I Only Stomp on Weaklings

Chen Ming discussed with his elder brother Chen Rui, "The city will probably be in chaos for a while. The residents of Xiushui Street are all wealthy families, making them easy targets for thieves. For safety’s sake, we cannot stay here."

Chen Rui managed to remain calm and asked him, "Where shall we go? Shall we leave the city?"

"No, that’s not necessary. Let’s return to the old house for a while. Ordinary families live there, so thieves won’t go there. Don’t worry, the court won’t allow Qingfeng City to remain in chaos for long. I believe there will be action soon."

Chen Rui thought it made sense and said, "Alright, let’s move back to the old house. When shall we leave?"

"There’s no time to waste, let’s leave now."

...

Chen Ming and the others only brought some daily necessities and traveled light back to their original old house.

Because it had been vacant for a short time, a slight cleaning was all it took to make it livable, which wasn’t too troublesome.

However, going from luxury to frugality was difficult. Moving back from a big house to this small courtyard, everyone felt somewhat uncomfortable, even though they had only lived in the new home for a month.

Chen Ming continued to send people out to gather information, and by the evening, finally obtained accurate news. It turned out to be the work of the Black Flood Dragon King’s men.

Six Gates also acted promptly, and by noon, they had found their hideout. These pirates were desperate criminals and naturally would not surrender without a fight, leading to a fierce battle between the two sides.

It is said that Six Gates lost several men and only managed to kill one bandit, with the rest escaping. Fortunately, they recovered a considerable amount of gold and silver treasures.

"Even Six Gates couldn’t handle them? These pirates are that fierce?" Wei’s face turned pale, clearly frightened.

In her mind, it was precisely because of the presence of Six Gates that those notorious thieves dared not wreak havoc in the city. Now, those pirates were so rampant that even Six Gates couldn’t deal with them.

This made her very uneasy.

At this moment, a servant added a piece of information, "It is said that the one leading the team this time was Second Young Master’s Senior Brother, Inspector Sun, and he was also injured."

Sun Shicai was injured as well?

Chen Ming felt an even stronger sense of insecurity.

They were just a bunch of relatively unknown pirates, yet even Sun Shicai, with a seventh-grade cultivation, got injured. It shows how strong this group of pirates, constantly on edge at sea, actually is.

What’s even more frightening is that these pirates had just arrived in Qingfeng City and were apprehensive, not fully aware of Six Gates’ power and dared not act recklessly.

Now, someone had tested the strength of Six Gates, and these lurking pirates suddenly discovered that Six Gates was nothing but a paper tiger?

So what they will do next can easily be imagined.

Chen Ming strictly ordered the people in the mansion not to go out for the next few days. He had prepared in advance, stockpiling enough food for the family for several months.

Even the pharmacy temporarily closed, intending to reopen once this turmoil settles. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

That night, no one slept well, always hearing distant noises that made hearts pound. It finally quieted down around dawn.

...

It was not easy for daybreak to come, and as soon as the sun came up, someone knocked at the door.

Yawning, the gatekeeper went over and lifted the heavy latch to open the door, seeing that it was a few of the Second Young Master’s Senior Brothers. He dared not neglect, "Are you here to see my family’s Second Young Master? Let me go and inform him."

He led the three to the front hall, then went to find the Second Young Master.

Shortly after, Chen Ming got the news and hurried over, "It’s a great honor to have the three of you visit, please forgive me for not greeting you sooner."

The visitors were Gu Junrong, Wang Mingkai, and Li Qingchang.

Wang Mingkai, naturally impatient, didn’t bother with formalities, "Junior Brother, something major has happened."

After Chen Ming sat down, he asked, "Is Senior Brother referring to Senior Brother Sun’s injury?"

Wang Mingkai snorted, "How is that a major event? Do you know what happened last night?"

"What happened?"

"A group of pirates attacked the Gu Family, causing countless casualties, even the fourth-grade Gu Yanchang was severely injured. If it weren’t for Six Gates’ timely arrival to rescue him, he might have died on the spot."

Chen Ming gasped in shock.

