Chapter 7

As the bidding price kept climbing, many of the onlookers couldn't help but shake their heads.

Before the girl lifted her head, no one was interested.

Only a kind young man was willing to offer ten taels of silver to bury her mother.

Now, with the girl revealing her stunning beauty, the men who were previously unwilling to pay started to go crazy.

"I'll offer one hundred taels of silver!"

Soon, a well-dressed, pot-bellied man grunted and then shouted,

"If anyone offers more than me, I'll give it to him! If not, this little girl is mine today."

One hundred taels of silver!

Those who had been bidding just moments ago now fell silent.

One hundred taels of silver was already beyond their psychological price limit.

In their view, the girl wasn't worth that much.

"Thank you all, I'll take it."

The well-dressed, pot-bellied man smiled and bowed to the crowd, his fat face full of satisfaction.

"From now on, you'll follow me."

Then, he looked at the girl kneeling on the ground.

"I'll offer two hundred taels!"

At that moment, a frivolous voice rang out.

The crowd parted to make way for a slender, light-footed, sickly-looking young man in fine clothes to enter.

His lecherous gaze fell on the girl.

"Fang Jian?"

Duan Lingtian recognized this young man, who was known for his excessive indulgence in alcohol and women.

The young man was the son of the head of the Fang family in Qingfeng Town.

At just fifteen years old, he had already harmed many virtuous young girls, making him notorious in Qingfeng Town.

If it weren't for his special status, he would have been beaten to death long ago.

"Can you, with your cowardly appearance, really come up with two hundred taels of silver?"

The pot-bellied man disdainfully sized up Fang Jian.

He didn't notice that most of the people around him were now showing signs of fear.

"Are you not from Qingfeng Town?"

Fang Jian glanced at the fat man and said coldly.

"Hmph! I'm an outsider, a businessman who has seen the world. Don't think I can't see through you. You may be wearing fine clothes, but I can tell they were stolen. I can see from your wretched appearance that you're a pauper, a man who wouldn't look like a prince even if he wore a prince's robe. You probably can't even come up with five taels of silver, can you?"

The fat man looked at Fang Jian with disdain, as if he had seen through him and was urging him to leave.

"Ha!"

Duan Lingtian couldn't help but laugh. Most of the people around him turned red, fearing Fang Jian and not daring to laugh.

"Fat man, you... are dead."

Fang Jian glared at Duan Lingtian, then looked at the fat man and took a deep breath.

"You useless things, why are you still standing there? Come over and beat this fat man to death! Don't you know who I am? In Qingfeng Town, I am the master!"

The fat man was still in a daze when Fang Jian suddenly roared.

"Yes, Young Master!"

Three young men, about the same age as Fang Jian, stepped forward and surrounded the fat man.

Fang Jian? He's Fang Jian?!

The fat man was stunned.

Although he had only been in Qingfeng Town for a few days, he had heard of some of the town's notable figures, including the son of the head of the Fang family, Fang Jian.

He was a notorious bully in Qingfeng Town, known for his abuse of power and his mistreatment of women, and few dared to provoke him.

"Y-You are Young Master Fang. I am blind, I didn't recognize you. Please forgive me, Young Master. I'll give you the girl..."

The fat man's face changed, and he was no longer the smug man from before. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his tone was humble and respectful.

"It's too late. Beat him!"

Fang Jian coldly snorted and ordered.

"Mercy, Young Master... Mercy..."

The three young men, clearly in the Body Tempering stage, immediately attacked, beating the fat man until he rolled on the ground, screaming for mercy.

The onlookers had already stepped back, watching from a distance, afraid that Fang Jian's men might involve them.

Fang Jian seemed to ignore the fat man's pleas for mercy.

"Little beauty, come with me. I'll give you two hundred taels to bury your mother properly. From now on, you'll follow me, and I'll take good care of you."

Fang Jian looked at the girl kneeling on the ground, his face eager, and reached out to take her hand...

The girl stood up in a panic, possibly because she had been kneeling for too long, and her legs were trembling.

"Young Master, this young man has already paid ten taels of silver to buy me. I belong to him for life."

The girl hid behind Duan Lingtian and said in a trembling voice.

"Ten taels? Didn't you hear me offer two hundred taels just now?"

Fang Jian's face darkened, feeling that he had been toyed with.

"I never let anyone bid for me. Whoever was the first to offer to help me bury my mother, I would follow. That's my rule."

The girl's voice was filled with determination.

"Good, good, you have spirit. I like that. But if you want to follow him, he might not dare to let you. Boy, what do you say?"

Fang Jian looked at Duan Lingtian, his eyes flashing with a cold light, clearly threatening him.

Although Duan Lingtian recognized Fang Jian, Fang Jian did not recognize him.

"Master, save me..."

