After Li Xiaoniangzi tearfully explained everything, Wu Ming finally got a handle on the situation.
The cause of all this could be summed up in three words: "devouring a household with no heirs"!
Li Xiuyun's parents were both dead, and there were no men in the family, no sons to inherit the family property. In the eyes of the other villagers, that meant the family line had ended, and they were fair game to plunder.
What was more, the Li family had a modest amount of property, and with the sum Wu Ming had thrown in earlier, there were plenty of people coveting it.
If Li Xiaoniangzi returned like this, losing the family property would be the least of her worries. She could lose both her wealth and her person, and might end up sold off to who knew where.
"Then you'll be fine staying here... Oh!"
Wu Ming slapped his forehead. He finally remembered that he, too, belonged to the privileged class.
He had killed Lin Qi, a matter serious enough to involve a death, yet not a single constable had dared come to question him for days. That alone showed how brazen and overbearing the Wu family was.
And with Li Xiaoniangzi under the Wu family's protection—and rumors saying she was Young Master Wu's concubine—even if she was only half concubine and half maid, no ordinary villager would dare covet her.
"I beg you, Young Master Ming, please don't send me away. In my next life, I'll repay you by tying grass and carrying a ring..."
After Li Xiuyun finished speaking, she dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face like pear blossoms in the rain, leaving Wu Ming rather awkward.
"Forget it... Stay as long as you like!"
Wu Ming waved a hand. The Wu family was rich and powerful; they could afford to support one more person who did no work.
Besides, Li Xiaoniangzi had red lips and white teeth, with a hint of allure between her brows, and a truly fine figure. That wastrel before had had a pretty good eye.
Perhaps noticing Wu Ming's gaze, Li Xiaoniangzi's cheeks flushed scarlet, the blush spreading all the way down her neck.
By the standards of the time, as the head of the household, Wu Ming could do anything he pleased to her and consider it perfectly justified. Yet he merely walked past her slowly without saying another word.
"But... I can't just take this woman's word for everything. I can keep her here as an act of charity, but I should still have someone keep an eye on her, in case..."
Li Xiaoniangzi, with her back to Wu Ming, did not see the cold glint that flashed in his eyes as he turned away.
On the training grounds, Feng Han wore a close-fitting outfit, his expression stern.
"The art I practice is the Adamantine Great Strength Eagle Claw Hand! It's widely spread and has many branches. I belong to the Sky Eagle lineage, whose secret art is the Sky Eagle Thirteen Consecutive Strikes. Once mastered, it's like a flying eagle circling before swooping down—fierce and deadly!"
As he spoke, he held out both hands. "Take a look at my hands!"
Wu Ming stepped forward and saw that Feng Han's hands were knotted with cords of muscle, dark and hard, long and deformed like chicken claws. A chill ran through him. "I won't end up with hands like that if I practice this to the end, will I?"
"Haha! Of course not! You're practicing an upper-grade internal art, Young Master. It works from the inside out, so you'll naturally avoid all those detours—soaking your hands in medicinal solutions and beating them into shape!"
Feng Han spoke with a sigh. Ever since Wu Ming had hinted that he would teach him the Turtle Breath Technique and the Spirit Turtle Qi Art, Feng Han had held nothing back.
After all, his own meridians had already been set. Changing them would take time and effort while yielding half the result, but he could pass the benefits on to his descendants, so he naturally took the matter seriously.
"I've already taught you everything there is to know about the Adamantine Great Strength Eagle Claw Hand. Now comes the practice! Hard practice! First, grab yellow sand! Then, grab pebbles! Finally, grab iron sand! Once you've mastered it, your claws will be both hard and soft, able to shatter anything!"
"Yes, sir!"
Wu Ming wore his training clothes, his bearing spirited. Facing the basin of yellow sand before him, he began practicing each move with measured precision.
"Flying Eagle Pounces on Sheep!"
"Eagle Strikes the Vast Sky!"
On the training grounds, breaths stirred faintly, and claw wind pressed against the air. Feng Han watched, nodding again and again. "I thought he was a wastrel, but I never expected him to have such perseverance—and such a solid foundation..."
Feng Han knew very well that with such a starting point, even if Wu Ming worked only half as hard as he himself once had, his future achievements would far surpass his own. That was the rule of the world, cruel beyond measure! For every ounce of effort a scion of a great family put in, a scholar from a poor household had to give ten or even a hundred times as much just to catch up!
His expression turned blank, as if something had crossed his mind. He fell silent for a moment, then looked at the sun and said, "That's enough! Young Master Ming, you've only just begun. If you don't want to injure your muscles and bones and end up deformed later, you should stop now!"
"No need!"
Wu Ming was drenched in sweat. "I can feel it... I'm still nowhere near my limit!"
Suddenly, he darted to the middle of the training grounds, his claws moving like the wind, fierce and sharp. He seized the two arms of a human-shaped wooden dummy, breathing long and steadily, his nostrils vibrating audibly as he twisted and wrenched with all his might. "Raptor Tears Sheep!"
Crack! Crack!
Two loud snaps rang out as wood chips flew. Wu Ming had torn both arms straight off the dummy.
"This... this... You've reached the minor mastery of the Adamantine Great Strength Eagle Claw Hand! And that breathing..."
Feng Han stepped forward. Wu Ming's hands were fair as jade, without a single callus, like those of a wealthy young master who had taken the utmost care of them. Feng Han stared in utter shock.
How could he not see that Wu Ming had used an upper-grade internal art to nourish his hands, leaving them completely unharmed and their strength restrained? Yet when released, they possessed a force like that of ghosts and gods, overwhelming and impossible to resist!
