The Martial Saint rose to power starting as a substitute bridegroom.

The familiar courtyard, the familiar atmosphere.

Li Yuan took a deep breath.

This is where he has lived for more than ten years. He knows exactly which tile on the roof is missing a corner, and how deep or shallow the scratches on the door frame are.

Those scratches were made by Gu Laoqi every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when he would compare his height with Qiwa's.

From low to high, from blurry to clear, like two crops growing side by side, growing taller over the years.

In this place called "home," Li Yuan felt incredibly at ease.

Lan Jie'er walked over, holding a bunch of crescent flowers in her hands.

Just now, she saw a patch of crescent-shaped flowers blooming brightly in the fields by the village, so she dismounted to pick them, thus missing the farce that had just occurred.

"These flowers are so beautiful!" Li Yuan liked them more and more as he looked at them.

"Hmm," Lan smiled, "It's mainly because it can be used for cooking."

Li Yuan was taken aback.

"Father!" she said respectfully to Gu Laoqi, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Gu Laoqi was taken aback; she was even more dignified and beautiful than a lady from a prominent family.

Where in the world can you find such a beautiful woman?

Just like a person who stepped out of a painting.

"Sister-in-law, please come in!" Qiwazi reacted quickly and took over the conversation.

"Yes, yes, come on in quickly." Old Gu hurriedly patted the dust off his clothes and straightened them.

The family sat down.

"Yuanzi is a quiet person, I'm sorry to have troubled you," Gu Laoqi said cautiously.

"Father, you flatter me. Yuan-ge is a good man, and I've never thought of him as a son-in-law," Lan-jie said with a smile. Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "We'll also be responsible for your care in the future."

Li Yuan knew she was serious.

Gu Laoqi was completely satisfied.

He rubbed his hands together, his mouth stretching to his ears, then quickly composed himself, afraid of appearing disrespectful.

Qiwa looked at his sister-in-law and was also happy for his brother.

At the same time, one can't help but feel sorry for Li Hao, the younger brother whom one has never met.

He must regret it now.

Live it!

Boom boom boom!

Just then, several burly men burst in.

"Old Gu, I heard your son Qi caught a silver perch?" The leader, a fleshy man with a bald head that gleamed in the sunlight, said, "Master Gu is buying them at a high price. Do you want to sell?"

Li Yuan knew him.

Gu Qiuhu was a notorious scoundrel in Gujiazhuang. Because of his bald head, people secretly called him Bald Tiger.

They bullied men and women, committed numerous evils, and their hands were stained with the blood of countless poor people.

The Master Gu he mentioned was Gu Jitang, the wealthiest man in the area near Gu Family Village. Nearly half of the fishing boats on the Liangshui River were rented from his family.

The Gu family is quite powerful, ranking among the top even in the entire Linjiang City.

Just as Qiwa was about to speak, Gu Laoqi stopped him.

The old man smiled apologetically, his back bent like a bow: "Tiger, who told you that? It's not true."

Doing business with this bully is one thing – the price is negotiable, but whether you can actually get the goods is another matter entirely.

"Someone saw it with their own eyes, how could it be fake?" Bald-headed Zhang said in an unfriendly tone.

Gu Laoqi just smiled, his face wrinkled up like cracks in a dried-up riverbed.

"Yuan-ge'er is here too. Didn't we say you were marrying into the family...?" The bald-headed tiger's gaze suddenly shifted to Li Yuan, then landed on Lan-jie'er beside him, and he couldn't look away. "Oh, sister-in-law is beautiful."

As someone from a different clan in Gujiazhuang, Li Yuan was bullied by Lai Tou Hu when he was young.

Tearing his clothes, snatching his steamed buns, pushing him into a stinking ditch... those memories are like old scars.

Lan Jie glared at the bald-headed tiger and turned to go into the inner room.

His gaze was like an icicle, making the bald-headed tiger awkwardly touch his nose.

"Yuan-ge'er is still the same as before, no change, honest and simple." The bald tiger spoke casually, as if the other party was still the half-grown boy he could bully. "No wonder he became someone's live-in son-in-law."

