Huamu Ye was the troublemaker of the Birch Leaf rchants.
The coward who relied on guards to act big.
The pest whose clan had ruined the Fen family through debt collectors and shady deals.
Han Yu watched him approach from the opposite side of the street. He felt the usual reaction ripple through the crowd.
Vendors lowered their voices.
Won pulled daughters behind them or closed doors.
Laborers stepped to the edges and pretended not to exist.
Huamu Ye loved it.
He grinned as if the entire street bowed before his greatness.
He walked with a swagger that looked unnatural, like a child mimicking a hero from plays he watched far too often. His hair was oiled neatly. His robe was embroidered richly. But his steps were clumsy and his balance poor. Every few strides he stumbled slightly as if not used to the height of his own shoes.
He passed a fruit stall. The vendor bowed deeply.
Huamu Ye smirked.
"So obedient today," he said loudly.
The guards laughed in forced tones, trying to match his mood.
As always, his eyes scanned the street searching for beauty. He looked disappointed when he found none.
"Tch. Another boring day," he muttered.
Han Yu had already begun moving.
He crossed the street calmly, choosing a path that would cause a natural collision if soone lost their footing.
Driver Yun pretended to be browsing noodles but kept his eyes hidden. His hands stayed near his sleeves, ready for the mont Han Yu gave the signal.
The plan was simple.
Make Huamu Ye angry.
Draw him into a confrontation.
Then break him in a way that could not be traced.
Han Yu walked at a leisurely pace.
Huamu Ye took a few more swaggering steps.
Han Yu flicked his finger casually, releasing a tiny Soul Needle that darted invisibly through the air and struck Huamu Ye in both of his kneecaps in different angles.
The effect was instant.
Huamu Ye's legs jerked as if soone had stepped on his heels.
He stiffened.
His knees buckled.
His balance wavered wildly.
He swayed hard to the left.
Then to the right.
And before he could shout, he stumbled forward helplessly.
Straight into Han Yu.
THUD.
His shoulder slamd against Han Yu's side. A jolt of pain shot up his arm. His head smacked into Han Yu's upper arm and the shock made stars burst behind his eyelids.
He felt as if he had run face first into a stone pillar.
Huamu Ye staggered back in surprise, gripping his forehead with a hiss.
"Ow ow ow! What in the heavens was that!"
The guards imdiately tensed, hands moving toward their weapons, eyes darting between Han Yu and their young master.
The street went silent.
The vendors froze mid movent.
The custors held their breaths.
Everyone knew that anyone who bumped into Huamu Ye normally ended up crippled or worse.
Han Yu stood still for a mont, adjusting the tilt of his straw hat. His face remained shadowed, unreadable.
Then he allowed just enough irritation into his voice to shatter the tense silence.
"Watch where you are going!"
The words thundered down the street like a slap.
And the world seed to stop moving.
The mont Han Yu barked, "Watch where you are going," the entire street fell into a stunned, breathless silence. It was as if a divine decree had dropped from the heavens and slapped the town square across the face.
People froze with buns halfway to their mouths. A butcher stood with his cleaver suspended mid chop. A child stopped chewing a sticky rice ball, eyes round as lanterns. Even a stray dog paused its sniffing under a cabbage stall.
Because this scene simply did not happen.
Every local knew the routine. If soone bumped into Huamu Ye, they apologized so fast that even the ancestors might have felt the wind rush by. Then the guards would beat the poor soul until he resembled sticky rice paste. Then everyone else would pretend nothing happened for the rest of the day.
But today, a common looking man in shabby clothes had not only refused to apologize. He had shouted at Huamu Ye as if he was just so drunk fisherman blocking a door.
People stared.
So trembled.
One old man whispered to his wife, "I think I died last night and am watching my funeral. This cannot be real."
Huamu Ye himself remained frozen for a good ten seconds. His lips moved, but no sound ca out, like a fish flopping on land. His mind struggled to process that soone had actually, genuinely, fully insulted him.
Finally, his face twisted violently and he shrieked, "Watch where I am going? Watch where you are going!"
His voice cracked halfway through, making it sound like a rooster being strangled.
Han Yu did not even blink.
"Who bumped into who?" he said calmly. "I was all the way on this side of the road. You stumbled like a drunk goat and fell into . I did not even move from my place."
The guards stiffened.
The crowd went silent again.
Huamu Ye's face flushed bright red, like soone had slapped a boiling kettle onto it. He had never encountered soone who dared talk back twice. Twice. His brain was now entering unknown territory.
"You insolent fool!" Huamu Ye screeched. "Do you know who I am!"
Han Yu tilted his head slightly.
"A stumbling dumb fuck who does not know left from right."
A collective wheeze of shock rose from the crowd like air escaping a deflated bag.
One woman covered her mouth with both hands and whispered, "He is dead. He is absolutely dead. He is so dead his ancestors will feel a disturbance."
Huamu Ye shook in place like a kettle about to explode.
"I will make you regret saying that!"
"The only one who regrets anything is your mother," Han Yu replied casually.
A few people made strangled noises, fighting desperately not to laugh. A vendor bit his lip so hard he nearly tasted blood. A younger man coughed twice to cover up the chuckle that tried to escape.
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