another chess piece in our hands now."

Flying Spirit County, a certain courtyard.

Yu Xingzheng kicked open the courtyard gate in a rage and strode inside.

Three or four young men were in the courtyard, and they all came forward to greet him.

"Boss!"

"Big Brother!"

"Senior Brother Yu, you're finally here!"

This was Yu Xingzheng's "secret base," known only to his trusted subordinates.

Yu Xingzheng was clearly in a foul mood. He snorted coldly and entered the inner room.

Someone immediately shut the courtyard gate behind him.

A large table stood in the inner room, and Yu Xingzheng sat down before it.

A slightly plump youth came over and poured Yu Xingzheng a bowl of tea. "What did they say over there?"

Yu Xingzheng's mouth twitched. He grabbed the tea bowl and smashed it to the ground. "Those bastards from the Black Alliance. Yesterday's mission failed, so after deducting their handling fee, they refunded the rest. But if we post the mission again today, they're raising the price... by four times!"

"Four times?"

The chubby youth frowned deeply. "Isn't that far too expensive? Isn't that kid Chen still just an Internal Breath martial artist?"

Four times meant quadrupling the price!

Yu Xingzheng sighed helplessly. "The Black Alliance probably learned about today's martial competition..."

The chubby youth narrowed his eyes and could not help saying, "Paying that much for one Chen Fan just isn't worth it. Senior Brother Yu, why not lower your head over this matter and let it go? Since Chen Fan made it into the final four, that means he does have some ability..."

Yu Xingzheng slapped the chubby youth across the face. His mouth twitched as he roared, "You want me to lower my head? Are you saying I'm afraid of that brat?!"

"Ow!"

The chubby youth covered his face. How could he dare continue persuading him? Helplessly, he said, "Then what do you say we do, Senior Brother? That's a lot of money. Should I have the brothers pool some together for you?"

The greatest advantage of having the Black Alliance handle things was their security and secrecy, but their prices were truly not cheap.

Thirty taels for yesterday's mission had already been a high price. Quadrupling it meant one hundred and twenty taels of silver!

Even for a wealthy disciple like Yu Xingzheng, that was an enormous sum. It might not be worth it just to vent his anger.

After venting, Yu Xingzheng felt a faint sense of regret as well. But his pride was too great, and he was already riding a tiger with no way to dismount.

He took a deep breath and said, "First, send someone to meet up with Han Sen. He should still be watching Chen Fan and the others. After what happened yesterday, that brat may be on guard... Then we'll wait patiently for an opportunity. If one comes, we won't need to hire anyone. We can deal with him ourselves!"

The chubby youth exclaimed, "Senior Brother Yu, you need to calm down! Chen Fan is a genius of the White Cloud Martial Academy. If we make a move and are discovered, it won't be something money can settle... It's not worth it, really not worth it!"

Yu Xingzheng slapped him again and snarled, "When I speak, are you going to listen or not?!"

The chubby youth was on the verge of tears. He was furious with Yu Xingzheng, but did not dare show it in the slightest. "I'll have someone go find Han Sen first. We can discuss what comes next later. Senior Brother Yu, just wait here for now..."

Yu Xingzheng narrowed his eyes and fell silent for a moment. "Go quickly."

The chubby youth knew that Yu Xingzheng regretted it too, but simply could not bring himself to admit it.

After he left.

Yu Xingzheng sat at the table and drank in sullen silence.

But before even half an incense stick's time had passed, someone knocked on the courtyard gate!

"Who is it?"

Someone asked from beside the gate.

Hearing the sounds outside from the inner room, Yu Xingzheng was somewhat surprised. "They came back so quickly?"

He hurried out of the room, and the courtyard gate opened at that very moment!

Yu Xingzheng's expression changed drastically.

The people entering through the gate were not his junior brother Han Sen, but a group of burly men with sacks over their heads, revealing only their eyes!

"Who are you people?! Ah!"

In almost an instant, the men subdued the several youths in the courtyard.

