"Auntie Niu, I've already seen Cuihua. There are still customers at the restaurant, so Erniu brought me here to see you first."
As Ye Chen spoke, he was just wondering how to get Auntie Niu to take the Spirit-Gathering Pill when, suddenly, a string of abusive curses echoed from outside.
"Damn it, who hurt my brother?!"
"Erniu, get the hell out here!"
"Damn it, you have a death wish, daring to ruffle my brother Zhang Long's feathers!"
With these curses ringing out, Erniu's expression changed instantly. He glanced at his ailing mother on the bed and said, "Xiaoye, watch my mom. I'm going out to tear those bastards apart!"
With that, Erniu dashed right out, snatching up a grass sickle from the courtyard as he passed.
"Wh—what's going on?"
Auntie Niu had heard the commotion too. Terribly worried about Erniu's safety, she struggled to sit up.
"Auntie Niu!"
Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. Since Erniu had already left, Ye Chen didn't need to explain further. He simply reached out and tapped Auntie Niu lightly on the body. The moment she passed out, he shoved the Spirit-Gathering Pill straight into her mouth.
Then, gathering the spiritual qi within his body into his hands, Ye Chen began using telekinesis to bind Auntie Niu and circulate her blood... This Spirit-Gathering Pill would strengthen her body and restore some of her stamina.
As for curing her coronary heart disease, Ye Chen didn't have any specialized pills on hand; he would need to go back and carefully research a formulation.
However... as long as she took this Spirit-Gathering Pill, Auntie Niu's body would grow healthy, and for the next three to five years, she wouldn't suffer from the torment of coronary heart disease.
A faint glow flickered at the tips of Ye Chen's fingers. Guided by the spiritual qi, the Spirit-Gathering Pill slowly began to dissolve and disperse throughout Auntie Niu's body... At the same time, her sallow, wax-like complexion actually began to regain a trace of radiance and vitality.
As the master of Hua Yuntian and the sect leader of the Kunlun Sect, this little trick was a piece of cake for Ye Chen.
A few minutes later, seeing that Auntie Niu's breathing had grown steady, Ye Chen finally withdrew his hand.
At that moment, Erniu, Zhang Long, and the others were still at a stalemate.
Boss Zhang was the one who had brought reinforcements. His hands were still wrapped in simple bandages, and standing right behind Zhang Long, he gritted his teeth and snarled, "Erniu, hand that brat over right now, or I'll burn your house to the ground!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
Erniu gripped the sickle tightly, his voice furious as he shouted, "Whoever dares burn my house, I'll fight to the death!"
"Fight to the death? Just you, you damn fool? I brought over a dozen brothers today. Come on, fight us... Damn it, unless you kill every last one of us today, I'm going to break both your mother's legs!" Zhang Long threatened.
Having run around the streets for so many years, he could tell that Erniu was currently blind with rage. If they fought desperately, his own side might very well lose a man or two.
Realizing this, Zhang Long immediately resorted to threatening Erniu: "Erniu, they all say you're a filial son. You surely wouldn't get your mother killed just for some stranger, would you?"
"I—I... Xiaoye is my friend, not a stranger."
Hearing his mother threatened, Erniu panicked completely. He pleaded incessantly, "Brother Long, Boss Zhang... You, you and Cuihua were like that before, and I didn't say a word. I'm begging you to spare Xiaoye just this once! I—I'll kowtow to you, okay?!"
Erniu wasn't afraid of dying, but he was terrified that something might happen to his mother and Ye Chen.
Terrified by Zhang Long's threat, he dropped the sickle and stammered, "I—I'll kowtow to you!"
With that, Erniu prepared to drop straight to his knees.
Thud!
Just as Erniu's knees were about to hit the ground, he suddenly felt a force pull him back up. Looking back, it was none other than Ye Chen.
"Xiaoye... Y—you, why did you come out?!"
"You are not allowed to kneel to trash like this!"
Ye Chen glared at Erniu. His eyes held anger, touched emotion, and guilt...
"I—I won't kneel, don't be mad! Xiaoye, th—then let's fight them to the death!" Erniu said.
"I'm not mad. You've already done very well... It's just guilt I feel."
Ye Chen gently patted Erniu's shoulder. "Leave them to me to handle."
"Handle us? Hahaha, who the hell do you think you are? Damn it, you're the one who stabbed my brother, right? Today, I'm going to cripple both your hands." Zhang Long raged.
"Brother, this punk hits hard and has ruthless tricks. You and the brothers should be careful," Boss Zhang warned.
