Angry

"I heard you've recently abandoned literature for martial arts and started practicing punches and kicks. What, are you also dreaming of achieving great martial arts and attaining longevity one day?"

Young Master Zhou stared at a young man who looked like a down-and-out scholar, speaking with a smile.

With handsome features and dressed in a white robe, unstained by dust, his sleeves fluttered in the mountain breeze, making him appear like an immortal descending to the mortal realm.

Behind him stood two burly men, both as strong as bears and tigers. Especially the one with a full beard, whose physique was robust and vital energy vigorous, clearly a powerful individual.

"Although I am poor, my ambition is firm. Abandoning literature for martial arts is not something I would do lightly. What, are you afraid?"

Xu Yi stared coldly at Young Master Zhou, appearing as unyielding as a bone of iron.

He spoke with grandiosity, but his heart was pounding, fearing that the Zhou fellow wouldn't play by the rules and that he might have to die again after finally being reborn into this body.

Young Master Zhou was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. The more he laughed, the more he found it amusing, to the point he couldn't straighten his back. The two burly men behind him also roared with laughter.

Finally, Young Master Zhou contained his laughter, reached out, and gently patted Xu Yi's face. "Your grandfather gave my father an opportunity back then, so I can't not give you one. Practice well, and don't disappoint me. Oh, right, Duke Mingde's death anniversary is approaching. Remember to burn a stick of incense for Duke Mingde on my father's behalf then."

Xu Yi snorted coldly and stopped talking, feeling incredibly depressed.

Dealing with this damned Young Master Zhou was truly difficult. He had to emulate the usual demeanor of the original owner of this body while also trying his best to avoid truly provoking the Zhou fellow. After all, if this scoundrel decided to cause trouble, he would be the one suffering.

Just as Xu Yi was feeling utterly vexed, a sharp whistle echoed from the distant mountains. Young Master Zhou's brow twitched, and he said joyfully, "Aha, it seems we have a big catch. Xu Yi, you're lucky. Remember to practice diligently. If I see you looking like this again next time, and it's no longer fun for me, then you can go accompany Duke Mingde underground, haha..."

With that, he stretched out his body and strode towards a dark red steed parked about thirty feet away. The saddlebags on the horse held a bow on the right and a saber on the left. The horses behind it were laden with nets, clearly hunting equipment.

"My Young Master is leaving, and you lowly wretch dare not kneel to see him off!"

The Bearded Man sneered and slapped at Xu Yi's shoulder. As soon as his palm strike was unleashed, he had already mounted his horse. He cast a distant glance at Xu Yi, who was sprawled on the ground and unable to get up for a long time, and let out a hearty laugh before riding away.

Xu Yi lay prostrate on the ground, sensing the vibrations of the horses' hooves on the earth gradually fading. Only then did he stand up, brush the dust off his clothes, and look in the direction the horse caravan had disappeared. Uncontrollable rage blazed in his eyes. "You son of a bitch, you've angered me."

As the anger surged, a sharp pain suddenly struck his head, causing him to collapse to the ground. He felt as if his brain had been churned into a paste, and a torrent of memories flooded into him.

It took him more than an hour before he could struggle to his feet. The spot where he had lain was as if it had been drenched with water.

Xu Yi staggered to a chair by the dilapidated wooden hut and sat down. He gulped down two large bowls of water and sighed to the heavens, "I truly have a bitter and deep-seated hatred."

He had been in this world for over half a year. The unlucky soul whose body he had inherited was also named Xu Yi. When Xu Yi first arrived, he had inherited some of this person's memories, which was why he had responded to Young Master Zhou in that manner.

Only now, with all the memories pouring in, did he understand what had truly happened between Young Master Zhou and Xu Yi.

It was simply a melodramatic saga!

It turned out that from Xu Yi's great-great-grandfather's generation, the Xu family had produced an extraordinary martial arts genius, Duke Mingde, which led to the Xu family's prosperity.

