I'll write a manual called the Sunflower Manual, and the entire martial arts world will turn in

The next morning, Xie Yu got up early to tidy up the bookstore.

She wiped the counter twice, then neatly arranged the scattered account books and replaced the broken wooden board.

She then hurriedly ran to the kitchen and cooked a pot of white rice porridge. The rice grains tumbled and bubbled in the pot. She ladled a bowl and placed it on the table, then chopped a small dish of pickled vegetables and set out the chopsticks.

After doing all that, she stood at the doorway and looked at the daylight outside.

Its daybreak.

She took a deep breath and felt that even the air was sweet today.

"Brother, the porridge is on the stove. I'm going to work."

Xie Yu called out to the inner room, her voice carrying a long-lost lightness.

As soon as she stepped out the door, she saw three familiar faces walking towards her from the alley entrance.

Leading the way was Zhao Hu, a man in his early twenties, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, carrying a burlap bundle on his shoulder, walking with a powerful stride. Behind him followed Liu Chun and Xu Zhijie, one carrying a fish and the other a jar of wine.

"Xiaoyu!" Zhao Hu waved from afar, "Where's your brother?"

Xie Yu quickly went to greet them: "Brother Zhao Hu, what brings you here?"

"I was out escorting goods for someone the other day and only got back last night." Zhao Hu strode to the door. "I had to come and check on things right away."

Liu Chun handed the fish in his hand to Xie Yu: "These are crucian carp that were just caught in the river. They're good for Mingxi to eat."

Xu Zhijie placed the wine jar on the counter and grinned sheepishly, "It's homemade, not worth much."

Xie Yu took it, her eyes welling up with tears.

She ushered the three of them into the house, then turned and went to the kitchen to serve them three more bowls of porridge.

"Mingxi!" Zhao Hu shouted as he entered the room, his voice booming, "Are you up yet?"

The curtain to the inner room was lifted, and Xie An came out.

Zhao Hu looked Xie An up and down, his eyes wide. "It's only been a short time, how come you look so good? You've gotten so much more fit..."

Where was the frail scholar Xie An before him?

Xie An smiled and said, "I've been resting for a few days and I'm much better."

The three sat down at the counter. Xie Yu brought over the porridge and added several dishes of pickled vegetables. Zhao Hu slurped down a couple of mouthfuls of porridge, wiped his mouth, and asked in a low voice, "I heard the Dragon King Gang raised the incense money again? And forced you to sign a loan shark agreement?"

Xie An nodded.

"Damn it!" Zhao Hu cursed. "These bastards, all they know is how to bully honest people. Do you have enough money? If not, I have more here—"

Zhao Hu, Liu Chun, and Xu Zhijie were the original owner's best friends in the town.

When their father was still alive, he often taught the three of them to read and write, and occasionally wrote them letters. Over time, they became familiar with each other.

Xie An had thought that since his family had fallen on hard times, these people would avoid him like the plague, but to his surprise, they took the initiative to come and visit him.

Thinking of this, Xie An smiled and stopped, "I appreciate Brother Hu's kindness, but I'll figure out the money myself."

Zhao Hu said, "You scholars are so concerned about your reputation. If you need anything, just ask. Now that your father is gone, the bookstore business has always been tough. You can't make a living without a stable means of earning a living. Why don't you come with me to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort)? You're strong and healthy now, you can make a living by selling your physical labor."

After considering it for a moment, Xie An realized that he couldn't hide his martial arts training any longer, so he said, "Thank you for your care, Brother Hu. I plan to start practicing martial arts."

Zhao Hu stopped holding the bowl. "Practicing martial arts? Mingxi, how old are you this year?"

"Seventeen."

Zhao Hu shook his head and sighed: "Martial arts training has to start from a young age. You start practicing horse stance at seven or eight, and then you start practicing basic stances at your early teens. You can only dare to touch the skin and muscles at fourteen or fifteen. At your age, your muscles and bones are already fixed, so it will be much more difficult to train."

Liu Chun chimed in from the side: "Brother Hu is right. Martial arts practitioners may look glamorous and powerful, but among the apprentices in the town's martial arts school, it's good if one out of ten can make a name for themselves. The rest either give up halfway or practice for years without even touching the skin, wasting dozens of taels of silver and ending up with injuries. It's really not worth it."

Xu Zhijie said in a low voice, "Wang Laosan next door spent twenty taels of silver to go to a martial arts school and trained for two years. He didn't even develop his skin, but he ruined his knees. Now he walks with a limp. Mingxi, your family is already in a bad situation, and you can't afford to take such a risk. Practicing martial arts is something that ordinary people like us can only dream of."

Zhao Hu picked up the conversation, speaking earnestly: "Mingxi, it's not that I don't support you. I'm afraid you'll waste your money. Think about it, your father just passed away, Xiaoyu is still young, and the family is counting on you. If you invest all your money and don't achieve anything, what will happen then? What will happen to Xiaoyu?"

Xie An didn't speak, he just listened.

Without the cheat code, practicing martial arts is indeed as the three people said.

But Xie An has a cheat code, so these problems are no problem for him.

However, Xie An wouldn't openly mention having a cheat ability, so he remained silent.

Zhao Hu comforted him, "In my opinion, if you want to find a way out, why not come with me to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort)? You seem to be in good health now. Go with me a few times, get familiar with the roads and people, and you'll gradually get the hang of it. Although镖师 work is hard, it's a stable job. You can earn at least two taels of silver a month, which shouldn't be a problem to support you and Xiaoyu."

Liu Chun nodded: "Brother Hu is right. Escorting goods is at least a legitimate path. Martial arts is too complicated; it's not something we poor people can even dream of."

