"We Tangs have always made our word weigh as much as nine bronze cauldrons. If I said we'd fight, then we'll fight. But let's settle this beforehand: fists and feet have no eyes. If someone gets hurt, nobody can blame anyone else." Tang Yan pushed Xiao Cui aside and rolled up his sleeves, looking eager to get started.
Liu Yuan nearly laughed aloud. This idiot really did have a one-track mind-he had said exactly what Liu Yuan was thinking.
"Young Master Tang, you certainly don't waste time! Let's begin, then! Everyone, bear witness for me, Liu Yuan. Young Master Tang himself said that fists and feet have no eyes."
Their conversation had already drawn the attention of the people nearby.
Neither the Liu Family nor the Tang family was easy to provoke, so naturally, nobody dared step forward to act as a witness. In private, however, they were all waiting to enjoy the show and watch Tang Yan kowtow to Liu Yuan.
"Young Master Tang, shall we begin?" Liu Yuan asked.
"Of course. Let's begin. But let me warn you first. See this folding fan in my hand? It isn't an ordinary fan, but a wondrous Magic Treasure. Its eighteen ribs can turn into eighteen sharp arrows, piercing iron and shattering gold without so much as the effort of blowing away dust."
Liu Yuan's expression changed. No wonder this fellow dared challenge him—he had a Magic Treasure to rely on. Such treasures were rare, usually impossible to obtain even for a thousand gold pieces. Although Liu Yuan had none, Tang Yan was the Tang family's sole direct-line heir. Old Master Tang would surely have done everything possible to find him something to protect his life.
Liu Yuan was just about to declare that Magic Treasures were forbidden in the match when Tang Yan shouted, "Behold the Treasure Fan!"
With that, Tang Yan tossed the folding fan into the air. With a whoosh, it spread open overhead.
At Young Master Tang's words, everyone nearby looked up at once. Even Liu Yuan's two guards were watching the opened folding fan with keen interest.
Magic Treasures were rarities in Cloud City. Even many scions of prominent families seldom had a chance to see one.
Liu Yuan's heart clenched. His eyes remained fixed on the folding fan overhead. He had carelessly neglected to bring a weapon, and anxiety and anger surged through him.
A faint smile curled Tang Yan's lips. He lunged forward, raised his foot, and kicked toward Liu Yuan's lower abdomen.
The kick was swift, vicious, and precise, landing squarely on Liu Yuan's lower abdomen. The poor fellow had been gathering power in his dantian, preparing to withstand the might of the "Treasure Fan," when a tremendous force suddenly struck his belly. He flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.
Everyone was stunned. What the hell was going on? Where was that promised Magic Treasure? How had Liu Yuan ended up getting sent flying?
In his previous life as a Ninth-Rank Alchemist, Tang Yan had faced countless threats and coercion. His unyielding nature had also carried him through hundreds of battles, leaving him richly experienced. He would never give an enemy room to breathe. The instant he kicked Liu Yuan away, Tang Yan charged after him, straddled him, and hammered both fists into his head, bam, bam, bam!
Between the kick and the fall, Liu Yuan was already reeling, his senses scattered in all directions. Fists rained down on his head, and in moments, both his eyes had turned into a pair of panda eyes.
He tried to muster a breath of true qi, but his lower abdomen hurt unbearably. The slightest movement felt like countless needles stabbing into it, and cold sweat immediately covered his forehead.
The relentless pain in his head kept reminding him that he was being beaten. At the thought that a useless wretch with a crippled dantian was pummeling him, Liu Yuan wanted to cry but had no tears.
When he returned home this time, not only would he receive no reward, but his father, the family patriarch, and everyone else would probably give him a vicious scolding. His hot-tempered father might even have the whip ready already.
Tormented by shame, anger, fear, and pain all at once, Liu Yuan finally saw everything go black. Tang Yan had beaten him unconscious.
Only when the fan dropped with a clatter without doing anything, and Tang Yan sent Liu Yuan flying with another kick, did the onlookers begin to grasp what had happened. This bastard had no Magic Treasure at all. It had been a fucking sneak attack!
