The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

Two men in black stood at the entrance of the shed, like two stone statues.

Ye Sheng put down the firewood basket and slowly walked over. He placed his right hand lightly on the wood-chopping knife at his waist, while his left hand hung naturally at his sides, assuming a stance resembling a standing meditation posture.

"Who are you two looking for?"

The man in black on the left spoke, his voice hoarse: "I heard there's a girl named Su living here."

Ye Sheng's heart sank, but he remained calm on the surface: "No, you've come to the wrong place."

The man in black on the right sneered, "Kid, stop pretending. We've been squatting here all afternoon and saw her go in with our own eyes."

Ye Sheng was silent for a moment: "Even if it exists, what business is it of yours?"

"What's it to us?" The man on the left took a step forward. "That girl saw something she shouldn't have seen; she has to come with us."

Ye Sheng didn't move, but gripped the wood-chopping knife tighter: "She's my guest. If you want to take her away, you'll have to get past me first."

The two men in black exchanged a glance and then smiled.

"Kid, do you know who we are?" The man on the right had a hint of mockery in his voice.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know," Ye Sheng said calmly. "All I know is that you're standing in my doorway right now, which is getting in my way."

The man on the left frowned: "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences."

As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand was already on the short blade at his waist.

Just then, the shed door suddenly opened.

Su Wan came out, her face pale, but her eyes were firm.

"Don't make things difficult for them, I'll go with you."

Ye Sheng frowned: "Miss Su..."

"Brother Ye, thank you for taking care of me these past few days." Su Wan smiled at him, a smile full of bitterness. "This is my business; I shouldn't have dragged you into it."

She turned to the two men in black: "I'll go with you, but you have to promise not to hurt anyone here."

The man on the left sneered: "You're not in a position to negotiate with us."

"Really?" A voice suddenly came from the other side of the pier.

Everyone turned around and saw Chen Mo striding over, followed by three people.

The three men were all dressed in long blue robes with jade pendants hanging from their waists. They had an otherworldly air about them and were clearly not ordinary people.

The man in black on the left's expression changed: "People from the Qingyun Sword Sect?"

Chen Mo walked to Ye Sheng's side and clasped his hands in greeting to the two men in black: "Gentlemen, this young lady is an old friend of Yun Zhonghe, an outer sect steward of my Qingyun Sword Sect. Please give her some face."

The man on the right sneered: "So what if she's from the Azure Cloud Sword Sect? She saw our Blood Pact Merchant Guild's transaction. This isn't over."

Chen Mo said in a deep voice, "Then let your guild leader come and talk to our sect."

The two men in black remained silent for a moment, but ultimately took a step back.

"Alright, we'll report this." The man on the left gave Su Wan a cold look. "Girl, you'd better pray that the Qingyun Sword Sect will continue to protect you."

After saying that, the two turned and left, quickly disappearing into the night.

Su Wan's legs went weak and she almost fell, but Ye Sheng caught her.

"Thank you, Uncle Chen." Her voice trembled.

Chen Mo waved his hand: "Let's go inside first and talk."

The group entered the shed, but the three men in blue robes remained at the door and did not come in.

Chen Mo sat down by the fire and looked at Su Wan: "Wan'er, I've already spoken with Deacon Yun. He's willing to accept you as a disciple and take you to the Qingyun Sword Sect."

Su Wan's eyes reddened: "Uncle Chen, I..."

"Don't say any more," Chen Mo interrupted her. "You'll go with them first thing tomorrow morning. Although the Blood Pact Merchant Guild is powerful, they wouldn't dare to directly clash with the Azure Cloud Sword Sect."

He paused, then looked at Ye Sheng: "Young man, thank you for taking care of Wan'er these past few days. This is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

As he spoke, he took a cloth bag out of his pocket and placed it in front of Ye Sheng.

Ye Sheng opened it and found fifty copper coins inside.

"Brother Chen, this..."

"Take it." Chen Mo waved his hand. "You saved Wan'er, this little bit of money is nothing."

Ye Sheng remained silent for a moment, but finally accepted it.

It wasn't that he was greedy; he simply needed the money.

Chen Mo stood up: "It's getting late, I'll be going now. Wan'er, Steward Yun will come to pick you up at 5:00 AM tomorrow."

Su Wan nodded, tears streaming down her face.

Chen Mo sighed and turned to leave.

Inside the shed, only Ye Sheng, Ye Kai, and Su Wan remained.

Su Wan lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Ye Kai didn't know what to say, so he just sat silently to the side.

Ye Sheng walked to Su Wan's side and handed her a clean cloth.

"Don't cry, going to the Qingyun Sword Sect is a good thing."

Su Wan took the cloth and wiped away her tears: "Brother Ye, I... I am really grateful to you."

She paused for a moment: "These days have been the most peaceful days of my life."

Ye Sheng shook his head: "Don't talk about that. Focus on your cultivation. We'll meet again sometime."

Su Wan nodded, and tears fell again.

No one slept well that night.

Just as dawn was breaking, footsteps could be heard outside.

Ye Sheng pushed open the door and saw Chen Mo and the three men in blue robes already waiting outside.

Su Wan packed her simple luggage and walked up to Ye Sheng and Ye Kai.

"Brother Ye, A-Kai, take care."

Ye Kai's eyes reddened: "Sister Su, take care of yourself too."

