From a humble farmer to a great martial arts master

Chapter 100, Brother, You've Changed

Chapter 101, Brother, You've Changed

In her letter to Fang Yanping, Ren Qingshan asked her to write: "I failed to break through to the Innate Realm, my major acupoints are blocked, I have lost all my martial arts skills, I am bedridden and unable to get up. Please save me!"

At the same time, she wrote a letter to Xiaocui at home, saying that her husband was doing well and opening a business in the prefectural city, so she should not worry about him and should focus on recuperating.

He also instructed Lu Qingyi to transfer Lu Jingsong, the disciple she had previously accepted, to the prefectural city.

He also arranged for Ren Yaowu to find a shop in the prefectural city to open a branch of Qingshan Rice Shop, and to hire a few reliable villagers—the reason being that the more critical the situation, the more important it was to save face.

After arranging all these things, Ren Qingshan dismissed everyone and continued to "rest quietly".

The door closed.

He propped himself up with a pillow, then pulled out the book "The Tale of the Sword-Wielding Couple" from under the mattress. It was a collection of erotic poems written by a poor, penniless scholar in the capital, which Ren Qingshan briefly admired.

Like a fisherman, lying comfortably on his fishing platform.

At the peak, false supporters abound; at dusk, true believers are revealed.

Fish hiding in the shadows, bite the hook!

Lu Haichuan noticed that his daughter was forcing a smile, her eyes slightly swollen from crying, and Ren Qingshan had never come to the Lu family again. His heart sank – could it be that she had been used and then abandoned?

Through subtle probing and patient questioning, Lu Qingyi couldn't help but shed tears, but she gritted her teeth and said nothing.

Lu Haichuan's suspicions were increasingly confirmed, so he brazenly went to the Ren family.

When he arrived at the door, he was all smiles and said to Ren Yaohui that he had something urgent to discuss with Lord Ren.

Ren Yaohui tried to stop him, saying he was going into seclusion.

Lu Haichuan didn't force his way in, but waited with him at the door from noon until late at night. Countless possibilities floated through his mind, but he finally settled on one: Ren Qingshan was in trouble!

Given the current situation, the most likely explanation is that something went wrong during the refining of the five elemental spiritual objects.

"But what went wrong during your training?"

He looked at Ren Yaohui's haggard face and asked with narrowed eyes.

Ren Yaohui immediately denied it, his tone extremely firm.

Lu Haichuan observed his expression and, though he couldn't discern anything amiss, he completely disbelieved him. He simply recounted his early injuries, including blocked acupoints and stagnant meridians, as well as his life-or-death friendship with a renowned doctor. He claimed that if he were truly injured, he had a solution.

The two were locked in a fierce power struggle—Ren Yaohui held on tightly, refusing to give up until he was injured.

Lu Haichuan left helplessly.

He came again the next day, but this time he brought a medicine for injuries, saying that he had spent 10,000 taels of silver to buy it, which was specially used to cure internal qi stagnation. Ren Yaohui was very tempted, but he still did not accept it, saying that he did not need it.

Lu Haichuan, being astute, sensed his reluctance and hesitation, placed the medicine box at the door, and left on his own.

When I returned in the evening, the medicine box by the door was indeed gone.

Lu Haichuan didn't need to say anything; he just smiled and looked at Ren Yaohui.

Ren Yaohui was impressed by the cunning of this shrewd businessman. Remembering his sixth uncle's instructions that he could be allowed in if the man came again, he let him through.

in the room.

Lu Haichuan sat on the edge of the bed, deeply empathetic, and recounted his own glorious past before his injury, sighing as he said:

6

I know best what it feels like to be injured; after all, I was like that back then. Martial artists fear injury the most, and the stronger one's martial arts, the harder it is to heal an injury.

Without photos, Ren Qingshan doesn't know if he was really a handsome man back then, but now that he's a fat man weighing over 200 pounds, it's likely due to poor spleen function.