"No matter how good he is, can he take ten men by himself?"
Zhang Long let out a cold snort. "Brothers, break both his arms for me!!"
"Yeah!"
Hearing this, the thugs trailing behind Zhang Long rushed forward with loud battle cries.
"Xiaoye!!"
"Don't move..."
Ye Chen glanced at Erniu, signaling him to stay out of it.
When he turned back around, Ye Chen's eyes were filled with murderous intent... Coming to Nanshan this time, seeing how miserably Erniu and Auntie Niu had been living, not to mention the arrogance and bullying of Boss Zhang and Li Cuihua—preying on the weak and fearing the strong!
All of his fury erupted in that single instant!
"You're courting death!"
Seeing the lead thug lunging forward with a knife to stab him, Ye Chen's expression turned icy, and he threw a fierce punch.
Boom!
Before the thug could even catch a glimpse of the fist, he felt his chest struck by a massive force. It felt as if he had been hit by a motorcycle... no, a speeding truck.
Bang!
His body flew backward more than ten meters, crashing heavily as Ye Chen's single punch knocked him right out of the courtyard and past the front gate.
When he hit the ground, he was already knocked out cold. There was a sunken fist print right on his chest, and the bones inside seemed to have been crushed inward!
Even though they were street thugs who frequently got into fights, when had they ever seen someone killed with a single punch?!
Though they weren't sure if the guy was actually dead yet, the display of skill by Ye Chen stunned everyone present.
These hooligans felt a chill strike their hearts.
They wanted to back away, they wanted to run... But Ye Chen didn't give them the chance. Before any of them could turn and flee, Ye Chen lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Then came a barrage of rhythmic thudding sounds, as loud as a beating drum.
With every punch that landed, it was accompanied by the miserable screams of someone being sent flying. In less than ten seconds, every single thug who had charged forward was knocked flying by Ye Chen's relentless fists!
"This..."
"Gulp!"
Seeing this scene, Zhang Long and Boss Zhang froze. Their legs trembled so violently at that moment that they couldn't even speak.
How could someone be this terrifying?
Damn it, is this even human?!
Plop! Plop!
Watching Ye Chen stand before them like a god of slaughter, with murderous intent radiating from his eyes, the two brothers could no longer bear the immense pressure. They dropped straight to their knees with a heavy thud.
"Spare... spare our lives!"
"We were blind and had no eyes! We didn't dare cross you. I—I was wrong, I'll kowtow to you, okay?!"
Zhang Long and Boss Zhang kowtowed frantically on the ground. Having witnessed Ye Chen's methods, they were terrified of being beaten to death with a single punch. Consequently, they smashed their foreheads hard against the ground with every bow. After just a few kowtows, their faces were covered in blood.
Yet they didn't dare stop; as long as Ye Chen didn't speak, they had to keep kowtowing.
"You really are blind..."
At that moment, Ye Chen finally spoke, his tone as chilling as millennial ice. "Because Erniu is my brother!! Bullying him is an even graver offense than directly provoking me!"
Rumble...
Hearing those words, Zhang Long and Boss Zhang felt a buzzing in their heads. In an instant, they didn't even dare utter half a plea for mercy.
Over the years, Zhang Long hadn't spared the villagers from oppression, and Erniu was his constant target. Normally, Zhang Long would eat at the restaurant without paying, and whenever there was heavy labor to be done, he would drag Erniu off to do it—entirely unpaid.
Boss Zhang was even worse. Seeing that Erniu's wife possessed some looks, he used money to sleep with her. Afterward, he would eat and drink for free at the restaurant, treating Erniu as less than human.
At the mere thought of these beastly acts they had committed, Zhang Long and Boss Zhang began to shiver uncontrollably.
"Looks like you used to bully him quite a bit, too."
Noticing their reactions, Ye Chen understood everything in an instant, and his fury flared up once more...
Thump! Thump!
Two muffled thuds echoed as deep indentations appeared on the chests of Zhang Long and Boss Zhang. Yet, unlike the thugs earlier, they weren't sent flying; instead, their eyes bulged wide and their bodies went limp as they collapsed.
Because Ye Chen's punches had struck their left chests—right over their hearts.
The two of them died instantly.
"X—Xiaoye, how did you get so strong?"
After Zhang Long and Boss Zhang had been lying lifeless on the ground for a full two minutes, Erniu finally snapped out of his trance. "How are you so capable? Did you go to the Shaolin Temple or something? That's amazing, you're just like the heroes in TV shows!"
