Chapter 20: Burning the House

Su Mu looked at the crowd’s reaction with satisfaction and snorted lightly from his nostrils to show his disdain.

Although Su Mu had already decided to challenge Yangx Kai today, the people gathered here did not leave. They didn’t know how exactly Yangx Kai had offended Su Mu, so they naturally wanted to stay and watch the show.

After waiting a little longer, Yangx Kai was still nowhere to be seen. Su Mu was losing his patience. "Where is he?"

"I don’t know. Usually, he would have come out to sweep the floor by now, but for some reason, he hasn’t shown up yet today. Young Master Su, do you want to go check his place?"

Su Mu thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright. A mere sweeping Servant actually dares to make this young master wait so long. I’ll teach him a lesson later!"

It wasn’t a secret where Yangx Kai lived, so the few people beside Su Mu immediately led the way. The crowd of spectators also followed along in a massive procession.

A moment later, the group arrived in front of Yangx Kai’s small cabin. Looking at the incredibly shabby wooden hut that leaked air from all sides, Su Mu felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. Pointing at the wooden hut, he asked, "That kid lives here?"

"In reply to Young Master Su, Yangx Kai is a Trial Disciple. He has to take care of his own food, clothing, and shelter; the Sect won’t manage him. This is probably a hut he built himself."

"Good, good, good." Su Mu was incredibly delighted. Just the thought of Yangx Kai being drenched like a drowned rat on Yur days greatly pleased him.

Coughing lightly to restrain his smile, Su Mu strode forward with bold and powerful steps. He shouted loudly, "Hey, Yangx Kai, roll out here and accept your death!"

His shout was as loud as a giant bell and filled with enmity, containing an accusation seemingly forged in blood and tears. It made the hearts of the onlookers tremble, and they wondered if the grudge between Yangx Kai and Su Mu was actually quite massive.

Su Mu stood awe-inspiring and steadfast. After shouting, he stared at the cabin’s door full of expectation. He imagined the scene of Yangx Kai crawling out in terror to beg for mercy, and the more he thought about it, the more smug he became.

However, after waiting for a long time, there wasn’t the slightest stir from inside.

Su Mu felt a bit embarrassed and roared again, "Yangx Kai, if you know what’s good for you, roll out here right now, or else we’re going to charge in!"

Still, there was no movement.

Su Mu started to feel that something was wrong. If Yangx Kai was really inside, he would at least be making some noise breathing. Was he not there?

Turning his head, Su Mu shot a glance at one of his underlings. The man immediately darted forward, kicked open the wooden door, and dashed inside with agility.

Before long, the man ran back out and said to Su Mu, "Young Master Su, there’s no one inside. There’s also quite a bit of dust. It seems this kid knew disaster was imminent and ran away a few days ago."

"He ran away?" Su Mu almost spat blood. He had spent days painstakingly preparing for this, and today he had even brought so many people to back him up, but that Yangx Kai had actually run away?

It was like throwing a fierce, powerful punch only to hit cotton, leaving Su Mu with an indescribable sense of powerlessness and frustration.

"Now that you mention it, I really haven’t seen Yangx Kai these past few days."

"A wise man submits to circumstances. Yangx Kai offended this Su Mu, so he probably knew disaster was looming and left the Sect."

"No wonder he hasn’t shown up even after all this time."

"Sigh, with Yangx Kai gone, there won’t be any free Contribution Points to pick up anymore."

The onlookers whispered among themselves, but every word fell clearly into Su Mu’s ears.

Although he felt smug, his inability to exact revenge still left Su Mu thoroughly displeased. Thinking for a moment with a gloomy expression, he had no choice but to accept this reality. He said indignantly, "That kid got off easy. But if I don’t avenge this grievance, the hatred in my heart will be hard to dispel. Set a fire and burn this broken hut down."

The crowd was shocked, and even the people Su Mu had brought were extremely hesitant. One of them said, "Young Master Su, committing arson within the Sect... isn’t that a bad idea?"

"What are you afraid of?" Su Mu glared. "If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up. Besides, this isn’t the Sect’s property. If we burn it, we burn it. What’s the big deal? Keeping this dilapidated house around only pollutes this young master’s Dharma Eye."

Hearing him say this, everyone dispelled the worries in their hearts. Since Young Master Su had powerful backing anyway, burning down a broken hut really was nothing. Immediately, someone went to get a fire starter and look for dry grass.

A moment later, everything was ready.

Su Mu wore a ferocious expression as he held up an improvised torch. The blazing firelight reflected on his face, making it look twisted and grotesque.

"Yangx Kai, don’t let me run into you in the future, or I’ll definitely make you wish you were dead!" Su Mu cursed, gritting his Yar. Just as he was about to throw the torch into the wooden hut, a bloody stench wafted from beside him. Someone patted his shoulder and asked, "What are you doing?"

Without even thinking, Su Mu answered, "Burning a house."

"Why are you burning my house?" The newcomer’s Yingg carried a hint of annoyance.

"Your house?" Su Mu curled his lips and turned to look at the newcomer. Upon seeing the person, Su Mu instantly jumped to the side as swiftly as a frightened rabbit. His movements were incredibly agile as he assumed a defensive posture. His face was filled with panic, and every hair on his body stood on end.

It was simply because the newcomer’s appearance was too terrifying. His clothes were torn to shreds, his hair was as messy as weeds, and he was incredibly filthy. Not only that, but he also had countless bloody scratches all over his body, and his clothes were heavily stained with blood. A small, bulging satchel was slung over his shoulder, its contents completely unknown.

A gentle breeze blew past, causing the man’s tattered pants to flutter in the wind, Luuing a leg full of thick, robust leg hair.

What Su Mu couldn’t stand the most was the smell coming from the person. A mixture of bloody stench and sweaty body odor assaulted his senses, making him want to vomit and feel like he wouldn’t be able to eat for three days.

This look, this style... what a weirdo! If he held a broken bowl in his hand, he would be the spitting image of a beggar! However... why did he look somewhat familiar?

Su Mu carefully sized up the newcomer, growing more confused the longer he looked. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly slapped his thigh. "Yangx Kai!"

If this wasn’t Yangx Kai, then who was it? Even though his appearance had changed and his face was covered in grime, how could Su Mu, who held a grudge against him, not recognize him? How could he possibly fail to recognize him?

Yangx Kai also recognized Su Mu. He grinned, Luuing his gleaming white Yar. "Isn’t this Junior Brother Su, who displayed such great might and acted out of righteousness in Wumei Town?"

This mocking remark made Su Mu’s face turn Qing and red. He stomped his feet and yelled, "Yangx Kai, there’s a road to heaven, yet you don’t walk it; there’s no door to hell, yet you barge right in! You’re dead meat today."

"You’re looking for trouble with me?" Yangx Kai furrowed his brow.

"Nonsense!" Su Mu looked exceedingly smug. "Did you think I was here to visit you?"

"If you want to cause trouble for me, just come at me directly. Why are you burning my house?" Yangx Kai questioned.

Su Mu hurriedly threw the torch on the ground and rushed forward to stomp on it vigorously. It was as if he was stomping on Yangx Kai himself, which was incredibly satisfying. It took him quite a while to completely stomp out the flames.

This brief delay finally allowed the onlookers to snap back to reality. It was only at this moment that everyone realized Yangx Kai hadn’t left Lingxiao Pavilion out of fear of Su Mu, but had gone out to take care of some unknown business.

But what kind of business could leave him in such a miserable state? Hadn’t he bled a bit too much? And the gashes on his clothes were clearly torn open by some sharp weapon. Had he gotten into a fight with someone? And a life-or-death battle at that?