"Something Big Has Happened—We Must Report to Master at Once!"

Inside the thatched cottage.

Madam Zheng clutched two yellowed promissory notes, still finding it hard to believe.

"Eldest, are the debts our family owed really settled just like that?"

"They're settled."

Shen Xiuhan nodded with a smile.

Madam Zheng held the notes, looking them over and over. Then she suddenly rose and tossed them into the firepit.

The flames curled around them, and the papers instantly caught fire, turning into flecks of ash that drifted up into the air before slowly falling back down.

Madam Zheng stared blankly at the ashes. Her hunched back gradually straightened, as though the burden she had carried on it had vanished along with that wisp of smoke.

"Brother..."

A timid child's voice came from the corner of the bed.

Shen Momo had curled herself into a tiny ball like a frightened quail. She asked softly, "Have all the big bad guys gone? Th-they won't come catch Momo anymore, right?"

Shen Xiuhan's heart softened. He walked over and gathered her into his arms.

He did not know whether the White Family would come again, but they had better not...

Because next time, Shen Xiuhan would never let them leave unscathed.

"They're all gone." Shen Xiuhan spoke gently. "They'll never come back."

After a pause, he produced two candied hawthorn sticks as if by magic and gave them a shake. "Look, what did Brother bring Momo?"

Translucent sugar syrup coated the bright-red hawthorns, skewered on bamboo sticks and gleaming enticingly beneath the dim yellow lamplight.

"Candied hawthorn!"

The little girl's eyes lit up at once, all fear swept away. She sprang from his arms, grabbed one, and took a huge bite.

"So sweet..."

"Mother, the candied hawthorn is so delicious!"

Watching her daughter's delighted expression, Madam Zheng finally could not hold back any longer. She turned away and secretly wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"Mother, don't cry."

Pointing at the pork belly he had bought, Shen Xiuhan smiled. "Hurry and make dinner. Your son practiced martial arts all day—I'm so hungry my chest is sticking to my back."

"Alright, alright. Mother will make it now." Madam Zheng wiped away her tears, got up, and busied herself.

During the meal.

Fragrance filled the room.

A bowl of meat porridge with a cornmeal flatbread warmed them from head to toe.

Having calmed herself, Madam Zheng asked softly, "Eldest, did everything go smoothly at the martial hall today?"

"Don't worry, Mother. Everything went smoothly."

Shen Xiuhan took out the purse Mei Shuangfeng had given him and handed it over. "This is the silver left over from selling the Treasure Fish. Mother, put it away quickly."

"You use up a lot training martial arts. You need to keep some money on you."

"I kept some."

Shen Xiuhan smiled. He had kept two taels of loose silver on his person in case of emergencies.

Only then did Madam Zheng accept it and peek inside. The gleaming silver ingots made her dizzy; her breath caught, and without even setting down her chopsticks, she hurriedly hid the purse beneath the bed.

Shen Momo ate her meat porridge but refused to put down her candied hawthorn. Through a mouthful of food, she asked, "Brother, if you learn martial arts, will you stop being afraid of those big bad guys who want to catch Momo?"

"Of course."

"Then... then when Momo grows up, she'll learn martial arts too and help Brother beat up bad people!"

"Alright!"

Shen Xiuhan smiled and rubbed her hair, which had begun to regain a little luster.

The next day, at the hour of the Dragon.

The sky had only just begun to brighten when Shen Xiuhan, as usual, tucked two freshly pan-fried flatbreads into his clothes and headed out.

Knowing that martial arts training consumed a great deal of energy, Madam Zheng had specially filled them with meat.

Upon entering the inner city, Shen Xiuhan's steps paused slightly as his gaze swept over the teahouse on the street corner.

By the window, the fat and thin lackeys were staring at Shen Xiuhan with cold sneers.

Well, well...

They had come quite early today.

When Shen Xiuhan looked over, Tian Erhu, built like a bull, glared with his tiger eyes and barked, "What are you looking at!"

Shen Xiuhan was expressionless. He did not utter a single word of nonsense, merely withdrew his gaze and headed straight toward Mei Martial Hall.

Before he had even walked half a street, that familiar sense of being watched clung to him like a shadow.

Shen Xiuhan's steps remained steady, and he did not look back.

He knew full well that avoiding the Golden Dragon Gang's surveillance in the inner city was simply unrealistic.

It would naturally be best if they did not discover him, but even if they learned where he was going, it did not matter.

Mei Martial Hall and Through-the-Back Martial Hall had never been on good terms to begin with.

