Chapter 135 - 119: Female Cousin
Although Huang Lie was old, his cultivation realm was sufficiently high.
He had already reached Great Success in Marrow Transformation, one of the Four Martial Arts Gates. However, his advanced age meant his Qi and blood had begun to decay, preventing him from attempting to break through to the Qi Sensing realm.
But now that he had made his move, his strength was still considerably greater than Bai Xingqiu’s.
Sure enough, after just a few moves, Bai Xingqiu was completely on the defensive.
Another punch sent Bai Xingqiu staggering back several yards.
The blow knocked the wind out of Bai Xingqiu on the spot. He struggled for a moment but couldn’t keep his footing.
Meanwhile, Huang Lie had no intention of stopping. He immediately lunged toward Bai Xingqiu again, giving Chubby no chance to catch his breath.
He didn’t care what status this Chubby fellow had. As far as he was concerned, he was just crippling a bandit who was resisting an Official.
Even if the man truly was a Martial Scholar, Huang Lie could just feign ignorance. He could claim he only stepped in to uphold justice after seeing someone attack an Official.
No one would be able to convict him of a crime for it then.
Just the fact that this fat man was sticking up for Fang Yue and the Tea Garden was reason enough for Huang Lie to strike a vicious blow.
But the very next moment, just as he started to move...
He suddenly felt a ferocious gust of wind rush at him from the side.
’Excellent timing!’
Huang Lie was secretly overjoyed. Having heard his nephew’s description of Fang Yue, he had noticed him in the crowd long ago.
But since Fang Yue hadn’t acted, he couldn’t very well make a blatant move himself.
After all, if anyone investigated the matter, it would be a messy situation to resolve.
Now that Fang Yue had made a move, it was the perfect opportunity. ’If I can cripple this boy in the process, that would be even better.’
’Surely the County Magistrate won’t go to bat for a cripple.’
His mind made up, Huang Lie spun around. His movements weren’t chaotic in the slightest; on the contrary, they were incredibly smooth, a clear sign that he had been prepared all along.
He threw a punch, putting an extra thirty percent of his power into it.
"Excellent timing!"
Fang Yue’s eyes lit up when he saw this.
His Qi and blood surged. After Marrow Transformation, new blood was generated as the old was purged, and his entire body’s strength had risen once more.
His strength had long since surpassed its previous limits, increasing by a full two thousand pounds of force.
He was not far from possessing ten thousand pounds of force.
With his every move, a roar like a great, surging river emanated from him.
"This... This is manifested vitality, Qi and blood like crashing waves! Could it be that this boy has already achieved Great Success in Marrow Transformation?"
Huang Lie’s eyes flew open. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, what he was hearing.
He himself was a Martial Artist who had reached Great Success in Marrow Transformation, so he knew exactly what that state entailed and what it felt like.
It was precisely for this reason that he knew how incredibly difficult it was to achieve.
He knew how much time and how many resources it consumed, not to mention the bit of luck required on top of it all.
’Just how old is this Fang Yue?’
’How long has it been since he became a Martial Scholar? How could he possibly have reached Great Success in Marrow Transformation?’
But there was no time to ponder the question now.
Fang Yue’s attack was upon him.
An overwhelming sense of danger washed over him, as if he were being stalked by a ferocious beast.
Huang Lie was horrified. How could he possibly dare to meet such an attack head-on?
Meanwhile, as the saying goes, "Experts see the technique, while laymen just enjoy the show." Huang Yuangu had already joined a few of the constables.
Huang Yuangu’s face was split by a grin that crinkled his features.
Originally, his plan was simply to frame the Tea Garden, entangling them in a lawsuit to cause some trouble for Fang Yue. He hoped it would make Fang Yue suspect that County Magistrate Liu was behind it all, thereby driving a wedge between them.
But he never expected to run into Fang Yue here, let alone that the fat man would dare to attack a government constable.
This was the perfect opportunity.
’My uncle can take this chance to cripple Fang Yue, and who could possibly say he was in the wrong?’
"Rest assured, gentlemen. With my uncle on the case, he’s sure to teach these two villains who dared attack an Official a harsh lesson," Huang Yuangu said with confidence.
"You’re too kind. We’re just lucky Lord Huang was here to help. Otherwise, we’d have been made a laughingstock," the constables replied, fawning over him.
Huang Yuangu’s lips curled into a smirk. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of smug satisfaction.
’It’s a good thing I came along today,’ he thought. ’I would’ve missed this golden opportunity otherwise.’
’And now this Fang Yue dares to clash with my uncle head-on? He’s practically begging to die.’
’If Uncle kills him with a single punch, that would be perfect!’
But in the next moment...
"Stop! Stop! It’s a misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding!"
A familiar, panicked voice cried out.
Then Huang Yuangu saw it—his uncle, Huang Lie, was screaming in terror as he dove for the ground.
He managed to dodge the attack, but the move was completely graceless. He fell flat on his face.
"This... this... this!"
Huang Yuangu was dumbfounded. He never could have imagined such a scene.
His uncle had already reached Great Success in Marrow Transformation. Even though he was in his forties and his Qi and blood were beginning to decay, fighting a Martial Artist who had just begun Marrow Transformation should have been no problem at all.
How did it come to this before they even properly exchanged a single blow?
But it was painfully obvious that his uncle was no match for Fang Yue.
Huang Yuangu couldn’t make sense of it, but that didn’t stop him from trying to deescalate. He couldn’t let Fang Yue press the attack.
"Martial Scholar Fang, stop! It’s all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"
Huang Yuangu yelled out at once, though his body betrayed his fear by remaining rooted to the spot. If his uncle was no match, he certainly didn’t dare get any closer.
’What if Fang Yue decides to attack me? What would I do then?’
But Fang Yue acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing. He changed the direction of his fist, pressing it downward.
"Junior, you’ve gone too far! Take this!"
Huang Lie knew he couldn’t dodge this time. His opponent was determined to force a confrontation.