Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 14: Establishing Authority

In front of Wang Zhao’s small room, a crowd had already gathered.

“Brother Zhao, I really didn’t steal anything…”

The guard, Zhao Mazi, stood with his arms crossed, sneering with narrowed eyes. “You don’t know whether you stole or not?!”

“Then tell me, how did Second Madam’s earring end up in your room?”

“Speak!”

Zhao Mazi’s tone grew heavier.

Several other guards stood behind him, all looking aggressive. In Zhao Mazi’s hand was a delicate pearl pendant, clearly the kind of jewelry only a wealthy household’s lady could afford.

Taking something from the masters without permission in the Zhu family was a serious taboo, one that could get you beaten to death.

Each of these guards looked strong and brutish, with faces full of menace, enough to make anyone tremble.

Some household servants, even though they could tell something was wrong, didn’t dare speak up, afraid of drawing trouble to themselves.

That was human nature.

Everyone knew Zhao Mazi was one of Second Master Zhu Lie’s men. Like their master, the underlings were just as unreasonable. If you angered Zhao Mazi, these kinds of filthy frame-ups would never end.

There had already been several incidents before.

But with Zhu Lie shielding Zhao Mazi, and since they were only bullying lowly servants, the old master of the Zhu family wouldn’t go so far as to turn against his own brother over such trivial matters. Things always ended without resolution.

But this was still a life at stake!

Then again, the life of a lowborn servant meant little to nothing.

“Come on, you’re going to see the old master. Let’s see what he says.”

At the mention of seeing the old master, Wang Zhao’s face instantly turned pale.

Just last month, a new servant was beaten to death by the master, and his body was still in the mass grave. If he really got taken in, Wang Zhao knew his fate wouldn’t be any better.

“Brother Zhao, I’m innocent! I was really framed!”

Wang Zhao was panicking, bowing and knocking his head against the ground repeatedly.

These people had stormed into his room early that morning without any explanation, accusing him of theft. After turning the room upside down, Zhao Mazi suddenly pulled out a pendant and insisted it was stolen.

Zhao Mazi sneered, “Are you saying I falsely accused you?”

Wang Zhao was momentarily speechless, looking helplessly at those around him.

This was like mud falling into your pants, no way to explain it cleanly.

Zhao Mazi was clearly very skilled in such underhanded tactics.

The pendant had been on him the whole time. He’d slipped it into the room during the search.

“If you want to blame someone, blame your master for offending the wrong people!”

Li Rui had recently gained the attention of the Zhu family’s master and his son, making it hard to act directly against him. But targeting his disciple? That was simple, no consequences at all.

Even if the master found out, he wouldn’t stand up for a servant.

In the eyes of the Zhu family master, Wang Zhao was just property, with a clear price tag.

“Stop!”

Just then, Yang Yong and Li Rui pushed through the crowd.

Yang Yong shouted sternly.

Seeing Li Rui arrive, Zhao Mazi let out a mocking chuckle.

“Oh ho, Old Li! Your disciple’s got no morals, stealing from the masters. What do you think should be done about this?”

Li Rui ignored Zhao Mazi completely.

He walked forward, helped Wang Zhao off the ground, and brushed the snow off his clothes.

Being disregarded infuriated Zhao Mazi.

It was one thing for a martial master to look down on him, but now even a seventy-year-old geezer dared to ignore him?!

“Old Li, looks like you’re tired of living!”

Zhao Mazi stepped forward and raised his foot, about to kick.

But he didn’t dare to really use full force, if he actually killed Li Rui, even he wouldn’t be able to explain it.

However, just as his foot was about to touch Li Rui’s robe… Li Rui’s counter-kick shot out like lightning, striking Zhao Mazi square in the stomach.

Boom!

Zhao Mazi’s face contorted in pain as he flew like a ball, rolling several times through the snow before coming to a stop.

He lay there wailing, eyes rolling back, he’d fainted on the spot.

“Anyone else?”

Li Rui retracted his leg and turned, sweeping a cold gaze over the remaining guards.

“You still want to take my disciple away?”

“Uh…”

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

The guards looked at each other, fear written all over their faces.

Zhao Mazi wasn’t their leader just because he could grovel, he could fight too. Like a rabid dog, he didn’t fear pain. That’s why Zhu Lie favored him.

But even Zhao Mazi had been taken down in one move by Li Rui. How could they dare lay a finger on him now?

“Since when was Old Li this fierce?”

“I heard he’s been training recently and made real progress. Look at that black streak in his hair, he’s aging in reverse! If only he’d started younger, he might’ve become a revered master.”

“A revered master?!”

“Yeah, keep dreaming…”

“But still, Old Li really does have some skill now.”

The Zhu family servants watching were all stunned by Li Rui’s explosive show of strength.

In their minds, Old Li had always been a friendly, cautious, cheerful old man who greeted everyone. Many of them had grown up under his watch.

But now, the old man before them exuded a fierce presence, like a dormant tiger suddenly baring its fangs.

The remaining guards exchanged glances. No one dared provoke Li Rui further.

They hurriedly picked up the unconscious Zhao Mazi and fled like beaten dogs.

“All right, everyone can go back.”

Seeing Zhu Lie’s people leave, Li Rui turned to the crowd and spoke.

“Old Li! Since when did you get this powerful?”

A scrawny young servant with a monkey face voiced what everyone was thinking.

Li Rui smiled faintly. “I’ve been practicing a technique called Eight Pieces of Brocade. Turns out it suits me well, I’ve already reached the minor success.”

The moment he spoke—The crowd erupted in shock.

Old Li really had been training!

No wonder he looked so much healthier than before. Many had noticed his physical transformation.

“What a shame. If he’d started forty years earlier, he might’ve become a martial master and shed his servant status.”

An experienced elder servant hit the nail on the head.

No matter how strong Li Rui was now, he had little potential left. Becoming a martial master was basically impossible. At best, he could hold his own in a fight, but with age, that advantage would gradually fade away.

In martial arts, timing was everything.

Take the Zhu family’s eldest son, for example, he started training at five and consumed countless expensive herbs, ordinary folks simply couldn’t compare.

The crowd dispersed.

Wang Zhao looked at Li Rui with a mix of innocence and deep gratitude. “Master, I caused you trouble.”

But Li Rui didn’t blame him.

With Zhu Lie backing Zhao Mazi and a clear intent to frame him, there was no way to avoid something like this. He could only grit his teeth and endure.

Li Rui’s outburst today was partly to protect Wang Zhao, but also to deliberately show some of his strength.

His changes after training were too obvious. The gossip within the Zhu family had already reached his ears via Yang Yong, it couldn’t be hidden anymore.

Hiding strength was not the same as being foolish.

Revealing just the right amount could not only stop people from harboring strange thoughts, but also intimidate hidden threats and prevent a lot of future trouble.

Besides, he was already a ranked martial artist now.

If the Zhu family pushed too far, he was ready to take Wang Zhao and flee in the night to become a hunter in the mountains, or a wandering swordsman.

Rooting for Wang Zhao to enter the ranks as well somewhere down the road :O