Breaking Limits in Martial Arts: Grinding Your Way to Becoming a Martial Saint in a Chaotic Era

After everyone had left, Xu Erniu approached the bedside and whispered, "Fourth Brother Chen."

Chen Laosi tried to sit up, but the moment he moved, he aggravated his injured leg, wincing in pain.

He forced a smile: "Erniu... today... thank you and Aqing for carrying me back..."

Xu Erniu didn't reply, but silently placed the rice bag on the table.

Seeing this, the fourth brother's wife's eyes reddened and she was about to kneel down again, but Xu Erniu stopped her: "Fourth sister-in-law, don't do this. We're neighbors, it's only right to lend a hand."

Xu Qing stared at Chen Laosi's leg, which was haphazardly bound with tattered rags and was faintly bleeding, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Without a traditional Chinese medicine doctor to treat him, and relying solely on folk remedies and herbal treatments, I'm afraid I won't be able to save this leg.

Even if they miraculously survive, they will definitely be crippled in the future.

"The Giant Whale Gang...those beasts..." Chen Laosi said weakly, "I just wanted to make a few more yuan...to tidy up the house...to buy the kids a warm coat..."

"Stop talking, just focus on recovering..." Xu Erniu whispered a few words of advice.

On the way back, the uncle and nephew remained silent, their hearts heavy with worry.

A short while later, Second Aunt returned with Xiuer in her arms.

My second aunt was a typical fisherwoman. Years of hard work had made her back a little hunched. Her coarse cloth clothes were faded from washing and patched upon patched.

Xiuer was only seven years old. Her little face was red from the wind, and she was tightly clutching her mother's clothes.

My aunt's eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying.

No need to ask, you can tell from their expressions that they didn't manage to borrow any money.

Her family probably didn't give her a friendly reception either.

Xu Qing quickly stepped forward, picked up Xiu'er, and turned to his second aunt with a smile, saying, "Auntie, it's alright. Today, my second uncle and I caught a treasure fish and sold it for three taels of silver. If we borrow some more from my aunt, we'll have enough money for her apprenticeship."

Auntie's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly looked at Xu Erniu, her voice trembling, "Uncle, is it true?"

Xu Erniu nodded honestly: "Don't worry about the money. I won't eat lunch. Pack me two coarse rice cakes and take those two biggest salted fish with me. I'm heading to town now."

"Second Uncle," Xu Qing put Xiu'er down and said, "I'll go with you. I miss Auntie too."

When he thought of his aunt, a gentle, smiling face involuntarily came to mind.

In my memory, my aunt Xu Yan always doted on him.

"Okay, you haven't seen her in a long time either."

Before long, the uncle and nephew were discharged from the hospital.

As I passed the tavern at the street corner, Black Fish Liu San and Manager Wang were playing drinking games with several gang members, and the aroma of big fish and meat wafted far and wide.

Xu Qing weighed the dry, hard pickled fish in his hand, then glanced at the glistening dishes and wine on the table.

In the original owner's memory, she had never tasted such meat.

Without practicing martial arts, one will never experience such a feast in their entire life; they will spend their whole life in the mud, and their whole life will be trampled underfoot.

......

Heishuiwan is more than 20 miles away from Qinghe County, which takes more than an hour to walk there even at a fast pace.

After noon, the uncle and nephew arrived at West Street and found the steamed bun shop run by Xu Qing's aunt.

The shop wasn't big, but it was very clean, and the freshly steamed buns were steaming hot.

"Auntie." Xu Qing approached and gently called out to the gentle woman who was making steamed buns.

Xu Yan looked up at the sound, paused for a moment, then her face lit up with surprise: "Qing'er? What brings you here! Haven't eaten yet? Come on in!"

She put down her work and was about to pull Xu Qing away when she looked up and saw Xu Erniu: "Second Brother, you're here too!"

"Acheng, come out quickly! Second Brother and Qing'er are here!" Xu Yan called into the house.

Uncle Xu Cheng is an honest and loyal man, and he is especially distressed by the hardships his wife's family is facing.

Hearing the noise, Xu Cheng quickly came out and took the pickled fish from Xu Qing's hand: "Second Brother, Qing, come in and sit down. The steamed buns are fresh out of the steamer, have a few while they're hot to tide you over."

"Acheng, we won't eat the steamed buns." Xu Erniu was a little embarrassed, his face flushing. "We came today because we want to discuss something with you and Yan'er..."

