Ambition

Chen Fan was not yet fourteen.

Although his body had been steadily growing stronger from his recent martial arts training, becoming ever more muscular and well-proportioned, time was still exceedingly limited.

Even now, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary half-grown boy who had merely shed his frailty!

He was indeed taller than most children his age, but not to any particularly exaggerated degree.

No one knew just how terrifying the strength hidden beneath this body of his was!

And aside from himself, there were only his sister-in-law and the child-aged Chen Xi at home. Naturally, Wang Gang did not take them seriously.

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.

Though fury burned within him, it did not make him lose his basic rationality.

Pi Liu was considered someone not to be trifled with on Sophora Street, but one of his underling thugs was naturally nothing worth mentioning. At most, he had a few more rogueish tricks than ordinary people; he could not possibly be a martial artist with any real training.

Yet Chen Fan did not act rashly.

Since the Black Tiger Gang had become the underground emperor of Flying Spirit County, Chen Fan did not believe there were no martial arts experts within the gang.

With the experience of his previous life, Chen Fan understood the principle of knowing oneself and one's enemy. Over the past month, he had continuously probed for information about Pi Liu and the others, gaining quite a few leads.

He had roughly figured out some basic information about Pi Liu's group.

It was simply still quite limited.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Just when I was worried about not being able to figure out Pi Liu's exact strength. Since that's the case, I'll start with this Wang bastard!"

Chen Fan's eyes had never been colder.

He possessed the memories of his previous life.

Across both lifetimes, he was already several decades old.

Even after deciding to make a move against Wang Gang, he did not charge straight in mindlessly. Instead, he continued maintaining his usual routine, going every day to the public areas around the neighboring streets.

He continued making indirect inquiries, confirming Pi Liu and the others' movements during this period.

Then he quietly began making preparations.

At the places under renovation in the county town, he secretly obtained some lime, wrapped it in cloth, and carried it on him.

He also used the dried chilies every household had to specially prepare highly concentrated chili water, storing it in a porcelain bottle.

He was imitating a senior known as the Lime Martial Saint.

Being a Chili Water Martial Saint would not be bad either!

Although Chen Fan's strength had improved rapidly and far surpassed that of ordinary people,

he did not care in the slightest whether his methods were underhanded. If he capsized in the gutter, the unlucky ones would not just be himself, but his two family members as well!

In the middle of the night.

Chen Fan pretended to have gone to bed early, locking his door from the inside before climbing out through the window.

Dark clouds covered the moon.

Chen Fan was dressed entirely in black. He had deliberately put on several extra layers beneath his clothes, stuffing himself until he looked quite bloated, and covered his face.

He moved cautiously, sneaking all the way there.

Chen Fan's body was now exceptionally agile, his ears and eyes sharp. There were few pedestrians in the middle of the night, and no martial artists nearby. No one saw even his shadow along the way.

There were no surveillance cameras in this era either, making Chen Fan even more free of concern.

In less than half an hour, Chen Fan had quietly arrived near the home of the rogue Wang Gang!

Wang Gang's front gate was tightly locked. Naturally, no one was home.

"This guy hasn't come back yet..."

He effortlessly climbed over the wall and hid carefully.

Wang Gang was a bachelor. He had no father or mother, no sons or daughters.

Chen Fan pressed his ear against the door, holding his breath as he listened to the movements outside.

He had already prepared the chili water and lime in both hands, and there was even a brick at his feet.

He had long since found out that Wang Gang and his kind spent their days drinking and whoring, fooling around in brothels or taverns until deep into the night before returning home.

It was already very late, yet Chen Fan waited for over half an hour without seeing Wang Gang return.

"Could this guy be sleeping in a brothel tonight?"

Chen Fan was not discouraged. This was also something he had anticipated might happen.

He was extremely patient.

If one day did not work, then two days. Chen Fan refused to believe the man would never come home.

