Seeing Uncle Wang sprawled across the ground, coughing blood with barely enough strength to move, the steward immediately lost interest.
To him...
This old hunter was already finished.
He casually dusted off his sleeves before speaking without even turning around.
"Take care of him."
He paused briefly.
"...Permanently."
The three youths immediately grinned.
"Yes, Steward!"
The steward no longer paid attention to them.
Instead, he slowly walked toward Lou Feng's abandoned house.
There were still several things he wished to confirm.
Behind him...
The three youths approached Uncle Wang like wolves surrounding wounded prey.
The scar-faced youth stepped forward first.
Without the slightest hesitation, he drove a vicious kick directly into Uncle Wang's abdomen.
Bang!
The already injured man crashed straight through the small wooden fence surrounding the vegetable garden before landing heavily on the muddy ground.
Fresh blood sprayed from his mouth.
The other two immediately followed.
One stomped toward his ribs.
The other aimed directly for his head.
They weren't merely beating him anymore.
They intended to kill him.
Inside the house...
Aunt Wang's entire body trembled.
She knew...
If she continued hiding...
Her husband would die.
Without another thought, she rushed toward the cooking stove.
The large pot of freshly boiled water still steamed violently.
With all her strength...
She lifted it.
Outside...
The two youths laughed while continuing their assault.
"Old man!"
"Where's your courage now?"
"Didn't you want to protect that little orphan?"
Suddenly—
Splash!
Scalding water poured directly onto both of them.
"AAAHHHHH!!"
The two immediately let out miserable screams.
Their skin instantly turned bright red as large patches blistered almost immediately.
One desperately clawed at his own back.
The other rolled across the ground while screaming in agony.
The third youth froze for only a moment before his expression twisted with rage.
"You bitch!"
He rushed toward Aunt Wang before swinging his arm viciously.
Slap!
She was sent tumbling onto the ground.
Before she could recover, the youth slowly approached with an increasingly sinister smile.
His eyes wandered across her frightened expression.
"Heh..."
"You've got some spirit."
"Let's see how long it lasts."
Aunt Wang's face instantly paled.
Yet just as he reached out—
Bang!
Her knee shot upward with every ounce of strength she possessed.
It landed squarely where no man wished to be struck.
"...!!"
The youth's eyes bulged.
His entire face instantly turned purple.
Without making a sound, he collapsed onto the ground while clutching himself, his entire body trembling violently.
Aunt Wang didn't even wait to see the result.
She hurried toward Uncle Wang.
Supporting his badly injured body with both hands, she spoke urgently,
"We have to leave!"
"We can't stay here anymore!"
Uncle Wang struggled to stand.
His vision blurred from blood loss.
Even so, he forced himself to move.
If they remained...
None of them would survive.
Behind them...
One of the two youths who had been scalded finally regained his footing.
Half his face had already swollen from the burns.
His expression looked almost feral.
He glanced toward the butcher's knife lying beside the broken fence.
Without hesitation...
He grabbed it.
"You want to run?"
"I'll kill you first!"
Knife in hand, he charged directly toward the fleeing couple.
The blade flashed coldly beneath the afternoon sunlight.
Uncle Wang instinctively pushed his wife behind him.
Even if he died...
He would buy her one final moment.
The knife descended.
Then—
A silver figure appeared between them without warning.
No one saw where he came from.
They only heard—
Boom!
The charging youth was sent flying as though struck by a charging bull.
His body smashed straight through the wall of a nearby house before crashing into the furniture inside.
Wood exploded in every direction.
Silence.
The remaining two youths stared blankly at the newcomer.
Uncle Wang and his wife also froze.
Standing before them was a young man.
His body had grown considerably taller.
His once thin frame had become straight and sturdy.
His features had matured enough that he almost looked fifteen rather than twelve.
Yet...
That familiar face...
Uncle Wang's lips trembled.
"...Lou..."
"...Lou Feng?"
The young man slowly turned around.
His eyes had already reddened.
"It's me, Uncle Wang."
"I'm alive."
Without another word, he hurried over and carefully supported the injured couple.
Seeing Uncle Wang covered in blood...
Seeing Aunt Wang's swollen cheek...
The guilt that had accumulated over the past three months erupted all at once.
If not for him...
None of this would have happened.
His voice became hoarse.
"Uncle..."
"Aunt..."
"I'm sorry."
"I came back too late."
Aunt Wang looked at him for several breaths before tears finally overflowed from her eyes.
