"Elder Qian, I spoke a bit hastily just now, you shouldn’t take it to heart,"
Wu Xiaode patted Qian Mingkui’s shoulder, speaking in a soft voice.
This fat man had it tough.
In this day and age, n of his age were the easiest to bully.
Because he had to support his elders and children, a house and a car, and take care of his entire family’s livelihood.
Everything was his responsibility.
Even if he was scolded and insulted, he wouldn’t dare say a word, nor dare to resign from his job no matter the grievances, because he had to earn money to support his family.
Not to ntion Qian Mingkui had to raise his daughter all by himself.
"Little Wu, if it doesn’t work, I’ll diate. Let them take whatever they want from my house. It’s better than resorting to knives and guns," Qian Mingkui said.
Wu Xiaode shook his head.
In tis of peace, if you casually brandished knives and sticks and hurt soone, killed soone, you could easily spend years or even decades in jail with no problem at all.
These guys started off by pulling out weapons; trouble was bound to happen sooner or later.
No... that won’t do...
Wu Xiaode matured earlier than his peers. While others were still in classes, he was already mixing in the streets, and he was better at observing and summarizing than those hooligans, and now he quickly had an idea.
He gently pressed his hand against the stone wall.
"From now on, I’ve got this martial arts school covered. You guys don’t need to co here anymore. Oh, and don’t go collecting protection money around here anymore. You’re all young, why not go work in a factory and make money?"
His hand sunk into the wall, leaving a handprint several inches deep.
The thugs looked at the handprint and then at Wu Xiaode.
The n slowly put down their knives.
A thug hesitated, "Little Yi, this..."
The leader, Lu Yi, raised his hand, stopping him from continuing.
He stared at Wu Xiaode, speaking in a harsh tone, "Buddy, you just take care of yourself, why bother talking about working in a factory? Do you think everyone has the sa kung fu as you?"
At that mont, Little Shi ca out to grab a broom and received a aningful glance from Lu Yi.
"Brother Wu, let’s just forget about it," Qian Mingkui imdiately said out of concern.
Wu Xiaode found it a bit amusing.
Hoodlums and ruffians were like a pack of hyenas, always looking to bite the softest part of their prey.
He had seen such things too many tis.
The so-called rivers and lakes are treacherous.
——Should I make a move or not?
Suddenly, two lines of ice crystal small characters popped up on the Book of the Dead:
"After resting for a while, your soul power value has recovered by 1 point."
"Your current soul power value is: 8/8."
A sense of rejuvenated power faintly erged within Wu Xiaode’s body, then slowly receded.
Wu Xiaode thus dismissed the thought of taking action.
With 3 points of soul power, his physical condition was already several tis that of a normal person.
And now it was 8 points of soul power.
He had improved too quickly and might not control his strength properly.
A casual move might well finish off these thugs.
——Although they were scum of society, one couldn’t just recklessly take lives.
Forget it.
Give them a chance to think for themselves.
If they refused to turn back and were thoroughly bad-natured, then no one else could be blad.
Wu Xiaode thought for a mont and then said,
"I heard you charge money for ensuring the safety of an area."
"Of course, the folks esteem us, and we do just that," Lu Yi said cautiously.
"How much does the martial arts school pay you every month?"
"You going to pay on their behalf?"
"Yes, na your price."
"This much." Lu Yi spread his hand.
"Five hundred?" Wu Xiaode asked.
The other thugs all started laughing.
"Five hundred? That’s not even enough for the brothers to eat. It’s five thousand!" Lu Yi said.
Wu Xiaode walked over with his phone, "Co on, make a transfer."
Lu Yi looked stunned, then signaled his boys to watch closely with a glance around.
"You’re really transferring?" He took out his phone too.
Without another word, Wu Xiaode transferred five thousand yuan.
——Zhao Junyu had handled that money well for him, transferring all of it to his own balance.
When Lu Yi saw how easily the money was given, he thought he was onto sothing and said,
"Alright, we’re reasonable guys. From now on, if your martial arts school has any issues, we’ve got your back—oh, and since we charge per head, and you’re part of the school, you’ll have to add another two thousand five hundred."
"Fine," Wu Xiaode said with a smile.
Lu Yi looked at the money that had arrived on his phone and couldn’t find fault with what the other party was saying.
——After all, he was there to collect money, not to actually kill anyone.
"Then let’s settle for that, next month—"
"Wait a second, Little Yi, he broke my nose," a nearby younger gang mber quickly reminded.
"Ah, right, you see, you hit my brother here, shouldn’t you compensate for the dical expenses?" Lu Yi asked.
"No problem, give a number," Wu Xiaode said.
"Ten thousand."
"Done."
The money was transferred again.
Ding!
That was fifteen thousand gone in an instant.
Lu Yi looked at the money in his phone, a sudden thought surging in his heart.
Rush him, take him out—
No! That won’t work!
That would be a grave cri, I can’t afford to ss with that.
He was about to turn around and leave when he accidentally caught a glimpse of Wu Xiaode’s phone switching to the balance page.
