Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 31 Village Celebrities
Night fell completely.

In Chengpingfang, lanterns lit up one after another in front of the Sun Family Martial Arts School.

When Yang Jing withdrew his fist, his knuckles were still red, and his whole body was steaming with heat.

He quickly wiped himself clean, then picked up his old cloth bag and hurried to Datongfang.

Now that he had bought a new house, Yang Jing decided to move in tonight.

Fortunately, he didn't have much stuff. He carried bedding and clothes on one shoulder pole and a clay pot and a sack containing valuables on the other, his steps light and swift.

The journey from Datongfang to the new courtyard in Tongyifang took only a quarter of an hour. Yang Jing made two round trips and finished moving everything in less than an hour.

After moving out of the old house and tidying everything up, I felt much lighter.

In Tongyifang, Yang Jing tidied up the room. The sack containing valuables was still stuffed under the bed. There wasn't much else to tidy up. The courtyard had always been inhabited and well-maintained, but it had been uninhabited for the past month and had accumulated some dust.

After settling in, Yang Jing began to stew the meat.

The kitchen in the new courtyard isn't large, but it's much more spacious than the previous kitchen where we cooked meat in a clay pot in a corner of the room.

Looking at his new home, Yang Jing was extremely satisfied, feeling that everything about it was perfect.

After tidying up the kitchen, Yang Jing started a fire, cut the remaining tiger meat into chunks, threw them into a clay pot, added water and ginger slices, and covered the pot to simmer.

Before long, the rich aroma of meat filled the air, mingling with the fresh scent of plants in the yard. It felt warmer and more comfortable than cooking meat in the cramped room.

Once the meat was stewed until tender, he ladled out a large bowl, sat on a small stool in the kitchen, and devoured it.

The broth seeped into the tiger meat's muscle fibers, and the warmth slid down the throat, slowly spreading throughout the stomach, bringing comfort to every part of the body.

Yang Jing ate with great relish, leaving not even a drop of broth. Whether it was psychological or the firewood in his new home was better, he felt that the tiger meat was more than twice as fragrant as before.

After clearing away the dishes, Yang Jing walked out to the courtyard and stood down.

Moonlight spilled onto the bluestone slabs, casting the shadow of the old locust tree, while the babbling of a stream drifted from outside the wall.

He stretched, his joints making a series of soft cracking sounds. Looking around at everything—the spacious courtyard, the side rooms, the kitchen, the main house, the flower pots, the old locust tree—he felt both at ease and refreshed.

From this day forward, this place will be his domain.

No more cooping up in a small room cooking meat and practicing martial arts.

"Having eaten tiger meat, I'm full of energy and vigor. Let's continue practicing our boxing!"

Yang Jing couldn't wait to practice his boxing in this spacious courtyard where he was all alone.

The courtyard wasn't large, but in Yang Jing's eyes it was spacious enough; as long as it could support his martial arts practice, that was enough.

The moonlight fell, illuminating the open space in the courtyard.

Yang Jing stopped, took a deep breath, and slowly calmed his somewhat excited emotions. He then steadily began to execute the starting stance of the Mountain-Crushing Fist.

The warm current transformed from tiger meat flowed slowly through his meridians. With each punch, the warmth seemed to be ignited, surging along his fist, shoulder, and waist. Each punch was accompanied by a whooshing sound, adding a touch of ferocity to his movements.

After finishing a set of punches, Yang Jing had sweat on his forehead, but felt refreshed all over, as if he had inexhaustible energy.

After a brief moment of rest, he changed his stance and prepared to practice the "Surging Waves Kick" technique that he had just begun to work on.

The cultivation method of "Surging Waves Leg" slowly flowed through his mind.

After more than half a year of martial arts training, Yang Jing had some ideas on how to practice the "Surging Waves Leg" even though he had no one to guide him.

At first, there was some stiffness when lifting the leg, and the ankle rotation was not flexible enough, so the force of the kick was scattered and not concentrated.

But the solid foundation laid by the Mountain-Crushing Fist is now evident; the coordination of the waist and legs, and the continuity of power generation, are already etched into the body's memory.

In just over an hour, Yang Jing had figured out some tricks.

The movements of raising the knee, turning the hip, and swinging the leg became increasingly fluid, and the sound of the wind brought up by the toes gradually grew louder. Although it was far from being skillful, it already had a hint of the swiftness of "surging waves".

Under the moonlight, Yang Jing's figure cast a swaying shadow on the courtyard wall. His legwork gradually improved from clumsy to skillful, with each kick becoming more stable and faster than the last.

Yang Jing became more and more engrossed in his practice, feeling the warm current within his body harmonize with his leg techniques, making him even more agile than before.

Yang Jing practiced until late at night before stopping, feeling a surge of exhilaration.

In the past, practicing boxing at night was always done in a cramped room; it's nothing like the comfortable space I feel now.

During the break, Yang Jing had a sudden thought.