The Gu Family is the first family in Qingfeng City. Although, with the rise of maritime trade, the Seven Great Sea Merchants have long surpassed the Gu Family in influence and power.

But the Gu Family’s heritage of hundreds of years, its strength and foundation are beyond doubt. Even with a fourth-grade master in residence, they were still nearly wiped out.

He was shocked and asked, "Who did it?"

Gu Junrong said with a serious expression, "I fear it was the work of Dragon King Zheng’s adoptive sons. Only they have such strength."

Dragon King Zheng has nine adopted sons, each with ’Jiao’ in their titles: White Flood Dragon King, Cyan Flood Dragon King, Black Flood Dragon King, and so on.

Among them, several have fourth-grade cultivation. If a few of them teamed up, the Gu Family truly couldn’t resist.

"These pirates, they are truly rampant."

Chen Ming murmured.

He hadn’t expected these pirates to have such audacity. While others pick soft targets, they went straight for the toughest bones to crack.

Wang Mingkai said, "I heard the Gu Family’s residence was looted bare. Tch, that was hundreds of years’ worth of the Gu Family’s accumulated wealth."

Chen Ming was somewhat worried, "With this, I’m afraid the entire Qingfeng City is in panic."

Gu Junrong also said, "Yes, when we came over just now, we saw many carriages heading towards the city gates. They must be scared out of their wits and want to flee."

At this moment, Li Qingchang suddenly said, "Junior Brother is still the wisest, moving back to the old house here yesterday. These nearby houses are clearly ordinary families with nothing to plunder, so those pirates won’t target here."

"Just now when we went to your new home, it was empty. You don’t know this, but on Xiushui Street last night, two more families were robbed, and people died. One of the families was surnamed Zhang, who apparently had a past grudge with your family."

The Zhang Family?

It’s not surprising, on Xiushui Street, the grandest front gate belonged to their family, making them an obvious target for pirates.

However, under these circumstances, Chen Ming didn’t feel any schadenfreude.

Suddenly, without speaking, Gu Junrong and the other two exchanged a glance, and Wang Mingkai was the one to speak, "Actually, we have an impolite request and would like to bring our families to join you at your place..."

Before he finished speaking, Chen Ming clapped his hands and said, "That’s wonderful. It would be good for my family to have mutual support."

"Junior Brother is noble, and should you have any commands in the future, we will obey without question."

Gu Junrong and the three solemnly thanked him.

Their greatest concern was their family members. The Huo Mansion was too conspicuous and not safe. Chen Ming’s place, not only inconspicuous, but with this eighth-grade martial artist present, was the safest place they could think of.

That day, the three brought their families over.

Fortunately, the Chen Family was large enough, with the living room and other places tidied up, it was barely possible to accommodate everyone.

...

Another two days passed, and those pirates became more rampant, causing continuous unrest in the city. Various rumors surfaced, scaring the people numerous times a day. Rich families in the city were all living in constant fear.

Amid such a scenario, finally, someone couldn’t sit still.

This morning, there was another knock on the door. This time, it was Zhang Mingyu himself, bringing four or five people with him, all equipped with weapons.

Upon seeing Chen Ming, he immediately shared a bombshell piece of news, "Last night, Baofeng Bank was robbed."

Chen Ming commented, "They finally started to target the Seven Great Sea Merchants."

Baofeng Bank, a bank co-operated by three of the Seven Great Sea Merchants.

It’s clear that those pirates couldn’t resist and started to plunder the Seven Great Sea Merchants.

In this Qingfeng City, no doubt, the Seven Great Sea Merchants are the biggest fat sheep. Calling them wealthier than a country might be an exaggeration, but their wealth far exceeds anyone else in the city.

Even the Gu Family’s centuries of accumulation were far surpassed by them.

No one understands the rich profits from maritime trade better than these pirates.

"So, in the middle of the night yesterday, the Chief Shopkeeper Qian of the Four Seas Trading Company sent someone to contact me, saying that they want to gather all the martial artists in the city to discuss a plan to deal with the pirates."