The Shaolin Temple?
Ye Chen shook his head with a bitter smile. He hadn't gone to the Shaolin Temple; he had gone to Kunlun!
Still, such matters couldn't be explained in a few words. After his master saved him, those first few days upon reaching the peak of Kunlun Mountain had felt just like a dream... It took him a full few days to finally accept that many things existed in this world which ordinary people knew nothing about.
Take alchemy and medicine, for instance—supposedly just ethereal legends... Yet if they were merely legends, why would ancient emperors treat alchemists as honored guests and commission pills of immortality?
Though Ye Chen didn't believe in immortality elixirs either, he had truly witnessed countless medicinal pills capable of saving lives or strengthening the human body!
Take internal energy, for example. While Ye Chen couldn't conjure golden dragon qi from a single palm strike like in TV dramas, vital energy was a genuine reality. A punch thrown could send vital energy flying a hundred meters to strike someone down.
Wasn't this ability equivalent to the hundred-pace divine fist found in martial arts novels?
Then there were the Book of Changes, the Eight Trigrams, Qimen Dunjia, and feng shui divination... These were treasures left behind by their ancestors thousands of years ago, and they certainly weren't simple if they had been passed down to the present day.
Atop the peak of Kunlun Mountain sat a massive spirit-gathering array, and all of Ye Chen's abilities had been learned from his master within that very array.
Yet if he tried explaining all this, Erniu might not understand, and even if he understood, he wouldn't necessarily believe it.
After a moment of thought, Ye Chen simply said, "I never went to the Shaolin Temple! But I met an eccentric master who taught me many skills. Not only am I formidable in a fight now, but I can also heal the sick and save lives! Erniu, do you believe me?"
"I believe you, I believe you!"
Erniu nodded frantically. "You're so amazing, I'll believe whatever you say! Besides, I know Xiaoye would never lie to me!"
Hearing this, Ye Chen smiled with gratification.
Only Erniu would believe something like this. Even if he told Xia Qingyue, she likely wouldn't believe it nine times out of ten.
"Since you believe me, take this Spirit-Gathering Pill... I gave Auntie Niu one earlier too, and she's already fallen asleep."
As he spoke, Ye Chen pulled out another Spirit-Gathering Pill and said, "This kind of pill is refined from thousands of precious herbs, and the spiritual qi contained within it is quite abundant... Originally, I should have given you a body-strengthening pill, but this is the only kind I brought with me, so just make do with it for now."
"Huh... Xiaoye, what are you talking about? I don't really understand," Erniu said with a blank expression.
"Hahahaha!"
Looking at Erniu's bewildered look, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh heartily.
While the Spirit-Gathering Pill wasn't overwhelmingly effective for basic physical conditioning, it had immense value for marrow-cleansing and cultivation. If this single pill were to circulate in the Martial Dao World, it would fetch tens of millions on the market at the bare minimum.
Yet Ye Chen could only let Erniu make do with it. Seeing Erniu's still-blank expression, Ye Chen could only smile and say, "You don't need to understand. Just eat it—I'm not going to harm you!"
"Okay."
Erniu nodded earnestly. "I know Xiaoye wouldn't hurt me."
With that, Erniu picked up the Spirit-Gathering Pill and swallowed it whole.
The Spirit-Gathering Pill melted the moment it touched his tongue. It was intensely fragrant, without a trace of bitter medicinal taste. The moment he swallowed it, Erniu felt a wave of warmth slowly spread outward from his chest, continually coursing through his limbs and bones.
"Xiaoye, my body feels like it's changing."
"I feel so light!"
Erniu couldn't help exclaiming.
"Don't worry about Tiger... I'm going to open your meridians!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. "Erniu, are you willing to follow me from now on and witness things and scenery... that you've never laid eyes on before?!"
Erniu froze. From the tone of Ye Chen's voice, he sensed something indescribable.
It seemed that the moment he agreed to these words, his life would undergo a heaven-shaking transformation!
"Things and scenery I've never seen before?"
Erniu muttered, repeating Ye Chen's words. He felt that after taking that pill, a warm, cozy current kept flowing through his body, eventually surging into his limbs and bones until his entire being felt remarkably light and agile.
"I'm willing, I'm willing!"
Erniu shouted loudly, "Xiaoye, are you going to turn me into a martial arts master too?"
"Martial arts?"
Ye Chen smiled faintly. Where was there any true martial arts world nowadays? At most, there was only the Martial Dao!
