Cousin Aunt

Cheng Yang was not the least bit flustered.

Because his cheat, "Peerless Bearing," had quietly activated.

Every time he clashed head-on with Dong Hao, a clear new insight into combat appeared in his mind.

After dozens of exchanges, those insights had piled up layer upon layer, their depth comparable to fighting this man for thousands of consecutive moves. Dong Hao's every technique, every habit of exerting force, every fleeting weakness—all of it was now etched into his memory without the slightest error.

Dong Hao viciously drove his elbow down, and Cheng Yang raised his own to meet it almost at the same instant, their movements identical.

The two elbows crashed together with a dull sound of flesh and bone colliding.

Bang! Bang!

After several more exchanges, Dong Hao finally realized something was wrong. His expression changed, and a flicker of shock and suspicion passed through his eyes. "This brat... is learning from me?"

Then, furious to the point of laughter, he sneered, "Good! Good! Learn, then! Let's see how you learn this move!"

Before his words had even faded, a sharp gleam burst from his eyes. He sank his waist and set his stance, his back drawn taut like a bowstring at its limit, every muscle and bone in his body twisting into one force.

Mountain-Shattering Fist!

Both fists shot out together, carrying a piercing howl through the air as they drove straight at Cheng Yang's chest and abdomen with the force of wind and thunder.

This strike had been prepared for a long time and held nothing back. Its sheer power made even the air tremble.

Cheng Yang had long been prepared for it.

He sprang aside like a true spirit crane, drifting gracefully sideways with such lightness that he barely stirred the wind. The Mountain-Shattering Fist brushed past the cloth at his ribs without even grazing his skin.

"What?" Dong Hao's pupils contracted sharply, his face full of disbelief.

His long-prepared killing move had been evaded so effortlessly that the confidence in his chest drained away in an instant.

But before he could change his move, Cheng Yang's attack had already arrived.

The fingers of his right hand came together into a beak and darted out like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, pecking precisely at Dong Hao's throat.

Spirit Crane Fist, Crane-Wing Sweep.

Pfft.

A spray of blood shot out.

Dong Hao clutched his throat with both hands, his eyes wide and round. Deep in his pupils still lingered terror and bewilderment that had not had time to fade. He staggered back two steps, swayed, then crashed to the ground.

Cheng Yang stood where he was, his chest rising and falling slightly.

This was the first time he had killed someone. He had thought he would be afraid, that he would retch, that his hands would shake. Yet after truly doing it, his heart was calm as a dead pool, without the slightest ripple.

He took a breath, suppressed his stray thoughts, and crouched down to search the body.

Broken silver, copper coins, and several small trinkets—all of it went into his robe. Then he rose and shoved his way into the house.

Bang! The front door was kicked open.

Liu Yuan was still snoring thunderously in bed, and the air was thick with the stench of alcohol.

"Such a commotion didn't wake him. Looks like he really drank himself senseless."

Cheng Yang strode to the bedside. Without hesitation, he grabbed Liu Yuan by the throat with one hand and tightened his fingers.

A suffocating pressure instantly surged over him, and Liu Yuan's already flushed face turned the color of pig liver.

He jolted awake, eyes bulging. Both hands instinctively clawed at Cheng Yang's arm while his legs kicked wildly, muffled struggling sounds squeezing from his throat.

Unfortunately, an ordinary man who had never practiced martial arts was not even as good as a lamb awaiting slaughter in Cheng Yang's hands.

The struggle lasted for more than ten breaths before gradually weakening, until it stopped completely.

Liu Yuan was dead.

Cheng Yang released his hand and looked at that face, now utterly devoid of life. An inexplicable sense of relief rose within him, as though the breath that had been lodged in his chest for so long had finally dispersed.

Killing an enemy really did relieve stress.

This was something he could do more often in the future.

Without another glance, he turned and began ransacking the house.

Silver, pearl strings, valuable odds and ends—everything that could be taken was stripped clean.

In a small chest, he found a thick stack of IOUs, more than a dozen in all.

Cheng Yang flipped through them, found his own family's note, and tucked every IOU into his clothes.

Might as well take them. Consider it a good deed.

After emptying the house of valuables, Cheng Yang returned to the courtyard and dragged Dong Hao's corpse inside.

He exerted force through his foot, stomping one by one on crucial places such as Dong Hao's finger bones and breastbone, producing cracks that made one's teeth ache.

This was not whipping a corpse to vent his anger, but to muddle the injuries. He did not want an expert to infer his martial arts style from the marks on the body and trace it back to him.

