Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 457 Essays (Excerpt)
(As the title suggests, I've been dealing with my wounds these past two days due to health reasons, so writing on and off isn't a solution. Therefore, I'm posting a non-extra chapter to give myself a day off. Actually, I'm just using the new chapters I've been working on recently to reach the full attendance goal. Although full attendance doesn't pay much, and I shouldn't do this, I'm currently short on cash, so earning a little more money for medicine is a good thing. I just feel ashamed that I'm even willing to lose face for a few coins.)
Chapter 1

Southeast of Cangzhou City, the Chai Family Manor.

The manor owner, Chai Jin, was having a pleasant conversation with a short, dark-skinned, and handsome man named Ying Wu.

The manor owner, Chai Jin, was quite famous in the martial arts world. He was a descendant of the former imperial family, known for his generosity and willingness to make friends with heroes from all over the country. Everyone said he resembled the ancient Lord Mengchang, always putting righteousness first.

The short, dark-skinned man being received by Chai Jin was no ordinary person either. His name was Song Jiang, and he was a clerk in Yuncheng County, known as "Timely Rain."

In the world of martial arts, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.

Being called "Timely Rain" is enough to show that Song Jiang was probably a righteous person like Chai Jin.

As the saying goes, when heroes meet, they cherish each other. When two heroes meet, they inevitably share a drink and have a good time.

This lively scene was also witnessed by two people squatting to the side in the distance.

"One day, one day, I too can become such a hero!"

The one who spoke was a huge, burly man who, though squatting on the ground, resembled a ferocious beast from the mountains.

Judging by his broad and powerful physique, if he were to stand up, he would probably be eight feet tall.

This giant's surname was Wu, and his given name was Song. He was quite well-known in the martial arts world. A while ago, he had a quarrel with someone, and with just one punch, he knocked the other person to the ground.

But it was this punch that forced Wu Song to pack his valuables and flee to this place overnight.

After all, Wu Song himself knew just how heavy his punch was.

Such a heroic figure, even when squatting on the ground, still draws attention, which makes the other person next to him seem somewhat insignificant.

Even if he was inconspicuous, he was still a person. There was no one else around to talk to, so Wu Song could only turn his head to look at this person.

"Brother Gao, what do you think?"

"See with your eyes."

Gao Yi raised his head and looked at Song Jiang in the distance.

There was still a hint of disorientation in his vision.

When Gao Yi first arrived in this world, he thought he had come to some strange ancient era. Although he was penniless and had no system, which made his life a bit difficult, Gao Yi believed that with the knowledge in his mind that was ahead of his time, even if he could not become famous all over the world, he could at least become rich.

Until he heard that the owner of the nearby Chai family manor, Chai Jin, nicknamed "Little Whirlwind," was recruiting heroes and talents.

This is undoubtedly bad news; the world is not at peace these days.

But this is also good news, at least Gao Yi has a place to eat out of his way.

After all, Chai Jin, the Little Whirlwind, was quite famous. Anyone who came to join him, whether a true hero or a fake one, would receive a plate of meat, a plate of cakes, a pot of warm wine, and a plate with a peck of white rice and ten strings of cash on it.

Ten strings of cash is not a small amount. Considering current prices, if you use it sparingly, it should last you at least one or two months.

However, Gao Yi did not take the money and leave, but like the other nameless heroes, he chose to stay temporarily.

It wasn't that Gao Yi was greedy and insatiable; the main reason was that he had his own plans. Although he had a lot of money, it would only last him a month or two to make ends meet, after which he would have to work himself to the bone and struggle to survive.

However, if he had a place to stay and not have to worry about food and drink for the time being, he could gather information, understand the current environment, and look for opportunities to use the ten strings of cash in his hand as start-up capital to do something that would allow him to gain a foothold in the business.

However, before he could even see a way to make money, Gao Yi saw something else entirely.

For example, Wu Song, who is right next to us.

Although it might sound a bit like bragging, Gao Yi considers himself to be quite tall, standing at 1.85 meters. He works out regularly and has visible muscle definition.

But compared to Wu Song beside her...

"Is this really a human?"

When Gao Yi first saw Wu Song, he was completely stunned.

That figure, two heads taller than me, and that body of muscles as if cast in steel, made me look like a giant just by standing there.

Can humans really grow that tall?
"Perhaps it's just an isolated case; after all, this is Wu Song."

Gao Yi tried to convince himself of this, but he also had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Today, Gao Yi finally realized what was wrong.

Perhaps because they had enjoyed the drinking session so much, Chai Jin and Song Jiang, who had been drinking and chatting happily, came out of the hall again. Judging from their appearance, carrying knives and swords, they were going to perform martial arts to add to the merriment.

"I am honored by your kindness, sir. I shall make a fool of myself in performing this!"

