Cui Hao carried the two buckets of water home.
Su Yun followed with a basin of hot water. She crouched down, pulled off her husband's cold, soaked boots, and washed his feet.
Cui Hao sat on a low stool, watching his wife's bowed neck and focused profile as she chatted on about everyday things. The killing intent Zhou Menglong had stirred in him grew clearer, firmer, more certain.
The soul of a transmigrator made him more clearheaded and rational than the original owner.
Rather than wait for Zhou Menglong to come after him and Su Yun one day, he might as well strike first, just as he had with Zhou Menghu and Zhou Mengyue!
Besides, he had killed two of Zhou Menglong's brothers. They were enemies to the death already.
He absolutely couldn't afford to take chances. That would be the height of irresponsibility toward himself and Su Yun.
Strangely enough, the Zhou brothers always seemed to have it in for him.
But when he thought it through, he understood.
The Zhou brothers weren't targeting one person in particular. They were at odds with every honest, ordinary person who wanted nothing more than to live in peace!
Zhou Menghu had been eyeing the village's young women, including Lingdang and Su Yun, hoping to sell them into brothels for profit.
Zhou Mengyue had wanted to burn Old Man Lin and his entire family alive for refusing to pay protection money.
Their evil was systematic, aimed at all the "weak." Cui Hao wasn't an exception; he simply happened to have something they coveted.
Once he understood that, the last trace of hesitation in Cui Hao's heart vanished.
The next day, Cui Hao didn't go to the martial arts school. While "strolling" around the village, someone stopped him.
"Xiao Haozi." Xu Liang raised a hand to block his path. "Zhang Si, Wang Gouzi, and I are planning to head deep into Second Mountain tomorrow and try our luck. Maybe we'll bag something valuable."
"You know how to hunt, too. We can watch each other's backs, and split whatever we catch. How about it?"
"Brother Xu, it's not that I don't want to go into the mountains with you and make some money..." Cui Hao sighed, wearing a troubled expression. "My bow broke. I can't go hunting."
"A broken bow is a serious matter. You should get it sorted out as soon as possible, whether you repair it or buy another one. Once you have a bow you're comfortable with, we'll arrange a time to go together! With us along, you'll do much better than wandering around by yourself!"
"I appreciate the offer, Brother Xu. It's just... to be honest, I don't have the money to buy a bow yet. I was planning to head into the city in the next couple of days and see if I could find odd jobs or temporary work, then save up a little..."
Xu Liang stared at him for a moment, then left. A short while later, he found Zhou Menglong.
"Brother Zhou, Cui Hao's bow broke. I can't get him to come into the mountains."
"Remember to call me Leader next time." Zhou Menglong was practicing his horse stance without even lifting his eyelids. "Lend him a bow."
Xu Liang went to knock on Cui Hao's door.
Knock! Knock!
"Xiao Haozi, open up! You're in luck! I've got good news!"
The creaky wooden gate swung open. Cui Hao asked politely, "Brother Xu, what good news?"
"We can lend you a bow."
Cui Hao sneered inwardly, but his expression stayed the same. "I can't use someone else's bow. You could lend me six taels of silver so I can buy a new one."
Six taels was a huge sum. Xu Liang objected, "A new bow doesn't cost six taels."
"I'm buying a hardwood bow."
A hardwood bow took 120 jin of force to draw. Xu Liang, who stood only five foot seven, took a step back and looked Cui Hao up and down. Cui Hao had grown much sturdier, and he was now a whole handspan taller than Xu Liang. Xu Liang blurted out, "What have you been eating?"
"Whatever I can get. If you're not lending me the money, Brother Xu, then please go."
Xu Liang didn't have the money, so he went back to Zhou Menglong.
Zhou Menglong hesitated for only a breath. Thinking that once Cui Hao was dead, both his bow and his woman would belong to him, he pulled three small silver pieces from his sleeve. "Six taels. Take it to Xiao Haozi."
