Chapter 23: Copper Hammer
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The little girl was, of course, Little Qiu.
Every time Uncle Mu went out to fish, Little Qiu would head over to the pier to wait for Uncle Mu after she getting out of school in the evening. Uncle Mu would always grandly fish out some copper coins to give to the gluttonous Little Qiu. Each time, the wind would carry the merry sound of the jingling of coins to their ears. This was probably the happiest time of the day for the grandfather and granddaughter.
But this time, the purest happiness was turned into a tragic scene due to cruelty and violence.
“Oho, here comes a little brat. Excellent timing!”
The black robed teen grabbed Little Qiu by the scruff of her neck, easily picking her up into the air. With an evil smile, he looked towards Uncle Mu. “You damned old man, let’s see how stubborn you can be.” With those words spoken, he tossed Little Qiu up into the air with a wave of his arm.
“Little Qiu, don’t move, Grandpa is fine! Grandpa still has you!” Uncle Mu shouted.
Little Qiu nodded vigorously and pursed her lips. The wind blew her short hair all over the place.
As she was about to fall to the ground, the black robed teen reached out with his hand and easily grabbed on to Little Qiu once again. “Old man, if you still don’t kowtow, I won’t be sure that I can catch her the next time.”
Uncle Mu’s straight neck finally bent as he clawed his way back to his feet.
Little Qiu wailed, “Grandpa, no! No, Grandpa! I hate them! I, I will…”
“Little Qiu be quiet, Grandpa is alright!” Uncle Mu glared angrily at Little Qiu.
“What are you bloody waiting for!”
The black robed teen roared furiously, raising his hand and tossing Little Qiu up into the air again. With a thud, Uncle Mu’s shaky knees finally fell heavily down to the stone ground.
The black robed teen threw his head back and laughed. But before he finished laughing, something flash above his head. Before Little Qiu could finish ascending into the air, she was snatched out of the air by a black figure.
When the dark blur finally came to a stop, the black robed teen finally saw that it was a skinny young man with a scraggly beard.
The young man landed right next to Uncle Mu. With one hand holding on to the red faced little girl, he helped the old man to his feet with his other hand. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped the blood from the old man’s face, before finally saying, “Uncle Mu, I’m sorry I’m late!”
Uncle Mu opened his mouth, but was overcome by a violent coughing fit. The young man helped him over to take a seat, patting the old man on his back to ease his coughing.
The little girl in his arms wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and said with her tiny mouth, “Uncle Beardo, hurry and take Grandpa away from here!”
Without question, the young man was Xu Yi.
With his keen senses, he saw the crowd as he was walking to the pier. After a few more steps the cries of Little Qiu reached his ears. Looking closely, he then saw Little Qiu being tossed high into the air. The shock nearly caused his soul to leave his body.
Kicking off the ground hard and shattering the cobblestone beneath his feet, his body moved like a blur, crossing dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. He managed to catch Little Qiu just in the nick of time.
The moment he landed, he saw Uncle Mu’s state, and the image was like a knife to his heart.
To him, Uncle Mu was his saviour. Xu Yi had never said his thanks because he knew that this debt was not something that could be repaid by mere words.
In these few days, although he was a guest to the Mu family, the sense of closeness that they had between them gave him the feeling of home.
Uncle Mu and Little Qiu were naturally his family now.
Seeing Uncle Mu and Little Qiu being tormented this way, Xu Yi’s face might have looked expressionless, but hatred was boiling in his heart.
As Little Qiu finished her plea, two people replied at the same time.
“Silly girl, Uncle Beardo is here, don’t be afraid!”
“What’s the rush, little girl? I’m not done playing yet!”
Xu Yi finally turned his head, glaring coldly at the black robed teen who still bore a smirk on his face. He flashed a black metal badge, which was the constable’s waist badge that he had just collected, and spoke sternly. “I am a newly appointed constable of this town. The lot of you gathering here, what is your business?”
“Constable? It’s none of your business here, get lost! You’re out of your place acting like a big shot here!”
Head Zhou jumped in before the black robed teen could respond.
Initially, he had thought that Xu Yi was some big shot. But after hearing that he was a constable of the town, Head Zhou’s aggression was ignited.
Furong Town indeed had a police station, but it was filled with useless nobodies who sat around and did nothing. As the head of the fisheries, he was a man of standing in Furong Town. What was a mere constable to him!
Xu Yi did not even bother looking at Head Zhou. He continued to stare straight at the black robed teen, saying, “I’ll let you tell me the story of what happened just now. I believe you will own up to your actions!”
The black robed teen threw his head back and laughed out loud. “I haven’t seen such an interesting person as you in a long time. Fine, let me tell you what happened here just now…”
The black robed teen was all out to make a joke out of Xu Yi. Gloatingly, he provided a simple description of what happened before, then added, “You know all you need to know now. I’ve committed lots of evil. I’m guilty. You’re a constable, aren’t you? Arrest me!” With that, he held out both his hands together in front of Xu Yi.
“Ahahahaha…”
The group of green robed men joined in the laughter.
Head Zhou was laughing along too. He reached out his hand to pat Xu Yi on the shoulder. “Brat, go crawl away to someplace else. Don’t come bother…”
The moment the word bother had left his mouth, Head Zhou suddenly realized that he could no longer say another word.
His neck was being held by Xu Yi’s right hand in a vice-like grip. His whole body was lifted up into the air, and within moments, the whites of his eyes were showing.
An incredible turn of events shocked everyone at the scene.
No one had imagined that a mere constable would dare lay hands on one of the most influential figures in the town.
With a loud roar that shook the sky, eight large, shirtless men charged towards Xu Yi.
These were the fighters that Head Zhou had raised for a long time. They were mainly drifters who had entered the Body Forging stage.
Amongst them, the one with the highest level of cultivation charged right in front. He was a bald man wielding a pair of frighteningly large copper hammers, and he was a strong fighter in the mid-levels of the Body Forging stage. The authority that Head Zhou commanded across Furong Town was upheld mainly by him.
At that moment a little constable had dared to lay hand on his master right in front of his eyes, clearly choosing to overlook his presence. The bald man’s face was contorted with anger. His pair of hammers whistled through the air, creating a violet wind. No one within three meters of him managed to stay on their feet.
With a leap, he broke the stone tile below his feet and went high up into the air. The pair of copper hammers swept down like a raging storm.
Xu Yi gently sidestepped, shielding Little Qiu with his body. With his other hand, he suddenly raised Head Zhou up high as easily as wielding a willow branch, placing him in the path of the hammers.
The bald man was in shock, but it was too late for him to redirect his attack. He forcefully pulled back, causing his body to plummet from mid-air. The heavy hammers crashed onto the ground sending debris up into the air.
At that moment, Xu Yi made his move. With a large wave of his arm, Head Zhou was thrown towards the charging troupe of men like a rag doll. He kicked the handle of one of the copper hammers, causing it to leap up into his arm like a bolt of lightning. He then sent it crashing towards the bald man who was just trying to jump back up to his feet.
A heavy giant hammer in Xu Yi’s hands was like lifting a blade of grass. Swinging it with the suddenness of thunder, the copper hammer landed square on the chest of the bald man the moment he got to his feet. With a sickening crack, he was sent flying. Blood rained down as his body flew through the sky.