Chapter 96: Provocation

The Family Head and the elders merely escorted them to the door of the Wumen Hall, bowed with hands clasped, and turned to leave; only a few house stewards, out of courtesy, wanted to see them off.

However, the Wu family members' complexions were quite unpleasant; that oily-headed, powder-faced fellow was still arrogant, and the earlier meeting had clearly ended unhappily.

These people had just taken a few steps when the leader suddenly turned toward the Martial Arts Field; Wu Chengyu raised his eyebrows and had the juniors practicing martial arts stop first.

Several uncles wanted to lead them away, but these people cared nothing for etiquette, swaggering into the Martial Arts Field and commenting on everything.

Besides the oily-headed, powder-faced man, several bodyguard-like men followed him, all carrying weapons, looking fierce and menacing.

The oily-headed, powder-faced man waved his folding fan lightly, his gaze frivolous, casually observing: "Young Master I have long heard that the Wu Clan is a prominent family of Gusu, passing down martial arts through farming; every clan disciple is supposedly a skilled hand—I wonder if it's just an empty reputation."

"Why not let these useless subordinates of mine weigh exactly how many catties your Wu family weighs."

Wu Zhengliang narrowed his eyes slightly and replied without humility or arrogance: "The Wu family in Gusu City has always minded its own business and eaten its own food; we are not a prominent family. As long as life is stable, Wu family members do not like to fight others; practicing martial arts is merely to strengthen the body or avoid being bullied."

"Young Master Shi, these here are all my Wu family's underage juniors who have practiced martial arts for only a few years; it would be better not to make a laughingstock of yourself."

"It is some distance from here to Gusu City; just now we invited Young Master Shi to stay for a meal, but Young Master Shi looked down on our coarse tea and plain rice—wasn't it said you wanted to return to Gusu City as soon as possible?"

After speaking, Wu Zhengliang gestured with his hand, intending to have them leave immediately.

Young Master Shi did not even glance at Wu Zhengliang, but looked at the single and double bars and other facilities on one side of the Martial Arts Field, his gaze slightly curious, but he was soon about to play tricks.

"No hurry, no hurry; I just want to see the caliber of the Wu family's younger generation. Since ancient times, heroes emerge from the youth. Am I, Shi Tong, not someone who built this foundation at a young age?"

"Let these few bodyguards beside me exchange a few moves with them. Look at this one—how kind he looks. He certainly won't strike heavily; he might even teach them a couple of moves."

Shi Tong pulled out a burly man from behind him, in his thirties, not tall but extremely stocky, with bare arms and bulging muscles; his fingers were black, and his ten fingers were somewhat unnaturally twisted, likely caused by practicing Iron Sand Palm-type martial arts incorrectly.

When this man reaches around fifty, his entire body will surely erupt with hidden injuries, and both hands will be ruined, but now he absolutely qualifies as a competent thug.

The key point is that he has a three-inch-long sabre scar on his face, a large beard, a vicious gaze, and a sinister grin all over his face—nothing at all like the word "kind."

This Shi Tong clearly failed to achieve his goal in the Discussion Hall just now and now wants to stir up trouble, even taking it out on the children before him.

How could Wu Zhengliang agree? He was about to refuse sternly when Shi Tong interrupted him again.

"You still say underage? Aren't there two adults here? Especially this woman—she looks decent, but this figure is rather frightening, very stocky."

The so-called adults referred to Wu Chengyu and A Ku, after all, their height was there for all to see.

Upon hearing this, the complexions of all the Wu family members changed; they all knew A Ku was Wu Chengyu's reverse scale. Ordinarily, Wu Chengyu stayed at home, and whenever he went out and met clansmen, he got along harmoniously, but if anyone provoked A Ku, Wu Chengyu would show no mercy at all.

Two years ago, someone mocked A Ku for being too fat, and afterward Wu Chengyu might not want her; A Ku was sad for a long time. She did not care about being fat; what she cared about was whether Wu Chengyu would still want her.