Still, these concepts were difficult to explain clearly to Erniu. Ye Chen gave a slight nod and said, "Something like that. Follow me from now on!"
With that, the glow at Ye Chen's fingertips grew increasingly brilliant as he set about modifying Erniu's physical constitution.
After a full half-hour, a dense layer of fine sweat had broken out across Ye Chen's forehead, but the results were excellent.
"All done!"
Finally, Ye Chen let out a soft breath. "Your physical constitution now definitely surpasses that of world-class Olympic champions. From now on, you won't be troubled by minor ailments like colds and coughs. Even without practicing the Martial Dao, you'll have the strength of an ox, and living to a hundred won't be a problem at all."
"Huh?"
Erniu listened in a daze, then unconsciously clenched his fists. "D—do I really have that kind of strength?"
"Don't believe it?"
With a smile, Ye Chen swept his gaze across the courtyard and said, "Try lifting this millstone and see."
"Ah! I—I'll try!"
The millstone looked to weigh three or four hundred catties, but upon hearing Ye Chen's words, Erniu didn't hesitate in the slightest. He walked straight over to it.
Because Erniu felt his entire body surging with strength, he figured he should be able to lift this stone!
Snap!
Erniu firmly gripped both sides of the millstone. Standing 1.9 meters tall with long arms to match, he grabbed the stone and suddenly exerted a fierce burst of force!
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
Gritting his teeth and crying out, Erniu tensed every muscle in his body in an instant, and that massive millstone—weighing several hundred catties—was actually shaken off the ground by Erniu!
At the same time, Erniu's eyes widened in sheer disbelief, his expression mirroring someone who had just discovered an alien.
Immediately afterward, the millstone was slowly lifted: ten centimeters off the ground, twenty centimeters... half a meter... a meter...
Thud!
When he had hoisted it about a meter high, Erniu's arms began to ache, and he could no longer hold the weight, dropping the millstone back down with a heavy thud.
Yet this result alone was enough to leave anyone dumbstruck.
"Xiaoye, d—did I really do that?"
"Mm."
Ye Chen nodded, then continued, "Erniu, tell me honestly: after I left, did anyone else bully you?"
Li Cuihua alone wouldn't have been enough to beat Erniu down into such a stubbled, emaciated state. After all, Erniu used to be extremely robust; his build was twice that of Ye Chen's.
"It was the Zhou Family..."
After hesitating for half a minute, Erniu finally spilled the truth: "After Uncle Su and Mumu died, and you went missing, people from the Zhou Family came to the village. Even Zhou Qianxiong came... Hearing that I was close to you, he asked if I had hidden you away. When I said I didn't know, they broke both my legs and burned down everything of value in my house..."
"To protect me, my mom got beaten up by those bad guys... Later, when we went to the hospital for a check-up, she was diagnosed with coronary heart disease."
"With my broken legs and my mom's heart disease, our family was practically driven to despair. Later, we scraped together some money by borrowing from everywhere, and once my legs healed, I went out to do hard labor to pay off the debts!"
"After getting tossed around like that for half a year, my body weakened. Later, when I opened a restaurant and made some money, I married Li Cuihua... Only to find out she was that kind of woman!"
Erniu was unwilling to utter Li Cuihua's name again. After finishing, he added, "Anyway, it's all in the past... Xiaoye, don't go provoking the Zhou Family. They're different from Zhang Long; the Zhou Family is a powerful clan, and they have guns!"
"Heh!"
Ye Chen let out a cold laugh, the murderous intent in his eyes nearly freezing into substance.
Originally, Ye Chen hadn't planned on letting the Zhou Family off the hook, but upon learning that Erniu had also been persecuted by them on his account, Ye Chen's anger burned even hotter.
The Zhou Family... could not be allowed to exist!
"Xiaoye, don't do anything rash. Uncle Su and Mumu... they wouldn't want to see you throw your life away in a desperate fight. They definitely hope you'll live a good life."
Seeing the resolute determination in Ye Chen's eyes, Erniu urged, "If you're dead-set on going, I'll go with you. I can lift a millstone now, and I'm sure I'll hit hard in a fight."
"I'm not going to get revenge right now, so stop letting your imagination run wild!"
Ye Chen patted Erniu's shoulder. "Auntie Niu should be waking up soon. Go look after her, shave off that beard of yours, and another day I'll find you a pretty wife!"
"Stop making fun of me. I—I'm not looking for a wife anymore."
The towering Erniu blushed beneath his dark skin at Ye Chen's teasing. "Right now, I just want to take good care of my mom."
"Hahaha."