The attentive plotted against the unwary. Chen Fan had martial skill and was willing to cast aside his pride to ambush Wang Gang. There was no way this fellow could escape.

After waiting another quarter of an hour, Chen Fan heard a bout of wailing and howling outside, as though two drunks were shouting nonsense in the street.

Upon hearing the voices, Chen Fan's attention sharpened once more.

He recognized one of them as Wang Gang himself.

"Looks like my luck is good..."

He waited another quarter of an hour before the drunken pair's chaotic conversation finally ended and the other man said goodbye.

Wang Gang staggered forward drunkenly to open the door.

The moment the door opened, Wang Gang fell headfirst onto the ground, having somehow tripped himself.

Just as he raised his head, he saw a black object smashing toward his face.

It was a brick!

Bang!

Wang Gang immediately passed out.

Yet he was still breathing.

At that moment, the moon gradually emerged, its light falling across the courtyard. Chen Fan confirmed that he had the right target.

Though he sighed in relief, he also felt as though his fist had struck cotton.

The specially prepared chili water and lime powder were already in his hands, but he naturally put them away again.

Over the past few days, he had constantly planned the timing for his move against Wang Gang, his escape route, and other preparations. He had even devised numerous contingencies in case the plan failed.

Yet he had not expected that he had overestimated this bastard.

The instant the man opened the door and fell down, the lime powder and chili water Chen Fan had been preparing to throw froze in his hands. It was hard to say how awkward that was.

"In the end, he's just a petty thug..."

Chen Fan bolted the door from the inside, dragged Wang Gang in by one foot, and pulled him through the doorway.

Feeling around, he lit a candle.

He tied the bastard up with rope and stuffed a sock into his mouth.

Then he rummaged through the place, fabricating the scene of a robbery.

But to Chen Fan's surprise, he soon heard Wang Gang snoring like thunder.

Chen Fan was both angry and amused. Holding a firewood cleaver he had found in Wang Gang's home,

he drove the blade into the bastard's upper thigh.

Blood immediately gushed forth.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

Wang Gang woke at once. His flushed face was filled with confusion and pain. Before he could see what was happening, he began struggling desperately.

But Chen Fan had long since restrained him and plugged his mouth. He could only whimper and grunt, utterly unable to make any louder noise.

Chen Fan had already stepped forward and pinned the man down.

Feeling Wang Gang struggle continuously, Chen Fan grew even more relaxed.

The man was large, but his strength was far inferior to Chen Fan's after martial arts training!

Chen Fan still had plenty to spare.

He reckoned that even without the ropes, this man would not have been able to escape his restraint.

Only then did he take out the firewood cleaver from his chest.

He decisively placed it against the man's neck.

Wang Gang swallowed hard. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and more than half his drunkenness vanished. Feeling the icy blade, how could he dare struggle any longer?

"I'll let you go. If you don't want to die, don't make a sound."

Chen Fan kept the cleaver against him. "If you understand, don't blink."

Wang Gang immediately widened his eyes, not daring to blink.

He waited until Wang Gang's eyes were unbearably dry.

Only then did Chen Fan sneer and pull down the black robe covering his face. "You should know... why I came, right?"

"You, you're Chen..."

Wang Gang's eyes went wide. Staring at the person before him in shock, he instantly recognized him.

But in that instant, he could not recall Chen Fan's name.

The two had never had much interaction to begin with, having only crossed paths twice.

Before this, he had only thought Chen Fan was an ordinary, timid young man with some ability to make money.

Only now, feeling the youth's viciousness, did he become afraid.

Feeling the blade against his chest, Wang Gang's nose twitched, and he suddenly began bawling. "I was wrong! I'll never dare do it again!"

His heart was full of fear and regret. Had he known this youth was so ruthless, he would never have dared provoke Chen Fan's family.

Chen Fan sneered. "Stop talking nonsense. Tell me, what exactly happened to my elder brother...?"

