Buying a House

The night rain had just ceased.

Lu Zhen returned to Pig Cage Alley without a sound.

He stood before the dilapidated courtyard gate, his gaze sweeping over the low-slung shanties and the mud walls that leaked from every side. This place was a melting pot of the good and the bad; there wasn't even a night watchman to be found. It might keep an honest man at bay, but it could never stop a villain or a stray cur.

Tonight, though he had slaughtered Duan Hu and thoroughly muddied the waters, in these chaotic times, there was no guarantee that another cold arrow wouldn't come flying his way.

He had to temper his muscles and bones at the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall every day. Leaving Shen Yun and Wan'er, two fragile women, in a defenseless slum like this was no different from a child carrying gold through a bustling market.

I must move.

Lu Zhen touched the thick stack of HSBC bearer notes and the few heavy gold bars hidden inside his tunic.

In this chaotic world where human life was as cheap as grass, wealthy families were scrambling to take refuge in the concessions, making property outside dirt cheap. Since he now had this windfall, there was no need to continue suffering this constant anxiety.

Anping Street, where his eldest sister lived after her marriage, surfaced in his mind.

The ancestors of his brother-in-law's family, the Zhou family, had once run a security firm and produced several renowned martial artists.

Although their family fortune had declined and they had long since lost their former prestige, the area around Anping Street was mostly inhabited by old martial arts practitioners and honest folk; the neighbors all knew a thing or two about the trade.

Common thugs and petty thieves wouldn't dare run wild in that territory; the security was a hundred times better than this Pig Cage Alley.

Moving there would not only be peaceful and safe, but he would also have his sister's family to look out for.

The next morning.

Lu Zhen rose early. When he mentioned his plan to move to Shen Yun and Lu Wan, both women were overjoyed. They had long since grown weary of the bitter life in Pig Cage Alley.

The three of them packed their few belongings, hired a rickshaw, and headed straight for his eldest sister's home on Anping Street.

The Zhou residence was a detached courtyard house made of blue brick. As soon as they entered, his eldest sister, Lu Fang, greeted them with a face full of pleasant surprise.

Hearing the commotion, Mother-in-law Zhou emerged from the main room. The moment she saw Lu Zhen, her typically sharp and mean-spirited face instantly blossomed into a warm, welcoming smile.

"Oh my, it's Zhen-ge'er! Quick, come inside and sit! It's cold out there!"

Mother-in-law Zhou greeted them enthusiastically while personally pouring hot tea. Her shrewd eyes scanned the black silk training uniform Lu Zhen wore—the mark of an Inner Sect disciple—and her attitude became so polite it made one's skin crawl.

Had this been half a month ago, when Lu Zhen was still a crippled rickshaw puller, she wouldn't have even bothered to lift her eyelids.

But things were different now. This brother-in-law was a bona fide Inner Sect disciple of the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall, a practitioner who earned dozens of silver dollars a month!

In these troubled times, he was a living deity capable of guarding the house!

After a few pleasantries, Lu Zhen set down his teacup and got straight to the point.

"Sister, brother-in-law, Mother-in-law. I've come today because I'm looking for a house near Anping Street to settle Wan'er and Sister Shen. The security is good here, and since we're all close, it'll be easier to look after one another."

"Buying a house?"

Mother-in-law Zhou's heart skipped a beat.

She calculated silently: Although Lu Zhen had entered the Inner Sect and finally made something of himself, he had only been in the sect for a month or so.

No matter how high the martial arts hall's monthly stipend was, how much could he have saved?

She figured he probably only had a few dozen silver dollars and was looking for a small, leak-free room nearby.

Even so, being neighbors with an Inner Sect martial artist was a deal that could only bring profit.

"Zhen-ge'er is certainly thoughtful." Mother-in-law Zhou stood up warmly. "I know the property agents around Anping Street best. Come, let this old woman take you to have a look!"

His sister and brother-in-law quickly threw on their coats, and the group headed out.

Walking along Anping Street, Mother-in-law Zhou led Lu Zhen to see several courtyards.

"Zhen-ge'er, look at this rear-facing house. Although it's a side courtyard, it has a tiled roof, and the price is only seventy silver dollars. It's perfect for young people like you who have just started to build a foundation."

Mother-in-law Zhou gestured toward a cramped, old courtyard where even lighting was an issue, rattling on incessantly.

Lu Zhen glanced at the low walls and the narrow, stifling patio, frowned, and shook his head.

"Mother-in-law, it's too small. I need to temper my muscles and bones every day, practicing footwork and stances; there's no room to move here. Do you have anything more spacious? Preferably a detached courtyard with higher walls?"

Mother-in-law Zhou was stunned, muttering to herself: What a big appetite. A detached courtyard would cost two or three hundred silver dollars. Can a martial arts hall fellow who just struck it rich even afford that?

But she kept her tone polite. "Spacious ones certainly exist. Old Li's three-sided courtyard up ahead is vacant and for sale, but the price, well..."

"Let's go see it." Lu Zhen's expression remained indifferent.

Before long, the group arrived before a grand residence.

It was a typical three-sided courtyard with blue bricks and dark tiles. The walls were a full ten feet high, and the main gate was made of thick, iron-reinforced jujube wood.

Upon entering, the ground was paved with smooth, long slabs of bluestone, and the center of the courtyard was wide enough to fit a carriage.

The main room was spacious and bright, with side rooms on both the east and west, and even a small rear storage room for vegetables.

Lu Zhen stepped on the smooth bluestone, nodding to himself.

