Moving Plans

He came down from the attic.

Outside, the blazing sun hung high, and heat haze rose in waves.

The moment Su Xinghe stepped out of the courtyard gate, several watchful gazes fell upon him.

They wore dark, fitted clothes, with dark skin and burly builds. Every one of them had a vicious face; at a glance, they were clearly gang members as well.

The eight of them had blocked the alley from both ends, sealing it tight as an iron barrel.

With Elder Xie's warning, he had long been prepared.

Before they could surround him, he took the initiative and headed toward Nanzhi Avenue.

Four burly men blocked the way here. Since non-martial artists were forbidden from carrying weapons within the city, each of them held a thick wooden club as a weapon.

That also indirectly revealed this group's strength.

The man in front pointed his wooden club at him, forcing a smile that was not a smile.

"Boy!"

"Are you going to hand over the silver obediently, or..."

Without waiting for him to finish, Su Xinghe shot out his left hand, wrapping his wrist around the tip of the club. His five fingers clenched, and he yanked hard as his right leg lashed toward the man's lower abdomen.

Smack!

Amid a hurried, muffled groan, the hundred-plus-pound brute was kicked off his feet and crashed into the three companions behind him.

"Bold!"

Seeing this, the few thugs at the other end of the alley hurried over to offer support.

But Su Xinghe already had the long club in hand. Taking advantage of the collision that had thrown the men before him into disarray, he used the club as a spear and unleashed the Army-Breaking Spear technique.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Under three lightning-fast strikes, the four burly men clutched their stomachs and fell to the ground.

In the attic beside them, three figures watched silently.

It was not that they refused to show themselves. Rather, not acting now was the best response. If outsiders discovered their true circumstances, it might bring a calamity that would wipe them out.

In the courtyard opposite, a group sat in a pavilion drinking tea and chatting.

Several gazes collided between the two sides, some filled with disdain and contempt, others with gloating delight at their misfortune.

After all, this was within the city. Su Xinghe did not dare strike to kill.

Otherwise, if the constables from the Public Security Office were drawn over, things would become terribly troublesome. Yet he had only just received his severance pay, and someone was already blocking the road to rob him.

He did not believe there was no hidden trick behind it.

Before the four men behind him could catch up, he had already left the alley and reached Nanzhi Avenue.

Sure enough, once they reached the street, the thugs stopped shouting about fighting and killing. They merely followed some distance behind him in silence, disappearing only after he left the southern part of the city.

Seeing that, Su Xinghe relaxed.

He was no longer affiliated with the gang, so there was naturally no question of crossing boundaries.

In broad daylight, he did not return to Tongzi Ward.

Instead, he went to Narcissus Street in the west of the city and found the warehouse that had once belonged to the Brokerage Guild.

Narcissus Street sounded rather pleasant by name,

but it was nothing more than a pitted dirt road.

Still, all of western city was like this. At the very least, carriages could still pass along this street.

The warehouse was also tucked away in a remote spot.

Aside from a row of barely decent shopfront houses along the street on both sides, the low courtyards behind them pressed up against Tongzi Ward's walls.

The limewashed courtyard had peeled in patches and looked rather old. The place was not large, with less than five mu of land in total.

The houses were ready-made, but renovations had not yet begun. Quite a few carriages stood at the entrance, unloading timber and goods.

Watching the bustling worksite, the tension that had gripped him since last night gradually eased.

This should be where he would stay from now on, as well as the new starting point of his martial path. Ever since he had agreed to that contract, he had been tied to the Zhou Family for good.

Thinking back on the past half year in the underworld,

it had not actually been so bad.

He had suffered losses and injuries.

But he had learned genuine martial arts without spending silver, and he had survived yesterday's attack.

It seemed Heaven still favored him.

A third-rate force, the White Ape Martial Academy...

From a disposable gang disciple to a martial academy apprentice, he now had a fairly decent identity within the city.

