Healing, Killing Niu Er

After walking a few paces, the hothead asked in confusion, "Brother Gou, Lu Li is also on the list of people who killed Brother Hu. Shouldn't we question him?"

"You idiot, you really are a blockhead!" Er Gou's anger flared up; he poked the man's forehead and snapped, "Not to mention that Lu Li only just became a servant for the Huang Family and hasn't even started martial arts training yet—it's impossible for him to be the one who did it."

"Even if it really were Lu Li, given his status, we can't interrogate him!"

"He is a servant of the family!"

"As the saying goes, you have to look at the master before beating the dog. If we anger Lu Li and he goes back and says something, we'll be the ones in trouble!"

"Sigh, Lu Li is really going to strike it rich now. I don't know what kind of dog-shit luck he stumbled into!"

"Why can't it ever be me, Er Gou?"

"Brother Gou, how should we handle the Zhao Family then?"

"Waive the Zhao Family's protection fee and find a time to go apologize."

After saying this, Er Gou's mouth twitched in pain.

The sincerity must be sufficient; the anger of Lu Li must be extinguished!

Lu Li helped Aunt Zhao into the house.

The physician from Spring-Returning Hall was truly impressive; in just a short moment, he had diagnosed the cause of Aunt Zhao's illness.

"External contraction of wind-cold, instability of defensive qi, cold evil entering the interior, stagnating and turning into heat, resulting in body-wide aches, coughing, and chest tightness."

The physician shook his head with the air of a master: "Three doses of medicine, and I guarantee you will be cured!"

"H-how much silver?" Uncle Zhao swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"Heh." The physician stroked his beard and smiled, looking at Lu Li: "Medicine costs plus the consultation fee, twenty taels!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao's face changed drastically: "This—this is more than we could scrape together even if we sold our whole family!"

Zhang Yuanyuan pressed her lips together and lowered her head.

Unexpectedly, Lu Li took out twenty taels directly and handed them to the physician: "Thank you, Doctor."

The physician happily accepted the money, left three packets of medicine, and departed.

The Zhao family watched the whole process, their hearts bleeding.

They had never seen so much money in their entire lives!

"Lu Li, without you, I really don't know what we would have done today," Uncle Zhao said gratefully, still feeling a lingering fear when he thought back on it.

Lu Li waved his hand: "Don't say such polite things. If it weren't for you, I would already be a pile of bones by now."

"The grace of saving my life is something I, Lu Li, will never forget."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Zhao family was deeply moved.

Zhang Yuanyuan looked at Lu Li, her eyes sparkling.

The two had grown up playing together and could be considered childhood sweethearts.

However, as they grew older and had their own lives, their contact had lessened.

Still, the bond remained, though there was now a bit more distance between them as man and woman.

Aunt Zhao had been coughing violently.

Soon, the medicinal soup was brewed.

After Aunt Zhao drank it, she miraculously improved, her complexion turning rosy at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Finally, Lu Li placed another bag of broken silver, about twenty taels, on the table.

Uncle Zhao's expression turned serious, his gaze firm: "Lu Li, you still need to train in martial arts; keep this money for yourself!"

"I absolutely will not accept it!"

"Otherwise, I will pay back the cost of Aunt Zhao's medicine in full later!"

Hearing this, Lu Li had no choice but to take it back.

Afterward, he bid farewell to the three of them and headed straight home.

The three of them watched Lu Li walk away, all sighing with emotion.

Lu Li had made something of himself!

At this moment, seeing that Lu Li had left, Uncle Zhao's neighbors swarmed around them, offering warm greetings and inquiries.

"Yo, the people from Spring-Returning Hall are truly miracle doctors. Look at Aunt Zhao's face—cured instantly!"

"Yes, indeed, indeed."

Their enthusiasm was a stark contrast to their indifference just a moment ago.

Lu Li did not head straight home. Instead, he circled through a few streets and arrived at Niu Er's residence.

He still remembered how Niu Er had glared at him when he left.

That expression was as if he wanted to swallow him alive.