"Your eldest brother? You already know? This... this has nothing to do with me. It was all Sixth Brother's arrangement! I was only following orders..."

Wang Gang became incomparably flustered, his gaze darting about.

Chen Fan's heart stirred.

His guess had been right. His nominal elder brother had indeed been framed by them!

He sneered. "Explain my elder brother's matter clearly!"

Wang Gang was big and burly, but after taking a blade to the thigh and having a knife held against him, he was more cowardly than a hen, his body shaking like a sieve!

"The one who killed your elder brother was Sixth Brother... Pi Liu. I only helped dispose of the body. I didn't do anything else!"

Buzz!

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's emotions instantly exploded.

"You people...?!"

Chen Fan's nominal elder brother had already returned his soul to the western heavens.

"Your elder brother offended Sixth Brother at the gambling house..."

Then Wang Gang roughly explained the reason. It turned out that the Chen Clan's eldest son had been lured by Pi Liu and the others into gambling. He kept losing money, then later realized something was wrong and exposed Pi Liu's group for cheating.

But what kind of person was Pi Liu? In his rage and humiliation, he secretly dealt with Chen Fan's eldest brother afterward, throwing his body into the nearby Qingling River.

Poor eldest brother Chen was only a laborer, with little education and low emotional intelligence. When his emotions surged, he forgot everything else, his words becoming somewhat harsh. If his emotional intelligence had been higher and he had exposed them more tactfully, he would not have thrown away his life for nothing!

Chen Fan had only transmigrated half a year ago, and his bond with this nominal elder brother was not particularly deep.

Yet upon suddenly hearing this, the original owner's memories flowed through him, and tears could not help streaming down his face. This was the lingering influence of the original owner's emotions.

At the same time, a wave of fury rose within Chen Fan's own will.

"How could you treat human lives like grass?"

Most hateful of all, after Pi Liu's pack of beasts had taken eldest brother Chen's life, they had even gone on to extort money from the Chen Clan.

Twenty taels of silver would take even a somewhat decent family many years to save!

At this moment, the anger in Chen Fan's heart had accumulated to its peak. He said in a low voice,

"Pi Liu is from the Black Tiger Gang. Is he a martial artist?"

Wang Gang nodded repeatedly. "I heard Sixth Brother say that he trained in martial arts for ten years and finally cultivated inner breath three months ago. He has already stepped across the threshold of martial artists and received some cultivation technique as a reward from the gang leader. He has the strength of a martial artist; even ten ordinary men would not be his match! The gang also appointed him as the head of the surrounding streets..."

Pi Liu himself was already nearing forty.

He had trained in martial arts for ten years, meaning he had only begun in his twenties, which was rather late.

It had taken him ten years to cultivate inner breath, so his talent was abysmal. Naturally, the martial art he practiced could not have been of very high quality.

And he had only cultivated inner breath for three months. Even if he had already begun cultivating some technique and become a martial artist, his strength was probably not much greater than Chen Fan's.

The only thing he had over Chen Fan was experience.

"Pi Liu is merely a minor boss over the surrounding streets. His strength can't be very high..."

With a clear idea in mind, Chen Fan carefully coaxed more answers from him, asking for specific information about Pi Liu and the Black Tiger Gang.

Then he stuffed the sock back into Wang Gang's mouth, grabbed the firewood cleaver, and swung it fiercely at Wang Gang's neck!

Slash!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Chen Fan's movements were clean and decisive, his strike incomparably swift.

The man gave a muffled groan and lost his life.

Strangely enough, Chen Fan's gaze was unwavering, and neither physically nor mentally did he feel the slightest discomfort.

For scourges like Pi Liu and Wang Gang, who preyed on men and women and took innocent lives, he had not a shred of mercy!

In truth, even if he had not learned that eldest brother Chen had been murdered, Wang Gang had already been doomed the moment Chen Fan voluntarily removed the black robe covering his face.