Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 329 Different Fate

His seventh birthday has quietly arrived.

As in previous years, the single mother meticulously prepared a dinner party.

Link patiently entertained the single mother, cooperating fully throughout.

The next day, something unexpected happened.

The single mother's family came looking for her.

Two elegantly dressed young men, who bore a resemblance to single mothers, led a group of servants and burned down the house where Link had lived for seven years.

The single mother tried desperately to stop it, but to no avail.

Having long lost her cultivation and with her body so weak, she couldn't even break free from the hands of the two maids.

"Bastard!"

A young man with an even more menacing look in his eyes glared at Link, who remained unmoved by the sudden change, and spat out a vulgar remark through gritted teeth.

"Third brother, mind your place!"

The more mature-looking young man spoke up in time to stop him, saying, "Don't tarnish the reputation of my Jiang family."

"snort!"

The aggressive young man, intimidated by his elder brother's authority, kept quiet.

"Please be quiet, miss. We'll take her home."

The mature young man didn't even glance at Link, and directly gave the order to the two maids who were supporting the single mother.

"Yes, young master."

The two maids responded in unison.

"Jiang Dehao, what do you want to do?"

The single mother sensed something was wrong and tried to break free from her restraints, running towards Link.

What happened next was a maid gently pressing on the back of her neck, causing her legs to buckle and her to faint.

"Walk."

With a wave of his hand, the mature young man Jiang Dehao led the aggressive young man and a group of servants away with a flourish.

Link turned around and looked at the single mother being helped into a luxurious carriage. His face was calm, his eyes were deep, but there was anger in his heart.

Once the convoy of carriages had driven far away and disappeared from sight, Link immediately left without taking anything with him.

Inside the convoy.

The mature young man Jiang Dehao and the aggressive young man Jiang Demiao sat facing each other.

The single mother, covered with a brocade quilt, lay between the two brothers.

"Big brother, are we just going to let that bastard go like this?"

As the saying goes, "The face reflects the heart," and Jiang Demiao's temperament was quite violent and bloodthirsty.

The implication was that he wanted to kill the bastard who had brought shame upon the Jiang family.

"What's the difference between letting them go and not letting them go?"

Jiang Dehao looked at his pale and frail sister with a mixture of anger and pity, and said indifferently, "Killing that bastard won't make up for the losses the Jiang family has suffered in recent years; it will only make your sister sad. Have you forgotten who cleaned up all the messes you made in the past?"

"I haven't forgotten!"

Jiang Demiao tilted her head and shouted, "I will always remember Second Sister's kindness. But one thing is one thing, this matter is different. Eldest Brother, you've seen the information too. The reason Second Sister has fallen into such a predicament and had her cultivation destroyed is all because of that bastard. A perfectly good female sword immortal of the Returning to One Realm can't even handle a maid of the Qi Strength Realm. It truly makes me furious!"

Jiang Dehao finally looked up at Jiang Demiao, staring at her intently for a long time before saying indifferently, "There are some things you don't understand, and I've never told you before. The reason our family disregarded your second sister's wishes and forced her into a marriage with the Zhong family was to resolve the trouble you caused. Back then, your second sister was already in love with Lin Nantian; she didn't elope after the engagement was finalized."

"this……"

Jiang Demiao's expression immediately changed.

I was both embarrassed and angry; I was truly shocked.

"Let bygones be bygones, and don't bring them up again."

Jiang Dehao waved his hand, as if wiping away filth he hadn't been able to clean up. "As for Lin Nantian's son, Lin Nantian was a coward back then, so I, Jiang Dehao, can naturally turn a blind eye!"

"Ugh!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Demiao sighed heavily.

He had considered causing trouble for Lin Nantian, searching the entire southern martial arts world, but he could never find a trace of him.

The ever-growing anger, with nowhere to vent, is truly vexing.

the other side.

Link ran to a secluded corner, dug a hole, took off all the clothes he was wearing, and buried them in the hole.

Even the longevity lock that his single mother had gotten for him, which he always wore around his neck, was wrapped inside his clothes.

The naked little boy went into the mountains alone, rushed to a stream at great speed, and gave himself a thorough bath.

After confirming that he had no unusual odor, Link left the stream and wandered around the mountains until he found a very inconspicuous cave and went inside.

The cave is sheltered by a waterfall, and the interior is large and dry, making it an ideal place to hide.

At his first birthday party when he was four years old, Link overheard some things from a single mother who had been drinking alone. After that, he began to prepare a way out for himself.

