Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 22 Yearning for Battle
In the morning, Old Master Zhao barely ate a few bites of food before throwing down his bowl and chopsticks and cursing loudly in the yard.

They were criticizing Zhao Qian, saying that the Zhao family had emptied their coffers to raise Zhao Qian into an internal strength martial artist, but he was utterly useless!

The medicinal herbs they purchased were robbed on the way, and the pharmacy owner was robbed in Zishui City. It's a pity that Zhao Qian was still working in the county government. What did he find out?

Now that his cousin Zhao Yan has been seriously injured, if Zhao Qian is a real man, he should immediately ride back and settle accounts with Wang Lei of the Wang Family Martial Arts School!
Master Zhao had never been so angry before; he was breathless after he finished cursing.

In a fit of rage, his daughter was beaten to the point of death, and he and the Zhao family were powerless to do anything about it.

Er Nu's family has an internal energy martial artist who only asks the family for cultivation resources, but is utterly useless if anything happens to the family.

Master Zhao pointed at Ji Cheng and said bluntly, "Zhao Qian is a worthless martial artist with internal strength, he's not even as useful as a chicken!"
Master Zhao and Madam Zhao didn't dare to say a word, understanding how Second Master Zhao felt at that moment.

Zhao Kun coughed lightly, his pale face full of worry.

After finishing his rant, Second Master Zhao angrily flung his sleeves and went out for a stroll, hoping to find a way to get revenge on that little beast Wang Lei.

Before he had gone very far, he heard the news that Wang Lei had been eaten by a monster.

"Where did this monster come from in Wuzhen?"

Old Master Zhao found it quite novel and quickly went to where the crowd was watching.

In a wheat field, dozens of people gathered together, making a noisy commotion. In the center were Wang Zhi, the master of the Wang Family Martial Arts School, and several disciples led by Wang Jingzhi.

In addition, two members of the Snake Gang arrived late, and they looked like they were still drunk.

Master Zhao pushed through the crowd and saw bones scattered on the ground. Where was Wang Lei?
“They’re everywhere!” someone told Master Zhao.

"These...these bones are Wang Lei's?"

"That's right, all the flesh and blood were eaten by the monsters, leaving only these bones. Look, these bones are all in pieces, and the connecting membranes have been gnawed clean. Look at that thigh bone, even the marrow inside has been sucked clean!"

"But... how can we determine if these bones belong to Wang Lei?"

"There are fragments of Wang Lei's clothes all around, how else can you prove it?"

Only after being reminded by others did Master Zhao believe that Wang Lei was dead, devoured by a monster and left with only a pile of bones.

He concealed his joy and quickly left the place, returning to the Zhao residence to tell everyone the good news.

Madam Zhao wept with joy, saying that Wang Lei had finally gotten his just deserts!

Master Zhao frowned: "When did man-eating monsters appear in our Wuzhen?"

This made him uneasy.

The monster ate Wang Lei, which is a good thing.

But what if the monsters eat other innocent people, or even people from our Zhao family?
"Wang!"

At this moment, the big yellow dog barked at Master Zhao, its face showing a simple and loyal expression, and wagged its tail vigorously.

Master Zhao casually patted the big yellow dog's head and ordered that, effective immediately, no one in the Zhao household should go out unless absolutely necessary.

The crisis was only resolved after the three martial arts schools and two major gangs discovered the monster's whereabouts and killed it.

The Zhao family all agreed and would follow the master's arrangements.

Later, Ji Cheng heard from Zhao's servants that Zhao Yan's injuries were no longer life-threatening, but she would need to rest for at least a hundred days.

The big yellow dog visibly cheered up.

For the next few days, Zhao Yan was still unable to get out of bed.

With Master Zhao busy taking care of his daughter every day, he had no time for cockfighting, and Ji Cheng's progress toward his title was stalled.

However, he wasn't idle. He slowly refined the medicinal herbs in his crop, checked on the hatching progress of the magpie eggs at night, and occasionally teased the big yellow dog.

In the past few days, the three major martial arts schools and the two major gangs have been tracking down the monster.

