Severing ties

"The Huang Family, Xu Yang!"

Zhang Yong nearly ground his teeth to pieces. Xu Yang had reached Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, yet the result was that Zhang Yong's training allowance had dropped from four taels to three.

Things had already been difficult. With one less tael of silver, his chance of becoming a martial artist was even slimmer.

In a martial artist's words, this was a feud born of obstructing his path, one that would not end until death.

"How miserable!"

Seeing Zhang Yong's sorry state, even Luo Dehu, who had never gotten along with him, refrained from mocking him. Wasn't Zhang Yong's plight their own as well?

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

Xu Yang sympathized with Zhang Yong too, but sympathy was all he could offer.

They were all still struggling in the mire. He would not sacrifice himself to save someone else. Besides, everyone had known from the beginning that this day would come. They were competitors, not companions.

Zhang Yong trained even harder, his gaze growing more resolute. Yet whenever he glanced at Xu Yang, there was sometimes a trace of hatred in his eyes.

Their alliance that had never truly been an alliance dissolved on the spot. Zhang Yong stopped speaking to Xu Yang, and when dinner came, he no longer sat with the others. A major rift had opened in their group of ten, and it seemed on the verge of breaking apart.

For another person had also stopped eating with them that day: the man named Liu Guangfa.

By the time Xu Yang dragged his exhausted body home, little light remained in the world.

He pushed open the door, but Xu Qing did not rush over in delight to ask whether he was tired, as she usually did.

She sat on a stool. Realizing he was back, she hurriedly wiped the tears from her face.

"You're back, Brother!"

She did her utmost to make her voice sound normal, but she could not hide the hoarseness left by crying. Her tears were gone, but her eyes were still red.

"Who bullied you? Tell me!" Xu Yang said gravely.

"N-no one bullied me." Xu Qing lowered her head.

"What did Xu Lao'er do to you?"

Xu Qing would not say, but Xu Yang could guess.

The little girl was tough. If an outsider bullied her, she would only get angry and come to him to complain.

Only Xu Lao'er could upset her enough to make her cry.

Seeing that Xu Yang had guessed, her tears poured down again. "He and Zhang Cuiting came to ask me for money earlier. I said I didn't have any, so he tried to take our laying hen. He said it would be just the thing to nourish Yang Jun.

"I wouldn't let him take her, but Zhang Cuiting held me tight, and Xu Lao'er took the hen by force."

Without a word, Xu Yang turned and pushed through the door.

That old hen was practically the little girl's lifeblood. With no grain at home, she went up the mountain every day to cut grass to feed it, helping ease Xu Yang's burden.

The hen had been taken away to be slaughtered for meat. He could only imagine how heartbroken she was.

"Brother, don't..."

Xu Qing ran after him, but his figure had already vanished into the night. She hurried to catch up, but how could she possibly keep pace with him?

"Xu Lao'er, hurry up! Jun needs to rest after he eats!"

Zhang Cuiting urged him on. The old hen had been raised for nearly three years and was highly nourishing. Her son had recently reached Entry in stance training and needed just such a tonic.

"Nearly done. Get the water boiling," Xu Lao'er replied.

He was plucking the chicken in the courtyard and had almost finished.

There are still a few chickens over there. I'll go take another in a couple of days. Once Jun becomes a martial artist, I'll be the father of a martial arts master...

Xu Lao'er savored the thought.

Bang!

Suddenly, someone kicked the courtyard gate open with brute force. The wooden gate fell apart.

Xu Lao'er looked up to find his son Xu Yang striding in, his face dark with anger.

"You unfilial son! What do you think you're doing?" Xu Lao'er flew into a rage.

The little brat actually dared to kick down his gate. What a disobedient son!

"Xu Lao'er, you old bastard! Stealing even your daughter's things-you're no better than a beast."

Seeing the old hen in Xu Lao'er's hands, already bled and plucked, its skin golden all over, Xu Yang could no longer contain his fury.

He covered the distance in a few quick strides and snatched the hen from Xu Lao'er's hands. Then he kicked the wooden basin used to scald its feathers, sending it flying into the corner, where it shattered and splashed water across the ground.

Xu Lao'er froze. It was only a chicken. How could this son, who had always meekly endured everything, be so furious?

"You unfilial son! You dare lay hands on your father?"

Coming to his senses, he raised his hand and swung a slap at Xu Yang's face. Wasn't it only natural for a father to live off his son?

