Starting from a peasant family, he mastered the profound art of martial arts.

Chapter 10 Line Break

After the rain, it got hotter every day, and the mud on the roads was long gone.

Meng Chen, wearing straw sandals, tattered hemp clothes, and a straw hat, passed Old Dragon Pool and stepped over Yan Bao's corpse. He saw white banners hanging in front of the Yan family's door, but he didn't know if the funeral had gone smoothly.

The mulberry tree is still there, but everything has changed.

Undeterred by the summer heat, the farmer's son simply strode northward.

Meng Chen traveled about thirty miles without stopping, and it wasn't until after noon that he arrived at the foot of Qingshui County.

The wheat harvest had just ended, and the area around the city gate was bustling with activity. A market was held here daily, selling all sorts of things, with shouts and calls filling the air.

"These are the best quality mung beans, let's buy some!"

"The pig was just slaughtered, and it's very fat!"

"These newly woven straw sandals are sturdy and durable!"

As you walk further, idlers will approach you and strike up a conversation. These are all shrewd people who can figure out your background and purpose in just a few words before deciding whether to scam or cheat you.

Of course, very few people fell for it. Meng Chen was a poor country boy, used to being cautious, so he didn't talk much to strangers. He just found a shady spot, ate two flatbreads to fill his stomach, and then went into the city.

They made their way to the county government office, but before they could even get a foothold, they were surrounded by people. One asked if they wanted to file a lawsuit, while another claimed to be the county magistrate's brother-in-law.

"My elders asked me to visit Li Jingcheng, the clerk," Meng Chen said, and the crowd dispersed as soon as he spoke.

Meng Chen then stepped forward and asked the gatekeeper to announce his arrival. When the gatekeeper ignored him, he reluctantly took out five coins.

The doorman frowned, looking as if he had been insulted.

Meng Chen took out five more coins and said, "I really don't have any more. Please inform them that I am a descendant of Old Chen from Niujia Village."

"No need to announce your arrival, just come in!" The doorman, though pleased with the money, led Meng Chen forward through the ceremonial gate. Upon reaching a narrow corridor on the west side of the main hall, he immediately changed his expression and smiled inside, saying, "Li Jingcheng, someone from Niujia Village has come to pay their respects."

"Please come in." A gentle voice came from inside the room.

Meng Chen entered and saw that the room was not large. A person was sitting at a table. He only looked up after hearing the noise.

This Li Jingcheng, whose real name is Li Xiangsheng, is about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He is a little chubby, with a square face and big ears, and looks like a man of good fortune.

"You're from Niujia Village?" Li Xiang-sheng smiled as he sized up Meng Chen. "I only know Mr. Chen in Niujia Village. Are you his junior?"

Meng Chen was surprised that the other party actually remembered Old Chen, so he quickly bowed and said, "That's right."

Li Jingcheng nodded, then asked with a smile, "It's been eleven or twelve years since I last saw him. How is he? Is he still in good health? Please have a seat."

Meng Chen did not sit down, but answered each question one by one.

"You've come here because you need something, haven't you? Why don't you tell me?" Seeing that Meng Chen didn't sit down, Li Xiang Sheng didn't offer him a seat either.

"Indeed, I need your help, Lord Li. My father went to Chunshui River to repair the river last year and has not yet returned. I came to ask you why he has not returned," Meng Chen said.

"Chunshui River? Did you go there around September or October last year?" Li Jingcheng asked.

"My father was conscripted to repair the river in early October, with a term of one month," Meng Chen said.

"I'm going to check the files in the archives. Please wait a moment." Li Xiangsheng immediately got up and went out. He returned in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Holding a thick scroll, Li Xiangsheng asked, "What is your father's name?"

"My father is Meng Laoshuan," Meng Chen said.

"Come and see." Li Xiangsheng beckoned Meng Chen closer. "We reported him missing last November, how come you didn't receive the news? Can you even read?"

"I recognize a few words." Meng Chen could see clearly that the word "missing" was indeed recorded on the case file.

"This should have been communicated to you by the Household Registration Office." Li Jingcheng thought for a moment and said, "The Household Registration Office is headed by Yan Jingcheng. He was the one who nominated and recruited your father. After the incident, he also received a note saying that he would inform and comfort your family. Didn't you receive the message?"

