Black Mountain City, Outer Ring District, Cyan Stone Lane, Ji Family's Doorway.
Carpenter Zhang saw the previously kind expression of the young man in front of him suddenly freeze, then frown as he stared directly at him, causing him to involuntarily take half a step back, a chill running down his spine.
"How has this child changed overnight, as if he's become a different person?!"
He remembered the previous evening, when Jixia returned limping and in rags, with a face full of dejection, recounting what had happened.
Looking again at the young man in front of him, with eyes sharp as an eagle's and a straight spine, exuding an intense aura.
Carpenter Zhang couldn't help rubbing his eyes, unable to believe that in just one day, the same boy with a familiar face seemed like a completely different person.
However, the person hadn't changed after all, and even though he was frightened for a moment, Carpenter Zhang still kindly said:
"Alas, you haven't returned for three days. The neighbors, even old uncle like me, thought you had been buried in the belly of some beast in the deep mountains."
"When Jiang Zhou returned, carrying the bounty that Squad Leader Liu wanted, that's what he said."
"If you had returned two days earlier, and argued your case before Jiang Zhou became a constable, there might have been a slim chance of change, but..."
"Now, three days have passed, he's donned the official clothes, entered the official body, and has already swallowed the opportunities specifically allocated to a constable by the government office."
"Even if things are just as you said, the government office has already invested resources. Can they still side with you?"
"Yama is easy to avoid, but little devils are difficult to deal with. I heard that Jiang Zhou, now in charge, governs this Cyan Stone Lane area."
"Even those local gang leaders scrambled to offer him tributes overnight, calling him brother."
"Now that Jiang Zhou has become different from before, we can't afford to mess with him."
Carpenter Zhang said painstakingly.
After observing closely for a moment and confirming that there was no poison in the porridge, Jixia unhesitatingly slurped the bowl of greasy porridge clean.
Seeing Jixia silent, Carpenter Zhang couldn't tell whether he had listened to his words and just shook his head, took the bowl, and turned to leave.
When Carpenter Zhang entered his own house.
Faintly, Jixia could still hear the sound of fierce scolding from inside:
"You old fool, why waste that food!"
"Did you think that Ji Family boy, still able-bodied, could go hunting in the mountains to bring you some meat from time to time?"
"Now he's like a clay statue in a river, barely able to protect himself. If what he said yesterday is true, could Constable Jiang handle him so lightly?"
"You know, that Jiang kid is now the future official master of this 'Cyan Stone Lane,' it's not the same!"
"Before, you even wanted to marry our daughter to Jixia. Now, in my opinion, it's better to use those years of friendship to build a good relationship with Jiang Zhou."
"If you could give your daughter to him as a wife, who in this Cyan Stone Lane wouldn't give us some face in the future?"
"By then, your useless son could get a good job too, and wouldn't be stuck like you, selling those worthless carpentry skills for little money!"
These words did not hide from the ears of Jixia standing outside. As he looked towards Carpenter Zhang's doorway, he couldn't help but let out a light sigh.
Second Uncle Zhang had a kind heart, but his wife was an opportunistic woman who went with the wind.
Before, Carpenter Zhang's wife had been more cordial to him than her own son, implying in her words and actions that she viewed him as a future son-in-law. But with the winds of change, her face...
"You... lower your voice, aren't you afraid others will hear!" Carpenter Zhang got a bit annoyed, a low growl came through the wall, but soon after, the sound of the two arguing could be heard.
Until...
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Urgent footsteps on the cracked, time-worn stone floor echoed through the lane.
"Can you keep it down inside?"
"Keep making noise, and I'll skin you alive!"
The arrogant shouting, accompanied by five or six fierce young men carrying blades, entered the lane, finally silencing Carpenter Zhang's household.
At the same time, Jixia subtly clenched his fists, watching these men with narrowed eyes, somewhat intimidatingly.
Immediately, the young man named Chen Wu at the front shrank his pupils, feeling as though he was being stared down by some fierce beast, instinctively feeling a twinge of fear.
But as the big brother, how could he be intimidated just by someone's presence?
Recalling Jiang Zhou's earlier instructions, Chen Wu grinned, spat, and greeted Jixia with a smile:
"Yo, Brother Ji, haven't seen you for a few days, are you even more spirited?"
"You've been out hunting lately and haven't returned to Black Mountain City's Cyan Stone Lane, so you might not know that Boss Jiang has struck it big, throwing a grand feast for a day to celebrate becoming an official, now governing this area."
"From now on, your childhood friends and brothers are the closest of the close, the first to benefit, making us latecomers quite envious."
