I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 61 Story
Liu Fu's reaction was strange. It was as if he had seen an irreconcilable enemy. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had a look of wanting to devour the young man, as if he was about to pounce on him and tear him to shreds at any moment.

It was a mixture of hatred, fear, and a very strange emotion.

This was the first time Chen Ming had ever seen such complex emotions in a person. He was very curious about what kind of grudges existed between Lao Liu and this young man's father.
Seeing Liu Fu's reaction, the young man in brocade robes smiled knowingly. "Before my father left, he specifically instructed me to go to the Wu family martial arts school in Qingfeng City and find a man named Liu Fu. He asked me to pass on a message to him."

"What...what did you say?"

Liu Fu's voice was hoarse, his hands were clenched tightly, and his breathing was rapid, showing how much he cared about those words.

The young man said, "My father said that she died in childbirth a few years ago, so you don't have to worry about her anymore."

Upon hearing this devastating news, Liu Fu felt dizzy and stood frozen in place.

Seeing his reaction, the young man found it somewhat boring and prepared to leave.

"what--"

Seeing him about to leave, Liu Fu let out a beast-like roar, "Don't go..."

He lunged forward and grabbed the young man's shoulder.

The young man in brocade turned around and thrust his long sword, still sheathed, straight into Liu Fu's chest. The force of the blow was so great that Liu Fu coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

The young man was somewhat puzzled. "With your strength, how could you have defeated my father back then? That's quite strange."

He glanced at Chen Ming standing beside him, and seeing that Chen Ming had no intention of making a move, he turned and left.

……

"Old Liu."

After the two men left, Chen Ming went over and helped Liu Fu up. He was startled to see that Liu Fu's face was ashen and his eyes were closed. After a thorough examination, he found that Liu Fu only had a broken sternum and his injuries were not too serious.

Looking at Old Liu's dejected appearance, he sighed inwardly.

He had also heard some of the stories about Old Liu.

The original owner of the Wu Family Martial Arts School was surnamed Wu, but when the school was passed down to the previous owner, he only had one daughter. In order to prevent the family line from dying out, this owner of the Wu family took a fancy to Liu Fu, a talented but orphaned young man, and planned to take him as his son-in-law.

Unfortunately, before his daughter could get married, Master Wu died mysteriously. Some say he was killed by his enemies, while others say he was poisoned by his resentful apprentice.

After his death, his disciples fought amongst themselves over the martial arts techniques he left behind, and in the end, some died and others left. Only Liu Fu and his fiancée remained.

Unexpectedly, just after the year-long mourning period ended, on their wedding night, his fiancée also suddenly died.

Liu Fu suffered a series of major setbacks and never recovered. Naturally, the Wu Family Martial Arts School declined as a result.

"Now it seems that the rumors were unreliable."

From their conversation and Liu Fu's reaction, Chen Ming guessed that there was more to the story. However, given Liu Fu's current situation, it wasn't wise to ask too many questions.

He could only send someone to call back Liu Fu's two apprentices, instructing them to take good care of their master, and he also left some silver behind.

Then he left.

……

…………

"Second Master, we have guests at home. They are waiting in the hall. They say they are your fellow disciples, but we have never met them before."

As soon as Chen Ming entered the house, he was informed by the gatekeeper, Old Li.

Ever since he broke through to the seventh rank, no one knows who was the first to start calling him Second Master, and from then on, everyone followed suit.

He casually asked, "Oh? What's his name?"

Old Li replied, "They said his surname is Wen."

Last name Wen?

Chen Ming's heart skipped a beat. He walked into the living room and saw that it really was Wen Zehao.

What a rare guest!

The last time we met was more than a year ago, on the day Huo Chengkun passed away.

As Huo Chengkun's last direct disciple, his absence from Huo Chengkun's funeral essentially severed ties with the Huo family. Of course, he was also fortunate enough to escape with his life.

It had been more than a year since they last met. Wen Zehao seemed to have matured a bit, but when he saw him, his expression was a little stiff, and he subconsciously avoided eye contact, as if he felt ashamed.

A middle-aged man sitting next to Wen Zehao stood up and bowed warmly, "This must be Young Master Chen the Second. He is indeed a man of great appearance and outstanding talent."

Chen Ming asked, "And who are you?"

The middle-aged man wore a fawning smile. "I am Hao'er's father, Wen Yuantao. We just returned from out of town and heard that Young Master Chen has broken through to the seventh rank, so we came to offer our congratulations."

Chen Ming understood immediately upon seeing the expressions on the father and son's faces.

This scene is very similar to a father who runs a small business forcibly dragging his classmate, who is a leader, to the house to give gifts and curry favor.

No wonder Wen Zehao looked so ashamed that he didn't want to see anyone.

Back then, Wen Zehao was the most talented among that batch of students. He was eventually taken in as a personal disciple by Huo Chengkun, and he also got engaged to Huo Qianqian, becoming the future heir of the Huo family.

At that time, he was riding high and didn't take Chen Ming, a mediocre student who had been expelled, seriously at all.

Who would have thought that he would now be rejected by Huo Qianqian, and his master would be dead. He would have no further connection with the Huo family. On the contrary, Chen Ming, whom he had looked down upon, rose rapidly in rank, becoming a seventh-grade martial artist in just two years.

He was still a ninth-rank official.

Today, he was dragged here by his father to give Chen Ming a gift. Only he himself knows what that feeling was like.

Wen Yuantao continued, "I heard that you and my son entered the Huo family in the same year, so you should get to know each other better..."

"Wait a moment."

Chen Ming interrupted him, "Young Master Huo has no further connection with the Huo family. Let's not talk about being fellow disciples anymore. Someone, see him out."

After saying that, he turned and left without giving the other person a chance to speak.

Wen Zehao is a traitor and double agent recognized by the Huo family. He naturally wouldn't give the Wen family father and son the opportunity to curry favor; this is a matter of principle.

……

The Wen family father and son were kicked out of the Chen residence.

Wen Zehao's face was ashen, and Wen Yuantao was filled with regret. "Alas, I thought that with Huo Chengkun's death, the Huo family would fall apart. I never expected that such a person would emerge... If only I hadn't been so ruthless back then..."

"Hao'er, why don't we go find Zhang Mingyu? You two were fellow disciples for a few years, there's some bond between you..."

Wen Zehao said resolutely, "I will never go."

He's already lost enough face today; he can't bring himself to beg Zhang Mingyu in such a lowly way.

He turned and left.

"Hao'er... Hao'er..." Wen Yuantao chased after him, but they quickly disappeared into the distance.

The two just happened to pass a horse-drawn carriage.

The carriage arrived directly in front of the Chen residence. As soon as the people in the carriage got off, Old Li, the gatekeeper, came out to greet them with a big smile. "It's Young Master Deng! Please come in."

It was Deng Ziyang who arrived. He asked, "What are those two doing here?"

Old Li said, "They claimed to be fellow disciples of Second Master, and they had been waiting all morning. As soon as Second Master returned and saw them, he kicked them out..."

Deng Ziyang suddenly burst into laughter, "I never thought he'd end up like this!"

He laughed heartily; it was the first time he had been this happy in nearly six months.

When Chen Ming saw him, he asked, "Why are you so happy? Is something good happening?"

Deng Ziyang chuckled and said, "I never thought Wen Zehao would actually come to you for help. Heaven really has eyes."

"You saw them?"

"I saw it. I heard that the Wen family's warehouse was robbed by pirates half a year ago, resulting in heavy losses. Now they're all begging you for help. It seems the Wen family is about to collapse."

(End of this chapter)