Starting from a peasant family, he mastered the profound art of martial arts.

Chapter 34 Murderous Intent

The sky was slightly overcast.

"What brings you here?" Meng Chen looked out the door, not seeing the two rogue scouts Gao Yuan had sent, only a donkey, and not even Qingyu, so he asked, "How's the grain and bean harvest going?"

"They're still collecting them!" Old Chen said nonchalantly, peering into the martial arts hall. "What kind of rubbish are they practicing? None of them seem to have any skill. Are they all just faking it?"

Meng Chen didn't bother arguing with Old Chen, who was an outsider to the subject, and simply asked, "What brings you here?"

"You had to come," Old Chen said, pulling Meng Chen over to the donkey. While scratching the donkey's back, he asked, "Are you having some trouble?"

"What's wrong?" Meng Chen asked.

"I was harvesting grain in the field yesterday when someone came to me, demanding that I get back the twenty taels of silver I borrowed from you. They also said they couldn't have anything to do with me anymore. They brandished a gleaming knife and said that if I didn't obey, they would make me suffer. Everyone in the village saw it," Old Chen said.

"Do you know his name?" Meng Chen thought it was probably Gao Yuan. Gao Yuan often went to the Yan family to play, and he could go to Niujia Village on the way!

"He's about your age. I've heard people call him Young Master Gao." Old Chen said with his hands behind his back. "I've seen him before. Lately, he's been going to the Yan family a lot to play with Yan Long's children. He often rides his horse on the road, and there's always a bunch of people following behind him."

Meng Chen nodded, confirming it was indeed Gao Yuan, and then quickly asked, "He didn't hurt you or Qingyu, did he?"

"No, it's just that Yu'er was worried about you and didn't sleep well all night." Old Chen rubbed his hands together and asked softly, "Do you need my help?"

Meng Chen dared not ask Old Chen for help. Although Old Chen was always in good health, he was too old after all, and it would be good enough if he didn't make things worse. What if he injured himself or suffered unnecessary pain?

Now, Meng Chen only hopes that the trouble he has caused will not involve Old Chen and his grandson.

Meng Chen hurried to his bedroom, took out the silver that Madam Di had given him, and said, "This is eighteen taels of silver. Take it back first and tell them I've returned the money. If they come knocking again, just say I have nothing to do with you anymore, and you can even give them the money back. In short, don't argue with them, don't get angry with them, just be patient for as long as you can."

Previously, Meng Chen had received a subsidy of twenty taels of silver from the Di family, but after buying gifts for Qingyu and treating Du Ren to wine, he only had eighteen taels left.

Old Chen didn't answer, but instead looked Meng Chen up and down and asked, "What does this mean? You're abandoning Yu Yatou?"

"No. I'm just worried about causing trouble for you and Qingyu." Meng Chen smiled, looking nonchalant, and said, "Actually, it's nothing serious between me and Young Master Gao, just a little misunderstanding. I'll meet with him later and clear things up."

Upon hearing this, Old Chen accepted the money, but still cautioned, "I'll be fine at home. But you, if you really can't handle it, remember to come home and find me."

"Don't worry," Meng Chen said with a smile.

Once Old Chen had ridden his donkey far away, Meng Chen finally suppressed his smile.

Meng Chen didn't care about saving face. If Gao Yuan beat him up or even humiliated him in public, it wouldn't matter. He could just fight back in the future.

But the kindness of Old Chen and his grandson was too great. They had given him food and money back then, without even a written agreement, only a verbal one. It wouldn't be difficult for Meng Chen to run away with the money.

It was thanks to this sum of money that Meng Chen was able to embark on the path of martial arts.

The Di family gave him the silver because they valued his talent and wanted him to be their helper in the future; but when Old Chen gave him the silver, he didn't show any talent at all, he just wanted him to take care of Qingyu in the future.

When Meng Chen left his hometown to learn his craft and kowtowed to Old Chen, he treated Old Chen and his grandson as family.

Now Gao Yuan has actually approached Old Chen and his grandson, and even made threatening remarks. Meng Chen felt that Gao Yuan had crossed the line.

Meng Chen couldn't help but recall the past events involving Yan Bao, and upon further reflection, he found them difficult to understand.

The reason Yan Bao was able to be killed was partly due to divine intervention, which erased all traces of the crime.

Secondly, a skilled individual happened to attack Yan Hu, which disrupted the investigation.

Now, dealing with Gao Yuan is many times more difficult than killing Yan Bao.

Gao Yuan was a second-level cultivator, and it was unknown what kind of swordsmanship or saber techniques he had learned. Moreover, even when he went out, he always had a large retinue of followers.

Meng Chen wasn't even confident he could defeat Gao Yuan if they faced each other head-on, let alone with his followers and attendants added to the mix.

Moreover, even if he risked his life to kill Gao Yuan, Gao Dianshi was no pushover. He had already figured out that the person who killed Yan Hu and the person who killed Yan Bao were not the same person. If he followed the clues, he would definitely find his own involvement.

"If we don't kill them, we can't stay in Qingshui County. If we kill them, we still can't stay in Qingshui County!"

"If we want to play it safe, we can wait until the second realm to kill him? That won't work either. Magistrate Gao is a second-realm martial artist, and he has constables and yamen runners under his command. We'll still have to run away."

"If I can reach the third realm, then I probably won't need to kill him. By then, Gao Yuan will be nothing, and even Gao Dianshi will have to show me some respect."

"But when will I be able to reach the third realm? We're breaking through one level a month now, it'll take half a year to reach the third realm! If something goes wrong during the breakthrough, who knows how long it will take!"

Standing in front of the Du family martial arts school, Meng Chen felt increasingly troubled the more he thought about it, yet the murderous intent in his heart was becoming more and more uncontrollable.

The sky was somewhat gloomy. Meng Chen punched the wall, making up his mind: No matter how bad my current situation is, can it be worse than that afternoon when Yan Bao broke down my door and seized my land? You have power and influence, and you have a father, but when it comes to knocking on your door twice, I don't care about you!

"Uncle Meng, if you keep hitting him, my wall will collapse!" Du Ren came out and grabbed Meng Chen's arm to look at it. He saw that the fist was covered in blood, which showed that the punch had been delivered with full force.

"Junior brother, oh junior brother!" Du Ren sighed helplessly, put his arm around Meng Chen's shoulder, and said, "These are all minor matters. When you become capable in the future, Gao Yuan will be nothing but a fart! I've heard the master say that one should know when to advance and when to retreat. When one is not successful, one should humble oneself and wait for the right time."

"Master Ye's words are invaluable," Meng Chen said.

"Let's go back." Du Ren pulled Meng Chen back to the martial arts school and pushed him into the dormitory. "Take good care of your bandages, and we'll have a drink at noon."

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Meng Chen said.

Nothing happened that day. When I woke up the next day, the slightly dim Yang Fish had returned to its original brightness. The wound on my hand had already healed, but it was wrapped with a cloth.

Meng Chen tried to pass the test again. This was his second attempt to overcome the physical barrier.

The apprentices were already numb to it and were used to it, but it broadened the horizons of a few new apprentices.

The Du family father and son did not try to persuade them; instead, they took the opportunity to teach the other apprentices.

After practicing arduously until dusk, Meng Chen's energy gradually dimmed as he became exhausted. He continued practicing until the third watch of the night, when a faint tingling sensation arose in his skin and flesh. However, at this crucial moment, he felt as if he was lacking a breath and ultimately failed to succeed.

Seven days have passed in the blink of an eye, and it is now September 23rd.