After the family split up, I achieved martial arts sainthood.

Ping'anfang, Li Jinyu's home.

In the cramped courtyard, Li Jinyu's family and Zhao Baoyin sat together in a circle.

Even in the pitch black and dimly lit environment, the sorrow on each of their faces was still clearly visible.

In particular, Li Jinyu's father, Li Rengui, had his eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown.

His thin, dark face looked as if he had lost his parents.

Beside Li Rengui, Li Jinyu's mother, Zhang Fang, silently wiped away her tears, her deeply wrinkled eyes reddened from being wiped by the corner of her clothes.

The worried expressions on everyone's faces made the atmosphere in the courtyard heavy.

"How about... we cancel?"

This atmosphere lasted for quite a while before Li Rengui finally broke it.

His hoarse voice conveyed only helplessness and exhaustion.

"Then what kind of people does our family become?"

As soon as Li Rengui finished speaking, Li Jinyu responded with a wry smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Baoyin quickly nodded in agreement: "Breaking off the engagement is easy, but the Li family's reputation will probably be ruined. Who will dare to act as matchmaker for Brother Jinyu in the future?"

Li Rengui's dark, thin face seemed even darker.

"Our family is poor, but Xiumei's family didn't mind and still agreed to the marriage. Now that we've offended the Qinglin Gang, and before we've even started to figure out a solution, we're going to break off the engagement? How is that any different from being ungrateful?"

Li Jinyu rubbed her face, her expression becoming serious: "Father, what you taught me is that one can forget many things, but one must never forget kindness."

Li Rengui didn't speak, but instead gathered his inner strength.

"The Green Forest Gang is not someone we can afford to offend."

When Li Jinyu's mother, Zhang Fang, spoke, her voice was choked with sobs.

If you can't afford to offend them, then stay away.

Without hesitation, Li Jinyu replied, "Let's leave Qingyuan County."

"Can you leave?"

Li Rengui sighed: "In Qingyuan County, at least my family still has a few acres of poor land, so we can still have some hope. Once we leave here, we'll have no land left."

"Then let's start clearing the land!"

"Reclaiming wasteland is fine... but can you guarantee there aren't gangs like the Green Forest Gang in other places?"

Li Rengui sighed, "What's more, you just signed an apprenticeship contract with the blacksmith shop and even took ten years' worth of wages from Master Jiang. If you just leave like this, won't Master Jiang sue you?"

Zhao Baoyin gave Li Jinyu a deep look. Uncle Rengui actually knew that Brother Jinyu had taken away his wages.

This time, Li Jinyu fell silent, caught in a dilemma that left him at a loss.

"How about... we let Ah Xin think of a solution?"

Seeing that the atmosphere in the courtyard had fallen silent again, Zhao Baoyin suddenly spoke up and made a suggestion.

"Ah Xin?"

Li Rengui hesitated for a moment: "Does he have a way? That's the Qinglin Gang."

"Ah Xin has already joined a martial arts school and become an apprentice, which means he's officially in the martial arts profession. Cao Bao also practiced martial arts, right? We're all in the same line of work, so maybe he'll give us some face?"

"You're talking complete nonsense!"

Zhao Baoyin had barely finished speaking when Li Jinyu refuted him: "Cao Bao is a Red Stick of the Green Forest Gang, and a master who has practiced martial arts for many years."

"Ah Xin just went to the martial arts school and hasn't even figured out the basics of martial arts yet. Do you think it's reasonable for him to plead with Cao Bao? Don't drag Ah Xin into this and cause him unnecessary trouble."

This……

Zhao Baoyin clicked his tongue, realizing that his idea was somewhat far-fetched.

Then they really have no other choice.

For ordinary people like them, the Qinglin Gang was truly as unshakeable as a mountain.

"Brother Jin Yu, Bao Yin?"

Just as the courtyard fell silent, Gu Xin's voice suddenly called out from the darkness outside.

"It's Ah Xin!"

Zhao Baoyin suddenly stood up.

Li Jinyu glanced at Zhao Baoyin and gently shook her head.

Zhao Baoyin's excited expression turned to disappointment, and he finally nodded slightly.

"Brother Jinyu, Baoyin? Uncle Rengui, Aunt Fang."

Just then, Gu Xin's voice came from the gate of the fenced yard: "Is everyone here?"

"Ah Xin, you're here!"

Li Jinyu stood up with a smile, opened the fence gate, and pulled Gu Xin inside: "Come and sit down!"

"Ah Xin is here again tonight, is something wrong?"

Zhao Baoyin looked Gu Xin up and down, asking him suspiciously.

"Is it that obvious? Bao Yin noticed it all."

Gu Xin touched his cheek. Was he really that bad at hiding things?

Li Jinyu laughed upon hearing this, but Li Rengui and Zhang Fang looked worried and forced their smiles.

Gu Xin's joking remark was intended to lighten the mood and start a conversation.

But the expressions of Li Rengui and Zhang Fang surprised Gu Xin.

The two elders are not people who don't understand fun.