This was the supreme realm he had pursued, yet Wu Ming had reached it with effortless ease.
The stark contrast left him dispirited, his pride dealt a crushing blow.
"Settling into the Turtle Breath! Your qi flows so long and steadily... Young Master, you've already cultivated the Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique to the realm of consummate mastery! Truly incredible!"
Feng Han's eyes shone. "This art teems with vitality and excels at nourishing the body. Paired with the fierce, deadly Eagle Claw Hand, it's a perfect match! It can nourish your hands without any risk of injury... Congratulations, Young Master Ming. The Innate realm is within your reach!"
In truth, after Wu Ming comprehended the Spirit Turtle Qi Cultivation Technique, he knew there were no longer any obstacles to his advancement to the Innate realm.
The True Qi Realm of a martial artist involved transforming qi into true qi. The Innate realm was merely the process of filling the whole body with true qi, nourishing one's source, and returning to the innate state.
Now Wu Ming could channel true qi into his hands to nourish his muscles and bones. Clearly, he had already taken a crucial step!
"Beyond the Innate realm is External Gang! You can release innate true qi three inches beyond your body, injuring people from a distance and shattering anything in your way! Beyond External Gang is Internal Gang, with gang qi spread throughout the body—even the internal organs and bones—tempering everything inside and out until it's like a sheet of steel! A martial artist like that would be a one-hundred-man match in the army! Even a commoner could immediately be appointed to Subordinate Ninth Rank, with a military post for the taking! But..."
Feng Han let out a sigh.
He himself had reached that level. Getting Official Status would not be difficult, but advancing further to Eighth Rank or Seventh Rank was as hard as climbing to the heavens!
After all, besides family background, a Warlord also needed great skill in military strategy. He was a man from a poor household who had been lucky just to cultivate such powerful martial arts. How could he have found the time to study military strategy? And without a foundation, he had no way to get ahead.
Without connections, someone like him could do no better than spend his whole life as a deputy, or serve as a thug kept by powerful officials and great families.
"If I get the chance to recommend someone, I won't forget you, Master Feng!"
Wu Ming made his promise and met Feng Han's gaze. All was understood without a word.
Summer passed and autumn came. Before they knew it, more than a month had quietly slipped by.
During this time, Wu Ming stayed contentedly cooped up inside the fortified manor like a country bumpkin, practicing his martial arts every day while cautiously reaching out to the outside world to learn about the broader world and the local situation.
Over these months, his martial arts and his knowledge had both improved greatly.
First, he had completely sorted through and absorbed the wastrel's memories, confident that he could face anyone without giving himself away.
As for martial arts, he had reached the peak of the True Qi Realm, filling his meridians, acupoints, and dantian with stored true qi. He needed only a catalyst to break through, complete his cultivation, and return to the innate state.
Besides that, his Adamantine Great Strength Eagle Claw Hand had also reached a state of consummate mastery. Feng Han repeatedly marveled that, aside from combat experience and adaptability, there was nothing more he could teach him.
Autumn harvest, winter storage!
For any farmer, autumn was the most important season of the year, with the family's livelihood hanging in the balance.
In an ancient agrarian nation, the harvest was tied to the fate of the country itself. It was of the utmost importance.
At this time of year, as the Wu family's public-facing head, Wu Ming couldn't sit idle either. He had to go out to inspect the villages every day, at least to keep up appearances.
After all, the fertile fields around the fortified manor and even in several nearby villages all belonged to the Wu family, and most of the farmers were their tenant farmers.
Although Steward Wu and the other lackeys handled all the work below, Wu Ming couldn't avoid showing his face.
"Hmm! The harvest looks good this year!"
Wu Ming walked along the ridges with his hands behind his back. Seeing the heavy heads of millet and wheat, he couldn't help remarking on it.
By his estimate, each mu would yield around one to two shi. Compared to his previous life, that was downright miserable, but by the standards of the time, it was a good harvest.
"It's all thanks to you, master!"
Beside Wu Ming, an old farmer with a stooped back and a lean, sturdy frame rubbed his hands together and smiled. His hands were cracked and rough, while his eyes held the sly glint of a hillman.
"You've done a fine job as the farm manager, Old Sun Head!" Wu Ming smiled and looked at Old Sun Head. "What else? Go on..."
"Master... The harvest is good this year, but last year's drought left the villagers without enough food for the winter. This year the manor also lost an ox, and we had to dig the irrigation ditch entirely by hand. It took a lot of work..."
As Old Sun Head spoke, he nearly teared up. "About this year's tenant rent...?"
"Heh... Fine! Let's keep it as it's been in previous years!"
Wu Ming stared at Old Sun Head for a long while, smiling without a word. Only when a fine layer of cold sweat had appeared on the other man's forehead did he finally speak.
"Thank you, master! Thank you, master!"
Old Sun Head was overcome with gratitude and visibly relieved. He looked as though he might fall to his knees before Wu Ming, then forced a smile. "Master, please rest a while. The midday meal is being prepared. We've been stewing an old hen since last night, and there's some game we just brought down from the mountain. It's simple country food, but please try a little..."
Wu Ming gave noncommittal hums and grunts, but inside, he felt a faint sorrow.
The usual rate in previous years was half—fully fifty percent! These farmers bent their backs to the earth and spent half the year working for nothing.
And yet, as tenants of the Wu family, they were exempt from the government's levies and taxes. This was somehow considered a great "benevolent policy"! They were exploited willingly, even joyfully.
"That's what you call luck. Otherwise, if I'd been reborn into the lowest ranks, with no food or clothing, just thinking about it would make my blood run cold!"
Wu Ming shuddered.
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