Chapter 143: Abducted

"Old man, this has nothing to do with you. Get lost!" To everyone's surprise, the masked brute not only ignored Uncle Fu's question but rudely ordered him to step aside.

Does he mean for Uncle Fu not to meddle in his affairs? If so, does that mean he is coming for me? Zhang Pu thought to himself.

Naturally, Uncle Fu would not back down. Instead, he escalated his condemnation and warning toward the masked man, "Don't do anything reckless! We live in a peaceful society now; if you dare act like a bandit, you’ll be spending your tomorrow in jail!"

"You really don't cry until you see the coffin!" Suddenly, the masked brute lunged forward and shoved Uncle Fu to the ground.

Although the masked brute was fast, his speed was nothing in the eyes of Zhang Pu. With Zhang Pu present, the brute wouldn't have been able to touch a single hair on Uncle Fu's head. Yet, Zhang Pu watched with his own eyes as the brute pushed Uncle Fu down, remaining indifferent and standing by as a mere spectator.

At that moment, the brute’s iron-like hand gripped Zhang Pu's small arm. "Come with me, and if you behave, I won't have to hit you!"

"Fine," Zhang Pu replied obediently.

Seeing Zhang Pu offer no resistance, Uncle Fu looked somewhat surprised. Just as he struggled to stand up to pull Zhang Pu back, the masked brute used his other hand to shove him to the ground once more. Then, the brute dragged Zhang Pu away at a high speed—a pace clearly intended to ensure Uncle Fu could not catch up.

As he was being led away, Zhang Pu noticed two more masked men arriving on the scene. They were clearly accomplices. The masked brute shouted to them, "Deal with that old man! If he dares to call the police, make him regret it!"

The brute continued to drag Zhang Pu deep into the mountains. "Scared, kid?" he asked.

Zhang Pu first shook his head, then nodded, feigning fear. The masked brute laughed. Zhang Pu estimated him to be in his thirties and concluded that the reason he was being abducted likely had something to do with his parents.

Zhang Pu had never imagined that hidden behind the mountain forest his parents had leased, there existed people and forces of this nature. They surely could not know his secrets—that he was a cultivator. His rise had only begun a few months ago, and it had been done in the shadows; few people in the entire Qingwu region were even aware of it.

Thinking this, Zhang Pu decided to play along. Perhaps this would lead him to his missing parents. They must be in the hands of these people; otherwise, why would they have vanished into thin air? The masked brute was still asking if he was scared, unaware that Zhang Pu was secretly laughing at their stupidity. Initially, he had been at a loss regarding his parents' disappearance, but now, it felt as if he had found exactly what he was looking for without any effort at all. Even if the brute were leading him into a dragon’s den, Zhang Pu was confident he could crush their lair in under a quarter of an hour.

Zhang Pu followed the brute deep into the mountains until they reached a cave. Upon arriving, he realized his initial assumption was wrong: his parents were not here, and these people had no idea where they were either. They had abducted him because they believed his parents had left him some information—they were convinced that he was the only way to squeeze out clues about his parents' whereabouts.

When the others in the cave began to threaten him with harsh tones, saying, "Are you going to talk or not? If not, we'll use torture. Let's see how long a student like you can hold out," Zhang Pu suddenly burst into hearty laughter. His laughter was filled with disappointment. He wasn't disappointed that these people were blind to his true power and were just waiting to be humiliated; he was laughing at himself for having oversimplified the mystery of his parents' disappearance, assuming they had merely been hidden in the mountains behind their leased land. Now, he realized these people were actually here to interrogate him for their location.

"What are you laughing at?" the group asked, confused.

Inside the large cavern, there were three other masked men besides the brute who had brought him. One of them seemed to hold a higher status, as he was the one now interrogating Zhang Pu. Zhang Pu thought to himself: surely this mysterious cave doesn't only house these few. Right, there were two others left behind to watch Uncle Fu. He still didn't know which gang these people belonged to, hiding out here in the deep mountains.

"Speak! It’s best if we don't have to use force; I don't really want to hit a student like you."

So, this leader had a shred of mercy? Zhang Pu felt a flicker of surprise.

"What do you want me to say?" Zhang Pu replied truthfully. "I’m the one who wants to ask you! Does my parents' disappearance have anything to do with you?"

"This kid isn't being honest, Boss. Better give him a taste of pain! People are all the same—they won't be honest unless you beat them," one of the shorter, leaner masked men suggested, offering a malicious idea to his leader.

The man even stepped forward, ready to do the dirty work at a single glance from his boss. Truth be told, he had enjoyed beating people since he was a child. Sure enough, as soon as the leader gave a look, the man swung a punch at Zhang Pu, confident he could knock the student down with a single blow.

As the man's fist moved, everyone present felt a flash before their eyes. A loud *thud* echoed through the cave. When the other masked men steadied their gaze, they were stunned—the *thud* had come from the short, lean man himself, not from Zhang Pu as they had expected.

The man was already sprawled on the ground several paces away. What had happened? He had been the one throwing the punch, yet he had knocked himself over? Was this some kind of mistake?

The other masked men stared at Zhang Pu in unison. Zhang Pu, however, put on an innocent look.

"What... what happened to him?" Zhang Pu asked. "Did he have a sudden seizure?"

In reality, no one had seen Zhang Pu make a move. As for the man having a sudden seizure—what kind of seizure? None of his accomplices had ever known him to have such a condition. How else could this be explained? There was only one conclusion: this student was actually a master of martial arts.

The leader and the masked brute were not fools. As their minds raced, the reality of the situation became clear.