Farmer Offers Daughter

Early morning, the dawn was dim.

Lin Yan bid his aunt farewell, left the city, and headed in the direction of Qingtian Town.

He did not ride a horse, choosing to travel the entire way on foot.

For this trip to Qingtian Town, he carried only the Muscle Strengthening Paste, the Blood Ginseng gifted by his master, and two or three sets of spare clothes; this weight was nothing to him now.

An hour and a half later, Qingtian Town appeared in his line of sight.

Upon entering the territory of Qingtian Town, Lin Yan saw the many medicinal herbs planted in the fields on both sides. After stopping a young man on guard, the other party learned that Lin Yan was the guard sent by the Tang Family to watch over the herb fields. Extremely excited, the man personally led Lin Yan to his destination.

"Master Ji, a new martial master has arrived from the employer's side."

"Come in."

A slightly rough voice drifted out. Lin Yan pushed open the door and entered, his eyes falling upon a round-faced middle-aged man.

"You must be Brother Lin Yan. Steward Tang already sent me a letter yesterday."

The middle-aged man was very enthusiastic and took the initiative to introduce himself: Ji Ming, the captain of the martial artist squad responsible for guarding the herb fields, a martial artist who had completed the second skin-toughening.

"Qingtian Town leans against Great Fog Mountain, and occasionally some fierce beasts come down the mountain. That is when we martial artists need to step in and resolve the situation. However, such things are rare; the last time was two months ago when we encountered a Fengxi."

A Fengxi is a wild boar.

Lin Yan laughed along with him; for martial artists, these beasts were just supplements.

"However, Brother Lin, don't ever think about venturing deep into the mountains to hunt. The land near Qingtian Town is fertile, but it is also sinister. There is a poisonous miasma in the mountains; without detoxifying pills, even a third-stage skin-toughening expert cannot hold out for long inside it."

"Actually, our main task is to patrol. Since you are new, Brother Lin, I will give you a ledger in a moment. It contains the status of the medicinal herbs planted on the hundred acres of land. Daily patrols are to ensure the herbs in the fields aren't stolen."

After Ji Ming's explanation, Lin Yan finally grasped the wealth of the Tang Family.

All the fields outside Qingtian Town belonged to the Tang Family, and the livelihoods of most of the townspeople were tied to these herb fields.

Planting, harvesting, watering, and fertilizing—all the menial labor was done by the people in town, while they, the guarding martial artists, were mainly there to prevent people from sneaking in to dig up the herbs.

Defending against beasts was secondary; the main focus was defending against people.

"Brother Lin, this ledger also contains the annual yields for each acre of herb fields. If there are no natural disasters, the harvest should not fluctuate by more than ten percent. Other than that, there is nothing else. Once the others return later, I will arrange a welcome banquet for you."

Lin Yan offered a few polite words and did not decline. He took a ledger from Ji Ming and went to check the herb fields first.

Every martial artist was responsible for one hundred acres of herb fields, but these hundred acres did not all grow the same type of herb, and even for the same type, the harvest periods differed.

Lin Yan spent over an hour patrolling the fields he was responsible for, cross-referencing them with the ledger. During this time, he also met the herb farmers in his assigned area.

In the evening, Ji Ming and the other five members of the squad held a welcome banquet for Lin Yan.

Everyone drank and enjoyed themselves. During the meal, several people tried to probe into Lin Yan's background, but he deflected them all with his words.

After the wine and food were finished, the banquet dispersed.

"Brother Lin, do you still have energy tonight?"

Zheng Xun, who was heading in the same direction as Lin Yan, patted Lin Yan on the shoulder and gave him a suggestive wink.

"What do you mean?"

Lin Yan did not understand. The two parted ways at an intersection. Lin Yan walked toward his residence, but upon reaching the courtyard gate, a look of caution appeared on his face.

With his current hearing, he could clearly sense someone in the courtyard.

"Who is it?"

"It... it is Master Lin, right? I... I am the daughter of a herb farmer. My father sent me to clean the courtyard for Master Lin."

A delicate-looking young woman walked out of the room, trembling as she held a broom. Her eyes darted toward Lin Yan before she quickly lowered her head. Even though it was night, Lin Yan could clearly see the blush staining her face.

"A herb farmer's daughter?"

Lin Yan frowned. He had already learned during his patrol earlier that the hundred acres of fields he was responsible for were tended to by dozens of farming families.

From the woman's shy demeanor, combined with Zheng Xun's earlier words, Lin Yan instantly understood the purpose of her presence.

Cleaning the courtyard was true, but if he agreed, he could keep this woman here tonight.

"Thank you for the trouble, but I am going to bed now. You should head back."

When the woman heard Lin Yan's words, there was joy in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by anxiety. Before she came, her father had already instructed her that the outcome tonight was tied to the family's income.

"Master Lin, I..."

"If you have other matters, Miss, feel free to speak of them tomorrow."

Lin Yan's face turned cold. The woman looked flustered and dared not say anything more. She set down the broom and hurried away.

"What is all this."

Watching the woman's flustered retreating figure, Lin Yan shook his head helplessly. He returned to his room, washed his face, and went into the courtyard to practice his boxing.

After a set of Mountain Splitting Fist, the effects of the alcohol in his body dissipated completely.

