Of Course I Have to Learn Martial Arts

This was... a golden finger!

After sixteen years of transmigration, Zhou Muyun suddenly felt like crying. He had finally gotten something good.

Heaven rewarded diligence; surely it meant that effort would always bring rewards.

Ding-middle bone structure, ding-upper comprehension. Jia, yi, bing, ding—he had no idea whether that was good or bad.

The values after that also seemed related to diligence points. They could probably be used to level up.

For now, that was all Zhou Muyun could make out. The appearance of the golden finger further strengthened his resolve to learn martial arts.

The commotion caused by the Savage Ox Gang soon subsided, and Withered Well Alley returned to silence.

Zhou Muyun went to sleep, planning to tell his mother first thing in the morning that he wanted to learn martial arts.

The night passed quickly, and nothing else happened.

In the morning, the family gathered around for breakfast. Calling it breakfast was generous—it was only a few coarse-grain steamed buns with a bowl of watery porridge.

Yet they still ate with relish. In times like these, having something to eat at every meal was already good enough.

After finishing his porridge, Zhou Muyun set down his bowl and chopsticks and said to Xu Rou,

"Mother, I'm not that young anymore. Working as a porter forever isn't a long-term solution. I want to learn martial arts."

"Why did Yun'er suddenly think of learning martial arts?"

Learning a trade was certainly a good thing, but Xu Rou had never expected her son to want to learn martial arts.

"Because of the times we live in. Because of the Savage Ox Gang," Zhou Muyun said slowly.

At the mention of the Savage Ox Gang, Xu Rou showed a trace of nervousness.

"Could it be that you want to learn martial arts to fight the Savage Ox Gang?

Absolutely not. No matter how capable you become, you can't beat so many of them! Why not learn a trade instead? That would be a more lasting solution."

"Mother, you misunderstand. I don't mean that. I mean that once I become a martial artist, they won't dare bully us so freely.

No matter how much money we make from a trade, won't they still be able to squeeze us whenever they please?

Look at Gu San's older brother. He's a martial artist and works at the County Magistrate's Office. The Savage Ox Gang never causes them trouble."

Beside them, Zhou Tong repeatedly voiced her agreement upon hearing Zhou Muyun's words.

"I think Brother is right too. Mother, just let him learn martial arts!"

Hearing both her son and daughter say so, Xu Rou thought it over and felt that they had a point.

But when she considered that learning martial arts would certainly cost money, she worried again. "Yun'er, learning martial arts will probably require a tuition fee. Our family likely..."

After their father left, the family had already been struggling. It was only in recent years, after Zhou Muyun began working at the docks, that life had improved a little.

Any savings they had were stripped away by the Savage Ox Gang through one pretext or another. There was no way to save money.

In these times, saving money was nothing more than a fantasy for ordinary people. Struggling to stay fed and clothed was the norm.

Mother and son fell silent one after another. Then Zhou Tong suddenly spoke. "Mother, how about we ask Uncle for help?"

Zhou Tong's words reminded Xu Rou of him, but asking for help was not so easy.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Rou said with difficulty, "Fine. I'll swallow my pride and go ask him for help."

Zhou Muyun nodded. There was no better option. They had to seize every shred of hope.

That evening, Zhou Muyun and his mother brought two fresh fish to the home of his uncle, Zhou Yanming.

His uncle Zhou Yanming was half a businessman. With his wife's help, the couple made a decent living reselling small goods.

Their house had red brick walls and gray tile roofing. It was not large, but compared to Zhou Muyun's home, it was practically a mansion.

And it was located in Willow Leaf Alley, closest to the inner city, where security was good and there was no trouble from gangs.

Zhou Muyun remembered that his younger sister's dream was to move into Willow Leaf Alley too.

"I wonder why my younger brother's wife has come to my home?"

Zhou Yanming poured them tea. When he noticed the fish Zhou Muyun was carrying, he immediately guessed they had come for something.

Xu Rou had prepared herself before leaving home, so she went straight to the point.

"Elder Brother, Yun'er isn't young anymore, and he wants to learn martial arts. But after Yan Xin left, you know our family's situation. We truly can't afford the tuition fee."

"Yun'er wants to learn martial arts. That's quite ambitious."

Zhou Yanming turned to Zhou Muyun and said seriously, "But learning martial arts requires not only money, but also hardship and perseverance. Yun'er, have you thought this through?"

"Uncle, I have. I'm not afraid of hardship!"

Zhou Muyun was not lying. He had begun doing hard labor at the docks at fifteen, and over the past year, he had never complained about hardship to Xu Rou.

Seeing Zhou Muyun so determined, Zhou Yanming nodded. "All right. How much do you need? I'll get it for you now."

"Uncle, please lend us eight taels of silver," Zhou Muyun said quickly.

While working at the docks during the day, Zhou Muyun had asked Gu San.