"Hearing you're back, Boss Jiang specifically sent me to greet you, saying there's no way we can treat you poorly."
"Shall we go then?"
As he spoke, he wore a smile and led the group slowly closing in on Jixia, as if no matter what the short-haired young man in front of them said...
Today, he was determined to take him away!
Chen Wu, a small leader from the Sword Tiger Gang in Black Mountain City's Outer City District, born in Cyan Stone Lane, frequently roamed this territory.
In the past, he often ran into Jixia, but because hunters weren't easy to mess with, they got along okay.
But seeing him so aggressive today...
He's become a lackey for someone.
"Heh..."
Jixia suddenly laughed:
"And if I say,"
"I'm not going?"
Chen Wu leaned on his knife, raised an eyebrow:
"Brother, the elbow can't twist against the thigh."
"How can you be so naive..."
In an instant, the dazzling light of blades flashed!
"Remember, be on your toes!"
"Our 'Brother Ji' hasn't been accused of 'colluding with demons' yet, we can't ignore the law and actually take someone's life!"
With Chen Wu's last words spoken.
Five long blades, gleamed brightly as they came into view!
...
At Carpenter Zhang's home.
Originally, Chen, Carpenter Zhang's fiery wife, couldn't help but shiver.
She crouched by the door crack, alongside Carpenter Zhang whose face was almost pitch black, listening to the sounds outside.
When the sound of long blades unsheathing reverberated with a 'swish'.
Chen shuddered in fear, her face pale.
Unlike her, Carpenter Zhang hesitated repeatedly, even wanting to push the door open.
But in the end, Chen slapped his hand away with a 'smack':
"You're crazy!"
Chen scolded:
"Is that brat your own son?"
"Are you giving up your own life?"
Having heard the conversations outside clearly, Carpenter Zhang spoke with a tremble:
"But..."
"Over the years, that kid has shared plenty of meat with us, our son and daughter have benefited from his goodwill..."
"How can I just watch him fall into the abyss."
The big commotion in the morning also woke Carpenter Zhang's son and daughter, Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yun.
Having understood the cause and effect, Zhang Yuan, who was a bit chubby, mumbled:
"Dad, you've made quite a few pieces of furniture for Brother Ji, helped him a lot, often invited him for meals; even if there's kindness, it's not worth risking your life!"
Zhang Yun, on the other hand, furrowed her delicate brows, hesitated for a moment, but then shook her head at Carpenter Zhang:
"Jixia has lost power, Jiang Zhou has gained it. I work as an apprentice at the medicine shop in the inner city and can read a few characters. Dad, a constable's future is far better than that of a hunter with a broken leg."
"It's not worth it."
The words from his wife and children left Carpenter Zhang stunned for a while.
Meanwhile...
The originally noisy outside world became bizarrely silent after the blades were drawn for only a few breaths.
After a round of contemplation, Carpenter Zhang finally let his conscience overcome his fear, couldn't help but push open a crack in the door, and while turning his head, said:
"You don't need to be too scared, Chen Wu is just a bully at home, picked up a trick or two from 'Sword Tiger Gang,' he hasn't truly become a Martial Artist yet, superior to others!"
"Even if he listens to Jiang Zhou, as a constable, he can't just kill people in the streets, can he?"
"It's nothing; I'll just take a look. These two kids grew up under my watch, persuading them a bit should be fine..."
Saying this, Carpenter Zhang began to push the door open, but once over the threshold, with a widened view, he was left in shock.
Before he could finish speaking, he saw...
Four or five young men sprawled messily on the ground not far away.
And that young man, in a short outfit, who had just finished his bowl of porridge...
Was holding Chen Wu with one hand, his other hand behind his back, his long hair fluttering behind him, laughing freely.
A long blade with a notch, lay at their feet, as though it had been violently broken.
Chen Wu's eyes trembled, as if witnessing something unbelievable, being held aloft, struggling to point at Jixia:
"Martial... Martial..."
Before he could finish his words, he fainted.
"You see, I told you, brother."
"I won't go."
"You..."
"Can't force me."
Jixia casually tossed him aside, twisted his neck, and then lowered his eyes, speaking lightly one word at a time.
Then, he turned around.
And he saw...
Carpenter Zhang's family, standing as if turned to stone.
Only nodded slightly in acknowledgment to this 'benefactor of porridge,' the second uncle.
He then straightened his clothes, dusted off the dirt, and then gallantly...
Headed towards the Black Mountain Government Office in the Outer City District,
Striding away with steps as large as meteors!