"We can talk about it after we've eaten some steamed buns," Xu Cheng said, pulling the two of them into the inner room without further ado.

Xu Erniu struggled, his face flushed, and said, "Acheng, really, it's not necessary. I ate on the way..."

"What can we eat on the road? Just dry biscuits! Ah Qing is growing, she needs something hot to eat." Xu Cheng pretended to be angry and raised his voice, "Second brother, you and Ah Qing have come all this way, I won't ask you to stay, but you have to have enough steamed buns."

"Thank you, Uncle." Xu Qing didn't stand on ceremony and chuckled.

"Hey! That's more like it!" Xu Cheng patted Xu Qing on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Qing has really grown up. He's almost as tall as his uncle. Wait here, his uncle will go get the steamed buns, your favorite braised pork buns."

Before long, Xu Cheng brought over two large plates of meat buns, and Xu Yan followed with two bowls of bean porridge.

After the two had finished eating and drinking, Xu Cheng asked with a smile, "Second Brother, what is it that you want to discuss with Yan'er and me?"

Xu Erniu paused, glanced at Xu Yan, then turned to Xu Cheng and said about borrowing money: "Aqing said she wants to learn martial arts, but she's short of money for the apprenticeship fee. She wants to borrow one tael of silver from you."

"Ah Qing is going to practice martial arts too?" Xu Cheng was somewhat surprised.

A while ago, his nephew Xu Qing joined a martial arts school.

When the family divided their property, his elder brother got the family's clothing shop. However, his brother's family was lazy and good-for-nothing, and the shop's business was not as good as before. Half of Xu Qing's apprenticeship fee was borrowed from him.

In the past few months, his sister-in-law has come to his house to borrow money three times. The last time she came to borrow money, there was a big fuss and a lot of unpleasantness.

If Xu Qing had spent the money and learned real skills, that would have been fine, but unfortunately, all the money went down the drain.

Now, the mere mention of borrowing money to practice martial arts gives Xu Cheng a headache.

He didn't mind lending Xu Erniu a tael of silver, but he knew that practicing martial arts was very expensive, and a tael of silver wouldn't even make a splash.

Xu Cheng turned to look at Xu Qing and asked earnestly, "Qing, do you really want to practice martial arts?"

"Uncle, I want to practice martial arts and participate in martial arts training. I don't want to spend my whole life fishing in Blackwater Bay." Xu Qing's eyes were firm, and he answered without hesitation.

Xu Cheng stared at Xu Qing for a moment, then suddenly smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Good! You have ambition!"

He had already decided to agree when Xu Erniu asked to borrow money. This was the first time Xu Erniu had asked his family for money, and he wouldn't refuse even if it was three or five taels of silver, let alone one or two taels.

"Have you decided on a martial arts school yet?" Xu Cheng asked again.

"My second uncle said it was the Zhao family martial arts school, and they even provide food and lodging."

"Zhao Family Martial Arts School?" Xu Cheng turned to Xu Erniu and asked, "Second Brother, is it the Zhao Family Martial Arts School on Muxiang Street?"

Xu Erniu scratched his head and said with a simple smile, "It's that one."

"What a coincidence, Aqing also studies martial arts at this martial arts school," Xu Cheng said with a smile. "The Zhao Family Martial Arts School isn't far from our shop, only three streets away. I'll go to my older brother's house tonight and talk to him, asking Aqing to look after Aqing at the school in the future..."

As they were talking, Xu Yan suddenly interrupted, "The apprenticeship fee at the Zhao Family Martial Arts School is ten taels of silver. Second Brother, how can you possibly borrow just one tael?"

Xu Cheng chimed in, "Yes, Second Brother, is one tael of silver enough?"

"That's enough, just one tael will do. We still have money at home..." Xu Erniu quickly explained, revealing his family's savings.

He knew that in those days, it wasn't easy for anyone to save money; everyone worked from dawn till dusk, saving every single penny.

He only borrowed money for emergency use and didn't want to put his sister and brother-in-law in a difficult position.

"After deducting the tax and the apprenticeship fee, there's only five taels of silver left. How can this be!" Xu Cheng shook his head. "Aqing needs to eat and drink some meat at the martial arts school to replenish his energy. Here's what we'll do: Yan'er, go and get three taels of silver for your second brother."

Xu Erniu wanted to refuse, but seeing his brother-in-law's sincere expression, which didn't seem like mere politeness, he moved his lips but ultimately remained silent.

Xu Cheng is right. He can endure hardship, but Xu Qing cannot endure hardship while practicing martial arts.