Afterward, Wu Chengyu thoroughly beat that person up until the elders called a halt, and only when that person sincerely apologized did he let it go.

Now someone dares to mock A Ku; Wu Chengyu's face showed no change, but anger rose from his heart.

Wu Zhengliang glanced at Wu Chengyu and immediately understood Wu Chengyu's mind—Wu Chengyu was definitely going to take action.

As a house steward, although he wanted to prioritize interests and keep the peace, if he allowed the juniors to be bullied, then this uncle might as well not be one.

Seeing that all the Wu family members present remained silent, Shi Tong seemed to have succeeded in his scheme and smiled even more nastily. He folded his folding fan and pointed the fan at the field.

The burly man immediately understood, stepped forward two paces, and said with a savage grin: "My young master wants to watch a show, so I'll come play with you. As long as the young master is happy, there will surely be a reward. Rest assured, I won't take your lives—at most I'll break a few bones."

Seeing the other side so arrogant, the Wu family juniors could no longer bear it. Wu Chengping was about to step forward, but Wu Chengyu reached out and stopped him.

These juniors had only just begun internal cultivation for half a year, with no qualitative change in martial strength, and almost no combat experience. To rashly fight someone who often risked his life and clearly sought trouble would be hard to avoid suffering a loss.

Wu Chengyu looked at Wu Zhengliang; Wu Zhengliang's lips moved slightly. Wu Chengyu did not know lip-reading, but he could still make out the simple three words.

The three words Wu Zhengliang said were easy to distinguish: "Don't, kill, them."

Over these years of getting along, although he had never known where Wu Chengyu's martial arts came from, Wu Zhengliang had long known that this nephew of his probably had no equal in the Jiangnan region, after all, Wu Chengyu had actually made a name for himself in the martial world.

"Who comes first, or simply all come at once? I most like beating up you brats who haven't even grown your hair yet."

Wu Chengyu was just about to act when A Ku beside him stepped forward, rotated her wrist, and clenched her fists, her joints cracking.

Wu Chengyu thought for a moment and did not stop her. A Ku was the one mocked, and A Ku rarely had the desire to take the initiative to teach someone a lesson; of course, he would support her.

Most importantly, in the whole world, the one who knew A Ku's strength best was Wu Chengyu. The Wu family members to this day only knew A Ku had great strength and was good at wrestling.

But if not using lightness skill to maneuver, and simply engaging in hard close-quarters combat, Wu Chengyu could not guarantee he would definitely win.

In the evaluations on the bamboo slips, A Ku was of extraordinary talent, initially shown in her comprehension. After mastering Xiong Chu Mo, she only used one year to bring Su Nu Gong to Great Accomplishment.

But after A Ku this girl mastered Xiong Chu Mo, she was considered to have directly distorted the Tianfu Hidden Meridian Hidden Meridian Tree. Her whole body's tendons and bones were strong, her meridians tough and unobstructed, with eight hundred catties of immense strength. These basic qualities made A Ku lean directly toward those vigorous and heavy martial arts.

The nimble body movements and exquisite moves that ordinary heroines excelled at, she completely ignored. The harder the hard skill, the greater the momentum and force, the more capable of fighting a thousand armies, the more she liked it.

If a comparison were made, except for not having the trait of getting braver the more she drank, A Ku was completely a female version of Qiao Feng.

In the choice of martial arts, Wu Chengyu held nothing back from A Ku. Unfortunately, he cultivated the Daoist Nameless Technique and had to frown while bitterly studying scriptures every day, so A Ku declined this Divine Skill Grade heart method.

A Ku was also not interested in the Longcheng Heart Method. What she finally chose was the remaining top-tier internal art: Heart-Intention-Qi Mixed Yuan Art.

(Chapter End)【1】 The Family Head and the elders merely escorted them to the door of the Wumen Hall, bowed with hands clasped, and turned to leave; only a few house stewards, out of courtesy, wanted to see them off.

