Li Mo waved his hand. "Junior Brother, even though I helped you this time, these gangs won’t just let things go. You still need to be careful. If possible, you should move closer to the Martial Arts Hall. No matter how brazen they are, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble there."
Su Chen nodded. He would if he had the money.
"All right, it’s getting late. I should head back," Li Mo said, then took a silver ingot from his pocket and handed it to a bewildered Su Chen. "I didn’t know why you were in such a rush earlier, so I accepted it. Now I’m giving it back. You should keep this money for yourself."
"Senior Brother..."
Su Chen started, but Li Mo interrupted him. "Take it. I’m not so strapped for cash that I need your money."
Placing the money in Su Chen’s hand, Li Mo turned to leave.
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Watching Li Mo’s retreating back, Su Chen murmured, his voice carrying deep sincerity.
Only when Li Mo had completely disappeared into the night did Su Chen let out a soft breath and return indoors.
Upon entering his room, Su Chen’s expression instantly darkened. His entire home looked as though it had been ransacked by bandits. Cabinets were toppled, pots and pans were smashed across the floor, and clothes and bedding were scattered everywhere. There was barely a place to step foot in the room.
"Damn it!" Su Chen cursed under his breath. He didn’t even need to think to know this was Chen Ergou’s handiwork.
He took a deep breath to calm his temper and briefly tidied up the room. After washing up, he returned to the room and shifted his consciousness into the panel.
"How do I use this?" Su Chen pondered, looking at the panel.
Suddenly, Su Chen felt his hand—which had been clutching the silver—empty out. The one tael of silver had vanished. The panel had also undergone a change:
[Easy Mode: Iron Wire Fist 1 Time (5 taels of silver/time)]
"Use it?" Su Chen probed.
[Easy Mode Activated: Shadowbox for ten minutes to train the Iron Wire Fist to the Minor Mastery stage.]
Huh? It was that simple?
Su Chen froze, somewhat doubting the authenticity of the panel’s prompt. He reached out and threw a punch into the air, only to see the progress of the Iron Wire Fist jump straight to 3%.
"This... is way too simple!" Su Chen’s expression stalled, unable to conceal the astonishment in his heart.
"Again."
+1%
+1%
Ten minutes later, Su Chen had successfully initiated into the Iron Wire Fist. The previously flabby muscles on his arms instantly grew somewhat firmer. With every casual swing of his fists, he could feel an unprecedented sense of power. The thirty-six forms of the technique were firmly etched in his mind, feeling almost like an instinct that he could unleash at will.
He looked at the panel, which had completely refreshed:
[Name: Su Chen]
[Martial Arts: Iron Wire Fist (Minor Mastery 1%)]
[Easy Mode: Iron Wire Fist 0 Times (5 taels of silver/time)]
"The next time I activate Easy Mode, it’ll cost 5 taels of silver! I need to make money. As long as I have money, I can quickly grind the Iron Wire Fist to the Perfection stage!" Su Chen made up his mind, a look of resolute determination on his face.
RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE.
"There’s someone outside!" Su Chen realized, startled by the faint, rustling sounds coming from outside the door.
Relying on the faint moonlight, he poked his head out and peered outside.
"It’s the Black Water Gang!"
At a glance, he recognized the sneaky figures on the path in front of his house. It was none other than Chen Ergou and his two cronies who had left just moments ago. The trio’s return clearly meant they had guessed Li Mo wouldn’t linger at Su Chen’s home, taking the opportunity to double back to finish Su Chen off.
Admittedly, the three had hatched a rather cunning plan. Unfortunately for them, that plan was destined to fail today.
A sharp, chilling glint flashed across Su Chen’s eyes. In this moment, his old hatred and new grudges erupted all at once. He turned and grabbed his woodcutting axe, his figure gradually melding into the darkness.
Meanwhile, outside.
"Boss, this kid is really still here!" The three men rejoiced when they saw the faint light glowing from Su Chen’s house from a distance.
