“Go ask in the Underworld,” one of the thugs said, brandishing his weapon and charging forward.
Zheng Yan lifted his foot and sent the talkative thug flying with a kick, slamming him against the alley wall.
The remaining thugs were stunned.
‘Holy shit, he just kicked the guy into the air?
How strong is he?’
“You must be Zheng Yan.”
A voice came from behind him.
He turned to see a burly man in a leather coat emerge, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
A dozen or so more thugs followed him.
The first few thugs had only been tailing Zheng Yan; this new group of over a dozen was the real strike force.
Seeing their boss arrive, the thugs who had been intimidated by Zheng Yan hastily shouted, “Brother Lei, something’s off about this kid.
Be careful.”
“So he’s a trained fighter.
No wonder he’s so arrogant,” Brother Lei sneered.
Zheng Yan was completely unfazed.
He looked at the man before him and said, “You’re the boss of this crew?”
Brother Lei took the cigarette from his mouth and blew out a smoke ring.
“That’s right.
Someone hired us to take both of your legs.
You want to do it yourself, or should we?”
“Perfect.
My legs are right here.
Come and get them, if you’ve got the guts.”
“You’re courting death!
How dare you talk to Brother Lei like that!” one of the thugs yelled.
“Let’s get him, boys!
Teach him a lesson!”
The thugs swarmed forward, instantly surrounding Zheng Yan.
Machetes and iron pipes swung wildly.
Outside the circle, Brother Lei watched in astonishment.
So many men were attacking at once, yet not a single one could even touch the hem of Zheng Yan’s clothes.
‘This guy is an expert!!!’
Zheng Yan’s movements were fluid and agile.
He was like a black phantom, weaving through the crowd.
His fists generated a sharp gale, and each punch sent a man flying.
Before long, all dozen-plus thugs were on the ground, groaning in agony.
And this was with Zheng Yan holding back.
If he had used his full strength, none of them would still be conscious.
After dealing with the thugs, Zheng Yan started walking toward Brother Lei, who was so frightened he stumbled back several steps.
“Just who in the world are you?”
“You came to fight me without even knowing who I am?” Zheng Yan retorted.
Brother Lei looked at Zheng Yan and lowered his head.
We don’t know anything else.”
“If we’d known you were this capable, Brother Zheng, we never would have taken this job.”
Brother Lei immediately backed down.
‘To take down a dozen thugs in an instant…
this guy is definitely an expert.
Maybe even a Martial Artist.’
‘This was not someone he could afford to offend.’
“A married couple?”
Zheng Yan thought for a moment and had a good idea of who they were.
It had to be his younger uncle and aunt.
‘And here I thought that after I crippled them, they’d be begging for mercy.’
‘I can’t believe they hired people to come after me.’
‘They’re truly vicious.
If I hadn’t received the Divine Doctor’s inheritance, I’d probably be dead by now.’
Seeing the dark look on Zheng Yan’s face, Brother Lei quickly said, “Brother Zheng, it was obvious that couple was no good.
You want me to take care of them for you?”
Brother Lei figured the couple had no powerful connections, so he sold them out without a second thought.
On one hand, a couple with no backing.
On the other, a powerful expert who likely had a formidable organization behind him.
Even if Zheng Yan hadn’t said anything, Brother Lei wouldn’t have let that couple off the hook.
‘Tricking me into taking a job like this…
were they trying to get me killed?’
Zheng Yan glanced at Brother Lei and nodded.
“Fine.
I’ll leave it to you.
Just don’t go too far.”
Zheng Yan couldn’t be bothered to deal with his uncle and aunt himself.
Let the wicked torment the wicked.
“Don’t you worry, Brother Zheng.”
After a moment of thought, Brother Lei added, “By the way, Brother Zheng, with skills like yours…
may I ask which school or faction you belong to?”
“Why?
Looking for revenge?”
“No, no, of course not!
It’s just that our boss, Sister Qin, has been looking for experts to help with something.
I was wondering if you might be interested, Brother Zheng?”
“Not interested.
I’m leaving.”
With that, Zheng Yan left the alley.
Brother Lei didn’t dare to stop him, forcing a smile as he cleared a path.
Anyone else who saw that expression on Brother Lei’s face would have been stunned speechless.
…
When he got home, Mrs.
Zheng saw him and rushed over.
“Zheng Yan, what about Wang Jiaxin?”
Zheng Yan saw the hopeful look in his mother’s eyes and, for a moment, didn’t know what to say.
‘Telling her the truth would just break her heart,’ he thought.
‘And it’s not like I’ll be seeing Wang Jiaxin again anyway.’ So he lied, “I couldn’t find her.
When I got there, I found out she doesn’t live there anymore.”
“That makes sense.
She probably moved.”
“Yeah.
If it’s meant to be, we’ll see each other again.”
Mrs.
Zheng nodded and called Zheng Yan over to eat.
After dinner, Zheng Yan resumed cultivating his Heart Method.
「The next day.」
Zheng Yan woke up early and went to the small mountain where he had run the day before.
The woods were dense—a perfect place for cultivation.
As soon as he arrived, he saw an old man practicing Tai Chi.
His steps were steady and unhurried, and he had an extraordinary air about him.
He was clearly no ordinary person.
But Zheng Yan could still tell the man’s breathing was slightly erratic.
It wasn’t because the old man’s form was wrong, but because of an old injury.
Just as he was thinking about this, he heard a SWISH of air behind him.
Zheng Yan sidestepped the attack and saw a beautiful figure flash past, a gorgeous leg swinging for a kick but hitting nothing but air.
Zheng Yan’s right hand shot out and grabbed her ankle, while his left hand clamped onto her waist.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Zheng Yan asked, holding the woman still.
Seeing that her leg and waist were pinned, the woman struggled and yelled, “Let go, you pervert!”
Zheng Yan was speechless.
‘You’re the one who tried to kick me, and I just countered.’
‘And now you’re calling *me* the pervert?’
Nevertheless, Zheng Yan let her go, because he recognized her as the woman from his run the day before.
‘She must still be sore about yesterday and wanted a rematch.’
Unlike the black leggings she wore yesterday, today she had on a pair of short shorts, revealing a pair of smooth, pale, gorgeous legs.
She wore a T-shirt that clung to her upper body, accentuating a figure that was out of this world.
Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, revealing the pale nape of her neck, making one want to leave a mark on it.
The woman rubbed her ankle, a pained look on her face.
Zheng Yan stepped forward and squatted down.
“Sorry about that.
I didn’t realize you were behind me, so I might have used a little too much force.”
After speaking, Zheng Yan reached for the woman’s ankle.
A flustered look crossed the woman’s face.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to give you a therapeutic massage.
Otherwise, it might take a few days to heal on its own.”
“You know medicine?” the woman asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“Something like that.”
Hearing this, the woman was still unconvinced.
She blocked his hand and said, “How do I know if you’re telling the truth?
What if you’re just trying to take advantage of me?”
Zheng Yan was speechless again.
Still, he had caused the injury, so he had to fix it.
“Then what do you suggest?
I can’t just leave you like this, can I?”