But Chen Fan ignored the tattooed man and kept the knife at his throat.
"You were asking this old lady for money earlier, right?" Chen Fan said.
"Uh... yes..." the tattooed man replied.
"Good, then you're not her son or daughter," Chen Fan said again.
"No, I'm not," the tattooed man said mechanically.
At this moment, Chen Fan seemed to possess a special charm that compelled the tattooed man to answer all his questions without resistance.
"Then, hand over the money!!!" Chen Fan slightly tightened his grip on the knife.
A thin red line appeared on the tattooed man's neck.
The tattooed man immediately panicked.
"No, no, please, sir, let's talk this through," he realized the gravity of the situation.
If he didn't hand over the money now, Chen Fan would likely cut his throat the next second.
Utterly flustered, the tattooed man obediently handed the money he had just picked up to Chen Fan.
Seeing the tattooed man hand over the money, Chen Fan shook his head and pointed at the old lady with his other hand.
The tattooed man, understanding, handed all the money to the old lady.
The old lady, holding the money, didn't know how to react. She kept thanking Chen Fan profusely.
Hearing her thanks, Chen Fan smiled at her and then turned to the tattooed man. "Where's your money?"
The tattooed man, hearing Chen Fan's question, quickly said,
"You're actually robbing me?" It never occurred to the tattooed man that he'd be robbed after attempting to rob someone.
Chen Fan nodded, gesturing for the tattooed man to hand over his money. With no other choice, the tattooed man took out all the money he had and gave it to Chen Fan.
Chen Fan watched as the tattooed man emptied all his pockets, managing to find only a few thousand red sun bills. He had no choice but to let it go.
"Then pay for this meal," Chen Fan said, seeing that the tattooed man didn't have much money left.
With the knife still at his throat, the tattooed man had no recourse but to meekly nod.
Seeing his nod, Chen Fan was satisfied and lowered the knife. The tattooed man obediently paid the bill and turned to leave.
To his surprise, he bolted out the door, shouting, "You can't be here all the time!! I'll get my revenge one day!"
Hearing the tattooed man's words, the old lady was startled. Indeed,
This young man couldn't be around all the time.
What would happen if the tattooed man kept coming back? This was the old lady's concern.
Seeing the old lady's reaction after the tattooed man's outburst, Chen Fan smiled and said to her,
"He won't come back, don't worry, elder."
For some reason, the old lady found herself trusting Chen Fan's words implicitly.
Little did the tattooed man know that not long after he ran out, he would explode, dying before he even realized how he met his end.
In reality, Chen Fan had long mastered such scoundrel tactics. The small cut he made earlier was merely to inject true energy, creating a timed bomb of true energy that could be detonated at will. Even if the tattooed man fled to the ends of the earth, his fate was sealed – self-destruction.
However, all of this was too gruesome, so Chen Fan chose not to reveal his identity as a martial artist to the old lady.
After all, ordinary people should live ordinary lives. Exposure to the martial path could only bring them harm.
Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Fan bid farewell to the old lady.
As Chen Fan left the small eatery, the old lady watched his retreating figure and called out,
"Goodbye, young man!" she said, gazing at his back.
Perhaps the old lady had a premonition, or perhaps this encounter was destined for Chen Fan to help her.
Their first meeting, and likely their last.
Hearing the old lady's voice, Chen Fan stopped and turned to say,
"Elder, please take care of yourself!" He then continued on his way without looking back.
Perhaps life is like this, many paths seem to be walked with company, but in reality, one walks them alone.
Perhaps there are many people around, but often, no one truly accompanies you.
Perhaps this is life.
As Chen Fan journeyed to save Su Yingxue, he constantly meditated and gained new insights.
Perhaps this was Chen Fan's own martial path...
At this moment, Chen Fan was approaching the Death Knights' stronghold, where many people had already gathered.
"Master, why should we fear him!! Even with his strength, he can only be at the Golden Core stage, and he's only in his twenties," said the leader of the Death Knights.
Hearing this, Sruer merely shook his head slightly.
"His strength might truly be beyond mine."
Hearing Sruer's reply, the leader of the Death Knights was stunned.
"How could his strength be above yours?"
"Master, you're not just scaring me, are you?" the leader of the Death Knights hurriedly said.
"I'm truly not lying. Chen Fan's strength is indeed above yours."
"Master, you are a peak early Nascent Soul stage expert. How can you say that a twenty-year-old is stronger than you?" The leader of the Death Knights still couldn't believe it, shaking his head.
"When he arrives, you'll understand."