The potbellied merchant begged for mercy, sweat pouring down his face like rain, but Li Guangyin paid him no mind, his gaze fixed instead on the kneeling girl.
The servants behind Li Guangyin knew their young master's temperament well. Once he ordered a beating, mercy was rarely granted. Three or four servants beat the merchant until he screamed in agony.
Snap.
"Ah!"One servant broke the merchant's leg. The agonized scream echoed as he collapsed unconscious.
The onlookers had scattered far away, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
Li Guangyin ordered, "Dump him somewhere far away. He's an eyesore here."The servants promptly carried the wealthy merchant away.
"Little miss, lift your head so this brother can take a look,"Li Guangyin said, his voice thick with lust.
The girl timidly raised her head, pushing aside the strands of hair that veiled her face once more, revealing her stunning features.
"Wow! You're absolutely stunning!"Li Guangyin's eyes gleamed with lust as he rubbed his hands together, drool nearly dripping from his mouth.
"Young... Young Master, if you'll pay for my mother's burial, this humble maiden will gladly become your servant,"the girl pleaded, kneeling on the ground. Her voice trembled with tears, truly pitiable.
"Get lost, you're bad luck! Your mother's dead—who needs a burial? Come on, follow me. Serve me well, and I'll buy you new clothes and jewels."Li Guangyin spoke while reaching out to grab her.
The girl, stubborn and dutiful, dodged him. " Young master, if you won't pay for my mother's burial, I won't go with you."
"Oh? You dare refuse? Didn't you see just now that my temper isn't exactly pleasant? Come quietly with me, and I might let you be my personal maid. Dare resist again, and don't blame me for being ruthless."Li Guangyin placed his hands on his hips, slightly annoyed.
The girl remained silent, rising to her feet. Perhaps from kneeling too long, poor circulation nearly caused her to stumble back down.
"Right, that's more like it,"Li Guangyin declared smugly.
Unexpectedly, the girl turned without another word, preparing to leave.
"That little brat wants to run? Stop her!"Li Guangyin bellowed. As the esteemed eldest son of the Li family, he was furious that she dared to disregard him. He was determined to crush her until she couldn't rise again.
Several servants blocked the girl's path.
Li Guangyin strode forward in two strides, raising his hand to strike her.
The girl closed her eyes tightly, seemingly resigned to her fate.
Just then, a pale hand seized Li Guangyin's arm, halting his blow.
"The esteemed eldest son of the Li family bullying a defenseless girl? You've brought utter shame upon the Li name,"Ling Xiao remarked with a sneer. He had watched from the sidelines for quite some time. If this girl ended up being bought by some wealthy merchant, he would never have intervened. After all, it was consensual, not illegal, and none of his business. He saw no need to play the compassionate savior and alter her fate.
But whether in this life or the last, Ling Xiao detested such bullies who preyed on the weak. If Li Guangyin had at least paid for the girl's mother's burial, it might have been tolerable. But this scoundrel wanted to skimp even on that funeral expense, intending to take the girl away outright. Ling Xiao's disgust for Li Guangyin reached its peak, compelling him to intervene.
Li Guangyin, thwarted and furious, turned around. His expression froze for a moment before erupting into laughter. "So it's you! I wondered who it could be—our Meteorite City's most 'gifted'prodigy! What's this? Are you, Ling 'Genius,'trying to steal my woman?"
At fifteen, Ling Xiao had broken through to the low-tier Xuan Warrior stage, hailed as a once-in-a-century prodigy in Meteorite City. But soon after, he was ambushed, stripped of his cultivation, and reduced to a useless废才. His "glorious exploits"were known to everyone in Meteorite City.
Ling Xiao shrugged dismissively. "Someone just offered two hundred gold coins for this lady. If you, Young Master Li, want her, you'd better offer at least five hundred gold coins to save face for your Li family. Otherwise, wouldn't that be a disgrace?"
Li Guangyin flung Ling Xiao's hand away with contempt. "Ling Wasted Talent, did a donkey kick you in the head? If Ling Rui were here, I might show him some face. But you? A worthless useless person who can't even reach the Martial Trainee stage? You think you have the right to lecture me? Get out of my way now, or don't blame me for being rude."
"So you refuse to pay?"Ling Xiao's eyes flashed with a sharp glint.
"Damn it, I'll beat her to death right here in the street! See what you can do about it!"Li Guangyin cursed, preparing to lay hands on the girl.
Though Li Guangyin possessed average talent and struggled with martial training—making him the weakest of the three notorious young bullies—he was still an eighth-level martial novice. Naturally, he held no regard for Ling Xiao, whom he deemed a "useless talent."Besides, he was surrounded by servants, each a third or fourth-level martial novice.
"You brought this upon yourself. Don't blame me,"Ling Xiao growled softly, stepping into the "Cloud Trace Phantom Shadow"stance. In an instant, he appeared behind Li Guangyin.
