Boarding the Ship to the City, This Journey Will Be Filled with Thorns

January 16th.

At the Lakeside Village dock, many villagers came to see him off.

Lin Chen, carrying his luggage, bid farewell to his parents and boarded a fishing boat.

"Light the firecrackers!"

At the Village Chief's command, Gu Fei was the first to light the firecrackers.

The crackling of the firecrackers startled many birds. Amidst the smoke of the firecrackers, Lin Chen waved goodbye to his parents and the villagers who had come to see him off. He didn't lower his hand until the fishing boat had completely disappeared.

Now, he was considered the hope of the entire village.

He carried not only the burden of his family but also the expectations of all the villagers.

He had to achieve something significant by going to the Martial Arts Hall to learn martial arts.

"Brother, let me row."

"No, Brother Chen, you just sit. I'll do the rowing."

His older brother, Lin Liang, who was rowing, smiled and refused. Although going from Lakeside Village to the county town dock was against the current, the fishing boat had no catch and was only carrying one person, so rowing wasn't tiring.

Poyang Lake was very lively on January 16th. Many fishing boats had started going out to fish.

On the waterway, there were fishing boats and pleasure boats rushing out in the early spring, but even more were colorful boats.

Today was the registration day for students at the county town's Martial Arts Hall. Young people from various villages who had cultivated Essence Energy within three years, especially those near the lake, would choose to take a colorful boat into the town.

As the colorful boats passed by, the fishermen on the fishing boats looked on with envy. If their own children were on board, they would even point to the colorful boat and encourage their children with a few words.

The idea that learning martial arts was the only way to get ahead in life was deeply ingrained in the hearts of every person in Poyang County.

These past few years had seen good weather in Poyang County. Unless a family was extremely poor, they would save money to provide their children with a registration fee for the Martial Arts Hall.

As the pride of the entire village for cultivating Essence Energy within a year, the Village Chief had originally wanted to rent a colorful boat, but Lin Chen had politely declined.

It was okay to be superstitious, but there was no need to spend money on it.

In his previous life, when he passed by temples and Taoist temples, if there was no entrance fee or incense money required, he would pray devoutly. But if he had to pay for incense, then sorry, he was a firm successor of materialism!

This year, he was the only one from the village going to report to the Martial Arts Hall. Spending money to rent a colorful boat was too wasteful. The rent for one colorful boat was one tael.

Wouldn't it be better to use that one tael of silver for renting a colorful boat to buy meat?

On the river, the young people on the various colorful boats were full of vigor. Even though it was still early spring and chilly, they stood on the deck, unafraid of the wind and cold.

Compared to the colorful boats, Lin Chen's fishing boat looked a bit shabby. It only had a piece of red cloth tied to the bow, representing good fortune and also indicating that Lin Chen was a student entering the Martial Arts Hall.

According to Lin Chen's wishes, he didn't even want this red cloth, but he couldn't resist the Village Chief's strong insistence, plus his parents also approved, so he let his older brother tie the red cloth to the bow.

As a result, among the many colorful boats, his fishing boat with the red cloth tied to it was extremely conspicuous.

"Which village is this from? They only tied a piece of red cloth. The village couldn't even bear to rent a colorful boat?"

"They probably only cultivated Essence Energy in the third year, so the village doesn't care much."

The young people on the colorful boats were also discussing. In their opinion, Lin Chen, who was only riding in a fishing boat with a red cloth, must be someone who had cultivated Essence Energy within the deadline. Whether such a person could reach the Aperture Opening Realm was debatable, and the village wouldn't pay too much attention to them.

Most of them had cultivated Essence Energy within two years and would give up if they couldn't within two years. Very few would persist until the third year.

As for cultivating Essence Energy within a year, that was not something they dared to imagine. That was the goal of the wealthy children in the town. These children of power and wealth in the town would choose to ride horses into the city, and very few would take colorful boats.

Entering the city by colorful boat was a pride exclusive to the young people from the villages.

"Brother, want to join our boat?" a young man on a colorful boat shouted with a smile.

"No need," Lin Chen refused with a smile.

Although the colorful boat was large, its speed was not fast.

Although the fishing boat was small, its speed was not slow either.

An hour and a half later, Lin Chen saw the dock of Poyang County town.

At this moment, the dock was packed with boats, from large merchant ships carrying heavy cargo to small, light, and flexible fishing boats, and some medium-sized pleasure boats weaving through them, creating a bustling scene of water traffic.

On the waterway to the left of the dock, colorful boats were approaching. This was a passage specially reserved for students entering the Martial Arts Hall in the city.

Neither merchant ships nor pleasure boats, even if they had been waiting in line for a long time, dared to cut in here.

