Fourfold Strength

Beside the thatched hut, the earthen pot set on the stove bubbled away, steam rising from it.

A thick medicinal scent drifted through the small courtyard.

Watching over the stove, Zhang Yuan saw that the brew was nearly done. He reached out, grasped the pot's handles, lifted it, and poured the dark medicinal broth into a bowl beside it.

Then he carried it into Zhang's Mother's room.

"Mother, you need to drink this while it's hot. Let it sit for a while; once it cools a little more, you can drink it."

He blew on the steaming medicine and set it on the small table beside the bed.

Zhang Yuan had specially bought these herbs from a pharmacy in the county town for his mother earlier.

Years of overwork had badly depleted Zhang's Mother's health, leaving her chronically frail and sickly.

Though she had seen doctors and received prescriptions before, they had never had the money to buy the costly medicinal ingredients, so it had simply dragged on.

Fortunately, it had not developed into a serious illness.

Now that Zhang Yuan had come into an unexpected windfall, he naturally had to find every way possible to restore his mother's health.

Zhang's Mother leaned against the bed and gave a faint smile. "Yuan Baby, Mother's body can still hold up. If you have money, you should save it and buy more rice and grain."

Zhang Yuan had always eaten a great deal since childhood, yet in more than ten years, he had only eaten his fill a handful of times.

Just when Zhang Yuan had finally managed to support the family himself, Master Chen had suddenly come to the village, demanding corvée service and repairs to the ancestral hall, squeezing outsiders dry to the bone.

Life was about to become unbearable again.

Although Zhang's Mother did not know where Zhang Yuan had gotten the silver for the corvée payment and the medicine,

her first instinct was still to save money for her son.

"I bought rice, grain, oil, and salt too."

Zhang Yuan explained, "Don't worry, Mother. Your son has already found a way to make money. From now on, we'll always have enough to eat!"

A trace of bitterness welled up in his heart.

It had been five years since the memories of his past life awakened, yet only now had he solved the problem of food and clothing.

There was nothing he could do about it.

"Yuan Baby!"

Zhang's Mother suddenly straightened up and tightly seized Zhang Yuan's wrist.

Her eyes were filled with tension and gravity as she said in a low voice, "Do you still remember our Zhang Family Ancestral Teachings?"

"Of course I remember!"

Zhang Yuan answered without hesitation. "Starve to death, but never steal. Die poor, but never become a slave. The Zhang Family Ancestral Teachings have always been engraved upon my heart."

He gently patted his mother's withered hand and said softly, "And I have never committed any crime!"

Seeing how resolute Zhang Yuan was, Zhang's Mother finally relaxed. She could not help raising a hand to touch his face. "Child, these years have truly been hard on you."

Zhang Yuan smiled. "It wasn't all that hard."

He picked up the medicine bowl from the small table and blew on it a few more times before handing it to his mother. "It should be about right now. Be careful not to burn yourself."

"Mm."

Zhang's Mother accepted the bowl and drank the medicine inside, mouthful by mouthful.

Herbal medicine was terribly bitter.

Yet she did not seem to notice at all. Instead, she drank it as though it were honeyed nectar.

After finishing the medicine, Zhang's Mother soon closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep against the headboard.

Zhang Yuan carefully helped his mother lie down, then quietly left the room.

But the moment he stepped into the small courtyard outside, he heard a clamor from beyond the gate—someone had come!

Zhang Yuan's gaze flickered, and he immediately opened the door and went out.

The Weasel-faced Advisor was standing there with two servants, nearly colliding with him face-to-face.

"Hmph!"

The Weasel-faced Advisor halted, gave a cold snort, and asked with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Zhang Yuan, the three-day deadline is up. Have you gathered your Corvée Silver?"

His eyes were dark and sinister as he looked at Zhang Yuan, like a venomous snake fixing its gaze upon prey.

It sent chills down one's spine!

Without changing expression, Zhang Yuan replied, "It's all here."

