When Endurance Breaks

Why?

His sister had been such a good person…

So why did she have to suffer like that at the hands of those beasts?

The white-robed youth who had dragged Mu Ning out of the county office held onto his arm and said,

“You’re too agitated right now. Calm down first.”

“You think I can calm down?”

There was even a trace of misery in Mu Ning’s smile.

Pa!

The moment he said that, a folding fan struck his head.

“Wake up, will you?”

“What kind of status does the Marquis of Longxing have, and what kind of status do you have?”

“Don’t you understand the principle that commoners cannot fight officials?”

“If you keep making trouble, you’ll die for sure.”

“I didn’t save you for nothing.”

Young Master Cheng’s words were indeed the truth.

But it was a truth Mu Ning found hard to accept.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

His mind was in complete chaos, and this was all he could ask.

“A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years.”

“You’re a scholar, aren’t you?”

“You probably did well in the imperial exams.”

“If you rise in officialdom later, won’t you be able to take revenge however you want?”

“Can you teach me?”

Mu Ning’s meaning was not about learning strategy.

He wanted to learn how to kill.

For example, if he could become a cultivator like the other party, then everything would be within his own hands.

Among mortals, such matters were difficult for cultivators to interfere in.

Besides, this had nothing to do with Young Master Cheng’s own karma.

If he interfered recklessly before even becoming a true immortal, he might bring disaster upon himself.

If Mu Ning were a cultivator—even just someone who knew a few techniques—or even a trained martial artist,

He might have been able to find a chance to assassinate those nobles.

But after hearing him out, Young Master Cheng shook his head.

“You… can’t.”

“I’m sorry.”

Even if he wanted to train him temporarily, there wasn’t enough time.

And looking at Mu Ning’s thick glasses—thicker than the bottom of a bowl—caused by congenital myopia and excessive studying, it was clear he couldn’t accomplish such things.

More importantly…

Mu Ning had no spiritual roots.

He couldn’t cultivate at all.

As he said this, Young Master Cheng himself felt uneasy.

If he could help, why wouldn’t he?

A Daoist who didn’t do good deeds wouldn’t be a Daoist.

But no spiritual roots meant no spiritual roots.

If Mu Ning had possessed them, his own master would have taken him in long ago.

Helping him wasn’t entirely impossible.

The Longxing Marquis’s household had committed countless evils.

A simple divination showed that killing them would bring more benefit than karmic punishment.

But he couldn’t act now.

He had a premonition—

His tribulation lightning for ascension could strike at any moment.

When that time came, he wouldn’t even be able to take care of himself.

So all he could do…

Was advise.

Yet Young Master Cheng didn’t know—

That by choosing convenience now, he would one day face an enormous trouble by his side.

Though in a strange way, that trouble might also become a kind of fortune.

“I understand.”

After being persuaded, Mu Ning finally spoke.

As for what exactly he understood…

No one knew.

But it was clear that he intended to leave.

The two soon parted ways.

After filing a complaint outside and getting nowhere, Mu Ning prepared to return home.

And then—

He saw a scene from hell.

The already small roasted goods shop was in complete disarray.

Only his father stood there, stunned like a statue.

His mother lay on the ground, being treated by a physician.

“Father…”

“Mother…”

“I’m fine… your mother is fine…”

Mu’s mother forced a smile.

Then her eyes slowly closed.

From the physician’s hesitant words, Mu Ning learned what had happened.

After he went to the Marquis’s residence to seek justice and failed,

He had tried to report the matter to the authorities.

But as soon as he left, the Marquis’s people arrived at his home.

Their purpose was simple—

To punish his “disrespect.”

And their way of punishment was nothing more than smashing, looting, and violence.

His parents tried to stop them.

In the process, his mother was “accidentally” injured.

And in the end…

She died from failed treatment.

Though someone had died, life still had to go on.

The next day, after sending out two coffins, the roasted goods shop opened as usual.

Now, only two men remained in the household.

That entire morning, not a single customer stepped inside.

Perhaps, for those nobles, shutting down a small shop was effortless.

Looking at the empty store, Mu’s father sighed.

“My son, watch the shop. I’ll go out for a while.”

Mu Ning nodded mechanically.

With so much happening, he couldn’t focus on reading at all.

But after leaving, his father never returned.

After waiting a whole day, Mu Ning finally realized something was wrong.

Just as he was about to go out and search,

A commotion broke out on the street.

Sensing something was off, he rushed outside.

He quickly heard people talking.

“There’s someone who jumped into the river near the county!”

Someone had jumped into the river…

At a time like this…

And his father, who had gone out to clear his mind, still hadn’t returned…

Mu Ning already knew the answer.

He remembered what Young Master Cheng had said—

Endure.

But he realized—

He could not endure anymore.

“That’s right, that’s right… you really can’t endure anymore.”

Just as Mu Ning made up his mind,

A voice rang in his ear.

“Kill them.”

“Kill those bad people.”

As the voice grew clearer, Mu Ning noticed someone standing nearby.

The figure wore a conical hat, with a veil hanging down to conceal their face.

Dressed in black, their presence was impossible to ignore.

Though small in stature,

Their waist was as wide as that of a heavily pregnant woman.

“If you’re worried about lacking strength…”

“I can help you.”

“You may call me… ‘Zhenyan.’”

Because of his poor eyesight, Mu Ning spent most of his time reading.

So he knew exactly—

What kind of being was speaking to him.