Repaying Kindness or Seeking Revenge?

The man tucked the money into his robe before grinning. "Congratulations, Old Master Zhou! Congratulations! Chen has become a First-Rank Martial Artist! The whole Qingtian District is talking about it now!"

"Who did you say?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Old Master Zhou seemed to have taken a muffled blow to the head. His entire body froze, his eyes went round as saucers, and for a long while, he could not catch his breath.

"Chen! Hey, Zhou Chen! Your eldest grandson!"

"What?!"

Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun, standing nearby, were stunned as well. The delight on their faces slowly vanished, replaced by bewilderment and shock.

Had they heard wrong?

That Zhou Chen, the nephew from the main branch whom they had just mocked and ridiculed, had actually become a First-Rank Martial Artist?!!

How was that possible?!!!

"Y-You didn't get it wrong, did you?"

Zhou Tao's voice was hoarse as he stared hard at the man who had come to offer congratulations, desperately hoping the man would say that he had been lying, that he was deliberately fooling them!

But the man's next words smothered every last flicker of hope. "No mistake! The Fishery's boat boss personally brought several fish to visit Zhou Er and told him again and again to recover in peace. He even reserved a good job for him at the Fishery, so he won't have to go out on boats and risk his life anymore! Oh, you should've seen it—Zhou Er's doorstep was so lively today that people nearly trampled the threshold flat!"

Each sentence stabbed into Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun's hearts like a knife!

After hearing it all, their faces turned from green to white. Their lips trembled, and it felt as though all the strength had been drained from their bodies.

The nephew they had looked down on most, the one they had thought least likely to amount to anything, had actually become a Martial Warrior!

Seeing their expressions, the messenger did not linger. He knew Old Master Zhou had never favored the Zhou Household's second branch. He had deliberately not said it was the second grandson when bringing the news, knowing full well that Old Master Zhou cared about face and hoping to get some congratulatory money. Who would have thought he would earn this much!

What a family of idiots!

The man happily patted the money in his clothes and left.

For a moment, Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun had nothing to say. They both looked toward Old Master Zhou, only to find that the old man looked even worse than they did. His face was ashen, as if coated in gray dust. It was as though all spirit had been sucked out of him in an instant. Supporting himself on the edge of the table, he shakily lowered himself back into his chair, unable to say a word for a long time.

For a while, the air was heavy and stifling.

Zhou Tao's hand trembled as he picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip. For some reason, the tea that had tasted sweet moments ago had become unbearably bitter. He kept muttering, "How could this be? How could it turn out like this? It shouldn't be!"

Just then, a large crowd suddenly came bustling in from outside.

Zhou Tao froze, then looked up toward the courtyard entrance.

At that moment, a lively clamor suddenly erupted outside, like a pot of water brought abruptly to a boil. Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, "Chen is here! Chen is here!" Immediately afterward, someone else rebuked them, "What Chen? That's Master Zhou! Greetings, Master Zhou!"

"I knew Master Zhou was destined to become a Martial Warrior! We could never envy such fortune enough!"

"Exactly, exactly! If we don't have that fate, we simply don't have it! We deserve to stay poor!"

The narrow alley was now packed with people who had come to offer congratulations. The nearby neighbors had all poured out of their homes upon hearing Zhou Chen had arrived, every one of them wearing a kindness-filled smile unlike any they had shown before.

Inside the courtyard, Zhou Tao stood up. Excitedly, he said, "Father, Chen is here!"

Feng Yuyun came back to her senses as well. A trace of discomfort flashed through her eyes as she began, "That fool..."

The word had barely left her mouth before Zhou Tao cut it off with a glare. She hurriedly changed her tune and forced out a smile. "Chen... why has Chen come?"

"What else could it be?" Zhou Tao dusted off his clothes and puffed out his chest, as though he had already forgotten his momentary embarrassment. With smug certainty, he analyzed, "He must be here to see Father—to see us! You don't understand, do you? This is called returning home in glory! Didn't you hear? The gifts piled up at his doorstep can barely fit! So he's hurrying over to bring us things and show filial respect!"

At those words, Feng Yuyun's eyes lit up as well. Excitedly, she said, "I heard that once you become a Martial Warrior, making money is easy. Then we can borrow some money from our good nephew and help Ping smooth over some connections. If the brothers support each other, won't the good days of our old Zhou Household be here? Yes! How did I not think of that?"

The more she spoke, the more animated she became, as though she could already see Zhou Chen arriving with armfuls of gifts to pay his respects.

In their imagination, even if Zhou Chen had become a Martial Warrior, he was still that dull, foolish nephew, a stuffy gourd they could knead and flatten however they pleased.

