Chapter 1: Zhang Family's Sickly Child

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  "Move, move, move aside..." Amidst the bustling streets, a loud and urgent cry suddenly covered up the peddlers' calls along the street, successfully drawing everyone's attention.

  As I looked into the distance, all I saw was a horse-drawn carriage rushing towards me from afar, galloping wildly and recklessly.

  The coachman on the carriage was now anxious, whipping the horse with a whip while shouting loudly to speed up.

  It looks like it's burning its eyebrows, very anxious.

  And on top of the carriage, in the most conspicuous place, was written a large red "Zhang" character, which should be the carriage of some big family with the surname Zhang.

  As they reached this point, the pedestrians who were still strolling along the street stopped in their tracks and spontaneously cleared a wide path for the horse carriage to pass through.

  "Alas—"

  A loud whinnying sound of a horse came from afar, and in the blink of an eye, the carriage sped past on this road, disappearing into the streets in an instant.

  "Alas, it's definitely the young master of the Zhang family who has gotten into trouble again. What a kind-hearted young man, why is his fate so unfortunate?" The pedestrians on the street didn't feel angry or indignant about the horse carriage's reckless behavior, but instead showed some regret.

  It's clear that something like this has happened before, and they also know what exactly happened, otherwise, they wouldn't have shown such an expression.

  ……

  The horse carriage arrived at the end of the street, turned a corner, and stopped in front of a government office.

  The coachman stopped the carriage and threw down the whip, then rushed into the house in a hurry, shouting: "Master, master, it's not good! The young master has fainted again, please come out and take a look..."

  After the coachman entered the mansion, the curtain on the carriage was lifted by a pair of small white hands, and then a delicate and beautiful little girl with steady steps got out of the carriage.

  This girl was dressed in a crisp outfit, with cloth strips wrapped around her wrists and ankles, looking neat and resolute. If it weren't for the "ponytail" behind her small head, as well as her fair and delicate skin and beautiful face, one would have thought she was a young boy.

  The girl jumped down from the carriage and then reached back into it, pulling out a smaller boy.

  The little boy's face was pale at this moment, his eyes were slightly closed, and his eyebrows were tightly locked, looking very uncomfortable.

  The girl quickly got him down from the carriage, carried him on her back, and then took strides, a distance of over ten meters, in just a few steps she crossed it, and in the blink of an eye, she ran into the government office carrying the little boy.

  At this moment, from outside, you can see a horizontal inscribed board above the government office with the words "Zhang Fu" written on it.

  Due to the coachman's loud shouting, many people in the mansion were startled, and several young men walked out of a room slowly.

  The first man to walk out couldn't help but furrow his brow and say, "It's definitely that sickly guy causing trouble again."

  "Needless to say, that guy comes every now and then, each time requiring the master of the house to channel his true energy to him. After all these years, if the master had channeled all the true energy he gave to him to me instead, I would have probably reached the sixth rank of martial arts by now. What a waste."

  "Who says it's not? Moreover, I heard my father say that the master of the house had already reached the peak of a 7th rank warrior five years ago and was expected to break through to the realm of an 8th rank warrior within three years. But because of this little oil bottle's existence, the master's cultivation has not progressed in the past five years. It's really infuriating." A pale-faced man beside him said.

  "Yes, if the master of the house wasn't held back by this little guy, our Zhang family would have had a high-ranking martial artist at the 8th rank two years ago. Moreover, at that time, neither the Wang nor Li families had an 8th rank expert to rely on. If the master could have broken through to the 8th rank back then, our Zhang family would have definitely taken down those two families in one fell swoop. But now, it's the opposite - both of their families have developed over the years and already have multiple 8th rank martial artists, while our Zhang family still hasn't produced a single one. I reckon that before long, our Zhang family will be driven out of Shao Yang City by them."

  "I really hate it, if it weren't for this kid, it would be great. This way, we wouldn't have to be bullied by those kids from the Li and Wang families without daring to fight back." The man said here, huffing and puffing: "No way, I'll find an opportunity to beat him up sooner or later, to vent my anger."

  "Don't you dare, that little brat can't withstand a beating. With your current strength, one punch might be enough to beat him to death. If he really gets beaten to death by you, then you'll be in big trouble. Given our family head's temper, even if Second Uncle protects you, you'll still have to pay with your life for this little brat..."

  "Alright, stop wasting words, go take a look if that kid is dead or not." Just then, another youth walked out of the house.

  The young man was dressed in finery, with a cold expression, and his appearance wasn't bad either. Moreover, what he said seemed to carry weight. As soon as he spoke, everyone closed their mouths, and then he walked directly through the crowd towards the outside.

  "Wait for us, Zhang Hu..."

  "Father, come quickly, little brother has fainted again." A clear voice rang out in the mansion, filled with anxiety and self-blame.

  In a short while, a middle-aged man suddenly rushed out of the house, and the door was reduced to pieces of broken wood due to his overly violent movement.

  The man came out and saw the girl and the boy who was unconscious on her body, his expression changed, and he immediately took three steps in one step, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the boy's side.

  The middle-aged man touched the neck of the young man who was sleeping on the girl's body, felt his weak pulse, then suddenly hugged the young man in his arms and quickly entered another room.

