Chapter 1

"Hey! Old man, that's right, I'm talking to you! What about your town entry fee?" Shen Fei chewed on a sugarcane, his shirt open, wiping the sweat from his chest, and pointed at an old man carrying a child and a load of firewood, who was just passing through the town gate, and shouted.

This old man showed great respect and fear towards Shen Fei, a boy only about ten years old: "Young sir, didn't I just pay the entry fee?"

"You did, but what about that kid?" Shen Fei spat out the sugarcane juice and walked forward menacingly.

"Oh, oh, but my grandson is only five years old!" the old man argued.

Shen Fei immediately pointed at the old man and roared: "Old man! Our boss has a rule to charge per person, regardless of age! This news has been spread throughout the seven towns and eight villages. Are you trying to make me lose my job on purpose?"

Seeing Shen Fei's fierce appearance, the old man shuddered, and his grandson, who was hiding behind him, was on the verge of tears. With no choice, the old man had to dig into his pocket, pull out a yellow, round copper coin with a square hole, and reluctantly place it in the open box at the town gate.

"Don't try to fool me, it's just a copper coin, what a waste of my time." Shen Fei spat disdainfully, but when he saw the child about to cry, he frowned, pulled out a candy from his waist, and threw it over: "Stop crying, here's a candy for you!" Seeing the child catch the candy but still cry, he roared angrily: "No crying! If you cry again, I'll sell you to another county!"

"Sorry, young sir, he won't cry anymore, he won't cry anymore." The old man quickly pulled his grandson and hurried away.

Shen Fei, who had returned to guard the money box at the town gate, chewed on the sugarcane and slapped himself in frustration: "Damn, what a loss! That candy cost me two coins, I practically paid the entry fee for them! How stupid can I be? How many times has this happened? The money I get isn't even enough to cover my losses!"

Just as he was feeling extremely frustrated, a boy of about the same age, around twelve, ran up, panting: "Brother Fei, the boss wants you to come back quickly."

"Wow! Is there going to be a fight?" Shen Fei immediately shouted excitedly.

The boy shook his head: "I don't know, but the boss wants you to come back quickly."

"Here, there are twenty-three coins in the box, don't forget my share!" Shen Fei said, took a piece of sugarcane from his pocket, and ran into the town.

The boy, with one hand on his waist and one foot on the edge of the money box, shouted arrogantly to the people entering the town: "Damn, be quick about it, the entry fee is per person, regardless of age. One copper coin per person, hurry up!"

Shen Fei ran straight to the center of the town, and as he passed a dilapidated, unoccupied house, he spat a mouthful of saliva accurately onto the sign hanging on the door.

The sign, which read "Tiger Nest Town Office of Hu Yun County," was already covered in dirt and would probably be blown down by a gust of wind if it weren't nailed firmly in place.

Seeing his saliva hit the mark so accurately, Shen Fei whistled triumphantly and rushed to a large, beautiful, and grand mansion in the center of the town.

Above the gate of this mansion hung four golden characters: "Tiger Might Branch." Two muscular men, dressed in short black clothes with their shirts open, showing their strong chest and arm muscles, stood on either side of the gate, one hand on their waist and one hand on their sword hilt.

These two men, whose mere gaze could force passersby to quickly move along the opposite eaves, smiled when they saw Shen Fei: "Little Fei, the boss is looking for you."

"Thanks, big brother, I'll go see the boss right away." Shen Fei greeted them cheerfully and rushed into the mansion.

Shen Fei, familiar with the layout, ran to a small courtyard on the left side of the mansion. The people he met on the way were all muscular men dressed in black, and they all greeted him cheerfully.

Even before he reached the door of the small courtyard, Shen Fei shouted: "Boss, I'm here!" He was about to open the door, but it opened just as he was about to, and he crashed into it, immediately covering his face and squatting on the ground, groaning in pain.

At this moment, a sweet and urgent voice rang out: "Little Fei, what happened? Did you hurt yourself? Let me see." A fragrant breeze blew, and a beautiful young woman, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a fair complexion, a slender figure, and wearing a white, tight-sleeved outfit, ran out of the door and anxiously helped Shen Fei up.

Shen Fei put down his hand and grinned, showing his teeth: "I'm fine, sister." However, his appearance was quite amusing, as a red mark ran from his forehead, nose, and mouth, and the tears and snot streaming down his face made people laugh even more.

