The Newcomer in the Martial Arts School

The landlord aunt's apartment was just upstairs.

An Yi and Qin Yao arrived at the door.

“An Yi, the door's locked!”

Shen Muxuan bit her lower lip and glanced at An Yi.

*Click!*

Before Shen Muxuan could get anxious, the security door was quickly unlocked by An Yi.

The two stepped inside, finding the room in a bit of disarray.

The placement of items in the room showed clear signs of being rummaged through.

Could it have been a burglary?

An Yi frowned slightly and walked into Aunt Zhou’s bedroom. He reached out, lifted up the bed frame, and retrieved a long-hidden safe box from underneath.

Then, to Shen Muxuan’s utter astonishment, An Yi took out a few tools, a wire, a chopstick, and—on a whim—plucked a strand of her hair.

In just a few simple steps, he opened the safe.

Inside were a passbook with 80,000 yuan, two pieces of gold jewelry, and a jade ornament. Everything was accounted for; not a single cent was missing.

After checking the items, An Yi put them back into the safe, locked it, and returned it under the bed frame.

Shen Muxuan stared in disbelief. “You… how do you even know about Aunt Zhou’s money?”

An Yi shot her a glance. “Is this the time to care about that?”

Shen Muxuan nodded hastily. “Oh, right.”

Returning to the living room, An Yi looked over the scattered items on the floor and shook his head.

He wasn’t a detective and didn’t know how to analyze such clues.

Aunt Zhou’s phone had been unreachable all day, and she had been missing for an entire day now.

An Yi sighed. “We’d better call the police.”

The authorities arrived faster than expected.

The one leading the team was a young officer. After carefully reviewing the surveillance footage, they found that Aunt Zhou was last seen on a dark street. Two burly men had followed her, forcing her into an unmarked car, after which she vanished without a trace.

“An Yi, Aunt Zhou was taken by them!” Shen Muxuan cried out anxiously as she spotted Aunt Zhou on the footage.

“Wait!”

An Yi quickly gestured for the young officer to pause the video.

“Do you know this person?” the officer inquired.

“No,” An Yi replied, his expression dark, his mood thoroughly sinking.

He understood now that Aunt Zhou’s disappearance was anything but simple.

“Young man, don’t worry too much. We’re here, and we’ll do everything we can to help you find your family.”

The young officer’s words were meant to comfort.

An Yi nodded. “Officer, please let us know if there’s any progress.”

“Of course. You two should head home for now.”

The young officer escorted An Yi and Shen Muxuan out of the surveillance room.

He then sat down in his chair, massaging his temples with a troubled look on his face.

“Liu Wei, is it the same group again?” asked a middle-aged man with a square-shaped face standing nearby.

Liu Wei nodded. “It’s definitely them.”

“Headquarters has ordered us not to pursue this case. You’d better think carefully.”

The square-faced man issued a serious warning.

Liu Wei’s lips twitched slightly before he let out a heavy sigh.

This was a murky situation—a tangled web of connections too intricate for someone with his level of authority to disturb.

But turning a blind eye would leave a bad taste in his mouth, gnawing at his conscience.

Back at Aunt Zhou’s apartment, both An Yi and Shen Muxuan looked somber.

“An Yi, why don’t you eat something?” Shen Muxuan sat down beside him, her voice gentle.

“I’m not hungry. You go ahead.” An Yi shook his head, his expression grim.

Shen Muxuan’s gaze clouded over. “I can’t eat either.”

Actually, Aunt Zhou had experienced a few similar situations over the past two years.

At first, An Yi didn’t pay much attention to it, but the last time Aunt Zhou was covered in injuries and ended up collapsing at the hospital, that’s when he became alert.

This time, she had disappeared again, and it had already been a day without any news. His heart couldn’t help but grow anxious; he had a nagging feeling that something was wrong.

At that moment, a series of brisk footsteps echoed from the hallway.

An Yi and Shen Muxuan exchanged a quick glance.

Then, the room’s light suddenly clicked on.

Aunt Zhou appeared at the doorway, her face showing some injuries.

“Aunt Zhou!”

Shen Muxuan’s expression lit up with relief, and she hurried over to her, exclaiming, “Aunt Zhou, you’re finally back! Do you know how worried we’ve been about you?”

“What… Why are you two in my house?” Aunt Zhou asked in a slightly stunned tone.

“Aunt Zhou, you’ve been missing for a whole day! Where have you been? We were so worried that we even called the police.”

An Yi looked at the bruises on her face and asked gravely, “And what happened to your injuries?”

“I went to a scenic spot for a day to relax—I’ve been working so hard, can’t I take a day off? My phone ran out of battery, that’s all.”

Aunt Zhou touched her bruised face with irritation and added, “I ran into an uncivilized, nasty woman at the scenic spot. We got into an argument, and it escalated into a fight. She was ruthless!”

“But… but…”

Shen Muxuan started to bring up how she had seen Aunt Zhou being taken away by two men.

Just then, An Yi interrupted her with a smile, “See? I knew Aunt Zhou wouldn’t just disappear like that. Still, there aren’t many people capable of taking advantage of you, Aunt Zhou. I wouldn’t mind meeting someone like that someday.”

“Ugh, you brat! You just want to see me getting embarrassed, don’t you?”

Aunt Zhou rolled her eyes at him, then said, “Have you eaten yet? Let me whip up a few dishes for you.”

“We’ve already eaten, Aunt Zhou. If there’s nothing else, we’d better head home now. Good night.”

An Yi smiled warmly as he spoke, dragging the hesitant Shen Muxuan out of the apartment.

After sending the two of them off and closing the door, the ever-smiling Aunt Zhou let her expression drop into one of utter exhaustion.

She leaned back against the door, her body sliding slowly down as though all her strength had been drained.

Her tears began to silently stream down her face.

The soft sound of sobbing echoed through the room.

Back in the rental apartment, Shen Muxuan confronted An Yi angrily, “An Yi! Aunt Zhou was taken away by two men—you saw it too! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Are you hungry? Want me to make you a bowl of noodles?”

An Yi asked indifferently.

Shen Muxuan glared at him with her big, round eyes, clearly annoyed, but eventually admitted, “Hungry.”

As she ate her instant noodles, curiosity got the better of her. She kept glancing at him—calm and composed—as if wanting to ask but holding herself back.

Though An Yi usually had a carefree, laid-back attitude, when he turned serious, his sharp and commanding demeanor was actually quite intimidating.

“I’ll investigate this matter tomorrow,” An Yi said, looking at Shen Muxuan, who was clutching her noodle bowl and staring at him expectantly.

“Okay.”

With An Yi’s assurance, Shen Muxuan finally relaxed and focused on finishing her meal.

The night was silent and still.

In Jiangbei City, a martial arts gym was still brightly lit.

Inside, a young man stood bare-chested.

He punched a heavy punching bag again and again.

The sturdy bag swayed left and right under the forceful, cutting punches.

The young man had a delicate and handsome appearance, seemingly only sixteen or seventeen years old, yet his martial arts skills were not weak. Every move he made was precise and disciplined.

“Who’s inside at this hour?”

A middle-aged man wearing a Daoist robe entered the martial arts school. His expression was stern and serious, without the slightest hint of humor. Noticing that the lights were still on, he walked in out of curiosity.

The young man heard the sound of footsteps and quickly stopped what he was doing. His expression changed slightly as he turned toward the middle-aged man entering the room. Hastily, he exclaimed, “Master! I—I apologize!”

The middle-aged man glanced at the young man and frowned slightly, saying, “I think I recognize you. Your name is…”

“Fang Jueming!” the young man immediately replied earnestly.