The sudden appearance of Qin Lu and the other two instantly drew the attention of the three burly men inside the house.

Their gazes all turned towards them.

It must be said, the furious glares of three fierce-looking, menacing men were quite intimidating.

This imposing aura immediately frightened Cao Mo, who quickly hid behind Qin Lu, peeking out with half his head, his expression tense.

Qin Lu also gave a start, his fingers hidden in his sleeves immediately curling as spiritual energy gathered.

“You all have a death wish, huh? Daring to disturb your grandpa’s good time!”

One of the burly men with a crew cut rolled up his sleeves, stormed out of the house, and roared angrily at Qin Lu and the others.

“I’m telling you, don’t you dare start anything! Otherwise, my old man won’t let you off!”

Aunt Li pointed a finger at the crew-cut thug, trying to intimidate him, but her arm trembled uncontrollably, and she kept retreating.

Clearly, she was also very nervous at this moment.

“What dead old man? Tell him to come over here, and I’ll kick him into a cripple!”

The crew-cut thug showed no fear at all. He took a step forward, advancing towards the three of them.

Seeing this, Qin Lu knew he could no longer hold back. He stepped forward, immediately placing himself in front of Aunt Li and Cao Mo.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Qin Lu shouted loudly, raising his right hand parallel to the ground, his curled finger aimed at the crew-cut thug’s head.

The [Finger Flick Technique] was already primed and ready.

“What’s with raising a finger? You think you can scare me?!”

The crew-cut thug bellowed fiercely.

Seeing the thug getting closer and closer, Qin Lu gritted his teeth and was just about to unleash the [Finger Flick Technique] when he suddenly heard a loud shout from ahead.

“Get back here!!”

The voice came from the man with inverted-triangle eyes inside the house.

Hearing this shout, the crew-cut thug froze on the spot, and Qin Lu also halted his motion to release the technique, watching the three men with a guarded expression.

As for the man with inverted-triangle eyes, his heart was pounding wildly, and cold sweat had unknowingly soaked his entire body.

Among everyone present, only he knew what Qin Lu’s gesture meant.

That was an extremely terrifying move!

Back then, a single strike had directly pierced through his underling’s guts, killing him on the spot!

“Big Brother?”

The crew-cut thug turned his head, his face filled with confusion.

The inverted-triangle-eyed man looked nervous and quickly waved his hand.

“Don’t go, don’t go! Let’s leave!”

“Huh, Big Brother? I see this kid is only at the early Qi Refining stage. I could take him down with one hand. We…”

“Shut up!”

The inverted-triangle-eyed man let out an angry roar and said sternly,

“If you trust me, then leave first!”

As he spoke, he slowly walked out of the house.

His body moved slowly to the left, his gaze still fixed tightly on Qin Lu’s finger.

Afraid that the curled finger might flick out at any moment.

This bizarre scene left everyone dumbfounded, staring blankly as the inverted-triangle-eyed man nervously shifted his position.

“Hmph!”

The crew-cut thug turned his head and glared fiercely at Qin Lu before quickly following the inverted-triangle-eyed man’s steps, staying close behind.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the three burly men swiftly left the house.

Watching their retreating figures, Qin Lu knew they had left because they feared his [Finger Flick Technique].

Qin Lu lowered his finger, thought for a moment, then raised his voice and shouted at the backs of the three men,

“Remember, don’t come back to cause trouble in the future either! Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of Aunt Li and the others all fell upon Qin Lu.

Their eyes were filled with astonishment.

The mother and son inside the house, Lady Zhang, also looked utterly amazed.

Hearing this, the three burly men all paused in their steps. Two of them wanted to turn around but were pulled back and stopped by the inverted-triangle-eyed man.

They didn’t reply, quickly walking away and soon disappearing around the corner of the street.

Seeing this, Qin Lu and the others all inwardly relaxed.

“Big Brother, how did you scare them off?”

A strange light flashed in Cao Mo’s eyes.

“Yeah, Big Mouth, why do I feel like that Chen Er’gou was a bit afraid of you?”

Aunt Li also asked with a puzzled look.

Qin Lu scratched his head and made up an excuse,

“I’m not too sure either. Maybe he mistook me for someone else…”

At that moment, Lady Zhang inside the house also stood up. She quickly walked up to Qin Lu and the other two, bowed respectfully, and said with a sob in her voice,

“Thank you all for saving our lives!”

Lady Zhang possessed an ethereal beauty, with a graceful figure that was both elegant and refined. Her gray robe fit her perfectly, accentuating her figure. Her features were like a painting, and her pair of dark, bright eyes were exceptionally beautiful. Now, with tear stains, she looked even more pitiable and lovable.

