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

The courtyard was completely quiet.

It was so quiet that you could hear the night birds flapping their wings on the eaves and the sound of water flowing in the distant river bend.

Xu Qing stood amidst the corpses, looking down at his blood-stained hands. He clenched his fists, then relaxed them. He wiped the blood from his hands onto Hong Tianhu's clothes.

He didn't rush to leave.

He searched the house thoroughly.

Hong Tianhu's bedroom was in the second courtyard. There was a hidden compartment by the bed. He searched it and found a heavy iron box inside. When he opened it, he found several dozen taels of loose silver and a one-hundred-tael silver note.

One hundred taels of silver. His fingers trembled slightly.

He had never seen a banknote in his life, let alone one with such a large denomination. In his family, a tael of silver was carefully measured, and a copper coin was warmed in their pocket before being used. His family could fish their whole lives and still not save up this much money.

He carefully put away the banknotes and loose silver, then searched other places, such as the wardrobe compartments, under the bed, and behind the desk drawers, finding some loose silver and copper coins.

All the money added up to about one hundred and fifty taels. One hundred and fifty taels of silver. He had never dared to dream of such a sum before.

When Xu Qing walked out of the house, the moon had already set.

He didn't head home. He knew the Giant Whale Gang also owned gambling dens, restaurants, and fish farms at the docks. And there were those hidden agents lurking in the alleys.

Since we've started, we should see it through to the end.

Chopping the grass does not remove the roots, but the spring breeze blows and regenerates.

He cannot leave a single survivor.

The fish market is located on the east side of the bay entrance, consisting of a row of low wooden sheds where fish are collected during the day and people live at night.

When Xu Qing crept over, the lights were still on in the shed, and several people were huddled inside drinking and gambling, the dice clattering on the wooden table.

Xu Qing pushed open the door and entered. The three men looked up, but before they could even see who it was, fists were already at them. Clean and swift, leaving no survivors. He rummaged through the cabinet in the fish market and found some loose silver, not much, just over ten taels.

Then came the gambling den. It wasn't far from the docks, and it was already closed, with two guards inside. Xu Qing climbed over the wall; the two were dozing. He finished them off with a single punch each. He found several dozen taels of silver in the cabinet.

The restaurant was at the street corner, a two-story building that was bustling during the day but deserted at night. The front door was locked, so Xu Qing climbed in through a second-floor window and groped his way downstairs in the dark.

Behind the counter, a gatekeeper was curled up, wrapped in a tattered blanket, fast asleep. Xu Qing finished him off with a single punch. He searched the counter and found more than ten taels of silver and several strings of copper coins.

He gathered all the silver, which amounted to about two hundred taels.

He pocketed the money, left the restaurant, and took down the last two hidden agents.

By the time he finished doing all this, it was almost dawn.

The eastern horizon was tinged with a pale white, and a thin mist rose over the river, shrouding the dock and fishing boats in a hazy, misty fog.

Xu Qing squatted by the river and carefully washed the blood off his body.

Then I walked home.

He hadn't slept all night, but he wasn't sleepy at all. His mind was calm, as calm as a stagnant pool.

He knew he had gotten himself into big trouble.

The person behind the Giant Whale Gang is Lin Mu, the third son of the county magistrate. Lin Mu's father is the local official of Qinghe County, and a single word from him could make him die without a burial place.

But he couldn't back out.

From the moment they forced him to leave the house using his family, he had no way out.

If he doesn't kill them, they will kill him and his family.

This isn't a multiple-choice question; it's a life-or-death question. There's no need to even ask; there's only one answer.

No one saw or knew about what happened tonight, and he left no evidence.

Even if he were suspected, he still had his master. Zhao Yan was a master of internal energy transformation, a top-tier figure in Qinghe County. With this powerful backer, even if Lin Mu suspected him and wanted to harm him, he would have to think twice.

Moreover, Lin Mu dared not admit that he had supported a gang and exploited the lower classes. These were things that could not be brought to light.

There are many people eyeing the position of county magistrate, county assistant, and registrar. Who doesn't want to climb up? Who isn't keeping a close eye out for any dirt on him? If Lin Mu dares to admit it, he'll be tarnishing his father's reputation, and those who are eyeing the position will surely file a complaint.

Lin Mu isn't that stupid.

Xu Qing quickened her pace and headed home.

He still needed to have breakfast with his second uncle and aunt, play with Xiu'er for a while, and then go back to the martial arts school. In front of his second uncle and aunt, he was still the nephew who had just returned from the city, as if nothing had happened.

......

As dawn broke, Blackwater Bay erupted in chaos.

The first to discover it were the fishermen living near the dock. Before dawn, they went to the dock as usual to pay for their boat trip, but when they arrived, they found something was wrong. The door of the shed was open, and the person inside was lying motionless on the ground, with a dark, murky thing under him.

Someone mustered up the courage to take a look, and immediately vomited.

Then news of deaths came from fish markets, gambling dens, and restaurants. Each death was more tragic than the last, and each was more gruesome than the last.

Finally, someone mustered up the courage to push open the door of the Giant Whale Gang's hideout, only to find corpses and bloodstains all over the ground. Terrified, they scrambled out, their legs trembling.

"Dead... all dead... all the members of the Giant Whale Gang are dead!"

The news spread like wildfire, from the dock to the end of the alley, and from the end of the alley to the other. In less than half an hour, the whole of Blackwater Bay knew about it.

"The Giant Whale Gang has been wiped out! Not a single survivor was left!"

"Who did this? Who did this?"

