That evening, Yang Jing lay on his bed at home, staring up at the smoke-blackened rafters. Beneath him was a hard bedboard, cushioned only by two layers of coarse cloth bedding.
Although it was a rare occasion for them to have meat, no one in the family could find it in them to be happy. Their smiles were all forced.
The pressure from Feng Lei and his backer, Master Ning, weighed on the Yang Family like a great mountain.
His uncle's family had some connection to the steward of the Ning Mansion, but Master Ning himself was a notorious tightwad. Even with the Ning Family's vast fortune, the hope of getting even a few more taels of silver out of them was slim.
Yang Jing's brow furrowed at the thought.
Aside from that, Yang Jing also sensed a newfound warmth from his aunt and cousin, Yang An, during this trip home.
In truth, his eldest uncle's family were all honest people.
It was just that his former self had been arrogant, rarely interacting with his poorer uncle's family and thus not knowing them well.
After Yang Jing had slightly changed his attitude last time, his aunt had immediately responded in kind. After Heizi was kicked to death, his aunt had set aside the dog meat, insisting they wait for Yang Jing to come home before eating. If he didn't return, no one was to eat it.
Furthermore, Yang Jing suspected his cousin, Yang An, also had an aptitude for martial arts. In just half a month, Yang An had grown noticeably sturdier, which showed that his training was quite effective.
Lost in these thoughts, Yang Jing's eyelids grew heavy, and he gradually drifted off to sleep.
....
The next morning.
Yang Jing took one tael of silver and one hundred thirty large copper coins from home, bid his family farewell, and headed back to the county seat.
He knew with perfect clarity that the most important thing right now was his martial arts training.
Whether for his family's sake or his own long-term prospects, martial arts training was paramount.
In a world where chaos was on the rise, one's own strength was the root of everything.
Only by becoming powerful could he protect himself, his family, and everything he wanted to safeguard.
This truth was universal, holding true in this world just as it did on the Earth of Yang Jing's past life.
So as not to delay his training, Yang Jing walked at a brisk pace.
This trip home and the sight of his family's plight had instilled in him a deep sense of urgency.
Along the way, he saw refugees in tattered clothes, and some villages had even posted guards to prevent these refugees from entering.
These were chaotic times with bad harvests; many couldn't even feed their own families, let alone spare any rations for refugees.
As he hurried on his way, Yang Jing's mind raced to find a solution.
The market price for two mu of high-grade farmland was between twelve and fifteen taels of silver. In the past, high-grade land had sold for as much as ten taels of silver per mu.
But even with the drop in land prices, for Master Ning to offer a mere six taels of silver for the Yang Family's two mu of high-grade land was simply outrageous.
Besides, this was the last two mu of high-grade land the Yang Family owned.
If they sold it, they could barely scrape by this year. But if next year's harvest was as bad as this one, people starving to death would be a very real possibility.
As far as Yang Jing knew, people had already begun to starve to death in some villages in Yuhe County, and even more refugees were dying of starvation and disease.
'I can't let this drag on.'
Yang Jing's eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them.
A surge of rage swelled in his chest as he thought about what his family had been through recently.
.....
When Yang Jing arrived at the Martial Arts Hall in Chengping Square, a dozen or so disciples were already honing their vitality and practicing their techniques.
Without a word to anyone, he took off his shirt, found a spacious spot in the courtyard, and began lifting stone locks.
Hall Master Sun Yong had said that one's progress would be faster if they first honed their vitality before beginning their formal training.
After honing his vitality, Yang Jing began practicing the Mountain-Shattering Fist.
His natural aptitude was average, so his training speed wasn't fast. However, thinking of his panel's powerful function, he trained with great dedication, unlike some disciples who, having lost faith in ever achieving a breakthrough, were merely going through the motions.
At one point, his Fourth Senior Brother, Liu Maolin, came over to give him some pointers and even sparred with him personally.
Yang Jing had a great impression of his good-natured senior brother.
After his senior brother left, Yang Jing continued practicing the Mountain-Shattering Fist by himself until noon, when it was time to eat. Only then did he leave the Martial Arts Hall.
He went straight to the West Market and spent one hundred and four large copper coins at a butcher shop for two jin of horse meat. The horse meat at noon was two large copper coins more expensive per jin than it was in the evening.
