Chapter 62: Thank You, Jujube Tree Immortal
’Back home?’
’Someone’s knocking?’
Cheng Yuan’s mind reeled as he roared, "Don’t! Don’t open the door!"
"Xiaoyuan, what’s wrong? Your mom already opened the door. It’s just our next-door neighbor, your Aunt Lin. She’s here to pay respects to the Jujube Tree Immortal. I have to go now; I’ll take her to the little courtyard."
Cheng Yuan breathed a small sigh of relief. He’d just been overthinking things.
Suddenly, Cheng Yuan’s heart leaped into his throat again!
His father’s irritated voice came through the phone. "Who are you? What are you doing in my yard?"
"If I’m not mistaken, you must be Cheng Yuan’s father, Cheng Hongbing."
BEEP... BEEP...
The call had ended.
Cheng Yuan gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered. ’That damn Jin Tianxiang! He actually went after my parents!’
Cheng Yuan frantically dialed his father’s number, but there was no answer.
His only option was to call Jin Tianxiang. This time, the call went through. "Cheng Yuan, guess where I am?"
"Jin Tianxiang! You motherfucker! If you dare touch my family, I’ll make you wish you were never born! I’ll grind your entire family to dust and scatter their ashes!"
"Hahaha, so now you’re scared? Weren’t you so brave when you crashed Pengfei’s funeral? Weren’t you so brave when you used your dirty tricks on me? I have your parents. If you want them back, undo what you did to me right now! Otherwise, your entire family can die with me!"
With that, Jin Tianxiang hung up!
Cheng Yuan was frantic. He pushed his True Essence to its absolute limit and sprinted recklessly toward Huijing Garden!
Cheng Yuan was filled with regret. ’I should have warned my parents sooner! I should have told them not to come back to Huijing Garden!’
Cheng Yuan was moving so fast that pedestrians only felt a gust of wind rush past. They rubbed their eyes hard. ’Were my eyes playing tricks on me?’
’It felt like someone just ran past.’
But when they stared, there wasn’t a single person in sight.
Even moving at his absolute top speed, it still took Cheng Yuan ten minutes to reach Huijing Garden.
Cheng Yuan prepared for the worst. ’My parents have most likely been taken by Jin Tianxiang.’
’But I’m confident I can use my Mystical Techniques to track their auras and find them,’ he thought. ’I hope I can save them in time.’
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「Meanwhile.」
Jin Tianxiang’s appearance had changed so drastically that Cheng Hongbing and Wu Xiuli didn’t recognize him at first. It was only after they overheard his phone conversation with Cheng Yuan that they finally realized who he was.
As the saying goes, the sight of an enemy makes the blood boil.
Wu Xiuli shot Jin Tianxiang a venomous glare, grabbed a broom, and charged at him.
"Jin Tianxiang, you bastard! You framed our Xiaoyuan and sent him to prison for two years! How dare you show your face in our home? I’m going to beat you to death, you shameless degenerate!"
But unfortunately for her, Qian Tieshou was there. How could he possibly let her succeed?
All Wu Xiuli saw was a blur as a dark figure flashed past. With a loud CRACK, the broom in her hands shattered into splinters!
Qian Tieshou grabbed Wu Xiuli’s wrist and, with a gentle twist, forced her arm behind her back.
A jolt of excruciating pain shot through her, and Wu Xiuli let out a bloodcurdling scream, instantly losing all strength to resist.
Standing to the side, Wang Yuanju slowly sauntered forward and slapped her hard across the face.
"You bitch! What kind of son did you raise? He not only made a scene at my grandson’s funeral, but he also cursed my son!"
Cheng Hongbing flew into a rage. Like an angered bull, he charged forward to protect his wife.
"You bastard! Let my wife go! And you, you old hag, if you touch her again, I swear I’ll kill you!"
Roaring, Cheng Hongbing charged at Wang Yuanju, but Qian Tieshou stepped forward and blocked his path.
Cheng Hongbing was just an ordinary man. Against a master at the Celestial Realm Peak like Qian Tieshou, he didn’t stand a chance. Qian Tieshou sent him flying with a single palm strike, and he slammed heavily into the trunk of the jujube tree.
