Chapter 23: Do You Think I Dare?

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Li Dongshan panicked.

He hadn’t hidden the fact that he had struck Zhao Daqiang, mainly because he presumed Chen Tiansheng couldn’t possibly become a disciple of the sect. Even if Chen did become a disciple of the Mortal Dao Association, let alone hitting Zhao Daqiang, even if he struck Chen’s own mother, Chen wouldn’t dare to raise any objections.

But now things were different. Chen Tiansheng was no ordinary disciple.

He was a member of the Mortal Martial Pavilion!

The pride of the Mortal Dao Association!

Li Dongshan, a mere innkeeper, wasn’t even worthy to wipe Chen Tiansheng’s shoes!

Now, the inn’s staff had not hidden the truth for him. They exposed his lie in public. Chen Tiansheng grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground, choking him painfully by the neck. Li Dongshan was terrified of Chen’s strength.

Looking at Chen Tiansheng’s furious expression, Li Dongshan was filled with dread. Despite his extensive experience with people, this was the first time he had encountered such murderous intent—more terrifying than that of notorious criminals. It was unimaginable for someone so young to possess such intensity.

At this point, Li Dongshan had no room to retreat. He gave up pretending and shouted angrily, “Chen Tiansheng, how dare you lay hands on me, the innkeeper, right here! What do you take this place for? Let me go at once!”

Chen Tiansheng’s cold gaze fixed on Li Dongshan as if looking at a corpse.

Seeing Chen’s silence, Li Dongshan assumed he was scared and began to excuse himself, “I hit Zhao Daqiang because he was wrong—he stole my jade pendant. You hurt me without knowing the facts. Do you think being part of the Mortal Martial Pavilion means you can do whatever you want?”

On the night he last spoke with Chen in the courtyard, Li Dongshan had noticed his jade pendant missing after his bath, but he hadn’t suspected Chen then. Now he used this as a pretext.

Moreover, the jade pendant was truly lost. If investigated, he could simply claim Zhao Daqiang stole it and lost it in panic. Given Zhao’s clumsy nature, he couldn’t prove anything. Chen would have no reason to trouble him. To avoid Chen’s grudges, he could just leave the inn. Or better yet, eliminate Chen before he grew stronger.

Li Dongshan’s plan was sound, but he was unaware that the jade pendant wasn’t lost—it was stolen by Chen Tiansheng!

Feng Siniang was shocked at Chen’s terrifying strength, able to easily lift Li Dongshan, who weighed about 150 pounds. But she quickly composed herself, worried that Chen might act rashly. She stepped forward and said, “Little Chen, it’s not worth breaking the inn’s rules over such a person. Let’s first check on your brother’s injuries and understand the whole story. The organization won’t allow injustice, nor will it let villains go free!”

Li Dongshan snapped angrily, “Feng Siniang, are you saying I’m lying? Where’s your proof?”

Feng Siniang retorted, “Which ear did you hear me say that?”

“Then shut up!” Li Dongshan snapped back.

Having already offended Chen Tiansheng, he wasn’t afraid of offending Feng Siniang too.

At this moment, Feng Siniang chose not to argue further. After all, she didn’t know the full story and had never met Chen’s brother. She didn’t know his character. Publicly slandering an innkeeper of the Mortal Dao Association was a serious accusation for an ordinary wanderer.

Seeing Feng Siniang fall silent, Li Dongshan grew more arrogant and shouted at Chen, “Will you let go or not?”

Chen Tiansheng asked in return, “Why should I?”

“Little Chen,” Feng Siniang reminded him with a shake of her head.

Confident that Chen couldn’t do anything without evidence, Li Dongshan relaxed and teased, “So you mean to act arbitrarily, ignoring right and wrong, and even the organization’s rules?”

Chen replied, “The organization’s rules are definitely not to be ignored.”

His words stunned everyone.

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Li Dongshan secretly laughed at Chen’s apparent loss of reason, daring to say such things.

But then Chen continued, “The organization’s rules must be kept in the heart to be truly remembered. Only people like you look with your eyes but don’t keep them in your heart.”

This statement left everyone speechless.

To utter such a nuanced remark in this situation, where was the loss of reason?

Even the most composed people present wouldn’t claim to remain so calm and articulate.

Li Dongshan was also surprised and furious. He demanded, “If you say you keep the organization’s rules in your heart, then how do you explain your actions now?”

Chen smiled and asked, “You want an explanation?”

Li Dongshan answered seriously, “Yes!”