【2】 However, the Wu family members' complexions were quite unpleasant; that oily-headed, powder-faced fellow was still arrogant, and the earlier meeting had clearly ended unhappily.

【3】 These people had just taken a few steps when the leader suddenly turned toward the Martial Arts Field; Wu Chengyu raised his eyebrows and had the juniors practicing martial arts stop first.

【4】 Several uncles wanted to lead them away, but these people cared nothing for etiquette, swaggering into the Martial Arts Field and commenting on everything.

【5】 Besides the oily-headed, powder-faced man, several bodyguard-like men followed him, all carrying weapons, looking fierce and menacing.

【6】 The oily-headed, powder-faced man waved his folding fan lightly, his gaze frivolous, casually observing: "Young Master I have long heard that the Wu Clan is a prominent family of Gusu, passing down martial arts through farming; every clan disciple is supposedly a skilled hand—I wonder if it's just an empty reputation."

【7】 "Why not let these useless subordinates of mine weigh exactly how many catties your Wu family weighs."

【8】 Wu Zhengliang narrowed his eyes slightly and replied without humility or arrogance: "The Wu family in Gusu City has always minded its own business and eaten its own food; we are not a prominent family. As long as life is stable, Wu family members do not like to fight others; practicing martial arts is merely to strengthen the body or avoid being bullied."

【9】 "Young Master Shi, these here are all my Wu family's underage juniors who have practiced martial arts for only a few years; it would be better not to make a laughingstock of yourself."

【10】 "It is some distance from here to Gusu City; just now we invited Young Master Shi to stay for a meal, but Young Master Shi looked down on our coarse tea and plain rice—wasn't it said you wanted to return to Gusu City as soon as possible?"

【11】 After speaking, Wu Zhengliang gestured with his hand, intending to have them leave immediately.

【12】 Young Master Shi did not even glance at Wu Zhengliang, but looked at the single and double bars and other facilities on one side of the Martial Arts Field, his gaze slightly curious, but he was soon about to play tricks.

【13】 "No hurry, no hurry; I just want to see the caliber of the Wu family's younger generation. Since ancient times, heroes emerge from the youth. Am I, Shi Tong, not someone who built this foundation at a young age?"

【14】 "Let these few bodyguards beside me exchange a few moves with them. Look at this one—how kind he looks. He certainly won't strike heavily; he might even teach them a couple of moves."

【15】 Shi Tong pulled out a burly man from behind him, in his thirties, not tall but extremely stocky, with bare arms and bulging muscles; his fingers were black, and his ten fingers were somewhat unnaturally twisted, likely caused by practicing Iron Sand Palm-type martial arts incorrectly.

【16】 When this man reaches around fifty, his entire body will surely erupt with hidden injuries, and both hands will be ruined, but now he absolutely qualifies as a competent thug.

【17】 The key point is that he has a three-inch-long sabre scar on his face, a large beard, a vicious gaze, and a sinister grin all over his face—nothing at all like the word "kind."

【18】 This Shi Tong clearly failed to achieve his goal in the Discussion Hall just now and now wants to stir up trouble, even taking it out on the children before him.

【19】 How could Wu Zhengliang agree? He was about to refuse sternly when Shi Tong interrupted him again.

【20】 "You still say underage? Aren't there two adults here? Especially this woman—she looks decent, but this figure is rather frightening, very stocky."

【21】 The so-called adults referred to Wu Chengyu and A Ku, after all, their height was there for all to see.

【22】 Upon hearing this, the complexions of all the Wu family members changed; they all knew A Ku was Wu Chengyu's reverse scale. Ordinarily, Wu Chengyu stayed at home, and whenever he went out and met clansmen, he got along harmoniously, but if anyone provoked A Ku, Wu Chengyu would show no mercy at all.

【23】 Two years ago, someone mocked A Ku for being too fat, and afterward Wu Chengyu might not want her; A Ku was sad for a long time. She did not care about being fat; what she cared about was whether Wu Chengyu would still want her.