Only after confirming that every trace had been properly concealed did Cheng Yang turn and leave.

But the night was not over yet. He had no intention of sparing any of Liu Yuan's underlings.

He repeated the same method.

By the time he had cleaned up every loose end, the night had grown thick as ink. Cheng Yang returned home with his bulging haul, thoroughly satisfied.

He unpacked everything beneath the lamp. White silver, several strings of decent-quality pearls, scattered copper coins—by a rough estimate, there were dozens of taels' worth.

This trip had made him a fortune.

But Cheng Yang was not blinded by his gains. Liu Yuan had only just died, so the stolen money could not be spent openly. Buying some martial arts resources in secret, however, would not be a problem.

The next day.

"Xiaoyang, come with Mother to visit your cousin aunt today. Given our situation, I'm afraid she's the only one who can help us now." Lin Xia gritted her teeth as she spoke.

Cheng Yang thought that Liu Yuan's matter had already been settled, but he could not tell his mother openly. As for visiting his cousin aunt, he was unwilling a hundred times over.

His cousin aunt was the only relative among them with even a little wealth. But ever since she had married into the Guo Household, she had gradually cut off contact with her poor relatives.

The last time mother and son had gone to borrow money, not only had they failed to borrow any silver, they had also been humiliated with barbed words and veiled jabs.

Borrowing was a favor; refusing was one's right. That was true enough, but Cheng Yang still felt a knot in his chest.

"We're going. We must go! How can you be so thoughtless? At a time like this, you're still worrying about saving face? If your cousin aunt refuses to help, I'll kneel at the Guo Household's gates and refuse to get up!"

Lin Xia's tone was unusually stern as she gave Cheng Yang a thorough scolding.

Cheng Yang did not argue further.

He knew that without his cheat, mother and son might truly have had to kneel at the Guo Household's gates and beg his cousin aunt for charity.

Left with no other choice, he could only let his mother drag him out the door.

The moment they reached the street, they ran into the hushed discussions of the neighbors.

"Did you hear? Master Liu and Master Dong, the ones collecting protection money, got taken out!"

"That dog Liu the Skinflayer deserved to die! Who told him to be so arrogant all the time?"

"Shh... keep it down! Golden Tiger Gang people are investigating everywhere. Don't let us run into the muzzle of the gun."

The people of Old Kui Street were buzzing with discussion. Many kept their voices low, but their eyes shone, clearly applauding in secret.

Lin Xia and Cheng Yang naturally heard the discussions as they walked down the street.

At first, Lin Xia thought it was only a rumor. But after hearing several people speak of it and confirming it again and again, she finally became certain.

Liu Yuan was truly dead!

Did that mean they no longer had to repay that debt?

But as soon as the thought surfaced, she quickly considered another possibility: the man was dead, but the IOU might still remain. The Golden Tiger Gang had no time to deal with them now, but once they freed up their hands and came knocking with the note, would they not still have to pay?

"Mother, since Liu Yuan is already dead, can we go home now?" Cheng Yang put on a happy expression.

"No, we still need to visit the Guo Household." Lin Xia shook her head, her expression grave. "Liu Yuan may be dead, but no one knows whether the IOU is still there."

"What if the note is already gone?" Cheng Yang tested the waters.

"No what-ifs! Our family already made the wrong gamble once by letting you practice martial arts. We cannot be wrong again this time." Lin Xia's tone was firm. "The Golden Tiger Gang is enraged right now. If their people come to our door with the IOU and we cannot produce the money, the consequences will be unthinkable."

She paused, and her voice lowered. "Mother is old and faded; if I die, then I die. But you're only twenty, in the prime of your life. Nothing must happen to you."

Cheng Yang fell silent for a moment, a bitter feeling rising in his heart.

"Then why are we going to the Guo Household? To borrow money again?" he asked.

"No. I want to borrow the Guo family's connections to sell our old house. A great family's channels are much faster than finding a property broker ourselves."

"Do we really have to sell this courtyard?" Cheng Yang clenched his fists.

"We can't avoid it." Lin Xia sighed. "But if you become capable in the future, perhaps you can redeem this courtyard."

There was a hint of self-mockery in her voice when she said this, as though she were trying to comfort herself.

Because she also knew that possibility was next to zero. From the moment her son had failed to break through in martial arts training, she had known that mother and son would likely never see a day of turning their fortunes around again.

Her only wish now was no longer for her son to become rich and powerful. She only hoped that he would live safely, marry a wife, have a child, and carry on the Cheng family line.

It was that simple.

And that difficult.