Borrowing a tiger's hide to make a grand banner.

Let those two men watch with their own eyes as he stepped through Mei Martial Hall's gates.

Perhaps...

It would make them hesitate to strike for fear of the rat and breaking the vase, leaving them afraid to act rashly before Ma Xianyang returned.

"What did you say!"

In the inner courtyard of Through-the-Back Martial Hall.

After hearing A-Zhe's report, Feng Xiaobao's fleshy face twitched. His tiger eyes flew wide open, and his iron-tower-like body rose abruptly.

"Second Senior Brother... it's all this junior brother's fault for failing at his task." A-Zhe shrank his neck, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. "That brat somehow... actually joined Mei Martial Hall!"

"Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

"I'm sure..."

A-Zhe hurriedly said, "I deliberately got close to take a look. I saw him call Xu Chuan Senior Brother with my own eyes."

"Useless trash!"

Feng Xiaobao flew into a rage and slapped the table, sending the teacup bouncing three inches into the air. The flesh on his face twisted into a knot. "You can't even keep watch on some mud-legged peasant from the outer city. What use are you?"

"Please calm your anger, Second Senior Brother!"

A-Zhe trembled in fright and prostrated himself on the ground. "This junior brother thought about it all the way here. He's just a poor tenant farmer—where did he get eight taels of silver for the enrollment fee?"

Feng Xiaobao froze, narrowing his eyes slightly as a sharp gleam flickered within them.

"You mean..."

"The Treasure Fish!"

A-Zhe gritted his teeth and urgently said, "Second Senior Brother, that little bastard must have already caught the Treasure Fish!"

"He vanished for two days. He must have used some method to sell the Treasure Fish for money, then paid the enrollment fee and joined Mei Martial Hall!"

Greed and viciousness burst from Feng Xiaobao's eyes. He snatched up the broad-backed saber from the weapon rack and strode outside, radiating murderous aura.

"Bold indeed!"

"The Treasure Fish caught with my junior brother's fishing rod ought to belong to Through-the-Back Martial Hall!"

"Come! Take some men to Mei Martial Hall and collect the debt!"

Yet just as he stepped out of the inner courtyard, a burst of commotion and wailing came from outside.

Feng Xiaobao's brows drew together as he shouted harshly, "What are you howling for? All of you, grab your weapons—"

But halfway through his roar, the words caught hard in his throat, and his expression abruptly darkened.

"Who did this!"

Several outer-court disciples tasked with guarding their turf in the inner city stumbled through the gate, supporting one another.

Every one of them was bruised and battered. Some even had broken arms hanging limply at their sides, their bodies covered in blood.

"It was the Fast Squad constables who beat us!"

"Second Senior Brother, you have to stand up for us!"

"We gave them the martial hall's name, but not only did they refuse to listen, they hit us even harder! They even sealed up both gambling dens in South Market!"

The disciples wailed and cried, their voices full of unwilling resentment.

The Fast Squad?

The gambling dens had been sealed?!

Feng Xiaobao's eye twitched.

Through-the-Back Martial Hall had not established itself in Longcloud County merely by collecting disciples' enrollment fees. The martial hall had many businesses under its name.

In South Market alone, it had two gambling dens, a restaurant, and a weapons forge.

Its hall master, Yan Xiao, had been at the late stage of Dark Force for years and was one of the notable experts in all of Longcloud County.

Usually, the yamen officials kept to their own side of the river, collecting their monthly tribute.

Why had they suddenly torn off all pretense today, beating people and sealing up their shops?

"The Fast Squad..."

Feng Xiaobao frowned. "If I remember correctly, the Fast Squad's chief constable... is the White Family's second young master, Bai Xi'an, right?"

"That's him!"

"Bai Xi'an personally led the men who sealed the doors!"

"The White Family... damn it..."

Feng Xiaobao clenched his fists until they crackled, veins bulging wildly at his temples.

Yet he never dared to utter any vicious threat.

The White Family—the true local emperors of Longcloud County.

Not only were their businesses spread across the entire city, but the family head also held the post of County Commandant.

And that was not even mentioning the old monster of the White Family who had stepped into Transforming Force many years ago—

Bai Qingcang!

For the White Family to suddenly move against Through-the-Back Martial Hall without warning...

This was anything but ordinary!

A sheen of cold sweat emerged on Feng Xiaobao's forehead. He no longer had any mind for the Treasure Fish, instead carrying his saber as he rushed straight for the main hall in the rear courtyard.