Where to Go, Preparing to Break Through

The cloth bundle struck the tabletop with a heavy thud.

Su Cheng's heart jolted.

Not copper coins—this was the sound of silver.

"So much?"

Forcing his trembling hands still, he carefully untied it.

Inside were silver cakes, silver ingots, and a pile of broken silver bits. They came in all sizes and varying purity.

Altogether, there had to be at least forty taels.

"Xiao... He..."

Su Cheng felt his throat grow dry.

Hadn't all the family's money been spent on martial manuals? How could there still be so much left?

If he had known this earlier, why would he have gone to risk his life with the Brotherhood?

"Brother, where did you get so much money?"

Su Haitao felt as though he had suddenly risen into the clouds.

What had once been their greatest difficulty had abruptly vanished like smoke.

The faint resentment he had harbored toward his brother for being swindled also dissipated at once.

"Xiao He, you..."

"Ah..."

Chen Guilan's heart clenched sharply, and her legs went weak.

She had not seen the silver, but she had heard that heavy impact.

A pair of steady, powerful hands supported her.

"Mother, I told you last time that I'd signed a contract with the trade house. This is what I earned working there over the past half year."

Su Xinghe supported his mother and helped her sit back down at the table.

"For the past six months, I've actually been working under the trade house. I just didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd worry."

"Brother, are you a martial artist?"

Su Haitao's thoughts leaped about, and he immediately recovered from his joy.

Su Xinghe shook his head.

"How could becoming a martial artist be so easy? How long have I even practiced martial arts?"

"Then you..."

"I'm only a guard under the trade house..."

"Then why didn't you tell us, Brother?"

Su Cheng silently gathered up the bundle, his eyes carrying a trace of moisture.

A guard...

The Lu Family Farm outside the city had them too.

It was a highly paid profession, but also one that required facing bloodshed and death at any moment. Even a family as powerful as the Lus occasionally had blind fools of bandits coming to their door to lose their heads.

He lightly slapped the table.

Cutting off Su Haitao's endless chatter.

"Why aren't you helping your mother cook?!"

In the end, they decided.

The wedding date would be set for the eighth day of next month.

The Su family's ancestral home was only thirty square meters, divided by wooden boards into front and rear rooms.

The ground floor held the courtyard, kitchen, and main hall. In the loft, the two elders shared one room, while the brothers shared another.

But tonight.

What had originally been a single bed had become a double bed.

After their reunion following a long separation, Chen Guilan stroked her husband's chest, now rough and gaunt enough for its bones to show.

It felt both familiar and strange.

As though time had passed in the blink of an eye, and the two of them had both grown old. Even their children were about to marry and have children of their own.

"Brother Cheng, let me go to the farm with you from now on. Just like before, I'll wash your clothes and cook for you. We can work the fields together, and you won't have to struggle alone anymore."

Su Cheng did not answer.

His younger son was getting married. They truly ought to free up a room. Though it was only a tiny room, it would be the foundation for his son's family to establish themselves in the city.

He raised his callused hand and gently brushed through his wife's hair, which had unknowingly turned streaked with gray.

"Go to sleep."

"Mhm."

In the small courtyard.

The two brothers were still enjoying the evening cool.

"Brother, is the Ascending Dragon Stance we learned really that amazing?"

Holding his stance, Su Haitao asked excitedly.

"Don't you already know whether it's amazing or not?"

Su Xinghe leaned against the well, his tone carrying a hint of teasing helplessness.

His younger brother had learned that virility-boosting art and now gotten someone else's girl pregnant. The sounds from the two elders upstairs had only just stopped as well.

Was it impressive?

Did he really need confirmation from him, a single dog?

Unfortunately, Golden Ape Fist was a secret art of the trade house and could not be practiced privately. His younger brother was also past the age at which martial academies accepted students, and buying a registered disciple slot would cost a hundred taels.

They could only wait until he became a martial artist, then think of another way.

A rustling came from atop the courtyard wall, and a petite figure climbed over it before carefully lowering herself down.

"Little Sister Ya!"

Su Haitao called softly.

He was not surprised. When they were children, the four of them often visited one another this way to play. But as they had grown older, it had been a long time since they had secretly gathered beneath the moon to chat.

"Second Brother."

The other girl replied quietly, then tiptoed out from the shadow beneath the wall.

"Where's Sister Jing?"

Su Haitao looked up at the empty wall. In the past, the two sisters had always come together.

