He thought those guys would stay away after being taught a lesson, but the next day they showed up again. Evan Yang decided to give them another taste of pain—he couldn't let them recover so easily. Oddly, although they'd been injured yesterday, today they'd somehow almost fully healed.
"You guys really have thick skin," Evan remarked.
"Kid, yeah, we're thick-skinned. We're here again today, and this time you're going to pay a heavy price," the leader said. "If you think just saying that can beat me, you might as well go home," Evan replied. "You! Don't look down on me. Watch what we do today," the leader grumbled, then sent the second brother and a few others forward. Evan was curious why he chose weaker guys, so while watching them, he kept a close eye on the leader.
The fight quickly broke out again, and the crowd gathered like they were watching a show.
Evan quickly got into the zone, ready to teach them all a lesson. Suddenly, the leader made his move—he pulled out a flute-like device, and a beam of light shot out from it at incredible speed.
With a sharp hiss, the light pierced Evan's palm, while the others were knocked flying by Evan's attacks. Seeing it was his palm that got hit, Evan checked the wound—fortunately, he was fine and used his extreme cold to cleanse it. The bullies thought they'd won, especially the leader, who burst out laughing, "Now you're finished!"
"Oh? What was that just now?" Evan asked.
"Lightspeed Drain. Within a day, it'll disperse all your cultivation," the leader chuckled.
"Is that so? Well, that's tomorrow's problem. Since you're so ruthless, I won't hold back either." Evan flashed forward, appeared before the leader, and pummeled him, leaving his face swollen and sealing several acupoints—partially abolishing his cultivation.
The leader instantly became a cripple. The others saw this and bolted, leaving him behind, wracked with pain and unsure what to do.
"Looks like you can barely walk. Come in and have a seat," Evan said, dragging the crippled leader into his cave.
The onlookers whispered that Evan was doomed—he'd been hit with Lightspeed Drain, which couldn't be dispelled. They also pitied the leader for resorting to such dirty tricks; he was bound to end badly.
Evan set up a sound-isolating array, then tossed the leader aside and said, "You're vicious, using a trick like that."
"I—I was wrong. Please spare me," the leader begged, thinking Evan would explode in anger, especially after being poisoned by his Lightspeed Drain.
"Spare you? You hit me with that Lightspeed Drain and still want mercy? You're way too naive," Evan scoffed.
"If you let me go, I'll tell you everything," the leader pleaded, desperate just to survive.
"Everything?" Evan was puzzled. He'd only intended to mess with the guy for fun, but now sensed something deeper was going on.
"It was Guard Bai who ordered me to cripple you," the leader blurted out, eager for Evan's forgiveness.
"Guard Bai? Who's that?" Evan frowned.
"Guard Bai, one of Law Protector Liu's four White Guards. He's really powerful," the leader pleaded for mercy.
Evan frowned. He'd never met this Guard Bai or Law Protector Liu—why were they targeting him? So he asked, "Why is he doing this?"
"No idea. He just said if we didn't cripple you today, he'd cripple us instead," the leader replied, face pale.
"I see. Looks like I'll need to pay him a visit. Where is he now?" Evan asked.
"On a mountain behind the Guard Hall," the leader answered.
"Alright, let's go," Evan said, then led the leader out of the cave. The crowd watched curiously, unsure what Evan planned. Galen Chao had already rushed over and asked, "How are you going to deal with him?"
"I'm handing him over to someone, but that person is too dangerous for you to meet. Wait for me—I'll find you after," Evan replied.
"Who? Can't I come with you?" Galen asked, curious. "It's someone who wants my life. If you go, you'll get dragged in too," Evan said.
Galen knew he couldn't match Evan's strength and would only be a burden, so he awkwardly agreed.
"Go back. I'll be back soon, then we'll tackle the third course together," Evan said.
"Alright, I'll wait for you," Galen replied and turned to leave. Evan took the leader out of the Guard Hall. Inside, Galen Chao watched Evan leave and muttered, "This kid has some tricks, but where is he taking that guy?"
Galen Chao, curious, tidied up and quietly followed Evan.
Galen's strength far surpassed Evan's, so Evan didn't notice he was being tailed. Evan soon arrived at the mountain.