But the beautiful young woman didn't laugh; instead, she pouted and blew on the red mark on Shen Fei's forehead: "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. I'm sorry, Little Fei, I opened the door too hard just now."

Shen Fei, enjoying the sweet and fragrant breeze, said with a smile: "Hehe, it's not your fault, sister, I was just too hasty."

"Yuxia, don't spoil Little Fei so much. This guy is always causing trouble and getting bruised and battered. Even if the sun rises in the west, he's still as tough as ever!" a young man's voice said. The speaker was a tall, handsome young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in a tight-sleeved black outfit, which matched the white-clad woman.

"He's my brother, who else would spoil him if not me?" Yuxia, the woman, continued to blow on Shen Fei's wound, even spitting on her hand and gently rubbing the red mark on his forehead.

Seeing the young man frown and glare at him, Shen Fei grinned and leaned into Yuxia's embrace, deliberately rubbing his cheek against her already curvaceous chest, and even winked at the young man.

Yuxia, though her face turned red from the sensitive touch, didn't mind and continued to gently rub Shen Fei's forehead.

Seeing Shen Fei's smug and opportunistic behavior, the young man's face turned red with anger, and he pointed at Shen Fei and shouted: "Shen Fei, you..."

Before Shen Fei could react, Yuxia immediately turned and shouted at the young man: "Zhong Shitao, why are you shouting at Little Fei!" Seeing Yuxia's fierce expression and Shen Fei's mocking face, Zhong Shitao felt a mix of frustration and helplessness but quickly raised his hands in surrender: "I'm not shouting at him, I just want him to go inside quickly, the master is waiting."

Hearing this, Shen Fei immediately stopped taking advantage of the situation and broke free from Yuxia's embrace, running into the house while shouting at Zhong Shitao: "Brother-in-law, don't be jealous of your little brother-in-law! When you and sister get married, I'll be the one sitting in the main seat!"

Yuxia immediately blushed and stomped her foot, shouting: "Little Fei, what are you talking about!" She didn't even look at Zhong Shitao and quickly followed Shen Fei into the house.

Zhong Shitao, whose heart was racing from Yuxia's shy and charming appearance, was dazed for a moment before regaining his composure. He knocked his head in self-mockery and muttered: "Really, why am I so jealous? I know Yuxia treats Shen Fei like a mother treats her son. Why do I still target him?"

As he walked into the house, he shook his head and thought: "Although I don't like his arrogant attitude, he is still Yuxia's very important little brother. I need to change my strategy. Flattering the little brother-in-law will be more effective than trying to impress Yuxia."

Shen Fei walked into the house and saw a middle-aged man sitting inside, sipping tea in a refined manner. He immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands over his head, and shouted: "Subordinate Shen Fei pays respects to the boss. What are your orders, boss?"

The middle-aged man, who was drinking tea, immediately spat out a mouthful and coughed. Yuxia immediately rushed over to pat his back and frowned at Shen Fei: "Little Fei, why do you always act so mischievously? You made father choke. Don't do that again." Despite her words, her tone was filled with affection, making Zhong Shitao and the middle-aged man shake their heads helplessly.

Shen Fei stuck out his tongue, got up, and diligently refilled the middle-aged man's tea, asking flatteringly: "Boss, is this emergency call about a war with the Eight Tigers Gang in the neighboring town?"

The middle-aged man, who had caught his breath, tapped Shen Fei's head and said irritably: "Fight, fight, fight, all you think about is fighting! If there really is a war, it's not something a little brat like you can participate in!"

"What? Little brat? Boss, have you ever seen such a strong little brat?" Shen Fei deliberately showed off his well-developed arm muscles, which were indeed impressive for a boy his age.

"You're only ten! No matter how strong you are, you're still a little brat." The middle-aged man didn't even look at Shen Fei, took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "Little Fei, how many levels have you reached in your basic cultivation technique?"

Shen Fei, who was about to argue about his age, immediately lowered his head and said in a tiny voice: "The third level." Zhong Shitao, standing nearby, immediately burst out laughing but quickly turned his head away, knowing that Yuxia was glaring at him.

"Bang!" The middle-aged man slammed his hand on the table, jumped up, stepped on the chair, rolled up his sleeves, revealing steel-like muscles, and roared: "What? The third level? You've been practicing since you were five, and after five whole years, you're still at the third level? You lazy brat! It looks like I need to teach you a lesson today!"