Chapter 397 Settling Cause and Effect (Part 2)

The fatty was sent flying, crashing into the snow. Half his face swelled up instantly.

“You motherf—”

He scrambled to his feet, his face twisted in a ferocious snarl. “Kill him! Kill him for me!”

Seven or eight men in gray robes attacked simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the fatty himself scrambled to escape. After fleeing Tan Family Village and seeing that Liang Cheng wasn’t pursuing him, his eyes filled with venom.

“Hmph. You’re courting death!”

Then he left without another glance.

Liang Cheng watched him go from a distance, not bothering to stop him. The other seven or eight men were already strewn across the ground, wailing in agony.

Liang Cheng turned to the village chief.

“Sir, are you all right?”

The village chief stared at him, stunned, only snapping out of it after a long moment.

“I… I’m fine…”

He looked at the Xu Family members on the ground, his expression complex.

“Young Master, you… you’ve brought great trouble upon yourself. The Xu Family won’t let this rest…”

Liang Cheng waved his hand.

“It’s nothing. In fact, it’s perfect. Let them come. I’ll deal with them all at once and save myself the trouble later.”

The village chief stared. “Huh?”

“Sir, the Xu Family has oppressed you for years, and today they came knocking again. Have you never thought of getting revenge? With me here today, no one can bully you.”

Hearing this, the village chief couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

“Revenge? With what? The Xu Family’s Patriarch is at the True Essence Realm Peak, and they supposedly have an old ancestor at the True Gang Realm in secluded cultivation.”

“As for our Tan Family, I’m the strongest one, and I’m only at the Transformation Force Late Stage… and injured at that.”

He sighed.

“Young Master, I appreciate your good intentions. But the Xu Family is a great power, and you are only one man…”

“Don’t worry, sir.”

Liang Cheng cut him off. “If I dare to get involved, it’s because I’m confident I can handle it.”

He looked at the village chief, his gaze calm.

“However, after this is all over, there is something I’d like to ask you. I hope you’ll tell me everything you know.”

The village chief fell silent for a moment. He looked at Liang Cheng, and suddenly, his gaze hardened. For some reason, he found himself completely trusting the young man before him.

“Very well. I’ll trust you this time.”

Liang Cheng nodded.

He turned to the wailing Xu Family members on the ground and nudged the closest one with his foot.

“String them up.”

At the village chief’s command, the able-bodied men of the village strung up all seven or eight of them. Watching them, the chief suddenly felt he had been too impulsive, and he couldn’t hide the worry on his face.

“Young Master, that steward is named Xu Wang. He’s a distant nephew of the Xu Family Patriarch, Xu Zhenshan. The man is extremely vindictive. After suffering such a loss today, he’ll surely go back and embellish the story…”

Liang Cheng didn’t reply, simply glancing at the village’s able-bodied men.

“Sir, first have your men carry the injured villagers inside for treatment. It will take at least two to four hours for that fatty to bring back reinforcements.”

The village chief was taken aback. “The Xu Family is so powerful… and you’re not leaving, Young Master?”

“I said I’d handle it. I’ll see it through to the end.”

The village chief stared at him, dumbfounded, then suddenly gritted his teeth.

“Alright! We’ll do as you say, Young Master!”

He turned and began directing the villagers. Some carried the injured, others cleaned up the area.

Liang Cheng walked to a large boulder at the village entrance, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

…

Two hours later.

The sound of heavy, numerous footsteps came from outside the village.

At least a hundred people.

Liang Cheng opened his eyes.

The village chief also heard the commotion and ran over, his face pale as a sheet.

“Young Master, they’re here…”

Liang Cheng stood up and patted his robes.

“Sir, take your people back into the village. Don’t come out, no matter what you hear.”

“Young Master…”

“Don’t worry.”

With a single step, Liang Cheng appeared a hundred zhang outside the village entrance.

Ahead on the snowy plains, a dark mass of people was surging toward them.

Leading the group was none other than the fatty, Xu Wang. Half his face was still swollen, and his eyes were filled with venomous hatred.

Beside him stood a middle-aged man in a brocade robe with a jade belt. His face was grim, and he radiated a profound aura—a cultivator at the True Essence Realm.

Behind them followed four Elders, all above the True Qi Realm. Further back was a mob of over a hundred gray-robed thugs, their strengths varying from the Dark Force to the Transformation Force Realm.

When Xu Wang spotted Liang Cheng in the distance, his spirits immediately lifted.

“Third Uncle! That’s him! He’s the one who injured us and said the Xu Family was nothing!”

The Xu Family’s Third Master, Xu Zhenhai, squinted at Liang Cheng.

He couldn’t discern Liang Cheng’s Cultivation, and his aura seemed unremarkable.

And yet, just seeing the young man standing there gave him a faint, unsettling feeling, like a palpitation in his heart.

‘Something’s not right.’

He spoke cautiously.

“Who might you be? Why are you meddling in my Xu Family’s business?”

Liang Cheng looked at him.

“I’m handling the Tan Family’s affairs now. Take your men and get out. From this day forward, Ice Wind Valley belongs to the Tan Family. The Xu Family is forbidden from setting foot in it ever again.”

Xu Zhenhai’s face darkened.

“Young man, do you know what you’re saying?”

Liang Cheng did not answer.

Xu Zhenhai’s eyes turned cold.

“You refuse to appreciate a favor! Seize him!”

With a wave of his hand, the four Elders behind him attacked as one. Four figures shot toward Liang Cheng from four different directions, intent on killing him!

Liang Cheng clenched his fist.

In an instant, Xu Zhenhai’s pupils constricted. Before he could even react, the four figures were sent flying backward.

The four of them died on the spot.

Xu Zhenhai’s face was deathly pale. He didn’t even see Liang Cheng make a move.

‘What Realm is this young man? True Gang? Or even…’

He didn’t dare to think further.

“Retreat!”

He turned and ran.

But he had only taken three steps before a figure appeared, blocking his path. Liang Cheng looked down on him.

“I told you to go back and deliver a message.”

Xu Zhenhai’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees with a THUD.

“Senior, spare my life…”

Liang Cheng looked down at him.

“Go back and tell the Xu Family that tomorrow at noon, I will be visiting them for tea.”

Xu Zhenhai nodded frantically, scrambled to his feet, and fled. The hundred or so thugs behind him hoisted the four Elders’ corpses and ran even faster.

A quarter hour later, nothing remained on the snowy plains but a patch of bloodstains.

Liang Cheng sheathed his blade, then turned back to the village.

…

At the village entrance, Tan Wenjie and a group of villagers stood dumbfounded.

They had seen with their own eyes how this young man had routed over a hundred men.

“Y-Young… Benefactor!”

Just as Liang Cheng was about to speak, the seven or eight Xu Family members from the first group—the ones who had been strung up and were playing dead—saw that the tables had turned and immediately began to beg for mercy.