He saw a white-clothed man standing there, smiling at him. "Looks like you've figured it out," the man said.
"I don't know you. Why do you want to cripple me?" Evan tossed the leader aside and asked.
The white-clothed man glanced at the leader and sneered, "Trash." He extended his hand, and a beam of light shot out, targeting the leader.
The leader's eyes widened, just about to beg for mercy, but was instantly reduced to ash. Evan was shocked—a life snuffed out. If he died, everyone would blame Evan.
"Kid, you're pretty good, but I heard you got hit with Lightspeed Drain. You'll be a cripple soon, so I won't need to deal with you myself. Still, even as a cripple, I won't let you live comfortably. The story about you killing this guy will spread everywhere soon," Guard Bai said, then laughed wildly and vanished.
Evan cursed, "Damn it!"
The laughter faded into the distance, leaving Evan alone on the mountain, staring at the pile of ashes and sighing, "Ruined by petty villains. What a mess."
Helpless, Evan steadied himself and returned to the Guard Hall. As soon as he arrived, he was surrounded by a crowd. The second brother pointed at Evan and shouted, "It's him! He killed our big brother!"
(This chapter isn't finished yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
Then a man in black, carrying a sword on his back, stepped forward and asked Evan, "Did you kill him?"
"No," Evan replied.
"Stop lying! Where's our big brother?" the second brother demanded angrily.
Everyone stared at Evan. He knew explaining wouldn't help, so he just said, "If I say I didn't, then I didn't—believe it or not."
"You think one sentence will get rid of us? We saw you take our big brother away. Speak up!" the second brother pressed.
Evan knew no one would believe someone else killed him, since only he was there.
The man in black said, "Since that's the case, come with me."
"Why?" Evan asked.
"You killed someone. You should be punished. I hope you'll cooperate," the man in black said.
"If you want to accuse me of murder, you need evidence. If you don't have any and still want to drag me off, I won't just go along," Evan said.
"Evidence? Everyone saw you take our big brother away. Unless you bring him back alive, I'll cripple myself!" the second brother declared.
Evan realized the second brother must be connected to Guard Bai, otherwise he wouldn't be so sure the leader was dead.
The man in black asked, "Well? Anything else to say?"
"Nothing more, but I didn't kill anyone," Evan replied. "Whether you did or not, come with me first," the man in black said.
Just then, Galen Chao walked in, saw the commotion, and asked, "What's going on here?"
"Manager Chao, he killed our big brother. I'm summoning the Hall of Judgment to arrest him," the second brother said.
"Oh? He's a member of the Guard Hall now. If he killed someone, I'll handle it first. Once I've investigated and confirmed the truth, I'll hand him over to the Hall of Judgment. That's how it should be," Galen Chao said.
The man in black recognized Galen outranked him, so he said, "Then please clarify the truth quickly and hand him over." With that, he turned and left.
Galen said, "It's my duty." Then he told the others, "Alright, if you have nothing else, you can leave now."
Everyone dispersed, and even the second brother slipped away—he didn't want to get involved. He left it to Galen Chao to interrogate Evan.
Evan looked at Galen, who said, "Come with me."
Evan followed Galen to his office in the Guard Hall. Galen asked, "What really happened?"
Evan explained everything that had happened.
After listening, Galen said, "So Guard Bai wants you dead."
"Yeah, that's right. And he killed that man too," Evan said.
"Got it. I'll file your case. Go do your own thing for now," Galen said.
Evan nodded and left, but wondered why Galen believed him so easily. Was it because of the Saintess? No matter what he said, Galen seemed to trust him.
The reason Galen trusted Evan was because he had seen Guard Bai kill the man with his own eyes. That's why he didn't suspect Evan.
After Evan left, Galen frowned, waved his hand in the air, and a screen appeared. He wrote something on it with light, then put it away.
On his way back, Evan kept thinking about what happened. He'd been framed for no reason and kept thinking about Guard Bai. When he got back to his cave, he started looking for the second brother, hoping to find out Guard Bai's true strength and whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Guard Bai was talking to the second brother. After the second brother explained everything, Guard Bai sneered, "So you're saying Manager Chao showed up, and that's why Evan wasn't taken away?"