After reading the newspaper, Li Xiuwen felt his heart surge with excitement.
In my previous life, even the best martial artist feared a kitchen knife. Beyond seven paces, a gun was faster; within seven paces, a gun was both fast and accurate...
In this world, once your martial arts reached a certain level, you really could become impervious to blades and bullets, soar through the sky, and burrow through the earth!
That was why Li Xiuwen wanted nothing else. He devoted himself entirely to pursuing martial arts.
"A Wen, dinner's ready."
"Coming."
At the dining table piled high with odds and ends, Li Xiuwen ate while pondering his grand plan to make money.
"Three years in Fragrant Sea already. Time flies." His aunt-in-law dried her dripping hair. She wore flip-flops and a faded floral dress.
"Thank you for taking me in, Auntie. Otherwise, I'd still be in the Snake Catchers' Snake Den." Li Xiuwen looked grateful.
A few years earlier, the Colonial Government had issued a decree.
Its general meaning was that illegal immigrants from the Prosperous State could obtain a Fragrant Sea Green Card if they successfully entered the Fragrant Sea Urban District and met their local relatives.
Anyone intercepted in the restricted border zone would be deported to the Prosperous State.
After that, large numbers of people left their homes in the Prosperous State to pursue their dreams in Fragrant Sea, hoping to live the fabled life of glittering luxury and dazzling nightlife.
The original owner of his body had smuggled himself into Fragrant Sea three years ago. But the moment his boat reached shore, he was captured by the local Snake-Catcher Group, which specialized in kidnapping illegal immigrants.
His uncle-in-law had paid twenty thousand in ransom to bring him back to the Enclave.
His aunt-in-law smiled. "People say you're timid, but you actually dared to cross the sea in a battered boat with a few people from your hometown... Wasn't the Prosperous State good enough? Why come here to suffer?"
"People told me Fragrant Sea's streets were paved with gold."
"And now that dream's shattered, right? How's life in the Walled City?"
"Pretty good. I can see planes just by looking up. I've never seen one so close in my life."
Although memories of his previous life had awakened, Li Xiuwen still tried hard to imitate the original owner's words and behavior, acting like someone who had never seen the world.
"Planes are nice, but what do they have to do with us..." His aunt-in-law watched the iron-winged aircraft fly overhead and lit a cigarette.
"Auntie, I've made up my mind. Once I save enough for the tuition, I'll go learn martial arts. After I've mastered them, I'll find a way to make money and pay back your ransom first."
"We're family. Why say things like that? Your uncle's money is my money. If it hadn't been for your dad, I'd have starved to death during the famine years."
"That's a separate matter. If it weren't for me, you might've moved out of the Enclave already. I know Uncle hasn't been happy about it these past few years."
"The Enclave's not bad either. At least the [Everjoy Society] looks after us. There's petty trouble, but no major disasters... We can get by."
"That's true."
"You think it's better outside the Enclave? Fragrant Sea's the same everywhere. For people at the bottom like us, it doesn't matter where we live."
"Auntie, don't you want to live in a big villa up in the hills? Drink red wine and look down over Fragrant Sea, like those big bosses in the movies?" Li Xiuwen asked with a smile.
"Of course I do. I even dream about it..." His aunt-in-law rolled her eyes. "But are you going to give me a million? I've been working since the former dynasty, and I still can't afford one."
"There's no chance if you just work an honest job... But learning martial arts could make it possible." Li Xiuwen picked up the copy of Ming Pao he had just bought.
He pointed to an article and said with a cheerful smile, "Look, Auntie. If I can take part in the Crossing River Association this time next year and pass the Learning Society's entrance exam,
"I'll have a chance of getting an apartment in the New Enclave District on the edge of the Enclave. They all have big windows and plenty of sunlight!
"Then we can move into the new place. The old place on Longjin Road will just be a workshop. Nobody will have to live there."
"With that stick-thin body of yours..." His aunt-in-law patted Li Xiuwen's frail shoulder, then compared him with the fist masters in the Grand Arena.
