Collect the Money!

Having food to eat and a man to dote on her filled Liu Yuniang's heart with warmth.

Even while eating, her face brimmed with smiles as she chewed carefully and swallowed slowly, taking the food in small bites.

Li Chengfeng had things on his mind, so he ate quickly. As before, he let Yuniang finish a step after him, then set down his bowl and chopsticks, took up his bow, and went into the courtyard. Facing the target Liu Yuniang had hurriedly made that morning, he practiced Archery to help digest his meal.

"Thok~"

Li Chengfeng held the Laminated Bamboo Bow with a calm, focused mind and took aim. The moment his fingers loosened, the arrow shot out and struck the bull's-eye with perfect accuracy. When he looked up, a line of information drifted across the panel.

[Archery proficiency +1]

As the information drifted past, insights into how to shoot the next arrow better rose in his heart. A smile immediately appeared on his face. Then he drew the bow, nocked another arrow, and kept shooting, practicing Archery with the Laminated Bamboo Bow.

"Thok thok thok~"

Arrows flew out one after another. With Li Chengfeng fully focused, every single one struck the center of the target.

Lines of proficiency-increase notifications flashed across the panel. Every arrow Li Chengfeng loosed brought a fresh insight to his heart, letting him know how to shoot better.

Every arrow he fired was more effortless and more precise than the last.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten arrows had flown out.

"Whoosh~"

Li Chengfeng fired another arrow. It struck the bull's-eye in a straight line, and in that instant, a surge of insight suddenly welled up in his heart.

Under this surge of insight, Li Chengfeng naturally came to understand how to make the arrows he shot fly more steadily, how to shoot more accurately, how to make his arrows fly faster, how to shoot with greater ease...

Wave after wave of realization was born in his heart. Li Chengfeng understood, and when he looked up, the skill information had indeed changed.

[Skill: Archery]

[Level: Great Accomplishment (1/1500)]

[Effects: Stability increased by 50%; accuracy increased by 40%; arrow speed increased by 10%; energy saving increased by 5%]

"Great Accomplishment Archery!"

Li Chengfeng sensed the effects brought by his improved Archery, and a smile flashed through his eyes. He then pondered over and digested the insights in his heart, stepped forward, pulled the bamboo arrows out of the target one by one, and returned to his original position.

After some thought, he began trying to apply the latest techniques, continuing to practice against the target.

"Thok thok thok~"

Arrows flew out one after another. The force of the Laminated Bamboo Bow was much lower than that of the new stiff bow. Li Chengfeng shot arrows for half an hour straight, raising the proficiency of his Great Accomplishment-level Archery by quite a bit.

Only when he felt that the food in his stomach had been digested did he stop shooting.

"From now on, when I rest during martial practice, I can completely use this weak Laminated Bamboo Bow to practice Archery."

Li Chengfeng mulled it over in his heart. Satisfied, he took off the bowstring, put the bow away, returned to the house, lay down on the bed, and took an afternoon nap.

After waking from his nap, his energy somewhat restored, he got up again and continued practicing Taiji Fist in the courtyard.

"Whoosh~"

Between each move and stance, force surged. Li Chengfeng's movements were smooth and natural, like drifting clouds and flowing water. He immersed himself in cultivating immortality, feeling the gains brought by every circulation of his practice.

"Swish~"

Liu Yuniang sat in the courtyard, continuing to weave straw targets for Li Chengfeng so he could use them.

The spring sunlight spilled across her fair face. As she watched Li Chengfeng immersed in martial practice in the courtyard, a look of happiness overflowed on her face.

When he grew tired from practicing martial arts, he shot arrows. Just like that, Li Chengfeng spent the whole day practicing at home.

That night, just as he was preparing to consider whether he should go kill Liu Yong in the middle of the night, his eyes suddenly focused. He saw a furtive figure crouching by the wall outside the courtyard, craning his head and peeking in this direction.