Tsk, he even mistook me for a fellow patient.

"Qingqing————"

Ren Qingshan spoke weakly and hesitantly, his eyes revealing embarrassment.

Lu Haichuan frowned deeply, genuinely troubled by the matter. He sighed and said with a wry smile, "I won't force her. My daughter, though I know she's loyal, we're both men. Let's be frank: women are most prone to fickleness. It might be alright in the short term, but over time, it's hard to predict. What do you say?"

"The best course of action now is to restore your martial arts skills. We can discuss this further later. Right now, it's best to be able to move around freely. With your knowledge and wisdom, even without martial arts, you could certainly succeed in business."

He spoke earnestly, and after saying all this, he mentioned knowing a renowned doctor surnamed Hua who was proficient in the "Thirteen Ghost Needles" and might be able to help him recover.

Ren Qingshan seemed very interested, but said that he was worried about the news leaking out, so he had already asked Fang Yanping, and there was no need to trouble anyone else—he asked Fang Yanping to keep it a secret as well.

Lu Haichuan readily agreed, and they chatted about other things, listing the famous doctors in the prefecture before he left.

"Master?"

Lu Jingsong stood cautiously in front of the bed, looking anxiously at his weakened master.

He is the illegitimate son of the Lu family. His mother died early, and he is fourteen years old this year. Since being taken in as a disciple by Ren Qingshan, he has been working in the rice shop. He receives guidance every three days and receives three Qi and Blood Pills every month. He has already learned the Mountain-Opening Palm and the Wind-Chasing Leg, and his progress is not slow.

"Jingsong, your master is crippled and doesn't want to ruin your future. If you're willing, you can seek employment elsewhere. I'll prepare some money for you."

Ren Qingshan said in a low voice.

He suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, his forehead pounding against the ground, panting as he said, "Master, you, you mustn't say such things. A teacher for a day is a teacher for life. I—I'm not very good at speaking, but I want to be filial to you. I'll serve you tea and water, and take care of your bodily needs. I can do anything."

-

Ren Qingshan said a few more words to shoo him away, but he still wouldn't leave. He shed tears and sighed, "If Master is really gone, I... I will still carry the banner for you. Your son was just born."

Ren Qingshan looked at him with a strange expression.

This kid really doesn't know how to talk.

Damn it, Song, you're a genius, a disciple in name only!

With his apprentice's arrival, Ren Qingshan could no longer lie still.

Every day, he walks a few steps shakily in the courtyard, just like an old man.

I really can't lie down anymore; it's so tiring.

This improvement brought immense joy to those who came to see him every day.

Fang Yanping has replied, saying he will arrive within three days.

At dusk that day, Fang Yanping arrived alone in a hurry, looking travel-worn. Ren Yaohui immediately invited him inside.

-

in the courtyard.

Ren Qingshan, leaning on his cane, was taking his first unsteady steps, while Lu Qingyi and Lu Jingsong watched anxiously from either side. "Qingshan!"

He called out and Fang Yanping quickly stepped forward. Although he tried his best to remain calm, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes were full of guilt and regret.

The two entered and closed the door.

Ren Qingshan lay on the bed, and Fang Yanping took his pulse, closing his eyes and sensing for a long time before letting out a long sigh.

"More than a dozen major acupoints are all blocked, the central qi and blood vessels are disordered, and the four qi and blood vessels are also disordered, but fortunately the qi and blood are still relatively strong, so there is no immediate danger to his life."

Ren Qingshan looked at him and felt a pang of shame in his heart.

This is innate!

The control over the body reaches a state of complete freedom, where one can manipulate the subtle aspects of qi and blood, true qi, heartbeat, and breathing.

Their vitality is incredibly strong; even a broken heart can gradually repair itself, and a broken bone can heal itself quickly.

The only way to kill a master of innate strength is to cut off his head!

"You're not going to die for now. How's the situation in the county?"

Ren Qingshan changed the subject.

Fang Yanping gathered his thoughts and slowly began to speak.

