The night was deep, accompanied by a biting, desolate western wind. Having finished his martial arts training for the day, Chen Yuan walked along the bluestone-paved road toward Hundred Herbs Lane.
However, he found the originally peaceful neighborhood in a state of chaotic disarray. Sundries that many households usually left by their doors were scattered across the ground in a total mess. Frowning, Chen Yuan quickened his pace toward his aunt’s home. The moment he pushed the door open, he sensed something was terribly wrong.
His uncle, Cheng Yong, had a distinct bruise around his eye, looking as though he had taken a heavy punch. He sat by the table, heaving heavy sighs. Cheng Xiaoyu’s eyes were red, indicating she had just been crying. Beside her, his aunt held her daughter’s hands, comforting her with soft whispers.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan asked in a deep voice, "Uncle Cheng, what happened? Did someone bully you?"
Cheng Yong sighed and slowly recounted the events.
"The Golden Saber Sect went crazy today. After driving away the men from the Black Dragon Gang, they went door to door, rummaging through chests and cabinets to extort valuables, demanding a hefty ’protection fee’.
"But the Black Dragon Gang just collected their protection fee half a month ago, and we still need to save silver for the autumn taxes. How could ordinary families possibly afford this? Yet the men from the Golden Saber Sect were entirely unreasonable brutes and injured many of our neighbors."
Chen Yuan’s brow furrowed tightly as he asked, "Uncle Cheng, how much silver did they demand? Did they attack you because you couldn’t pay? Did you mention that I am already an entry-level Martial Artist and am now working in the Li Family’s Nursing Home?"
He reasoned that ever since he had become an entry-level Martial Artist, Qian Bao hadn’t dared to come and collect the protection fee. Moreover, after receiving a month and a half’s wages from the Li Family, he had, despite his aunt’s polite refusals, forced the two taels of silver she had previously given him back into her hands for emergencies. Logically speaking, his family should have been able to afford the fee. Furthermore, if the Golden Saber Sect knew that this household had a Martial Artist, they shouldn’t have dared to act so recklessly.
Cheng Yong sighed again.
"I told them I had a nephew who was an entry-level Martial Artist, but those Golden Saber Sect thugs just looked impatient. They yelled that an entry-level Martial Artist didn’t mean shit and threatened to beat me if I didn’t hand over the money.
"They demanded a full one mace of silver for the protection fee. Out of helplessness, I gave it to them. However, they changed their tune as soon as they saw Yu. They spouted nonsense, claiming Yu was a jinx and that they needed to take her away to dispel the bad luck. Naturally, I refused, and a struggle broke out."
Chen Yuan’s heart grew completely cold. He finally understood—the Golden Saber Sect had no intention of managing Hundred Herbs Lane in the long term. They were merely here to rob people, grabbing as much as they could before leaving. They didn’t even put a Martial Artist like him in their eyes.
He spoke slowly, "And then? Did they stop forcing the issue?"
As he spoke, he glanced at Cheng Xiaoyu. The poor girl had likely been terrified. She was probably crying so miserably out of guilt and self-blame, thinking she had dragged her family into trouble.
Cheng Yong shook his head and said bitterly, "They’re a bunch of bloodshot-eyed beasts; how could they possibly let it go so easily? I told them I was willing to offer two taels of silver, but I needed time to gather it, begging them to let Yu off the hook.
"Only then did they back off, threatening that if they didn’t see the silver by tomorrow, I would never stand on my own two feet again.
"The whole neighborhood is filled with complaints. I asked around a bit and found that in Hundred Herbs Lane alone, any family with a reasonably pretty daughter who caught their eye suffered the same fate. Some parted with their wealth to avoid disaster, while the young girls from several other households were abducted right then and there."
As Cheng Yong spoke, lingering fear flashed across his face. Had he not thought of offering money as a stalling tactic, Yu would have probably been kidnapped as well. And everyone knew what kind of fate awaited abducted girls.
His aunt finally spoke up, her voice laced with heavy worry. "Yuan, please don’t go looking for trouble with them. We’ll just give them the two taels of silver tomorrow. Let’s consider it spending money to ward off calamity."
She had heard that this group of Golden Saber Sect thugs was led by two entry-level Martial Artists who were notoriously ruthless. If Yuan acted out of hot-headedness and something happened to him...
Chen Yuan let out a breath and nodded. "Then let’s just pay them off. Do we still have two taels of silver at home? If it’s not enough, I have some on me."