After several years of preparation, Link set up several refuges in the mountains similar to this Water Curtain Cave.

Each refuge is far apart, and Link has taken many opportunities over the past few years to set up these places, which is no easy feat.

Now it comes in handy.

After changing into dry clothes, Link sat on a natural stone bench, closed his eyes, and recalled what had happened earlier.

Some useful information was deduced from the few words and phrases.

First, the single mother is the second daughter of the Jiang family of Tianshui County, and she was once engaged to a member of the Zhong family, another prominent family in the county.

As a result, Miss Jiang not only ran away from her arranged marriage, but also secretly pledged her life to someone else and had a child out of wedlock.

This incident caused the Jiang family of Tianshui County to lose face completely.

In order to quell the Zhong family's anger, they had to cede a large amount of profits.

After becoming pregnant, Miss Jiang became unable to walk properly. In order not to be a burden to her lover, she fled alone and hid for eight years.

Originally, they could have kept their identities hidden and wouldn't have been discovered by the Jiang family.

The reason this happened today is that Miss Jiang Er noticed Link's strong desire for cultivation, so she took the initiative to contact the Jiang family, wanting to obtain a cultivation method suitable for Link's physique.

Secondly, the Jiang family of Tianshui County, at least the two brothers who came to "take back" Miss Jiang the Second, disliked Link, this "bastard".

Not only were they denied the methods of cultivation, but they also separated the mother and son, and even denied Lin Keliu a place to live.

When Link was abandoned by them, he was penniless.

In this situation, a seven-year-old child would either starve to death or end up on the streets as a beggar.

This shows that Jiang's anger was extremely intense and continues to this day.

Unable to vent her anger on Miss Jiang and her lover, she turned it on Link.

Finally, there is a strong sense of disconnect in social progress.

Seven years ago, Link was born in a nearly modern hospital.

Although I've been living in seclusion in the remote mountains with my single mother for the past few years, I've still occasionally gone out for walks.

According to Link's initial observations, even a small county town has the development level of Shanghai in the early years of the Republic of China.

Wired telephones, wireless telegraphs, electric lights, trams, and movies were all available.

However, the Jiang family of Tianshui County still used horse-drawn carriages for their travels.

This piqued Link's curiosity.

Is it because the automotive industry is not thriving, or is it simply to showcase the historical heritage of an established family?

After a moment of leisurely contemplation, Link pulled his somewhat scattered thoughts back and began to consider how to proceed with his next steps.

"Fortunately, I was prepared."

Soon, Link finished his thought and let out a sigh.

Over the years, taking advantage of single mothers' tendency not to care much about money, Link has managed to hide a considerable amount of money from his own pocket.

The Water Curtain Cave where Link is currently located has enough money to cover his food and drink expenses for two or three years.

but……

"The plans have changed, and we're running low on funds."

With a sigh, Link got up, spread out his bedding on the dry natural stone bed, and fell asleep fully clothed.

Children should act like children.

Go to bed early and get up early to ensure proper development.

The next day.

Link got up early, washed himself with the waterfall water, ate some dry food, and then practiced a set of calisthenics to strengthen his body in the morning sun.

After warming up, Link chose a direction, packed enough money, and headed out of the mountains.

They did not leave the mountain until the sun was high in the sky.

After finding a clean water source, tidying himself up a bit, and eating some dry rations, Link came to the side of the official road, intending to flag down a carriage to enter the city.

Before long, Link seized an opportunity and stopped an oxcart that was selling firewood to the county town.

The old man driving the cart had a kind and honest appearance and a simple and honest demeanor; he was dressed as a farmer.

"Sir, could you please give me a ride?"

After stopping the car, Link pulled out a copper coin, waved it, and said, "Our school went on a field trip, but I forgot and missed the bus."

"Young master, you are a scholar."

The old man looked Link up and down, grinned, and said, "Young scholar, if you don't mind my messy cart, feel free to get in. You don't need to pay."

"No problem, no problem."

Linkli climbed onto the cart and sat next to the old man. He stuffed the copper coin in the old man's palm and said earnestly, "The Master taught us that when asking for help, we must prepare a gift of thanks. That is proper etiquette. Old man, please accept this, otherwise the Master will criticize me if he finds out."

"Alright, alright, alright, I'll accept it. What a fine young man!"

Upon hearing this, the old man stopped refusing, accepted the copper coins, and continued on his journey.

"Young master, which school do you attend? I see you're not wearing a school uniform."

The oxcart creaked and groaned as it slowly moved forward.

