A Twist of Fate

"What family? He isn't your own son. Don't forget how he kicked you out before. You have a real son; if you want to cultivate a martial artist, you should be cultivating your own."

Xu Qing's voice was sharp, brimming with uncontrollable rage.

She cared more about their father, Xu Laoer, than Xu Yang did, and at this moment, she was the most furious. Xu Yang, the person actually involved, hadn't said a word, yet she had preempted everything.

Xu Laoer's face flushed a deep red as he was choked for words. When he first started seeing Zhang Cuiting, Yang Jun would beat him with a stick every time he came over. That was the reason he hadn't moved in here immediately from the start.

"Him? Just based on him, he wants to practice martial arts? A-Jun's father was once a martial artist, so he has the potential to become one. Your brother is just a mud-legged peasant who digs for food in the dirt—a low-class person. It's laughable that he even wants to practice martial arts."

Zhang Cuiting laughed loudly, as if she had heard a joke, her words dripping with mockery and sarcasm.

Xu Qing was trembling with anger and was about to retort, but Xu Laoer barked at her to stop.

"Shut your mouth and let your brother speak. When adults are talking, what are you, a child, interrupting for?"

Repeatedly rebuked and exposed by his daughter, his face darkened. He looked at Xu Yang and said, "You tell me yourself: are you willing to put up this money? You'd better think clearly. A-Jun doesn't necessarily need your help to become a martial artist; it would just take a bit longer. If you don't help A-Jun now, it will be too late to try and curry favor with him once he becomes a martial artist in the future."

As for Xu Qing's claim that Xu Yang wanted to practice martial arts, he didn't take it to heart at all, treating it as nothing more than a joke.

Having laid out the pros and cons, he believed that as long as Xu Yang wasn't a fool, he would make the right choice, having suffered enough in this society.

"You should think clearly, too. Dorgon couldn't do it, so what makes you think you can?"

Leaving behind a remark that left Xu Laoer completely bewildered, Xu Yang pulled Xu Qing away without another word.

Even if he had to feed his money to the dogs, he wouldn't spend a cent to sponsor Yang Jun.

"Unfilial son!" Xu Laoer's roar echoed behind them.

The sky was already darkening, the sunset painting the horizon in shades of red, as if the earth were draped in crimson armor.

As the siblings stepped out of Zhang Cuiting's house, the young girl Xu Qing couldn't help but sob, tears of heartbreak streaming down her face.

They had come home under the guise of getting a free meal, but in truth, she had wanted to see her father. The events that transpired were too much for her to bear.

"Don't cry. Just pretend he's dead," Xu Yang comforted her.

He had anticipated this before they arrived, so he wasn't particularly saddened.

"I'm not crying for him. I'm worried that you'll miss the window for martial arts training, brother." The young girl refused to admit she was shedding tears for Xu Laoer.

"Don't worry about the money. If he won't help, I'll find a way myself. Rest assured, brother will definitely make sure you live well."

Xu Yang gazed toward the horizon. He was determined to practice martial arts. He didn't care much about the notion that one couldn't start after eighteen; his main concern was that the Tri-Union Gang seemed to have their eyes on his little sister, and he had to become a martial artist quickly to escape this predicament.

In this world, it wasn't a good thing for a girl from the lower classes to be beautiful.

The Tri-Union Gang acted with ruthless cruelty. Once they set their sights on someone, they would use every vicious method at their disposal.

It wasn't as if such things hadn't happened in the ward before; those who complied were fine, but those who resisted eventually ended up with their families destroyed.

Although Li Hu might have only mentioned it in passing, he couldn't afford to gamble.

Yet, as he secretly pondered how to get the money for training, he found himself without a clue.

"Brother, why don't we borrow from someone? Let's go see our uncle in a while. If we borrow a little from every relative, I know you have your pride and don't want to ask, but this is a glimmer of hope. If you miss it, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. So what if we get rejected? We've lived like this for so long; we lost our shame a long time ago."

The girl suddenly added, "And there's our uncle. I heard he became an accountant for the wealthy Huang Family. He earns two taels of silver a month; he should be able to lend us some."

