Chapter 21

“You bastard. Do you have any idea what you’re saying? A fake? Believe me when I say that you will be taken away at any moment now for defamation! You didn’t come to Virtuous Benevolence Hall with good intentions today, did you?”

The young girl’s face burned with rage and despise. In her eyes, Ye Chen was merely uneducated trash! He was trying to smear Virtuous Benevolence Hall’s reputation!

The security guards nearby noticed Ye Chen as well. As they started their approach to apprehend Ye Chen, the old man snapped out of his dumbfounded shock just in time to dismiss the security guards with a small wave of his hand.

The old man gave Ye Chen a long look and told him in a serious tone, “Young fellow, one can be nonchalant with the food they put into their mouths, but one should be selective in the words that they spit out. To tell you the truth, I’m Zhu Rende, owner of Virtuous Benevolence Hall in River City. I obtained the painting with a hefty amount from an auction in the Capital City. More than three hundred collectors have examined it for its genuineness, and everyone established that the painting was the original one without any exceptions! Are you insinuating that those collectors are a bunch of scams now that you claim that it’s a fake?!”

Ye Chen did not expect the old man standing before him right now to be the owner of Virtuous Benevolence Hall. In spite of that, Ye Chen continued anyway, “That’s right. Those collectors are definitely scams.”

“You–” Even with all of his patience and virtue, Zhu Rende could not bear to hear Ye Chen speak in this manner!

After all, he was among the three hundred collectors too!

Zhu Rende’s face flushed a furious red. At that moment, there was nothing he wanted more than to smack Ye Chen with the cane in his hand!

He swallowed the bursting anger back down into his throat and raised his cane to point at the painting. He said, “Alright! Very well! Brat, since you claim that this painting is fake, you should at least give me an acceptable reason! If you don’t… Hmph! You’ll have to forgive me for what I’ll do next!”

Seeing her grandfather in this state, the girl hurried over to hold him and whispered, “Grandpa, calm down. The doctor said you shouldn’t have any emotional outbursts. Why did we even bother talking sense to this country bumpkin anyway? Watch me get rid of him with a kick!”

With that, the girl kicked one of her legs out toward Ye Chen. He was surprised at the presence of qi in her kick.

‘Another ancient martial artist? Fascinating. Seems like there’s more to Zhu Rende’s family than meets the eye.’ thought Ye Chen.

The old man’s face paled when he realized the amount of strength his granddaughter exerted in that kick. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to stop her.

Instant regret flooded his head. After all, with this kick, this brat would suffer irreversible injuries even if he survived the attack.

This girl had been learning from a very influential person in Jiangnan Province since she was young after all!

‘Oh well, guess I’ll have to send over a few hundred thousand directly to the brat’s family for his funeral. Consider it compensation to the brat’s parents and insurance for the rest of their lives.’ The old man thought.

Back to the scene.

The girl’s leg was about to crash on Ye Chen’s body. Yet, Ye Chen did not move an inch. It was as though he was too stunned to do anything but.

The girl enjoyed this moment very much. There was no better expression in the world than the expression of pure shock on those ruffians’ faces.

Since the days of her youth, she had lost count of the number of obnoxious men she had beaten up. Even those boys from influential families could not escape her beatings. What else could be said for this brat who looked like he was not backed by anyone important?

However, the instance her leg landed on Ye Chen’s body, the arrogance on the girl’s face vanished. Slowly, it was replaced by shock, and eventually, utter horror!

It felt like her leg had landed on a piece of hard wall and could not move an inch further!

How was that possible?

A single kick from her was enough to break apart two solid sandbags!

Yet, her leg failed to move even an inch forward no matter how much strength she exerted.

Ye Chen shook his head helplessly and said, “It isn’t good for a girl to practice martial arts that are meant for men. You might end up incapacitated. This is your first and last reminder.”

After that, Ye Chen reached an arm out and gave a small push. A wave of qi surged out and forced the girl away. Fortunately, Ye Chen had suppressed his strength and the girl only landed with her butt on the ground.

“The release of True Qi! How is that possible?!”