"Haha, Third Young Master Liu, you've actually fallen asleep!" Looking at the unconscious Liu Yuan, Tang Yan chuckled and rummaged through his clothes. He actually found two thousand taels in banknotes, along with some loose silver.
The onlookers' mouths twitched at Tang Yan's words. You beat him unconscious, all right? More of them, however, looked at the senseless Liu Yuan with pity.
An ignorant wastrel like Tang Yan had knocked him down with one kick and beaten him without giving him any chance to fight back. This battle had utterly ruined Liu Yuan's reputation. Even the Liu Family's prestige would likely suffer.
"Wow, young master, you won!" At that moment, Xiao Cui was probably the only person who believed her young master had won fair and square, and in spectacular fashion.
"Of course! Your young master is very impressive, hahaha..." Picking up the folding fan from the ground, Young Master Tang fanned himself elegantly twice, then strolled off with his toes turned outward.
The Liu Family's two guards finally came to their senses. They hurriedly lifted Liu Yuan and raced back toward the Liu Family residence...
The crowd gradually dispersed, but the battle they had just witnessed was certain to become a favorite topic over tea and after meals throughout Cloud City.
Meanwhile, Tang Yan swaggered down the street with Xiao Cui, pondering what to do with the two thousand taels he had just won. Should he buy a low-quality alchemy furnace or put the money to some other use?
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Tang Yan glanced aside and spotted a street selling medicinal herbs not far ahead.
Inspiration flashed through his mind. Tang Yan took a thousand-tael banknote from inside his robe and handed it to Xiao Cui. "Take this money to Hundred Herbs Hall up ahead. Buy three taels of thousand-flavored herb, one tael of green sandalwood incense, half a tael of dried peony flower, two taels of rice tree heartwood..."
Tang Yan only stopped after listing more than a dozen medicinal ingredients. Fortunately, Xiao Cui had a good memory. Once she had committed them all to heart, she took the banknote and headed toward the shop.
After seeing Xiao Cui enter the shop, Tang Yan immediately slipped into another nearby medicinal herb store.
"Shopkeeper, I'll have two taels of crystal sand, three mace of pearl powder, nine mace of sky star grass, half a tael of butterfly flower..." Young Master Tang began calling out loudly the moment he entered.
At Tang Yan's call, the shopkeeper immediately beamed. Although Tang Yan wanted only small quantities, the twenty-odd varieties of medicinal ingredients still added up to a considerable sum. Once everything had been weighed and the shopkeeper had rattled through the calculations on his abacus, Tang Yan had only a little over three hundred taels left.
After having the shopkeeper wrap the ingredients, Tang Yan returned to where he had been before. It was quite some time before Xiao Cui finally emerged from the herb shop.
"Sorry for the wait, young master," Xiao Cui said, her eyes full of guilt when she saw Tang Yan.
"It's fine. Let's go." Tang Yan smiled. He knew his maid very well. She was meticulous in everything she did. Having taken so long, she had probably been carefully checking the weights of the ingredients in the shop to make sure there were no mistakes.
"Young master, where are we going?" Seeing that he had not scolded her, Xiao Cui couldn't help feeling relieved.
"Wonderful Elixir Workshop!"
"Wonderful Elixir Workshop? Young master, what... what are you going there for?" Xiao Cui immediately grew anxious. Surely the young master wasn't planning to cause trouble there?
"We bought medicinal ingredients and are going to Wonderful Elixir Workshop. Naturally, it's to refine medicine," Tang Yan said with a faint smile.
At his words, Xiao Cui quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Following behind him, she furtively raised her head to study his back. His gait was still as devil-may-care as ever, but after serving Tang Yan for so many years, she somehow felt that he was a little different from before.
Buying medicine today, for instance-if she had kept him waiting even a little in the past, he would at least have scolded her a few times. When had he ever been as easygoing as he was today?
Before you continue