Though Gu San was usually rather unreliable, he knew quite a lot about matters large and small throughout the county.

He said his older brother Gu Zheng knew a martial hall where eight taels of silver would be enough to enroll and study for half a year.

In these times, one could not simply enter a martial hall on a whim. They needed someone to introduce them, and their background had to be clean before the hall would dare accept them.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanming silently rose and entered the inner room. He was clearly going to fetch the money.

Since it was his own nephew, he felt he should help if he could.

Not long after Zhou Yanming entered the inner room, an argument erupted inside.

"Zhou Yanming! Eight taels of silver! Your wife and I work ourselves to the bone for a whole month just to earn a few dozen taels, and you're handing it over just because you feel like it?"

"Xiu Niang, that's Yan Xin's child after all. They even brought fish, and they're borrowing it, not taking it."

"What are a few lousy fish worth? Who can't afford fish? I don't care. He wants to practice martial arts? Has he even looked in the mirror to see whether he's cut out for it? Repay it? With what?"

"You..."

Hearing her uncle and aunt arguing in the inner room, Xu Rou sighed, rose to her feet, and said to Zhou Muyun,

"Yun'er, Mother will think of another way for your martial arts lessons. Leave the fish on the table. We're going home."

Zhou Muyun knew Xu Rou did not want to make things difficult for Zhou Yanming. He placed the fish on the table and quietly left his uncle's home with her.

When the two returned to Withered Well Alley, they had barely entered when they saw government corpse collectors carrying out two bodies.

After asking around, they learned it was the family visited by the Savage Ox Gang the previous night.

The man had been beaten half to death and failed to make it through the afternoon. The woman could not go on living and hanged herself as well.

What a man-eating world, Zhou Muyun sighed inwardly.

Life was unpredictable. What if one day their family could not pay the Savage Ox Gang? What would happen to his mother and sister then?

He had to find a way to gather enough money and begin learning martial arts as soon as possible.

When they returned home, Zhou Tong saw that neither of them looked well and knew they had failed to borrow the money.

Sensibly, she did not ask any questions. She brought the already cooked watery porridge to the table, along with a plate of pickled vegetables.

The mother and her two children sat around the table, eating this bland but filling dinner.

"Younger brother's wife, are Little Yun and Little Tong home?"

Just then, a familiar man's voice sounded outside the door.

"It's Uncle!"

Zhou Tong recognized the owner of the voice at once.

Zhou Muyun looked at his mother. When he saw her nod, he crossed the small courtyard and opened the front gate.

Zhou Yanming stood outside. Seeing his nephew open the door, a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face.

"Uncle, what is it? Come in and talk!" Zhou Muyun welcomed him inside.

Zhou Yanming entered the house and saw the food on the table. A flicker of pity passed through his eyes.

He took a bulging money pouch from his pocket and handed it to the seated Xu Rou.

"Younger brother's wife, I have to support Little Yun learning martial arts. There are ten taels of silver here.

When you have money, just repay me eight taels. Consider the extra two taels a gift from me to the two children."

"How could we accept this... And won't Sister Xiu Niang be angry?"

Xu Rou stared at the money pouch, but her words still declined it. After all, the words from that afternoon were still vivid in her mind.

"Don't worry, younger brother's wife. Since I've given you the money, there's no need to worry."

Only after hearing that did Xu Rou feel at ease enough to put away the money pouch.

"Then I'll be going. Little Yun, study martial arts properly, understand?"

"Yes, Uncle. Why not stay a little longer?"

"No, no. It's getting late."

Once Zhou Yanming saw Xu Rou accept the money, he got up, gave Zhou Muyun a few admonitions, then turned and left the Zhou household.

"Yun'er, you can learn martial arts now."

After her uncle left, Xu Rou excitedly opened the money pouch. Inside were ten taels of gleaming loose silver.

At last, he had a chance to learn martial arts. Looking at the silver, Zhou Muyun breathed a sigh of relief.

After deducting the eight taels for martial arts lessons, two taels would remain, along with the few hundred copper coins the family had saved before.

He felt that even if he began learning martial arts, the family should be able to hold out for half a year.

Tomorrow, I'll resign from my job first, then ask Gu Zheng to take me to the martial hall.

The next day, after resigning from his work early in the morning, Zhou Muyun followed Gu Zheng, who had rushed back, to the entrance of a martial hall.

On the plaque above the martial hall were four large characters: "Greenwood Martial Hall."

Gu Zheng led Zhou Muyun forward and lightly knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A strong, vigorous voice came from inside.

"It's me, Gu Zheng. I've brought someone to study under a master," Gu Zheng answered.

"So it's Constable Gu. Please, come in." A bare-chested man opened the door and ushered them inside.

"The master is in the back courtyard. I'll go inform him now."

Following behind Gu Zheng, Zhou Muyun curiously examined everything inside the hall.