Martial Dao

In the evening breeze beneath the setting sun, the workers streamed out of the Zhang Family Mine. They had received their wages today and would have tomorrow off. Happy smiles filled their faces; at this moment, a whole month of hard work felt worthwhile.

"I got five hundred copper coins. I'm eating meat tonight."

As he spoke, a look of bliss spread across Zhang Daniu's sweat-covered face. He slapped the money pouch at his waist, already imagining his meal.

"You really are an ox, Zhang Daniu. How did you mine that much? I didn't even get four hundred."

An almost imperceptible flicker of envy crossed He Laosan's eyes. He had worked himself to the bone, yet he had earned less than four hundred copper coins.

"How much did you get, A Yang?" He suddenly turned to Xu Yang, who had remained silent beside him.

"About the same as you," Xu Yang replied, a faint smile appearing on his tired face.

In truth, he had earned more than Zhang Daniu-over six hundred copper coins. But he had no desire to draw attention to himself. Letting people know he earned more was no good thing.

Just last month, someone had bragged about his wages, only to be robbed and murdered in the street that very night.

In the six months since he had transmigrated into this troubled world, he had been cautious, keeping his head down and never showing off.

Above all, he had no one backing him!

His mother in this life had died young. His father was still alive, but after taking up with a widow, he had moved straight into her home and stopped caring about him. Only his younger sister remained, the two of them depending on each other to survive.

In a world like this, a household with only a half-grown boy to protect it was something anyone could trample underfoot.

For the past six months, he had been working in secret, hoping to change that situation.

Soon. One more year at most.

Xu Yang looked at the Martial Longevity Panel that had transmigrated with him:

[Comprehension: 21]

[Bone Root: 22]

[Cultivation: None]

[Cultivation methods: None]

[Skills: Mining lv.3 (283/400)]

[Remaining lifespan: 57]

[Martial Dao Longevity points: 1]

Naturally, his confidence in changing his fate came from this Martial Dao Longevity panel that had arrived with him.

The panel was extraordinary. Any action that contributed toward Martial Dao Longevity earned him points, which could increase his lifespan, Bone Root, and comprehension, or even improve his cultivation methods and skills.

When he first transmigrated, his comprehension and Bone Root had both been miserable single digits: two and three, respectively. After six months of effort, both had risen above twenty.

It was also the panel's improvement of his mining skill that allowed him to earn more than most others.

After six months of experimentation, he had realized that only practicing martial arts would let him truly put the panel to use. Mining laid the groundwork for martial cultivation and longevity, but the points it awarded were far too few.

Even without the panel, martial arts were his only way to rise above the crowd.

With success in martial arts, he could aim high and take the Martial Examination to win rank and distinction, or settle for guarding someone's home and earning money.

Most importantly, in a troubled world like this, he needed martial strength of his own.

But the money he had saved was still far short of what he needed to begin.

As they left the mine, Zhang Daniu suddenly said, "I won't be coming back here. My father found me a trade in town. I'll be apprenticing at a smithy."

His face brimmed with pride as he spoke. Whatever the era, a man with a trade was unlikely to starve.

"You two should make plans early, too. You can't mine for the rest of your lives," he warned his companions.

The mine shafts were dangerous and sometimes collapsed, killing several people every month. Unless their families had nothing left to put in the pot, almost no one was willing to risk their lives here.

The two of them had already worked at the mine for quite a while. There was no need to keep gambling with their lives.

He Laosan laughed. "You know my situation. I only came here to earn my bride price, and I've almost got enough now. Once I'm married, I'll probably take over the family fields."

His family had fallen on hard times, but they still owned plenty of land. He would not starve even without mining.

"So you're getting married soon, eh? Congratulations."

Zhang Daniu and He Laosan smiled as they turned to Xu Yang. "What about you, A Yang?"

Both had a way forward, and both still had their parents. With their elders helping them, life might be hard, but there was something to look forward to. Xu Yang had it hardest.

His father might be alive, but he was no different from a dead man as far as Xu Yang was concerned. He offered no help whatsoever.

"I want to practice martial arts!" Xu Yang said.

Both men froze. Zhang Daniu laughed. "Don't joke around. That was just something we said as kids..."

The three had grown up together and once promised to learn martial arts together when they were older, to make something of themselves.

But as he grew older and saw more of the world, Zhang Daniu had long since abandoned that dream.

He had thought Xu Yang was joking, but the serious look on Xu Yang's face made the last word die in his throat.

"Have you gone mad, A Yang? Have you forgotten what happened to my eldest brother?" He Laosan's eyes widened, as though he had heard something utterly unbelievable.

Xu Yang shook his head. "I haven't forgotten."

He Laosan's eldest brother had once been full of ambition, determined to practice martial arts and rise in the world. Their father had scraped together everything he could, even selling their pots and pans, to support him.

