Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Instructor Lin sheathed his sword, looked at Xu Hao who was pretending to be panting, and nodded: "You kid, your methods may be wild, but they're effective. Your strength is a bit lacking, but you have a ruthless streak that will help you survive longer in this chaotic world."

Xu Hao threw down his knife, plopped down on the ground, wiped his sweat, and grinned foolishly: "Instructor, you flatter me. I'm just afraid of dying."

"It's good to be afraid of death; only those who are afraid of death will always be vigilant."

Instructor Lin tucked the wooden sword back into his waistband, glanced at the sky, and his voice turned somber.

"Pack your things, but don't bring too much clutter. The tasks the master assigned need to be completed ahead of schedule."

Xu Hao's heart skipped a beat, and his smile vanished: "So eager?"

"The Salt Gang really doesn't follow the rules." Instructor Lin turned and walked out, tossing out a casual remark, "Tomorrow night at midnight, Sunset Ferry. Remember, sharpen your knife as much as possible."

As night fell, a sudden downpour began.

There were no lights in the side hall of the Chen residence, only a few red candles as thick as a child's arm, which crackled and popped as they burned.

Xu Hao followed Instructor Lin across the threshold and into the house, where he saw that there were already about ten people standing inside.

Tieshan stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a pillar, his face slightly pale; Li Da and Luo Bao huddled in a corner, looking like two quails that had been soaked in the rain.

Master Chen, who sat at the head of the table, looked as if all his energy had been drained away after just a few days. His face was droopy and his eyes were dark and puffy.

There were three mahogany chests at his feet. Two of them were large and locked with brass locks. The remaining small one was exquisite and sealed. It didn't look like it contained any goods; it looked more like a dressing case.

"Everyone's here." Instructor Lin slammed his straw hat down on the table, rainwater streaming down the brim and onto the table. "Tonight at midnight, we'll be traveling by water to the prefectural city. Everyone, be on your best."

No one said a word.

These days, everyone knows that the Shuilan River is the King of Hell's palace.

The canal gangs blocked the river, and the salt gangs ambushed and killed people. There were more corpses sinking to the bottom of the river than fish.

Seeing the troubled expressions on everyone's faces, and even two guards who were about to turn towards the door, Instructor Lin sneered, drew his sword with a backhand, and with a clean "crack," the corner of the rosewood table fell to the ground.

"Let me tell you, if anything happens to the Chen family, we'll all be homeless dogs, and none of us will have a good life."

Instructor Lin sheathed his sword, his tone chilling, "If this mission succeeds, each person will not only be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver, but also—their death contract will be lifted and their household registration restored."

The breathing inside the room suddenly became heavy.

In this world, a hundred taels of silver is truly rare, but for martial arts practitioners like them, as long as they're alive, they might be able to earn it. However, the phrase "liberation from the death contract" represents freedom, something that can't be obtained even by risking one's life.

Tieshan's pale face instantly turned red, and Li Da stopped trembling, his eyes wide open.

Xu Hao mingled in the crowd, his face occasionally revealing three parts greed and seven parts fear, but his hand, hidden in his sleeve, quietly rose and pressed against his chest.

The Listening Talisman felt slightly warm.

The two large chests mostly contained cash or antiques. Xu Hao's attention then shifted to the smaller chest beside them.

It has no metallic scent; it's like quicksand, or perhaps... rice?

Xu Hao's heart skipped a beat.

Ever since he bound himself to the blessed land of granaries, he has become extremely sensitive to the aura of grains. The aura in this box feels smooth and the grains are plump, far superior to the rotten grains in the granary.

What kind of rice is worth risking Mr. Chen's entire family's lives for?

"Xu Hao".

Coach Lin suddenly called out a name and casually tossed something over.

Xu Hao instinctively reached out to catch it, but his wrist suddenly sank downwards, almost hitting his foot.

This is a rare, high-quality steel knife, extremely rare in the entire ferry crossing. The back of the blade is thick, and it is more than twice as heavy as the standard waist knife used on a regular basis.