It was equivalent to finding a martial academy where he could learn genuine skills.

But there was still a loophole.

That was the former owner's identity as a blood slave of the Red Lotus Branch, along with the Peaceful Heaven Sect organization at Lu Family Farm. Though he was not some important figure, there were still several people who knew him well.

Once exposed,

not only would he be taken away, but his family would be dragged into it as well.

He had to speed up his martial training and eliminate those sect members as soon as possible. Fortunately, the Peaceful Heaven Sect was like a rat crossing the street in Lin County, with everyone shouting to beat it. As long as he did not go out, he would generally be safe.

Lu Family Farm...

He needed to find a way to bring his nominal father and younger brother back to the city as soon as possible.

This was a weak point.

It would make it easy for them to notice that he was still alive, perhaps even about to become a martial artist. Could he use Haitao's wedding to keep the two of them here?

It was just that the old house was somewhat too small...

His parents would most likely choose to leave on their own...

He touched the three banknotes in his clothes, and a thought arose.

Buy a house...

That tempting thought was swiftly crossed out. He should keep a low profile and rent somewhere for a while first.

He would consider such things after becoming a martial artist and gaining some strength.

Suppressing the restlessness in his heart, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

With that thought in mind, he immediately began acting.

He walked around nearby for a while, then headed toward a brokerage shop along the street.

Half an hour later.

Several hundred meters north of the martial academy, in an even more secluded street-facing courtyard in the rear alley of Tongzi Ward.

"Young master, you have a good eye. This courtyard used to belong to Manager Liu, Lord Liu. It was built less than fifty years ago. It was only left vacant because this manager was assigned to watch over an estate outside the city."

The brokerage clerk was showing the client around. Although the man did not look as though he could afford the rent, business was business—one always had to hope for the best.

"Thirty taels a year. You absolutely will not lose out."

"You have the nerve to ask thirty taels for a courtyard in Tongzi Ward? At that price, I could rent a river-view house by Central River in the south of the city."

Su Xinghe frowned the moment he heard the price.

He only earned thirty-six taels a year at the martial academy, yet renting a place would cost him this much.

"Young master, I can tell from your accent that you are a city man. You should know that the peace tax and clean water fee in the south and west of the city are not the same. If you rented such a small courtyard in the south, you would have to spend another five taels a year."

"Besides, this is not Tongzi Ward. It is a Narcissus Street storefront house."

Su Xinghe looked at the pitted road outside the entrance. It was barely any better than the dirt paths between fields in rural villages from his previous life.

But it was still much better than the narrow alley by his old house, where one had to lower a spear just to pass another person.

Gritting his teeth, he named another price.

"Enough. Twenty taels a year, final offer!"

"Young master, twenty taels truly will not do. This is a street-facing house with two shops."

"A street-facing house means additional shop taxes..."

"How about you come with me, honored guest? We can have a cup of tea with the manager."

The house was not large. In front was a two-story street-facing building of fifty square meters, with a modest courtyard in the middle, and a two-story row house at the rear.

Altogether, it covered only around one hundred and thirty square meters.

The main reason Su Xinghe liked the place was its seclusion.

With the courtyard in the middle, it was enclosed by toilets and storage rooms on both sides, covering a modest twenty to thirty square meters.

If he wanted to practice martial arts in the future, he could do so here.

Once they reached the Brokerage Guild and met the manager, things indeed became much easier to discuss.

After haggling for a quarter of an hour, he finally rented it for two years with fifty taels.

Sure enough, living in the city was no easy task.

The old house his family owned in Tongzi Ward had been passed down through who knew how many generations.

Looking at how much silver he still had left,

a thought surfaced.

Once the martial academy opened, he planned to ask Elder Xie to sell him some Qi-Replenishing Pills and see whether they could speed up his martial progress.

The owner had only just moved out, and the Brokerage Guild had cleaned the inside thoroughly.