Afterward, Lin Yan took out the twenty-year-old Blood Ginseng. If an ordinary person were to consume a twenty-year-old Blood Ginseng, their body would not be able to handle it, but a martial artist had no such worries and could chew it raw.

This was the Tang Family's herb field area; Lin Yan believed the Wang Family could not possibly still be tracking him.

Right now, the faster he improved his strength, the better.

Holding the Blood Ginseng in his hand, Lin Yan focused his mind, and the four gray Martial Fruits in his consciousness were instantly consumed.

The muscle memory, the instinct for force generation, and the realization of every inch of power accumulated through countless punches over eight years all became his in this moment.

He kept his eyes closed, seemingly digesting the experience, or perhaps waiting for something.

Then, Lin Yan took a bite of the Blood Ginseng.

He started his stance.

It was still the first form of the Mountain Splitting Fist. The moment his fist thrust out, the sound of it breaking the air was no longer a dull "whoosh," but a crisp "crack," like a bursting air bladder.

Before the fist arrived, the wind of the punch had already struck.

Lin Yan did not stop.

Second punch, third punch, fourth punch...

His movements grew faster and faster until the entire courtyard was filled with the shadows of his fists. With every thrust, the air seemed to be squeezed into shape, condensing a faint ripple at the tip of his fist that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

Crack!

Lin Yan threw another punch, but halfway through, he stopped abruptly.

Punch out, punch stop!

True control over release and retraction.

Only when the medicinal effects of the Blood Ginseng were fully digested did Lin Yan truly stop, immediately turning his focus inward to his consciousness.

The silver leaf representing the Mountain Splitting Fist had grown by a full circle, and the veins on the leaf had turned gold, as if golden threads were inlaid upon the green surface.

He was one step closer to mastering the Mountain Splitting Fist.

At the same time, the trunk of the entire Martial Dao Tree had visibly grown a segment; one night of effort was worth half a month of grueling practice.

If I had a few more of these Blood Ginsengs, I'd be close to the second stage of skin tempering.

After this fleeting fantasy, Lin Yan slapped himself. What are you dreaming about? A single Blood Ginseng is worth about thirty taels of silver. Who has the family fortune to spend thirty taels every single day?

It was getting late, so he headed back to his room to sleep; dreams have everything.

The next day.

Lin Yan practiced for an hour in the morning, waiting until the hour of the dragon to head to the courtyard where Zheng Xun resided.

Zheng Xun had clearly just woken up; his robe was not even fully tied, and he explained with sleepy eyes, "I drank too much last night and got up a bit late. Brother Lin, you're here so early—is something the matter?"

"I do have some questions I'd like to ask you, Brother Zheng." Lin Yan nodded and asked, "Do the farmers at the town's herb fields have some sort of request of us?"

"You didn't take that girl to bed last night?"

Zheng Xun looked surprised, but seeing Lin Yan shake his head, he laughed. "Brother Lin, although we are responsible for guarding the herb fields, we are also responsible for monitoring the harvest. The farmers do the reaping, and we watch from the sidelines."

"Whatever grows in the ground will always vary in quality. The Tang Family naturally doesn't care for the low-quality ones, but for these farmers, even the poor-quality ones can be sold for a fair amount of silver—not to mention the extra 'losses' they skim off the top."

By the end, Zheng Xun's implication was clear, and Lin Yan understood: the Tang Family only cared about the total yield. As long as the quota was met, they didn't care if there were tricks being played in the middle.

As long as the guarding martial artists didn't report it, the Tang Family wouldn't investigate.

No wonder those farmers weeding and watering the fields had been so fawning toward him during his patrol yesterday.

"Don't underestimate these losses. A few hundred extra coins a month adds up to several taels a year. We might not care about that money, but for these farmers, it's a significant income. As for sending their daughters... that's just to help us pass the time while we're stationed here."

Lin Yan fell silent. A few hundred coins might just be the cost of a medicinal decoction for a martial artist, but it was enough to make an ordinary farmer willingly offer up his daughter.

This world... it has always been this way.

Zheng Xun patted Lin Yan on the shoulder. "Brother Lin, you don't need to feel burdened. If the girl serves you well and you want to take her back to the city as a maid or concubine, you can. If you don't want to, just leave her behind when you're transferred."

After leaving Zheng Xun's place, Lin Yan returned to his quarters to find the girl from yesterday there again.

Lin Yan walked past the woman and into the courtyard. "Go back and tell your father: I have no such intentions. Things should continue just as they were before."

The woman stood outside the gate, stunned for a moment, before her face lit up with excitement. "I... I will go back and tell my father and the others right away."

The Tang Family had managed these herb fields for so many years; it was impossible they didn't know about the farmers' tricks. If even the Tang Family didn't care, why should he?

However, while he didn't want the woman, he wouldn't turn down the "cooling money."

Lin Yan had assumed that once he made things clear, the woman wouldn't appear again, but to his surprise, she returned after midday.

"Officer... Officer Lin, my father sent me to take care of your daily needs and help clean the courtyard."

The woman stammered, keeping her head bowed. Lin Yan thought for a moment and didn't refuse this time; having someone to handle the chores would allow him to focus more on his martial arts.