Five, six, seven... seven digits.
Lu Yi gasped for air, his feet nailed to the ground as if by spikes, completely unable to move an inch.
"Go!"
He suddenly barked angrily, and only then did he manage to move his body, turning around and walking towards the door.
He stopped halfway and said hoarsely, "Master Qian, let’s end it here today. From now on, we won’t collect the protection fee from your martial arts gym. Our paths may cross in nature, but let’s each follow our own way."
After saying that, he didn’t look back, leading his gang out the door and even closing it behind him.
Wu Xiaode was sowhat surprised.
——This little punk is quite sothing!
Wu Xiaode turned back to Qian Mingkui and said, "Alright, the thugs won’t be causing trouble anymore."
Qian Mingkui was incredibly excited and bowed repeatedly, saying, "Brother Wu, are they really not going to co back to bother us?"
"They won’t."
"What if they go back on their word?"
"Don’t worry, they really won’t," Wu Xiaode said aningfully.
Give them another hour.
If that bunch of thugs can figure out the twists and turns here within an hour and return the money respectfully, their lives will be spared.
Wu Xiaode was about to speak when he saw the Book of the Dead open, revealing two lines of ice crystal text:
"Helping Qian Mingkui awaken his Soul Power is one thing; helping his gym face the thugs is another. You have gained yet another recognition from the founder spirit of the sect."
"The founder spirit is about to descend."
The next instant.
Wu Xiaode felt as if he could barely sense his own body’s existence.
"That familiar feeling again..."
He groaned, his body completely out of control.
Soon.
His whole deanor changed.
Though standing still, an indescribable aura of darkness now enveloped him.
"Young man, you’ve done well, I originally planned to pass on to you a set of ihua Stilts skills, but now it seems that the gratitude offered isn’t enough."
When Wu Xiaode spoke, his tone had completely changed as well.
If before his speech was filled with the youthful vigor and the wary caution of an orphan, now his voice carried a chill and a weariness from ages past.
——It was as though another being had entered his body, speaking through his mouth.
"Speak directly if you have sothing to say, sir," Wu Xiaode responded telepathically.
"Let’s make a deal. Don’t interfere the first ti Qian Mingkui faces the midnight ordeal," the Ancestor Spirit said.
"I was planning to look out for him sowhat, but since you’ve said so, I have no objections," Wu Xiaode hesitated but still reminded, "It’s very dangerous the first ti. Are you sure you don’t want my help?"
"Our sect has accumulated much rit. As long as he follows the path, he will surely be blessed by heaven. Young man, no need to worry," the Ancestor Spirit replied.
Surely blessed by heaven...
So confident?
"Alright, I have no objections," Wu Xiaode said.
The tone of the Ancestor Spirit changed, and it continued, "But in the future, you may look out for each other—would you be willing to help him out?"
"Sure," Wu Xiaode agreed readily.
"So decisive?"
"He’s a good person, and we get along. Besides, I could use a hand."
"If that’s the case, then so be it, I will pass it on to you."
Wu Xiaode watched himself step over to the weapons rack and pull out a long saber.
"Young man, you’ve helped him awaken his Innate Power and driven away the thugs, and now you’ve promised sothing," the Ancestor Spirit said.
"I will pass on to you a set of Saber Skills."
"This Saber Skill has only two moves. It was taught by a Divine being in ancient tis, its power imnse, not to be passed on lightly except by great fortune. Look—hm?"
He was speaking when he suddenly looked up at the sky.
The sky was filled with heavy leaden clouds.
Rain was about to fall.
All was silent.
Wu Xiaode’s lips curved slightly, his expression full of mockery as he spoke in a cold voice:
"Hiding your head but showing your tail."
He strode confidently into the main hall of the martial arts gym, jumping onto the altar in the center and reaching for a wooden saber next to the statue.
The statue was of a long-haired man wearing a conical hat, riding a horse, with a saber at his waist and a long spear tied to his back.
"Brother Wu, that’s an antique, please handle it gently so you don’t damage it, it would be disrespectful to the sect’s founder," Qian Mingkui shouted from a distance.
Wu Xiaode glanced over with a cold look and huffed, "Descendant of the Qian family, focus on practicing your skills and don’t worry about other things."
He rubbed the wooden saber, and the wood imdiately split apart, revealing a sharp long saber.
"There was a saber hidden inside this statue?" Qian Mingkui exclaid with wide eyes.
"Just a spare weapon, not a treasured blade," Wu Xiaode said as he took the saber, setting the ornantal dull blade aside.
He leaped down from the altar, flitted out into the courtyard, and stood in the martial arts training field.
Wind.
A chilly wind began to rise.
Thunder rumbled continuously in the sky.
"Young man, have you offended soone?" the Ancestor Spirit asked.
"Soone tried to kill ."
"And then?"
"I took a turn at the gates of Hell and ca back," Wu Xiaode said.
"Hmph, no wonder you’ve awakened powers of the Undead system—luckily for that, I can possess you to help," the Ancestor Spirit said.
Wu Xiaode said, "You an..."
"They’re here!"
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