Chapter 52: Masters of the Martial World
The wind was torn apart!
This punch could probably shatter five bricks! Enough to leave a man paralyzed or dead!
Sui Yi pressed her lips together slightly, and as A’Ah felt a heavy weight in his heart, she raised her palm.
Palm met palm—
Boom!
In that instant, Sui Yi sensed a surge of force coming from the youth’s palm. Inner strength—he possessed inner strength...
By reflex, she drew on her own reserves, channeling her energy into her hand.
Boom!
The air between them trembled for a heartbeat, and the creek at their feet rippled peculiarly along both banks.
The young man’s expression changed; his body was thrown backward, flying three meters before crashing into the deeper water, waves splashing as he fell.
Water engulfed his lower half. Pale-faced, he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
This girl had inner strength too—and hers was far greater than his!
All mockery vanished from his eyes, leaving only profound shock.
The creek murmured on, waves unceasing, as if sound and silence mingled. The reeds swayed in the breeze, rustling, while the riverbanks fell into dead quiet.
Sui Yi stood ankle-deep in the shallows, looking down at the youth in the water, paying no mind to the others, who were all frozen by astonishment.
After a long moment, the youth glared at her. “Aren’t you afraid your uncle will...”
He was not a man of honor; as long as there was a chance, he would not admit defeat.
Sui Yi raised an eyebrow slightly. “As long as I make a phone call, he’s finished, isn’t he?”
“Of course,” the young man replied with a forced smile.
Then he watched as Sui Yi took out her phone and dialed a number...
The villagers were shocked. Wang Pu pinched his own face and asked, “Sui Yi, what are you...”
“Calling the police.”
“What?!”
Sui Yi had already entered the number. Her slender, elegant brows arched as she glanced at the young man, her voice calm: “You’ll put all the blame on him, won’t you? He’ll be locked up for a decade or two...”
She paused, then frowned. “Or perhaps, you’ll kill him.”
The youth was stunned, and even Monkey and the others, fierce as they were, shuddered.
Was this girl joking?
But Sui Yi never joked. Judging by her expression and her aura, she was entirely serious.
The village chief and his companions remained silent; this was now beyond their control.
“If I’m not mistaken, he’s your uncle...” the youth ventured.
Sui Yi glanced at him. “Did you not check before coming? My surname is Sui, his is Ye.”
A hint of amusement.
“To me, he’s just trouble. And trouble is best dealt with.”
A chill emanated from her gentle, indifferent tone—deep, unfathomable.
A’Ah suddenly understood. So Sui Yi wasn’t really part of this family? Then what about the old woman...?
The youth realized his mistake. He hadn’t investigated thoroughly, hadn’t expected Sui Yi had no blood relation to Ye Zhang, especially after he’d tried to use that as leverage. No wonder she’d mocked him.
Still, he was not one to admit defeat easily. Perhaps this girl was goading him.
“Heh, is that so... But if something happens to him, your grandmother will also...”
A second threat.
Sui Yi walked out of the shallows, up onto the bank, saying as she went, “She’ll never know. Anything about Ye Zhang, she’ll never know. With me here, her later years will be free of worry.”
She turned her head, gazing at the youth and his companions with a touch of irony. “I guarantee it.”
She was so confident, so composed, that the others felt naked, laid out on the chopping block.
“No matter what Ye Zhang promised, you’re not to touch the ancestral graves. If you do, my grandmother will grieve—and I won’t allow that. I hope you understand.”
With those words, Sui Yi fell silent.
The youth had nothing more to say.
In force, they were outmatched. In reason, Sui Yi was justified and backed by some ability, perhaps even a powerful background.
A troublesome adversary.
A strong dragon does not suppress the local snake—now things were complicated.
“Heh, I thought this would be a simple task...” The youth smiled, rising from the water. He looked at Sui Yi intently. “I never expected a family like that could produce someone like Miss Sui. Today, you’ve seen a poor show from us.”
His attitude had changed. Now that she’d proven stronger, to belittle her further would be foolish.
Besides, she seemed to belong to their circle in some way; courtesy was required.
A’Ah frowned at him—these people seemed unfamiliar, not from Nanxun Town, nor even from southern Jiangnan.
He thought a moment, then called Elder Lin.
The youth, too, made a call, glancing at A’Ah as he did. He was seeking instructions; clearly, he was not the one in charge.
Monkey and the rest quieted, treating the villagers with markedly more respect.
