Chapter 27: Ji Xiaolu

With a crisp crack, Liu Mazi’s leg was brutally shattered by Xu Guang. Instantly, Liu Mazi howled in agony, screaming to the heavens as if his mother had just died.

"Murder! Murder! The country bumpkin who just moved to the city is killing people!" his wife and children behind him also began to bawl.

The wails of the family of four were enough to make neighbors stepping out of their homes think Xu Guang was bullying them. Immediately, some elders, flaunting their seniority, began to reprimand Xu Guang. Although Liu Mazi was a scoundrel, he hadn’t hurt anyone. Everyone needed to borrow grain at some point. By striking so ruthlessly today, wasn’t Xu Guang stripping away any future chance for anyone to ask for help?

With blood on his hands, a cruel coldness suddenly flashed across Xu Guang’s face. For a fleeting moment, he felt an urge to slaughter them all. However, he quickly suppressed it. Sweeping his gaze over the surroundings, his expression returned to a blank mask.

His voice was bone-chilling. "My mother is getting old, and I don’t want her to be disturbed.

"If anyone disturbs her, I will go and disturb your ancestors. Do you understand?"

The onlookers instantly fell silent. They could tell that this newcomer, the Xu Family’s kid, was a ruthless man. They had always respected ruthless men—like the nearby Ox Head Gang.

Xu Guang indifferently swept his gaze over the crowd before landing it on Liu Mazi’s family of four. He casually tossed out one tael of broken silver. "If you don’t want your ancestors to be disturbed, move somewhere else tomorrow. I don’t want to see you again."

Liu Mazi’s face was filled with resentment, his eyes brimming with hatred. It wasn’t just him; the wife and children behind him glared with the same venomous resentment.

"Erlang, what happened?"

As he spoke, footsteps sounded from behind. Wang Ming, dressed in military attire and clutching a saber, rushed over. Seeing his brother-in-law’s anxious demeanor, Xu Guang suddenly smiled. "It’s nothing. The neighbors were being a bit noisy, so I suggested they move away. They’ve agreed to my suggestion.

"If you don’t believe me, ask everyone," Xu Guang added, pointing at the surrounding crowd.

"Yes, Lord Wang, Brother Xu is right."

"Ah, yes, yes! That’s exactly how it is."

Wang Ming stepped closer. With one glance, he understood the situation. He patted Xu Guang’s shoulder. "Leave the rest to me."

Xu Guang didn’t refuse. There was no need to fuss over such trivial matters, and this fell under his brother-in-law’s duties anyway. He merely whispered a reminder, "This guy says he’s backed by an Incense Master of the Ox Head Gang."

Hearing this, Wang Ming’s expression turned strange. "Alright, I got it. Escort my mother-in-law back first; I told her not to come."

***

Wang Ming had been mingling in this area for over half a year and handled things swiftly. Xu Guang only knew that Liu Mazi had agreed to his suggestion. With a calm expression, he ate dinner with Mrs. Xu, enjoying the meal heartily.

Mrs. Xu, however, was rather restless. She had never imagined that Xu Guang would act so domineeringly. For a woman who had grown up in a village, his conduct was genuinely a bit hard to accept. Xu Guang didn’t offer any words of comfort, as he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong. He also knew that Mrs. Xu didn’t need his consolation; she just needed time to wrap her head around it.

"Brother Guang, living a life of fighting and killing isn’t easy, is it?"

Mrs. Xu’s adjustment period was much shorter than Xu Guang had anticipated. Before they even finished their meal, she hesitantly broke the silence.

At those words, Xu Guang silently shook his head, then squeezed out a smile. "It’s better than being bullied all day back in the village. Mother, you don’t need to worry. I never fight people recklessly. Today was only because Liu Mazi bullied you. The whole point of practicing martial arts is to protect my family. He dared to bully you, so I refused to tolerate it.

"I don’t want to wait until you end up like Father..."

That single sentence plunged them both into silence.

Reaching across the table, Mrs. Xu caressed Xu Guang’s cheek. "It’s been hard on you."

Xu Guang smiled and shook his head.

***

That night.

Xu Guang stood in the courtyard, his gaze somewhat distant. Mrs. Xu was getting old, and her vitality was waning; she couldn’t endure the hardships of martial arts training. He didn’t know how he was going to protect her in the future. He let out a sigh. Lately, he had solely focused on his own cultivation and hadn’t gathered any subordinates.

He wanted to bring his mother to the Inner City, but he heard that entering required a document from the city’s three armies. However, if he enlisted, it shouldn’t be too hard to fight for a quota to move into the Inner City.

Xu Guang formulated a plan in his mind, but for now... he could only rely on his brother-in-law, Wang Ming. Having mingled in this area for so long, Wang Ming might not have any real power himself, but there were capable individuals among his colleagues.

The Ox Head Gang worked under one of his colleagues. Therefore, that very night, the Incense Master that Liu Mazi had mentioned was arrested.

Since Liu Mazi wasn’t a member of the underworld, it was inappropriate for Wang Ming to make a move against him. Forcing him to move away was a decent alternative.

Xu Guang pulled a black cloth from his clothes and covered his face. His brother-in-law couldn’t act, but he had no such qualms. With a few leaps, he vaulted over his courtyard wall. A quarter of an hour later, he arrived at a small yard. With his now sharp senses, he could hear people whispering inside.

"Ouch! Are you fucking dead? Don’t you know to pour me a cup of water?!"

"Husband, are we just going to let this go? With Big Brother around, we’ll deal with that reckless fool from the Xu Family sooner or later. We..."