This place was perfect for practicing his Bright Force footwork and heavy stances.

"This house is good." Lu Zhen turned to the property agent. "What is the asking price?"

The housing agent saw Lu Zhen wearing the black shirt of a martial arts hall and dared not overcharge him. He smiled apologetically, "To answer you, sir, this property belonged to a wealthy merchant who is now in a hurry to flee to the concessions, so he is letting it go at a low price. If you are sincere about buying, the price is three hundred and fifty silver dollars, no haggling."

Upon hearing this figure, the eldest sister Lu Fang and her husband both gasped.

Mother-in-law Zhou curled her lip in secret, preparing to watch Lu Zhen's embarrassment as he retreated in the face of difficulty, ready to urge him to choose something cheaper.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Zhen didn't even blink.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out four one-hundred-denomination HSBC promissory notes with complete nonchalance, handing them over.

"Keep the change. The remaining fifty is for your trouble and the tea money for handling the transfer at the Constabulary. I want the deed before sunset today."

As these words left his mouth, the housing agent's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He accepted the notes with profuse thanks, his waist bent so low it nearly touched the ground.

The smile on Mother-in-law Zhou's face froze completely.

She stared blankly at the light, thin bank notes, her mind buzzing with noise.

Three hundred and fifty silver dollars!

Even when the Zhou family was at its most prosperous, they had never been able to part with such a sum without batting an eye!

She had originally assumed Lu Zhen was just a poor relative who had barely managed to scrape by, yet the wealth he had just revealed was a hundred times more substantial than her own, despite her having been a long-time resident of Anping Street.

Watching Lu Zhen's tall, straight back as he pointed out rooms to Shen Yun and Lu Wan in the courtyard, Mother-in-law Zhou felt as if a handful of unripe green plums had been shoved down her throat.

"This... this martial artist, could it be he knows how to print money..." Mother-in-law Zhou gritted her teeth, muttering sourly to herself. When she looked at the eldest sister Lu Fang again, her eyes held not only the usual authority of a mother-in-law but also an unexpected hint of fawning.

The transaction was completed.

With the housing agent handling the arrangements and a large sum of silver dollars spread around, the red deed was processed smoothly at the Constabulary by that very evening.

Lu Zhen hired two carts and, taking his little sister Lu Wan and Shen Yun, moved decisively out of the muddy Pig Cage Alley and into the three-sided courtyard on Anping Street.

As night fell and the courtyard gate was locked, they found themselves in a world of peace and quiet.

Here, he no longer had to be as constrained as he was in Pig Cage Alley, fearing that a single heavy punch or a stomp of his foot would collapse the mud floor of the dilapidated shack. The thick, ten-foot-high courtyard walls blocked all prying eyes from the outside.

Having moved into this deep, spacious residence, he no longer had any worries about letting loose to temper his muscles and bones or familiarizing himself with the fierce power of the Bright Force.

Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall.

The moment Lu Zhen stepped into the inner courtyard, he sensed that the atmosphere today was highly unusual.

The Inner Sect disciples, who usually spent their time on the Wooden Dummy, had no mind for training now; they were all holding their breath, gathered around the edge of the Training Ground.

In the center, Zhang Lei stood with his muscular upper body bare.

His skin was a strange, dark red, and thick tendons pulsed violently beneath his flesh like small green snakes. His entire body radiated an intensely hot medicinal scent—the residual, overbearing power of the three-hundred-year-old Earth Dragon Blood Vine he had consumed.

"Haa—!"

Zhang Lei's eyes widened, and he exhaled a long, white breath from his chest and abdomen, sounding like a thunderclap on flat ground.

A crack appeared in the stone slab beneath his feet. With his waist and stance unified, his right fist slammed into the iron-clad Wooden Dummy like a cannonball fired from a chamber.

"Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!... POP!!!"

A series of explosions like a string of firecrackers erupted in the inner courtyard!

The first six sounds were crisp and continuous, executed in one breath. The final explosion, however, was like a thunderbolt shattering dry wood, the force overflowing and causing the nearby weapon racks to vibrate and hum!

Seven sounds!

Iron Wire Fist, seven-sound Limit Break!

The entire place fell into a deathly silence. All the Inner Sect disciples were stunned, their eyes filled with unconcealable shock.

Zhang Lei slowly retracted his fist. Although his internal energy still remained within the skin, flesh, and bones, and he had failed to use the precious medicine to achieve "Internal Strengthening" and break through the chasm of the Bright Force, his power was undeniable.

With this Limit-Breaking seventh sound, the lethality of his punch had already reached seven or eight tenths of a Bright Force Martial Master.

Within the Force Refining Realm, he was now an undisputed, invincible opponent!

"Good! Good! Good!"

On the steps of the main hall, Yan Tieqiao's face was glowing with health. He repeated the word "good" three times before striding down the steps.

He made no effort to hide his wild joy, announcing loudly in front of all the Inner Sect disciples:

"From this day forward, Zhang Lei is the Senior Brother of my Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall!"

"To see him is to see me! From now on, the legacy and the reputation of this martial arts hall will rest on his shoulders!"

The disciples felt a chill in their hearts and bowed in unison: "Greetings, Senior Brother!"

Zhang Lei stood proudly, basking in the admiration of the crowd. His eyes, filled with malice, swept over the scene with arrogance before lingering on Lu Zhen for a brief moment.

Lu Zhen's expression remained indifferent as he cupped his hands along with the others.

A "Limit Break" in the Force Refining Realm was, in front of a true Bright Force Martial Master, nothing more than a slightly stronger ant.