It was also from that time that Young Master Zhou's great-grandfather, who had fled famine to Guang'an, became a household slave of the Xu family.

Passed down from father to son, generation after generation, in the blink of an eye, the Zhou family had been household slaves to the Xu family for three generations.

And by the time of Xu Yi's grandfather's generation, the Zhou family had produced an extraordinary son, Zhou Daogan, who was Young Master Zhou's uncle. He was a martial arts prodigy, achieving great martial arts at the age of thirty, and then apprenticed at Lingxiao Pavilion, one of the three major orthodox sects in Guang'an Prefecture. He led the Zhou family out of servitude and single-handedly founded the now illustrious Zhou family.

It must be said that the Xu family had treated the Zhou family well!

When Zhou Daogan displayed his martial arts talent, Duke Mingde had already passed away, and the Xu family had no heir. Xu Yi's grandfather selected the martial arts texts left behind by Duke Mingde and gifted them to Zhou Daogan. Furthermore, he provided substantial financial support, which gave Zhou Daogan the opportunity to become an unparalleled expert.

After all, human effort has its limits. As the saying goes, "poverty breeds scholarship, wealth breeds martial arts." Even with extraordinary talent, without financial support for precious medicinal herbs and martial arts texts, a genius can become mediocre.

Of course, Xu Yi's grandfather's help was not entirely selfless. He merely wished that Zhou Daogan could go further in martial arts, and the support the Xu family would receive would inevitably be greater.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, as is natural for people.

However, once Zhou Daogan became a person of status, his former slave identity became a laughingstock among his fellow disciples. Initially, he could tolerate it, but over time, his mindset became twisted. Instead of resenting his ancestors' lack of virtue, he began to resent the Xu family who had enslaved his ancestors.

On one side was a disciple of Lingxiao Pavilion, a person of noble status; on the other, merely a wealthy country gentleman.

When Zhou Daogan set his sights on the Xu family, the Xu family's fate was sealed.

However, the Xu family had once been the master family of the Zhou family. Even if Zhou Daogan harbored murderous intent, he was concerned about his reputation and resorted to a method of slow torture.

Through a false accusation, he angered the elder of the Xu family to death, causing the Xu family to fall into complete ruin.

In the following twenty years, under the suppression of the Zhou family, the Xu family declined day by day, gradually becoming unable to sustain themselves.

Eventually, the Xu family's wealth was depleted, and Xu Yi's parents were forced into hard labor by the government through the Zhou family's schemes, working themselves to death.

As the Xu family's fortunes waned, Xu Yi was naturally unable to practice martial arts. He could only study poetry and literature. At the age of sixteen, he found a job as an elementary school teacher in the Xu family village, barely making a living.

Even so, upon receiving the news, the Zhou family used their influence to strip Xu Yi of his only livelihood.

The Zhou family was relentless!

Overwhelmed by indignation and fear, Xu Yi actually died. Before his body had even grown cold, another soul traversed through time and space, becoming the Xu Yi of today.

As the memories merged, Xu Yi gradually felt his emotions merging as well. He developed a deep-seated, unforgettable hatred for Young Master Zhou and Zhou Daogan behind him.

"So be it. Having borrowed your body, I will help you resolve this karma. Rest in peace."

Xu Yi tilted his head back and looked at the sky, offering a silent prayer.

After resting for a while, Xu Yi got up and entered the dilapidated wooden hut. He hastily prepared dinner, devoured it, and then stepped out the door.

The night was deep. In the azure sky hung a crescent moon, bright and clear, casting its silvery glow, making the distant mountains appear like dormant, ancient beasts.

As soon as he stepped into the mountain forest, Xu Yi's speed suddenly increased. With one step, he was already ten feet away. With a few movements, he had entered the depths of the dense woods.

He found a clearing and assumed a stance.

Hoo!

Ha!

Hoo!

Ha!