Even a beggar has a few poor relatives, and Xu Yang's family was no exception.

"Alright!" Xu Yang said.

Now that he was in a crisis, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and ask for help. In his memory, this uncle was quite kind, and if he had the means, he would likely help. As for whether it would work, he would have to try to find out.

Although they hadn't kept in touch much since his mother passed, blood ties didn't just vanish.

"Where did you hear all this?" Xu Yang asked curiously.

The reason he hadn't thought of his uncle was that, in his memory, his uncle Zhou Shunchang was also living in poverty, struggling just to make ends meet.

"I heard it from our cousin at our uncle's house. She saw him at the Huang Family's shop..."

Xu Yang hadn't expected that before he could even go into the city to borrow money, he would see his long-lost uncle, Zhou Shunchang, right at his doorstep.

Bathed in the sunset, Zhou Shunchang stood at the door, wearing fine silk robes and carrying a slab of pork belly.

Standing beside him was a young woman with a scholarly air—it was his cousin, Zhou Xia.

"Uncle! Cousin!"

The maternal uncle is like a father; the two quickly stepped forward to pay their respects, then respectfully invited them into their home.

"You've suffered all these years. That animal Xu Laoer—if I had known he was this kind of person, I never would have agreed to let your mother marry him."

Looking at their humble home, Zhou Shunchang couldn't help but curse Xu Laoer for being subhuman.

"I didn't just come to see you today; there's something I need to discuss with you, Yang." After some small talk, Zhou Shunchang brought up the real matter.

Xu Yang was stunned. Another person with something to discuss? He hoped it wasn't someone else eyeing his money.

But then he thought, his cousin at his uncle's house was already over eighteen, so it probably wasn't a request for him to sponsor martial arts training.

"You may not know this, but the Huang Family Estate, which I serve, has been on the rise lately, and their business is growing ever larger..." Zhou Shunchang slowly revealed the true purpose of his visit.

In this world, no matter what trade one pursues, any profitable business requires martial artists for protection. It is much like the nuclear weapons of my past life; you might not need to use them, but you cannot afford to be without them.

The Huang Family has only begun to rise in recent years, and their current roster of martial artists is insufficient to match their rapidly expanding business.

Established martial artists are usually already tied to other factions; poaching them would not only offend those powers but also come at a high cost.

Therefore, the best method is to cultivate their own, but not everyone within the Huang Family possesses the potential to become a martial artist. Thus, the family devised a plan to look externally for those with the potential to train but lacking the funds to do so.

The Huang Family provides the funding for training, with the condition that once they become martial artists, they must serve as retainers for the family. This is why Zhou Shunchang thought of his nephew, Xu Yang, whose age is just right.

"Go to the Huang Family Estate early tomorrow morning. A master will be there to examine your bone structure. As long as your aptitude is sufficient, the Huang Family will send you to a martial arts school."

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Xu Yang bowed deeply to Zhou Shunchang, not bothering to ask if this was akin to selling himself into servitude or if he would be bound to the Huang Family for life.

To him, at this moment, as long as there is an opportunity to practice martial arts, what does it matter if he sells his life?

"Wear something decent tomorrow!"

Looking at Xu Yang's patched clothes, Zhou Shunchang left behind half a tael of silver.

Xu Yang initially wanted to refuse, as he still had one outfit that was in decent condition, but under Zhou Shunchang's stern glare, he had no choice but to accept the silver.

"Alright, it's getting late, and the roads aren't safe. Your cousin and I must be heading back."

He offered no words of encouragement to Xu Yang, for bone structure is something innate, and he had only come here to try his luck and see if his nephew had any chance to change his fate.

"Take care, Uncle, Cousin!"

The siblings walked Zhou Shunchang and his daughter all the way out of White Stone Ward before returning home.

"Brother, you can practice martial arts now!"

After the sudden turn of events, once they were back inside, the little girl could no longer contain herself and jumped up in excitement, failing to realize that he still had to pass the bone examination to receive the Huang Family's sponsorship.

"Yes, I can practice martial arts now," Xu Yang said softly.

He wondered if his bone structure, now raised to twenty-two, would meet the Huang Family's requirements for sponsorship tomorrow.