Such beauty instantly sent a ripple through Qin Lu’s heart.

“Lady Zhang, there’s no need for such courtesy!”

Aunt Li stopped her from bowing and said indignantly, “How dare that scoundrel Chen Er’gou be so bold today, daring to come to your door and act like this? What exactly happened?”

“Please, come inside first…”

Led by Lady Zhang, the group entered the house and sat down around the table.

Then, through Lady Zhang’s account, Qin Lu gradually understood the whole story.

Lady Zhang’s original name was Zhang Meng. A little over two months ago, her Dao Companion had gone out to hunt beasts and had accidentally died in the Demonic Beast Forest.

To ensure her son Xiao Ziyun could live without worry and cultivate successfully, she had entrusted Aunt Li to find a reliable cultivator, hoping to band together for warmth in this difficult Slums.

But just as Aunt Li was helping her search, for some reason, this matter became known to Chen Er’gou, a notorious local ruffian in the Slums.

That was the man with the inverted-triangle eyes.

Chen Er’gou was at the sixth layer of Qi Refining and had a group of so-called brothers around him, making him a significant force of evil in the Slums.

Seeing that Zhang Meng wanted to find a Dao Companion, he had approached her, promising repeatedly that he would take good care of the orphaned mother and child.

He had even threatened Aunt Li, telling her she could no longer introduce men to Zhang Meng.

Not wanting to invite trouble, Aunt Li had stopped this activity.

But unexpectedly, Zhang Meng had no interest in Chen Er’gou whatsoever, rejecting him directly every time.

She absolutely refused to form a family with him.

After being rejected multiple times, Chen Er’gou had actually become enraged. Today, he had brought two men with him, intending to force the issue on the spot.

Fortunately, Qin Lu and the others had passed by and intervened, allowing them to escape this calamity.

“I truly must thank Fellow Daoist Qin and Auntie for this…”

Zhang Meng expressed her gratitude again, then pulled over the resolute-looking Xiao Ziyun beside her. “Ziyun, quickly thank your Uncle!”

Xiao Ziyun bowed in a proper manner and said in a childish voice,

“Thank you, Uncle, for saving my mother’s life.”

Hearing the title “Uncle,” Qin Lu felt a wave of black lines cross his mind.

His soul was only that of a young man in his twenties, yet now he was being called someone’s uncle.

He felt like crying but had no tears.

Waving his hand, Qin Lu hurriedly replied,

“You’re welcome. Ahem, no need to call me Uncle. Call me… Brother… no, call me Senior.”

“Yes! Thank you, Senior!” Xiao Ziyun said seriously.

At that moment, Aunt Li said with righteous indignation,

“I never imagined Chen Er’gou would be so shameless, daring to do such a thing. We must report this to Steward Liu!”

“I think so too,” Zhang Meng said with a determined look in her eyes.

“Well then, Big Mouth, I won’t take you to see Dajiang today. Lady Zhang and I need to go find Steward Liu!” Aunt Li said earnestly.

“Yes, Auntie, please attend to that first. This matter of mine isn’t urgent,” Qin Lu quickly replied.

After speaking, he casually placed the bag of fruit in his hand on the table and added,

“Then please accept these spirit fruits, Lady Zhang. Little Fatty and I will take our leave now.”

“Oh, there’s no need for such courtesy…” Zhang Meng hurriedly tried to decline.

But before Zhang Meng could finish her refusal, Qin Lu pulled Cao Mo, who had been watching the scene with keen interest, and walked out of the house.

They left quickly.

On the road.

Cao Mo asked excitedly, “Big Brother, how exactly did you scare them off earlier?”

“Ahem, didn’t you see? I just flicked my fingers and they got scared. They wouldn’t dare cross me.”

“Flicking fingers? What kind of move is that?”

Qin Lu looked left and right. Seeing no one around, he curled his finger, gathered strength, and flicked it towards the ground.

“Boom!”

A powerful surge of force shot from his fingertip. With a deafening boom, it instantly blasted a deep pit into the ground, sending stone fragments flying and kicking up a cloud of dust.

“This is called the Finger Flick Technique.”

Qin Lu pointed at the pit and spoke in a flat tone.

Cao Mo stared, dumbstruck, his eyes fixed on the hole in the ground as he cried out in shock:

“H-how… how did you do that?!”

A mysterious smile touched Qin Lu’s lips. He clasped his hands behind his back and continued walking forward, uttering each word with calm detachment:

“Nothing special. It’s merely a matter of practice.”

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