I Can Replicate Martial Arts-Chapter 136 - 79: A Neck Injury

In the courtyard, Zhao Jinze lit a cigarette. In the bone-chilling cold, he took a few drags, exhaling clouds of smoke.

The glowing and fading ember, much like his silence, suppressed the anger in his heart.

"Third Uncle, is something seriously wrong?"

Zhao Rui walked over and asked.

Seeing Zhao Rui approach, Zhao Jinze shook his head and said, "It’s nothing. This doesn’t concern you kids."

Zhao Rui wanted to ask more, but Zhao Jinze waved him away, shooing him back.

The meal was an incredibly tense affair.

Zhao Jinze didn’t eat either. After his wife finished, the two of them drove away from the old house.

Leaving Zhao Xin to sulkily hide away in the west room.

"What were you looking at just now?"

In the courtyard, Zhao Rui glanced at the west room, then turned to ask his younger brother.

"Brother, Zhao Xin has an injury on his neck."

"An injury?"

Zhao Rui was stunned. His cousin, who had already become a Martial Arts Fifth Level Powerhouse during the summer break—how could he be injured?

’Was he accidentally injured during a competition?’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Zhao Rui connected this to what his Third Uncle had said—that Zhao Xin had to stay at the old house and wasn’t allowed to go anywhere.

An uneasy feeling washed over him.

’Could my cousin have gotten into trouble?’

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but scratch his head. ’It’s just a holiday. How can there be so much drama?!’

However, now that he had a suspicion, Zhao Rui couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.

He had to at least find out what had happened. Although he couldn’t be of much help, he did at least know someone who worked at the Provincial Patrol Bureau now.

Maybe he could put in a good word.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Rui said to Zhao Ke, "You stay here and look after Grandpa and Grandma. Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to our uncle’s house."

"Brother!"

"Don’t worry. It’ll be fine."

Zhao Rui reassured his brother, then told his grandparents he had to go out for a bit.

He then hopped on his grandfather’s old roadster bicycle and sped all the way to the county town.

As one of the administrators of the County Martial Arts Association, his Third Uncle was a prominent figure in the county.

So, naturally, where he lived wasn’t shabby.

While not a detached villa, it was a two-story duplex.

Zhao Rui hadn’t visited many times, but he still remembered the apartment number in the residential complex.

Once in the county town, Zhao Rui followed his GPS and found his Third Uncle’s home without much delay.

He knocked on the door, but there was no response for a long while.

Zhao Rui knocked a couple more times and called out twice. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a sound from inside.

"Who is it?"

"Aunt, it’s me, Zhao Rui!"

"Zhao Rui, what are you doing here?"

Seeing through the peephole that it really was Zhao Rui, his Third Aunt quickly opened the door and pulled him inside.

"Aunt, I was worried, so I came to check," Zhao Rui said.

His Third Aunt shook her head, her tone identical to Zhao Jinze’s. "Kids shouldn’t meddle in adult affairs. Your uncle and I will handle it."

"I saw that Zhao Xin has an injury on his neck..."

Zhao Rui had only gotten halfway through his sentence when his ears twitched, and he abruptly stopped speaking, looking toward the door.

"What’s wrong, Zhao Rui?" his Third Aunt asked, startled.

"There are a lot of people at the stairwell!"

Zhao Rui stared intently at the door.

"Ah? It couldn’t be them, could it? Have they tracked us here?"

His Third Aunt was so scared she was at a loss, muttering, "Ruirui, you—you have to hide, quickly."

With that, she frantically tried to push Zhao Rui toward a side bedroom.

"Aunt, don’t be afraid!" Zhao Rui said reassuringly, his brow furrowed.

Before he could finish, a scraping sound came from the keyhole. Someone was obviously picking the lock.

In just a moment, the door was forced open from the outside.

Seven or eight men with crew cuts and a thuggish demeanor swaggered in.

As soon as they entered, they began looking around, their gazes scrutinizing everything.

"Who are you? How can you just break into a private residence!" his Third Aunt yelled, mustering her courage.

"Private residence? This house won’t be yours for much longer!" the leader of the group said with a smirk, twirling a small knife in his hand.

"Who’s this kid? He doesn’t look like you. Don’t tell me he’s your new boy toy?" the man continued to jeer.

Hearing this, Zhao Rui’s eyes turned cold. He took a step to the side, shielding his Third Aunt.

He glared at the man. "Sometimes, a foul mouth is more detestable than thieving hands."

The leader hadn’t expected Zhao Rui to dare speak up. Annoyed, he shot a glance at his subordinates.

Two men immediately stepped forward and reached for Zhao Rui’s collar, clearly intending to teach him a lesson.

Zhao Rui didn’t indulge them. With a lightning-fast grab and twist, he had both their arms pinned behind their backs.

"Well, now. I’d forgotten. Director Zhao’s son is a heaven-blessed prodigy, a master of Martial Arts Level 6."

The man sneered.

The words had barely left his lips when two more men in their early thirties walked in from outside.

Their temples were high and bulging—a single glance revealed they were Outer Sect practitioners who had arduously cultivated their Martial Arts and possessed formidable Inner Strength.

Zhao Rui sized them up. Before they could make a move, he seized the initiative and leaped forward, instantly engaging them in combat.

The Power of these two was not to be underestimated; both were at the Level 6 standard. Their every move showed they possessed a wealth of combat experience.

But against Zhao Rui, who was basically a walking cheat code, they were still no match.

After only five or six exchanges, he used the Six Yi Charm Immortal Technique to disrupt the flow in their Meridians. Seizing the opening, he kicked them both to the ground, one after the other.

The leader stared, dumbfounded, at the two men lying on the floor.

These were the hired hands he had spent a fortune on.

How could they be so utterly useless?

"Fake. This has to be fake."

The man was flustered. Before Zhao Rui could even approach, he hastily shoved his underlings aside and began to back out the door.

But Zhao Rui wasn’t about to give him the chance to escape.

In a flash, he was behind the man, grabbing his collar.

"Mercy, great hero! I’m just doing a job for someone else! This has nothing to do with me!"

"Tell the others to go downstairs and wait," Zhao Rui said, his voice laced with displeasure.

"Everyone get downstairs! All of you!"

The man hurriedly yelled, waving his arms frantically to usher his men out of the room and out of the apartment building.