Borrowing Money

Duan Xuan walked into his family's small courtyard, covered in dust and grime.

He gently closed the waist-high fence of weeds and crossed the yard in a few strides to the only house.

Creak!

It was the wooden door his father had had a carpenter make back when he was still alive and well.

Now, like the world itself, it was rotten and fragile. No matter how lightly Duan Xuan moved, it still let out a teeth-grating sound.

"Xuan'er, is that you?" There had long been no oil lamp in the house.

To make it easier for his mother to see, Duan Xuan had dug a hole into one side of the wall and smeared tree resin around both sides.

Then he tossed dry old pine branches into the hollow. The broken wood with branches attached would slowly catch fire.

Bringing a sliver of light to their dim home.

"Mother, it's me!" Duan Xuan coughed several times, setting his bow, arrows, and small curved knife somewhere within easy reach.

He immediately washed his mother's handkerchief and laid it back over her face.

Burning pine branches certainly saved money, but its drawback was obvious: it produced thick smoke.

If the house had truly been airtight, the constant smoke and choking fumes would have been more than their bodies could bear.

"Xuan'er, why do you look so downcast? Did you fail to catch anything again today? It's all right, it's all right. Mother has eaten.

There's still a small bowl of thin porridge in the pot. Mother saved it for you."

Duan Xuan made a silencing gesture and went over to the broken door.

By the faint light, he saw three broad, burly figures passing by the front of the house. Only after quite a while did he take off his clothes.

He placed a large chunk of rabbit meat crusted with ice on the earthen kang bed.

"Uncle Li's family got hit. It was Wolf Stronghold's doing!" Duan Xuan had long expected that Two-Scar would not let him pass so easily.

With that thief's temperament, even if you were a penniless beggar, he would scrape three feet of grease off you before he was satisfied.

If he brought out a large piece of rabbit meat, not a scrap would be left.

So he had left the piece Zhao Rui gave him outside, pretending he had failed to catch any more prey.

"Poor Old Li's wife and her two wretched children.

Those beasts from Wolf Stronghold deserve to die!

And in four days, we have to pay for some Mountain God sacrifice again. How are we supposed to live like this?" Duan Xuan's mother, Zhou Fang, cursed bitterly.

Tears hung in the corners of her eyes. In the past,

when her husband was around, life had at least been passable. But now, all she had left was her short, thin, frail son.

He was only in his teens, yet he had to bear hardships he never should have borne.

Duan Xuan naturally knew that his mother's heart ached for him. He went over and gently patted her hand. "Mother.

Everything will get better, and I'll definitely find Father."

Grrr~

Zhou Fang's stomach growled traitorously.

Of course Duan Xuan understood. His mother was bedridden and believed she had no need to eat, no right to eat.

Every day, she simply waited for him to return so he could have one meal.

But the bitter winter had not yet fully passed. For Snakehead Ravine to see truly warm weather, they would have to wait until at least May or June.

Winter was the season to store fat, and hunger was undoubtedly the cruelest torture to endure.

He stood and hurried into the kitchen. The rice jar had long been scraped clean, leaving only a thin layer of rice bran.

Scrape, scrape.

Using a spoon so thin it could scarcely be thinner, Duan Xuan scraped hard several times, removing all the rice bran stuck to the jar.

Then, with practiced efficiency, he used snow saved earlier to wash the blood from the wild rabbit until its gamey smell had faded.

Only then did he put the whole thing into the pot and stew it together with the rice bran.

That would make the fullest use of the rabbit's fat.

"Xuan'er, when do you think your father will return? How is he doing now?

Did he truly abandon the two of us? Did he go off with some noble person from the imperial city to live a good life?"

Zhou Fang gazed at the ceiling with tears in her eyes.

Life was bitter. She did not dare imagine that her husband was truly dead, so she could only deceive herself with every possible excuse.

"Father isn't that kind of person."

"Today, Chunmei and Little Rui's parents passed by our place and came in to have a look.

Those two children are leaving Snakehead Ravine now as well.

Mother thought you should learn a trade, so you won't have to keep going into the mountains to hunt and suffer so much.

Hunting is too dangerous. Mother worries about you!"

People of every era believed that as long as one had a trade to rely on, one would not starve to death. In truth, that was indeed the case.

"Learning a trade is good, but it takes quite a bit of money, doesn't it?

For now, we still need to save our money for those Wolf Stronghold mongrels. Otherwise, Mother and I won't survive this winter."

Duan Xuan naturally understood that spending the family's last savings on a trade for him would certainly be a good thing.

But what would happen when Wolf Stronghold came to collect money?

If they could not pay, their arms and legs would be broken, and even the entire house might be burned to the ground.

In this era, money was not called money. It was called the root of one's life!

That was the cleverness of gangs and mountain bandits: they kept squeezing you dry, leaving you unable to spend money elsewhere.

In the end, it could only keep flowing into their hands.

"Then, then... go to your grandfather's place. We'll borrow it, and Mother will repay it.

