Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Four: Crushing You

The thin, tall boy had a sallow complexion and unsteady steps, as if his body had been ravaged by some bad habits.

Seeing the other person's sinister gaze, the fat man felt a little guilty and involuntarily shrank back, but the slender boy rushed up and grabbed his collar.

"You fatso, it must have been you!" the skinny boy yelled. "Don't try to deny it, you haven't even wiped the grease off your mouth yet!"

Xiao Chong recognized the tall, thin boy, whose name was Huang Tianhua. Because his sister had been taken as a concubine in the Xiao family, he had the opportunity to study at the Xiao family's ancestral school, making him a relative of the Xiao family by marriage.

Huang Tianhua's brother-in-law comes from a branch of the Xiao family and is one of the martial arts instructors at the clan school. Coincidentally, he happens to be in charge of today's body tempering test.

Relying on his brother-in-law's protection, Huang Tianhua had bullied him quite a bit. About half a year ago, he had seen Qingmeng somewhere and, as if possessed, set his sights on the little girl, forcing Xiao Chong to sell Qingmeng to him as a maid.

As for what wicked scheme he was harboring, judging from his usual behavior, the answer is obvious even to a fool, so Xiao Chong resolutely refused.

He was somewhat weak-willed, but stubborn at heart. Since the little girl was left behind by his father, he felt it was his responsibility to take good care of her. In his heart, the little girl was not just a maid, but more like his family, his sister.

Xiao Chong was young and had no good way to deal with it, so he could only swallow his anger. If he hadn't been woken up by that brick last night and regained his memories of his past life, he might have lived a cowardly and humiliating life.

However, Xiao Chong was no longer willing to tolerate it. What a joke! Having lived for over forty years in two lifetimes, did he really think he could be intimidated by a mere brat who hadn't even grown his first hair?

"What a small world! It's my friend Fatty, after all. Besides, I just took two silver ingots from him. Letting my friend be bullied in front of me is not like how I acted in my past life!"

Xiao Chong sighed inwardly, knowing that the situation today would not end well, and immediately raised his hand to block the fat man.

Enraged by being tricked by Chicken Bone, Huang Tianhua immediately targeted Fatty, completely ignoring Xiao Chong standing to the side. In his mind, chicken, a noble food, was completely unrelated to Xiao Chong, a poor fellow, not even chicken bones.

Seeing Xiao Chong stop him, Huang Tianhua became even angrier. The pretty face of the girl from the other party's house involuntarily appeared in his mind's eye, and he wished he could immediately take her to his room and then press her down on him...

Thinking of this, Huang Tianhua felt his whole body trembling, as if a fire was about to set him ablaze in his lower abdomen.

"You jinx, why are you coming to my door today? Are you looking for death?!"

"But if you know what's good for you, you'll obediently send that little girl Qingmeng over, and I might be in a good mood and let you off the hook. But if you're stubborn, you'd better think carefully about whether you can withstand another beating."

Huang Tianhua became more and more excited as he spoke, a lewd smile on his face.

"Was it you who threw that brick last night?" Xiao Chong asked, his face ashen.

"Of course... no! How could I, this young master, do such a despicable thing? You must have offended someone yourself. But if you do as I wish today, I might be able to protect you in the future."

Huang Tianhua was young, but very cunning. Knowing that some things could not be said, he immediately denied them.

The Xiao family has strict rules. Disciples are not allowed to fight each other, let alone forcibly seize other people's property, otherwise the consequences will be severe.

"Don't try to fool me, let's see who's courting death today!" Xiao Chong suddenly punched the other person hard in the face.

He used to think that every time he was robbed, it was the work of petty thieves. But today, thinking about when the robberies started and considering the perpetrators' covetousness of Qinghai and Mongolia, how could he not understand who that damned petty thief was?

Huang Tianhua was stunned by Xiao Chong's ruthlessness and forgot to dodge.

"You...you're dead, no one can save you..."

After a scream, Huang Tianhua spat out two front teeth mixed with blood and lunged at Xiao Chong like a madman, his lust burning from his belly to his forehead.

"Trash! Utterly useless!" Xiao Chong sneered inwardly, neither dodging nor avoiding, and waited until Huang Tianhua got close before raising his knee and slamming it into the man's abdomen.

Huang Tianhua groaned and collapsed to the ground in pain, his body contorted like a boiled shrimp, rolling around on the ground incessantly.

"Young Master Chong, please don't kill him."

As fellow disciples of the sect, fighting is merely a punishment, but causing death is a serious crime. If one doesn't have powerful backing, paying with one's life is not uncommon. The fat man, seeing Huang Tianhua's face covered in blood, was somewhat frightened and reminded him from the side.

By this time, a number of Xiao family members had gathered at the door. It would be impossible to deliberately beat him again. Xiao Chong responded, his broom-like eyebrows furrowed, but he deliberately moved closer to Huang Tianhua.

Huang Tianhua was rolling on the ground when he suddenly touched a leg and hugged it tightly without thinking.

Upon being embraced, Xiao Chong seemed to lose his balance, stumbled, and stepped right into the other man's groin.

"Uh...uh..." Huang Tianhua could no longer make a sound, he just lay on the ground, convulsing.

"Let's see if you dare to covet Qingmeng again." Xiao Chong's cold gaze slowly swept over the Xiao family disciples watching.

Just now, I seemed to hear something shatter. Was it a hallucination? The room was completely silent. Even though they were used to bullying Xiao Chong, all the disciples felt a chill run down their spines when they were swept by that gaze.

"Xiao Chong and Huang Tianhua, as disciples of the sect, engaged in a private fight; each shall receive three strokes of the cane!"

In the silence, a stern and harsh voice suddenly rang out. Xiao Fang, the legal supervisor, walked out from the crowd like a ghost, and wherever he went, evil spirits fled.

A deathly silence fell over the crowd. The power of the cane was far more astonishing than that of the ruler, and it was rarely used. A single lash of the cane could confine someone to bed for over a month, and three lashes in succession would leave them unable to get out of bed for at least six months.

Upon hearing Xiao Fangzheng unleash his renowned weapon that had shaken the sect, the first to react was surprisingly the fat man.

The fat man's body trembled violently as he pointed at Huang Tianhua, his heart pounding with fear, and said, "He provoked us first."

“Fighting without permission is wrong, regardless of who came first or last.” Xiao Fangzheng’s tone was icy, his voice shrill like a demon emerging from hell.

Xiao Chong was startled and was pondering how to escape this calamity when he heard Xiao Fangzheng change the subject, saying, "However, considering that you are going to participate in the martial arts body tempering test today, these three strokes of the cane can be temporarily recorded. Those who pass will be exempt from the cane, and those who fail will be punished twice as severely."

That's it? Shouldn't they have started fighting on the spot?

Amidst the bewildered and astonished gazes of his disciples, Xiao Fangzheng lightly flicked his sleeves and drifted away, leaving no trace behind.