Xu Zhijie also advised, "Mingxi, think about it again. Money is easy to spend, but hard to earn back."

Xie An was silent for a moment, then raised his head: "I still want to give it a try."

Zhao Hu stared at him for a long time, then sighed, "Fine. You have your own ideas, I won't stop you."

He took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket and placed them on the table. Liu Chun and Xu Zhijie exchanged a glance and then each took something out of their pockets.

Liu Chun took out three taels of silver, rubbed his fingers on the silver as he placed it on the table, hesitated for a moment, and then added another tael. Xu Zhijie took out all the loose silver and copper coins from his pocket, counted them again and again, and finally pushed over three taels and two hundred coins.

Zhao Hu pushed his share over, and together they made ten taels of silver.

"Take this." Zhao Hu pushed the silver towards Xie An. "Pay off the loan sharks first, so those bastards don't have any more designs on Xiaoyu. Use the rest to pay your tuition at the martial arts school."

Xie An, observing everyone's expressions, understood perfectly:

Zhao Hu genuinely gave the money, and although Liu Chun and Xu Zhijie felt a pang of regret, they still paid up.

The main reason was that they didn't believe Xie An could succeed in martial arts, but they still cherished their past relationship. Even though they felt the money was a waste, they accepted it. But that relationship had come to an end, and they probably wouldn't help Xie An again.

Even so, in times of chaos and despair, such friendship is a rare and precious thing.

Zhao Hu would spend at least half a month on a single escort mission, enduring wind and rain, and would only earn one or two taels of silver. This amount was probably the savings he had accumulated over a long period of time.

Liu Chun worked hard carrying goods at the dock, earning a few dozen copper coins a day, and had been saving up three taels of silver for who knows how long. Xu Zhijie set up a stove on the street to sell sesame cakes, each cake costing only two copper coins, and one tael of silver was enough for him to sell for more than half a month.

Xie An initially wanted to refuse.

But then he suddenly remembered something—yesterday all the neighbors knew he had signed a loan agreement with exorbitant interest rates, and with Scarface Liu dead last night, the fact that he now had money was bound to arouse suspicion.

If the money was borrowed, then there would be a way to explain it.

With this in mind, Xie An accepted the silver, saying, "Thank you for your kindness. I will definitely repay you when I have more money."

Liu Chun forced a smile, "You've always been spending your time reading in bookstores, you don't know how hard it is to make a living outside. If you can't master martial arts, it would be good for you to come with me to the docks and work as a laborer."

Xu Zhijie chuckled, "You can come with me to sell sesame cakes too."

Zhao Hu stood up and patted him on the shoulder: "Mingxi, take good care of yourself. If you change your mind, come find me anytime, and I'll help you arrange the escort mission."

Liu Chun and Xu Zhijie also stood up and said goodbye.

Zhao Hu walked to the door, glanced back at Xie An, moved his lips but didn't say anything more, and turned to leave.

The morning light shone on the three of them, casting long shadows.

Zhao Hu carried the bundle ahead. Liu Chun followed behind, his trousers rolled up to his knees, revealing calluses on his calves from carrying goods. Xu Zhijie was the smallest and thinnest, his back slightly hunched, and he had to switch the carrying pole from one side to the other every few steps.

Liu Chun quickly caught up with Zhao Hu, muttering, "Hey, Mingxi is so stubborn. Making a name for himself in martial arts looks glamorous, but in reality, the chances of success are slim. It's not something ordinary people like us can even dream of. That ten taels of silver is probably a complete waste."

Xu Zhijie swayed his hips and joined in, saying, "I've been selling pancakes for months to save up this little bit of money. I said I was lending it to Mingxi today, but I don't expect it to be paid back. If I ask again in the future, I'm afraid our friendship will end here."

Zhao Hu shouted, "Alright, all of you, say less. Mingxi just lost his father, so it's understandable that he's impatient and eager for quick results. He'll know to turn back once he hits a wall."

……

Xie An stood at the door, watching the three figures leave, for a long time.

Xie Yu came out of the kitchen and asked in a low voice, "Brother, Zhao Hu and the others... don't seem to approve of you practicing martial arts."

Xie An nodded: "I know."

"Are you still going?"

"Go." Xie An turned and went back into the house. "You can pay back the money later. But you can't stop practicing martial arts."

Some things, even if said now, no one would believe them.

Once you've mastered the skill, you'll naturally believe it.

Around noon, Xie Yu returned from work with an undisguised smile on his face, and shouted as soon as he entered the door.

"Brother, I asked someone about Instructor Liu, who's in charge of taking on students at the martial arts school. He said if you want to learn martial arts, you can go. Considering I do laundry and other odd jobs for the school, he'll give you a discount of one or two taels of silver. It'll be a six-month course, so it'll only cost nine taels of silver."

Xie An pondered this for a while.

I had hoped that once both my Spirit and Strength reached level 2, I would have the opportunity to be exempt from tuition fees.

But having just killed Scarface Liu and his two companions, and having learned that the Dragon King Gang's leader was under a curse...

Xie An felt he couldn't wait any longer.

After a quick lunch, Xie An changed into a slightly more presentable set of coarse cloth shorts. "Let's go to Yong Sheng Martial Arts School."

The reason Xie An chose Yong Sheng Martial Arts School was partly due to its good reputation. Another reason was that he needed to be in a place with many talented people, so that he could accurately spread the next level of the Sunflower Manual.

Having no experience on my first try, I let that good-for-nothing Chen Da take the spot.

Next time, we can cast the net more precisely and be more efficient.

Especially this high and mighty Master Chen, he's a gold mine...