"Brother, follow this colorful boat and pull over."

Seeing the several colorful boats heading to the left, Lin Chen also reminded his older brother. At this time, the flexibility of the fishing boat came into play, allowing it to weave through the line, but Lin Chen didn't let his older brother do that. There was no need to rush this moment.

Just as his older brother, Lin Liang, was rowing to get the fishing boat to fall back and queue, the few colorful boats ahead, in their eagerness to get ahead, refused to yield to each other and almost collided. The young people on the colorful boats glared angrily at each other.

Soon, this commotion attracted the attention of the government patrol boats. Two patrol boats approached.

"What are you doing? All of you, queue up properly! Don't cause trouble!"

A soldier on the patrol boat shouted. A young man bravely explained, "They were trying to cut into our line. We were clearly here first."

"Nonsense! Our boat arrived first," another young man on a different colorful boat immediately retorted.

"All of you, shut up."

The soldier shouted again, his sharp gaze sweeping over them, making the young people dare not argue further. However, they still exchanged defiant glances.

"You all step back and line up behind, and you, with the fishing boat..."

The soldiers maintaining order began to arrange the decorated boats, their gaze sweeping over the fishing boats behind the decorated boats. They paused for a moment, then immediately said, "Your boats go first."

"Thank you, sir."

Lin Liang, who was lining up, was a bit taken aback at first when he heard this. Once he confirmed the soldier was referring to their boat, he immediately happily rowed the oars, moving their fishing boat forward. This scene caused dissatisfaction among the young people on the decorated boats.

"Why does that fishing boat get to go first? It was the last one here."

"Why? Because I'm in charge of maintaining order on the waterway. If anyone causes trouble, I'll report your names to the Martial Arts Administration."

Lin Xiuyong snorted lightly. As soon as he said this, the young people on the decorated boats immediately fell silent.

The young people weren't afraid of the government, but they were afraid of the Martial Arts Administration.

According to the laws of the Great Liang Dynasty, if disciples of a Martial Arts Hall or Martial Arts Dojo commit crimes, after the government arrests them, they must notify the Martial Arts Administration. Only after the Martial Arts Administration revokes the student's status can they be sentenced to prison.

"Your decorated boats are too big. Letting the fishing boat go first won't cause any delay," Lin Xiuyong explained loudly after the scene quieted down.

After the scene became quiet, big brother Lin Liang rowed the oars, guiding the fishing boat to weave through the decorated boats and head towards the shore. As the fishing boat passed by the patrol boat, Lin Chen also nodded towards Lin Xiuyong in thanks.

Lin Xiuyong also returned a smile, a smile that was even warmer.

This attitude made Lin Chen pause for a moment. He vaguely felt that this soldier seemed to be trying to curry favor with him.

Was it a misconception?

This soldier probably just thought the fishing boat was small and letting it pass first wouldn't cause a delay. I must be overthinking things.

Seeing the fishing boat pass, one of the decorated boats started to move forward, but Lin Xiuyong immediately barked, "What are you doing? Wait a moment longer."

The decorated boat was stopped. Lin Xiuyong looked back and saw that the fishing boat had already reached the shore before giving the signal to proceed.

"Brother Lin, what's going on? What's the background of that young man on the fishing boat?"

On the patrol boat, another soldier quietly asked. He had joined the city gate guards not long ago and was temporarily assigned to the dock with Brother Lin to help maintain order this time.

He didn't believe the excuse that the fishing boat was small and wouldn't cause a delay at all.

"Before the New Year, this person was personally escorted into the city by a Martial Arts Hall Instructor to the Martial Arts Dojo. Now, I'm afraid he might be in the Aperture Opening Realm. Old Ge said it himself. How can these young people compare?"

Lin Xiuyong lowered his voice. His words shocked his companion.

"Already in the Aperture Opening Realm? And he came here in such a fishing boat?"

"Perhaps he doesn't want to draw attention. In any case, this isn't someone we can afford to offend. It's naturally better if we can make things convenient for him and build a good relationship."

Lin Xiuyong knew what his companion meant by "can't tell."

It wasn't that he couldn't tell from his appearance, but rather that it seemed too humble.

"Hiding one's capabilities and not showing off, that's what makes someone truly formidable," Lin Xiuyong concocted an excuse for Lin Chen riding in a fishing boat.

"Let me tell you another tip, as city gate guards, we must keep our eyes sharp when judging people. Look at this person, while his attire is ordinary, when he faced the two of us just now, he was neither servile nor arrogant. This kind of person has confidence. Don't easily provoke them."

"Thank you for the guidance, Brother Lin."

"I'm telling you this because I feel a connection with you."

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