"Fuck off! The city has been cracking down on gangs lately. It’s not convenient for Big Brother to make a move right now. Do you understand?!"

BANG!

"Who’s there?!"

Killing two ordinary people posed no difficulty for Xu Guang. Before either of them could utter another word, they lost their lives. All that remained were the son and daughter on the bed, looking as if they had been scared witless.

Xu Guang narrowed his eyes and walked straight toward them. When he did things, he left no loose ends. He would either not act at all, or he would be absolutely ruthless. Weren’t all the melodramatic revenge plots in television dramas a result of sparing the children’s lives? He wouldn’t make such a mistake. Nor had he forgotten the venomous hatred in these two children’s eyes when he broke Liu Mazi’s leg.

CRACK.

A family should be kept neatly together.

The black shadow immediately leaped out.

***

Everything felt so casual. Xu Guang really killed quickly, but he didn’t return home. Instead, he headed in another direction. Tonight would be busy. Besides killing, he also had to find someone.

[Current search results are as follows]

[1. A woman named Ji Xiaolu, native of Jiang City. Half a year ago, the Ji Family of four fled. Last month, they escaped to the east of Wei River. Subsequently, the eldest son of the Ji Family escorted Ji Xiaolu and her mother across the river to Feiyun City. To lure away pursuers, the second son of the Ji Family got separated from the mother and daughter. One day ago, Ji Xiaolu’s mother died. Ji Xiaolu is now selling herself to bury her mother. Keyword match degree: 97%. Current location is as follows. Note: This woman harbors a divine anomaly. You may continue searching to clarify the specifics of this anomaly.]

[2. In Feiyun City, a woman named Cheng Lian’Er, the second daughter of the first branch of the Cheng Family Pharmacy. Known as the Cheng Family’s Female Zhuge, she is resourceful and astute. She does not mind commoner origins and can serve as a virtuous wife. Keyword match degree: 88%. Current location is as follows.]

[3. In Black Wind Stronghold outside Feiyun City, a woman named Liu Yan, daughter of the stronghold’s chief. She is devoted to goodness and places the utmost importance on filial piety. Half a month ago, she was punished by her father for trying to dissuade him from killing someone, and was subsequently taken away. Keyword match degree: 73%.]

[Note: The current number of displayed search results is three.]

This was the change that had appeared in the Searcher today. Xu Guang merely glanced at it before ruling out the second and third options. Cheng Lian’Er’s status was too high. The Searcher really dared to dream; he wouldn’t even dare to entertain the thought himself.

As for the text stating that Cheng Lian’Er had no prejudices about social class, that only applied to her personally. He wanted to marry a wife simply to live a better, more stable life—not to trigger some melodramatic "thirty years in Hedong" underdog-to-master storyline with the Cheng Family.

As for the third option, the woman named Liu Yan, Xu Guang was dissatisfied the moment he skimmed the Searcher’s description. This was a chaotic world. You only meddled in affairs that matched your capabilities. This woman clearly couldn’t grasp that reality. While he sometimes admired such people, she was definitely not suitable for him.

Option one, Ji Xiaolu, on the other hand, made his eyes light up. Harboring a divine anomaly? What did that mean? He checked Ji Xiaolu’s location. It wasn’t far, and the place even felt somewhat familiar. He quickly activated the Searcher, running a query for a target he had prepared long ago.

[Search Keywords: Methods to accelerate Bone Forging. Associated Words: Simple, harmless. Scope setting: Feiyun City.]

[Searching... 0% (Estimated duration: 15 days)]

"Huh? Has the Searcher changed?" he wondered.

Xu Guang was a bit surprised, but he didn’t dwell on it. He still had things to do.

***

In a pitch-black alleyway, a frail figure sat withered on the ground. Her face was dark and caked with grime, and the skin exposed through her tattered clothes was equally covered in black dirt, making her look just like a beggar. Beside her lay a figure, its state of life or death unknown.

Under the cover of night, several tall figures staggered toward them.

"Bro... Brother Hu, look over there. It looks like a little beggar."

Brother Hu narrowed his eyes, straining to make out the figure in the darkness. "Heh, this little beggar really doesn’t know what’s good for her. Daring to beg on the Black Water Gang’s turf—has she paid the fee?"

"Brother Hu is right. Do you think she’s an idiot?"

"Come on, let’s go mess with her."

The dark, scrawny figure sat there like a statue, her eyeballs completely unmoving, as if she hadn’t seen Brother Hu at all.

"Little beggar, I’m asking you. You’re begging here, but do you know whose turf this is?"

"Set up a tombstone for my mother, and I will sell myself to you." Ji Xiaolu no longer cared who approached. Ever since her mother suddenly died of severe illness at noon, she had sworn that as long as someone could help bury her mother, she would leave with them. Having not drunk water for far too long, her voice was so hoarse it was impossible to tell if she was male or female.

Brother Hu snickered. "What an idiot. A beggar actually wants to set up a tombstone?"

"Idiot!"

Brother Hu smacked the back of Ji Xiaolu’s head. The lackeys behind him also looked tempted to join in. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from behind. Brother Hu turned his head, only to see one of his lackeys...

...fly into the air!

As Xu Guang’s figure slowly stepped through the crowd, Brother Hu’s lackeys were sent flying outward one by one.

"Who are you, sir?" Brother Hu seemed to sober up in an instant. He stared solemnly at Xu Guang, who was walking toward him step by step.

Xu Guang ignored him, gazing with some amazement at the frail, frightened figure sitting in the corner.

"Is this the woman with the highest match on the Searcher, the one most suited for me?" he wondered.