A group of people burst into laughter.

Li Yuan smiled but didn't say anything.

He killed those hooligans in the blink of an eye.

But if he dies in the yard... blood will splatter everywhere, and the Gu family will never have peace again.

At this moment, he didn't want to ruin his adoptive father's peaceful life.

"Since we didn't catch the treasure fish, let's go!"

At the call of the bald tiger, a group of people walked outside.

Gu Laoqi breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that his back was soaked with cold sweat.

Ordinary people can't afford to mess with such scoundrels; doing so would only lead to endless trouble.

However, the fact that the bald tiger acted so readily this time, without causing any trouble, left one with a lingering unease.

really.

"Oh, by the way," the bald-headed tiger suddenly turned around at the courtyard gate, his greasy hair gleaming, "next time you catch a treasure fish, remember to bring it to me first. Master Gu is kind and generous; the price is negotiable!"

After saying that, he left the yard without looking back.

Li Yuan keenly caught the sound of their conversation.

"Brother Tiger, are we just going to let them go like this? Master Gu ordered us to hand over ten silver perch every month, and we're still far from catching them!"

"Are you stupid?" the bald-headed tiger deliberately lowered his voice, "If we ransack his house tonight, all we'd be left with is the price of a treasure fish!"

"Tiger Lord is indeed shrewd!"

Stop flattering me! I'm hungry, let's go to Old Fu's house in the west of the village...

The laughter faded into the distance, and he thought no one knew, but every word reached Li Yuan's ears. After breaking through to the Ming Jin level, his five senses were greatly enhanced, and he could clearly distinguish the chirping of insects and the twittering of ants within a ten-zhang radius.

"Father, Qiwa," Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and smiled calmly, "We'll stay at home tonight and go back tomorrow."

Old Gu was taken aback for a moment, then his face lit up with joy: "Great, that's wonderful!"

"Brother, I'll go make your beds right away!" Qiwazi said with a happy expression.

Dinner was served, but it wasn't particularly lavish.

White rice, pickled vegetable dumplings, frozen tofu...

Li Yuan knew that this was all the things they could bring out of their home.

In the center of the stone table, on a plate, is a stewed fish.

The fish-fragrant aroma is unique, rich yet sweet, instantly filling the entire courtyard.

Qiwazi licked his lips and stretched out his chopsticks.

Gu Laoqi slapped his hand away with his chopsticks: "This is silver-striped perch, a treasure for martial artists to replenish their qi and blood. It's for your brother."

Li Yuan was startled.

It turned out that Gu Laoqi had given the precious fish to himself to stew.

It wasn't meant for Qiwazi to get married, nor for our own family to exchange for oil and salt; it was for him, someone who, in other people's eyes, wasn't considered family-oriented and had already "married into" his family.

A warm feeling rose in my heart, flowing from my lower abdomen to my eyes.

He lowered his head, afraid that someone would see the tears in his eyes.

Compared to the scheming and cold-heartedness of Li Canghai's family, this was truly his home.

"Let's eat together." Li Yuan picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it into Qiwazi's bowl. "We're brothers, we don't distinguish between each other."

He picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks and put it into Gu Laoqi's bowl: "Dad, you should try some too."

Lan Jie smiled, her eyes sparkling.

Gu Laoqi smiled too, his wrinkles at the corners of his eyes gleaming like a pool of aged wine.

......

After dinner, the moon rose above the willow branches.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the courtyard, feeling the immense energy of the silver-striped perch surging within his body.

Almost the entire silver-striped perch ended up in Li Yuan's stomach.

That energy was like a warm river, surging through the meridians, causing blood and qi to surge and muscles and bones to resonate wherever it passed.

He stood up, assumed a stance, and began practicing the Tiger Form Fist.

Tiger Form Fist (Mastery): 0/100 (10 practices daily, perfected in 10 days)

Once.

The force of the punches howled like a tiger roaring in the mountains. His back arched, like a fierce tiger poised for a fight. The blue bricks beneath his feet trembled slightly, and a few locust leaves fell.