Chen Ergou sneered. "Hmph, this is the only place he has to live. Where else could he go?"
"But Boss, didn’t they say he got connected with the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall? If we make a move on him, what if the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall decides to look into it..." another lackey voiced his concern.
"What are you afraid of! This kid probably just had a stroke of dumb luck to get involved with the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall. As long as we kill him tonight, even if the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall finds out, what can they do to us? At worst, we’ll just lay low out of town for a while. I don’t believe the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall will actually care about him!" Chen Ergou scoffed coldly. As they drew closer, their footsteps grew ever lighter. "You guys be careful. Don’t let this brat spot us. This time, we absolutely cannot let him escape!"
The three slowly approached. Chen Ergou waved his hand, signaling his two subordinates to split up. He guarded the main door while having them watch the windows, preventing Su Chen from breaking out and running away.
With everything in position, he exerted his strength and violently kicked the wooden door open. However, because he used too much force, he stumbled and nearly face-planted onto the floor.
The wooden door hadn’t been locked at all.
Chen Ergou’s heart tightened. He hurriedly looked up, only to find absolutely no sign of Su Chen in the room.
Where was he?
"Ah..."
Suddenly, Chen Ergou heard a miserable shriek coming from the window, and his expression sharpened.
"Still trying to run!"
Thank goodness for his foresight. He knew Su Chen would try to flee through the window, so he had stationed men there in advance. From the sound of it, his subordinates had already captured Su Chen.
He hurriedly spun around and walked out, but the moment he reached the doorway, what greeted him was the swing of an axe.
THWACK.
The axe chopped directly into Chen Ergou’s chest, forcefully cleaving through his body.
"You, you..." Chen Ergou stared blankly at Su Chen, utter astonishment in his eyes. He never expected that Su Chen would actually dare to kill him.
At this moment, Su Chen’s face was completely devoid of mercy, filled with a ruthless ferocity. The prolonged mental suppression he had endured ever since transmigrating completely poured out the instant his axe struck Chen Ergou.
"Ah..."
A miserable cry snapped Su Chen’s attention away from the dying Chen Ergou. He turned his head and saw there was still one person left to deal with.
"No, I absolutely can’t let him escape!"
If he let the guy get away, he would undoubtedly be hunted down by the Black Water Gang. The current him did not yet possess the ability to fight against them!
So, Su Chen yanked out the axe. With a SQUELCH, fresh blood spurted out. A few drops of crimson blood splattered onto Su Chen’s face, adding a few degrees of murderous aura to his appearance. He furiously charged forward, his speed actually a fraction faster than the other man’s.
Just as that man was about to escape, Su Chen abruptly hurled the axe from his grip with vicious force.
THUD.
It struck dead center on the man’s back. His footsteps faltered sharply, and his body pitched forward, collapsing to the ground.
PHEW.
Having finished off the three men, Su Chen let out a long exhale. All of his tension morphed into sweat at this moment, drenching his clothes.
"It’s a good thing the nearby neighbors have all moved away. Otherwise, a commotion like this would have drawn their attention ages ago."
The psychological aftershocks of taking a life washed over him. He looked at the three corpses, his expression shifting rapidly before finally settling into a stony calm.
A moment later, Su Chen looted some money off the three men’s bodies, then disposed of their corpses. After finishing all this, he returned to his room.
"It’s just a pity it’s not even half a tael. It’s not even enough for me to activate Easy Mode again!"
He had already fallen in love with Easy Mode. This method of cultivation was simply too satisfying; it was just a shame he didn’t have enough money.
"The deaths of these three won’t stay hidden for long. Once the Black Water Gang realizes what happened, they’ll definitely come after me again!"
Su Chen looked thoughtful, an uncanny light glinting in his eyes. Looking around his messy room, a plan faintly formed in his mind.
But for now, it was better to get some sleep.