Li Chengfeng frowned. Pretending he had not seen anything, he quietly observed in secret and found that the person only left when the sky had darkened.

"Could Liu Yong have taken precautions? Or does he simply want to monitor me?"

Li Chengfeng frowned and pondered for a moment or two. In the end, he could only silently give up on the idea of killing someone under cover of night.

After all, he was still only an ordinary mortal body of flesh and blood right now. If he felt his way over in the night and the other side had an ambush waiting instead, that would be miserable.

"Forget it. From what he said, he's definitely planning to deal with me in the forest. At worst, we'll see whose skills are harder when the time comes."

Li Chengfeng shook his head and tightened his grip on the bamboo bow in his hand. A cold glint flashed through his eyes. Then, seeing Liu Yuniang's curious look, he smiled and said it was nothing, then went back with her to wash up and sleep.

"..."

The next day, Li Chengfeng practiced martial arts and shot arrows in the bamboo grove as usual. Early on, he saw a figure deliberately peering into his courtyard. Only after seeing him inside did the person turn and leave.

At noon, another person came, glanced into the courtyard, and left after seeing Li Chengfeng.

Li Chengfeng's brows furrowed. He said nothing and only stepped up his cultivation.

Just like that, the second day arrived.

The end of the month.

It was time for the Black River Gang to collect the Protection Fee.

As soon as the sky had brightened, Li Chengfeng got up early, prepared the money, and kept it in his pocket at all times. Then he continued cultivating in the courtyard.

After cultivating until midmorning, a burst of noise came from the side. Li Chengfeng immediately stopped practicing martial arts and went to the courtyard gate to look outside. Several Black River Gang thugs were going door to door collecting Protection Fee money.

He shifted closer to the wall and waited until the thugs reached the front of his house.

"The hundred wen protection fee for next month is due. Got the money ready?"

With his robe hanging open and the fat on his belly and waist exposed, the fat thug in the lead brought two slightly thinner thugs to Li Chengfeng's door and spoke.

As he talked, his eyes kept darting into Li Chengfeng's house. When he saw no one inside, a flash of disappointment crossed the lead fat thug's eyes, and he narrowed them as he stared at Li Chengfeng.

"Please accept it. Here are one hundred wen, already prepared."

Li Chengfeng silently cupped his fists, took out the one hundred wen he had already gathered, and handed it to the thug in front with his back straight.

"Count it."

The fat thug accepted the string of copper coins and passed it straight to the young thug beside him, who squatted down on the spot and began counting.

With his hands behind his back, the fat thug looked Li Chengfeng up and down from the corner of his eye, his gaze drifting now and then into the courtyard, as if he were sizing up his own home.

Li Chengfeng frowned, forcefully suppressing the urge to strike, and remained where he was with a calm heart and level temper.

He knew these three thugs were only here to run errands. The true elites of the Black River Gang usually stayed at their base, drilling with spears and staves, and real martial artists who had cultivated qi and blood held the fort there.

If he attacked these three now, at most he would beat three errand-runners to death. It would serve no purpose, and instead would bring down even greater trouble.

He silently endured it, only letting his figure straighten, intentionally or otherwise, as Whole-Body Power circulated through him.

The fat thug swept a glance over him, and a hidden flicker of wariness flashed deep in his eyes.

"It's enough, all one hundred wen, boss."

The thin thug crouched below finished counting the copper coins, stood up, turned his head to look at Li Chengfeng, and spoke, a restless gleam flickering in his eyes.

"If it's enough, then that's that. Let's go."

The fat thug nodded and, under the thin thug's stunned gaze, turned with a calm expression and walked toward the next household.

The thin thug froze for a moment, glanced at Li Chengfeng, saw his sturdy build, then met Li Chengfeng's narrowed eyes and hurriedly followed.

"Open up! Black River Gang! Time to collect the protection fee..."

As soon as they reached the next house, the thugs' irritable voices immediately rang out. Li Chengfeng turned his head and glanced at them, then returned to his own courtyard with a calm expression.