Oppression, Resistance

"Uncle Liu, a bowl of old-leaf tea."

Li Chuan arrived at Old Liu Tea Shop and casually found a long bench to sit on, making himself right at home.

"Ah, A-Chuan, you're back. Sit, sit."

Uncle Liu smiled as he placed a large coarse porcelain bowl before Li Chuan and grabbed a handful of loose green tea leaves to toss inside.

He picked up a copper kettle and poured in scalding water, sending the tea leaves rolling and tumbling through the bowl.

A bitter fragrance of tea instantly wafted up.

"Uncle Liu, I asked for old-leaf tea," Li Chuan asked in confusion.

Old-leaf tea cost one copper coin per bowl, while this steamed green tea cost two. That was enough to buy two flatbreads; ordinary people truly could not bear to drink it.

Uncle Liu chuckled.

"A-Chuan, I watched you grow up. How could I let you drink old-leaf tea? Don't worry, this one's on me."

"What brings you here today?"

Li Chuan took a sip of the piping-hot tea. A faint steamed-green flavor lingered in his mouth.

"Uncle Liu, I came to ask you about something. You know my family's shop. At this hour, there usually isn't even a seat to spare. Why isn't there a single customer today?"

Uncle Liu sighed, hesitating over whether to tell him.

"Uncle Liu, don't worry. I know what I'm doing!"

At those words, Uncle Liu raised his head and looked around. Then he leaned close to Li Chuan's ear and lowered his voice.

"A-Chuan, you need to prepare yourself.

"It's Liu Hu of the Black Bear Gang. He wants your family's shop. The whole neighborhood has heard about it.

"A few days ago, he went to see your grandfather, and his attitude was extremely forceful.

"Your grandfather is tough as nails too. No matter what he said, he refused to sell.

"If you ask me, it really can't be sold. He's only offering five taels of silver. What can that even do?"

Uncle Liu gave a bitter laugh.

"Later, Liu Hu got angered and shoved your grandfather. It seemed like he even broke his leg...

"These past few days, he's gone even further. Right in front of the neighbors, he warned everyone not to visit your family's breakfast shop.

"Otherwise, they'd be making an enemy of him!

"Every so often, he sends those hooligans to wreck your home. They smash this or break that, then run off. No one can do anything about them.

"And yesterday, even the old hen San Feng raised for laying eggs was beaten to death!"

Uncle Liu sighed as he spoke, sympathy heavy in his voice.

Li Chuan said nothing. He merely drank the green tea from his bowl, mouthful after mouthful.

So that was why the old hen had died for no reason!

These days, a hen that could lay eggs was precious as gold. It was usually treasured like a jewel; such a strange thing would never happen otherwise.

So it was that damned Liu Hu, committing every evil under the sun!

Before, he had merely threatened them with words. Now, he had escalated to taking action himself.

What elderly people feared most was a fall.

For all anyone knew, it could lead to something dreadful!

Liu Hu was trying to drive his family to death!

Misty steam veiled Li Chuan's eyelids, while cold light flickered in the eyes hidden beneath.

Seeing Li Chuan's expression, Uncle Liu hesitated before speaking.

"A-Chuan, Liu Hu also said that you spend your days at the Martial Hall drinking with courtesans instead of training properly. He said you have no hope of Gate-Knocking and told your grandfather to give up on that dream..."

Li Chuan drained the tea in one gulp, swallowing even the leaves.

"Thank you for telling me, Uncle Liu. I'll head back first."

He rose to his feet and slapped copper coins onto the table.

After he left, Uncle Liu counted them.

Ten copper coins!

Uncle Liu accepted them with trembling hands, his heart filled with bitter feelings.

He had watched Li Chuan grow up. Seeing him oppressed to this extent hurt him deeply as well.

But in this world, merely surviving was already no small feat. He still had a grandson crying for food, so how could he possibly have the means to help others?

In a daze, he recalled a line he had seen at school as a child.

The world was a sea of suffering, and everyone struggled and sank within it.

Li Chuan returned home.

"Chuan'er, come eat. Mother stewed chicken soup for you. You need nutrition for martial arts training, so drink more!" Wang Xiumei called to Li Chuan.

Li Chuan looked up and saw his grandfather, Li Nian, limping toward him.

When Li Chuan asked what had happened, Li Nian merely smiled and said he had accidentally fallen.

His aunt Qin Sanfeng placed a chicken leg in his bowl.

His cousin Li Qing served him a bowl of golden chicken soup.

Before them sat nothing but coarse rice and pickled vegetables.

Though the fragrant chicken soup was right before them, no one touched their chopsticks.

Li Chuan could sense that the smiles on their faces were not truly bright. They seemed to have worries weighing on their hearts.

Liu Hu's words must have made them doubt me too, but they can't bring themselves to directly ask whether I really went drinking with courtesans.

Li Chuan understood perfectly well.

In truth, Liu Hu had not been wrong. The original owner of this body had indeed done such things.

But since he had transmigrated here, he naturally had to make this lie hold together.

Otherwise, if his family learned that they had worked themselves to the bone to support such a thing, they might be angered into a serious illness.

Li Chuan drank chicken soup, ate the chicken leg, then took a bite of fine white rice.

The more he ate, the worse he felt.

He wanted to ask them to eat with him, yet they refused every time.

"Only by training martial arts well can I give my family a good life."

Li Chuan silently made up his mind. Once he resolved this matter, he would return to the Martial Hall and train until Gate-Knocking.

After eating the old hen, Li Chuan could feel a sense of "fullness" within his body.

At his current stage, his demand for "qi and blood" was immense.

But he could only eat meat once every two days. That was clearly not enough.

If I could eat like this every day, my martial arts progress would be much faster!

Li Chuan thought to himself.

After resting for a while following the meal, Li Chuan said with a smile.

"Big Brother, now that we've eaten our fill, I'll teach you how to lift stones."

With that, he stepped forward and lifted a fifty-pound stone with one hand.

This stone was lifted for his family to see, to give them some confidence.

"Master said my qi and blood have accumulated enough. I'll be Gate-Knocking very soon!"

Sure enough, after seeing how mighty he was, the gloom between everyone's brows scattered considerably, and they all began praising him.

Li Qing struggled to lift the stone while Li Chuan occasionally spoke from the side, pointing out the mistakes in his movements.

The others watched from afar with smiles in their eyes, all their worries cast beyond the clouds.

For that brief moment, the Li Family seemed to have returned to how it used to be.

About two hours later, Li Qing set down the stone and looked seriously at Li Chuan.

"A-Chuan, I've trained enough. Go back and rest early. You can't delay your Gate-Knocking because of me."

Li Chuan returned to his brightly lit room.

The other rooms were dark. Only his had a lamp burning.

Lamp oil was expensive too; it could not be used freely.

"Huff."

Li Chuan blew out the lamp and sat quietly on the bed.

Once he heard everyone's breathing grow steady, he climbed out of bed as lightly as a cat.

"A piece of black cloth for a mask, along with flint and tinder..."

Li Chuan checked the things on his body again and again. Once he was certain nothing was missing, he silently stepped out of the house.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"The cold is biting. Be careful not to catch a chill!"

The night watchman struck four quick, unbroken beats on his clapper, signifying that it was now the fourth watch: the Hour of the Ox.

A bright moon hung high in the sky, scattering salt-like moonlight across the earth.

Autumn cicadas occasionally cried from the high branches, while the clear breeze rustled the leaves.

Killing intent surged through Li Chuan's heart.

A moonless night with howling winds—perfect for murder!