Chapter 7: Enemies on a Narrow Road

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Within the Lin residence, strength was the premise that determined everything about one's status. Without strength, even Chu Fengmian, once the overseer of the residence's exterior affairs, received no regard from any of the common Lin residence disciples.

Only when he displayed his own strength did he truly possess an identity and status.

This time, not a single Lin residence disciple dared to stand in Chu Fengmian's way; they all voluntarily cleared a path, allowing Chu Fengmian to enter.

"This month's salary, hand it over."

The person responsible for distributing salaries at the Medicine Hall was just an ordinary disciple of the residence's exterior affairs.

When he saw Chu Fengmian walking in, his face turned extremely anxious. Upon hearing Chu Fengmian's question, he stuttered for a long time before he finally spoke.

"Steward Chu, your salary for this month has already been claimed by someone else."

"Claimed?"

A hint of chillness flashed in Chu Fengmian's eyes.

In the Lin residence, there had never been a practice of claiming someone else's salary. It was only because of Chu Fengmian's lack of strength in the past that his salary had been taken by others.

And now, someone dared to claim his salary again.

"Steward, please forgive me, it was my mistake..."

The exterior disciple hastily bowed his head and admitted his fault.

Originally, he hadn't taken Chu Fengmian seriously as an overseer. Just now, some people had come to claim Chu Fengmian's salary, and he naturally handed it over to them, after all, Chu Fengmian had never chased the matter.

But this time, Chu Fengmian had come in person.

The disciple had witnessed how Chu Fengmian taught Lin Gou a lesson just earlier, and he understood that the Chu Fengmian now was no longer the Chu Fengmian of the past.

He certainly did not wish to end up like Lin Gou, with all four limbs broken, so he could only admit his wrongdoing obediently.

"Speak, who took it."

Chu Fengmian glanced at the exterior disciple and spoke in a cold voice.

"It was Lin Mo and Lin Ye, the two of them."

The exterior disciple answered respectfully.

"I thought as much."

Upon hearing these two names, a hint of killing intent flashed in Chu Fengmian's eyes.

The Chu Fengmian of the past had been beaten to death alive by these two, and it seemed that now it was Chu Fengmian's turn to seek justice.

"Lin Gou's salary, hand it over."

Chu Fengmian glanced at the disciple and said coldly.

"This..."

Upon hearing Chu Fengmian's words, the exterior disciple struggled to respond, but after seeing Chu Fengmian's icy stare, he hurriedly took out a bottle of pills and handed it to Chu Fengmian.

Lin Gou was now a cripple and would need several months to contemplate revenge, but offending the current Chu Fengmian could mean ending up in the same fate as Lin Gou.

"This is Lin Gou's salary for the month."

"From now on, deliver the salary to me each month proactively. If there is even the slightest shortfall, you will end up just like Lin Gou."

Chu Fengmian looked at the disciple and spoke with a cold tone.

"Yes, yes."

The disciple hastily nodded, and Chu Fengmian, taking the jade bottle, left the Medicine Hall with large strides.

The disciple finally breathed a sigh of relief only after Chu Fengmian had left.

"This Chu Fengmian, how did he become so powerful? This won't do, I must report to the Deputy Steward."

Muttering to himself, the disciple arranged for someone else to distribute the salaries and left on his own.

Within the exterior part of the Lin residence, in a broad courtyard, two burly men sat in front of a stone table, with several jade bottles placed before them.

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Within each jade vial was contained a myriad of Spirit Pills.

"Lin Ye, what do you think about Chu Fengmian coming back to the Lin Residence?"

Lin Mo asked Lin Ye in front of him, his tone laced with confusion.

"And I heard he seems to have condensed his Spirit Vein, become a Martial Artist, and even defeated Cao Dahai?"

"It seems this kid still has his life pretty big, not dying like that."

Lin Ye sneered from the side.

"But even if he has become a Martial Artist, what of it? He's nothing more than trash with a single Spirit Vein. In a couple of days, we'll send him some Salary and see if he's still human or a ghost."

"This Chu Fengmian's Salary is shockingly high, a hundred Bone Tempering Pills a month, and ten Body Refining Pills."

Lin Mo looked at the medicinal pills on the stone table in front of him, greed flashing across his face.

Such a Salary was enough for them for half a year.

"This Salary will from now on be ours, giving it to that waste Chu Fengmian is simply squandering it. Speaking of which, we should really thank that piece of trash. Otherwise, how could our levels have improved so swiftly?"

Lin Ye laughed loudly.

The two of them had also managed to break through to the fifth layer of the Bone Tempering Realm precisely because they had robbed Chu Fengmian of his Salary, which made them quite influential figures in the outer Lin Residence.

"Bang!"

As the two laughed heartily, a sudden loud noise came from outside the courtyard.

Lin Mo and Lin Ye hurried out, only to see the wooden door of the courtyard had been kicked open.

"Who is it?"

"Who is this blind fool, daring to act recklessly here with us?"

Lin Mo and Lin Ye roared in unison.

Within this outer area of the Lin Residence, there were few who dared to oppose them.

"Chu Fengmian?"

Seeing the figure walking in from outside, Lin Mo's face showed a hint of surprise, followed by a sneer.

"Chu Fengmian, I didn't expect you to still be alive and make it back to the Lin Residence. Your life really is quite tough."

Upon seeing Chu Fengmian, Lin Mo did not hesitate to hurl sarcasm.

"We were just wondering if you were a man or a ghost, and here you deliver yourself right to our doorstep."

"I heard you've opened up your Spirit Vein and become a Martial Artist? But trash will always be trash; in the Lin Residence, a waste with a mere Spirit Vein is nothing more than a slave."

Lin Ye also spoke chillingly, his eyes filled with a hint of disdain.

In their view, even if Chu Fengmian successfully condensed his Spirit Vein and became a Martial Artist, what good would it do? Strength isn't something that can grow overnight, and a newly promoted Martial Artist was, in their eyes, nothing more than an ant.

Chu Fengmian spoke without any superfluous words, his voice icy.

"Hand over this month's Salary."

"Salary?"

Hearing Chu Fengmian's words, Lin Mo and Lin Ye both burst into laughter.

"Chu Fengmian, it seems your brain is damaged, still daring to ask us for Salary."

Lin Mo's face showed a mocking smile.

"We've said before, your Salary every month from now on is ours. It seems the lesson we gave you wasn't enough, huh?"

"Lin Mo, let me handle him!"

Lin Ye took a step forward and said in a sinister tone.

"This kid broke several of my teeth last time; today, I'm going to smash all of his teeth out!"