Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

noon.

The two men found Wu Yong and gave him the fifty taels of reward money and the thirty-three taels that were to be split equally between them for killing Wu Jingang.

Wu Yong only took fifty taels, leaving the remaining thirty-odd taels unclaimed.

Lin Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and split the money with Hu Cai on the spot. He also learned that Wu Yong had made arrangements for Instructor Wei, who would come to the training ground on the fifth of each month to seek guidance from Instructor Hong, and spend the rest of the time practicing swordsmanship with Instructor Wei.

a few days later.

After studying and practicing diligently for so long, Hu Cai finally broke through to the entry level of the Bone Forging Realm and immediately invited everyone to a small gathering at Chunfeng Tower.

Hu Cai was riding high, his face beaming with joy.

That evening, Hu Cai's father spoke with him, saying that the medicinal cuisine for the Bone Forging Realm was too expensive, and the Hu family could only support him to cultivate up to the entry-level martial arts master level. From then on, he would have to rely on himself to continue his martial arts journey.

Hu Cai didn't mind; he was content to have become a martial arts master.

Back in the courtyard, Lin Yuan was reading on the couch when Hu Cai took off his shoes, climbed onto the couch, and told Lin Yuan what had happened.

Lin Yuan could understand. Although the Hu family had some money, it was all hard-earned money, earned one nail at a time. And Hu Dongjia had many sons, so it was impossible to invest all the resources in Hu Cai. Being able to train him to become a martial arts master was already fulfilling his duty as a father.

Even Brother Hu Cai only reached the peak of the Body Tempering Realm. After several years of not being able to break through, Hu Dongjia also had to give up.

Lin Yuan put down "The Strange Cases of Dali Temple": "What are your plans for the future? Will you still practice martial arts?"

"I still need to practice, but I plan to use inexpensive medicinal diets. I don't need to practice quickly, just maintain my current level. I want to pass the entrance exam for martial arts masters first, then join the Li family as a bronze-level retainer, and then follow my senior brother to take on more jobs and earn some money."

Hu Cai had already made up his mind, and his face was full of anticipation: "Once I've saved enough money, I'll either continue practicing martial arts or buy a government job, I'll see when the time comes."

"Yeah, that's good. If it were me, I'd do the same." Lin Yuan nodded, agreeing with the idea, then suddenly thought of something, "So, do you still go to the little peach grove every day?"

Hu Cai shook his head and said, "Cheap medicinal diets don't really have any effect on strengthening muscles and bones. Instructor Hong can only urge us to practice martial arts, but he can't conjure up tonics. So I want to do some side jobs in the pavilion and go to the martial arts hall to see Instructor Hong every fifth of the month."

Lin Yuan nodded. The opportunity to practice Snake Intent Fist on his own had arrived. Apart from the fifth day of each month, he was the only one following Instructor Hong.

The two chatted for a few more minutes, then each started reading. Hu Cai took out his yellowed copy of "The Grass Futon" and started reading as well, occasionally chuckling.

After watching for a while, Hu Cai, his face flushed and neck red, chuckled and said, "Junior brother, wanna go to Red Willow Lane? It's on me!"

"I haven't broken through to the Bone Forging Realm yet, don't disturb my Dao Heart!"

"Okay, then. I'll invite Senior Brother and Junior Brother Zhao tomorrow." Hu Cai immediately perked up. He had been holding back for over a year, and now that his wish had come true, he naturally wanted to relax.

……

Before we knew it, it was late May, the dog days of summer had arrived, and the weather was unbearably hot. But then the plum rains came, and the weather cooled down again.

However, this year's plum rains were not heavy, only a few times a day, which made the weather sometimes hot and sometimes cool.

Early that morning.

Lin Yuan and Hu Cai drank the medicinal food together and had breakfast. One of them went to the pavilion to report for duty, while the other went to the small peach grove to practice martial arts.

The peach orchard was a bit muddy today; it rained yesterday evening and hadn't dried yet this morning.

Lin Yuan had a headache, wondering if Coach Hong would come today, so he had no choice but to go and check.

He simply took off his boots and walked barefoot to the training ground. He looked around but didn't see Instructor Hong.

After thinking it over, he realized that going back like this would be a waste of several taels of silver spent on medicinal food, so he decided to temper his body here first.

Lin Yuan immediately stood up on the barricade and quickly entered a state of complete absorption. After practicing the Eight Directions Step, he also performed two sets of Tai Chang Zu Chang Quan.

He then tried practicing the snake-like footwork, but couldn't get into the zone for a while.

Just then, a figure in cyan robes drifted over.

He looked up and saw that the Red Instructor, dressed in a sky-blue training uniform, was jumping around on the peach tree, and in the blink of an eye, he jumped to the nearest peach branch.

She stood as steady as a green peach, the branch swaying beneath her weight, looking down at Lin Yuan, and uttered a single word: "Come!"

She immediately leaped away, stepping on the peach branches, while turning back to wait for him.

Lin Yuan was used to seeing Li Si and his bandits leaping over walls and scaling the ground, so he was quite surprised to see such graceful and ethereal lightness of movement for the first time.