The girl grabbed Duan Lingtian's sleeve, as if it were a lifeline, and whispered.

Fang Jian's reputation in Qingfeng Town was well-known to her. She feared him from the bottom of her heart and would rather die than become his servant.

"Don't worry."

Duan Lingtian patted the girl's hand and smiled.

His smile was like a warm spring breeze, and the girl's anxious face relaxed.

"Master, this fat pig is unconscious."

The well-dressed fat man was beaten until he was covered in blood and unconscious. Fang Jian's three men stopped and reported.

"Leave him for now. Come over and see who dares to challenge me for a woman."

Fang Jian looked at Duan Lingtian and sneered.

"Who is so bold to challenge my Young Master for a woman?"

Fang Jian's three men glared at Duan Lingtian.

"Get lost!"

Duan Lingtian's voice was cold, as if it came from the depths of hell, making people shiver.

Fang Jian and his three men were stunned, and the onlookers were also dumbfounded.

Who is this reckless youth?

"Boy, do you know who I am?"

Fang Jian sneered, now doubting whether this boy even knew who he was.

"Aren't you the useless son of the head of the Fang family? You bully people with your family's power. I wonder what would happen to you if the Fang family were gone."

Duan Lingtian sneered, took the girl's delicate hand, and walked out of the crowd.

"Kill him!"

Fang Jian's face turned a liver color, and he roared in extreme anger.

"Yes, Young Master!"

His three men rushed at Duan Lingtian.

"Stay here."

Duan Lingtian softly told the girl, then faced Fang Jian's three men without fear, moving forward.

He had already assessed that the strongest of the three was only at the second level of Body Tempering, posing no threat to him.

Duan Lingtian moved his feet, dodging the strongest man's attack, and moved behind him.

He turned agilely, leaning back, pulling his arms back, and his spine trembled, making him look like a powerful bow ready to release.

Crushing Punch!

Duan Lingtian's right fist shot out straight, like an arrow from a bow, with the force of a mountain collapsing, hitting the man's back, right on the spine...

Crack!

The man screamed in agony, flew backward, and collapsed, unconscious.

This scene was almost identical to when Duan Lingtian defeated Li Xin earlier that morning.

The difference was that when he defeated Li Xin, Duan Lingtian had held back, only crippling Li Xin's arm.

This time, he directly shattered the man's spine.

This man would never walk again.

The other two of Fang Jian's men, seeing their strongest companion fall, were shocked and stood frozen.

When they felt Fang Jian's cold, fierce gaze, they steeled themselves and charged forward.

Bang! Bang!

The two men at the first level of Body Tempering were no match for Duan Lingtian. He easily dodged, raised his hands, and delivered two punches from above, striking their foreheads and knocking them unconscious.

Splitting Punch!

Another of the Five Fists in Xingyi Quan.

For a moment, only Fang Jian was left standing.

Fang Jian, though the son of the head of the Fang family, was only at the first level of Body Tempering, his body weakened by his indulgence in alcohol and women, making him even weaker than his three men.

"You... don't come closer... I am the Young Master of the Fang family. If you touch me, your whole family will die!"

Seeing Duan Lingtian approach, Fang Jian's face changed dramatically.

"True to form, even at this moment, you still dare to threaten me."

Duan Lingtian sneered, quickly took two steps forward, and kicked Fang Jian, sending him flying.

Turning around, he led the beautiful girl, who was in shock, away from the crowd, disappearing into the distance.

"Young Master Fang has met his match this time, losing more than he gained."

"I wonder who that young man is. He doesn't look older than Young Master Fang and his three men, yet his strength is so astonishing."

"He must be someone important to dare to hit Young Master Fang."

...

The onlookers gradually dispersed, most of them gloating.

Duan Lingtian returned to the girl's dilapidated house with her, and after spending a few taels of silver to bury her mother,

"These silver coins, use them to start a small business."

Duan Lingtian took out the remaining silver and handed it to the girl.

"Master, do you... despise me?"

The girl's body trembled, her face pale and weak.

"You're thinking too much. You sold yourself to bury your mother, which was out of necessity. I helped you as a matter of course, and you don't need to repay me with your life."

Duan Lingtian shook his head.

From the beginning, he never intended to make the girl his servant.

"Master, you are a good person. Let me follow you. My mother is dead, and I have no family left in this world. Please, I beg you."

The girl reached out and tugged at Duan Lingtian's sleeve, looking pitiful.

Seeing the hope in the girl's eyes, Duan Lingtian thought for a moment.

"Alright, you can come with me."

He finally made his decision.

"Thank you, Master!"

The girl's face lit up with a smile.

Duan Lingtian left the Li family mansion alone but returned with the girl.

On the way, the girl's stunning beauty caught the attention of many of the Li family's young men, who speculated about who she was and her relationship with Duan Lingtian.