"My sister... she's asleep."

As Zhao Ya spoke, her gaze swept wildly around the courtyard.

At last, she found Su Xinghe sitting by the well in the corner.

"Big Brother Su!"

In a flash, she ran over and sat down beside him.

"Second Brother, I heard you're getting married?"

"Mhm, on the eighth of next month."

"Your family definitely has to come drink at the wedding."

Putting aside his worries, Su Haitao said with a smile he could not suppress.

"I'll definitely come see the bride. Don't forget to make her call me Older Sister when the time comes."

"Yu'er is older than you!"

"Hmph, I don't care..."

Listening to the two of them chat and bicker beside him.

Su Xinghe raised his head toward the sky, and his thoughts gradually drifted far away.

By the time he came back to himself.

Only the two of them remained in the courtyard again.

"Brother, don't you like Sister Jing anymore?"

Su Haitao sat down beside the well too.

He nudged his silent elder brother with his elbow.

Su Xinghe tilted his head back slightly.

His gaze fell beneath the pitch-black eaves of their home.

This family was about to welcome a new mistress of the household.

Their parents would certainly remain in the city, and his younger brother's family could not be cast out beyond the city walls either.

Where should he go...

After considering it again and again, he could only follow the example of those old hands in the gang—find a corner in the warehouse and stay there for a while.

Once he had silver in the future, he could buy a small courtyard.

Then the whole family could live together in lively warmth. How wonderful would that be?

"You should rest early. I'm going to stand watch at the trade house."

With that, he got to his feet, preparing to leave.

Su Haitao froze, then hurriedly stood as well.

"Brother! We're going back to the farm early tomorrow morning."

The two had not seen each other for half a year, and he had wanted to chat with his brother a little longer. He wanted to tell him amusing things from the farm and hear about the wonders of martial arts.

Su Xinghe turned around and looked at the youthful boy before him.

In his previous life, someone this age should still have been a high school student. Yet here, he was already about to become a father.

"Tell Father for me that I won't be rushing back tomorrow morning."

After saying that, he raised a hand and patted the other's shoulder.

The night sank like water. In the dark alley, a figure walked slowly away with resolute steps.

At the courtyard gate behind him, Su Haitao watched that tall back gradually disappear, falling into deep thought.

His elder brother had become less talkative. Did all men become like this after growing up...

Behind Eight-Zhang Street.

The warehouse hall was littered with drunkards reeking of alcohol, sprawled every which way. In a partitioned room nearby, people were gambling with cards through the night.

"Brother Blackie, what brings you here tonight?"

Six had an arm around a ponytailed girl in a tight long dress as he swayed to his feet by the window.

The girl's gaze was cool, though her face held a touch of maidenly shyness. She hid herself in the shadow cast by the candlelight behind her and secretly watched this uninvited guest.

"Carry on. I'm heading to the back courtyard."

Six was one of the few people in the Great River Gang who knew that Su Xinghe had been summoned by the trade house out front.

He had his suspicions too.

So he was not surprised.

"Then go ahead and get busy. Just call if you need anything. I'm on the door tonight."

Su Xinghe nodded, crossed the hall, and pushed the door open as he left.

There were no women in the Great River Gang. These rough men usually could only pass the time by gambling and drinking.

He had not expected that on the rare occasion he returned at night, he would see a different sort of scene.

It was the same job of guarding the door, yet others clearly knew how to have more fun than he did.

"Anyone practicing publicly shall receive one hundred strokes!"

With those three harsh prohibitions in place, he had nowhere else to go.

Because tonight.

Would be the day he broke through to Inner Tempering, and he did not want to delay it.

Side courtyard, training ground.

When Su Xinghe stepped through the gates, he discovered that several disciples were still practicing their fists beneath the moonlight.

Among the crowd was the figure of a young martial artist.

The young master, Zhou Hao.

He had only learned that name after coming to the training ground.

He was the third son of Zhou Yingjun, the young gang leader. At only eighteen, he had already completed Body Tempering and begun Bone Forging.

It was said that he practiced a true eighth-rank martial art. Relying on the trade house's abundant resources and his exceptional talent, he was far ahead of others his age.

Watching that youthful figure sweat beneath the moonlight, even Su Xinghe could not help admiring his diligence.

He had a family background, and he was willing to work hard.

Only then could Veteran's Trade House be passed down from generation to generation and preserve this vast family enterprise of a hundred years.