Xu Liang returned and held four taels of silver out to Cui Hao. "Take this and buy a bow."
Cui Hao glanced at the silver in Xu Liang's palm. "Not enough."
"You're getting picky now. It's four taels. Take it or leave it."
"I don't want it." Cui Hao made as if to shut the courtyard gate.
"Wait!" Worried about making Zhou Menglong angry, Xu Liang added another two taels, bringing the total to six. "Go buy a bow now. Tomorrow, we leave after the rooster's third crow."
Cui Hao took the money. "Don't worry, Brother Xu. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."
"Don't mention it. We're neighbors, after all. See you tomorrow morning."
Cui Hao thanked him sincerely. "Brother Xu, you're a good man. I'll be grateful to you for eight generations..."
"That's enough, that's enough." Xu Liang waved him off impatiently. "Go buy your bow."
Cui Hao went back inside and took the remaining four taels of silver he'd looted from Zhou Mengyue's eight men.
With the six taels Xu Liang had given him,
Cui Hao took a total of ten taels into town and went to the Iron Drill Shop.
A short while later, Cui Hao came out of the Iron Drill Shop clutching a two-stone iron-limbed bow and three iron arrows.
One stone was 120 jin, so a two-stone bow required 240 jin of force to draw.
For a martial artist who had only just entered the Mortal Martial Realm, drawing a two-stone bow was difficult. Thanks to the +10 physique from his Broken Fist at Minor Completion and another +10 from bedchamber arts at Minor Completion, Cui Hao could draw it fully five or six times in a row.
He wrapped the bow and arrows in cloth and got home before dark. A shadow waited by the gate.
"Xiao Haozi, you're finally back!" Wang Gouzi, who hunted with Xu Liang, stamped his feet to keep warm. "Did you buy a bow?"
"I did. It's a new one, but..." Cui Hao showed him the bow wrapped in ragged cloth, then changed the subject. "I need to spend three days getting used to it at home before I can hunt with you."
"What a hassle. You can practice while you hunt."
"No." Cui Hao shook his head. "You'll have to wait three days."
Unable to change Cui Hao's mind, Wang Gouzi turned and left.
Su Yun opened the wooden courtyard gate from inside. As soon as Cui Hao stepped in, she shut it and barred it in one smooth, practiced motion that made one's heart ache.
"Brother Hao, not long after you left, Zhang Si and Wang Gouzi took turns watching our gate," Su Yun said anxiously. "I don't think they mean well. We'd be better off not going hunting."
Cui Hao led Su Yun into the main room and reassured her. "Sister Yun, have you forgotten that I'm in the Mortal Martial Realm?"
"Two fists are no match for four hands. What if..."
"There won't be any 'what if.' Let's eat. I'm hungry."
For the next three days, Cui Hao went hunting at dawn, trained at the martial arts school in the morning, and came home after dark.
On the fourth day, after the rooster's third crow, Cui Hao met up with Xu Liang, Zhang Si, and Wang Gouzi at the village entrance.
"Xiao Haozi, I'm just saying..." Xu Liang complained, a bamboo hat on his head. "You're more fussy about going hunting than a woman riding in a bridal sedan."
"Brother Xu, I'm a scholar," Cui Hao said with an apologetic smile. "It's only natural for me to be a little fussy."
The four left the village and trudged through the snow, leaving four long rows of footprints behind them.
Guessing Zhou Menglong would follow, Cui Hao checked his status panel once more.
[Bedchamber Arts: Minor Completion (165/600)]
[Effect: Physique +10, Distributable Progress Points +115]
[Broken Fist Stance Training: Minor Completion (25/600)]
[Effect: Physique +10, Resistance to Blunt Damage +5, Bonus Damage +5, Critical Hit +1]
[Archery: Minor Completion (142/600)]
[Effect: Soreness -10, Arm Strength +10, Accuracy +10, Critical Hit +1]
Of his three main skills, all 165 points of progress in bedchamber arts naturally came from Su Yun.