She shook her head and gave a bitter smile. "A Wen, why not forget it? Start looking for a proper job tomorrow, and stay here with me.
"Your uncle and I will support you now, and you can look after us when we're old. We're family. We don't need wealth and glory. All that matters is living a decent life."
"Then we'll be stuck living here forever," Li Xiuwen said unhappily. "This place is too damp. You're still young, and you've already come down with a chill."
"I know getting into the Learning Society would be like a carp leaping through the dragon gate, like a wild chicken becoming a phoenix. But it's just not realistic." His aunt-in-law sounded helpless. "Mr. Ming founded the Learning Society. Over a million people in the Enclave, and countless rich people outside it, all want to get in. It's a whole army trying to cross a single narrow bridge. You might have a better chance of striking it rich by betting on horses or buying lottery slips."
"It's not that bad," Li Xiuwen said.
Horse racing needed no explanation. The lottery slips were this era's lottery.
Those businesses all had shady dealings behind the scenes. He didn't believe in luck, only his own abilities.
"With so many people competing, they only offer thirteen places in the Crossing River Association each year. How hard do you think that is?" his aunt-in-law said.
That's because you've never seen something called the college entrance exam... Li Xiuwen grumbled inwardly.
Seeing how determined A Wen was, his aunt-in-law thought of something. "Did you suddenly decide to learn martial arts because of what happened a month ago?"
A month earlier, on his way home from work, A Wen had been punched unconscious by Brother Ji, a thug from the Children's Gang.
After he woke up, the already timid A Wen became even more fearful. Whenever he went out, he looked nervously around like a rat scurrying across the street, and he no longer dared to walk outside at night.
He was already twenty-one, yet the sight of a few ignorant young delinquents from the Children's Gang could still send him fleeing in terror.
"Yes. Once I learn martial arts, Brother Ji probably won't dare touch us," Li Xiuwen said.
"Have you saved enough for the apprenticeship fee?" His aunt-in-law looked at him with pity.
"Nearly! In another six months at most, I'll be able to start learning. Auntie, take a good look at the nice parts of Fragrant Sea ahead of time. We'll be living there someday!"
Li Xiuwen patted his chest, speaking half in jest.
"How much more do you need?"
"Another two thousand."
"That's not too much," his aunt-in-law murmured. "When your uncle gets back from making deliveries, I'll talk to him."
"Don't, Auntie... I don't want your money. Please don't trouble Uncle." Li Xiuwen hurriedly shook his head.
"What's this? You've grown up now? Want to be independent?" his aunt-in-law asked with a smile.
"No... I just don't want you and Uncle arguing because of me. I'm already staying here and causing you plenty of trouble."
"Your uncle... Ah, he just has a sharp tongue and a soft heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have paid twenty thousand to ransom you in the first place," his aunt-in-law said with a sigh.
"It's precisely because Uncle's a good man that I don't want to trouble him. If he were a bastard like those thugs outside, I wouldn't feel guilty at all."
After finishing his meal, Li Xiuwen left. He had to work at the fish-ball factory that afternoon.
As his aunt-in-law watched A Wen leave, her heart filled with
mixed emotions.
"That little brat is just as stubborn as my second brother! When Brother Yi gets home tonight, I'll make him some nice soup and have a proper heart-to-heart."
That night,
"I'm home." A thin, middle-aged man in a shirt opened the door wearily, dark circles around his eyes.
It was Chen Ziyi, Li Xiuwen's uncle-in-law.
His aunt-in-law wore an apron and greeted him with a smile. "Brother Yi, thanks for working so hard."
"Hm? What's with that tone? Yingmei, what is it?" Chen Ziyi asked suspiciously.
"I made soup. Come in and drink it while it's hot." His aunt-in-law took Chen Ziyi by the arm with a smile.
Chen Ziyi put down his bag and took a sip of soup. "Go on. What is it?"
"Didn't A Wen get into trouble last month? It shook him up, and now he wants to learn martial arts. He's saved two thousand, but it's not enough... Why don't we help him out a little?" his aunt-in-law said.
"Learn martial arts?" Chen Ziyi's expression tightened, and he fell silent.
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