Mother can make several pieces of fur every day now. In five years... ten years, I'll definitely repay the money for your trade!"

Duan Xuan stared silently at the pot bubbling away.

Early the next morning, Duan Xuan made Zhou Fang a bowl of rice bran porridge to warm her stomach, then carried a better piece of cooked rabbit meat out the door.

Snakehead Ravine was a huge village located in a valley amid the Hundred Thousand Mountains along the dynasty's border.

Rather than a village, it was more like a town!

The people here had lived by hunting for generations, while a large number had fled here from other valleys.

They were deeply rejected by the locals and could only live on the outskirts.

Thus, Snakehead Ravine was divided into the new district and the old district.

Most of those living in the old district were poor people whose families had put down roots in Snakehead Ravine for generations.

Duan Xuan's grandfather and his second uncle's family lived here. Two low thatched-roof houses came into view.

Duan Xuan called out and entered through the door.

An utterly ordinary old man sat upright in the middle of the kang bed.

His grandmother, her old eyes dim and her hair gray, leaned against the bedding in a corner.

In the room to the right was his second uncle's family, who had been pampered since childhood.

There was not even a single callus on their hands.

They did not look like people from Snakehead Ravine at all.

Who knew what Second Aunt had eaten, but the grease on her face was far richer than the fat on the rabbit in Duan Xuan's hands.

The child sitting beside Second Uncle and Second Aunt was Duan Xuan's younger cousin, Second Uncle's biological son, Duan Xu.

He was three to five years younger than Duan Xuan, but he had grown up under the care of their grandfather and grandmother.

He was still half a head taller than Duan Xuan, and his protruding belly could hold two Duan Xuans.

Though the house was shabby, Old Master Duan ran two small shops.

Although Wolf Stronghold had skimmed off nearly all the profits, they clearly showed no signs of being unable to keep food on the table.

The old couple doted most on Second Uncle's family and this fat grandson, living frugally.

All the good food in the household went into those three mouths.

Duan Xuan set down the rabbit meat in his hand. The sly-looking woman standing on the left took it with both hands.

She was Duan Xuan's grandfather's third daughter, born in his old age—his young aunt, Duan Xin.

She was only three to five years older than Duan Xuan.

She had an oval face, phoenix eyes, and features so delicate that she did not seem to belong to this family.

"Xuan'er, you're here!"

Her voice was crisp but not delicate, and her temperament was quite good. She was the only person in this house Duan Xuan could speak with.

"Auntie." Duan Xuan nodded. His young aunt patted his little head and took the rabbit meat into the kitchen.

"Oh, so it's Nephew Xuan. What brings you to your grandfather's house today?"

Second Aunt hid something behind her back, but Duan Xu snatched it away.

Without the slightest politeness, he stuffed his face with it. It was a plate of oily pig head meat.

Watching the entire family feast with such enjoyment, Duan Xuan seemed utterly out of place, yet he saw everything clearly.

The original owner of this body had hated coming here since childhood because Grandfather's family was terribly biased.

Not only had they let Second Uncle's family eat and drink here for free, they had also handed all rights to run the shops to Second Uncle.

As for Duan Xuan's own family, when the shops had been in their most difficult straits, they had stepped in to help.

Yet his father had not gained the slightest benefit. All the money they had put in was taken and spent by Second Uncle.

At times, Second Uncle's family would even use Old Master's name to borrow money from them.

They claimed it was a joint investment and there would be dividends at year's end, but in truth, it was all squandered on food, drink, prostitutes, and gambling.

Thinking of this, Duan Xuan felt a wave of disgust.

Old Master Duan, Duan Jiantao, sat in the seat of honor with a cold expression throughout.

He looked at his eldest grandson, dressed in utter rags, and showed no intention of asking him to sit. "Duan Xuan, what are you doing at Grandfather's house so early?"

"We can't keep food on the table at home..."

"Ah, your eldest brother was taken away by those dog bastards from the imperial court. You mother and son have truly suffered.

You're not that young anymore. You can't keep eating and drinking for free at home all day. You need to learn from your Second Uncle.

Find a shop and do some business. Look at this—by the end of the year, you can even eat pig head meat.

You'd earn more than your family does from hunting!"

Second Uncle Duan Tao seemed to be offering advice and plotting a path forward for Duan Xuan, but his words were full of flaunting and contempt.

Duan Xuan ignored him. What right did a man living off his parents have to lecture him?

If Old Master had not favored him, this man would not even be fit to make a living from hunting.

"Yes, yes, your Second Uncle is thinking of your best interests!"

Duan Xuan narrowed his eyes. His cousin Duan Xu walked past him.

His fat, powerful body slammed hard into Duan Xuan, nearly knocking him face-first to the ground.

Duan Xuan abruptly turned around and saw Duan Xu's lips curl upward.

His mung-bean-sized eyes brimmed with amusement. "Cousin, can someone as skinny as you hunt?