He didn't know anything about replenishing qi and blood, but he heard Master Qian say that martial arts training required eating meat, and he didn't want Xu Qing to suffer from poor health because he couldn't eat meat while practicing martial arts.

"Second Brother, A-Cheng is right. You can't practice martial arts without meat. This money isn't for you, it's for Qing'er." Xu Yan said, turning to look at Xu Qing with a gentle expression. "Qing'er, study hard. If our Qing'er passes the martial arts exam, let's see who dares to come to the steamed bun shop..."

"Cough...cough..." Xu Cheng's expression changed slightly. He coughed twice, interrupting Xu Yan, "Yan'er, go get the money for Second Brother and A Qing."

Xu Yan realized she had spoken out of turn, so she quickly stopped talking, gently patted Xu Qing's head, and got up to go to the back room.

Xu Qing sensed something was off about her aunt and uncle's conversation and looked at Xu Cheng, asking, "Uncle, what happened at the shop?"

"Nothing. Ah Qing, don't overthink it." Xu Cheng stood up, smiled and patted his shoulder. "You guys wait here for Yan'er. I'll go get a few more steamed buns to take with me when I leave. Second Sister-in-law and Xiu'er haven't had the steamed buns that Yan'er and I made in a long time."

Before long, Xu Yan handed Xu Erniu a small cloth bag, and Xu Cheng also came in with buns wrapped in oil paper.

After chatting for a while, Xu Erniu was about to take Xu Qing back to Blackwater Bay.

After seeing Xu Qing off at the steamed bun shop, Xu Yan reluctantly patted his head again, her gaze lingering on his eyebrows and eyes, which were exactly like his father's.

Her eyes reddened, and she quickly turned her face away, afraid that someone would see.

When her older brother was still alive, he doted on her the most. Now that he's gone, she's giving that same love to Xu Qing.

Previously, Heishuiwan was too far from the county town, and the steamed bun shop couldn't be left unattended, so it was difficult for her to visit her nephew.

Now things are much better. Xu Qing has moved to the city, and the martial arts school is only three streets away from the steamed bun shop. If he misses his nephew in the future, he can just take a quick look at him.

"Qing'er, after you've finished your apprenticeship ceremony, remember to come to your aunt's place tonight. Your aunt will treat you to an extra meal..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp, frivolous voice abruptly interrupted:

"Hey! Who's this pretty boy? He's quite handsome."

Xu Qing frowned.

The voice was slow and leisurely, like a snake flicking its tongue: "Yan'er, this wouldn't happen to be your lover from the countryside, would it? I knew it, what vixen doesn't steal a bite?"

Xu Qing frowned, a surge of anger rising in his heart.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man picking his teeth, swaggering towards the steamed bun shop. The man had a pointed face and a contemptuous expression, exuding an annoying roguishness.

Xu Cheng's expression changed, but he managed to suppress it and hurriedly went to greet him with a smile, "Master Chen, you're joking. This is Yan'er's nephew. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Here, have a few hot buns to try. Please come inside, I'll get them for you."

"The steamed buns are good." Chen Jiang glanced at Xu Yan with ill intent, grinned, revealing two rows of yellow teeth, "I love eating Yan'er's steamed buns, that one bite... it's so juicy. When I can eat Yan'er's big white steamed buns, that would be truly satisfying."

Chen Jiang, spouting crude jokes, strode into the steamed bun shop.

Xu Yan ignored him and only whispered to Xu Qing, "Qing'er, drive carefully."

"Aunt, who is this person?" Xu Qing's voice was very low, and her eyes were already frozen.

"Qing'er, don't overthink it, Auntie is fine." Afraid that Xu Qing would do something foolish, Xu Yan quickly pressed down on his arm and lowered her voice, "That scoundrel Chen Jiang is a member of the Qingjiao Hall. Our shop pays money to the Qingjiao Hall. He's just talking nonsense; he wouldn't dare to actually do anything."

Xu Yan spoke in a reassuring tone, but her eyes darted around.

Having lived two lives, how could Xu Qing not see that things were not as easy as his aunt made them out to be?

"Qingjiao Hall, Chen Jiang!" Xu Qing's face was ashen as he swallowed the name, biting it down and uttering each word.

The law of the jungle prevails, and oppression is everywhere.

Qinghe County is nothing more than a larger Blackwater Bay.

He wants to become stronger!

He can't wait until tomorrow!

Today, I will become a disciple of the martial arts school!