X-Dragon Era

Clearly, Ming Xuan was not visiting for the first time; he expertly navigated through the night market. Ming Xuan spoke up, "Turn this corner and about thirty meters to the right is the stall that mom takes care of."

Hearing Ming Xuan's words, the group couldn't help but quicken their pace. Just as they turned the corner, Ming Xuan stretched out his hand, pointing at a stall and was about to speak when he suddenly froze, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.

Following the direction of Ming Xuan's hand, a crowd was gathered there. Although they didn't know what had happened, several harsh, gruff voices cursing could be heard emanating from the crowd.

Upon seeing this, Ming Xuan charged towards the gathering like a madman...

Xin Yun took a sharp breath, not daring to delay, and hurriedly led the two girls to follow.

Parting the crowd, they immediately saw Ming Xuan's mother standing there with a pale face, fearfully apologizing to several bulky men, bowing repeatedly. On her right cheek, a vivid red fingerprint was clearly marked.

"Cut the crap! If you can't pay up the protection money, don't even think about setting up a stall here. Either pack up and leave now or pay the protection fee immediately; otherwise, don't blame me for not being polite..." the leader of the group bellowed arrogantly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

In response to the big man's shout, Ming Xuan's mother said weakly, "I have paid it... The man with a scar on his face came to collect it the day before yesterday. I handed it to him."

"A scar?" Hearing Ming Xuan's mother's words, the leader tilted his head and asked the men behind him, "Old Six, did you collect the protection money here?"

With the leader's inquiry, a gruff-looking man with a fierce scar on his face quickly stepped forward, grinned sheepishly, and said, "Boss, don't listen to her nonsense. About this matter... please be lenient with me, boss. Seeing her pitiful state, I haven't collected the protection money here for over half a year."

"What! More than half a year?" the leader's eyes widened with fury upon hearing the scarred man's words.

As he saw the boss's displeased expression, the scar knows what was coming and gently slapped his own face, smiling and saying, "The boss is sharp. I confess, the truth is... this woman has never paid the protection fee. She's been owing... she's owed three years' worth of protection fees."

"Hmm..." The leader nodded with satisfaction, turned his head to Ming Xuan's mother, and said, "So you've never paid the protection fee, huh? That won't do, rules are rules and can't be broken. Now you either pay up the three years of back protection money immediately or come with me!"

"Ah!" Upon hearing the other party's words, Ming Xuan's mother screamed, desperately shaking her head, "No... that's impossible. He's lying; I wasn't even in this city three years ago."

Watching Ming Xuan's mother's helpless and frantic state, the leader licked his lips with greed and smiled, "I've been away for two years, and now there comes such a pitiable little beauty. But... playing dumb won't work. Don't say you weren't here three years ago; are we supposed to be lying?"

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With that, the leader tilted his head and addressed the men behind him, "What are you standing around for? Take her away!"

At the boss's command, two burly men immediately stepped out, charging viciously towards Ming Xuan's mother. Then, suddenly, Ming Xuan burst forth from the crowd, arms spread, positioning himself between the men and his mother.

Angry, Ming Xuan shouted at the men in front of him, "Stop! You despicable scoundrels, we've paid the protection fee. If you dare to mess around, the city lord won't..."

"Bang! To hell with..." Before Ming Xuan could finish his sentence, one of the men kicked out, landing harshly on Ming Xuan's waist. The tremendous force sent Ming Xuan flying five or six meters before he landed on the ground, clutching his stomach in agony.

The leader of the group spoke coldly, "Kid, even if the city lord were here, what of it? This woman owes us a lot of money. If she can't pay, she must come with us, and even the city lord can't interfere."

With these words, the leader motioned with a wave of his hand, shouting angrily, "How dare you ruin my plans, beat him up..."

Upon the leader's command, one of the strong men quickly sprang to Ming Xuan's side, bent down to grab Ming Xuan's hair, and fiercely slapped him across the face. Amidst the crisp sound, Ming Xuan's already swollen face instantly turned bluer, and a mouthful of fresh blood burst forth.

Seeing this scene, Ming Xuan's mother rushed over, grabbed the strong man's arm, and cried out frantically, "Don't hit him, stop it! Don't hit my child."

"Your child?" Hearing Ming Xuan's mother's words, the leader squinted his eyes and chuckled sinisterly, "No need to be polite to me, beat him to death!"

Hearing the boss's words, the strong man revealed a malicious grin and delivered another heavy slap to the other side of Ming Xuan's face. With immense force, Ming Xuan's head spun from the impact of the slap, slipping into a semi-conscious state.

"Stop it! Stop..." Ming Xuan's mother screamed, exhausted. "I'll go with you, I'll just go with you, please don't hit my child anymore..."

"Heh heh," a lecherous laugh escaped as the leader fondled his chin and whispered in a low voice, "If you had agreed to come with me earlier, wouldn't all this have been over? Once I've had my fun with you, I'll naturally let you go."

As if he heard what the man had said, Ming Xuan, who was already in a semi-conscious state, suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze reddening as he looked at the man gripping his collar. With a fierce opening of his mouth, he bit down hard on the man's arm.

"Agh!" Taken by surprise by Ming Xuan's tenacious bite, the strong man let out a pig-like scream and tried forcefully to shake off the hold, but couldn't. Driven to madness by the pain, he finally raised his other fist and with a menacing force, struck down towards the back of Ming Xuan's head.

"Ah!" Witnessing this scene, Ming Xuan's mother clasped her chest and screamed sharply. With the brute strength and ferocity of the strong man, this punch would burst Ming Xuan's head open like a rotten watermelon, an outcome that seemed almost certain. Not only Ming Xuan's mother but also many women among the onlookers screamed.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." Just as the strong man's fist was about to smash into the back of Ming Xuan's head, in an instant... a series of whistling sounds sliced through the air as a gleaming shadow spun past.

"Crack..." Amidst the sound of a crisp snap and splashing blood, the glimmering shadow instantly swept across the strong man's wrist, effortlessly severing it with a single slice, then, in a series of boomerangs, it traced an arc midair and flew back in the direction it came from.

"Plop..." Finally, the spinning glimmer came to a halt, obediently resting in a small hand. Upon closer inspection, it was a gleaming boomerang axe, which at this moment... was being held by an eight or nine-year-old child.

Indeed, it wasn't anyone else who had intervened; it was Xin Yun. Although he was young, Xin Yun had the strength of a four-star bronze, and coupled with the exceptional skills inherited from a past life plus the close distance, this achievement was entirely normal.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." With a subtle flick of his index finger, instantly... the glistening boomerang axe began spinning rapidly around Xin Yun's finger, quickly turning into a bright cold gleam.

"Thwack... Thwack... Thwack..." Spinning the boomerang axe in his hand, Xin Yun slowly walked towards the center of the area, surrounded by silence, as everyone watched him in a daze.

Finally, Xin Yun came to a stop, his eyes coldly fixed on the man still gripping Ming Xuan, he said icily, "If you don't let go now, the next thing to leave your body—will be your head!"