"Zhou Zhongwang is a palace eunuch trained by His Majesty. He has now taken up his post and is incredibly capable. As a commander of a thousand, he can command two captains as if they were his own hands. When they investigated Yang Yi's death, Li Xuanqing and Yi Zhongyan were questioned. They even wanted to question you, but I suppressed it. I personally recorded the case file, and the matter is now closed."

"Several elders from the collateral branches of the Qian family went to him to complain, but he placed them under house arrest without making any decisions or coming to me. It's like a knife hanging over our heads, not falling, and it just won't fall."

"Now that the situation is becoming clearer, Qian Chengen, the commander of the Demon Division of Fucheng Town, has not been implicated, nor has Qian Chengye in the capital. Qian Boda has been invited to the Fourth Prince's residence to serve as a martial arts instructor—they will definitely avenge this. For them, a knife is also hanging over their necks! His Majesty of the Divine Dragon Sect does not mention it, but that does not mean he is unaware of it; it's just that the time has not yet come."

"Within the prefectural city, Prefect Wu Shaoqin remained neutral, maneuvering with ease and maintaining overall control."

"Han Mian, the Assistant Magistrate, was well-versed in government affairs, adept at changing his stance according to the wind, and always smooth-talking."

"The other Assistant Magistrate, Chu Tiankuo, is in charge of martial arts, treason, major events in the martial arts world, and sacred sites of sects. He is focused on martial arts and probably won't pay attention to these things."

"Prefect Liu Fangyuan is from the Liu family, which has produced two members who passed the imperial examinations in martial arts. He is related to Qian Chengye by marriage. He is deeply rooted in the local area and has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds."

"Wei Yunqi, the commander of the Demon Suppression Division, is someone Qian Chengen wants to use to deal with me, but it's not that simple."

"As for the military, they are even more neutral; the Qian family doesn't have that ability."

The prefect is a fourth-rank official, the head of the prefecture, and the undisputed elder brother.

Both of the two assistant prefects were fifth-rank officials, serving as deputies to the prefect, who both obeyed orders and acted as checks and balances.

The Tongpan was a sixth-rank official, mainly in charge of criminal investigations and the police chief.

A power map of Fengcheng Prefecture slowly unfolded before Ren Qingshan.

"How many Innate Realm experts are there in the prefectural city?"

Ren Qingshan asked again.

Fang Yanping pondered deeply, then counted on his hand: "On the surface, there's Prefect Wu, Assistant Prefect Chu, two in the garrison, one or two in the Demon Suppression Division, five or six in the martial arts world, and even more in the Divine Firmament Holy Realm, though I don't know the exact number. There are also retired officials from the central government—I estimate there are about thirty."

Wow, that's quite a lot.

I think I'll just keep hiding.

"The injury sustained when breaking through to the Innate Realm should still be manageable. The solution is to search for the Five Elements spiritual objects again and break through the barrier once more."

"Even if I can't break through, it will definitely be good for my injuries! Use my spiritual energy to unblock the blocked acupoints and meridians."

"I will look into this matter for you; you can focus on recovering!"

"There was indeed a traitor in my Fang family. It was my third uncle, that old senile man. My ancestor called me home to set things right and take over the business of my third uncle's lineage. The Qian family's business in the county is also being sold off. We can still scrape together 500,000 taels."

"Give me a list of spiritual items related to the five elements, and I'll send people to find them, but it will take some time."

Fang Yanping said through gritted teeth, his eyes revealing determination.

He had been thinking about this matter while he was speaking, and what he said now was at least a solution; they couldn't just sit and wait for their doom.

He couldn't guarantee that this method would be completely feasible.

But since they are brothers who have been through thick and thin together, there is no need to say anything more. At least they are still alive and there is still hope.

Ren Qingshan stared at him in disbelief, feeling a surge of shock and emotion.

—Brother, you've become rich?

Brother, you've changed too. You're even thinking about making money for me now!

>