The next moment, the panel appeared out of thin air in front of him—

[Minor Mastery of the Mountain-Crushing Fist (393/500)]

[Introduction to the Surging Waves Kick (2/200)]

As Yang Jing officially began practicing the "Surging Waves Leg," the progress of his practice also appeared on the panel.

Yang Jing looked at the two martial arts techniques on the panel and a smile appeared on his face.

"With a sufficient supply of wild beast meat, my cultivation speed has increased significantly. At this rate, I should be able to break through to the Dark Force level within a month."

Yang Jing thought to himself.

If you told anyone, no one would believe you.

The gap between Ming Jin (manifest strength) and An Jin (hidden strength) is enormous.

Since its founding decades ago, the Sun Family Martial Arts School has produced many disciples with the Ming Jin (明劲) skill, but very few with the An Jin (暗劲) skill.

Nowadays, batches of registered disciples enter the martial arts school, and then batches leave in disappointment. Perhaps some disciples are lucky enough to break through to the Ming Jin level, but too many people are trapped in the An Jin level. Now, there are only five An Jin disciples left in the martial arts school, including Lin Yue.

That bottleneck has stumped countless people, trapped countless lives, and brought their martial arts journey to a halt.

However, Yang Jing was confident because he had no bottleneck.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Yang Jing got up and, using the dim light filtering through the window paper, carefully wrapped ten taels of gold and fifty taels of silver ingots. He then wrapped them in three layers of oilcloth, stuffed them into an inconspicuous cloth bag, and tied it securely to his back.

He tucked the other ten-tael silver ingot into his pocket; it was icy to the touch, but it gave him a sense of security.

Yang Jing didn't go to the martial arts school today; he planned to go home.

With so much money in one place, he still felt uneasy. He spent most of his time practicing martial arts at the martial arts school. With the increasing number of homeless people in the city, things were very unstable. Yang Jing had to be on guard in case a thief broke into his yard and stole something.

Heading west, after leaving the city gate and following the official road for about twenty or thirty li, we arrived at Wazi Township, and then continued onward.

Yang Jing knew the road to Yangjia Village like the back of his hand. The earthy smell mixed with the aroma of wheat wafted over him. In the distance, he could see the old locust tree at the village entrance, where some villagers were chatting and talking.

"Jingwa is back!"

The old man from the same village, who was squatting under the tree smoking his pipe, saw Yang Jing first. He tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, stood up, and said in a loud voice, "I heard you've become quite skilled in martial arts? Even the Ning family is sending you gifts?"

The villagers gathered around, chatting and laughing, their faces full of genuine warmth.

"Yang Jing, you've really made something of yourself!"

"I had only heard people say that martial arts were very powerful if you practiced them well, but it turns out it's true. Even a wealthy family like the Ning family sent your family oxen for plowing."

"Brother Yang Jing, can you eat meat every day in the city?"

“Your mother was talking about you the other day, saying you like to eat locust flower cake. I still have some locust flowers left over from before. I’ll bring them over to you later and have your mother steam them for you.”

Yang Jing smiled and agreed.

Since he broke through to the Ming Jin level, he has been required to take up a temporary post, which has provided him with a source of income. As a result, he has returned home much less often. This time, however, he was unexpectedly spotted by the villagers.

Before he broke through to the Ming Jin level, he wouldn't have had such a grand entrance when he returned to the village, and so many villagers wouldn't have gathered around to talk to him.

However, Yang Jing also knew that most of the villagers did not know what Ming Jin or Ru Jin martial artists were, but they knew about the Ning family, one of the most powerful and wealthy families in Wazi Township.

Many people had heard that the Ning family wanted to buy the two acres of fertile land north of Yangjia Village. Many people felt sorry for the Yang family, thinking that the Ning family was notoriously stingy and would definitely try to drive the price down, or even force them to buy and sell.

But later, the Ning family not only stopped mentioning buying Yang Jing's land, but also sent their steward to deliver oxen for plowing. The contrast was simply too great.

Later, news came out that the reason why the Ning family's attitude changed so drastically was because of Yang Shouzhou's gold-devouring grandson.

Many people in Yangjia Village initially didn't think highly of Yang Jing's martial arts training, and some even viewed it as a joke.

After all, for these farmers who have made a living by farming for generations, practicing martial arts is too far removed from their lives, and the cost of practicing martial arts is too high for them to afford.

Take Yang Shouzhou's family for example. They originally owned dozens of acres of land and were among the top families in Yangjia Village. However, after they started supporting Yang Jing's martial arts training, their lives became extremely miserable, getting worse day by day. They even had to sell off all the land that their ancestors had accumulated over several generations.

Some villagers couldn't bear to watch and advised Yang Shouzhou to stop letting Yang Jing practice martial arts.

Unexpectedly, Yang Jing actually mastered the skill in the blink of an eye, and even the Ning family's attitude changed completely.