"Instructor, this..." Xu Hao pretended to struggle as he lifted the knife, a wry smile on his face, "This is too heavy, I'm afraid I can't wield it."

Instructor Lin didn't expose his clumsy acting, but lowered his voice and said, "Don't pretend with me. No matter how far you've progressed, tonight you don't need to worry about anyone else, just guard this little box. Even if we all die, it's fine, the box has to stay."

Xu Hao felt a chill run down his spine.

That old fox, as expected, had already seen through the scheme.

He didn't refuse again, silently hanging the knife at his waist, which was considered his agreement.

At midnight, a torrential downpour began.

Dressed in straw raincoats, they resembled a pack of ghostly demons, silently boarding the boat through the Chen family's water gate.

Their boat was a specially made awning speedboat, painted entirely in black, moving silently forward on the river in the rainy night, almost hidden in the dark water.

Xu Hao was assigned to hold the line at the stern, and the small box was placed at his feet.

Li Da and Luo Bao, shamelessly squeezing next to him, gripped knives tightly in their hands, their hands icy cold with nervousness.

"Xu... Brother Xu," Li Da's teeth chattered, his voice broken by the sound of rain, "My eyelids keep twitching. If I really encounter a water ghost, you'll have to take care of me. I can't swim."

"It's just right that it won't get wet." Xu Hao wiped the rain off his face and said casually, "It'll sink faster if it falls in, and it'll suffer less."

"Pah! Pah! Good luck!" Luo Bao's face turned green with fright. "If I die, Brother Xu, remember to go find the young widow at the tofu shop on West Street. I still have three strings of cash hidden under my pillow. Please help me..."

"Shut up," Xu Hao suddenly hissed.

The two fell silent instantly.

As the boat reached the middle of the river, the wind and waves suddenly became turbulent, and the turbid river water kept slapping against the gunwale, making a dull sound.

At this moment, the listening talisman on Xu Hao's chest suddenly became scalding hot, and an extremely subtle yet dense strange sound drilled into his eardrums.

Glug... Glug...

It wasn't the sound of waves; it must have been the sound of air being released from the reed pipes.

He heard a multitude of sounds all around him, dense and numerous, like a school of hungry fish swimming underwater, closing in on the lone boat from all directions.

"Here it comes." Xu Hao gripped the hilt of the knife tightly and leaned forward slightly.

Before he could even warn anyone, a muffled thud came from the bottom of the ship, and the whole ship jolted violently.

Then came the sickening sound of wood tearing – "Crack!"

"Sinking the boat! It's a water ghost sinking the boat!"

From the bow came Instructor Lin's furious shout: "Plug the leak! Don't panic! Grab your weapons!"

Before the words were even finished, countless splashes of water erupted on the originally dark river surface, rising more than two meters high.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen dark figures leaped out of the water like large fish, their grappling hooks gleaming coldly, and with a few sharp "claps," they firmly gripped the wooden railing of the ship's side.

As soon as one of the guards peeked out, a water-splitting thorn, like a venomous snake, burrowed into his jaw from below. Blood mingled with the rainwater and sprayed out. The guard didn't even have time to scream before he was dragged into the river, leaving behind only a scattered cloud of blood foam.

The merciless slaughter erupted completely at this moment.

All that could be heard on the ship was chaos, with screams and the clash of weapons all mixed together.

Li Da and Luo Bao screamed in terror, squeezing their eyes shut and wildly slashing at the air with their knives.

Xu Hao remained rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

He stood at the stern, letting the rain wash over his face, his eyes neither on the water ghosts leaping from the river nor on the chaos inside the cabin.

His listening talisman detected an extremely faint yet incredibly fast heartbeat approaching from afar. The owner of the sound was silently and rapidly creeping up the waterline at the stern of the boat.

This is the real deal!

Just as the heartbeat drew near, Xu Hao moved.

Clang!

The hundred-refined steel knife was drawn from its sheath with a snap, slicing a sharp white light in the rainy night.

Instead of slashing at any visible enemy, he swung his sword with tremendous force, striking the seemingly empty, murky river behind him.

"Get up here, you bastard!"