Chapter 30: Eating my chicken? Huo Tianba, I've Remembered You

Xiao Lin's home was in a narrow alley in the west of the city.

The courtyard was small, with two earthen houses whose plaster was peeling, while the courtyard gate hung crookedly as if it had been kicked.

Before even entering the home, the sound of a woman crying could be heard from inside.

Lu Xuan followed the crowd inside, the room was a complete mess to say the least.

Tables were overturned, stools were broken, and there was blood on the floor.

A middle-aged man lay on the bed, his face pale, with one leg wrapped in cloth strips that were soaked through with dark red blood.

A woman sat by the bedside with her head bowed, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed, Xiao Lin leaned in the corner, his face as white as paper and his clothes covered in blood.

There was a gash on his left arm, deep enough to see the bone. He had been stabbed twice in the chest, and fortunately, no vital organs were hit, though blood was still seeping out.

He saw Lu Xuan and managed a grin.

"Bro... Brother Xuan... you're here!"

His voice was so weak it sounded like it was drifting in from far away, Lu Xuan crouched down and looked at him.

"Who did this?"

"Huo Tianba!"

Xiao Lin gritted his teeth, his voice trembling.

"Yesterday afternoon... he climbed over the wall. My dad heard something and went out to check, but he kicked my dad and sent him flying. His leg... his leg is broken."

He paused.

"My mother knelt on the ground and begged him to stop. He had been hungry for days and made her cook for him. She didn't dare disobey, so she stewed a chicken for him. After he ate and drank his fill, he didn't leave."

Xiao Lin clenched his fists.

"Just then, my little sister came back from outside. As soon as she walked in... he... he..."

He couldn't go on, Aunt Lin wiped away tears at his side, her voice choking up.

"That god-forsaken man wanted to ravish my daughter; thank goodness Xiao Lin rushed back."

"When I rushed back and heard screaming inside I charged in to fight him."

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Xiao Lin looked down at his injuries.

"I was no match for him; he slashed me three times, then ran maybe he was afraid of causing a scene."

Duan Lei stood at the door, having grabbed a handful of peanuts from somewhere.

He was tossing peanuts into his mouth, with shells scattered all over the floor.

"Young man, if your martial arts aren't up to par, don't try to be a hero. Look at you... stabbed in the chest, slashed on the arm. If Huo Tianba hadn't shown mercy, you'd be dead by now."

Xiao Lin lay on the bed, his face pale, but said nothing.

Duan Lei tossed another peanut into his mouth, crunching away.

"But kid, don't worry. With me here, Huo Tianba won't escape. Once I catch him, I'll get revenge for you."

The escort warriors left one after another.

Duan Lei was the last to leave. Before going, he grabbed another handful of peanuts from the table, stuffed them into his sleeve, and muttered, "This dump place doesn't even have a cup of hot tea," as he wobbled out the door.

The room fell silent, Aunt Lin sat by the bed, her head bowed and her shoulders still shaking.

Xiao Lin's sister curled up in the corner, hugging her knees, her eyes red, without saying a word.

Lu Xuan crouched down and looked at Xiao Lin.

"Does it hurt?"

Xiao Lin managed a grin, but the movement pulled at his wounds, causing him to wince.

"It doesn't hurt."

"Brother Xuan, do you think... I'm really useless?"

Lu Xuan didn't speak, letting him vent.

"My father's leg was broken, my little sister was almost ravished, and when I charged in, I was cut down in three strikes. I can't even protect my own home."

Lu Xuan looked at him.

"You did protect it."

Xiao Lin was stunned for a moment.

"When you rushed back, Huo Tianba was in the middle of assaulting your sister, so you charged in and drove him away. You took three strikes, but your sister is safe. That's enough."

Xiao Lin's eyes turned red.

"But... but that pheasant!"

He gave a bitter laugh, his voice filled with an indescribable sense of grievance.

"I spent days trapping it and specially prepared it, thinking I'd give it to you today, but that bastard ate it!"

Lu Xuan was silent for a moment.

"It's just a pheasant; as long as you're okay, it's fine. The pheasant is gone, you can catch another later."

"Huo Tianba has committed many evils; he won't come to a good end."

Xiao Lin looked up at him.

For some reason, when Brother Xuan said those words, he didn't feel like he was being comforted at all, it sounded like a statement of a settled fact.

Lu Xuan stayed for a while longer before leaving, and as he walked out of Xiao Lin's home, he muttered to himself, "Injuring my friend and eating my chicken... Huo Tianba, I've remembered you."

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Lu Xuan left Xiao Lin's house and started walking back. When he passed by a medical clinic, he heard someone talking inside.

"Young Master Lu Hao of the Lu Family, both his legs were completely shattered, his face was ruined, and not a single tooth was left... You haven't seen the state he was in; he didn't even look human anymore!"

"Who did it?"

"Huo Tianba! I heard that that night, he snuck into Azure Sun City all by himself and, while Lu Hao was asleep, snap, snap... he crushed both of his legs!"

"Hiss... won't the Lu Family go crazy over this?"

"They already have. They're searching the whole city for Huo Tianba, offering a reward of a thousand silver pieces, dead or alive. But what's the point? They've been searching for days and haven't even found a single hair."

Lu Xuan didn't stop his pace and hurried past the entrance of the clinic.

Lu Hao was finished, but this was only the beginning.

The bullying he had endured all these years could not be repaid just by shattering his two legs. Killing a few people from the Lu Family and burning hundreds of thousands of silver pieces worth of silk... these things couldn't shake the Lu Family's foundation at all.

Lu Tianhe was still there, the Elders were still there, and the Lu Family's Martial Academy was still there. To settle the score completely, he still had a long way to go.

Strength.

He needed even greater strength.