The Wang Family's Predicament

After lunch, Old Master Cheng and Cheng Fugui arrived together at the entrance of Cheng Heng's small courtyard.

"Heng'er? Heng'er?"

Gently pushing open the courtyard gate, Old Master Cheng called out softly.

Seeing the gate open, Li Qingwan leaned out. When she saw that it was Old Master Cheng and Second Uncle, a flicker of surprise passed through her eyes, followed by even greater confusion.

"Grandfather? Second Uncle?"

"What brings you here?"

Li Qingwan went out to greet them and ushered the two of them into the house.

"Have some tea."

After the two had settled into their seats, Li Qingwan rose, brewed a pot of tea, and placed it before them.

Li Qingwan studied the two for a moment before asking:

"I wonder what business Grandfather and Second Uncle have in coming here?"

Ever since a year ago, when Cheng Heng had wanted to learn martial arts and failed to borrow money from his grandfather's family, the two households had essentially stopped associating. Their sudden visit today was probably nothing good!

Li Qingwan had already formed a few guesses in secret.

Ever since Cheng Heng had been promoted to constable chief, the neighbors in the Outer City had undergone a drastic change in attitude toward him. Most of them sought to curry favor with him.

The many gangs in the Outer City were all deeply wary of Cheng Heng. Whenever one gang replaced another, they would come calling at his door.

Clearly, they had all been cowed by Cheng Heng's Hidden Force-level strength!

Cheng Fugui's eyes darted away as he stammered:

"We came over because of Qi'er's martial arts training. You know as well that supporting someone learning martial arts costs us Outer City folk an enormous amount of silver."

"Recently... recently, Qi'er has reached a critical juncture in his training. We wanted to borrow ten taels of silver to buy Blood-Qi Pills."

"Blood-Qi Pills?"

Li Qingwan feigned surprise. "A single Blood-Qi Pill costs quite a bit of silver. Even Brother Heng hasn't eaten more than a few!"

"Yes! Yes!"

Cheng Fugui hurriedly agreed. "Isn't the Martial Examination coming up soon? Qi'er is the Cheng Family's last hope!"

"The family is counting on him to place in the Martial Examination, to bring glory to our ancestors!"

Li Qingwan's brows drew together slightly as she said slowly:

"Cheng Qi is your Cheng Family's hope? Then where have you placed Brother Heng?"

"When Father went to serve corvée labor, where were you?"

"When Brother Heng wanted to take a master and learn martial arts, where were you?"

"When my family had no food to eat, where were you?"

Old Master Cheng and Cheng Fugui flushed scarlet and hemmed and hawed, but in the end, neither could say a single word!

"I'm back!"

A voice sounded from outside. Cheng Heng had returned.

"Grandfather? Second Uncle?"

"What are you doing here?"

Pushing open the courtyard gate, Cheng Heng looked at the two before him with a startled expression.

Then, seeing Li Qingwan's furious face, Cheng Heng's brows furrowed slightly.

"What happened?"

The three remained silent for a long while. At last, Old Master Cheng slowly spoke:

"Heng'er, Qi'er is at a crucial stage of his training now. Look... could you help Qi'er? Lend us ten taels of silver?"

Cheng Heng's face instantly darkened.

"You can borrow money, but I have only one condition. As long as you agree to it, I'll give you the silver at once!"

Old Master Cheng and Second Uncle were overjoyed. Second Uncle hurriedly pressed:

"Heng'er, say it. So long as I can do it, even if there were ten conditions, I could do them!"

At those words, a cold smile curled at Cheng Heng's lips.

"Fine, Second Uncle. You said that yourself, so you can't regret it!"

"Back then, my father served three years of corvée labor in your place. Only one year has passed so far. As long as you go and bring my father back in exchange, I'll agree to lend you ten taels of silver. That isn't an excessive request, is it, Second Uncle?"

Cheng Fugui's face immediately turned crimson. He pointed at Cheng Heng for a long while.

"You... you... you!!"

Old Master Cheng finally let out a deep sigh. He cast Cheng Heng a complicated glance, then hunched over and dragged the red-faced Cheng Fugui out of the small courtyard.

Once the two had left, Li Qingwan immediately brought out the meat dishes she had prepared long ago from the kitchen.

"Brother Heng, hurry and eat. It'll go cold if you don't!"

Cheng Heng smiled and nodded. Then he picked up the food on the table and began wolfing it down.

Old Master Cheng dragged Cheng Fugui all the way back home. The moment Cheng Fugui saw Second Aunt, he flew into a rage.

"That ungrateful white-eyed wolf, he deserves to be struck dead!"

"Just wait until Qi'er passes the Martial Examination. We'll see whether he can still be so arrogant then!"

It was early spring, when all things revived. It should have been a season of rising spirits, yet the Wang Family was steeped in a stifling atmosphere.

Wang Duchuan paced slowly through the main hall, his brows tightly furrowed as he pondered something.

The many Wang Family members below all wore miserable expressions as well, as though they had encountered some great difficulty!

"Family Head, at a time like this, you need to lay out a plan. Are we going to fight the Yang Family until the fish dies and the net tears, or what? Can we come up with a solution just by sitting around here?"

A burly Wang Family man stood up below and roared in fury.

"Exactly! The Yang Family has gone too far! They have already swallowed half of our Wang Family's medicinal herb business, and now they even want to swallow the remaining twenty percent."

"If we retreat again, there will be no place left for us to stand in Gaoyang County!"

Wang Ming was also in the hall. Seeing everyone's indignation, he could not help speaking up.

In just a few short years, the Yang Family had relied on its ties to the Li Family to devour nearly half of the Wang Family's businesses one after another. The Wang Family had now reached the brink of life and death!

Wang Duchuan let out a deep sigh in the hall. "If there is truly no other way, then yield the medicinal herb business around Jingshan to the Yang Family. We will keep only the last mountain, and slowly make plans again in the future."

Wang Ming below could no longer hold himself back. He said with a face full of indignation:

"Take one step back today, another tomorrow, and sooner or later the Yang Family will swallow us whole. We must settle victory and defeat with them!"

"Presumptuous! It isn't your turn to speak here yet!"

Wang Duchuan's expression hardened as he rebuked him:

"For the territory around Jingshan, the county magistrate has specifically instructed us to handle it according to the rules of the trade: settle victory and defeat through martial combat!"

"If I have not guessed wrong, the Yang Family has specially invited Longwind Iron Palm Wu Zhenyue to hold the field!"

At those words, everyone in the hall frowned. Clearly, they all knew this man's reputation well!

"Wu Zhenyue? I never expected the Yang Family to invite him!"

"Rumor in the martial world says that he has already reached the pinnacle of Hidden Force. Breaking through to Skill-Transforming Force is just around the corner!"

Watching the crowd below buzz with discussion, deep helplessness surfaced on Wang Duchuan's face.

"Wu Zhenyue is in his prime and a master at the pinnacle of Hidden Force. In all of Gaoyang County, how many people can be found who could defeat him?"

"Though I am a Skill-Transforming Force martial artist, I am already past sixty, my qi and blood in decline. Even I would not dare claim that I could defeat him!"

The people below fell into dead silence. Wang Ming frowned slightly, then slowly said:

"What if Zhan Yun took action?"