Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Foreboding Premonition

“I hope they know what’s good for them,” Lei Yan thought to himself as he watched the two young men depart. His heart was filled with helplessness. After all, these two were members of the Sun family, and killing any of their people right now would only bring unknown dangers upon Cui Ba, Long Ba, and himself, so he had chosen to endure. If it had been before, those two men, brimming with hostility, would have died soundlessly the moment they appeared before him.

“Young man, you should leave now,” the middle-aged shopkeeper hurried to Lei Yan’s side to urge him as soon as the two young men left.

“Sell me that, and we’ll leave at once,” Lei Yan said, pointing to the top-grade spirit stone on the counter.

“All right, all right! I’ll just give it to you. Just please leave now!” The shopkeeper’s only thought was to get them out of his store as quickly as possible. If Lei Yan and Qing Ling didn’t leave, and the Sun family came back, his shop would be finished. Besides, he had no idea what that stone even was. Without hesitation, he tossed the spirit stone to Lei Yan, then hurriedly pushed Lei Yan and Qing Ling out as if ridding himself of a plague.

“What’s with that? Do we look like we can’t pay? He actually threw us out! And that sleazy guy—he actually let them go. Hey, Brother Lei, were you even listening to me?” Qing Ling grumbled nonstop the moment they stepped out of the shop. She couldn’t understand why Lei Yan had let those two go, or why he didn’t seem to care that the shopkeeper threw them out.

Qing Ling’s moods changed too quickly—soft and gentle just a moment before, now suddenly spitting fire with rapid complaints. The corner of Lei Yan’s mouth twitched, but strangely enough, her unpredictable shifts gave him a warm, comforting feeling. He smiled and said, “At least the owner gave us this for free.”

“Hmph, do we need his charity? It’s not like we can’t pay for it!” Qing Ling pouted in frustration.

“All right, don’t be angry. This is a top-grade spirit stone—we wouldn’t find many of these in the entire cultivation world. The shopkeeper gave it to us for free and you’re still upset?” Lei Yan said with a laugh.

“Right! I almost forgot. Give it here!” Qing Ling demanded, holding out her hand.

“What?” Lei Yan pretended not to understand.

“Don’t play dumb. You know I’m talking about the spirit stone!” Qing Ling placed her hands on her hips, her tone fierce.

Their eyes met for a moment before Lei Yan finally relented, opening his left hand to reveal the spirit stone.

“Brother Lei, you’re the best!” Qing Ling hugged his arm gleefully as she took the stone. She seemed completely at ease with the gesture now, the shyness of earlier days gone. Her face was radiant with happiness as she squeezed his arm tighter and began humming a soft, tuneless melody.

Lei Yan glanced at her, amused. “Back to her little-girl self again… well, she is quite young, after all.”

Just then, a commotion arose not far away. Someone in the crowd shouted, “There they are!”

“Hm?” Lei Yan frowned and looked toward the source of the uproar. He saw the white-robed youth from earlier, now leading a group of martial artists, running straight toward him.

“I’m going to get that little beauty today, no matter what!” the white-robed youth thought darkly as he ran. From the moment he laid eyes on Qing Ling, he had concocted a perfect plan: falsely accuse Lei Yan and his companion of involvement with the missing goods, then use the Sun family’s power to kill the man and abduct the woman. As he ran, he fantasized about possessing Qing Ling, a lecherous grin creeping onto his lips.

“Hmph!” Lei Yan snorted coldly. “Why can’t you people just leave well enough alone?”

“You’ve got some nerve, kid. After killing our steward, you still dare to walk around so openly!” The white-robed youth spoke as soon as he reached Lei Yan’s side, adept as ever at pinning guilt on others without even asking questions.

Lei Yan was taken aback for a moment. He had indeed killed the Sun family steward, so naturally he worried for Cui Ba and the others. But when he saw the youth’s expression, Lei Yan instantly realized this guy was just looking for an excuse to pick a fight—he didn’t actually know the truth. “What a ridiculous pretext,” Lei Yan thought.

“You throw out accusations without even asking questions. Do you really think your Sun family can do whatever it wants?” Lei Yan deliberately raised his voice, as if to draw more attention. There were already many onlookers, and with his shout, the crowd quickly grew.