"Damn it!" Yu Xingzheng reacted swiftly. He immediately rushed to the wall, leaped high, grabbed the top, and vaulted over it.

The moment he landed.

A cloud of sand and liquid came flying at his face from the side.

Yu Xingzheng hurriedly raised his arm to block, but how much could he possibly stop?

A moment later, he felt a burning pain in his eyes!

This was no ordinary sand!

It was clearly lime!

And that liquid was no ordinary liquid either—it was chili water!

"Argh! Despicable scoundrels—"

Even at the second level of martial arts, he had not fully shed his mortal flesh.

His eyes burned. He struggled to force them open as hot tears streamed down his face, but he could only vaguely make out several figures waiting to the side!

"Despicable!"

Yet none of those figures answered him.

One of them charged straight at him!

"You think I'm easy to deal with?!"

Enraged, he threw a punch. Though he could not see clearly, he endured the agonizing pain and sent his fist hurtling toward the blurry figure.

Smack!

Unfortunately, his vision was blurred. He could vaguely see the figure but could not judge its exact position, so his punch went wide.

He failed to strike his opponent.

Taking advantage of his missed punch, the man threw a punch of his own, striking him squarely in the face!

Bang!

Yu Xingzheng felt as though a massive hammer had smashed into the bridge of his nose. His eyes stung again, and he could no longer keep them open.

The pain was unbearable.

Having completely lost his vision, he became even more panicked and fearful. Like a headless fly, he stumbled about wildly, ears pricked as he kept throwing punches.

"You bunch of despicable scoundrels!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt another punch strike his chest.

Bang!

His throat grew hot, and his body toppled backward uncontrollably.

Then, very quickly, he felt a sack pulled over his head.

Both furious and terrified, he shouted, "Bastards! You despicable lot, do you know who my second granduncle is?!"

Yet no one answered his question.

No one even spoke voluntarily, lest they reveal their identities.

Yu Xingzheng only felt several people rush forward to pin him down and restrain his limbs. "Bastards! You're courting death! You'll all die!"

Several people dragged the restrained Yu Xingzheng into the courtyard!

Only two people remained outside.

Chen Fan removed the mask from his face and shook out his hands. "Yu Xingzheng has quite a bit of brute strength, but his moves are mediocre. I beat him so easily. He's no match for Lin Qingyu."

The man beside him also removed his mask.

It was none other than Bao Tianyou.

After subjecting Han Sen to "severe interrogation," the two had originally intended to use him as an inside man and wait for a chance to retaliate. Unexpectedly, they directly forced out the location of Yu Xingzheng's "secret base."

After learning about the strength and other details of Yu Xingzheng's group, and confirming that they could handle them, Chen Fan and Bao Tianyou discussed it and simply brought people here in disguise!

Hearing Chen Fan say that Yu Xingzheng was weak.

Bao Tianyou narrowed his eyes, his expression strange.

You fucking opened with lime and chili water. With his vision impaired, it would have been strange if he could still handle you!

He cleared his throat before saying, "Junior Brother Chen, time is limited. If we delay any longer, the nearby residents may notice. I'll leave this man to you, but don't kill him. Otherwise, even my Bao Clan will have trouble covering it up..."

Bao Tianyou did not mean they could not cover it up, but that it would be troublesome to do so.

Chen Fan's heart stirred at those words, and he gained an even deeper understanding of the Bao Clan's power in Flying Spirit County!

He smiled, narrowing his eyes. "I won't make things difficult for you, Senior Brother. Don't worry."

With that, he cracked his neck and strode into the courtyard.

Before long, miserable wails like those of ghosts and wolves rang out from inside!

Chen Fan truly did not kill Yu Xingzheng. He did not yet have that kind of confidence.

But he did snap all ten of Yu Xingzheng's fingers and beat him into a complete pig's head!

Of course, Chen Fan had not struck too heavily.

If things grew too serious, even with the Bao Clan backing them, it would be difficult to clean up.

His current strength still did not allow him to act however he pleased!

Even so, Yu Xingzheng screamed for his father and grandfather from the pain.

None of his earlier arrogance remained.