Following Coach Hong, he arrived at a courtyard next to the peach grove. He looked around and found the courtyard somewhat familiar.

He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then realized it was the secluded courtyard of the Red Instructor. He had come to perform and give gifts a few times before, but this time he came through the back door and almost didn't recognize him.

The Red Instructor led him into the courtyard, which was filled with flowers and plants, most of which were wildflowers whose names he did not know.

These flowers and plants are very well taken care of; it's clear that Coach Hong is a flower lover.

Coach Hong sat down on the swing set next to the flowers and plants and said calmly, "Practice."

"Instructor, I need to wash my feet." Lin Yuan immediately went to find a well, but there was none in the courtyard, only a water vat.

"Practice barefoot." Her voice remained calm.

Lin Yuan turned around and stared straight at her. Only her bright eyes were visible through the veil. Seeing her firm attitude, he had no choice but to practice the snake-walking steps of the Snake Intent Fist barefoot.

"Slap! Slap!"

With two consecutive lashes, Lin Yuan quickly entered a state of trembling like a snake, and practicing the snake-walking footwork became much smoother.

For some reason, when Lin Yuan practiced the Thirty-Six Steps of the Snake, Instructor Hong could always tell whether his steps were correct or not, as if he already had a very good understanding of this boxing technique.

If she knew this boxing technique, why didn't she just teach it to us directly, instead of just giving us pointers?

"Slap! Slap!"

Lin Yuan was lost in thought and was immediately whipped twice. He instantly entered a state of self-forgetfulness, his body trembling like a snake, and practiced the thirteenth move, Divine Serpent Refining the Moon.

"Crack!" The Red Instructor lashed his right foot with a whip.

Lin Yuan endured the soreness and numbness in his feet, feeling utterly confused. He was clearly in the right foot position, because that's how Liu Xu had practiced.

But under the tyranny of the whip, he still chose to compromise and immediately lowered his toes.

"Snap!" The Red Instructor wrapped his whip around his right foot again, then pulled him to the left.

After several rounds of adjustments, he finally gained the approval of Coach Hong.

To Lin Yuan's surprise, the Divine Serpent Refining the Moon technique, adjusted by Instructor Hong, seemed to be performed more naturally and smoothly.

Did the Red Instructor modify the Snake Intent Fist?

Or did Liu Xu practice it wrong?

How did Coach Hong know about this boxing style?

Lin Yuan couldn't figure it out, and he was too lazy to think about it. He just wanted her not to investigate where he had learned it from.

The morning session has ended.

Lin Yuan was very satisfied. He had made some progress in Snake Intent Fist today. However, this fist technique was a bit tricky and difficult to learn, and his progress was much slower than that of Taizu Long Fist.

However, any improvement is good. Having a unique skill to rely on will give him more combat power.

noon.

Lin Yuan returned to the Hu family courtyard. His elder brother arrived, along with Zhou Dali.

The older brother carefully looked around, then pulled Lin Yuan aside.

"Big brother, what's wrong? Why are you being so mysterious?"

"Erlu, Lin Laojiu is back..." The eldest brother lowered his voice and, seeing his confusion, explained, "He's Lin Laojiu who evaded the autumn tax last year and went into the mountains."

Lin Yuan remembered and nodded.

The older brother said in a terrified voice, "Damn it, he has a red mushroom growing on his chest. It's terrifying! Father wants you to go back and take a look."

"Huh?" Lin Yuan didn't understand.

Zhou Dali testified: "Erlu is true. He ran away to our house, and his mother took pity on him and gave him food. He knew the relationship between our two families, and he wanted to find his uncle. When his uncle went there, he said he wanted to die and wanted his uncle to kill him and bury him next to his parents' graves."

Zhou Dali's uncle is Lin Yuan's father. Lin Yuan was a little puzzled and pointed to his forehead: "Is his boss sick?"

"Why don't you go back and take a look?" Zhou Dali said.

Lin Yuan was reluctant to go: "It wouldn't do me any good; I don't know how to treat illnesses. Why don't you find a doctor?"

"Father said you've always had a lot of ideas, and he wants you to go back and see what's going on," the elder brother advised.

Lin Yuan still didn't really want to go back, but then he thought about how his father was a strong-willed person who wouldn't easily ask for favors. Besides, his father usually chased him out, so sending someone to look for him today meant that this was obviously not a normal matter. So he decided to go back and take a look.

He immediately informed Hu Cai that if he couldn't return tonight, he should send a message to Instructor Hong the next day.

The three immediately took a boat back to Xiawei Village and found that the water level of the Lishui River was rising.

Lin Yuan said with some surprise, "It hasn't rained much, yet the water level is rising quite quickly."

"Sigh, I'm afraid there will be another flood. The rice seedlings are growing so well this year, it would be a shame to let them get flooded." The eldest brother sighed, and then said with a wry smile, "Luckily, I listened to Father and sold half of the paddy fields to the Marquis's mansion."

Zhou Dali didn't seem to understand the impact of the rising water level and remained silent.