But before his hand reached Xu Yang's face, Xu Yang caught his wrist.

The next instant, Xu Yang's five fingers abruptly tightened.

"Aah..."

Xu Lao'er felt as though the bones in his wrist were about to be crushed. The agony made him cry out involuntarily. Instinctively, he reached with his other hand to pry Xu Yang's fingers loose, but he could not budge them.

Only then did he realize how powerfully built his son had become. Xu Yang stood taller than him, his exposed muscles knotted like tree roots, his skin a bronze hue.

For a moment, he almost forgot his pain. They had not seen each other for a while, and Xu Yang had changed so much.

His gaze was sharp, his expression cold. He was no longer the boy who could be frightened into silence by a single look from his father.

"You little beast! What are you doing? You dare hit your father? Heaven will strike you down with lightning!"

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Cuiting rushed out, flailing her arms as she clawed at Xu Yang's face.

He still showed Xu Lao'er some consideration. After all, the man was his biological father, and he could not readily strike him. But he had no such reservations about Zhang Cuiting, a woman with little connection to him.

The instant Zhang Cuiting came within reach, he planted a kick straight in her belly.

She flew back the way she had come and crashed heavily into the house, letting out a howl of pain.

"Xu Yang, I'll kill you!"

Seeing this, Yang Jun's eyes nearly split with rage, and he lunged at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang had been watching out for him all along.

Yang Jun had begun martial training before him, but not by much. He certainly could not have made any real headway with fist techniques yet.

A fight between them would therefore be little different from a brawl between street thugs.

And in a brawl, two things mattered: reflexes and strength.

Digging in the mines had long since given Xu Yang a body full of brute strength. Over the past few days of stance training, that strength had also grown by the day.

Though Yang Jun had started martial training earlier, his strength was surely inferior.

The instant Yang Jun lunged, Xu Yang shoved Xu Lao'er into him. Then he stepped forward and drove out a fist.

Xu Lao'er's collision immediately halted Yang Jun's charge.

Yang Jun hastily reached out to push Xu Lao'er away, failing to notice Xu Yang's incoming fist until it slammed into the spot beneath his ear.

Thud!

With scarcely any further reaction, Yang Jun toppled stiffly to the ground, as though his power had been cut off in an instant.

"Useless!"

Even Xu Yang had not expected Yang Jun to be so pathetic, dropping after a single move.

"Jun..."

Zhang Cuiting had only just struggled out of the house when she saw Yang Jun lying unconscious on the ground. Forgetting Xu Yang entirely, she threw herself at her son like a madwoman and pressed hard beneath his nose.

"Brother, run! You've killed Yang Jun!"

Xu Qing arrived in time to see the scene, and her face instantly went white.

"He won't die. He's only unconscious for now," Xu Yang said.

Yang Jun had already reached Entry in stance training and begun tempering his muscles and bones. One punch would not kill him. Besides, Xu Yang had held back.

Sure enough, after Zhang Cuiting and Xu Lao'er frantically worked to revive him, massaging him to stimulate his circulation and pressing beneath his nose, Yang Jun slowly came around. He then stared at Xu Yang in terror.

He had reached Entry in stance training several days ago, only to be knocked flat by a mud-legged miner with one punch. It was an utter humiliation.

Xu Lao'er stood up angrily. "You unfilial son! All I did was take one chicken. Did you have to make such a fuss? When Jun becomes a martial artist, you'll benefit too. After everything you've eaten at my expense over the years..."

His words abruptly stopped.

He had meant to say how much Xu Yang had eaten at his expense, but then realized that he had not supported Xu Yang at all over those years. On the contrary, he had taken plenty from him.

"What? Too ashamed to finish?"

Xu Yang stared at him. "Count yourself lucky that you're my father. Otherwise, this wouldn't end here today. At the very least, I'd have to break your arm.

"And listen carefully, Xu Lao'er. From this day forward, Qing and I are severing all ties with you. If you ever dare come to our door and steal again, I'll beat you to death. Tomorrow, I'll announce this publicly, and I ask our neighbors to bear witness."

Xu Yang cupped his fist in salute to each of the onlookers outside Zhang Cuiting's courtyard, then strode away with Xu Qing.

"You unfilial son!"

Xu Lao'er roared. To think his son would sever ties with him over a single chicken!

"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Get over here and help me carry Jun back to his room!" Zhang Cuiting shouted.

All she cared about now was her son's condition. Everything else could be settled later.