Grill Shrimp, Practice Fists

Lin Feng got up early the next morning.

There was no nightlife in the village. People went to bed early and rose early.

When Lin Feng woke up, the children were still asleep.

Lin Feng walked into the courtyard, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath.

He felt that the sky in this world was especially bright, and the air exceptionally fresh.

Every blade of grass and tree in the courtyard brimmed with life.

It was wonderful to be reborn in this world.

In his previous life, he had studied until he became nearsighted and worked until he developed a herniated disc.

He had scarfed down starch sausages, sampled expired milk tea, and eaten zombie takeout.

It truly was just as the saying went: "The moment the alarm rings, you and I are both beasts of burden."

This life, he would live differently—and let his family live in comfort as well.

With the experience from his previous life, he could make a tidy sum by casually starting up any kind of business.

Distilling liquor, making ice with saltpeter, purifying coarse salt, making glass—taking out any one of those would earn him a fortune.

But he could not bring them out yet. Without the strength to protect those businesses, they would be impossible to hold onto and might instead bring disaster.

There was no rush to do any of that. He did not even need to do it himself.

His main task was still practicing martial arts.

His Breakthrough Points had increased by another point today, and Beast Hunting Fist had turned green on the attribute panel.

It looked like raising Beast Hunting Fist to Greater Mastery would only take one Breakthrough Point.

There was no hurry to use the Breakthrough Point. After breaking through, he would need food.

Lin Feng planned to take the family's dip net to the small river beside the village and scoop up some river shrimp.

After catching the shrimp, he would cook them right by the river.

Then he would break through in Beast Hunting Fist and use the shrimp to fight off the hunger after the breakthrough.

With a plan in mind, Lin Feng first practiced a set of Beast Hunting Fist in the courtyard.

When the children got up and saw Lin Feng practicing his fists, they joined in too, waving their arms about with little "Hah! Hah!" cries.

Lin Feng stopped practicing and began instructing them instead.

Little Sibao, who wanted to become a martial arts master, practiced the most seriously.

With his little face taut, he threw punches with all his might, and he actually looked the part.

Lin Feng's wife, Zhou Chunlan, had taken medicine and recovered quite a bit. Sitting up, she looked through the window at Lin Feng and the children, and an unconscious smile appeared on her face.

Half an hour later, Mother Lin finished making breakfast and called Lin Feng and the children in to eat.

Lin Feng was somewhat speechless when he saw breakfast. The family meals had returned to their original state.

Cornmeal buns, watery rice porridge, and a little salted pickle for breakfast.

Watery rice porridge was about the same as plain boiled water. There were barely any grains of rice in it; if you tried to scoop them up with a spoon, they would probably run away—hence the name, running rice porridge.

Lin Feng could understand it. His mother had been frightened by poverty, which was why she was so frugal.

Once he dealt with Old Wang Next Door, he would raise the family's inherited Six Arrow Hunter's Bow to perfection, then go hunting in the mountains and make sure the children had meat at every meal.

Lin Feng ate only one cornmeal bun before setting down his bowl and chopsticks.

If he ate his fill, the children would go hungry. Better leave the cornmeal buns for them; he would eat big shrimp later.

After practicing martial arts, Lin Feng's appetite had soared. Even without breaking through, he could eat seven or eight cornmeal buns in a meal.

Looking at the children, thin as Skinny Monkeys, Lin Feng could not help saying, "Mom, from now on, make meals according to last night's standard.

"You don't need to worry about grain. I definitely won't let our family lack food in the future.

"I'll go scoop up some fish later. Tonight, we'll stew a big fish."

Before Mother Lin could speak, Sanbao, Lin Yuhao, rolled his bright eyes and set down his bowl and chopsticks. "I'm not eating anymore. I'll save room for big fish tonight."

The other children all followed Sanbao's example, putting down their chopsticks and refusing to eat.

Mother Lin shot Lin Feng a glare. "Look what you've done to the children. They're not eating now."

Lin Feng gathered Sanbao, Lin Yuhao, into his arms and rubbed his little sunken belly. "You're the one with food on the brain. You even know to save room."

Lin Feng looked at the children and said, "Eat your meals. Whoever doesn't finish eating won't get any fish tonight."

Only then did the children continue eating.

After breakfast, Lin Feng found the family's dip net and fish basket, then took a little coarse salt from the kitchen.

Then he slung the dip net over his shoulder and headed out.

The children watched him leave with longing eyes.

Mother Lin called after him, "Xiao Feng, be careful. Just catch some small fish in Small River Gully. Don't go anywhere near the big river.

"They say there's a Flood Dragon in the big river. Chen Er Lengzi from the neighboring village went there to catch fish a few months ago, and he disappeared. They still haven't even found his body."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm just going to East Gully, east of the village."

Mother Lin was still worried. "How about letting Huzi go with you?"

That reminded Lin Feng. With Old Wang Next Door around, he was uneasy about leaving home. He might as well have Lin Hu come over to keep the children company.

