A dark and windy night

No matter what, I can't actually sell the shops.

Just as Mo Yiyi was thinking this, several fierce-looking men in blue robes, black wolves embroidered on their chests, strode into the shop.

Mo Yiyi froze, her heart missing half a beat.

She instinctively stepped back, while her hand reached behind her of its own accord and pushed Mo Yun farther back.

The man leading them had a gleaming bald head, bulging temples, and triangular eyes glinting with menace. He walked with the swagger of a prowling tiger.

Four lackeys followed him, all broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, their faces bristling with brutality. One glance told her they were bad news.

Mo Yiyi recognized him.

Zhao Si, a leader in the Sky Wolf Gang.

He was said to be a martial artist who had truly cultivated Force Energy, a formidable figure in the little patch of territory that was Yellow Maple Town.

"Well, Boss Mo? Have you made up your mind?"

The moment Zhao Si entered, he plopped himself into a chair, crossed his legs, and rubbed his bald head, looking at Mo Yiyi with a broad smile.

Mo Yiyi clenched the hem of her clothes and steadied her emotions. Her slender brows knit slightly. "Why are you here? Didn't you agree to give me three days to consider? This is only the second day."

"The second day?"

Zhao Si tilted his head in feigned confusion, then turned toward the lackey beside him, drawing out his words. "Is today the second day?"

The lackey immediately caught on and plastered a smile across his face. "Master Zhao, you remembered correctly. Today's the third day. This woman must have gotten it wrong."

"Oh, so it's the third day. I knew my memory was perfectly fine."

Zhao Si nodded as if enlightenment had dawned on him, then turned back toward Mo Yiyi and spread his hands innocently. "See? It's already the third day. You're the one who remembered wrong. Time to give me your answer."

Mo Yiyi trembled with anger.

He only came to threaten me yesterday, and now today's suddenly the third day?

He's telling barefaced lies with his eyes wide open!

She drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressed her anger, and turned to Ye Wuyou, who stood to one side.

Ye Wuyou was the head of the hired fighters she had engaged at considerable expense through the brokerage. He supposedly had early bright strength cultivation, enjoyed some renown in the nearby towns, and had some connections with the Sky Wolf Gang.

At a time like this, she could only count on him.

Ye Wuyou understood her look and forced himself to step forward.

He cupped his hands toward Zhao Si, his face wreathed in smiles. "Master Zhao, do you remember me? I visited your esteemed gang a while ago and had the honor of meeting you."

Zhao Si glanced at him sidelong and snorted. "You're Ye Wuyou? What are you sticking your nose in for?"

"What an excellent memory, Master Zhao!"

Ye Wuyou hastily offered the compliment, then chose his words carefully. "Master Zhao, about this matter... Boss Mo has her own difficulties. Why don't we keep things friendly and prosper together?"

Ye Wuyou knew perfectly well that although he and Zhao Si both had early bright strength cultivation, their actual abilities were as far apart as heaven and earth.

He had merely been lucky enough to reach the threshold of Bright Force, while Zhao Si had spent years at early bright strength. Their combat experience and mastery of martial arts were on entirely different levels.

He paused, smiled ingratiatingly, and continued, "What I mean is, why not have Boss Mo pay thirty percent of her monthly profits to your esteemed gang, while she continues running the shops? Think about it..."

He leaned closer and lowered his voice, adopting an air of heartfelt confidence. "If she can run these shops so well, she must have her own methods and experience."

"If you take over the shops and put someone else in charge, they might not understand those methods. If they fail to make any money, that would spoil things instead."

Zhao Si rubbed his bald head and narrowed his eyes, seemingly considering it.

Seeing that he had not refused outright, Ye Wuyou felt greatly reassured and quickly turned back toward Mo Yiyi.

"Boss Mo, thirty percent of the profits really isn't much. Think about it. Even without sharing profits with the Sky Wolf Gang, other factions come every month to squeeze money out of you under all sorts of pretexts. Add the various palms you have to grease and the government's taxes, and what you spend might not be any less than thirty percent."