Yet they had poured their entire family fortune into it without raising so much as a splash.

No, that was wrong! It had raised an enormous splash.

He Laosan's eldest brother spent dozens of taels of the family's silver without becoming a martial artist. After failing, he relied on his bit of training and went off to join a gang. Less than seven days later, he was hacked to death in the street. The He Family's fortunes had declined ever since.

The story later became a cautionary tale throughout the surrounding villages. Whenever someone wanted to practice martial arts, people would bring it up.

"And you still want to practice martial arts?" He Laosan shook his head. "Listen to your brother here. Even spending it at a brothel would be better than throwing your money into a martial arts school."

He knew all too well what martial training entailed.

Apprenticeship fees, nourishing food, medicinal supplements, and giving up work entirely-any one of those requirements was beyond Xu Yang's means.

Above all, it took talent. His eldest brother had possessed none; even dozens of taels of silver had done him no good.

Xu Yang shook his head. "Don't try to talk me out of it. Even if I want to, I don't have the money."

Only then did the two remember that Xu Yang could barely keep himself fed. He had no money to spare.

"That's right. You don't have a chance anyway. The best age to start is between fifteen and eighteen, and you're already seventeen. By the time you earn enough, you'll have missed the best years. Even if you have money then, the masters at the martial arts schools won't take you," He Laosan said with a laugh.

The three did not discuss martial arts again, but Xu Yang keenly noticed that He Laosan and Zhang Daniu seemed to be distancing themselves from him because he wanted to train.

Martial arts burned through money. When He Laosan's eldest brother trained, he had borrowed money from countless friends and relatives. Only over these past few years had they gradually

paid it all back.

When they parted, the two gave him a brief goodbye and left, no longer making plans to spend the next day together as they used to.

Xu Yang shook his head inwardly and quickened his steps toward home.

"Xu Yang!"

Just as he was nearing his front door, a voice called out behind him.

He turned and saw Li Hu of the Three Harmonies Gang strolling toward him with two delinquent-looking youths.

The Three Harmonies Gang controlled this neighborhood. Everyone living here had to pay them a monthly Residence Fee. Anyone who dared refuse would find their house burgled or set on fire within a couple of days.

If they still refused, they would encounter vicious bandits in the street who would kill them and take their money.

"Ah, Master Hu. What brings you here?" Xu Yang put on a humble smile and lowered his head a little.

"It's these neighbors of ours. They never let a man rest easy. We announced ages ago that the gang leader's mother was celebrating a grand birthday this month and told everyone to prepare their birthday gifts. The month is almost over, and plenty of people still haven't paid."

Li Hu sauntered over. "Your household hasn't paid either. The mine paid wages today, so it's time to hand it over, isn't it? Twenty copper coins for you and your sister."

Despite having spent six months in this world bowing his head and playing the groveling lackey, honing his act to perfection, Xu Yang nearly lost his composure.

Unless he remembered wrong, the Three Harmonies Gang leader's elderly mother had already celebrated a grand birthday at the start of the year.

"Twenty copper coins? That's too much this time. Master Hu, could you put in a word and have it lowered? Of course we should offer gifts for the old madam's birthday, but I still have to feed my sister. If I hand over these twenty coins, we won't have enough to eat next month."

Even if he could afford twenty copper coins, he could not hand them over readily. If these black-hearted beasts knew he had money, they would come up with a fresh excuse to demand more tomorrow.

"Cut the nonsense. That's the amount the gang set. I don't have the clout to negotiate with them. If you're worried about going hungry, that's easy. Your sister's grown up now. Sell her to the gang. Not only will you be rid of that burden, you'll get at least ten taels of silver."

Li Hu clapped a large hand onto Xu Yang's shoulder, his face wreathed in smiles.

Xu Yang struggled to maintain his smile, but alarm bells rang in his mind. His sister was fourteen this year and had begun to blossom. The Three Harmonies Gang had probably noticed her.

"You're joking, Master Hu. My father's still alive. Even if I starved to death, I wouldn't dare sell my sister..." He shook his head repeatedly.

Li Hu knew he could not persuade Xu Yang in one go. He would have to work on him slowly. His expression immediately darkened. "Then hurry up and pay."

"Yes, yes... Just a moment, Master Hu!"

As he spoke, Xu Yang took out a money pouch, his face contorted with pain, and pulled two strings of copper coins from it.

He had prepared this pouch in advance, putting only part of his wages inside.

Li Hu glanced into the pouch and estimated that fewer than two hundred copper coins remained. Satisfied that Xu Yang had not lied, he snatched the two strings of coins and headed for the next house with a cold snort.

Xu Yang kept smiling as he watched Li Hu leave. Only then did he turn and go home.