Qu Yuzhi watched his eldest nephew's retreating back.
The other man was powerfully built. He looked honest and simple, even somewhat dull-witted, but in truth he was rough on the outside and meticulous within. Though illiterate, he was ambitious; ever since returning home, he had been using the little booklet Qu Yuzhi had given him to learn to read and write.
He was a very clever person.
Unfortunately, he had been born in a rural village back home, without the good fortune Qu Yuzhi had enjoyed in his youth. He had happened to live through the fall of the previous dynasty, followed by natural disasters and human calamities.
More than half the people in an entire village had died.
They could barely fill their bellies. Attending school was simply impossible.
And now, as a live-in son-in-law of the Qu Household's Fifth Branch, Qu Yuzhi carried little weight. More than half his earnings from teaching had to be handed over to his wife. Supporting the other man's schooling was absolutely beyond his means.
Helping him obtain a work permit and a legal identity within the concession was already no small feat.
As for his nephew wanting to learn martial arts at a martial arts hall, even as an apprentice or menial, Qu Yuzhi had exhausted every connection he could use and tried many times. Yet the several martial arts halls had all rejected him. Either they claimed to have no vacancies, or their asking price was too high for Qu Yuzhi to afford.
Yet this nephew from back home understood propriety and knew when to advance and when to retreat.
And he was especially capable of enduring hardship.
It left Qu Yuzhi in a daze, as though he were seeing his former self—the self who had spared no effort and sought learning everywhere.
"Wait!"
He called Jiang Jingnian over, pulled him into a corner of the corridor, and, after checking that no one was around, lowered his voice. "Good nephew, I've used my connections again these past few days and found a small martial arts hall. I heard they have proper Martial Masters there. Perhaps tomorrow, I'll have a chance to secure you an apprentice position."
"Such a good thing exists?! Then thank you, Fifth Uncle!"
Uncontainable delight appeared on Jiang Jingnian's honest face. Light immediately shone from those brows and eyes that usually carried such bitterness, as if he had glimpsed dawn itself.
He then patted his clothes, took a light step back, and prepared to offer his Fifth Uncle a deep bow, only for the man to stop him with quick hands and sharp eyes.
Qu Yuzhi reached out to block him, gripping Jiang Jingnian's arm tightly. "Thank me once the matter has been settled."
"Alright!"
Jiang Jingnian froze for a moment, then nodded heavily.
After their brief exchange, Qu Yuzhi left the corridor directly, without saying anything further.
After all—
This was Qu territory.
If they said too much and those servant women overheard, Qu Yuzhi's wife would probably raise a terrible fuss.
The night was deep and still.
Having changed and washed up, Jiang Jingnian sat cross-legged on the wooden bed in the side room. It was a cramped, narrow space that had originally been converted from a storage room.
The room was dark and damp, and it even leaked when it rained. It was far worse than the rooms occupied by the servant women.
Yet this was already the best Fifth Uncle Qu Yuzhi could manage.
Qu Yuzhi's wife had flown into a rage at her husband more than once over Jiang Jingnian's affairs. They simply had not completely fallen out yet.
But she had laid down two rules.
First, Jiang Jingnian was not allowed into the main house, nor was he permitted to eat at the same table as them.
A mud-legged country bumpkin from some godforsaken backwater had no right to sit at the table.
Second, apart from obtaining a work permit, no further money was to be spent on Jiang Jingnian. Whether connections, resources, or cash, none could be used.
In the eyes of the Qu family, Jiang Jingnian was worth less than a menial servant.
At least servants had been chosen by them, could serve them, pour their tea and fetch their water, and, most importantly, were cheap.
Why spend anything on some destitute mud-legged peasant?
As for why Qu Yuzhi's wife, Qu Qiaoyun, was so harsh—so utterly devoid of warmth—
There was naturally a deeper meaning behind it.
Qu Yuzhi was a live-in son-in-law.
The Jiang Household relatives from Qu Yuzhi's past, especially half-grown boys like this one, were people who needed guarding against.
