Chapter 4: Break His Hands

He still needed to buy some medicinal herbs; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to fool her. Six hundred taels of silver was enough to buy a low-tier rank-one pill. He could use the leftover money to buy herbs for his cover story.

"You!" Shi Muyao was instantly enraged. He had claimed he would help her recover, but it turned out he just wanted money. She hadn’t expected Mo Qianqian to be this kind of person!

"Please believe me this once," Mo Qianqian said earnestly, looking straight into her eyes.

Believe him? He was swindling her money, and he expected her to believe him? Shi Muyao was so furious she almost laughed.

"Fine. You’re used to spending money like water in a large family. You’re probably just uncomfortable without some wealth on you. You saved me today, so consider this my repayment." Shi Muyao wheeled herself over to fetch the money and handed him six hundred taels. "This is nearly all my savings."

"Rest assured, this money will be well spent!"

Mo Qianqian knew she didn’t believe him. He didn’t bother explaining further; he simply took the money and left the Shi Family estate.

Meanwhile, in Qingcheng, at the Chen Family’s courtyard.

A lackey sprinted into the compound in a flurry. "Young Master! Young Master! An incredibly distinguished young man has just appeared on the streets of Qingcheng!" he reported breathlessly.

"Oh? Has the legitimate heir of the Qin Family arrived?" Chen Zheng’s eyes lit up. "Where is he?"

"He entered the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion!" the lackey replied.

"Come, take me to him." Beaming with joy, Chen Zheng immediately rushed out.

Recently, they had received word that the legitimate son of the Qin Family—the backer of the Chen Family—was visiting Qingcheng. If Chen Zheng could make a good impression before the heir formally revealed his identity, he might be able to befriend him. This would be immensely beneficial to both his future and the entire Chen Family.

Qingcheng was not a massive city, but its streets were quite bustling. Shops lined the roads, and the endless cries of hawkers filled the air. Emerging from the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, Mo Qianqian strolled over to the roadside stalls and began to browse.

Out of the six hundred taels of silver Shi Muyao had given him, he had spent five hundred on a low-tier rank-one pill for himself. He had also purchased a set of silver needles. With eighty taels left in his pocket, he planned to buy some cheap herbs to maintain his ruse with Shi Muyao.

"Abyssal Spirit Lotus! A thousand-year-old Abyssal Spirit Lotus! Don’t miss out as you pass by!" a white-haired old man shouted at Mo Qianqian.

Stopping in his tracks, Mo Qianqian looked at a shriveled lotus. "How much is this?"

"You have a good eye, my young friend. This lotus was plucked from a deep pool in the heart of the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest. It nearly cost a man his life to get it. It’s not expensive—only five hundred taels," the old man said.

"I meant the Spirit Ginseng next to it," Mo Qianqian clarified.

Did the old man think he was an idiot? Five hundred taels for a withered lotus? Stumbling upon a hidden treasure at a roadside stall was a fool’s dream; such good things never happened. He just wanted to buy some cheap junk.

The white-haired old man was rendered speechless.

"That Spirit Ginseng is a thousand-year-old—" The old man was about to boast, but seeing Mo Qianqian turning to leave, he hastily added, "It’s only thirty taels!"

Of course, it was nowhere near a thousand years old; it would be a miracle if it was even a few decades old. It was virtually worthless. Clearly, not everyone was so easily fooled, and this young man was certainly not falling for it.

"Fine, I’ll take it," Mo Qianqian said.

The old man fell silent again. He wondered if he should have asked for a higher price.

"Wait a moment," a voice interrupted. A group of people approached, led by a young man in his twenties with a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. Three other youths of similar age flanked him.

"I’ll take this Spirit Ginseng." The square-faced young man tossed a pouch of silver taels to the old man.

"Young Master Chen, this gentleman already claimed it. You see..." the old man said, looking troubled.

Mo Qianqian looked at the newcomer in exasperation. Someone was actually fighting him for a useless piece of ginseng? Did they think he had found a priceless treasure?

"What? I, Chen Zheng, wish to befriend this gentleman and buy him a Spirit Ginseng as a gift. Is there a problem?" Chen Zheng declared loudly.

The old man’s brain struggled to process this. He had assumed it was a bidding war and rejoiced prematurely, thinking the price would skyrocket. Instead, the newcomer was buying it for the first customer. This was completely out of character for Chen Zheng! When did the arrogant and domineering eldest young master of the Chen Family ever buy gifts for others? Could this young man standing before him have some incredible background?

Mo Qianqian was equally bewildered. A stranger was buying him gifts out of nowhere? Had someone discovered his identity? But given his current reputation, no one in their right mind would want to curry favor with him.

"Young Master Chen is buying a Spirit Ginseng for someone?" Even the passersby couldn’t help but glance over.

"What’s that young man’s background?"

