Starting with photographic memory, I've worked my way up to become a martial arts immortal.

The eyes are one of the most vulnerable parts of the body; when attacked, the force of the attack immediately loosens.

"what!"

Jiang Yuan shouted loudly, his brute strength surging forth. He flipped over and straddled Tian Chang, pressing down hard with his right hand holding a dagger.

Aside from left-handed people, left-handed people are at a natural disadvantage when facing right-handed people.

Having worked as a laborer at the docks for many years, he was quite strong and had greater stamina than Tian Chang beneath him.

The dagger pressed down inch by inch, until the tip was even pressed against Tian Chang's chest.

"Stop, listen to me."

"No, Brother Jiang, please spare me, Master Jiang..."

The veins on Tian Chang's neck bulged as he lay beneath him. With the dagger about to pierce his chest, his survival instinct made him beg for mercy repeatedly.

Jiang Yuan ignored him, continuing to exert force with his right hand, piercing the dagger inch by inch into the body, and blood gushed out.

"Heh...heh..."

While still begging for mercy, Tian Chang uttered words that were difficult to understand, his face filled with fear and despair.

Jiang Yuan felt a sudden loosening in his right hand as the entire blade plunged into the other man's chest. He then gritted his teeth and twisted the dagger sharply.

Tian Chang instantly arched his back like a shrimp, his eyes bloodshot, almost bulging out of their sockets, staring intently at his own chest.

"I just want to live, why are you all forcing me!"

Jiang Yuan let out a beast-like growl, pulled out his dagger, and plunged it in again.

"Well!"

In despair, Tian Chang made his last sound in this world, his hands weakly reaching out, trying to grasp the ever-slipping life force.

Then, it slumped down in despair.

"Huff... huff..."

Jiang Yuan sat on Tian Chang's lap, his chest heaving violently, large beads of sweat mixed with dirt dripping from his face.

Looking down at the wide-eyed man beneath him, he felt a jolt of fear and crawled to the side.

In just a short while, he felt completely exhausted, more tired than if he had carried sacks all day at the dock.

At that moment, his mind went blank, and he lay on the ground staring blankly at the azure sky.

"No, now is not the time to daydream."

Jiang Yuan scrambled to his feet and walked over to Tian Chang to carefully check his breathing, heartbeat, and pulse. After confirming that he was dead, he took Tian Chang's money bag and stuffed it into his own pocket.

This place is in a remote location, and few people usually come here.

He looked around and saw that the abandoned ferry crossing was not far away, and a plan immediately formed in his mind.

As the saying goes, killing someone is easy, but disposing of the body is difficult.

Jiang Yuan tried to carry the body over, but it felt soft and slippery. No matter how hard he tried, he kept falling down. It was so heavy that he could only grab the other person's shoulders and move towards the ferry crossing little by little.

The short journey took him most of the day.

He then brought over a large stone, tied it with the other person's clothes, and sank the body into the water.

"Glug glug..."

Jiang Yuan hid to the side and watched the bubbles gradually dissipate until the water returned to calm before he breathed a sigh of relief.

He went back to wipe away the traces of dragging along the way, and when he looked down, he saw that he was covered in mud and blood. So he simply went back to the water's edge to wash himself clean and changed into the clothes in his bundle.

These are the new clothes he bought specifically for his apprenticeship.

After finishing all this, he clapped his hands and quickly disappeared into the water.

······

Inside the Jiang family's house in Pingkangfang.

A bright red fire burned in the stove. Jiang Yuan opened the package and stuffed in the old clothes stained with blood, which made the fire burn even brighter.

In the firelight, his face remained calm and expressionless.

When Tian Chang's money bag was opened, dozens of copper coins and some loose silver rolled out.

Jiang Yuan counted the money; besides his own fourteen taels, he had more than three taels left over.

He knew that this money was squeezed out of the mouths of poor people like Tian Chang and Liu San, and that it might cost a whole family their lives.

He casually tossed the money bag into the stove as well, and used the same old method to scatter the money on the ground under his armpits with strips of cloth, so that most people wouldn't notice it.

As the fire in the stove gradually died down, Jiang Yuan went to the water vat and carefully washed his body again, making sure there was no trace left before leaving home.

······

In front of Chengfeng Bookstore.

Jiang Yuan reached out and rang the bell hanging at the door. After waiting for a moment, he stepped inside.

Inside, an old man standing in front of the counter was slowly tidying up the account books. He looked up and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you, young man?"

"I came to see you."

Jiang Yuan strode over, removed the spread-out account book, and sure enough, saw a book hidden underneath.

He chuckled, "Shopkeeper, you're still as vigorous as ever."

"You brat, who told you to touch my things? What are you doing here again?" the old man said with a laugh.

Jiang Yuan reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of copper coins, and stacked them one by one on the counter: "Here's your money back, twenty-one coins, not a penny less!"

For a while, I was rushing around at 2 a.m. every day, and it took me about ten days to transcribe hundreds of thousands of words with the scribes. The workload was huge, and I didn't have time to do anything else. So the matter of repaying the money has been delayed until today.

The old man snorted coldly, "Not even a penny of interest."

"Is one coin enough?" Jiang Yuan took out another copper coin.

"Go away, go away, do you really think I'm a loan shark?" The old man wiped his hand on the counter, and the copper coin disappeared.

He looked Jiang Yuan up and down, his tone playful: "Haven't seen you for a while, have you made it big?"

"I was lucky and made a little money."

"A side path?"

"The right path!" Jiang Yuanyi declared righteously.

The old man nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased with himself.

"What are your plans next? Will you use the money to start a small business, or go back to working at the docks?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then told the truth: "I plan to learn martial arts."

"Practicing martial arts?"

This answer surprised the old man, who asked, "Why?"

"Protect yourself and protect your family." Jiang Yuan's eyes were bright.

"The path of martial arts is very difficult. Your little bit of money is just the beginning. You need good physique, comprehension, perseverance, and opportunity. Are you confident?" The old man's face turned serious for the first time.

"Yes," Jiang Yuan replied solemnly.

"Good! Young people should be ambitious and bold, so go for it!" The old man shouted in a rising tone, his voice full of energy.

Jiang Yuan was startled and looked at the old man as if he were an idiot.

Am I really that trustworthy?

"Ahem." Realizing he had somewhat overstepped his bounds, the old man coughed lightly and asked, "Where would you like to find a master?"

Jiang Yuan felt there was nothing to hide, and said, "I plan to go to Kaishan Martial Arts School, which has the biggest reputation in the outer city."

The old man stroked his goatee: "Kaishan Martial Arts School is not bad, but it has too many disciples. Only true geniuses get noticed, and you might not learn anything there. I know a martial arts school that has only recently come to the county and is not very famous, but you can learn real skills there."

"That makes sense, but..." Jiang Yuan said hesitantly.

The old man's beard twitched, and he said unhappily, "What, you don't believe me? This White Crane Martial Arts School has some connections with the Feather Transformation Sect, and it's much better than the other lousy martial arts schools in the outer city."