The Yan Jingcheng he mentioned was Yan Hu, the second son of the Yan family, who was a clerk in the household registration office.

Meng Chen now understood the whole story of the land grabbing incident. It was probably a conspiracy between Yan Hu and Yan Bao, but they ended up dying together.

"Why did you report it missing?" Meng Chen already understood what "missing" meant, but he still wanted to ask.

"I won't lie to you, I heard that a section of the Chunshui River near Tianzhu Mountain collapsed, killing over a hundred people. As for whether there are other reasons, we don't know. We've been ordered to either record them as missing or drowning in the case files," Li Xiangsheng said gently.

"Thank you for informing me, Jingcheng." Meng Chen was sincerely grateful.

"Brother Meng, please accept my condolences." Seeing Meng Chen's dejected state, Li Xiang-sheng changed the subject, asking, "This year is a bumper year, how was the harvest at your family's?"

"The Yan family bought all of my land," Meng Chen said.

Li Xiangsheng was speechless for a moment. He knew what this "buying" meant, so he sighed and said, "Would you like me to help you find a way to make a living?"

"I want to learn martial arts. Does Li Jingcheng have any advice?" Meng Chen asked.

"Learn martial arts?" Li Xiangsheng shook his head upon hearing this, and said, "Your Dazexiang produced a Yan Long, and in recent years a lot of people have come out to learn martial arts. But the path of martial arts is not simple; it's not just about being able to endure hardship. You know, some families with a tradition start laying the foundation at the age of six or seven."

"I'm sixteen this year, isn't that too late?" Meng Chen knew that it was better to start learning martial arts as early as possible, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"It's not too late. I've heard of people who started learning in their forties and still became famous throughout the world," Li Xiangsheng said with a smile.

"I humbly request that Lord Li offer some guidance," Meng Chen earnestly pleaded.

"If you want to learn martial arts, the first choice is naturally a famous sect with a lineage. Our Qingshui County doesn't have many sects with lineages. Further west, there is the Nine Absolutes Sect, which is well-known, but they mostly prioritize the younger generation of their disciples, so it's not easy for outsiders to get in."

Li Xiangsheng was surprisingly familiar with these matters. "The second option is to join a martial arts school, which is the path Yan Long took. The worst option is to join some small gangs or factions, but these gangs are a mixed bag, with few real skills and a penchant for violence. Not only can you not learn any skills, but you'll also be corrupted."

These were words of wisdom spoken with experience, and Meng Chen naturally believed them. He then inquired, "Which martial arts school has a good reputation and charges low prices?"

"Except for Zhengxin Boxing School, where Yan Long is from, which charges slightly more, the other schools are about the same." Li Xiangsheng looked at Meng Chen and said earnestly, "I have an uncle who used to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), but later he got old and suffered some injuries, so he stayed home to enjoy his retirement. Last year, he was so bored that he opened a school and started taking on students. If you're willing, I can write a letter of recommendation, and I think he might be able to reduce the tuition fees a bit because of me."

Upon hearing this, Meng Chen couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "I wonder how this senior's martial arts compare to Yan Long's?"

"Oh dear, how can you compare to Yan Long?" Li Xiangsheng waved his hand with a smile and said, "You might not find a Yan Long even in a hundred or a thousand people. Even Master Wang, who taught Yan Long his skills back then, can't withstand a single move from him now."

Meng Chen had always heard that Yan Long was tall, but he didn't know that Yan Long was actually that tall! Of course, Meng Chen still didn't know exactly how tall he was.

Seeing Meng Chen deep in thought, Li Xiang-sheng said, "Brother Meng, who wouldn't want to study under a famous master and learn extraordinary skills? But for ordinary families like ours, that's probably not an opportunity. We can only broaden our horizons first, and if there's a chance in the future, we can strive for further advancement."

He tapped the case file and continued, "You come from a farming family, and now you've abandoned your sickle and hoe, and want to change your way of life. This is like changing professions."

Li Xiangsheng asked, "Brother, what do you think is the most important thing when changing careers?"

Meng Chenfu suddenly realized something and said, "It is better to enter the profession first."

"That's right." Li Xiangsheng said with a gentle smile, "My uncle is far inferior to Yan Long, and probably can't teach you to be like Yan Long. But at least he can bring you into the business, let you know how Yan Long rises to power, and let you know just how high Yan Long really is."