"Never heard of him. But if Young Master Chen is trying to woo him, he must be someone important."

"There’s never been anyone in Qingcheng who warranted such courtesy from Young Master Chen. With his extraordinary aura, this youth is likely a genius from out of town."

Whispers rippled through the surrounding crowd.

"Yes, yes, of course, that’s absolutely fine! Sir, this thousand-year-old Spirit Ginseng is yours. I’ll wrap it up for you right away." The white-haired old man hurriedly packaged the herb.

"Well, if it isn’t the crippled son-in-law, Mo Qianqian! You actually woke up?" Right at that moment, another group of people strolled over.

"What?" Hearing this, Chen Zheng jolted. He whipped his head toward the speaker and demanded, "Shishan, did you just say he’s Mo Qianqian?"

The name Mo Qianqian was renowned throughout Qingcheng; literally everyone knew it. He was once the number one prodigy on the Hidden Dragon List, famous across the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Then, the Shi Family accidentally acquired a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, the Holy Spirit Grass, which was subsequently snatched away by the Ling Family. To add insult to injury, the Ling Family forced a man to marry into the Shi Family as a live-in son-in-law. That man was Mo Qianqian.

If he were still the top genius of the Hidden Dragon List, the Shi Family would have thanked the heavens on their knees. However, Mo Qianqian had allegedly attempted to assault a female prodigy of the Ling Family. As punishment, they crippled his cultivation, reducing him to an infamous invalid. Because of this scandal, the Shi Family had become the biggest laughingstock in Qingcheng.

Chen Zheng never in his wildest dreams imagined that the "distinguished young man" his lackey had spotted wasn’t the legitimate heir of the Qin Family he had been desperately waiting for. Instead, he was the Shi Family’s useless son-in-law? Had he just tried to curry favor with a piece of trash? And even spent money to buy him a gift?

"Oh, Young Master Chen is here too." Shishan, a youth from the Shi Family, finally noticed Chen Zheng’s group. "He is indeed Mo Qianqian. Does Young Master Chen know him?"

"What? He’s Mo Qianqian, that shameless beast crippled by the Ling Family?"

"The same useless cripple who married into the Shi Family and caused such an uproar these past two days?"

"Young Master Chen actually bought a gift for Mo Qianqian, this..."

"Could the Chen Family be trying to recruit Mo Qianqian?"

"Impossible. He’s just a ruined cripple, and the Shi Family’s son-in-law at that. Why would the Chen Family try to win him over?"

A fresh wave of murmurs broke out among the crowd, and some people even began to snicker quietly.

Chen Zheng’s face instantly darkened. His three followers also looked thoroughly embarrassed. The lackey who had initially reported the sighting looked the most horrified of all. He had caused his young master to lose face; he was in massive trouble.

"You’re fucking Mo Qianqian?" Chen Zheng glared coldly at Mo Qianqian, a murderous urge rising in his heart.

Seeing Chen Zheng’s expression, Mo Qianqian roughly guessed what had happened. Smiling, he took the Spirit Ginseng from the old man’s hands and said, "That’s right. Thank you for the Spirit Ginseng, Young Master Chen."

"Which eye of yours saw me give you a Spirit Ginseng? You’re just the Shi Family’s trash son-in-law, yet you dare steal my things?!" Flying into a humiliated rage, Chen Zheng roared, "Break his arms!"

"You want to break my arms?" Mo Qianqian looked at Chen Zheng. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and the other party had willingly offered the gift. Now, over a simple misunderstanding, he wanted to break his arms?

"That’s right! Are you scared? If you’re scared, kneel and kowtow in apology to this young master!" Chen Zheng sneered.

He absolutely needed the other party to kneel and apologize to vent his frustration! Forcing the Shi Family’s son-in-law to kowtow to him in front of a Shi Family member would be the perfect way to humiliate them.

Shishan and his companions grimaced. The Ling Family had robbed the Shi Family and forced Mo Qianqian onto them. They wished Mo Qianqian would just drop dead, and they wouldn’t have cared if Chen Zheng killed him. However, making Mo Qianqian kneel to Chen Zheng was a slap to the Shi Family’s face. After all, Mo Qianqian was officially their son-in-law. If the Chen Family brought this up in the future, it would inevitably drag the Shi Family’s reputation through the mud.

Shishan opened his mouth to speak, but Chen Zheng didn’t give him the chance, immediately threatening, "Mo Qianqian, kneel down right now. Are you looking to die?"

"That’s right, Mo Qianqian! You’re just a cripple! Do you have any idea of the consequences of offending Young Master Chen?"

"Cripple, what are you standing there for? Believe it or not, I’ll break your legs right now!"

"If you don’t kneel and kowtow to apologize to Young Master Chen, we’ll break your arms, your legs, and your third leg! We’ll make you wish you were dead!"

Chen Zheng’s three lackeys chimed in, cursing viciously.