"Flowing Water, Moving Clouds"—a palm strike slammed down on Li Guangyin's back of the head.
Li Guangyin reacted swiftly, dodging the sneak attack from behind. However, his shoulder took the full force of Ling Xiao's palm strike, sending him stumbling forward several steps. The searing pain in his shoulder was excruciating.
"You're asking for it!"Li Guangyin spun around, his fist hurtling toward Ling Xiao's face. The speed was blinding, closing the distance in an instant.
But Ling Xiao was no longer the same man. Now a half-martial being, he possessed the strength of a sixth-level martial disciple. Combined with the agility of "Cloud Trace Phantom,"his speed far surpassed Li Guangyin's.
Drawing on his extensive combat experience from his past life, Ling Xiao countered this brute-force attack with a soft-meets-hard technique.
He tilted his head, seized Li Guangyin's arm with one hand, and used the momentum to pull him forward. As Li Guangyin lunged ahead, Ling Xiao delivered a swift kick to his calf.
Thud! Li Guangyin took a face-plant.
"Young Master!"The servants cried out in alarm, rushing to his aid.
Ling Xiao felt his fighting spirit surge. This was the perfect chance to test his body's reflexes. Stepping with the "Cloud Shadow"technique, he launched both palms toward the foremost servant.
"Flowing Water, Moving Clouds."
The servant couldn't react in time, taking Ling Xiao's palm square in the face. He staggered back several steps before collapsing.
By then, two servants had closed in on Ling Xiao. One swung a heavy punch, the other delivered a flying kick. Their attacks, one high and one low, aimed to overwhelm Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao showed no fear, instead flashing a faint smile. His steps shifted rapidly as he circled behind one of them, delivering the first strike of the Heavenly Frost Fist—Frost Wind Assault—a punch that slammed into the man's back. Instantly, his body flipped through the air, unleashing a flurry of leg strikes that blurred into multiple shadows. This was the first technique of the Wind God Leg—Catching Wind and Seizing Shadows.
In an instant, both servants were knocked down by Ling Xiao.
At that moment, the final three servants charged forward. Ling Xiao, brimming with fighting spirit, became a series of afterimages. Before the three could launch their attacks, he always struck unexpectedly, sending each one tumbling to the ground.
Li Guangyin, watching from a short distance, stared in stunned silence at the formidable Ling Xiao, a shiver running down her spine. "Could... could this... this废才actually be able to cultivate Xuan Power again?"
When Ling Xiao struck down the last man, Li Guangyin lost all hesitation and turned to flee.
"Think you can escape? Not a chance,"Ling Xiao growled lowly, his body darting after him like a swallow. His foot slammed hard into Li Guangyin's back.
Li Guangyin let out a piercing scream and crashed face-first into the dirt once more.
Ling Xiao planted his foot on Li Guangyin's face, sneering, "Young Master Li, why aren't you running anymore?"Ling Xiao relished this feeling of trampling others. He vowed silently to boost his strength as quickly as possible. With power, he could once again reign supreme.
"Ling... Young Master Ling, please spare me! I... I don't want this woman anymore, okay?"" Li Guangyin's face pressed against the ground as he pitifully begged for mercy. He never imagined that after beating that potbellied man moments ago, he'd be the one getting beaten now—karma strikes fast!
"Hmph. Unlike you, Young Master Li, I'm not arrogant. Hand over five hundred gold coins, and I'll let you go,"Ling Xiao sneered coldly.
"Damn it! Is Xiao Guizi dead yet? If he's not, hurry up and do what Young Master Ling says—hand over five hundred gold coins!"Li Guangyin yelled.
A servant scrambled to his feet, clutching a heavy bag of gold coins, and respectfully handed it to Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao weighed the coins, then kicked Li Guangyin. "Get lost. If I catch you bullying men or women again, I won't let you off."
"Yes, yes!"Li Guangyin scrambled to his feet, muttering compliance before abandoning his servants and fleeing.
Ling Xiao paid no further attention to Li Guangyin's men. Turning around, he saw the girl still standing frozen in the courtyard, seemingly shaken by the commotion.
Ling Xiao approached her and held out the gold coins. "Take these,"he said. "Find a decent place to bury your mother. The rest should be enough to start a small business."
Ling Xiao possessed an innate compassion for the weak and vulnerable. He had noticed the girl's beauty earlier, and even he couldn't help but marvel at her striking features. With just a little grooming, she would undoubtedly outshine the celebrities of his past life, and her potential for development seemed even more promising. Yet, seeing her in such a pitiful state, he felt no base desires toward her. His desire to help her arose purely from a sense of compassion.
The girl extended her delicate little hand, timidly accepting the coins before kneeling heavily on the ground. "Thank you, young master... Thank you, young master..."
When she lifted her head, she realized Ling Xiao had already walked far away.
"Benefactor, I will find you. I am yours now."
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)