He refused to believe Chen had any justification for publicly harming him. Most likely Chen was just pretending. Now he even looked forward to Chen attacking him, so the matter could be blown up and Chen’s reputation ruined.

For a boy under fourteen, losing face and becoming the subject of gossip was worse than being stabbed with a sharp blade. It could even damage his resolve and cause a prodigy’s downfall.

Just as he was relishing this thought, Chen suddenly asked, “What kind of jade pendant did you lose? When?”

Li Dongshan sneered at the foolish question. What did Chen expect? That he would make another identical pendant to compensate?

But from a kid’s perspective, it wasn’t impossible.

So he said flatly, “The jade pendant I always wear on my waist, carved with a tiger pattern. Everyone working in the inn recognizes it—you should know it too. It went missing after you left for your assessment.”

He looked to the inn’s staff nearby, who exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Li Dongshan always took out the pendant to fiddle with it when at the counter, so the staff had seen it many times.

Just as everyone thought Chen would do something, he put his left hand into his pocket, fumbled briefly, and took out a jade pendant. Holding it aloft before everyone, he asked, puzzled, “Li Dongshan, is this the pendant you said you lost?”

The staff member who had earlier exposed Li’s lie stepped forward and loudly confirmed, “Yes, it’s this pendant! The worn marks from handling it can’t be faked!”

Several staff members gathered to look closely and recognized the pendant.

Li Dongshan was flustered, unable to understand why the pendant was in Chen’s hand. He demanded, “How did you get the pendant? Did you find it? Or did Zhao Daqiang secretly have someone give it to you?”

He had just claimed that Zhao stole the pendant during Chen’s assessment period, but Chen had been in the inn’s lobby the whole time, and Zhao was injured. So he could only claim Chen found it or Zhao had someone bring it secretly.

Chen sneered, “Li Dongshan, you don’t look that old, how could you be so confused? Didn’t you forget you gave this to me a few days ago?”

“Gave it to you?”

Li Dongshan was stunned.

This was his favorite pendant — how could he have given it away?

If he gave it, it wouldn’t be to a brat like this!

Could it be... this kid stole the pendant?

Thinking this, Li Dongshan shouted angrily, “You stole my pendant!”

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Chen looked puzzled. “You just said the pendant was missing after I went for my assessment. How did it suddenly become that I stole it?”

“Besides, this pendant was clearly a gift from you. Now you’re slandering me. Did you give it to me just to set me up later?”

“What’s wrong? Is it true and you have no response?”

Chen spoke passionately. Li Dongshan wanted to reply but couldn’t find words. His face turned dark red. After a long moment, he snarled, “You’re lying!”

Chen said, “Everyone recognizes this as your pendant, and the timeline proves you’re lying. Now you turn around and accuse me. Who’s right or wrong is clear to all.”

At these words, the crowd nodded repeatedly.

“Innkeeper Li, you are so unscrupulous to do such a dirty deed!”

“You look human but act worse than swine!”

“Li Dongshan is a con artist, skilled in deception. I was fooled too, but luckily Chen exposed his lies, or I would have trusted a villain!”

The crowd’s accusations surged like a tide against Li Dongshan.

Li Dongshan, a man of pride, could not endure such reproach. Without evidence to prove Chen wrong, he roared furiously, “Chen Tiansheng, you’re spreading lies and deceiving the crowd! If you have the guts, swear before everyone here that you’re telling the truth!”

Chen’s face remained calm. “Truth lies in people’s hearts. No matter how much you talk, you can’t change the fact that you hurt my brother. I said it before: those who harm my brother will die!”

Li Dongshan shouted back, “Die? You dare?”

No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly felt his throat tighten fiercely. Breath caught, his body jerked upward, then violently collapsed backward, crashing heavily onto the counter behind him. A loud crack rang out as the solid wood counter was smashed. Li Dongshan faintly heard the sound of his spine breaking. Pain exploded in his back, and consciousness nearly faded.

At that moment, Chen Tiansheng gripped Li Dongshan’s throat, pressing him down into the broken counter.

Li Dongshan’s eyes widened in terror as he stared at the young man before him—like the Grim Reaper, a torrent of murderous intent engulfed him, a breath of death sweeping over.

He was afraid now.

He had made the gravest mistake by offending this youth.

He wanted to live.

He struggled to speak but his voice was strangled, barely able to open his mouth.

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his neck. A crisp snap echoed. His vision tilted and blurred.

He never imagined Chen Tiansheng would dare kill him here!

Chen had publicly broken Li Dongshan’s neck!

“Do you think I wouldn’t dare?”