Chapter 003: Unexpected Change

Chen Ying was overwhelmed with terror, already sensing the chill at his back. He spun around in haste, raising his arms defensively before him.

Swish!

Liu Dahua’s knife sliced a line across Chen Ying’s arm.

A muffled groan escaped Chen Ying’s lips as he collapsed painfully to the ground.

“Hmph!” Liu Dahua’s face was twisted in smug satisfaction.

“How about now? Admit defeat?” Liu Dahua chuckled.

Everything that transpired was observed by Zhao Feng. He strolled over, hands clasped behind his head, whistling, with Wang Xiaoyun at his side.

Step by step, Zhao Feng approached the scene.

Chen Ying and his companions caught sight of Zhao Feng. Excitement flared in Chen Ying’s heart, and he called out urgently, “Friend, help me!”

Yet as soon as the plea left his lips, regret flooded Chen Ying. Zhao Feng looked to be only seventeen or eighteen, a student. Asking for his help would only drag him into trouble.

Liu Dahua and Liu Er heard Chen Ying’s shout. Both turned, and Liu Dahua sneered, “Oh? Just a student! I advise you not to meddle where you shouldn’t.”

But Zhao Feng seemed not to hear. He continued to amble forward, hands behind his head, whistling softly.

The calm, unhurried way Zhao Feng advanced left Liu Dahua and Liu Er perplexed and uncertain.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Feng was upon them.

Liu Dahua narrowed his eyes. “What’s this? You want to play the hero?”

Zhao Feng, gaze steady, hands still behind his head, replied, “Get out of the way.”

Liu Er instantly bristled. “Kid, you’ve got a lot of nerve!”

Zhao Feng didn’t even glance at Liu Er, his eyes fixed on Liu Dahua.

Chen Ying, anxious now, cried out, “Classmate, leave quickly. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me!”

“Hmph!” Liu Dahua snorted coldly. “None of you are leaving!”

At that moment, Liu Dahua caught sight of Wang Xiaoyun beside Zhao Feng. His eyes gleamed with greed.

“Hahaha!” Liu Dahua burst into laughter, “This trip to Little River Village has been more than worthwhile!”

His brother joined in, “Big brother, these two are both extraordinary finds!”

“Exactly, exactly!” Liu Dahua replied with a grin.

Then, halting his laughter, Liu Dahua said, “Kid, since you’ve brought me such a rare beauty, I’ll allow you a share of the spoils!”

Hearing Liu Dahua’s lewd insinuations, Chen Ying was stunned speechless, his face turning ashen. “You animals!”

“Oh?” Liu Dahua feigned interest. “We haven’t done anything yet. Maybe you’re just overthinking it?”

Liu Er cackled, “That’s right! Clearly, you’re the one with the dirty mind. Who would have guessed a university student could be so impure?”

Chen Ying’s face was livid, rendered mute by fury. But Zhao Feng, beside him, was even angrier.

His voice was low and cold. “What did you just say?”

Liu Dahua and Liu Er exchanged glances, then burst out laughing.

“You didn’t hear me?” Liu Dahua mocked. “I said I’d let you have a piece of the action—”

Bang!

Before he could finish, Zhao Feng’s palm struck Liu Dahua squarely across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Liu Dahua lay there, clutching his left cheek in a daze. Liu Er stood frozen in shock.

For two or three seconds, silence reigned.

Then Liu Dahua roared in fury, “You dare hit me?!”

But Zhao Feng couldn’t be bothered to reply. He simply raised his right foot and drove it hard into Liu Dahua’s stomach.

“Ow! Ow, ow, ow!” Liu Dahua howled in pain, curling up on the ground like a shrimp.

Liu Er stared in disbelief, but then his face contorted in rage.

With a roar, Liu Er lunged at Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng snorted coldly and, without hesitation, kicked Liu Er squarely in the knee.

“Ah! Ah, ah, ah!” Liu Er shrieked, clutching his knee and dancing in place.

By now, Liu Dahua had struggled to his feet, eyes wild with fury. Knife in hand, he charged at Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng didn’t even glance at him. Like lightning, his right hand shot out and seized Liu Dahua’s wrist.

A sharp twist.

Crack!

A sickening snap echoed as Liu Dahua’s wrist broke.

“Ah!” Liu Dahua screamed.

Everyone present was stunned into immobility—Chen Ying, Wang Xiaoyun, and Liu Er alike.

Liu Dahua spat onto the ground, two teeth tumbling out.

With a berserk howl, Liu Dahua charged at Zhao Feng once more.

But the instant he reached him—

Smack!

Zhao Feng struck him again, sending him spinning in place.

Liu Dahua was left stupefied, utterly dazed.

Zhao Feng raised his right hand, poised to strike again, his manner relaxed and nonchalant.

Terrified, Liu Dahua dropped to his knees. “Big brother! We don’t know each other, we have no grudge—there’s no need to hit me! Please, just let me go!”

Zhao Feng regarded him coolly, his gaze deep and inscrutable.

Under the weight of Zhao Feng’s aura, Liu Dahua trembled with fear.

Zhao Feng opened his mouth, his voice calm and slow. “Repeat what you just said.”

Liu Dahua shook his head frantically. “Big brother, I won’t say it again, I swear!”

“Slap your own mouth.”

“Yes! Yes, yes!”

Lifting his right hand, Liu Dahua slapped himself hard across the face. Glancing at Zhao Feng and seeing no change in expression, he gritted his teeth and slapped himself again with his left.

One after another, he struck himself, each blow harsher than the last.

Zhao Feng, hands clasped behind his back, gazed off into the distance. “If I ever hear such filth from you again, you’d better be ready to die.”

“Yes!” Liu Dahua stammered, “Yes, yes!”

“Get lost.”

Overjoyed, Liu Dahua and Liu Er scrambled to their feet and bolted for their black Santana, tumbling over each other in their haste.

With a roar of the engine, they sped away at top speed.

When they had gone, only Chen Ying, Wang Xiaoyun, and Zhao Feng remained.

Zhao Feng glanced at Chen Ying. “You’ve trained in martial arts?”

Chen Ying opened his mouth, but found that in Zhao Feng’s presence, his very thoughts seemed to slow. There was something about Zhao Feng—an aura that pressed down on him, impossible to describe.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Ying replied, “I practiced for a while with my grandfather when I was young.”

Zhao Feng nodded and said nothing more.

He gazed at the white clouds drifting across the sky, lost in thought.

“What’s going on? Has something changed? A year ago, there weren’t any martial artists entering the world at all…”

Zhao Feng frowned, confusion clouding his mind.