Chapter 36: A Path to Death Already Existed
Tang San glanced at the sky, then at the unfinished sickle blank in his hand, hesitated for a moment, walked up to Master Li, and said with a hint of apology:
"Uncle Li, my brother might have something to tell me. Look at this sickle..."
"Go ahead, go ahead!"
Master Li waved his hand dismissively, saying, "I'll take care of the rest of the work!"
"Don't keep your brother waiting!"
"Thank you, Uncle Li!"
Tang San thanked him gratefully, picked up the coarse cloth coat draped aside, and left the blacksmith shop with Wang Sheng.
Wang Sheng kept talking the whole way.
Excitedly, he chattered to Tang San about how well the iced tea business had been that day—how he sold the iced tea, how he received orders, how Brother Tang set up the shop… Finally, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Brother Tang is amazing!"
Tang San listened quietly, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.
He knew his brother had been pondering new uses for soul skills, but he never expected his brother to have figured out so many tricks. He felt both proud and curious.
His brother's success made him happier than his own progress.
Before they knew it, the two had arrived at Notting Academy. Instead of returning to Dormitory 7, Wang Sheng took Tang San directly to the cafeteria.
As I approached the cafeteria, I could hear a commotion coming from inside, along with the sound of things being smashed.
Wang Sheng stopped in his tracks, and the smile on his face vanished instantly.
"Third Brother, hurry!"
"Someone might be causing trouble for us work-study students!"
Upon hearing this, Tang San's heart sank, his anger surged, and he quickened his pace, rushing towards the cafeteria.
The moment Tang San entered the cafeteria, the scene before him ignited a surge of murderous intent within him, and he instinctively reached for the short dagger at his waist.
All that could be seen was the eye-catching sign for "Tang's Takeout".
The neatly arranged tables and chairs are now being occupied by one person.
A young man dressed in a magnificent brocade robe sat arrogantly on the table, one foot propped on the stool next to him.
Four or five followers stood behind him, bamboo cups were scattered all over the ground, and flyers were torn to shreds.
The one who spoke out in provocation was one of the tall, thin men, who impatiently tapped the counter at the shop entrance with the tip of his long stick, making a tapping sound.
"Hey! Where's the person in charge?"
"Is he dead?"
"Can't you see our Boss Xiao is here?"
"You have absolutely no sense of propriety!"
"I heard you guys sell some kind of lousy iced tea here? And you even do delivery? Did you get permission from Boss Xiao?"
Xiao Wu, her cheeks puffed out in anger, stood with her hands on her hips in the shop entrance and retorted without hesitation, "Our shop is approved by the Academy!"
"What we sell is our business; why should we need his permission?"
"Did the Academy approve it?"
The tall, thin man scoffed, the tip of his stick almost poking Xiao Wu in the face: "In Notting Academy, what Boss Xiao says still carries weight with the teachers!"
"Don't you know the rules?"
"If you know what's good for you, quickly bring out your best stuff to offer as a token of respect to our Boss Xiao, and then we can discuss how to calculate this gift!"
The young man in the brocade robe, Xiao Laoda, sat in the back, leaning back in his chair with a slight smile on his face.
This clearly indicates tacit approval or even indulgence of Liu Long's behavior.
The students eating around them all held their breath and watched, no one daring to make a sound, knowing that this group of people were not to be trifled with.
"broken!"
"It's Xiao Chenyu and Liu Long!"
Wang Sheng's face paled, and he gritted his teeth, whispering, "Third Brother, they must be here to cause trouble because they see our business is doing well!"
"stop!"
Without any hesitation!
Just as Liu Long arrogantly slammed the tip of his stick against the counter once again, muttering rudely, "Hurry up, don't dawdle..."
Tang San's figure swept through the crowd like a ghost and appeared in front of the shop.
"First Soul Skill! Endless Life!"
Along the way, the first spirit ring under his feet lit up with a bright yellow halo, and countless blue silver grasses sprouted from the ground, growing wildly at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, they submerged the entire canteen, forming a dense sea of blue silver grasses.
Tables and chairs were overturned or wrapped up by vines.
Liu Long was the first to be hit, his hands, feet and waist were bound by several thick vines.
"What the hell?!"
He screamed and tried to struggle, but the long staff in his hand had just lit up with its martial spirit when it was entangled into a dumpling by more Blue Silver Grass vines.
It fell to the ground with a thud, with only its head sticking out, and screamed in fright.
Xiao Chenyu's other followers were not spared either.
Just as he was about to retreat, he was tripped by a sudden appearance of blue silver grass, which wrapped around his ankles and arms, making him unable to move.
"who?!"
Xiao Chenyu, who was sitting in the chair, was so startled by this sudden scene that he stood up.
The next second, he was bound to death by the Blue Silver Grass, and fell to the ground in a sorry state, his arrogance replaced by panic.
However, that's not all!
Tang San's eyes were icy cold. As the Blue Silver Grass erupted, his right hand flashed across his waist with lightning speed.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
With a flick of his wrist, several thin beams of dark light shot out, precisely piercing the joints and acupoints of the struggling henchmen.
Several people cried out in pain, their bodies aching and numb, and they collapsed, completely engulfed by the Blue Silver Grass.
Tang San himself was squatting in front of Xiao Chenyu, holding a dark, dull, short-handled iron dagger, which he pressed against Xiao Chenyu's neck.
Xiao Chenyu turned pale with fright.
"you..."
"Who...who are you?"
Xiao Chenyu's throat bobbed, and he didn't dare to breathe too loudly: "Do you know who my father is...?"
"No matter who your father is, I can make sure he collects your corpse today!"
Tang San's voice was as cold as ice, and his eyes showed no fear whatsoever: "Today you brought people to cause trouble for my brother, you've already committed suicide!"
He exerted a little force on his wrist, pressing down with the sharp blade and drawing a bloody line.
"The other woman"
Tang Chuan's gentle voice sounded behind him.
He placed his hand on Tang San's arm that was holding the knife, without applying any force, but interrupted the surging killing intent in Tang San's heart.
Tang San raised his head, the coldness in his eyes quickly fading, replaced by a hint of confusion and stubbornness: "Brother! They..."
"I know."
"Put the dagger away first. Dad's not around, so let's not cause any deaths, or things will get messy."
Tang San looked into his brother's eyes, then at Xiao Chenyu, who was lying on the ground, pale with fright. He obediently put away his iron dagger and said, word by word:
"Xiao Chenyu, right?"
"Apologize!"
"Compensate my brother for his losses!"
"If you ever dare to cause trouble for my brother again, no matter who your father is, I'll kill you. You can try me if you don't believe me!"
His eyes held no trace of youthful naiveté, only a cold, pure killing intent.
"I'll pay for it!"
"I'll pay for it!"
"I apologize!"
Xiao Chenyu was still in shock, panting heavily. The bloodstains on his neck stung painfully, and he trembled with fear. Gone was any of his previous arrogance. He nodded hastily.
"sorry!"
"I was wrong!"
"I shouldn't have brought people here to cause trouble!"
"Just tell me how much compensation you need, and I'll do it!"
Tang Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze sweeping over the shards of bamboo cups and torn flyers scattered on the ground: "Compensation is a given."
"The item isn't worth much, I won't try to cheat you."
"But you brought people to overturn my things, scared away my customers, and still want to collect money from them? It's not unreasonable for you to leave the shop here to watch over my business for a month, is it?"
[end of the chapter]