As for the drinking well in the courtyard, Su Xinghe planned to hire someone to dredge it again.

This came from those palace intrigue dramas and strange novels he had seen in his memories. The female leads and servants in those wealthy estates always liked tossing all sorts of bizarre things into wells.

In the end, the entire family would drink "nutrient fluid" for years.

After inspecting every room, he found that they could move in once some furniture was added.

Seeing that it was still early, he found a timber shop nearby. He spent several taels of silver to furnish the new home with three sets of furniture.

The shop owner was decent enough to throw in quite a few stools and small benches.

One set of furniture was placed on the second floor of the street-facing building, while the other two went into the rear row house.

According to his plan, he would live in the street-facing house himself.

The second floor was about fifty square meters, enough for a bedroom and a sitting room. He chose the larger room as the bedroom, where he could practice martial arts as well.

The two-story row house in the rear would be given to his parents and younger brother's family, with the front first floor serving perfectly as a sitting room and kitchen.

By the time everything was finished, lanterns had begun to light up.

Stepping through the dusk, he took a winding route.

Only after confirming that no one was following him did Su Xinghe return to the alley in Tongzi Ward.

At the mouth of the alley,

a small, thin black shadow stood quietly, as though he had been waiting for a long time.

The moment he saw Su Xinghe, the worry vanished from his face.

"Boss..."

Before he could speak, Su Xinghe waved his hand.

"Go back and eat first. I'll come find you later."

"Alright, Boss!"

Such a huge incident had happened in the south of the city last night. If this fellow started talking, he would probably go on for half the day.

Today, Su Xinghe was eager to get home and did not want to waste time.

He had returned somewhat late, and a certain attic was quiet.

Su Xinghe opened the gate to his own courtyard and began washing up.

"Is that Xiao He... cough, cough!"

"Yes, Mother, I'm back!"

An oil lamp was moved from inside the room to the window, its flickering flame lighting the courtyard.

He knew his mother did not need the lamp. She had lit it to light his way.

"The tea is on the table. We'll eat after you finish bathing."

"I'll be done soon."

The scent of food wafted through the air. He hurriedly washed up, then quickly hung his clothes out to dry.

The moment he entered the room, the bowls and chopsticks were already laid out on the table.

"Mother, I became a formal disciple today."

He had held this news in all afternoon.

Chen Guilan's hand trembled as she held her chopsticks.

"What disciple... cough, cough..."

"A formal disciple of the martial academy. Our Brokerage Guild is no longer operating; it has become the White Ape Martial Academy instead. Since I was an old employee, I became a formal disciple directly. I don't need to pay an apprenticeship fee, and I'll receive three taels of silver every month."

In one breath, he poured out everything in his heart. Over the past six months, he had brought far too much pressure upon this family.

Now, at last, they could breathe easy.

"Cough, cough... Really..."

"Cough, cough..."

Su Xinghe hurriedly got up and poured his mother a cup of hot tea.

Recently, because their meals had improved and she was getting enough nutrition, his mother's coughing had gotten much better.

But with today's excitement, this old ailment had flared up again.

"Xiao He, you... cough, cough... That's wonderful!"

Chen Guilan felt her heart pounding wildly, as though it might leap out of her chest.

Still, with the more than forty taels of silver from last night as a foundation, she had already started to believe that her son was not lying to her.

Yet why did it still feel so unreal, as though she were dreaming?

"Mother, you won't have to spin thread in the dark anymore. Our family will have money from now on."

"Tomorrow, I plan to send someone to the farm to call Father and the others back. Haitao is getting married before long anyway, so he can stay home afterward and take care of you all."

He had originally wanted to mention renting a house, but seeing how excited his mother was, he could only put it off for now and wait until the whole family was together.

Chen Guilan had wanted to refuse, but when she thought about how the family would soon need to hold a wedding banquet, with so much to prepare, it would be good for the father and son to come home and rest for a few days first.