Lin Feng found Lin Hu and invited him to play at his house, promising him stewed fish that evening. Lin Hu readily agreed.

Old Li Gen, who was taking a stroll at the east end of the village, saw Lin Feng heading out with a net and kindly warned him.

"Xiao Feng, there aren't any fish left in East Gully. You'll be going for nothing.

"No one dares catch fish in the big river now, so they've all gone to East Gully. The fish there have all been caught."

"Uncle Li, how could fish in running water ever be caught clean? I'll go try my luck."

Lin Feng soon arrived at East Gully.

The water in East Gully was so clear that one could see the bottom. Sunlight pierced the surface, and ripples shimmered with crystalline radiance, as though countless stars had been scattered within.

East Gully was a tributary of the big river. It was more than a meter deep, and even at its widest, only three meters across. The original Lin Feng had often come here to play in the water as a child.

However, there were indeed not many fish left here, with so many people catching them.

But Lin Feng had not come to catch fish.

He had come for crabs and big shrimp.

The people here called shelled creatures such as crabs and big shrimp River Critters, and no one dared eat them.

After casting his net a few times, Lin Feng had caught several dozen big shrimp and a few crabs.

The shrimp were thicker than thumbs, while the crabs were bigger than fists.

These things had not been cheap in his previous life. He had not expected that no one wanted them in this life.

After catching around a hundred big shrimp, Lin Feng stopped.

They should be enough to sustain him through the breakthrough.

He went into the woods by the gully to gather dry firewood, then found a flat stone slab.

On the pebble beach beside the water, Lin Feng used two stones to prop up the flat slab, making something like a stove.

He lit a fire directly beneath the slab.

Once the slab had heated up, he tossed the big shrimp onto it.

As a burst of sizzling sounds rang out, an enticing fragrance drifted into Lin Feng's nostrils.

It smelled wonderful. Wild big shrimp were even more fragrant than any he had eaten in his previous life.

Lin Feng ground up the coarse salt he had brought and sprinkled it over the shrimp.

Before long, the shrimp were roasted golden brown.

Afraid there might be parasites, Lin Feng deliberately roasted them a while longer.

He roasted around a hundred big shrimp.

Lin Feng felt that should be enough.

With a thought, he summoned the attribute panel and added that one Breakthrough Point to Beast Hunting Fist.

The words after Beast Hunting Fist changed to Greater Mastery.

Memories of cultivating Beast Hunting Fist flooded into his mind.

In those memories, Lin Feng used a huge tree that took one person to wrap their arms around as a punching target. He trained bitterly through three summers and winters, eventually smashing the tree apart with his bare fists.

At times, he would watch fierce beasts such as tigers and black bears hunt from up in the trees, comprehending the essence of Beast Hunting Fist.

One day, he beat a wild donkey weighing over a hundred jin to death with his bare hands, finally breaking Beast Hunting Fist through to Greater Mastery.

When Beast Hunting Fist at Greater Mastery was unleashed, speed and strength multiplied, and Sha Qi like that of a wild beast radiated from the body, terrifying the hearts of men.

After the breakthrough, the familiar hunger struck.

Lin Feng moved both hands at once, stuffing big shrimp into his mouth.

The roasted shrimp crunched with every bite. Skin and flesh went down together, crisp yet tender, their meaty fragrance filling his nose.

Lin Feng wolfed down around a hundred big shrimp in one go before the hunger finally vanished completely.

Lin Feng glanced at the attribute panel.

Name: Lin Feng.

Life: 12.

Martial Skills:

Six Arrow Hunter's Bow (Unranked) (Not Yet Initiated).

Beast Hunting Fist (Unranked) (Greater Mastery).

Mad Demon Staff Technique (Unranked) (Not Yet Initiated).

Breakthrough Points: 0

At that moment, Lin Feng felt power coursing through his body. Even without learning Six Arrow Hunter's Bow, he could go up the mountain and hunt with his bare hands.

After breaking through, Lin Feng bathed in the stream, then scooped up a full fish basket of big shrimp and crabs, though he did not catch a single fish.

Big shrimp and crabs were no worse than fish.

When he went back, he would let his mother, wife, and five little ones taste his roasted shrimp and steamed crabs.

There were enough big shrimp in this stream to eat for a long time—more than enough to support his breakthrough of Beast Hunting Fist to perfection.

Having broken Beast Hunting Fist through to Greater Mastery, Lin Feng's confidence swelled a little. Thinking of the two-thousand-tael bounty on Old Wang Next Door, he wanted to make his move that very night.

But when he thought of that row of Low-grade Martial Arts on Old Wang Next Door's attribute panel, he abandoned the idea.

The key was that without a master to teach him, he had no idea how great the gap was between Unranked Martial Arts and Low-grade Martial Arts.

Even if there was a gap, Beast Hunting Fist at perfection should still be able to take him down.

Old Wang Next Door was badly wounded, after all. He even needed to hire people to deal with Lin Feng. Presumably, not even one-tenth of his full strength remained.

The plan remained unchanged. He would make his move once Beast Hunting Fist reached perfection.