For a narrow-minded wretch like that, it was not impossible that he might actually seek revenge.

Therefore, Lu Li planned to strike first and eliminate Niu Er, this source of trouble!

While he was at it, he would get his hands on the dozens of taels of silver Niu Er had on him!

That way, he would have nearly two hundred taels of silver in his possession.

This was a massive sum; he could finally head to the Black Market to try his luck.

Moreover, no one would suspect him.

Niu Er was carrying a large amount of money, had a broken leg, and lacked any martial arts prowess; it was no different than a child carrying gold through a busy market. There were bound to be plenty of people eyeing him.

No one would ever suspect him.

Donning a black robe to cover his face, Lu Li arrived at Niu Er's home and vaulted into the courtyard.

He approached the bedroom.

From inside came Niu Er's furious voice.

"Damn that Lu Li, the bastard got lucky. Why does a coward like that have such good fortune?"

"Why wasn't he eaten by that White Tiger, and why am I, Niu Er, so unlucky that I had to break my leg?"

"My livelihood is ruined!"

"Heaven is unfair, it's simply blind!"

Niu Er roared hysterically.

"No, I can't just be this pathetic!"

"Once Lu Li practices martial arts, he will surely humiliate me like a dog. I cannot sit here and wait for death. While he hasn't learned any martial arts yet and has no real skill, I have to kill him!"

Outside the door, Lu Li shook his head.

Niu Er had been consumed by rage and had lost his senses.

Now, even if he didn't want to kill him, he had to.

With that thought, Lu Li stood up and kicked the door open. Amidst Niu Er's shocked gaze, he flew forward and kicked him square in the chest.

Under the force of two thousand jin, Niu Er let out a deafening scream.

He slammed into the ground, vomited blood, and died.

Afterward, Lu Li rummaged through Niu Er's belongings and found fifty taels of silver.

He glanced at Niu Er's broken leg: "It seems the extra silver was spent on medicine."

Stowing the silver away, Lu Li rose quickly and, with agile movements, vanished into the shadows.

When he reappeared, the black robe and mask were gone, and he emerged from an anonymous alleyway.

He went to the market to buy some meat before turning back toward home.

After a hasty meal, Lu Li took out his medicinal herbs, swallowed them, and began practicing the Tiger-Subduing Fist.

[Subject: Lu Li]
[Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence]
[Attribute: A slow horse can travel ten days' distance in one, success lies in perseverance]
[Martial Arts: Tiger-Subduing Fist (Flesh-Refining Realm 120/400) - Practice once a day, mastery in 40 years]

Looking at the progress on the panel, Lu Li finally finished his practice, feeling a deep sense of fulfillment.

"Once I break through to the Flesh-Refining Realm, I'll pay the Black Market a visit."

Having made up his mind, Lu Li fell into a deep sleep.

The next day.

He arrived early at the Huang Family, and Uncle Huang took him to the Martial Academy.

He handed Lu Li a set of clothes; they were soft to the touch and made of excellent material.

One could tell at a glance that they were worth a fortune.

For a mere martial arts uniform to be this expensive, the power of a family clan could not be underestimated.

That was what Lu Li thought.

At the same time, he grew increasingly expectant of what martial arts the Huang Family would teach him next.

Inside the Martial Academy, there were about twenty people, all of them thin and small in stature. It seemed they were not core members of the Huang Family, but merely lowly servants.

They were all smiles, their eyes shining with light.

They looked at a burly man dressed in black martial attire with great reverence.

"Oh, Huang Hao, didn't you say that herb gatherers are all useless trash who can't be molded? Pick one out, then."

Huang Hao nodded and said to Lu Li, "This is Huang Haitao. From now on, you will follow him to practice martial arts."

"Greetings, Master," Lu Li said, cupping his fists respectfully.

Huang Haitao shook his head. "Don't call me Master. You aren't worthy yet, and it's not even certain if you'll be able to master anything."

"Although the Huang Family has offered excellent terms, if you haven't mastered the basics of martial arts within a year, you can go back to wherever you came from!"

"Enough, enough talk. Follow me and start training!"