Do you want to lose your hand?

Ni Wenyu invited everyone to continue eating and told them to ignore that barking dog.

"Puff." Jiang Lihua, who was drinking soup, spat a mouthful out.

Since when had this young man become so confident and forceful? He was completely different from the forbearing lad of three years ago!

Zhu Yitong immediately flew into a rage: "Ni Wenyu, you're merely a provincial exam top scorer, and already you dare to be this arrogant?"

The corners of Ni Wenyu’s mouth curled upward as he turned to look at him with disdain: "That's right, merely the top scorer. It's a pity, however, that some people aren't even metropolitan graduates."

"You!" Zhu Yitong pointed at him, his face turning livid. "A good-for-nothing who relies on a woman to support him, what is there to be smug about?"

Over the past few years, he had long since investigated Ni Wenyu's background.

He was nothing more than an orphan with neither father nor mother, forced to rely on a young girl for his keep.

Ignoring the mockery, Ni Wenyu smugly replied: "I have someone to support me, do you? Even if you wanted it, you wouldn't! Are you jealous of me, which is why you keep picking fights with me?"

Zhu Yitong was struck speechless, staring at him with wide eyes.

Could this person really be Ni Wenyu?

How had he become so utterly shameless?

He still remembered how, back at the academy, whenever he mocked Ni Wenyu for depending on a woman, the latter would always blush, lower his head, and appear too ashamed to face anyone.

And now? He actually took pride in it!

Zhu Yitong turned to the two men behind him: "Still not making a move?"

The two men behind him were his usual lackeys. At this moment, however, they lacked their former arrogance and looked at Ni Wenyu with a trace of apprehension.

Seeing the two hesitate, Zhu Yitong cursed them internally as useless cowards afraid of trouble.

"Still not moving? Do you expect me to do it myself? He's just a penniless scholar! So what if he's the top scorer? Without connections, he is nobody!"

The two men snapped back to their senses, got up, and prepared to rush forward to grab Ni Wenyu.

"Halt!" Ni Wenyu barked. "I don't wish to stir up trouble today; I only want to enjoy a proper meal. If you insist on looking for trouble, don't blame me for being heartless!"

Ni Wenyu's words were icy and ruthless, his face shrouded in a dark expression that deterred anyone from stepping forward.

Seeing the two hesitating and failing to advance, a surge of anger welled up within Zhu Yitong, and he cursed loudly: "Useless trash! What use do I have for the likes of you?"

The two men lowered their heads without talking back.

Like Ni Wenyu, they came from impoverished families. In search of a way out, they had attached themselves to Zhu Yitong, but they had no desire to offend someone they couldn't afford to cross simply because of him.

If trouble arose, Zhu Yitong had people to protect him, whereas they had no one.

Being cursed a few times wouldn't kill them, so he could hurl whatever insults he pleased!

"Whichever of you strikes first, I will reward with one hundred taels of silver," Zhu Yitong said after calming down a little.

Money makes the ghost push the millstone; he refused to believe these two pieces of trash wouldn't act.

The two lackeys weighed their options and still didn't move. Offending Ni Wenyu for one hundred taels was still too much of a gamble; judging by his current aura, he was clearly no longer the man he used to be.

"Five hundred taels," Zhu Yitong said through clenched teeth. He simply refused to yield to this today.

The moment the words fell, the two men scrambled over each other as they lunged toward Ni Wenyu.

Zhu Yitong looked at Ni Wenyu with a triumphant smirk.

Ni Wenyu stopped Uncle Jiang, who had started to rise to help. With the curl of his lip, he didn't take the two men seriously at all.

The instant the pair lunged forward, Ni Wenyu stood up and kicked out in one fluid motion. His feet struck their kneecaps, sending them crashing face-first into the ground in an ungraceful tumble.

Ni Wenyu chuckled lightly: "I am merely the top scorer, there's no need to bow so formally."

Why had this penniless brat become so formidable?