Normally, the couple would join in the laughter and banter, joking around with them.

They couldn't help but add a few sarcastic remarks about Zhao Baoyin.

But tonight...

Gu Xin frowned, realizing that something was wrong.

"Has something happened at home?"

Gu Xin looked at Li Jinyu and asked seriously.

Li Jinyu, who had been laughing, paused for a moment, then realized what was going on and said with a cheerful laugh, "What is it? Isn't this great?"

Gu Xin rolled his eyes at Li Jinyu, then pointed at Zhang Fang and said, "Aunt Fang's eyes are all red, and Uncle Rengui's expression is unnatural. You call this nothing?"

"Brother Jinyu, don't think I don't know who Uncle Rengui and Aunt Fang are. They wouldn't be so silent when there's nothing else going on."

Li Jinyu's smile gradually faded.

"I'll go boil some water."

Zhang Fang knew that her behavior had exposed her disguise, so she quickly made an excuse to get up and leave.

This further confirms Gu Xin's conjecture.

Gu Xin looked at Li Jinyu seriously and gestured, "Tell me! What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing..."

Li Jinyu rubbed his hands together, unwilling to say more.

"Baoyin, aren't you going to consider me a brother anymore?"

Gu Xin didn't bother listening to Li Jinyu's attempts to cover it up and went straight to Zhao Baoyin to question him.

Of the three, Zhao Baoyin was the most outspoken and couldn't keep a secret.

Faced with Gu Xin's interrogation, Zhao Baoyin looked aggrieved.

"This isn't what I wanted to say; he asked it himself."

Zhao Baoyin remained silent for a moment, but decided to tell the truth.

"Precious Silver!"

Li Jinyu frowned and tried to stop Zhao Baoyin.

"Let me, the old man, explain!"

Seeing this, Li Rengui sighed and interrupted Li Jinyu and Zhao Baoyin.

Gu Xin turned his gaze to Li Rengui.

"father!"

Li Jinyu was furious and tried to get up, but Gu Xin held her shoulders down and she couldn't break free no matter how hard she struggled.

Li Rengui didn't waste any time and began to tell the story directly.

"Ah Xin should know that at the beginning of the year, Jin Yu arranged a marriage for a girl from Chenjia'ao."

Gu Xin nodded slightly; he had heard Li Jinyu mention this before.

They had previously said that good things were on the horizon.

"The young lady didn't look down on our Li family for being poor; on the contrary, she valued this marriage very much. Now that she heard that Jinyu had apprenticed at a blacksmith shop and that her future prospects were promising, she agreed to get engaged and put the marriage on the table."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Gu Xin asked suspiciously, "Could it be that you don't have the money for a banquet?"

Gu Xin subconsciously reached into his pocket, wanting to take out the silver that Li Jinyu had given him earlier.

"It's a good thing, but it's not about the money."

Li Rengui waved his hand, interrupting Gu Xin: "It's just that something bad happened while we were doing this good deed."

Gu Xin frowned: "What is it?"

Li Rengui sighed: "When we were preparing the banquet, we unfortunately ran into Cao Bao. That bastard took a fancy to Xiumei's looks."

"They told us to send Xiumei to their house within three days. Otherwise, they'll make our two families suffer."

Such a thing really happened?

Gu Xin immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"Ah Xin, don't be impulsive!"

Li Jinyu quickly got up and grabbed Gu Xin's arm to comfort him.

"Brother Jinyu, Uncle Rengui, I understand about this matter. You don't need to worry about it; leave it to me!"

Gu Xin patted Li Jinyu's arm and then comforted her, "Eat and sleep as usual, don't worry."

"Ah Xin, don't be impulsive!"

Li Jinyu gripped Gu Xin's arm even tighter: "Cao Bao is a Red Stick of the Qinglin Gang, and he has practiced martial arts for many years. You've only just joined the school as an apprentice, so you're definitely no match for him. Don't go looking for trouble."

"We'll figure out a way to handle this ourselves, so don't worry. Just come and join Xiumei and me for our wedding."

Given the Qinglin Gang's modus operandi and Cao Bao's ruthlessness.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it seems unlikely that this wedding banquet will take place.

Gu Xin gave Li Jinyu a deep look, knowing that the latter didn't want him to get involved and cause trouble.

"Brother Jinyu, you're the one who shouldn't act impulsively!"

Gu Xin held Li Jinyu's hands behind his back and solemnly instructed, "Although I have just joined the martial arts school, I have good aptitude, and the headmaster thinks highly of me."

"He specially waived my tuition fee tonight, so I can learn martial arts from him without worry."

"real?"

"Of course! If you don't believe me, just go to Zhenwei Martial Arts School and ask around."

Gu Xin smiled and said, "I will try to mediate Cao Bao's matter. If all else fails, I will ask the headmaster to step in and help mediate."

"The master of the academy is even more powerful than the leader of the Qinglin Gang. If he is willing to step in, Cao Bao will definitely not dare to act recklessly."

"So, for the next few days, your job is to keep Cao Bao calm and prevent things from escalating. Wait for my news!"