Zhang Junbao sensed the whiff of a conspiracy. Nothing had happened before, but trouble had struck at precisely this moment, and then a group of creditors had immediately shown up at the same time.
Several of them were longtime business acquaintances. Even if something had really happened to his family, under normal circumstances they would never kick them while they were down. That meant someone was pushing this from behind the scenes.
They were targeting his father, or perhaps him!
Who had that kind of influence? Zhang Haobai!
Almost in an instant, Zhang Junbao understood the cause of it all, and the anger in his heart began to burn. It had originally been a conflict between Zhang Haobai and Luo Feng, but Zhang Haobai had not only tried to drag him into it-now he would not even spare his family. That had crossed Zhang Junbao's bottom line.
Even in the martial world of ancient times, there was a saying that trouble should not be brought upon one's family, much less in a modern society governed by law.
Do you really think I, your Daoist master, have a good temper just because I practice Tai Chi Chuan?
Taiji was not all softness. Taiji was divided into yin and yang, and most of the time people saw its soft, yielding side, because it would not unleash a thunderous assault unless absolutely necessary.
But when it turned hard, Taiji's hardness was more terrifying than any explosive outburst! Had the Wudang Sect really dominated the martial world back then because of his lofty morals?
Wrong. I beat them into submission one by one!
And now, some snot-nosed brat dared to lay a hand on his family. He truly did not know life from death!
"All of you, get out!" Zhang Junbao roared. The crowd, which had been making a racket all this time, was stunned into silence, and the terrifying sound silenced everyone in the entire building.
Though it was very loud, everyone understood that the person capable of such a roar was not someone they could afford to provoke.
The Lion's Roar Skill was a secret of Buddhism, which he had learned at Shaolin Temple when he was young. Nothing could be better for cowing petty scoundrels!
"Y-you... why are you shouting so loud?
Fine, we're leaving!"
Shaken by Zhang Junbao's roar, none of them dared meet his eyes now, and they could not muster the slightest impulse to resist. They tossed out a threat that carried no threat at all, then fled Zhang Junbao's home with piss and shit running down their legs.
Just as Zhang Junbao was about to open the door, it opened and a little head poked out.
"Brother, you're finally back! Something happened to Dad!" Tears glistened in the corners of his sister Zhang Lin's eyes. Seeing that her eldest brother, the only person she could rely on, had finally returned, the stone weighing on her heart finally fell away.
"What happened to Dad?" Zhang Junbao asked anxiously.
"Dad's truck was hit, and his leg was broken in the crash too. He's resting inside now," Zhang Lin said, holding back her tears.
"What? The truck was hit and Dad was hurt. Why didn't he go to the hospital?" Zhang Junbao asked, his face dark.
"We wanted to, but those people blocked the hospital entrance and wouldn't let us in. They kept hounding Dad to pay them back. We couldn't get through to you on the phone either. We had no other choice, so we could only come home and hide. They're absolutely hateful!" Zhang Lin asked through gritted teeth.
Zhang Junbao pulled out his phone, only to discover that it had run out of power. He was not from this era, after all, and was unfamiliar with the damn thing's quirks. He had not charged it since yesterday.
"Junbao, has Junbao come back?" A weak voice came from the room, but to Zhang Junbao it sounded like a thunderclap.
Zhang Anzhong lay on the bed, his face pale. His right leg was completely gone from the knee down.
Unable to go to the hospital, he had only been able to bandage it simply himself, and the gauze was soaked with blood.
Having lost a leg and suffered injuries elsewhere on his body, he gave off an air of death. Zhang Junbao's mother sat upright beside him, her face full of worry.
Looking at his father, who had sternly lectured him only yesterday but was now too weak to speak, Zhang Junbao felt the fury in his heart fully ignite.
"Dad, I'm taking you to the hospital. Let's see who dares stop us!" Zhang Junbao carefully picked up Zhang Anzhong and carried him out of the house.
"But, Brother, what about those people?"
Zhang Lin asked worriedly.