"Ni! Wen! Yu!" Zhu Yitong roared in mad fury, grabbing a nearby set of dishes and hurling them at Ni Wenyu.

Ni Wenyu handled the situation with ease.

Jiang Lihua watched in amazement. Since when had he learned martial arts? She had no inkling of it whatsoever.

The shattered crockery strewn across the floor failed to scratch him in the slightest; Ni Wenyu no longer feared Zhu Yitong at all now.

Zhu Yitong was merely the illegitimate son of the Prefect of Nanzhou. The Prefect had a wife as fierce as a tigress and dared not take a concubine, so he kept a mistress instead.

With such a disreputable background, what was there to be arrogant about? If that shrew of a wife ever found out, Zhu Yitong would surely meet a dead end without anyone needing to lift a finger.

"Shall we continue?" Ni Wenyu asked, looking at Zhu Yitong with disdain.

That look from Ni Wenyu deeply provoked Zhu Yitong.

He detested nothing more than people looking down on him, let alone when the person doing so was Ni Wenyu.

Ever since childhood, everyone around him had looked down on him, calling him an illegitimate child who couldn't be shown in public.

He had endured enough of that, which was why he had fled to this small town, only to find that someone here still dared to look down on him.

Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes turned red, and clenching his fists, he charged straight at Ni Wenyu.

Ni Wenyu violently reached out, grabbed his hand, and twisted it hard.

"Ah!" Zhu Yitong let out a miserable scream. "Ni Wenyu, how dare you hurt me? I won't let you off!"

"Heh, Young Master Zhu, you're still in my hands and yet you dare speak so arrogantly. Do you no longer want your hand?" Ni Wenyu threatened with a cold smile.

He applied a fraction more pressure to Zhu Yitong's hand, causing the latter to bare his teeth and howl in agony: "What on earth do you want? Let me go at once!"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking what *you* want? I was peacefully eating my meal here, what business did you have coming over to stir up trouble?"

"I simply can't stand the sight of a poor wretch like you."

Yes, he couldn't stand Ni Wenyu. By what right could a penniless brat become the disciple of the man Zhu Yitong wanted to study under? By what right had he passed the provincial exam when Zhu Yitong hadn't even managed to pass as a metropolitan graduate?

By what absolute right?!

"Can't stand the sight of me? Then you're going to suffer plenty from now on, because there will be many more days where you'll have to endure looking at me!" With that, Ni Wenyu flung him toward the entrance.

Sprawled on the ground, Zhu Yitong shot daggers with his eyes, trembling all over with rage as he glared at Ni Wenyu.

What on earth gave this punk the confidence to treat him this way?

Ni Wenyu swept a glance at the two lackeys still playing dead on the floor and said, "Get lost. The next time I see you, I'll beat you once."

The two men breathed sighs of relief, scrambled hurriedly to their feet, stumbled over to Zhu Yitong, hoisted him up, and prepared to flee.

"Wait."

Hearing Ni Wenyu speak, the three turned back to look at him, wondering what else he wanted. Did he regret letting them go?

"Compensate for these broken dishes. As you know, I'm just a penniless scholar myself, and I certainly can't afford to pay for them."

Even though it was a self-deprecating remark, Ni Wenyu delivered it with utter nonchalance, as if he were mocking them.

Choking with resentment and glaring furiously at Ni Wenyu, Zhu Yitong ultimately had no choice but to swallow his pride and pay the compensation.

When Ni Wenyu returned to his seat, Jiang Lihua asked, "When did you learn martial arts?"

The others at the table also looked at him curiously, waiting for his answer.

Rubbing his nose, Ni Wenyu smiled and said, "After Zhu Yitong beat me three years ago, my Senior Brother secretly sent someone to teach me martial arts. I wanted to wait until I had actually achieved something before telling you."

He made it sound effortless, but only he knew the hardships involved.

He was already thirteen at the time, having missed the optimal age for learning martial arts. When he first started, he felt as though every bone in his body was about to shatter.