Yet neither of them noticed that Old Master Zhou, seated in the place of honor, had remained silent the entire time.

His eyes stared emptily ahead as he listened to Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun echoing each other. The corner of his mouth twitched faintly, as if he wanted to laugh but could not. He had favored the eldest branch since childhood and spoiled his eldest son's family into this state—spoiled them until they could no longer tell right from wrong.

Zhou Chen had come to see him, his grandfather?

Old Master Zhou gave a bitter laugh. Regret surged across his gray-white face as he recalled what had happened that day. Zhou Tian had screamed hysterically that he wanted to sever family ties. Old Master Zhou knew Zhou Tian's temperament. If he could shout those words, it meant he had completely given up on him, that even the final thread of affection had long since been worn away!

So how could Zhou Chen have come to repay kindness? It was more likely that he had come seeking revenge!

A massive wave of regret flooded his heart. How had he ever blindly believed that fortune-teller's words?!

Meanwhile, surrounded by the crowd, Zhou Chen entered the courtyard. The people behind him jostled and shouted excitedly. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and stinking feet, hot and muggy, yet their faces had never looked as kind and lovable as they did today.

Zhou Chen slowly exhaled, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

There was no other reason he had deliberately drawn the neighbors here today. Before all these witnesses, he intended to sever family ties completely and thoroughly, so that the Zhou Household could not borrow his name in the future to do anything that might damage him!

The instant Zhou Chen pushed open the door and entered, Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun happily hurried over in a little jog, both holding out their hands as if to receive gifts.

Zhou Tao called out, "Oh my, it's Chen! Come in, come in! Sit inside. Your eldest uncle will make you some tea!"

Seeing Zhou Tao's disgusting display, Zhou Chen recalled the wounds on Zhou Tian's body and the way Zhou Tao had oppressed his family over the years. The foul rage in his heart could no longer be held back!

"Fuck your mother!"

Zhou Chen suddenly kicked out, striking Zhou Tao squarely in the chest!

Bang!

The people behind Zhou Chen were so startled that all their eyelids twitched. They watched helplessly as Zhou Tao, who had just come running over with a smile plastered across his face, let out a pig-slaughtering scream and flew backward even faster than he had come. With a heavy bang, he crashed into the main hall's doors, smashing both wooden doors inward as dust rained down from the panels.

Pfft!

Zhou Tao spat out a mouthful of blood, his face filled with terror. His chest hurt so badly he felt he might die. That kick had broken who knew how many bones; God knew how long he would have to lie in bed.

Zhou Chen's kick had completely awakened him!

The Zhou Chen before him was no longer the nephew he could knead and mold at will!

He had changed!

He was now a Martial Warrior master!

To kill commoners like them would be as easy as slaughtering pigs and dogs!

"Ah!"

At the sight, Feng Yuyun halted mid-step and let out a shriek. Her face turned deathly pale as she stared at Zhou Chen and cried out venomously, "Y-You, what are you doing? He's your eldest uncle!"

"Eldest uncle? Pah!"

Zhou Chen glared at Feng Yuyun like a savage beast. Furiously, he said, "When you stole the silver I needed to register, when you beat my father so badly he had to stay in bed for days, did you ever remember he was my eldest uncle?!"

"I... I..."

For a moment, Feng Yuyun did not know what to say. Looking at Zhou Chen as though he were a vicious tiger ready to devour someone, her face was pale and her legs went weak. She could only force out a smile. "Chen, you've already beaten your eldest uncle, so don't beat your eldest aunt."

Bang!

Zhou Chen kicked out again. Feng Yuyun flew away like a tattered sack, smashing through the side room's door. Her whole body was wedged in the doorway, with only two pale, bare legs hanging outside the threshold, twitching unconsciously.

The courtyard fell deathly silent.

The people crowded outside to watch the excitement were all shrewd folk—seeing that Zhou Chen had even kicked his own eldest uncle, what was there left to misunderstand? Someone immediately took the lead in applauding and shouted, "Master Zhou is mighty! Well struck! Your eldest uncle's family are bastards, beasts! We've seen with our own eyes how they bullied your family all these years! That kick was justice carried out on Heaven's behalf!"

"We've disliked him for ages too!" another person chimed in, then put on a show of sighing. "Ah, it's a pity we never had a chance to make a move!"

He put on an annoyed expression.

At this point, only Old Master Zhou remained standing in the courtyard. He shakily glanced at Zhou Tao and Feng Yuyun, who were lying nearby and still coughing blood. His legs trembled as he looked at Zhou Chen and suddenly smiled. "Good, good. My Zhou Household has finally produced someone promising. As long as there's someone promising, that's all that matters, no matter what!"