The old man asked a question casually.

Since Link had chosen to play the role of a student from a small town, he was naturally well-prepared.

On the way to the county town, a journey of more than an hour, I chatted casually with the old man without making a single mistake.

Upon entering the city, Link politely declined the old man's offer to escort him to school, thanked him sincerely, and then they parted ways.

In just a few steps, the figure disappeared from the old man's sight.

"What a clever and good young man!"

Seeing this, the old man sighed, turned around, led the oxcart, and came to the street in front of a wealthy family's house, where he loudly called out his wares.

If he hadn't already retired from his life of crime, he would have tried anything to abduct such a handsome young man.

such a pity……

It's a pity he's already retired from the underworld, and it's also a pity that this young kid could pose such a deadly threat to him, forcing him to abandon his idea of ​​making another move.

"Damn it, people's hearts have changed, morality has declined!"

Link walked quickly toward his destination, muttering to himself.

The old man was a target that Link carefully chose to stop, because he didn't seem like a bad person.

Who would have thought that after getting in the car and exchanging a few words, I realized that the other person seemed to have been a human trafficker, as he was always trying to find out about me.

"Strength! Strength!"

I didn't think much of living with a single mother in the past.

The fact that he almost suffered a setback the first thing he did after leaving the mountain only strengthened Link's resolve to quickly regain his strength.

Even if my strength can't be restored quickly, I must at least find a way to unlock some mental power, or even just some inspiration.

With his mind wandering, Link arrived at the Bajiquan Martial Arts School, which had the best reputation in Fuli County.

Two majestic stone lions stand guard on the left and right sides of the deep red, copper-clad gate.

The two doors were studded with many rivets.

"What is it?"

Link took a detour and arrived at the side door, where he was immediately questioned.

"Sign up to learn martial arts."

Where are your parents?

"Learning martial arts is for independence; why do we need adults to accompany us?"

"Good ambition! Did you bring enough money?"

"certainly."

"Then let's go in. Go straight to the training ground and just call out that I'm looking for Senior Brother Shi."

Thank you.

After the routine questioning, the gatekeeper let Link into the martial arts gym.

Following the instructions of the gatekeeper, Link quickly found the training ground.

It was nearly evening, but the martial arts arena was still bustling with activity.

Dozens of martial arts school disciples, some teenagers, some young adults, some shirtless, some fully clothed, were practicing their moves or training their bodies.

As soon as Link arrived, he was met with a lot of stares.

But he wouldn't show any weakness, and shouted loudly, "I'm looking for Senior Brother Shi."

Having said that, he calmly faced the scrutinizing gazes of many and waited quietly.

Before long, a burly man with a bare upper body stepped forward from the crowd, laughing loudly: "Great, it seems my Bajiquan Martial Arts School is about to gain another junior brother."

Bajiquan Martial Arts School: Pay a fee and you can start learning martial arts.

However, the disciples in the sect are divided into several categories, and their treatment is completely different.

Ordinary disciples wear gray clothes and have a transactional relationship with the martial arts school; one party pays money, and the other party teaches them self-defense techniques.

New disciples wear blue robes and have an apprenticeship relationship with the martial arts school. They not only pay money but also work for the school, but they also receive the true teachings.

The elite disciples, dressed in black, have a master-disciple relationship with the martial arts school. Although they have to work for the school, they don't have to pay and even receive benefits.

The last type is the secret disciple.

Senior Brother Shi is the eldest disciple among the secret disciples, and also the eldest disciple of the entire martial arts school.

When he said that another junior disciple was going to be added, he meant that he believed Link had a chance to become a secret disciple.

These words caused a stir in the training ground.

The many gazes directed at Link were filled with a complex mix of emotions.

There was envy, there was jealousy, and there were other feelings that were hard to explain.

Link keenly noticed these changes and couldn't help but wonder why his senior brother Shi, whom he had never met, would make such a judgment and why he would publicize it in public.

"Come, I'll take you to see your master."

Senior Brother Shi didn't give Link time to think carefully. With a wave of his hand, he walked straight towards the inner courtyard.

This action made the commotion on the training ground even more lively.

In the past decade, only one new disciple has been granted an audience with his master before even paying tuition.

That is Senior Sister Su Yan, who has already made a great name for herself in the martial arts world of Langya County.

What merits does this kid possess to be valued so highly by Senior Brother Shi?

So what if they're good-looking and have a calmer temperament?

There's nothing particularly special about it.

Be puzzled.

(End of this chapter)