Yet, the moment he thought of Lihua, he was able to grit his teeth and persevere.

Even the hidden guards sent by his Senior Brother to instruct him were filled with admiration for his sheer tenacity.

Uncle Jiang praised: "Young Master Ni is truly remarkable. Balancing both your studies and martial arts training must have been terribly difficult, hasn't it? Come, today we drink until we're thoroughly drunk."

Everyone raised their glasses together to toast his success.

After the meal, everyone went about their respective business, leaving Jiang Lihua and Ni Wenyu to stroll leisurely down the main street.

Over the past few years, Lihua and he had each been busy with their own lives, rarely having the opportunity to wander the streets in such a relaxed manner.

Spotting a jewelry shop, Ni Wenyu pulled Jiang Lihua inside.

Noticing that Lihua wore nothing in her hair save for a single hairpin and never cared much for adornments, he decided to take the chance today to buy one for her.

Jiang Lihua followed behind him with a helpless smile.

"Lihua, take a look around as well. See if there's anything you like," Ni Wenyu said.

Jiang Lihua glanced at the hairpins displayed on the counter, picked one up, and said, "This one is quite nice. Let's get this one!"

It was a white jade hairpin, simple yet elegant.

"How much for this hairpin? I'll take it," a young woman dressed in a pink pleated, chest-high ruqun said arrogantly as she looked at Jiang Lihua.

"I'm sorry, I've already bought it," Jiang Lihua replied.

"Have you paid for it yet?" The young woman looked at Jiang Lihua with complete disdain.

Her maid chimed in: "Exactly! You haven't paid yet, but you claim you bought it? Are you trying to rob us?"

With that, the maid produced a ingot of silver and handed it to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, my young mistress wants this hairpin."

The shopkeeper looked between the two of them with a troubled expression.

In business, nothing was more dreaded than encountering this sort of situation. The young mistress clearly looked like someone not to be trifled with, while the other girl, though plainly dressed, didn't seem willing to back down easily either.

Stepping in front of Jiang Lihua, Ni Wenyu placed two silver ingots onto the counter: "Shopkeeper, we'll take this hairpin."

This was the first hairpin Lihua had taken a fancy to; he was determined to buy it for her.

Dropping the silver, he grabbed Jiang Lihua's hand, ready to leave.

"Halt." Drawing a long whip, the young woman blocked their path.

Shielding Lihua behind him, Ni Wenyu said in a deep voice: "Please make way, Miss."

"And what if I refuse to?" The young woman raised an eyebrow, eyeing him askance.

As for Su Moxue, she had both beauty and status, yet not a single man truly cherished her in this manner—those surrounding her were merely sycophants currying favor.

Only Gu Qingran refused to fawn over her and treated her with indifference. Learning that he was in this small town, she had traveled thousands of miles to find him, only to miss him entirely.

Irritated and wandering about with her maid, the sight of a young man deeply cherishing the little girl beside him suddenly stirred up a deep sense of displeasure within her.

Thus, seeing the girl take a liking to a hairpin, she had deliberately stepped in to snatch it.

Unwilling to waste any more breath on such an overbearing young miss, Ni Wenyu shoved her aside and walked away with Lihua.

Seeing her mistress pushed, the maid Xiaolu shouted at Ni Wenyu's retreating back: "Stop right there! You have a lot of nerve, how dare you push my young mistress!"

Acting as though he hadn't heard a thing, Ni Wenyu didn't even look back as he led Jiang Lihua further away.

Su Moxue watched their departing figures with a cold smile.

To think that even in this wretched little town, someone would dare ignore her this way. How interesting.

"Miss, are you alright?" Xiaolu asked anxiously upon seeing Su Moxue standing there in a daze.

"I'm fine. We'll stay here a few more days. Go and find out who those two are," Su Moxue instructed.

Xiaolu knew that those two had caught her mistress's eye.