Chapter 171. Why Are You So Selfish?
The next day.
After finding out where Xu Yuan lived, Lin Zhiyuan brought two men straight to his door.
Xu Yuan was practicing the Layered Wave Palm in the courtyard. When he heard the knocking, he withdrew his stance and went to open the door.
"So you're Xu Yuan?" Lin Zhiyuan stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the young man before him.
"And you are?" Xu Yuan asked, his brows lifting slightly.
"Lin Zhiyuan," the visitor said flatly. "I serve under Senior Brother Hua Jiuli, a true disciple."
Xu Yuan's brows twitched upward.
He had not expected Liu Yang to have a true disciple backing him. No wonder he had dared extort other disciples.
Seeing that Xu Yuan said nothing, Lin Zhiyuan took it as fear and let out a cold laugh. "I heard that yesterday, you injured Liu Yang and the others and even took their Qi-Replenishing Pills?"
Xu Yuan nodded.
Quite a few people had seen what happened yesterday. There was no point trying to hide it.
Lin Zhiyuan nodded and said imperiously, "Considering that you just arrived and don't understand the rules here yet, I'll give you a way to settle this."
"Take all your medicinal treasures and valuables, apologize to Liu Yang and the others, and from now on, hand over half of your monthly Qi-Replenishing Pill allotment."
When he saw Xu Yuan remain silent, he patted him on the shoulder and forced a kindly smile.
"Relax. I heard you have some ability. If you're sincere enough, then in the future, you may even be able to join Senior Brother Hua's camp and gain a bright future for yourself."
To his surprise, Xu Yuan burst out laughing the moment he finished speaking.
"What are you laughing at?"
Lin Zhiyuan frowned.
Xu Yuan said softly, "If I go and apologize, wouldn't that mean they extorted me, yet somehow it ends up being my fault instead?"
"Boy, you haven't reached the point where you're qualified to talk about right and wrong."
Lin Zhiyuan's expression darkened. "In any case, I don't care what you think. If you want this matter to be over, then you'll do exactly that. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
"I'll make sure you're stuck in the Meridian Opening Realm for the rest of your life!"
Xu Yuan let out a light chuckle. "And what if I refuse?"
Lin Zhiyuan had been about to turn around and leave, but suddenly stopped. He looked at Xu Yuan deeply, then abruptly asked the two men beside him, "Did I hear him wrong? Are all the new disciples brainless nowadays?"
The other two men sneered as well. Loosening their sleeves, they stepped forward.
"I've changed my mind. If you still want to live peacefully on Ziqing Peak..."
Apparently feeling that his authority had been challenged, Lin Zhiyuan spoke in a cold voice. "Get on your knees and admit your mistake right now!"
Xu Yuan suddenly laughed and looked at the three of them. "How strange. Ever since I entered Jiuyang Commandery, I feel like I haven't met more than a few normal people."
"Don't tell me you think that just because I beat Liu Yang, I wouldn't dare beat you too?"
"Y-"
Before Lin Zhiyuan could finish speaking, Xu Yuan suddenly stepped forward. Red light flashed across his body as power surged through him. His palm shot out like a tidal wave, carrying a terrifying force as it slammed viciously toward Lin Zhiyuan's abdomen.
Pfft!
The strike was so fast that Lin Zhiyuan had no time to react before it hit him with a heavy blast.
He spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes rolled back, his features twisted together, and his whole body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing several meters away and ending up barely breathing.
Xu Yuan's face remained calm as he turned to look at the other two men.
"You people really are asking for a beating. Honestly, if I didn't hit you, I'd feel embarrassed."
He dropped Senior Brother Lin with one move?
The two men were horrified and immediately turned to flee.
But Xu Yuan's lips curled into a grim arc. His body shot forward in an instant, utterly merciless. His large hand came crashing down toward them like a giant fan.
Bang!
The air exploded, and the figures were sent flying. The sight was ghastly.
At that moment, a female disciple in a blue robe who had been passing by saw what happened and hurried over to check on the handsome Lin Zhiyuan.
When she saw that several of his ribs had been broken, she immediately stood up, planted her hands on her hips, and cried out in righteous indignation, "Why were you so ruthless?"
"Do you realize that with injuries like these, he won't recover for months? And even if he does, there could still be lasting aftereffects!"
"You're all fellow disciples. It was only a little argument. How could you strike so heavily?"
"Oh?"
Only then did Xu Yuan slowly turn to look at her. "I noticed you standing there watching the whole time. Why didn't I hear a word from you when I was the one being bullied? Did you leave your voice at home?"
"How is that the same?!"
The blue-robed woman was clearly the sort who cared more about looks than anything else, and she instantly jumped in outrage.
"If you got bullied, at worst you would have taken a few punches and kicks. But this senior brother's face was injured!"
"My ass!"
Xu Yuan's face darkened, and he slapped her across the face without another word. "Why are you so selfish?!"
The woman had not expected him to attack the moment he spoke. She was knocked straight to the ground. After freezing for a moment, she burst into tears and ran off screaming.
...
"This new junior brother really is quite hard-nosed."
Not far away, three people were standing in an exquisite and luxurious courtyard.
Yu Qingwan watched the scene and spoke with a smile.
"What good will being hard-nosed do him?"
Beside her, Luo Ziyan, dressed in a pale yellow embroidered gown, shook her head. Her voice was crisp as she said, "I heard that Lin Zhiyuan has ties to Senior Brother Hua, that true disciple. This time, he's really brought disaster on himself."
"Serves him right."
Across from her, Zhong Hong, wearing a red-and-white Suzhou-embroidered dress, let out an even colder sneer when she heard that.
"That guy doesn't look like a good person either. He hit that delicate female disciple the moment he felt like it. He doesn't have any bottom line at all. Suffering this kind of consequence is entirely his own fault."
From their clothing and bearing alone, it was obvious that all three came from wealthy backgrounds.
Yu Qingwan did not comment further after hearing that.
This disciple's actions had certainly been shocking, but that was all. He would probably be subjected to certain reprisals very soon. He was unlikely to go far.
Soon after, the two of them began discussing the most talked-about geniuses in Jiuyang Commandery City lately. Their tone was light and casual, as though they were merely commenting on the latest patterns of newly released silk.
This was the daily life of their circle: keeping an eye on the talented young men of the great families and the rising stars of the sects, gathering topics of conversation for their families' future investments.
...
(Tomato's godawful scheduled posting feature really screwed me over!)