Then again, perhaps it makes sense. Even wolves, tigers, and leopards would lose their appetite just looking at you!"

"Grandfather, I want to learn a trade, but there's no money left at home. I came to borrow a little from you..."

Duan Xuan did not respond to the taunts from his cousin, Second Uncle, and the rest. There was no point in quibbling with these relatives who looked down on people like dogs judging others by their clothes. It was too childish.

"Learning a trade is good. With a trade, you won't starve to death. At least you won't be like your father, unable even to build a house.

He could only go to the outer district, and what happened in the end?

He did not even get a decent ending. The imperial court requisitioned him, and to this day, he hasn't sent back so much as a word."

Old Master Duan Jiantao snorted coldly. He clearly had not the slightest concern for his eldest son.

Instead, he was thoroughly dissatisfied with him.

"That's enough. The eldest has his own difficulties..." Grandmother, in the corner, interrupted Duan Jiantao.

No matter how old a child became, they were still a piece of flesh fallen from their mother's body. Moreover, Grandmother felt guilty toward Duan Xuan's father, Duan Jian.

Back then, Duan Jian had insisted on splitting the household because it was simply too difficult for such a large family to eat from the same pot.

If he had not left, the entire family would have lived in dire straits.

He had chosen hunting because the family shops did not earn enough to support everyone.

And the one who had truly liked hunting was Second Uncle.

Though Duan Tao was lazy and greedy, his hunting skills were quite good.

If the eldest son had not moved out and the second son had chosen hunting, then when the imperial court came to Snakehead Ravine to requisition hunters,

the one it fell upon would likely have been him.

The one with no news now would have been the second son.

"It's good that you have the mind to learn a trade. Don't follow your father into the wrong path. Go get some for Xuan'er—"

"Old man, where do we have spare money for Xuan'er to learn a trade?

Have you forgotten?

The meat we're eating was bestowed by the Scale Python Martial Academy. Their master has taken a liking to Xu'er.

He plans to accept him as an indoor disciple!" Second Aunt spoke up, cutting off Duan Jiantao.

"Yes, yes, we have no spare money left. We need to save it to pay Xu'er's tuition.

The master of the Scale Python Martial Academy carries great weight throughout Yellow Snake County.

Once he becomes that man's disciple, would Wolf Stronghold still dare bully us?

Xu'er is only thirteen this year, and his future is boundless. For Master Lin to take a liking to him

and send people bearing meat, his bones and talent must be extraordinary.

Once he completes his studies and becomes a martial graduate, a top martial scholar, our family will rise to prosperity.

But if the tuition money is not enough, then no matter how much Master Lin cherishes talent, I'm afraid he still won't be able to take Xu'er in!"

Seeing that Duan Jiantao was still somewhat hesitant, Second Aunt simply stepped forward.

She held the scraps Duan Xu had eaten in front of Duan Jiantao. "Father, look, this is the meat Xu'er specially saved for you.

Just now, Xu'er even said that the meat had to be given to Grandpa first. Once he became the martial champion in the future,

he would definitely be a good grandson to you.

He would buy you a grand house fit for the Emperor himself, and he said he would build you an especially huge tomb as well.

Even after you passed beyond this world, he would make sure you enjoyed every blessing!"

After hearing all that, Duan Jiantao's expression clearly changed.

Of course, he knew what it meant to become an inner disciple of a martial arts school.

He understood even better what it would mean if his grandson truly passed the martial examinations and became the martial champion.

From then on, the Duan Family would become one of the greatest clans under heaven.

They would enjoy all the glory, wealth, and honor in the world.

"Xuan'er, you heard it too. Your younger brother has caught the eye of Wildwood Martial Arts School.

I never expected him to bring such immense honor to our Duan Family. You should feel honored.

As for learning a trade, let's leave it at that for now. Once your younger brother finishes his studies, having him teach you a couple of moves will be enough to last you a lifetime.

When the time comes, whether you work as a wealthy household's thug or guard their gates and courtyard, you'll spend less and earn more than you would learning a trade.

Can you understand your grandfather's painstaking intentions?"

Second Uncle Duan Tao and Second Aunt both let out long breaths. Hidden beneath the dim light, they exchanged a glance.

Trying to pry money out of their hands? Not a chance.

Their precious son was about to become the martial champion. No one was allowed to come and spoil it!

Duan Xuan raised his head again. His grandmother in the corner had already fallen silent, while his grandfather was completely lost in fantasy.

He imagined himself living in a grand house in a few days, its rooms dazzling with gold and jade, no longer sleeping on a kang bed.

Instead, he would sleep in a soft, large bed warmed by servants.

Delicacies from mountains and seas would be stuffed into his mouth by the great mouthful.

The moment he stepped outside, the neighbors would cry out, "Master Duan!"

What a wonderful feeling that was!

Picking up a scrap of pig head meat and stuffing it into his mouth,

Duan Jiantao suddenly felt that having a martial champion for a grandson was truly wonderful...