The villagers, not wishing to stir up further trouble, began to withdraw. The village chief and his men pulled the others aside to discuss a response—these outsiders would not be so easily dismissed.
“Thank goodness Sui Yi is here...”
“She’s ruthless, though. That Ye Zhang is finished.”
“That animal deserves to die. If I were Sui Yi, I’d do the same—damn, what kind of person is he?”
“Enough, it’s Ye family business after all...”
Clearly, in this village, Ye Zhang was regarded as no better than a rat or a cockroach.
No one found Sui Yi’s iron-blooded resolve too much; in fact, deep down, many of the adults admired this remarkable young woman.
---
As for Zhang Yang and the others, they huddled together, discussing in hushed, anxious voices.
For those who had always lived in books, this was pure fantasy.
“Wang Pu, Wang Pu, your... Sui Yi, is she...”
“A martial arts master!”
“I don’t know either...”
“She’s not from your village?”
“She came back later with Granny Ye... Not originally from here.”
“She’s amazing—did she train at a martial arts school?”
“I suppose so...”
Originally, A’Ah was making a call, but then he saw that Zhang Yang and Wang Pu’s eyes had gone glassy.
He glanced over and saw Sui Yi alone by the creek, leaning against a slightly secluded boulder. From this angle, he could see her bending to pull off her shoes and socks, rolling up the wet legs of her trousers.
She’d fallen into the water during the fight, soaking her shoes, clothes, and the lower part of her pants. It was uncomfortable and could easily lead to a cold.
Anyone else would have just pulled off their shoes and rolled up their pants on the spot, but she had chosen a more discreet location.
From their distance, they could only glimpse bits and pieces, but even those fragments felt dreamlike.
A’Ah, suddenly aware of his sharp vision, gripped his phone and glanced over, his gaze lingering on her slender, snowy neck. A few soft, inky-black strands of hair slid down her back, swaying like fine gauze in the wind. He wondered what it would look like if he brushed them aside...
His hand itched inexplicably.
Flustered, he forced himself to look away, only to see Sui Yi rising, carrying her shoes and socks to one side. She took off her half-soaked jacket, revealing a cream-colored English-style shirt. She stepped out from behind the boulder, onto a white stone, her back to them. Her phone rang; she glanced at the number, her eyes flickering.
Old Tang was calling?
As Sui Yi answered, from behind, her calves looked straight and slender, like flawless jade—smooth and white, enough to stir longing and thirst.
Inexplicably, A’Ah thought of the white jade moon-custard he’d once eaten with Elder Lin in a grand hotel. Silky white and intoxicating.
But this feeling was far stronger.
He stared, dazed, as Elder Lin’s voice called repeatedly through the phone...
“Boy? Boy, are you dead?”
“Answer me!”
“Damn it, A’Ah!”
“Ah, Elder Lin...”
“Did you fall into the toilet? Or see something...”
“White jade moon-custard.”
“What? There’s white jade moon-custard in the toilet?”
“....”
On the other side, the youth also watched Sui Yi, his gaze fixed.
A voice on the phone said, “Oh? Such a person? Seventeen or eighteen, a girl—interesting.”
“What’s her name?”
“...Sui Yi.”
---
Sui Yi listened to Tang’s voice on the phone.
“Sui Yi, Lin Quan has been reinstated. Officials from the city have come down as well... Their stance is even more favorable toward us than expected—very unusual. Normally, the deputy mayor’s people aren’t so influential...”
“Can’t you just say it’s political clarity from above, Old Tang? Why so cynical?” Sui Yi’s lips curved with a faint smile.
“Tch, you girl... Oh, right, Yu Hang came looking for you today. Couldn’t find you, so he came to me to complain—said his father scolded him for not being as good as you. Hah! Yu Quan’s all talk, but deep down, who knows how much he envies me...”
Sui Yi failed to catch the point, until he added, “Looks like he wants you as his daughter-in-law. Well, he can keep dreaming!”
That was the point? She couldn’t quite understand these old men’s odd humor. All she could say was, “Old Tang, I have another call coming in. I’ll hang up now.”
“Hey, don’t brush me off like you do Mr. Yi—hey, hey...”
Damn it, she really hung up! Tang swore on the other end.
Sui Yi frowned at the unfamiliar number. Who could it be?
“Hello...?”
“It’s me...”
“And you are...?”
“...Your signal should be fine now, right?”
Sui Yi’s mind went blank—Yi Chi Lian?
(To be continued.)