Development

(My head hurts again. Feels like I might be at risk of a stroke. I'll post this chapter first and revise it tomorrow if I'm feeling better.)

At the entrance to a silent farmhouse courtyard with its gates tightly shut, several bearded, fierce-looking middle-aged farmers were talking.

"Er Gouzi, did you find out everything about that little orphan?"

The burliest of the group, who was clearly their leader, asked a sharp-faced man beside him.

"I found out, Big Brother."

The sharp-faced man immediately nodded. "That brat Wu Di feared Big Brother's reputation and ran off long ago to hide in a martial arts hall in Copper Slope Town to the north. He's been training there for almost a year now."

"He's been training at a martial arts hall for a year?"

The burly farmer called Big Brother immediately frowned at the news.

"Did you find out how well he's doing?"

In this world, martial artists were countless, but very few truly made something of themselves. This was especially true for farming families like theirs, who lacked money. Still, if the orphan they spoke of truly had talent for martial arts and managed to achieve something, none of them would dare keep targeting him.

"I had someone look into it."

A mocking expression appeared on the sharp-faced man's face.

"I heard that kid has been cultivating at the martial arts hall for nearly a year, yet he hasn't even gotten started with the technique. He doesn't have much silver either, so he'll probably be driven back in a few days."

"Heh... I knew it... Martial arts aren't that easy to learn!"

The burly farmer's frown immediately eased at the news. He then turned to the others and said,

"That brat's house and land will belong to us from now on. I'll