Song Jiang took the sword from the servant, drew it with a bang, and the courtyard was filled with the light of the sword. Even the jujube tree in the courtyard was shaken by the wind of the sword, and its leaves fell in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, the sword flashed repeatedly, and all the falling leaves were split in two by the sword light.

It was split in two by the sword light, not by the sword blade.

Gao Yi could see clearly that the fallen leaf was at least three feet away from the sword blade, yet it was still sliced ​​open by the flashing sword light.

"What a brilliant Rainfall Sword technique!"

Just as Gao Yi was dumbfounded, Chai Jin, the master of the Chai Manor, leaped into the courtyard and twisted his palm!
"Brother Song! Please!"

As Chai Jin twisted his palms, the fallen leaves that should have fallen to the ground were blown up by a whirlwind and swept towards Song Jiang!

Wind against rain.

A strong wind against a sudden downpour!
"Zheng——"

It was a sword cry, or perhaps a thousand sword cries exploding in unison.

The wind stopped, the rain ceased.

"Excellent swordsmanship."

Chai Jin looked at the fallen leaves scattered on the ground.

Each leaf has a clearly visible hole.

"Impressive skill."

Song Jiang also looked at the sword in his hand.

The blade was already riddled with broken nicks and chips.

When they looked up again, their eyes were filled with mutual appreciation.

"continue?"

"continue!"

After their brief exchange, Chai Jin and Song Jiang, having thoroughly enjoyed themselves, returned to the hall, where they drank and chatted, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Only fallen leaves remained on the ground.

And there was Gao Yi, who was staring in astonishment from afar.

And then there's Wu Song, with his expressionless face.

"What's so special about that? I can do that too!"

Even though I'm not feeling well right now...

Seeing that Gao Yi beside him was still in a daze, Wu Song simply clenched his fist and swung it sharply at the stone pillar in the distance.

There was no explosion, no roar.

The stone bench standing under the tree, meant for people to rest, suddenly shattered into pieces out of thin air.

As the stone pier shattered, Gao Yi finally came to his senses.

"But is this really something humans can do?"

Looking at everything before him, Gao Yi couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Where exactly am I? Where have I ended up?"

Gao Yi suddenly felt he needed to talk to Wu Song a little longer. Chapter 2

At night, it is midnight.

After half a day of conversation, Gao Yi finally gained some understanding of this unfamiliar world.

According to what Wu Song said, it should indeed be during the Northern Song Dynasty, but it is somewhat different from the Northern Song Dynasty that Gao Yi is familiar with.

And all of this is because of a shooting star from outer space.

According to the legend told by Wu Song, it happened during the Chu-Han Contention. A shooting star fell from the sky onto the Central Plains, changing everything on this land.

The power that was originally only cultivated by a very few martial artists can now be cultivated by everyone, and those martial artists who were already highly skilled now possess the strength to withstand ten thousand men.

The most typical example is Xiang Yu. Originally, "enemy of ten thousand men" was just an adjective, referring to the achievements of Xiang Yu and his Jiangdong soldiers. However, with the arrival of that celestial star, Xiang Yu became a genuine "enemy of ten thousand men."

With a sweeping halberd, he swept through thousands of troops, single-handedly breaking through enemy lines; he even achieved a physical feat, displaying strength that could uproot mountains and an aura that could overwhelm the world.

During the subsequent four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, various martial arts schools emerged, especially at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty when the Three Kingdoms period was in full swing, with heroes from all walks of life shining brightly, almost like myths from ancient legends.

"and after?"

Seeing that Wu Song suddenly stopped halfway through his story, Gao Yi couldn't help but continue asking.

"And then? What happened after the Three Kingdoms period?"

"How would I know? That's all the storyteller has to say."

As he spoke, Wu Song's tall figure actually shrank into the corner.

Gao Yi also felt a cool breeze.

The cold autumn and winter winds are refreshing, but Wu Song, who is currently suffering from malaria, cannot withstand the cold.

Even the most valiant men cannot withstand the torment of illness.

So Gao Yi shoveled some charcoal over, and the two of them leaned against the fire, which provided them with a means of keeping warm.

After calming down a bit, Wu Song continued speaking.

Wu Song truly knew nothing about what happened after the Three Kingdoms period, since the little he knew was all from storytellers.

However, speaking of martial artists today, Wu Song himself practiced martial arts, so he naturally had some understanding of them.

"Practicing martial arts is nothing more than tempering your muscles and bones, honing your strength, and having a proper posture. Strength will naturally arise. However, if you want to go further, then everyone has their own circumstances."

"For example, Chai Jin, the owner of the Chai Manor, was a descendant of the royal family of the previous dynasty. He was extremely wealthy and could naturally spend a lot of money to find sparring partners to hone his strength. He could even fight without weapons. This is what is meant by profound skill."

"Or take the timely rain, Master Song, for example. His swordsmanship was as smooth as clouds and rain, clearly reflecting his own understanding of martial arts cultivation."