Twice.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, gleaming silver in the moonlight. The energy within his body was drawn by the force of his fist, flowing along his meridians, becoming purer with each cycle.

......

Until the ninth time.

The final move – "Tiger Climbs the Mountain"!

Li Yuan let out a low shout and threw out both fists at the same time. The force of the punches was explosive, and the woodpile in the corner of the courtyard rattled. Several sparrows were startled and flew away from the trees.

Tiger Form Fist (Mastery): 100/100 (10 practices daily, perfected in 10 days)

Tiger Form Fist (Complete)

In an instant, Li Yuan sensed a completely different change.

It was as if he had practiced this set of boxing techniques for thirty years. Every move and every detail was perfectly understood, as if it were no longer just a technique, but an instinct, a part of his blood, and his very breath.

He slowly stopped his movement and exhaled a breath of stale air.

A night breeze rustled the old tree branches, and the distant barking of dogs echoed through the air...

Li Yuan looked up at the night sky.

"The timing is perfect. Now, it's time to settle the score with that scoundrel."

......

Tonight, Gu Family Village is more deathly silent than ever before.

It was as if the entire village had shrunk into a shell.

A group of seven or eight burly men walked towards the house of the bald tiger in the north of the village, under the dim moonlight.

"That damned old man Fu deserved to die!"

The leader, a bald-headed tiger, carried a heavy gray burlap sack on his back, from which blood occasionally seeped from the corners and dripped onto the ground.

Old Fu, whose real name is Gu Xifu, came from a poor family and couldn't find a wife. He was a lifelong bachelor, honest and simple.

The bald-headed tiger had repeatedly tried to take advantage of the situation, and this time Old Fu really couldn't afford to entertain him with any food.

I never expected to suffer such a misfortune.

"Brother Tiger," a henchman behind him said, trembling, "using human flesh as bait to attract silver bass... is too sinister. Aren't we being a bit... immoral?"

The scene just now is still vivid in my mind.

Old Fu endured humiliation to survive, while the bald tiger plotted to kill him and steal his nest.

"What the hell are you talking about!" Bald Tiger whirled around, his scraggly head gleaming pale in the moonlight. "Do you believe I won't wipe out Master Gu's demands? I'll have you and the whole gang wiped out!"

The henchman immediately fell silent.

To support his third son's martial arts training, Master Gu required ten silver-striped perch every month to nourish his blood and qi, supposedly for some crucial "barrier-breaking" stage.

It's almost the end of the month, and even though we've brooded over three chickens, ducks, and other livestock, we've only managed to get three.

At this rate, we'll never be able to raise enough money, no matter how hard we try.

The bald-headed tiger was well aware of Master Gu's methods.

This made him feel like an ant on a hot pan, unable to care about anything else.

Human-powered nest-building was a wicked skill that the bald tiger accidentally acquired.

Old Fu was all alone; killing him wouldn't be a big deal.

Nobody will care.

Every day, countless people die in this world.

"These days, if you want to get ahead, who doesn't have blood on their hands?" The bald-headed tiger seemed to be convincing himself, or perhaps encouraging his followers. "But this old man Fu is just skin and bones; we'll have to get a couple more fat ones later!"

A glint of light flashed in his eyes, like a viper's hiss: "Let's go with Gu Laoqi's family! Gu Qiwa and his foolish brother, young and full of energy, it would be a waste not to use them for baiting!"

The henchmen behind the bald tiger were already terrified out of their wits.

It's one thing to steal chickens and ducks on ordinary days.

They never dared to imagine using human flesh to create a nest.

Their legs were trembling, but they dared not fall behind.

The bald tiger has no scruples when it comes to doing things.

During the famine of that time, it is said that he ate meat in order to survive.

"Gu Laoqi deserves to die for not handing over the silver-striped perch... That son of a bitch Li Yuan didn't even greet me when he saw me... He's got too big for his britches now?" The bald-headed tiger muttered as he walked. "But his wife is really fair and tender. After we finish fishing, I'll give her a good time, hehe... Then I'll sell her to a brothel and make another fortune..."