Without caring about appearances, she tightly hugged the boy she had believed dead.
"You foolish child..."
"You're really alive..."
"You really came back..."
Even Uncle Wang, who had always remained composed, quietly wiped away the tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.
For the first time in months...
Hope had returned to this broken family.
"AAAAHHHHHH!"
The agonized scream shattered the brief moment of reunion.
Everyone instinctively turned.
The youth Lou Feng had sent crashing into the house staggered back out through the broken doorway.
Blood streamed continuously from his mouth.
His lower jaw hung at an unnatural angle, barely attached by flesh, while shattered teeth scattered onto the ground with every trembling step.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
One punch...
Just one punch had nearly killed him.
The surrounding villagers felt their scalps go numb.
Many subconsciously took several steps backward.
This wasn't the strength of an ordinary person.
This...
Was the power of a true martial artist.
Lou Feng slowly turned around.
His gaze landed upon the injured youth without the slightest fluctuation.
Then—
He disappeared.
Bang!
Before anyone could react, Lou Feng had already appeared before the youth.
His right leg swept upward like an iron whip.
The kick landed squarely against the youth's chest.
A sickening series of cracks echoed through the courtyard.
Ribs collapsed inward.
The youth's body folded into a grotesque shape before flying over ten metres through the air, smashing into another mud wall.
This time...
He didn't get back up.
Silence descended.
Lou Feng slowly withdrew his foot before turning toward the remaining two brothers.
Neither of them dared move.
Their faces had already turned deathly pale.
"M... Murder!"
One of them suddenly screamed.
"He killed my brother!"
"You call this murder?"
Lou Feng's voice was calm.
Yet that calmness made everyone present shiver.
"When the three of you chased me to the edge of the cliff..."
"When you forced me to jump..."
"Wasn't that murder?"
The youth's expression froze.
Before he could answer—
Lou Feng stepped forward.
The distance of several metres disappeared instantly.
His fist descended.
Bang!
The punch landed directly against the youth's face.
Blood mixed with broken teeth exploded outward.
The tremendous force drove his head straight into the ground.
Crack!
The packed earth split apart beneath the impact.
The youth's body twitched violently before collapsing motionless inside the shallow crater.
Only one remained.
The eldest brother—the one whose right hand still bore the bite scar left behind by Lou Feng months ago.
His face had completely lost its colour.
"You..."
"You killed my brothers!"
His voice was no longer filled with arrogance.
Only terror remained.
Yet terror quickly transformed into madness.
With a roar, he pulled a dagger from his waist and rushed toward Lou Feng.
"I'll kill you!"
The blade flashed wildly through the air.
Every swing was completely chaotic.
He wasn't fighting.
He was desperately trying to survive.
"Xiao Feng!"
Uncle Wang's face changed dramatically.
"No matter how strong an acquired martial artist is..."
"They can still be injured by a blade!"
Unfortunately...
His warning came too late.
Lou Feng had already moved.
Facing the incoming dagger, he neither retreated nor dodged.
Instead...
He reached out.
Clang!
His palm closed directly around the blade.
The dagger couldn't advance another inch.
The youth's pupils shrank.
Impossible!
That was forged steel!
How could someone stop it with bare hands?
Before he could recover from the shock—
Crack!
The blade shattered inside Lou Feng's grip as though it were made from brittle clay.
Fragments scattered across the ground.
The youth instinctively tried pulling back.
He failed.
Lou Feng had already seized his wrist.
The latter slowly looked into the youth's terrified eyes.
"You wanted this hand..."
"...to take my home."
The youth desperately struggled.
"Let..."
"Let go!"
Lou Feng tightened his grip.
His muscles swelled beneath his sleeves.
With one violent pull—
Rip!
Blood sprayed into the air.
The youth's entire right arm was torn cleanly from its shoulder.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!"
His miserable scream echoed throughout Su Village.
Everyone present stood frozen.
Some villagers instinctively covered their mouths.
Others turned away completely, unable to continue watching.
Even Uncle Wang drew a deep breath.
He had hunted beasts for years.
He had seen death countless times.
Yet even he had never witnessed someone rip another person's arm off with nothing but raw physical strength.
Blood continuously poured from the youth's shoulder as he collapsed onto the ground, rolling back and forth while screaming in unbearable agony.
Lou Feng simply stood there.
His clothes remained spotless.
His expression remained calm.
Only his eyes...
Still carried the hatred accumulated over the past three months.
The debt...
Had only just begun to be repaid.