【24】 Afterward, Wu Chengyu thoroughly beat that person up until the elders called a halt, and only when that person sincerely apologized did he let it go.

【25】 Now someone dares to mock A Ku; Wu Chengyu's face showed no change, but anger rose from his heart.

【26】 Wu Zhengliang glanced at Wu Chengyu and immediately understood Wu Chengyu's mind—Wu Chengyu was definitely going to take action.

【27】 As a house steward, although he wanted to prioritize interests and keep the peace, if he allowed the juniors to be bullied, then this uncle might as well not be one.

【28】 Seeing that all the Wu family members present remained silent, Shi Tong seemed to have succeeded in his scheme and smiled even more nastily. He folded his folding fan and pointed the fan at the field.

【29】 The burly man immediately understood, stepped forward two paces, and said with a savage grin: "My young master wants to watch a show, so I'll come play with you. As long as the young master is happy, there will surely be a reward. Rest assured, I won't take your lives—at most I'll break a few bones."

【30】 Seeing the other side so arrogant, the Wu family juniors could no longer bear it. Wu Chengping was about to step forward, but Wu Chengyu reached out and stopped him.

【31】 These juniors had only just begun internal cultivation for half a year, with no qualitative change in martial strength, and almost no combat experience. To rashly fight someone who often risked his life and clearly sought trouble would be hard to avoid suffering a loss.

【32】 Wu Chengyu looked at Wu Zhengliang; Wu Zhengliang's lips moved slightly. Wu Chengyu did not know lip-reading, but he could still make out the simple three words.

【33】 The three words Wu Zhengliang said were easy to distinguish: "Don't, kill, them."

【34】 Over these years of getting along, although he had never known where Wu Chengyu's martial arts came from, Wu Zhengliang had long known that this nephew of his probably had no equal in the Jiangnan region, after all, Wu Chengyu had actually made a name for himself in the martial world.

【35】 "Who comes first, or simply all come at once? I most like beating up you brats who haven't even grown your hair yet."

【36】 Wu Chengyu was just about to act when A Ku beside him stepped forward, rotated her wrist, and clenched her fists, her joints cracking.

【37】 Wu Chengyu thought for a moment and did not stop her. A Ku was the one mocked, and A Ku rarely had the desire to take the initiative to teach someone a lesson; of course, he would support her.

【38】 Most importantly, in the whole world, the one who knew A Ku's strength best was Wu Chengyu. The Wu family members to this day only knew A Ku had great strength and was good at wrestling.

【39】 But if not using lightness skill to maneuver, and simply engaging in hard close-quarters combat, Wu Chengyu could not guarantee he would definitely win.

【40】 In the evaluations on the bamboo slips, A Ku was of extraordinary talent, initially shown in her comprehension. After mastering Xiong Chu Mo, she only used one year to bring Su Nu Gong to Great Accomplishment.

【41】 But after A Ku this girl mastered Xiong Chu Mo, she was considered to have directly distorted the Tianfu Hidden Meridian Hidden Meridian Tree. Her whole body's tendons and bones were strong, her meridians tough and unobstructed, with eight hundred catties of immense strength. These basic qualities made A Ku lean directly toward those vigorous and heavy martial arts.

【42】 The nimble body movements and exquisite moves that ordinary heroines excelled at, she completely ignored. The harder the hard skill, the greater the momentum and force, the more capable of fighting a thousand armies, the more she liked it.

【43】 If a comparison were made, except for not having the trait of getting braver the more she drank, A Ku was completely a female version of Qiao Feng.

【44】 In the choice of martial arts, Wu Chengyu held nothing back from A Ku. Unfortunately, he cultivated the Daoist Nameless Technique and had to frown while bitterly studying scriptures every day, so A Ku declined this Divine Skill Grade heart method.

【45】 A Ku was also not interested in the Longcheng Heart Method. What she finally chose was the remaining top-tier internal art: Heart-Intention-Qi Mixed Yuan Art.

【46】 (Chapter End)