Water Ghost, God Hunter, Immortal Healer, and the Great Xia's Number One Martial Saint!

Li Xingdao had no doubt that Li Lai would try to kill him if given the chance.

In such rural areas, if you want to seize someone's property, one way is to exploit them when they are destitute, but a more direct way is to kill them outright.

Therefore, before fully obtaining all the power he could, Li Xingdao was unwilling to easily reveal all his thoughts. After all, no one could expect a village bully to have any conscience in this kind of world.

Although he now feels sympathy for Zhang Cui and thinks she is trustworthy, he clearly has no intention of making any rash moves.

After wandering around the county town, it was already noon. Zhang Cui took out two large steamed buns and dried vegetables from her bag, ate them with Li Xingdao, drank some water, and found a shady spot to snuggle up and rest.

After satisfying his curiosity, Li Xingdao, with a satisfied smile, took Zhang Cui's hand and headed back to Peach Blossom Village.

On his way back, he couldn't help but look back, memorizing the locations of the blacksmith shop, the pharmacy, and most importantly, the martial arts school.

The pharmacies are alright, and the villagers can also hire some barefoot doctors. If they can really unlock the doctor's position, they don't necessarily have to come to this county.

Martial arts schools were something he could never access in his village.

Blacksmith shops, like those in the county town, were only found there.

Everything they bought in their village, including the tools Li Lai and his family used to fire their brick kiln, was purchased from the blacksmith shop in the county town.

In this kind of world, these big businesses, including the fine salt they eat, are naturally monopolized without any room for negotiation.

They couldn't obtain the pig iron or even the ore needed for blacksmithing.

It's not that they can't find the production and purchase locations of these ores, but rather that no one will sell them to them at all, and even if they rashly go up to inquire, they will be killed.

This is the monopolistic tactic employed by these local powerful merchants.

As for the martial arts school, it was the first time Li Xingdao had ever seen one since before he transmigrated.

However, he was also filled with intense curiosity: since there is a martial arts school, there must be martial arts practitioners. So, he wondered what level of power these martial arts practitioners could have?

Is he an ordinary person like in his previous life, or is he like someone in some novels or stories who is high-level and has extraordinary martial arts skills?

At this moment, Li Xingdao secretly rejoiced that his father before his rebirth was a scholar, which meant that although he was simple-minded, he could still recognize some characters and names such as "martial arts school" and "medical clinic".

He can even clearly remember the contents of some basic books in his home, such as the "Thousand Character Classic" and the "Hundred Family Surnames," which undoubtedly makes it much easier for him to meet any needs in the future.

If he were illiterate, he wouldn't be able to understand a secret manual even if it were right in front of him, making it even more difficult to learn. But if he could read, changing jobs would undoubtedly become much easier, regardless of the requirements of his profession.

Thinking of this, a smile rose in Li Xingdao's heart. He gripped the shovel in his hand, carried the hoe on his back, and took Zhang Cui's hand as they walked towards Peach Blossom Village.

As he walked along the road, he couldn't help but chat with Zhang Cui for a bit because of his concern about literacy and his adoptive father.

"Zhang Cui, do you know how my father died?"

As Li Xingdao walked along the road, he couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

In his memory, his parents in his previous life were carried into the house after leaving home, and it was said that they fell to their deaths on the road.

This has left him quite confused.

While it's possible for someone to fall and die while walking, the likelihood is extremely small.

Although the father of the original body was a scholar, he was not the kind of scholar in later generations who only knew how to read scriptures, but a scholar who knew how to use archery and swordsmanship.

Although his archery and swordsmanship skills were not very good, he was in good physical health.

It's highly suspicious that he fell to his death while walking, and that he and his mother fell to their deaths together.

The original owner of this body was simple-minded and believed such claims easily, but now that his memories have been awakened, he naturally has to be skeptical.

He felt it wasn't the right time before, so he hadn't asked about these things.

Besides, even if I asked, it wouldn't make any difference now that things have come to this, so I might as well just focus on living my life. That's why I never opened my mouth.

But now that he was outside the city, he met Zhang Cui again, and Zhang Cui said the same thing she had said before, asking him to help her.

On the way back, Li Xingdao naturally couldn't help but ask.

Of course, while he was asking questions, Li Xingdao still put on a very good show.

When Zhang Cui looked over, he naturally had a simple and honest smile on his face and scratched his head.

"Where did my parents fall and die? What a coincidence, they even fell and died while walking?"

Li Xingdao's voice carried a puzzled tone and a uniquely naive one.

Zhang Cui's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. She then pursed her lips and sighed, thinking to herself, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but knowing wouldn't do you any good. It would only bring trouble."

"You should stay here and work hard, eat and drink your fill, and take good care of yourself. If you encounter any danger in the future, you can save me, and then I will become your wife. After that, I will tell you how your parents died."

Zhang Cui pursed her lips and looked at Li Xing earnestly, saying, "However, you mustn't tell anyone about how your parents died. If Li Lai finds out, he'll beat you severely, and no one will be able to plead for you then."

As Zhang Cui spoke, her gaze was both brooding and intimidating as she said to Li Xingdao, "If he starts a fight, he'll be ruthless. Even if he himself is unable to fight due to his leg injury, he'll call his brothers over."

"It will hurt a lot when you get hit. You might even get your skin torn and bleeding, and you won't have anywhere to cry. So please, don't tell anyone that you asked me this question today."

The most effective way to deal with simple-minded people is to intimidate them. Zhang Cui clearly knew this, so she subconsciously used this tactic.

However, Li Xingdao's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, and he became even more certain of his guess: the cause of death of his parents in this life was probably not so simple.

Considering Li Lai and his gang of village bullies and the fact that Li Lai had taken advantage of his family's poverty, Xin Zeng had a pretty good idea: his parents were probably killed by some evil people in the village or outside the village.

But now is clearly not the time for him to say these things.

Hearing Zhang Cui's words about dealing with a fool, Li Xingdao quickly pretended to be simple-minded and hurriedly spoke in a frightened tone:

"Zhang Cui, don't worry, I definitely won't tell Li Lai. I didn't ask anything today."

After saying that, he shrank his neck and walked straight ahead with a straight gaze.

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Cui smiled and nodded. She didn't say anything, but took his hand and continued to lead him into Peach Blossom Village.