"Don't worry. With me here, no one can hurt Dad!
Xiaolin, go to the martial arts school for me and find Instructor Jiang Nian. Tell him what happened to Dad and ask him to help."
Zhang Junbao forced down his anger. This was not the time to lose his temper; he had to save Zhang Anzhong first.
Zhang Junbao carried Zhang Anzhong toward the hospital. It was not far from their home, only a few kilometers away, but a group of creditors had blockaded it, preventing Zhang Anzhong from going there.
With his formidable muscle control, Zhang Junbao managed to keep Zhang Anzhong from feeling even the slightest jolt.
At that moment, the weakened Zhang Anzhong felt for the first time that his son had finally grown up and become a dependable man.
Not far from Zhang Junbao's home, Zhang Haobai, who had been waiting to see him humiliated, was scolding the creditors who had just fled the house.
"What's wrong with you? Didn't we agree you'd block his door? Why did you all run off just like that?"
"Young Master Zhang, it's not that we didn't want to. It's... it's that Zhang Junbao. He's terrifying! He gave a roar, and every one of us felt like we were looking at a monster. We didn't dare meet his eyes!"
"A bunch of cowards. He just shouted a little louder, that's all. What's there to be afraid of?" Zhang Haobai looked at the group before him with contempt.
They did not even have that much courage. They deserved to spend their lives at the bottom. Unlike him: he was an advanced student at the martial arts school and would soon become a martial artist, someone above the rest.
"Young Master Zhang, look! Isn't that Zhang Junbao?" one of them said, pointing.
Zhang Haobai looked in the direction indicated. Zhang Junbao was weaving through traffic with his father in his arms.
It was the morning rush hour, and traffic was badly congested. Zhang Junbao had noticed it on his way home, so he had not called a car and had instead carried Zhang Anzhong himself.
He moved quickly, constantly weaving through the traffic. His feet moved with a light, rhythmic cadence as he avoided the crush of cars and people and sped forward, moving considerably faster than a car.
"So he wants to carry his damned old man to the hospital. What a lovely idea. You lot, follow me and block him at the hospital!
He dared hurt me, so I'll let him have a taste of being unable to even get into a hospital!"
Zhang Haobai rubbed his chest, which still ached faintly. Although his family had spent a great deal of money on special medicine so he would not have to stay in the hospital, he had etched that humiliation deep in his heart.
With that, Zhang Haobai followed, accompanied by his four bodyguards, who were also as strong as advanced students. Because he had been beaten before, Zhang Haobai's father had spared no effort for fear his son would be beaten again.
The creditors looked at one another, then finally decided to follow. Having already played the villain once, it was too late to put up a chastity arch in their honor.
Only after Zhang Junbao had brought Zhang Anzhong to the hospital and arranged his admission did the group of creditors finally arrive.
They continued to crowd the entrance to Zhang Anzhong's ward, shouting, "Pay back what you owe!" They were determined not to let him rest and recover. They meant to completely ruin him!
This time they were a little more confident, for Zhang Haobai was secretly watching from not far away.
Seeing that something was wrong, the doctors and nurses nearby had already quietly called the police.
"You really are lingering ghosts!"
Zhang Junbao was so furious that he laughed. He knew that unless he dealt with Zhang Haobai, he would never be rid of these people. They were nothing more than little demons taking someone's money to deal with his troubles.
"Y-you, what are you going to do? This is a hospital, and there are cameras! We're just collecting a debt as usual!"
"That's right, collecting a debt as usual!" someone beside him chimed in.
"If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place. You know yourselves whether this is ordinary debt collection!"
Before they could react, their vision blurred, and Zhang Junbao had vanished from sight.
"Bang... bang, bang..." Several people fell unconscious to the ground one after another. Even now, none of them had spotted Zhang Junbao.
"Get out here, Zhang Haobai! Since you dared do it, don't hide like a turtle with its head pulled in!" Zhang Junbao's voice seemed to sound right beside Zhang Haobai's ear, making his scalp prickle with fear.