Cheng Hongbing coughed up a mouthful of blood, spraying it onto the trunk of the jujube tree.
In the chaos, no one noticed Cheng Hongbing’s blood slowly seeping into the wood of the trunk.
Aunt Lin was terrified. "I didn’t see anything," she stammered. "I... I’ll be going now."
With that, Aunt Lin turned to run.
WHOOSH!
Qian Tieshou kicked a small stone, which struck Aunt Lin on the back of the neck. Her vision went black, and she collapsed.
Cheng Hongbing struggled back to his feet and roared, "Why are you taking it out on an innocent bystander? If you have a problem, take it up with me! You Old Witch, get your hands off my wife!"
Wang Yuanju snorted. "Ignorant lowlife. How dare you oppose the Jin Family? I’ll hit your wife all I want. What can you do about it?"
SLAP! Wang Yuanju struck her again.
Not knowing where he found the strength, Cheng Hongbing lunged at Wang Yuanju again.
This surprised Qian Tieshou slightly.
’Cheng Hongbing is just an ordinary man with no training,’ Qian Tieshou thought. ’He took a palm strike from me. He should be grievously injured and unable to move, so why is he still so full of fight?’
This time, Qian Tieshou used a bit more force.
BAM!
Qian Tieshou’s palm struck Cheng Hongbing squarely in the chest!
To Qian Tieshou’s surprise, despite the increased force, Cheng Hongbing took the blow head-on without being sent flying. He merely spat out another mouthful of blood.
What surprised Qian Tieshou even more was that Cheng Hongbing managed to grab his wrist in an attempt to free Wu Xiuli.
Unfortunately, mere courage is worthless in the face of absolute power.
Cheng Hongbing used every last ounce of his strength, but he couldn’t make Qian Tieshou budge an inch.
Cheng Hongbing grew desperate. He turned his head to look at Wang Yuanju, who was watching the scene unfold as if it were a show.
’If I can’t move this old bastard, then I’ll go after the old hag!’
Cheng Hongbing released Qian Tieshou and lunged fiercely at Wang Yuanju.
He raised his foot to kick her!
Qian Tieshou was furious. He stopped holding back and unleashed his full power. "You dare touch my Lady? You’re courting death!"
Qian Tieshou unleashed the Iron Sand Palm, a technique he had practiced for decades.
A sound like a crack of thunder split the air as a palm afterimage, too fast for the naked eye to see, shot straight for Cheng Hongbing’s head.
If that strike landed, Cheng Hongbing would be killed instantly.
"No! Old Cheng!"
Wu Xiuli shrieked in terror.
A look of utter despair crossed Cheng Hongbing’s face. ’The palm’s afterimage is too fast,’ he thought. ’There’s no way to dodge it. And the power coming from it... it’s indescribable!’
’Is this it? Am I going to die?’
Cheng Hongbing instinctively closed his eyes, waiting for death to claim him.
All he heard was a dull THUD!
Cheng Hongbing shuddered, then froze. ’It doesn’t hurt at all. Am I dead?’
Cheng Hongbing slowly opened his eyes. He was still in the courtyard. Qian Tieshou was no longer in front of him; instead, the man was lying on the ground, staring in shock at the jujube tree behind Cheng Hongbing.
Everyone else was also staring at the jujube tree behind Cheng Hongbing, their faces frozen in shock, as if they had just seen a ghost.
Cheng Hongbing instinctively turned to look, and he, too, jumped in fright.
The two largest branches of the jujube tree had seemingly come to life. They were circling above his head, as if to protect him.
And in fact, they were. It was the branches of the great jujube tree that had just sent Qian Tieshou flying!
Wu Xiuli had never believed in the Jujube Tree Immortal. She had always thought it was just a story Cheng Yuan made up to scare Manager Mei.
But now, Wu Xiuli was a believer.
THUD. Wu Xiuli dropped to her knees and kowtowed in reverence to the tree. "Thank you, Jujube Tree Immortal, for saving Old Cheng!"