He patiently coaxed her. "But once you share your profits with the Sky Wolf Gang, you'll be under their protection."

"Then the other factions won't dare touch you, and even the authorities won't collect all those harsh levies and miscellaneous taxes anymore. Look at it that way, and not only won't you lose out, you'll actually come out ahead!"

Mo Yiyi frowned in thought.

She made a rough calculation. Business was fairly good now, and even if she gave up thirty percent of the profits, she would indeed suffer no loss as long as the other factions stopped bleeding her dry.

She might even have something left over.

"Then..."

She was about to speak, but Zhao Si beat her to it.

"Ye Wuyou, I didn't realize you had a few brains in that head."

Zhao Si grinned, revealing yellow teeth, then slapped his thigh and stood. "All right. I think that's a good plan."

Ye Wuyou and Mo Yiyi both breathed sighs of relief.

His next words, however, froze the smiles on their faces.

"But I don't think that profit split is quite right."

Zhao Si rubbed his bald head, made a show of thinking, then held up nine fingers.

"How about this? Forget thirty percent. I'll set a firm price: ninety percent! As long as Boss Mo gives our Sky Wolf Gang ninety percent of the profits, we'll protect every one of your shops!"

"N-ninety percent?!"

Mo Yiyi's eyes widened. She wondered whether she had heard wrong.

Ye Wuyou was equally dumbfounded. His mouth opened, but not a single word came out.

I'd just spent all that breath finally negotiating thirty percent, and he opened his mouth and demanded ninety?

This wasn't a lion opening its jaws wide-this was fucking daylight robbery!

"Master Zhao, this..."

Ye Wuyou tried to say more, but Zhao Si waved a hand and cut him off.

"Don't haggle with me."

Zhao Si's smile vanished. Cold light shot from his triangular eyes, and his tone grew impatient.

"Ninety percent. That's the Sky Wolf Gang's bottom line. Leaving you ten percent is already a courtesy to Ye Wuyou. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a punishment."

He stared at Mo Yiyi and enunciated every word. "I'll give you one more day. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll come to collect the shops. Have the official deeds ready beforehand. We'll go straight to the authorities to transfer them."

With that, Zhao Si flicked his sleeve and swaggered off with his lackeys.

Their footsteps gradually faded, leaving a frightening silence in the shop.

Ye Wuyou stood rooted to the spot, his expression uglier than tears.

He turned toward Mo Yiyi, his face full of apology. "I'm sorry, Boss Mo. I did everything I could..."

He truly had not expected the Sky Wolf Gang's men to be so ruthless, refusing to give him even the slightest consideration.

But he also knew this was most likely Zhao Si acting on his own initiative. The man was a brute who cared only about raking in money. What did he care if he drained the pond to catch the fish?

Mo Yiyi's face was grim. For a long while, she could not speak.

She had never imagined that the shops she had worked so hard to run, which had finally begun to flourish, were about to be stolen from her.

And in such a brazen fashion.

"Master Ye... you should all head back."

Mo Yiyi sighed. "I'll go to the brokerage tomorrow to settle the remaining payment."

Ye Wuyou hurriedly waved his hands and said awkwardly, "Forget the balance. I couldn't help, so I'd be too ashamed to take it..."

He cupped his hands and slunk away with his subordinates.

Only Mo Yun and his older sister, Mo Yiyi, remained in the shop.

Mo Yiyi stood there in a daze, her eyes reddening.

She bit her lip and looked toward Mo Yun, lowering her head. "I'm sorry, little brother..."

"I can't protect the family business Father left us. Last time it was Second Uncle and Grandfather, and now it's the Sky Wolf Gang. I... I'm so useless..."

Mo Yun stepped forward and gently ruffled her hair, his voice tender. "It's all right, Sis. No one can take what's ours."

There was something else he did not say aloud.

I'll handle things from here.

His sister was only two years older than him, just seventeen now, yet she had spent all these years bearing burdens that should never have been hers.

On Earth in his previous life, a seventeen-year-old girl was merely a high school student, still at an innocent, carefree age, working toward the college entrance exams.