He couldn't help but feel secretly pleased; how brilliant! He had achieved three things at once.

Pushing open his own courtyard gate, the bald-headed tiger threw the sack on his back onto the ground.

"You guys wait here, I'll go inside and get some sleeping incense!"

If you blow sleeping potion into the house, even an elephant would fall asleep like a dead pig, let alone the Gu family.

The bald tiger walked into the house.

The next scene he foresaw was one he would never be able to accept for the rest of his life.

Squeak.

"Ah Hu, what brings you back?"

An old man suddenly jumped out of bed, naked, and exclaimed in surprise.

Moonlight streamed in through the window cracks, illuminating his loose belly and terrified face.

Under the blanket, a person was shivering.

hula-

The bald-headed tiger yanked off the blanket.

The woman inside jumped back in fright, her large, milky-white breasts trembling.

"Tell me! What exactly happened?!"

The tiger's head was throbbing, and its eyes turned bloodshot, as if blood was about to seep out.

His voice trembled, his clenched fists shook, and his whole body was like a bow stretched to its limit.

"Ah Hu, Ah Hu, let me explain." The old man hugged the bald-headed tiger from behind. "Haven't you been unable to conceive? You won't even have anyone to take care of you in your old age. I'm doing this for your own good..."

Holy crap!

With a loud shout, the bald-headed tiger grabbed the old man's arms and yanked him away forcefully.

Bang!

The old man's head slammed heavily against the corner of the wall, and blood gushed from his forehead like a spring, instantly staining half of his body red.

It was clear that he wouldn't survive.

The bald tiger's heart skipped a beat.

He's done murder before.

Old Fu's body is still in the sack, and it's warm.

But this was, after all, his own father.

"You son of a bitch!" he yelled to bolster his courage, but his voice cracked. "I work myself to the bone outside just so you can sleep with my wife at home?!"

"Ah! Murder—"

The woman finally realized what was happening, and a scream pierced the night sky.

Outside, the lights in the surrounding houses, which had been on, suddenly went out.

No one came out to take a look.

The bald tiger family is notorious; who would want to meddle in their business?

In the courtyard, under the old locust tree, those henchmen were grinding their teeth.

"Hey guys, wanna go?"

"Human flesh hunting... I'm not doing that anymore..."

"I didn't want to do it in the first place, but Brother Tiger forced me to join, saying that if I didn't, he would sleep with my sister..."

The group was terrified and silently withdrew from the courtyard, locking the gate behind them.

On the rooftop, however, there was another figure watching coldly.

Li Yuan.

He had intended to seize an opportunity to make a move, but instead, he inexplicably watched the entire process.

Li Yuan's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection).

Even the most skilled screenwriter couldn't have written such an absurd drama.

But it happened right before our eyes, it really did.

Inside the house, the woman's screams, the dull thuds of fists hitting flesh, the cracking sounds of bones breaking... continued.

Her chest was already a bloody mess, and her beautiful, snow-white thigh was bent at an eerie angle.

The woman's screams grew fainter and weaker.

The bald-headed tiger looked at his father's corpse on the ground, then at the woman huddled in the corner.

Suddenly, something stirred within me.

"Two more excellent baiting materials!"

Bang!

Finally, the bald-headed tiger held the woman's head in his hands and slammed it hard against a nail on the wall.

The world has returned to silence.

The bald tiger's eyes twitched wildly, and his blood-stained hands trembled uncontrollably. After a long while, he finally let out a long breath.

However, at that moment, everything suddenly went black...

......

Two breaths later.

Three corpses lay sprawled on the ground.

Li Yuan searched around and found less than two taels of silver.

He shook his head, laughing and crying at the same time. In the end, such a destitute family could not be squeezed out of much profit.

However, when he walked up to the water vat to wash his hands, his eyes lit up.

At the bottom of the water, three silvery fish were swimming.

"Silver-striped perch?!"