“Hurry, someone’s finally standing up to the Sun family. We can’t miss this!” someone urged his companion.

“At last, someone dares to defy these powerful families!” another exclaimed.

“They just accuse people at will. The Sun family is too overbearing!” grumbled a bystander.

Many who had suffered at the Sun family’s hands began to complain, and the murmurs of discontent grew louder. Lei Yan was pleased. This was exactly what he wanted—if he was to kill these people, he needed a good excuse, and the Sun family’s bullying provided the perfect one. Qing Ling seemed to have guessed his intentions and began to laugh quietly at his side.

The white-robed youth’s face darkened. He barked at his men, “Do it!” At his command, several sword-wielding martial artists charged at Lei Yan.

“If you stop now, I might still spare you. Otherwise, even if you’re from the Sun family, you won’t walk away alive,” Lei Yan warned coldly as he dodged their attacks. He had no intention of sparing them, but feigned weakness as he evaded, hoping to make the white-robed youth underestimate him.

“Hahaha! You? Just you?” The white-robed youth laughed as Lei Yan dodged and retreated.

“Courting death!” Lei Yan’s aura suddenly shifted. With a sweep of his leg, he delivered a powerful kick to a martial artist’s head. There was a dull thud as the man’s skull shattered like a dropped watermelon, white brain matter and blood splattering everywhere. The force sent the body flying through the air.

Lei Yan moved with lightning speed. Before the corpse hit the ground, he slammed a fist into it, sending it hurtling into another martial artist with a sickening crunch of breaking bones. The impact knocked the other man aside.

With a snap, Lei Yan’s foot connected with another attacker’s throat, killing him instantly.

“Die!” Lei Yan roared, his earth-style fist crashing into an enemy’s chest. The blow was so powerful his fist punched clean through the man’s body. He shook blood from his hand as the victim stared in disbelief at the gaping hole in his chest, then dropped dead.

The slaughter was so brutal that many in the crowd began vomiting, while the faint of heart screamed and fled. Even the white-robed youth trembled, realizing he had kicked a hornet’s nest.

In the blink of an eye, all the attackers lay dead. Lei Yan strode toward the white-robed youth, who instinctively retreated, screaming, “Help! Someone—” But when he turned, he found himself alone. Face draining of color, he turned and ran.

With a flicker, Lei Yan blocked his path and landed a straight punch as the youth’s feet touched the ground.

With a thud, the white-robed youth’s body flew backward. As he landed, his legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees, coughing up great gouts of blood.

Lei Yan walked up to him slowly, then stomped down hard on his left hand. With a sickening crack, the youth screamed like a stuck pig.

“Weren’t you after my woman?” Lei Yan said coolly, then kicked him in the kneecap, shattering the joint with another crack.

Drenched in cold sweat, the white-robed youth gritted his teeth and pleaded, “I was wrong! I know I was wrong, please let me go!”

Lei Yan grabbed him by the collar like a chick and whispered in his ear, “I really did kill your steward, you know. So, do you think I’ll let you go?”

“What?” the youth exclaimed in disbelief. He couldn’t fathom his misfortune—how had he managed to provoke such a killer, and even tried to take his woman? As he opened his mouth to beg again, a grim premonition flashed through his mind. At that same moment, he heard a final crack—and this time, he didn’t even have time to scream before losing consciousness.

Lei Yan tossed the limp body aside as though discarding trash and said to Qing Ling, “Let’s go.”

But Qing Ling, as if she hadn’t heard, ran to the corpse and began kicking it repeatedly, muttering, “Trying to lay hands on me? I’ll show you!”

Lei Yan watched her, helpless. When she lost her temper, she was truly terrifying—she wouldn’t even spare a corpse. He hurried over, dragged her away, and set off out of the town. Having killed members of the Sun family, they could no longer stay in Wu Ye Town. Lei Yan regretted that not only had they failed to buy enough spirit stones, but they hadn’t managed to purchase any herbs either.

Once outside the town, the two hurried toward Long Ba’s territory. They traveled swiftly and only returned by nightfall, but when they arrived, Cui Ba and the others were nowhere to be found. An ominous feeling crept into Lei Yan’s heart. “Foster father, please be safe…”