Of his 142 points in archery, 100 came from killing Zhou Mengyue's eight men, while the other 42 came from diligently practicing with his bow while hunting.
All 25 points in Broken Fist stance training had come from hard work.
After examining the three small panels, Cui Hao realized that only killing caused the progress bars to increase noticeably.
He could improve slowly through training, but if he wanted to advance quickly, killing was a shortcut.
Cui Hao wouldn't kill indiscriminately—but that didn't include people who wanted to harm him.
They passed a village at the foot of the mountain. Two frozen corpses lay by the roadside, little more than bones. The four merely glanced at them, crossed over First Mountain, and reached the foot of Second Mountain.
"Brother Xu," Cui Hao asked with concern, listening to the burbling water beneath the ice amid the snow and wind. "Are we going in now?"
"Not yet. We're still waiting for someone."
"Who?"
"Zhou Menglong. He's in the Mortal Martial Realm, so it'll be safer with him leading us into Second Mountain."
Cui Hao's heart clenched as if an invisible hand had grabbed it. He immediately pressed on, "What level of the Mortal Martial Realm?"
Xu Liang smiled at him. "You know quite a lot."
"I'm a scholar," Cui Hao said with an awkward laugh. "Naturally, I know a little more."
Xu Liang looked at Cui Hao as if he were already a dead man. "Mortal Martial Realm, Full Completion."
As a martial artist himself, Cui Hao knew what Full Completion meant. It was a mountain he couldn't possibly scale at his current level.
Cold sweat quickly soaked his back, then froze into ice in the biting wind. For a moment, Cui Hao was at a loss.
No! Once Zhou Menglong gets here, I'll be a turtle in a jar. Su Yun is still waiting for me at home...
At the thought of Su Yun, fear began to turn into icy killing intent.
In the snow and wind, a blurred figure was walking over from the direction of First Mountain. Looking closely, it was Zhou Menglong.
A fawning, cruel smile spread across Xu Liang's face. Dropping the act, he laid it all bare to Cui Hao. "Xiao Haozi, the leader's here. Your good days—and your wife's—are over. Hahahaha!"
The last straw fell. Cui Hao pretended to be frightened, his body trembling as he asked, "Brother Xu, we've never had any grievances between us... why?"
"Why?" Xu Liang crowed, drunk on his newfound power. "Because..."
The instant Xu Liang let his guard down and turned to point in Zhou Menglong's direction, Cui Hao made a blade of his hand, gathered all his strength, and jabbed hard at Xu Liang's Adam's apple!
Crack! Xu Liang's throat caved in, his windpipe snapped, and his neck broke.
Xu Liang gave a muffled groan and instinctively grabbed at his throat. His eyes bulged. He hadn't expected Cui Hao to strike so suddenly—or so viciously. Cui Hao had left him no chance to live.
The hand strike landed with crushing force, but it didn't send Xu Liang flying. It simply broke his throat and neck.
Zhang Si hadn't expected Cui Hao to be so fierce either. He had only just shouted, "You...!"
Cui Hao's second move, Flag Split, struck him square in the chest like lightning.
With a thump, Zhang Si's body flew backward. His eyes bulged, and he died the moment he hit the ground.
Wang Gouzi came to his senses and ran in terror, but slipped on the ice.
Cui Hao caught up. Thinking of how Wang Gouzi had watched their gate and coveted Su Yun, his gaze turned cold. He stomped on Wang Gouzi's spine and shattered it.
Pfft! Wang Gouzi's head jerked up as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He died on the frozen ground.
Not far away, Zhou Menglong saw what had happened and let out a roar that shook heaven and earth. He sped up, charging toward them like a furious beast.
Cui Hao glanced at the oncoming Zhou Menglong. The crushing pressure he radiated left Cui Hao with no thought of standing against him.
He grabbed Wang Gouzi's corpse and ran without hesitation into Second Mountain, where he had never set foot before!
Before you continue