Great households were not foolish. When it came to live-in sons-in-law, they naturally had their own set of rules to restrain their conduct.
As a live-in son-in-law, by rites and custom, he should not have had any contact with relatives from his old family. Contact was one thing, but now he had even brought someone into the household for a temporary stay.
This was only possible because Qu Qiaoyun truly had feelings for her husband and had already yielded a great deal.
Moreover, she had done so because Jiang Jingnian's parents had once bestowed the immense grace of saving her husband Qu Yuzhi's life and supporting his education.
Repaying such a great debt of gratitude was only natural. Otherwise, what difference was there between a person and a stone?
Thus, as his wife, she had merely turned a blind eye. Toward her husband, who knew gratitude and repaid it, she felt both love and resentment.
But no matter what—
She could yield no further.
In this increasingly chaotic world, everyone needed their own bottom line. Those without one would sooner or later be eaten clean, flesh and bone alike, and become dry skeletons in a grave.
One could only say that every family had its own difficult scripture to recite.
Jiang Jingnian glanced at the dripping ceiling, breathed in the damp, rotten stench hanging in the air, then gathered his focus.
A glint flashed in his eyes.
A translucent attribute panel appeared before him.
[Name: Jiang Jingnian] [Trait: Taotie] [Art: Taiji Vajra Art (Beginner)] [Archetype: Ordinary Person (99%)]
"Just a tiny bit more."
When Jiang Jingnian was alone, he no longer had the honest, simple look he displayed before others. Instead, due to his martial training, swelling blood and qi, and increased strength, he carried an inexplicable air of an eagle looking back and a wolf eyeing its prey.
He climbed down from the wooden bed.
Barefoot on the floor, he began practicing the moves of the Taiji Vajra Art within the cramped, constricted room.
Although it was an Art that advanced him directly—
In his mind, however, it seemed as though he had rehearsed it countless times. It had long since been carved into his bones.
He was like an old master who had immersed himself in martial arts for many years.
The space was narrow.
It looked inconvenient to perform techniques there.
Yet every movement he made—every punch, every raised leg—was precisely contained within that tiny space.
Just like his current circumstances.
"Though my body is trapped within this tiny square of space."
"My heart is boundless."
"My path... too, knows no restraint."
"Months of bitter cultivation, trembling with fear, treading on thin ice—only then have I reached the day of such insight!"
As he practiced martial arts, the golden sheen in Jiang Jingnian's dark pupils grew more abundant and more distinct.
Until a golden light finally burst from his eyes.
It was as though some old shackles—
Had suddenly been torn free from his body.
Jiang Jingnian's already vigorous blood and qi directly broke through some vital pass within his abdomen.
Then it condensed without dispersing.
It formed a round Blood Core, roughly the size of several fingers, which was still slowly expanding.
If his original blood and qi were compared to an unstable gaseous state, then this condensed Blood Core was solid. Whether in strength or explosive force, it was no longer on the same level as before.
An inexplicable confidence rose within him.
He believed that if he faced his pre-advancement self, he should be able to defeat it within a few exchanges.
"This... should be the martial blood and qi of this world?"
Even though Jiang Jingnian had broken through to become a martial artist, at most he could only be called a self-taught Rogue Cultivator who had luckily stepped through the door of martial arts.
Thus, all his current deductions were based on the contents of the Taiji Vajra Art.
Then the young man's gaze sharpened as he glanced at his panel.
[Name: Jiang Jingnian] [Trait: Taotie] [Art: Taiji Vajra Art (Beginner)] [Archetype: Martial Master (Blood Tempering 3%)]
Martial Master!
And the Blood Tempering after it should be one of the stages within the Martial Master realm.
Jiang Jingnian carefully recalled the Vajra Art's description.
The beginner-level Taiji Vajra Art—
Only contained the three stages of Martial Master.
Blood Tempering.
Bone Tempering.
Marrow Tempering.
As for realms beyond that, he knew nothing at all.
Perhaps he would need to gather special items and advance the beginner-level Taiji Vajra Art to proficiency once more.
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