News

The two found a nearby tavern that offered good value for money.

On the table sat a large basin of millet, two plates of beef, a bowl of pork knuckle in thick, savory sauce, and a serving of fennel beans.

To top it off, there was a plate of chicken butts, Chicken Brother's absolute favorite.

The two were seventeen or eighteen-year-old youths, right at the age where they were still growing.

This amount of food was naturally nothing for them, especially since Li Yuan had his martial arts training; he could finish all of this by himself.

Li Yuan was busy devouring his meal, while Chicken Brother prioritized gnawing on his chicken butts in silence.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Chicken Brother stared at his hands, baring his teeth and grimacing.

"What's wrong?" Li Yuan asked.

"Sigh, don't even ask. Brother Yuan, I saw how brave and fierce you were after you started practicing martial arts, and I thought I could be like you one day. Only after trying it myself did I realize how difficult it really is." Chicken Brother shook his head.

Li Yuan dumped half a plate of beef and some pork knuckle into his bowl, mixing it all together with the millet, and chuckled.

"Can't take it after only a few days of training?"

It had to be said that the food at these taverns was indeed much better than what he could make himself.

Of course, it was also possible that his own ingredients just weren't as good as theirs.

Chicken Brother finished his chicken butts clean, grabbed his bowl of rice, and said with a pained expression:

"It hurts, it hurts so much! Brother Yuan, you have no idea how this Iron Sand Palm is practiced. Not only do we have to practice stance training every day, but we also have to plunge our hands into boiling hot sand. We have to keep grinding our skin until we can strike an ox-hide wooden post and leave a white mark on it. Only then is it considered a minor success, and you've entered the Ox Skin Realm."

Chicken Brother wolfed down his food, speaking incoherently between mouthfuls.

"In our courtyard, a bunch of people pack their bags and leave every day, and some even end up crippling their hands from the training."

"There are still so many people going even if they end up crippling their hands?"

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked.

"The tuition is cheap. An apprentice only needs two taels of silver a month at the lowest, and you can study for as long as you pay. Heh, even if you only pay one tael, you can still go in and learn for half a month. You tell me, wouldn't there be a lot of people? You can use medicinal wine to rub on your hands after training to reduce the risk, but that costs extra."

They didn't turn anyone away; as long as you paid, you could learn.

Actually, Li Yuan had originally wanted to sign up for the Iron Sand Palm, but because he was a hunter by trade and frequently dealt with animals, the Five Animals Fist, which required imitating and imagining the essence of animals, was a better fit. After much deliberation, he had chosen the Five Animals Fist instead.

"Then how are you still managing to stick with it?"

Li Yuan and Chicken Brother had grown up playing together, and in his memory, Chicken Brother didn't seem like the type who could endure hardship every day.

After finishing the last of the rice, Li Yuan poured two cups of coarse tea to cleanse their palates.

He then pulled the fennel beans over and began to chew on them slowly.

Hearing this, Chicken Brother scratched his head and said:

"Every time I feel like I can't go on, I think of that scene with you the other day. Taking on ten people at once—it was so majestic!"

Li Yuan was left speechless; so this kid was learning martial arts for that reason...

"If I can just break through to the Ox Skin or Stone Skin Realm in this lifetime, that'll be enough. I'll go work as a guard for a wealthy family, buy a house in the county town, and I won't have to live in the village every day. Then I'll find a wife, and living a good life is more important than anything else."

Li Yuan could see it now; Chicken Brother didn't have any grand ambitions, he just wanted to live out his life in peace.

However, he understood. With the wars on the frontier and the heavy taxes, many people's only wish was just to have enough to eat.

"Right, what about the matter we discussed with your father and my uncle last time? Any leads?"

The matter, of course, was their plan to track down news of wild beasts.

Chicken Brother blew on his hot tea, patted his belly, and continued:

"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember. My old man came back yesterday and told me that out on the western edge of the Five Hundred Mile Great Mountain, near the boundary between the Wang Family and the Lin Family, something happened.

He heard some herb gatherers who escaped shouting that a Black Lump had appeared inside, a fierce one that had already eaten two people.

One guy got lucky, managed to run out, and has been spreading the word everywhere."

Li Yuan frowned upon hearing this.

The Five Hundred Mile Great Mountain nominally belonged to the imperial court.

But with the court currently bogged down in wars at the border, they were too busy to care.

The four great clans within the county seat had seized the opportunity to fence off the most productive forest lands, claiming them as private property.

Although they hadn't made an official decree, they had subtly spread the word.

Whether they were farmers or hunters, no one was allowed to step a single foot into the lands they had marked off.

Otherwise, if they were shot down like wild beasts, it would be none of the clans' concern.

Even if the imperial court found out, they would just turn a blind eye.

After all, in Wuxi County, all the major businesses were sustained by these four great clans.

While the clans often bickered among themselves, they would cling tightly together whenever the imperial court applied pressure.

The area where this black bear had appeared happened to be right on the edge of the Zhou and Lin families' territory, making the situation rather delicate.

"Is the information reliable? Are you sure it's outside their fenced-off area and not inside?" Li Yuan confirmed.

Given Li Yuan's current strength, provoking the clans for the sake of hunting a bear would be far more troublesome than dealing with a wild beast.

Chicken Brother nodded firmly and replied, "My old man made sure to ask clearly; the herb gatherer who escaped ran into it right outside the boundary line.

The Black Lump ran out from the inside, and now no one dares to go near that area.

The clan people probably know about it too, but they don't seem to be doing anything for now; they probably think one bear running out is no big deal."

Li Yuan nodded, beginning to plot in his mind.

There was definitely risk, but the opportunity was there as well.

The clans were too lazy to act, and ordinary hunters were too afraid to go, so this black bear had become an unclaimed beast.

It was the perfect time to strike.

An adult black bear's hide, gallbladder, and paws were all valuable goods.

The gallbladder, in particular, could be sold to the pharmacies in the county seat for a good amount of silver.

It would be enough to support his martial arts training expenses for a long time.

Furthermore, Li Yuan remembered that the steward of the Lin Family was in need of bear meat.

He could easily keep half for himself and sell the other half.

After the two had eaten their fill, they called the waiter to settle the bill.

The meal had cost over three hundred copper coins.

Chicken Brother smacked his lips and said enviously, "Brother Yuan, you're still the generous one!

You pay hundreds of coins without blinking. It really is different once you become an official disciple of the martial arts hall; you pay much less in tuition and can take on jobs to earn money."

Chicken Brother was truly envious.

Li Yuan smiled, not offering much of an explanation.

Becoming an official disciple did come with some perks, but it was mostly because he had saved up some silver from his previous hunting and weekly delivery jobs.

Although his appetite was large now, he was quite frugal with his own expenses, so he could afford to eat out occasionally.

He looked at Chicken Brother and encouraged him, "You keep practicing hard. Once your Iron Sand Palm enters the threshold and you reach the Ox Skin Realm, you'll have the skills to find your own way to make money. Saving up to take a wife won't be hard then."

Upon hearing this, Chicken Brother immediately perked up: "Right, I need to break through to the Ox Skin Realm as soon as possible.

Once I make money, I'll buy a small house first, then marry a wife in style."

He waved his still-red and swollen fists as he spoke loudly, his eyes filled with longing.

The two left the city together and headed toward their village.