Seeing that Gao Yi didn't quite understand, Wu Song gave a few examples, which made Gao Yi sometimes ponder and sometimes nod.

For a moment, the two of them were so engrossed in their conversation that they were oblivious to everything around them.

But at that very moment, the charcoal fire in front of them suddenly grew larger.

To prevent the ground from getting dirty, Du Yi simply shoveled the charcoal over with an iron shovel. But just now, some drunkard happened to walk by and stepped on the long handle of the iron shovel.

In an instant, charcoal embers flew and sparks flew everywhere. Not only was Gao Yi in a flurry of activity, but even Wu Song was covered in a piece of red-hot charcoal.

This made Wu Song suddenly stand up and grab the drunkard by the collar.

"What are you! How dare you..."

"No rudeness!"

"No rudeness!"

Two shouts rang out at the same time.

One of the sounds came from the villagers carrying lanterns; judging from their hurried manner, they were clearly looking for the drunkard.

The other voice, however, came from the drunkard himself, clearly trying to stop the villagers.

Immediately afterwards, the drunkard looked around and then raised his hands in a fist salute.

"I'm sorry, I was really drunk. I didn't see the shovel. I only saw two valiant heroes here, and I admired them so I thought I would come and make their acquaintance. I didn't expect... sigh."

As he spoke, the drunkard even bowed his head in a gesture of respect.

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Since the drunkard had already bowed his head and admitted his mistake, Wu Song naturally could not continue to make trouble.

As the villagers carrying lanterns drew closer, Wu Song and Gao Yi were able to see the drunkard's appearance clearly.

Looking at this short, stocky man, who else could it be but Song Jiang, the timely rain from before?

In fact, during the martial arts demonstration, Song Jiang, who had eyes in all directions, had already spotted Wu Song in the distance. After all, Wu Song was too muscular to be missed, even if he was just crouching there.

Now, when truly facing Wu Song's rage, the murderous aura that assaults the senses is even more formidable.

Such a hero deserves to be befriended!
As for the person next to Wu Song, he seemed quite ordinary, with nothing remarkable about him except for his decent appearance.

However, Song Jiang also knew the principle that one cannot judge a book by its cover.

Just like his younger brother Song Qing, he was used to keeping a low profile. Despite his high level of martial arts skills, he never showed off. Even his personal weapon was an iron fan disguised as an ordinary folding fan.

The world is a treacherous place, and there are countless examples of people who pretend to be weak to deceive others. However, this person, who can associate with a hero like Wu Song, must not be an ordinary person.

“This time it was my fault. Why don’t you two come with me to the back room and I will drink three cups of wine as punishment for you?”

This is how they made friends under the guise of drinking the penalty wine. It was at this moment that Chai Jin, the host, also arrived. Seeing that the two sides did not quarrel, he was obviously relieved.

Meanwhile, Song Jiang also invited Wu Song and Gao Yi to the banquet in the back hall to drink together, and introduced his younger brother Song Qing to the two of them.

Wu Song was a man who couldn't live without wine, so he drank to his heart's content. After downing two jugs of wine, he began to call Song Jiang his brother.

On the other hand, Gao Yi was still thinking about what he had just heard. He hadn't drunk much wine or even eaten much food.

This taciturn demeanor further confirmed Song Jiang's suspicions, especially since his younger brother, Song Qing, was the same.

His taciturn demeanor also caught Song Jiang's attention.

"Brother, what's wrong? Is something on your mind?"

"No."

After regaining his senses, Gao Yi glanced at Song Jiang and Wu Song, pondered for a moment, and then simply spoke up.

"To be honest, I saw the martial arts demonstration just now. Their skills were truly spectacular. Thinking about myself, my martial arts are mediocre, and my skills are just average..."

"Brother, you're being too polite."

Before Gao Yi could finish speaking, Song Jiang had already understood.

"Your martial arts skills are mediocre, but you can practice. Everyone started when their martial arts skills were mediocre. Now that we have this opportunity, if you have any questions about cultivation, we will naturally lend a hand if we can help."

"Then thank you very much, Brother Song."

This is exactly what Gao Yi wants.

Now that he knows this abnormal form of force exists in the world, he has to learn some of it, even if it's just for his own safety.

Especially at this dinner table, Song Jiang, Wu Song, and Chai Jin are all experts, and even Song Jiang's younger brother, Song Qing, is clearly a hidden martial artist.

How could we miss such a great opportunity?
"That level of power..."

Thinking of Song Jiang's stunning sword light, Chai Jin's whirlwind created by twisting his palms, and Wu Song's seemingly ordinary but actually earth-shattering punch, Gao Yi felt a surge of longing.

No man can resist such power.

"I can learn that too!"

With this thought in mind, Gao Yi and the others left the hall.

When it came time to choose a weapon, Gao Yi, thinking of that stunning sword light, subconsciously chose a longsword.

(End of this chapter)