The big yellow dog was much more obedient and didn't dare to run out to steal chickens at night. It would be better to be patient, since it had just eaten something good and wasn't too hungry.

After lying in bed for seven days, Zhao Yan was finally able to get out of bed and walk around with difficulty.

But she couldn't go very far; her limit was just wandering around the front and back yards of the Zhao residence each day.

She liked to sit under the old persimmon tree, watching the big yellow dog and the chickens at home, doing nothing, just sitting there watching all day. "Yan'er, when you're healed, Daddy will take you to see cockfighting. Daddy's ever-victorious general is really powerful, you haven't seen how mighty it is!"

As the sun sets, its afterglow bathes Wuzhen in a golden hue, and Zhao Yan sits under the old persimmon tree, lost in thought.

Master Zhao noticed that after Zhao Yan was injured, she was noticeably less active and less talkative than before.

He hoped to take her out to have some fun, like cockfighting, to lift her spirits and relieve her frustration.

Zhao Yan did not respond, and did not even glance at him.

A few days later.

"Sir, this is the income and expenditure statement for last month..."

The butler, Old Huang, handed over an account book with a worried expression.

Currently, the Zhao family is facing a severe economic crisis, with income sources decreasing day by day while expenses are soaring.

In addition to the two previous robberies that resulted in heavy losses, the Zhao family also had to prepare betrothal gifts for Zhao Kun and pay for medicines and other expenses to treat Zhao Yan's injuries, which added up to a considerable sum.

Business at the pharmacy was getting worse and worse. The Snake Gang and the Green Bamboo Gang would come every few days to collect all sorts of fees, making it impossible for anyone to make a living.

The Zhao family has many expenses, and their daily costs are considerable.

"It seems that the medicine for the second blood transfusion for Qian'er is a long way off."

After reviewing the account books, Master Zhao sighed. His most pressing task was to solve the problem of feeding the twenty-three people in the Zhao household.

In his last letter, Zhao Qian advised him not to send anyone to Zishui City to do business, lest they be robbed on the way.

Unable to sell medicinal herbs and longevity pills in Zishui City, the Zhao family's income plummeted by 90%, and they fear they won't be able to sustain this for long.

He believed that Zhao Qian was also working on these matters, and the fact that they hadn't been resolved for so long could only mean that the situation was difficult.

During dinner, Mr. Zhao explained the current situation to the Zhao family members.

They also stated that starting this month, everyone's food, clothing, and daily necessities will be reduced, but of course, the amount of nourishing ingredients for Yan'er will not be reduced.

"I will follow Father's arrangements."

Zhao Kun was very sensible and was the first to express that he had no objection.

Madam Zhao nodded slightly and agreed to cut back on food and clothing.

Zhao Yan pursed her lips, feeling guilty. She knew that she was a huge burden to the Zhao family at this moment.

"Hey, I thought it was something serious. This is easy, I'll go out and make money tomorrow!"

Only Master Zhao was unconcerned, believing that he could easily resolve the Zhao family's financial difficulties.

When Madam Zhao asked him how he made money, he replied, "Of course, it's through my ever-victorious general!"

At the dinner table, the group looked at each other in bewilderment.

This suggestion seems far-fetched, but in fact, it's far from reliable.

But there was no other good way at the moment, so Master Zhao thought it best to let Second Master Zhao give it a try, since his fighting rooster had never lost.

the next day.

Old Master Zhao squatted in the courtyard talking to Ji Cheng. He said, "My ever-victorious general is still as mighty as ever, and seems to have grown even stronger?"

"It's just that my son and I haven't gone out to fight anyone for a while. I wonder if your skills have deteriorated?"

Master Zhao picked up Ji Cheng and examined him. He was certain that the fighting rooster had grown quite a bit and probably weighed almost ten pounds.

For fighting cocks, gaining weight is not necessarily a good thing, as it means a decrease in agility and dexterity.

It had been more than ten days since the cock had gone out to fight, and Master Zhao was unsure whether the cock's fighting ability had deteriorated.

Ji Cheng clucked twice at him, expressing his itchy claws and eagerness to fight.

(End of this chapter)