His aunt nodded. "It’s fine, we can still scrape it together."
She had kept the silver Chen Yuan forced onto her last time completely untouched, planning to bring it out whenever he needed it in the future. She never expected it would be used for something like this.
Chen Yuan nodded and said softly, "Aunt, don’t worry anymore. Everything will be fine. I’m going to sleep first."
With that, he walked back to his own room.
Seeing that Chen Yuan hadn’t acted impulsively, Huang Juan breathed a sigh of relief. She had truly been terrified that he would march over single-handedly in a fit of rage to settle the score with the Golden Saber Sect. Although disaster had struck today, Cheng Yong only suffered minor injuries, and they would only lose some silver. As long as the family remained intact, everything would be alright.
As soon as Chen Yuan returned to his room, his gaze turned as cold as frost. From the very bottom of his cabinet, he took out the black cloth he had used a few days ago and wrapped it around his head. He then pulled out a Bone-Cutting Saber from under his mattress, strapped it to his waist, and slipped out the window without a sound, vanishing into the night.
Hundred Herbs Lane and several nearby alleys used to be the territory of the Black Dragon Gang, managed by one of their branch halls. But since the Black Dragon Gang had been completely routed today and lost this turf, the branch hall was naturally occupied by the men of the Golden Saber Sect.
Chen Yuan stealthily approached the area. He noticed that the branch hall was brightly lit with candles and filled with raucous noise—they were most likely drinking and making merry. Looking at the shifting silhouettes through the window, he estimated there were about ten people inside.
Outside the hall stood a man with a fierce gaze. Observing the man’s skin, Chen Yuan noticed obvious signs of physical tempering. He was likely one of the two entry-level Martial Artists. The fact that he was standing guard instead of drinking inside suggested he was on the lookout for a counterattack from the Black Dragon Gang.
He figured that if he could take this guy out, the rest of them wouldn’t be much of a problem. They were drinking so wildly, he wondered how much combat power they would actually have left.
Chen Yuan lurked patiently in the shadows, waiting for his opportunity.
About half an hour later, another gang member stumbled out of the hall. His face was flushed red. After slurring a few words to the sentry, he staggered toward Chen Yuan’s direction. With bleary, drunken eyes and unsteady footsteps, the man pulled down his pants, preparing to relieve himself in the nearby bushes.
As the man’s urge to urinate peaked, Chen Yuan’s killing intent surged even higher.
A cold gleam flashed in the darkness. The sharp edge of the Bone-Cutting Saber instantly sliced across the thug’s throat, causing blood to gush out wildly. He tried to scream, but in the next second, his windpipe was mercilessly crushed. Unable to make a single sound, all the strength left his body, leaving him incapable of even struggling. Finally, his eyes rolled back, and he drew his last breath.
Seeing that his lackey had yet to return, the sentry frowned deeply and strode over, cursing aloud, "Damn it, that useless sack of wine. He takes forever just to take a piss. Where the hell did he die off to?"
He wasn’t on high alert, simply assuming the younger member had drunk too much and passed out while relieving himself. But as he drew closer, he didn’t smell the stench of urine; instead, he caught a faint whiff of blood. Having survived in the gangs for a long time, he was extremely sensitive to that scent. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
Having waited for this exact moment, Chen Yuan instantly sprang into action. His taut muscles exploded with astonishing speed as he lunged forward like a tiger pouncing on its prey. The Bone-Cutting Saber, held in a reverse grip, drew a suffocatingly cold arc through the air, aimed directly at the man’s throat.
Caught off guard, the sentry still managed to erupt with incredible resilience in this life-or-death crisis. As he retreated, he frantically tilted his neck backward to avoid being killed in a single strike.
However, at such a close distance and facing a sudden ambush from an armed expert, his struggle was futile. Chen Yuan’s right knee, which had already been gathering momentum, smashed viciously into the man’s abdomen. The devastating impact forced the sentry to double over like a cooked shrimp, inevitably causing his backward-tilted neck to jerk forward in a fatal error.
A swipe of cold light, followed by a sudden burst of crimson, dyed the deep night red.
Drops of blood unavoidably splattered onto the corners of Chen Yuan’s eyes. Instead of fear, he only felt a thrilling rush of excitement, his body trembling slightly. Dropping the sentry’s corpse, he tightened his grip on the saber and walked toward the branch hall, one steady step at a time.