"Who cares who did it? It's a miracle!"

"Retribution! Retribution indeed! How much ill-gotten money they've taken and how many people they've beaten over the years, they've finally paid the price!"

The fishermen stood on the dock, chatting amongst themselves, their faces beaming with undisguised smiles.

Someone pushed the boat into the water, and after paddling twice, suddenly stopped, turned around, and shouted, "No toll today!"

That shout was like a ladle of water being poured into a frying pan. People on the shore burst into laughter, the sound carrying from the dock to the river, rippling across the water.

An old man squatted on the dock, smoking a pipe, squinting, and muttering, "How many years has the Giant Whale Gang bullied us? How much money have they taken? How many people have they beaten? Retribution, retribution..." As he spoke, his eyes reddened, and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Chen Laosi's wife came out of the alley and heard the discussion. She was stunned at first, then tears streamed down her face. Chen Laosi's leg had been broken by the Giant Whale Gang, and he was still bedridden.

She stood at the alley entrance, trembling with sobs, repeatedly saying "Heaven has eyes," and no amount of persuasion could calm her down.

The most excited were Li Laoda's family.

In a few days, thirteen-year-old Er Ya will be married off to Wang Biao as a concubine. It's called a marriage, but it's really a forced marriage. Wang Biao is over forty, with a face full of menacing features; it's said that his first two concubines were tortured to death by him. The Li family is so worried they can't eat; their daughter cries constantly, her eyes swollen like peaches.

This morning, when Boss Li heard that the entire Giant Whale Gang was dead, he was stunned for a long time. Then, he knelt down on the ground with a thud and kowtowed three times to the heavens. His forehead was scraped and blood was flowing down his brow, but he was completely unaware of it.

His wife rushed out of the house, hugged their daughter, and the two of them cried together, but there was laughter in their tears.

"I don't need to get married... I don't need to get married..." Old Li stood up, wiped the blood and tears from his face, and shouted to the sky, "God, you've finally opened your eyes!"

Neighbors gathered around the door of Old Li's house, chattering amongst themselves, their laughter and cries mingling together, creating a lively atmosphere like the Lunar New Year.

Some say the Giant Whale Gang offended a powerful figure, others say a chivalrous hero is acting on behalf of Heaven, and still others say this is retribution, the time has come for them to pay their dues.

Nobody knows who did it. And nobody bothers to investigate.

All they knew was that they wouldn't have to pay tolls to fish today, that no one would force them to buy fish at the docks anymore, that their daughter wouldn't have to marry a beast like Wang Biao, and that they could finally sleep peacefully at night.

The sun leaped out from the river, its golden rays spilling onto the dock, the fishing boats, and the faces that had been smiling all morning.

Blackwater Bay has never been so lively, nor so bright.

After having breakfast, Xu Qing said goodbye to his second uncle, second aunt, and Xiu'er, and returned to the county town.

When he entered the martial arts school, the sun was already high in the sky.

Zhao Yan was drinking tea in the pavilion, with Ning Yun beside him.

Hearing footsteps, Zhao Yan looked up and glanced at Xu Qing.

That glance was neither fast nor slow, neither light nor heavy. It was like a soft measuring tape, measuring Xu Qing from her face to her feet, and then back from her feet to her face, not an inch more, not an inch less.

Xu Qing's face was a little pale, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept all night. But he stood there, his back ramrod straight, his gaze steady, showing no signs of anything amiss.

"You're back?" Zhao Yan smiled gently, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, as casually as when he asked him.

"I'm back, Master." Xu Qing bowed deeply, and when he straightened up, his eyes were lowered, and he did not meet his master's gaze.

Zhao Yan picked up his teacup and took a sip, not asking why he was a day late, nor why he looked unwell. He simply glanced at Xu Qing, his gaze carrying a mixture of understanding and complexity.

Xu Qing didn't look up, and continued, "Master, on my way home yesterday, I encountered three villains who blocked my path. I dealt with them."

Zhao Yan nodded. Sun Ping had mentioned this when he returned yesterday, and Chen Wang had also reported it.

"Chen Wang went to the yamen to ask for leave for you. Constable Qi said you can go patrol the streets whenever you come back." Zhao Yan waved his hand after saying that, indicating that Xu Qing could go about her business.

Xu Qing bowed again, then turned and left the pavilion.

He took a few steps, then suddenly stopped and glanced back. Zhao Yan was drinking tea with his head down, his gaze fixed on the teacup, seemingly oblivious to everything. But Xu Qing knew that her master knew everything.

He had already stained his skin with blood. His master knew. From the moment his master first saw him after his first day off, he knew. That one look was like two knives, cutting him open from head to toe, revealing everything between his bones.

But Master didn't say anything, didn't ask anything. The same thing happened today.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and strode towards his room.

He changed into his constable's uniform, hung his waist knife at his waist, clipped the copper badge to his belt, straightened his collar, and went out.

Sunlight shone on him, making his dark blue constable uniform look sharp and upright. He seemed like a completely different person from the boy who had smashed bones with his fists in the darkness the night before.

As he passed the training ground, Qin Liang was practicing his boxing. Seeing him, he called out, "Junior Brother Xu, going on patrol?"

Xu Qing nodded and smiled.

Sun Ping jumped down from the plum blossom stakes, wiped his sweat, and chuckled, "Senior Brother Xu, you slept well at home last night, didn't you? I didn't sleep well at all last night. I thought about those three bandits blocking the road all night. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how amazing you are."

Xu Qing patted him on the shoulder, said nothing, and strode out of the martial arts school.