Yet Mo Yiyi had supported this family alone for three whole years.

Mo Yun felt that, no matter what, it was time to let his sister live a peaceful life.

Mo Yiyi let out a heavy breath, rubbed the corners of her eyes, and forced a smile. "Don't worry, little brother. I'll think of something else. If there's really no other way, we'll... we'll sell the shops. At least we can get ten taels of silver back. Then we can find some small business to do..."

Ten taels of silver. The shops' net profit for a single month exceeded that.

They called it buying, but it was no different from outright robbery.

Mo Yun shook his head. "Don't worry about it too much yet, Sis. Let's see what happens tomorrow."

That evening.

The siblings stayed in the shop for the time being.

Mo Yiyi made up a bed in the inner room and lay down early, but tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Mo Yun went to the rear courtyard and began practicing his fist technique by moonlight.

The Nameless Fist Technique, once, twice, three times...

Moonlight spilled over him like water, stretching his shadow long.

Sweat soaked his clothes, but he was oblivious to it, all his attention focused on the fist technique.

He had a powerful premonition that he was about to break through.

That feeling had begun in the afternoon, a little sooner than he had expected.

It was as though a thin sheet of window paper stood before him. With one gentle poke, he would see an entirely new world.

He practiced again and again, each punch smoother than the last, each form more seamless than the one before.

Gradually, his breathing grew long and steady. Blood Qi surged through his body like mighty rivers, while Force Energy roiled in the wind of his punches.

The forty-seventh repetition.

The forty-eighth repetition.

The forty-ninth repetition.

When he reached the fiftieth repetition-

Hum!

Mo Yun felt a soft humming in his mind. That thin sheet of window paper had finally been pierced!

Countless insights into the Nameless Fist Technique flooded in like a rising tide. The essence of every move and form melded into a coherent whole in that instant, as though engraved into his bones, becoming his body's instinct.

He closed his eyes and quietly sensed the changes within him.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and blasted out a punch!

Fierce tiger descends the mountain!

The wind of his punch howled. A muffled bang erupted in the air, far louder than before!

His fist slammed into the stone block beside the courtyard wall. The block jolted violently, and a fine crack actually appeared on its surface!

"The Nameless Fist Technique finally broke through!"

Mo Yun withdrew his fist and stood upright, exhaling a long breath of stale air, his eyes gleaming.

He could clearly feel explosive power filling his entire body, as though he could kill ten oxen with a single punch!

At the same time, the pale blue Virtual Panel in his mind automatically appeared, hovering before his retinas.

[Physique 7.6, life 2, defense 5.0, spiritual power 0]

[Martial arts: Nameless Fist Technique (proficient), Tiger-Crouching Fist (minor attainment), Tiger-Crouching Stance (minor attainment), Tiger-Crouching Force (uninitiated)]

[Current cultivation: mid bright strength]

[Special ability: Pill Dao (uninitiated)]

[Available points: black 0, white 0]

His physique had risen from 6.6 to 7.6, an increase of a full 1.0!

His defense had risen from 4.3 to 5.0, an increase of 0.7!

Mo Yun clenched his fists, feeling the terrifying strength coursing through his body, and the corners of his mouth lifted despite himself.

He raised his wrist and glanced at the White Mark.

The radiance in its white portion had filled another substantial stretch, reaching roughly eighty-five percent. Completion was within sight.

"Good. One more point in either the Tiger-Crouching Fist or the Tiger-Crouching Stance should just about fill it."

He took a deep breath, settled his excitement, and looked up at the sky.

The moon had climbed overhead. The night breeze carried the chill of late autumn, rustling the old tree beside the courtyard wall.

The streets had long since emptied. Only an occasional bark sounded in the distance, making the night seem all the more deep and still.

The corners of Mo Yun's mouth curved slightly, and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

"A dark and windy night..."

"A time for murder and arson."

He turned and went inside, changed into dark clothes, then found a piece of black cloth and covered his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Then he silently pushed open the back door and vanished into the night.