  "It's really been guessed by us, alas, this can't be helped. It seems that our Zhang family will still be dragged down by him." A man said in a low voice upon seeing this situation.

  "Zhang Wei, what did you just say? Say it again." The girl's ears were extremely sensitive, and although the boy's voice was very small, it didn't escape her ears.

  However, as soon as she heard him speaking ill of her younger brother, she immediately got angry, walked to his side, glared at him with wide eyes and questioned him.

  If she weren't at home right now with some elders around, after what happened earlier, she wouldn't have said so much but would have just beaten her up instead.

  "Did I speak?" Zhang Lei was startled when the woman called his name, and he hastily pretended to be foolish: "Xin Jie, you must have misheard, I didn't say anything!"

  Zhang Wei didn't dare to admit it, but this woman was the famous mother tigress of the Zhang family, with a temper as fierce as a raging fire. His younger brother was her arch-nemesis, and no one dared to mention it, or else they would be beaten mercilessly.

  Moreover, the most important point is that her cultivation is not low either. At a young age, she has already reached the strength of a second-grade warrior. This level of cultivation, among people of the same age in the Zhang family, except for Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, there is no one who can be her opponent.

  If he admitted it, his fate can be imagined, at least he would have to lie in bed for a week and not come down.

  "Hmph, don't let me hear you speak ill of my brother again, or else you know what will happen." Zhang Xin clenched her small fist and glared at Zhang Lei before following the crowd into the room.

  "Wow, that was close." After seeing Zhang Xin leave, Zhang Wei finally let out a sigh of relief. Just now, he really feared that Zhang Xin would hit him.

  "You little scoundrel, you actually dare to speak ill of his brother in front of her, aren't you asking for trouble?!" The other few youngsters walked up to him with a smile and followed him inside.

  In the room, a middle-aged man gently laid the young boy on the bed, then helped him sit up. He also got onto the bed and placed his hands on the boy's back. Before long, wisps of white smoke began to rise from the top of the boy's head.

  "Cough...cough..."

  After a fit of rapid coughing, the young man slowly came to. He looked around at the familiar decorations and knew he was back in his own room. Turning his head, he saw his father sitting cross-legged beside him with a somewhat pale face. His sister stood by the bed, looking worriedly at him.

  "Brother, do you feel better?" Zhang Xin saw that the young man had woken up and his anxious expression slightly eased. She sat down beside him, holding his small hand, and continued: "It's all sister's fault, taking you out for nothing, causing you to faint again."

  "Sister, don't blame yourself, it's me who dragged you out. I just didn't expect my body to be so weak, and I couldn't even handle a little exercise." The young man saw the woman say this and quickly shook his head.

  "It's all my fault, even if you beat me to death, I won't take you out again." The girl said firmly.

  "Hey, why not take me out? I'm so bored at home by myself." The boy heard the girl wasn't planning to take him out and quickly said: "Next time we go out, I won't move, I'll just stand aside and watch you practice martial arts."

  "Hmm..."

  At this moment, the middle-aged man spat out a mouthful of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes, but his face still showed some fatigue.

  "How are you feeling now?" the middle-aged man asked with concern.

  The man's name is Zhang Fang, the current head of the Zhang family. The young man lying in bed is named Zhang Cheng, Zhang Fang's youngest son. The girl next to him is Zhang Fang's daughter, named Zhang Xin, a few months older than Zhang Cheng.

  Zhang Fang actually has another son named Zhang Long, who is the eldest of the three. He is currently studying outside and not at home.

  "My uselessness has also harmed Father and exhausted his true energy to save me." Zhang Cheng's face darkened, and a hint of helplessness flashed in the bottom of his eyes.

  "What nonsense are you spouting, you little scamp? Of course I'd save my son, it's only natural. Besides, it's just a bit of true energy, I'll recover after some cultivation when I get back. Don't think too much into it." Zhang Fan patted Zhang Cheng's small head, a loving smile spreading across his face.

  Zhang Cheng knew that his father said so just didn't want him to worry, but the fatigue in his eyes couldn't deceive his own.

  "En, I know." Zhang Cheng sighed inwardly and said: "Father, you go back to cultivate early, I'm fine now, and I'm also tired, want to have a good sleep."

  "Alright then, get some rest, Xin'er. Let's go." With that, Zhang Fang stood up and left.

  "Little brother, are you hungry? Do you want me to get some porridge for you?" Zhang Xin asked again as she returned to Zhang Cheng's side.

  "Thank you, sister, I'm not hungry yet, just a bit tired and want to rest for a while." Chang Cheng shook his head and said.

  "Oh, if you're hungry just come find me, I'll make something for you, got it?" Zhang Xin said.

  "Uh-huh, I see." Chang nodded slightly, feeling a warmth in his heart.

  "Alright, Xin'er, don't disturb your brother's rest anymore. Let's go, everyone else can leave too." With that, Zhang Fang led Zhang Xin and the others out of the room.

  But when everyone had left, the boy lying on the bed slowly sat up, looked at his thin arms and legs, and a sense of despair that didn't belong to someone of his age flowed across his face.

  "Alas, living like this is no better than being killed directly before...” The young man sighed, his voice filled with helplessness.