One month

"Chief Liu, these few moves are all I've grasped so far. I imagine you've learned them by now? I may need some more time for the moves that follow," Huang Xiao said.

"There's no hurry, no hurry," Liu Qiang replied. He paused, then sighed. "To be honest, this Coiling Snake Hand isn't much help to me."

"Huh?" Huang Xiao was somewhat puzzled.

"Don't be surprised. Coiling Snake Hand emphasizes technique rather than strength. It follows a different path from what I've learned, so learning it is rather difficult for me," Liu Qiang said.

"Perhaps some of the later moves might work for you?" Huang Xiao asked.

"Actually, after discussing it with you yesterday, I already had a general understanding of Coiling Snake Hand. It really isn't suited to me. To think that the martial art I went to such trouble to obtain would turn out like this. Fate really does toy with people. Still, a man shouldn't be too greedy. Drawing on this art can help me take my strength a step further," Liu Qiang said with feeling. "Brother Huang, you mentioned before that you'd sold all your family property and farmland, right?"

Huang Xiao nodded. He had indeed spoken to Liu Qiang about this before.

"Then I have an idea. Why don't you stay?" Liu Qiang asked.

Hearing Liu Qiang's words, Huang Xiao hesitated. Before, he would certainly have refused outright. Now, however, he understood that Liu Qiang and the others weren't really bandits or brigands. They were ordinary commoners who had been driven into a dead end by those landlords and powerful nobles, and only then had they come into the mountains to escape their exploitation.

"Of course, I can't demand anything of you. It's just that you should be able to achieve something if you practice Coiling Snake Hand. Perhaps in a few years, or a few decades, your strength will definitely surpass mine. You should know that there are so many elderly people, women, and children in this stronghold. Without a few martial artists to support them, never mind the thugs those landlords keep-even the other bandits and brigands in the mountains could take their lives," Liu Qiang said.

"Of course, you're a licentiate, after all. You didn't pass this time, but you can take the examination again later. Besides, even if you returned home now, you'd have nowhere to live. You'd be better off staying in the stronghold. If you could teach the children to recognize a few characters while practicing your martial arts, never mind taking examinations for scholarly honors-being able to read a few characters would still be better than being blind with our eyes open, wouldn't it?" Liu Qiang chuckled and continued.

Huang Xiao thought it over, then nodded. Liu Qiang was right. What could he do if he went back now? He didn't know how to do anything. With luck, he might find some teaching work and teach people to read. After all, he was a licentiate, whatever else might be said. Now that he had come into contact with martial arts, another goal had taken shape in his heart.

Seeing Huang Xiao nod, Liu Qiang laughed heartily. "Wonderful! If our stronghold produced a top imperial scholar, that would be even more remarkable."

"A top imperial scholar? Chief Liu, don't poke fun at me. I couldn't even pass the provincial examination," Huang Xiao said, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

"Where there's a will, there's a way. One failure doesn't mean anything. Besides, if you master Coiling Snake Hand, you'll be a capable fighter at the very least. Then you'll be accomplished in both letters and arms," Liu Qiang said with a smile.

"Don't doubt it. With this Coiling Snake Hand manual alone, if you master its deeper levels, you could even establish a sect of your own. There are so many sects in this world, but very few possess a martial art manual they can pass down." Seeing that Huang Xiao still looked somewhat unconvinced, Liu Qiang continued.

"Then I'll be imposing on you, Chief Liu. I don't know much about manual labor, but teaching the children in the stronghold to read and write won't be a problem. Could that count as payment for my food and lodging here?" Huang Xiao asked.

"What are you saying? How much could one person eat? Still, let me thank you on the children's behalf first. And don't call me chief anymore. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Liu." This time, Liu Qiang's gratitude was sincere. In those days, learning martial arts was relatively easy. Many people practiced fighting skills, though of course these weren't techniques from secret manuals, merely ordinary fist-and-foot skills. People who could read, however, were scarce. Ordinary commoners couldn't even get enough to eat, so where would they find the money to learn to read and study? Studying was essentially the privilege of wealthy families.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony, Brother Liu!" Huang Xiao said with a smile.

In the blink of an eye, Huang Xiao had spent more than a month in the stronghold. During that time, he set aside a little time each day to teach the children there to read. Naturally, Liu Qin was among them.

He spent the rest of his time studying and practicing Coiling Snake Hand. According to Liu Qiang, Huang Xiao's strength was far too limited. If he wanted to bring out the power of Coiling Snake Hand, he needed basic strength training.

The stronghold had plenty of equipment for this training, such as stone locks for strengthening the arms and weights to carry for building stamina. After more than half a month, Huang Xiao discovered that he was no longer so frail that a gust of wind could knock him down. At the very least, he was much stronger now. Together with his growing proficiency in Coiling Snake Hand's moves, his use of this grappling art now left even Liu Qiang somewhat surprised.

In Liu Qiang's words, if Huang Xiao used it against him with all his might now, he would have to use nearly sixty percent of his full strength to break free. At this rate, Huang Xiao would probably surpass him in strength within a few years at most.

Naturally, Huang Xiao was very excited by this. Although Coiling Snake Hand was considered ordinary among secret martial arts manuals, to someone like him, it was unquestionably a treasure worth a thousand pieces of gold. He also felt some admiration for Liu Qiang, who had allowed an outsider like him to practice from such a secret manual. Of course, his ability to understand the manual was also one reason. Thus, after mastering the moves himself, Huang Xiao had no intention of keeping anything back and instead taught them to some of the villagers in the stronghold.

During this time, Huang Xiao also went out several times with Liu Qiang and the others. Naturally, they went out to rob people, and Huang Xiao had a purpose in accompanying them. Although he was already fairly certain from his time in the stronghold that Liu Qiang and the others hadn't deceived him, that they only went raiding occasionally and didn't harm ordinary people, none of that was as real as seeing it with his own eyes. Thus, he joined Liu Qiang and the others several times.

Generally, Liu Qiang would send quite a few villagers from the stronghold out beforehand to gather information. When they learned that those landlords and local tyrants were transporting goods, they would act as the opportunity arose.

"Brother Huang, I'm going out tomorrow. Are you coming?" Liu Qiang walked into the courtyard and asked just as Huang Xiao finished a set of Coiling Snake Hand.

"Which family in the city is it this time?" Huang Xiao naturally understood what Liu Qiang meant. Going out meant that they had set their sights on some family's money or goods again.

"The Wang Family! But this time, we're scouting ahead to prepare for the next outing." Liu Qiang gritted his teeth somewhat as he spoke of the Wang Family.

Huang Xiao understood. The villagers in the stronghold had originally come from the same village, and almost all of them had rented farmland from the Wang Family. With rent increasing year after year, compounded by natural disasters and human calamities, they had been unable to bear the burden. In the end, the entire village could only relocate to this mountain valley. The Wang Family was one of the dominant powers in Yongshui City, chiefly because of its close ties with the nearby Fierce Tiger Sect. With the Fierce Tiger Sect's backing, even the county magistrate in the city had to show the Wang Family's old patriarch some respect. Thus, the Wang Family had committed countless evils in the surrounding area, ruining who knew how many families, leaving their members dead and scattering wives and children.