Su Wan squatted down, took out a small cloth bag from her bosom, and stuffed it into Ye Kai's hand.

"These are some good things I found while sorting herbs these past few days. Your leg isn't healed yet, remember to take your medicine on time."

Ye Kai bit his lip and nodded.

Su Wan stood up, looked at Ye Sheng, opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing, only bowing deeply.

Then, she turned around and followed Chen Mo and the three men in blue robes onto the pier.

Ye Sheng and Ye Kai stood at the door, watching her figure gradually walk away and eventually disappear into the morning mist.

"Brother, is Sister Su in danger?" Ye Kai asked in a low voice.

"No." Ye Sheng shook his head. "The Azure Cloud Sword Sect is a major sect in the Eastern Region; the Blood Pact Merchant Guild wouldn't dare to act recklessly."

He paused. "She's much safer there than staying here."

Ye Kai nodded and said nothing more.

Ye Sheng turned around and went back into the house, opening the cloth bag left by Su Wan.

Inside were several high-quality medicinal herbs and a note.

A few lines of neat, small handwriting were written on the paper:

"Brother Ye, thank you for taking care of me these past few days. These herbs will help A-Kai recover; remember to take them on time. If fate allows, we'll meet again in the martial world. —Su Wan"

Ye Sheng looked at the note, remained silent for a moment, then carefully folded it and put it in his pocket.

"Brother, what do we do next?" Ye Kai asked.

"What else can we do?" Ye Sheng stood up and picked up his wood-chopping knife. "Keep chopping wood, keep earning money, keep paying off the debt."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Let's pretend that Miss Su's matter never happened."

Ye Kai nodded.

In the following days, Ye Sheng's life returned to normal.

During the day, he would go into the mountains to chop firewood and gather herbs, and at night he would come back to practice stance training and basic sword techniques.

The progress of [Standing Posture] has reached "87/100", and it is only one step away from entering the beginner level.

[Basic Knife Techniques] After getting started, the progress is very slow, and it is only "23/500" now.

But Ye Sheng could feel that his understanding of the knife was deepening every day.

That evening, Ye Sheng returned from the mountains and had just stepped onto the pier when he saw Liu the Cripple standing at the door of the shed.

"Master Liu." Ye Sheng put down his firewood basket and walked over.

Liu the Cripple glanced at him: "Kid, the boatmen have work for you."

Ye Sheng's heart skipped a beat: "What kind of job?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, a shipment needs to be transported from Shuilongdu to Huoshiwan downstream," Liu the Cripple said slowly. "The boatmen are short-handed, so I'm asking you to go help out."

Ye Sheng frowned: "What goods are you transporting?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask," Liu the Cripple glanced at him. "Just focus on doing your work."

Ye Sheng was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Understood."

Liu the Cripple turned to leave, but suddenly stopped: "By the way, this job is a bit dangerous, you'd better be careful."

Ye Sheng's heart sank: "What danger?"

"Things have been tense on the river lately," Liu the Cripple said without turning his head. "Someone's hijacking the ships."

After saying that, he leaned on his cane and slowly walked away.

Ye Sheng stood there, his brows furrowed.

Hijacking?

He returned to the shed and told Ye Kai what Liu the Cripple had said.

Ye Kai's expression changed: "Brother, this job is too dangerous, maybe..."

"No," Ye Sheng interrupted him. "I promised the shipping company I'd be available anytime for the next three months."

He paused for a moment: "Besides, dangerous jobs might pay more."

Ye Kai bit his lip and said nothing more.

Ye Sheng didn't sleep well that night.

He sat by the fire, repeatedly wiping his wood-chopping knife.

The blade gleamed coldly in the firelight, so sharp it could cut through iron like mud.

This knife has accompanied him in killing wolves and iron-backed jackals.

I wonder what else I'll be killing tomorrow.

The next afternoon, Ye Sheng arrived at Longmen Gorge.

A speedboat was moored on the riverbank, with several strong men standing at its bow; they were all members of the boat crew.

There were more than a dozen wooden crates piled up in the cabin, covered with burlap, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Ye Sheng walked over, and a man glanced at him: "You're Ye Sheng?"

"Yes."

"Get on the ship."

Ye Sheng jumped onto the boat and stood at the stern.

Before long, two more people arrived, both from the boatmen's guild.

The leader looked at the number of people and nodded: "Everyone's here, let's go."

The speedboat left the shore and sailed downstream along the river.

The river was wide and the waves were surging.

Ye Sheng stood at the stern of the ship, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

Besides their boat, there were a few other fishing boats scattered sparsely in the distance on the river.

Everything seems normal.

But Ye Sheng always had a sense of unease in his heart.

After the boat had been traveling for about an hour, the river suddenly narrowed ahead, and the cliffs on both sides were sheer.

The leader's expression changed: "Be careful, there are dangerous shoals ahead."

No sooner had he finished speaking than three small boats suddenly appeared on the river, flanking him from both sides.

There were more than a dozen people standing on the boat, all dressed in black short khakis, their faces covered with black cloth, and carrying knives.

"The hijackers are here!" the leader shouted, drawing his long sword from his waist.

The other boatmen also drew their swords, ready for battle.

Ye Sheng gripped the wood-chopping knife tightly, his eyes cold.

coming.