Waves of horror surged in the depth of the old man’s heart. After witnessing the attack from Ye Chen, the old man could confirm that Ye Chen had reached that particular realm!

However, how was it possible for a young martial artist like him to achieve that?

The old man’s heart was in his throat when he saw Ye Chen pushing the girl away. Thankfully, his granddaughter did not suffer any injuries. He heaved a long sigh of relief.

However, the girl was unwilling to admit her defeat. She patted her bottoms briefly and rushed toward Ye Chen with newfound determination. Much to her surprise, Zhu Rende was one step ahead of her and approached Ye Chen before she did. He cupped his hands together and gave Ye Chen a bow. With an apologetic voice, he said to Ye Chen, “I’m very sorry, mister. Please forgive us for our rashness.”

After saying that, the old man glared at the girl and ordered, “Zixuan, hurry up and apologize to this mister!”

The girl’s eyes widened. She stared at her grandfather in surprise, as though she was waiting for the punchline to a joke that she did not understand.

Her? Apologize? In your dreams! She was Zhu Zixuan, the precious daughter of the Zhu family! No one has ever dared to make her apologize, and this was a fact that remained true since birth.

“Grandpa, how can you apologize to this country bumpkin? Think of your status, grandpa. Even the head of River City’s government has to…” Zhu Zixuan hurriedly reminded him.

Before she could finish her sentence, the elderly man interrupted her with a loud shout.

“Keep your mouth shut! Apologize at once or else, from today onward, you won’t be Zhu Rende’s granddaughter anymore!” There was a slight tremble in his voice.

He was nervous. In fact, he had not been this nervous since he fought in the war about a decade ago!

The reason behind his fear manifested in the form of a martial arts grandmaster who was currently standing before him—a martial arts grandmaster who was capable of unleashing his True Qi!

A grandmaster of that caliber was someone that countless families in Huaxia would attempt to curry favors with! He was not someone anyone could afford to offend!

Even if Zhu Zixuan’s master was present, he would not dare to mess with this person either!

The old man observed Ye Chen closely, afraid that Ye Chen would cut down his own granddaughter in a fit of fury.

On the other hand, Zhu Zixuan was still trying to come to terms with the fact that her grandfather just threatened to cut off their relations because of a stranger. Was she not her grandpa’s favorite this whole time?

Why was it different today?

Her grandfather’s eyes were firmly glued at her—a constant hinting from him to her. Resigned, she stepped forward and gave a half-hearted apology, “I’m sorry.”

Ye Chen glanced at Zhu Zixuan and replied nonchalantly, “If this happens again, I won’t let you live.”

As he spoke, the aura that he exuded transformed completely. Now, it felt like he was a god from the heavens, looking down at the mortals who roamed the lands.

As a fellow martial arts practitioner, Zhu Zixuan was one of the first to feel Ye Chen’s transformation. She looked at the young man before her in surprise. Who would have guessed that he would turn out to be a powerhouse too?! Moreover, there was a long way for her master to come up to Ye Chen’s level. The difference in their auras was as wide as a chasm!

How was that possible?

There were powerhouses more powerful than her master in this world?

More importantly, how old was this fellow? How did he achieve so much at such a young age?

She suddenly realized that her back was thoroughly drenched in sweat. Her chiffon top clung tightly to her damp body, appearing slightly transparent.

Zhu Rende was drenched in sweat as well. Upon hearing that Ye Chen was not going to pursue this further, he sighed in relief. He cupped his hands together and bowed again. “Thank you for your help, mister. I’ll make sure to discipline ZiXuan’s behavior after this.”

Ye Chen did not reply. As he started to turn around and leave, Zhu Rende spoke again.

“Mister, please hold on.”

Ye Chen’s eyebrows furrowed. He asked without turning around to face Zhu Rende, “What else?”

Zhu Rende hurried his steps toward Ye Chen and said tentatively, “Mister, you mentioned that this painting was a fake just now. Would you care to disclose the source of your discovery?”

The reason behind Zhu Rende’s approach was not for the painting’s sake—it was to retain Ye Chen!