At this moment, the villagers surrounded Yang Jing, trying to get close to him. Some were genuinely interested, some were envious, some were simply curious, but most were kind-hearted.

After exchanging a few words with the villagers, Yang Jing quickened his pace and arrived at his own door.

He stepped forward, pushed open the courtyard gate, and went inside.

In the courtyard, Mother was bending over to feed the chickens, Grandmother was sitting on a stone bench picking vegetables, and Grandfather was repairing farm tools.

Hearing the voice, all three turned around and saw Yang Jing standing at the door. The wrinkles on their faces instantly smoothed out.

"Jing'er is back?"

Liu Cuiling wiped her hands on her apron and pulled Yang Jing up and down, looking him up and down. "You've grown taller and thinner. Have you been eating poorly? We have money at home. I'll get you some later. Make sure you eat your fill when you get back. How can you have the strength to practice martial arts if you don't eat enough?"

Grandpa Yang put down the hammer, coughed twice, and walked up to Yang Jing with a smile. Looking at his beloved grandson, he was more and more delighted. He nodded and said, "Yes, take the money with you when you leave. Practice your martial arts well and don't worry about spending money."

Hearing what his grandfather and mother said, Yang Jing felt a warmth in his heart and said with a smile, "Grandpa, Mom, I haven't been starving outside. I'm currently working at Liu's Medical Clinic in the city, and I eat wild beast meat that costs five or six hundred coins per pound every day. I may look thin, but I'm all meat on my body."

In fact, Yang Jing's current physique is not thin at all; on the contrary, he is quite strong. It's just that he has been eating well lately and practicing martial arts like crazy every day, which has caused him to grow taller rapidly, making him appear thinner than before.

After saying a few words, Yang Jing turned around and closed the courtyard gate. Then he took out the ten taels of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into his mother's hand. "Mother, here are ten taels of silver. Take it and see if there is anything we need to buy. If not, go to the market every few days to buy a couple of pounds of meat."

Liu Cuiling was startled when she saw the ten taels of silver ingot her son handed her. She had never seen such a large sum of money before. She quickly pushed the ingot back, saying, "You have a hard life outside. Keep it here. Your grandparents and I are here at home. We don't need anything."

“Mother, I can earn money easily now, this ten taels is just a small amount,” Yang Jingying stuffed the silver ingot back into his mother’s palm. “You can take it and buy Grandpa and Grandma two new sets of clothes, and some good rice. Don’t eat that coarse rice anymore.”

Yang Jing didn't mention that he had already bought a house in the city. If he told his family, they would probably be shocked.

Grandpa Yang took another careful look at Yang Jing. The boy was now tall and straight, wearing well-fitting clothes, and exuding a calm demeanor from the inside out. The immaturity of his youth had faded from his eyes, replaced by a more handsome and composed air. Every move he made revealed an unusual composure.

Looking at his outstanding grandson, and recalling how the wealthy Ning family had come to offer him gifts, the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth slowly smoothed out, turning into a gratified smile.

He nodded slowly and said, "Since it's the child's kind gesture, the second son's wife should accept it."

After the old man finished speaking, he paused slightly, then said, "This child has grown up."

After the old man finished speaking, the mother hesitated for a moment before putting away the silver ingot. Her eyes reddened, and she turned to walk towards the kitchen, saying she was going to boil water for Yang Jing, but she wiped away her tears behind the stove door.

While his mother went to the kitchen and his grandparents were talking in the yard, Yang Jing went into the main room.

He leaped slightly, his toes lightly touching the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and he soared up like a swallow, landing steadily on the roof beam.

The movement was as light as a falling leaf, without making a sound.

He stuffed the cloth bundle containing gold and silver ingots into the gap in the beam, covered it with a tile, then leaped down and landed silently on the ground. He dusted off his hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

After finishing all this, Yang Jinggang came out of the main house and saw the courtyard gate being pushed open, and two figures walking in.

Aunt Xue walked in slowly, carrying a bamboo basket, followed by her cousin Yang An.

“Jing’er is a celebrity in our village now. Her return has caused quite a stir.” Xue’s voice was gentle and soft, with a smile in her eyes. She gently placed the bamboo basket on the stone table in the corner of the courtyard. “This chicken has grown up and is just waiting for you to come back and eat it. I just killed it and will make soup for you later.”

The two houses were very close. When Xue heard someone say that Yang Jing had returned, she immediately killed a chicken and came over.

Yang Jing glanced down and saw a large rooster in the bamboo basket, tied with hemp rope. It was so fat it weighed down his hand, clearly a high-quality rooster he had deliberately kept.

"Brother Jing."

After his aunt left, Yang An looked at Yang Jing and nodded in greeting.

He was a quiet man with slightly pursed lips and a blank expression on his face, though his eyes held a warm look when he saw Yang Jing.

"Brother An." Yang Jing also nodded with a smile.

(End of this chapter)