He turned and went to his room to retrieve a cloth pouch, then returned to the gate and handed it over. "Count it."

The Weasel-faced Advisor accepted the money pouch in surprise and weighed it in his hand. Then he poured out all the silver inside and carefully counted it.

He clearly had not expected Zhang Yuan to truly scrape together the full five taels of Corvée Silver.

The Weasel-faced Advisor looked at Zhang Yuan as though seeing him anew and said resentfully, "At least you know what's good for you."

He signaled to the servants beside him. "Let's go!"

"Wait!"

Zhang Yuan suddenly spoke up to stop them.

The Weasel-faced Advisor's expression changed at once, while the two servants simultaneously revealed fierce looks.

Zhang Yuan seemed not to notice. He asked in a deep voice, "Advisor, did you forget to give me a receipt?"

Without a receipt, who could prove that he had paid the Corvée Silver in full?

There were no fellow villagers nearby to bear witness either!

The Weasel-faced Advisor froze for a moment, then smiled. "Look at my memory!"

He took the paper and brush brought by a servant, swiftly wrote Zhang Yuan a receipt, and even stamped it with an official seal.

It looked quite proper.

Holding the receipt, Zhang Yuan watched the pack of hyenas stride away.

He knew perfectly well that if they chose to deny it, this receipt would be no different from wastepaper.

However, the Weasel-faced Advisor clearly had no intention of stirring up further trouble. The ghost collision incident yesterday had likely made him wary, and he did not dare go too far in the village.

This hurdle had been crossed.

But only for the moment!

Zhang Yuan stared at the Weasel-faced Advisor's retreating back, a sharp killing intent flashing through his eyes.

The Weasel-faced Advisor had no idea that Zhang Yuan had already placed him on a list of people who had to die. After walking some distance away, he said coldly, "I never expected that brat to have a few tricks up his sleeve. He actually managed to produce five taels of silver."

One of the servants beside him said, "I heard from the villagers that he went to the county town this morning and sold the Zhang Clan's Dowry Jewelry."

"Heh heh!"

The Weasel-faced Advisor sneered. "Then there's still oil to squeeze out of him. No rush. We'll knock slowly and boil slowly."

Both servants revealed knowing smiles.

In their eyes, Zhang Yuan was fish on the chopping block. Sooner or later, he would be eaten clean, without even a scrap of bone left behind.

Everyone greatly admired the Weasel-faced Advisor's methods.

A pack of mud-legged peasants could never fight him!

The three headed for the next household.

No matter how terrifying the strange things were, as long as they could not enter the village, there was nothing to fear.

Failing to complete Master Chen's task—that was what was truly terrifying!

Standing at his own doorway, Zhang Yuan heard pleading and crying from not far away.

It came from another villager's household, one that had also been placed on the corvée list.

He closed the door expressionlessly.

Zhang Yuan clenched his fists.

His desire to grow stronger had never been so fierce and surging as it was now!

He opened the Divine Nest Panel.

Host: Zhang Yuan

Divine Nest: Level 1 (15%)

Host Body: Level 2 Black Giant Ant (6%) / Fourfold Strength

Vitality: 72/75

Source Essence: 0

The Divine Nest's first host body, the Black Giant Ant, had leveled up!

Using all the Source Essence he had invested earlier, it had evolved from Level 1 to Level 2, and its innate ability had become Fourfold Strength!

Zhang Yuan himself was already quite strong, capable of reaching more than two hundred jin at his limit. With the Level 1 Black Giant Ant's ability, he had originally been able to unleash four to five hundred jin of force.

That had been the key reason he was able to kill Sun Bodyguard, an Entry-Level Martial Artist.

Now, with the Black Giant Ant's upgrade, Zhang Yuan could unleash eight or nine hundred jin of force—perhaps even close to a thousand.

He was probably stronger than a First Order Perceptible Strength Martial Artist?

For the time being, Zhang Yuan had no way to measure it.

But his confidence soared at once!