Knocked Down with One Charge

The escort runners cleared the way and the area.

The bystanders who had been watching from the roadside also retreated several steps, making way for a passage, afraid they might accidentally provoke the escort agency experts who were about to arrive.

Then, several burly escort agency apprentices clustered around a tall youth in white as they approached the storefront entrance.

Jiang Jingnian stood there with a broad-bladed saber stance, an inexplicable pressure radiating from him.

He calmly swept a glance over the shop assistants and guards lying at the entrance. His gaze lingered on Su Wanzhi and Qu Lanlan for a second, and he gained a measure of the situation before turning to the young man in black.

"Garden Celebration Hall truly is a petty household, with no regard whatsoever for Jianghu Rules. Just a few days ago, my master sat down for tea talks with your deputy hall master at a teahouse. You had reached a settlement, and this matter was over. Yet here you are again, pestering us without end and even laying hands on people."

Jiang Jingnian was in no hurry to make a move. He merely said at an unhurried pace, "Everyone, you are in the wrong in this matter. Withdraw now, and there is still room to turn things around."

"...Why is it you?"

Before the young hall master could speak, Su Wanzhi's face showed hesitation once she recognized the people from the escort agency.

She was not entirely unfamiliar with the youth in white. After all, she had hired his rickshaw before and remembered him as a diligent, sensible rickshaw puller.

But wasn't he a rickshaw puller?

How had he transformed in the blink of an eye into an expert of Tongda Escort Agency?

The leap in status was simply too great, making even Su Wanzhi wonder whether her eyes had deceived her.

As for Qu Lanlan beside her, she had been so embarrassed and angry that tears had fallen from her eyes. Yet when she saw the youth in white surrounded by everyone, her expression turned utterly blank.

This man looked far too much like that down-and-out freeloader who had come to her Household to mooch off them!

But whether they were the same person—

Qu Lanlan had not considered that possibility. Two people could look alike, but their temperaments were worlds apart. One wore a perpetually miserable expression and gave a foolish grin whenever he met someone; the other looked indifferent, as though everyone around him were mere trash fish.

Especially his eyes, which carried the oppressive air of someone in a superior position.

Such a fundamental difference in one's core nature—

Could not be faked.

The young hall master in black glanced at Su Wanzhi's complicated expression, then looked toward the youth in white not far away. The other man had delicate features and a tall build, coupled with a calm temperament that gave him the air of a young Jianghu hero.

"Could these two be having an affair?"

"Damn it!"

The young hall master immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion, an inexplicable fury rising in his heart.

After all, Su Wanzhi was the woman he had set his sights on!

He casually released Qu Lanlan's arm, then slowly turned to face Jiang Jingnian. "Your master? When did Duan Deshun ever take in a disciple? Didn't his previous two disciples die long ago?"

"Are you saying you're that dead ghost who fell into a pit, or that lump of minced meat beaten to death by the foreign strongman? I recall that made the newspapers back then, didn't it? Hahaha!"

His words were casual, yet he had clearly investigated Duan Deshun's earlier experiences in great detail.

"First you broke the rules, then you insulted my two late senior brothers."

Jiang Jingnian's gaze changed in an instant. "You brought this upon yourself."

Chai Li stood nearby. Seeing that Jiang Jingnian seemed inclined to act, she still tried to dissuade him worriedly. "They have a lot of people. Shouldn't we first..."

There were simply too many people here.

There were at least thirty thugs, as well as the young man in black whose depth they did not know. It would be enough to intimidate them; if they truly fought outright, the few of them might suffer.

Crack—

Before she had even finished speaking, the bluestone slab beneath Jiang Jingnian's feet cracked apart. Like a savage bear, he rammed straight toward the young man in black some distance away.

Seeing this, the young hall master in black merely flickered his gaze before bursting into laughter. "Good! You look rather refined, but I never expected your fighting style to be so crude. Let's see just—ah!"

Facing this seemingly flaw-ridden opening, he did not evade at all. He threw a punch directly, his fierce blood and force surging out like a black tiger descending the mountain, biting and clawing for the heart!

He was a martial artist of the Bone Tempering Stage.

Within Tongda Escort Agency, aside from Li Mincheng, that fellow born a few years before him, he did not place any of the younger generation in his eyes.

Bang!

Bang!

His fists struck Jiang Jingnian's chest and abdomen with dull impacts, yet they did not hinder Jiang Jingnian's charging steps in the slightest.

The young hall master in black—

Was sent flying outright, screaming miserably in midair.

Cui Budong, the young hall master of Garden Celebration Hall, a Martial Master of the Bone Tempering Stage! He could not even withstand a single blow before being knocked away.

He rolled several times across the ground before landing beside the shop guard he had knocked down earlier.

The shop guard from before had likewise been sent flying in exactly this manner.

How eerily similar was this scene to what had happened earlier?!

The only difference was that Cui Budong had directly fainted, while the joints in both his arms twisted at irregular angles.

Those two punches had just landed on Jiang Jingnian.

Not only had they done absolutely nothing, but the impact had directly shattered his own arms!

This sight—

Left not only Su Wanzhi and the other two women frozen in place; even the Garden Celebration Hall thugs stared wide-eyed, their faces pale. Some swallowed with difficulty, trying to ease the terror caused by what they had seen.

Others might not understand.

But they certainly knew full well.

Their young hall master was the strongest among the gang's younger generation. His Black Tiger Fist Technique had reached the hall, and seven or eight ordinary men could not even get close to him.

Moreover, a Martial Master of the Bone Tempering Stage tempered blood into the bones. The hand bones, continually purified and refined, were harder than ordinary stone.

Yet such a brutal charge had snapped them just like that?

Jiang Jingnian came to a stop where he stood, flicked nonexistent dust from his fingers, and swept his gaze over everyone present. "Anyone from Garden Celebration Hall who does not want to die, take this man and get out! From now on, I will personally stand guard over the Su Family's shops. You may bring whatever tricks you have. But next time, it will not be as simple as crippling two hands."

An inexplicable killing intent filled his eyes.

He had been restraining himself all along, suppressing the strange violent urge within his heart.

He did not know whether it was because he had consumed too many special items, or because he had killed and seen blood some days ago. Now, whenever Jiang Jingnian fought with his full strength, he always wanted to kill his enemies outright and eliminate future trouble forever.

Only a small number of Garden Celebration Hall's thugs managed to summon some courage and thought of standing up for their young hall master. Yet the moment they met that gaze, their eyes immediately cleared.

"Tongda Escort Agency, just you wait!"

Several men from Garden Celebration Hall forced themselves to step forward. They helped up their unconscious young hall master, left behind a harsh threat, and immediately departed from the silk shop.

They did not even dare ask Jiang Jingnian's name.

Seeing this, the thugs from the other gangs did not even have the courage to leave behind threats. Afraid the youth in white would set his sights on them, they scattered in all directions like birds and beasts, fleeing at once.

"...They ran off that quickly?"

Watching the scene empty out in an instant, Chai Li smacked her lips beside him, her feelings complicated.

Had Escort Master Jiang not only advanced to the Blood Tempering Stage a few days ago?

Why was his majesty and oppressive presence so intense?

He was almost comparable to Li Mincheng, the escort agency's young master.