A Drastic Change in Temperament

Overwhelmed with grief, Zhu Mei hugged her son and began to sob loudly.

Three days ago, her son turned ten. Relying on her husband's influence, she took her son to the market's law enforcement team to have his Spirit Root tested.

They went forth full of hope, and returned in despair.

The child's Spirit Root was extremely poor, barely reaching the first-grade Spirit Root category. With such a low-grade Spirit Root, he was not even qualified to be a menial disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, which basically cut off his path to immortality.

The thought of being forced to leave the home where she had lived for more than ten years, taking her frail young child, trekking through mountains and rivers, traveling thousands of miles, and facing dangers along the way, to live a mundane life filled Zhu Mei with sorrow, and she cried even more bitterly.

"You'd better be sensible and move out yourself. If you're still here by noon tomorrow, don't blame me for getting rough."

After saying that, Zhao Dapeng strode away.

The reason he dared to come today and drive away Zhu Mei's family is because he knew the results of the Spirit Root test for Zhu Mei's child.

A woman nearing forty and at the Qi Refining Third Layer, and a child with a first-grade Spirit Root no talent, could not possibly achieve anything great. Even among Rogue Cultivator, they were among the weakest, destined to be exploited and bullied.

Upon seeing Zhao Dapeng leave, a kind neighbor immediately stepped forward to help Zhu Mei and her son home.

"Hmph! That Zhao Dapeng is a real scoundrel."

Sun Ru walked angrily toward her own Small Courtyard, muttering curses under her breath.

Seeing that there was no more drama to watch, the crowd dispersed, occasionally uttering curses against Zhao Dapeng and expressions of pity for Zhu Mei and her son.

But they only dared to say these things behind Zhao Dapeng's back. When Zhao Dapeng was around, not a single person spoke up for Zhu Mei and her son.

Even the young Sun Ru did not rashly confront Zhao Dapeng.

It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Everyone should mind their own business!

Song Wen returned to his room and attempted to Alchemy again.

Several hours later, Song Wen, who had wasted all nine portions of spiritual materials, sighed deeply with a gloomy expression. He tidied up the room, which was filled with the smell of fire, and stepped into the courtyard.

His progress in the Longevity Art was slow, and he couldn't refine the Blood Qi Pill for the time being, which made him miss his days in the Corpse Demon Sect and the feeling of his cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds and his strength constantly increasing.

No wonder so many righteous cultivators, unable to endure the loneliness of daily arduous cultivation and the torment of slow progress in their cultivation, fall into the demonic path.

It was already late at night.

The Ye Kong was as still as an ink painting, everything seemed so tranquil.

Suddenly,

A surge of spiritual energy emanated from Sun Daxiong's house next door, breaking the silence of the night.

A silver light, crackling with electricity, shot out from Sun Daxiong's courtyard, soaring into the sky. Finally, its spiritual energy was exhausted, and it dissipated hundreds of meters in the air.

Song Wen's eyes narrowed; this was Palm Thunder!

A quick scan with his Divine Sense revealed that Sun Ru had successfully cultivated the Palm Thunder technique.

At this moment, she was jumping around happily in the yard. Being naive and inexperienced in the ways of the world, she was like a child, dancing and gesturing wildly, but she dared not shout loudly, for fear of disturbing the neighbors' peaceful dreams and cultivation.

Song Wen withdrew his Divine Sense; he had no habit of spying on his neighbors.

He turned and went back into the house to begin his cultivation. If a teenage girl was working so hard, what right did he have to slack off?

So what if his cultivation progress is a little slower? He has plenty of time now.

The next day.

Song Wen, who was cultivating, was once again disturbed by Ai Kun's knocking on the door.

Opening the courtyard gate, Song Wen said irritably.

"Senior Ai, why aren't you at home drawing talismans? What are you doing here? The Beast Taming Sect requires you to submit a hundred talismans every ten days."

Ai Kun walked straight into the courtyard without any hesitation, sat down on a chair, and then spoke.

"I came here to ask for your help. I need to draw ten talismans for the Beast Taming Sect every day, and they all have to be of medium grade or higher. My old arms and legs can't take it."

Song Wen said, "I can't help you. You know that I only know one type of mid-grade talisman: the Flying Talisman. And the success rate is a pitiful 50%. With my Qi Refining Fourth Layer spiritual power and mental strength, I'm lucky if I can draw four a day. I also need to earn a little bit of Spirit Stone to support my daily needs."

"Just spend an extra hour each day drawing talismans, and make two Flying Talisman for me. That would be a real favor to this old man."

"No, that would shorten my cultivation time. Besides, you're not old at all. Every time we go to the brothel, you're more energetic than the young people."

The two were haggling over the price in the courtyard when suddenly there was a loud knocking at the door of the widow's house next door.

"Zhu Mei, are you going to pay the rent or not? If not, get out! Don't think that just because you're hiding in the yard, I can't do anything to you."

It's Zhao Dapeng again, here to drive away the orphan and widow.

Behind Zhao Dapeng followed a shifty-eyed, foolish-looking man. The man was timid and hesitant, like a child in a new environment, somewhat fearful and afraid.

The rat-eyed man hid half his body behind Zhao Dapeng, but his eyes kept glancing into the courtyard through the crack in the door.

He is Zhao Dapeng's younger brother. His older brother promised last night that he would bring him to find a woman today, a woman who could sleep with him.

My brother said that although the woman was a bit older, she was still quite attractive and also owned a courtyard house.

It's a win-win situation, bringing both good fortune and financial gain.

"Squeak!"

The courtyard gate was opened from the inside.

Zhu Mei's expression was aloof, her eyes coldly fixed on the two people outside the door, a stark contrast to the weeping, bewildered woman of yesterday.

I have no idea what she went through that night. In just one night, her personality changed drastically, as if she had been reborn.

Upon seeing Zhu Mei emerge, Zhao Dapeng's expression hardened even further.

"Zhu Mei, have you made up your mind? Pay the rent or get out."

"If you can't pay the rent and don't want to move out, that's fine too. Marry my brother, and we'll be relatives. As long as I, Zhao Dapeng, live, you'll never need to pay rent."

As he spoke, Zhao Dapeng pulled the rat-eyed man behind him to the front and pushed him in front of Zhu Mei.

So that was his real purpose.

The two brothers lost their parents at a young age and relied on each other to survive.

Later, they both embarked on the path of spiritual cultivation, supporting each other along the way.

Two years ago, while fighting with someone, his younger brother was seriously injured while protecting him. He not only lost all his cultivation but also suffered brain damage, becoming less intelligent.

Feeling guilty, Zhao Dapeng originally intended to raise his younger brother until the day he died, so as not to betray the brotherhood they had shared for so many years.

Although the younger brother is not very bright, he has normal male desires, especially after his mental decline, he almost lost control of his desires.

Sometimes on the street, he would see pretty female nuns and want to grope them, and several times he was almost beaten to death.

After Zhu Mei became a widow and had no one to rely on, Zhao Dapeng began to have designs on her.

Since the younger brother had needs, they found a woman to satisfy them, which led to the scene where Zhao Dapeng forced Zhu Mei to pay rent.

Zhao Dapeng knew that Zhu Mei, with a ten-year-old child in tow, could not possibly leave the market.

The towering mountains and treacherous terrain outside the market, the Demon Beast that could be encountered at any time on the road, and the ferocious Bandit Cultivator hiding in the shadows—these unknown dangers trapped the widow and her child within the market, making even the desire to live a normal life in the mortal world a luxury.