Yang Jing then took the two jin of horse meat he had bought back to his lodgings in Datong Square.
Martial arts training was, in large part, the training of one's vitality and blood, and a nourishing diet was an essential way to supplement it.
There were a few wealthy disciples from good families at the Martial Arts Hall, and it was said that the meat they ate was different from ordinary meat, providing a much greater boost to one's vitality.
Back in his room, Yang Jing began to stew the meat, and its savory aroma soon filled the air.
Yang Jing ate half of the horse meat, leaving the other half in the pot for the evening.
Feeling a faint warmth spreading through his body, Yang Jing wasted no time and immediately began practicing the Mountain-Shattering Fist in his room.
During a break in his practice, he ran all the way to the Martial Arts Hall in Chengping Square.
Training at the Martial Arts Hall was much better than in his cramped room. For one, it was spacious. Two, it had the right atmosphere. And three, most importantly, there were people available for guidance.
After all, he had paid his dues, and anyone who managed to develop their inner force could officially become a formal disciple under Sun Yong.
According to Hall Master Sun Yong's instructions, any disciple who ran into difficulties in their training should first ask First Senior Brother Xu Hong. Only if their senior brother also didn't know the answer were they permitted to ask the Hall Master.
Most of the time, however, when Yang Jing encountered difficulties in his training, he asked Fourth Senior Brother Liu Maolin. Compared to the stern and unsmiling First Senior Brother Xu Hong, the good-natured Liu Maolin was much more approachable.
During his afternoon practice, Yang Jing could vaguely feel that his progress was a bit faster than it had been in the morning. He understood this was because of the jin of horse meat he had eaten at noon.
He trained this way until 3:45 PM, only then did Yang Jing slowly end his practice and calm his breathing.
Once he had composed himself, Yang Jing walked to the courtyard wall, picked up the shirt he had left there, and was about to put it on and leave.
"Junior Brother Yang, why are you leaving so early today?"
His Fourth Senior Brother, Liu Maolin, who was not far off, saw Yang Jing preparing to leave and asked in confusion.
He had taken note of the change in Yang Jing over this period.
Although he didn't know why Yang Jing had suddenly become so dedicated to his training, almost to the point of obsession, Liu Maolin was very happy for him.
Having been at Sun's Martial Arts Hall for many years, Liu Maolin had seen countless disciples. Many were like Yang Jing, boys from rural families who had paid an enormous price just to scrape together the fee to join.
Although it was incredibly difficult to develop inner force, there was always a glimmer of hope if one trained hard. But if one's focus was divided by other matters, then even that glimmer would be lost.
In Liu Maolin's eyes, the old Yang Jing had been just like that, his focus scattered by petty, sordid affairs instead of being placed entirely on his training.
Liu Maolin had seen it all: Yang Jing's falling out with Lv Yang, Zhang Kehan, and Zhou Lin some time ago, and how he had subsequently thrown himself body and soul into his training.
"Fourth Senior Brother, something has come up at home. I need to make a trip back," Yang Jing said, pulling on his shirt.
"I see," Liu Maolin said with a slight nod. "There are a lot of refugees outside the city now, and they're causing frequent trouble. Be careful on the road."
"I will. Thank you, Fourth Senior Brother." Yang Jing nodded in response, then walked out of Sun's Martial Arts Hall.
Instead of returning to his lodgings in Datong Square, Yang Jing followed Vermilion Bird Avenue south, left the city gates, and headed toward Wazi Town.
The sun hung low in the western sky, stretching Yang Jing's shadow out long and coating the official road in a layer of pale gold.
As Yang Jing walked toward Wazi Town, he summoned his panel and checked his training progress—
[Mountain-Shattering Fist: Introductory (83/200)]
Yang Jing nodded slightly.
Though his progress was slowed by his limited aptitude, it was still steady.
Most importantly, unlike others, Yang Jing wouldn't have to face any incredibly difficult or dangerous bottlenecks.
He only needed to train until he reached the limit of a stage, and the breakthrough would occur naturally.
He walked on, lost in thought.
Two hours later, Yang Jing arrived in Fenglou Village, part of Wazi Town.