From a humble farmer to a great martial arts master

21, Uncle 6, in pain...

"Where's your third brother? Let's go, let's call him along."

Ren Qingshan thought of his third son, Ren Yaohui, a disciple of the Fuhu Martial Arts School. Before the New Year, he had raised money to buy breakthrough pills and was about to break through to the Silver Blood Realm. He wondered if he had succeeded.

If he succeeds in breaking through, killing the wild boar demon will certainly come in handy.

Ren Yaokang looked troubled.

"Third brother... Third brother is extremely hardworking. In the past few years in this city, I have only seen him a handful of times."

"Besides, Third Brother doesn't eat junk food, nor does he drink alcohol. Even if you call him, he probably won't go."

In the original owner's memory, the impression of Ren Yaohui was only eight words: taciturn and proud.

He doesn't talk much.

There was often an arrogant look in his eyes.

Ren Yaohui's martial arts talent is among the best in the entire village, and his family's wealth is equally outstanding.

However, compared to the prominent families in Huaiyin County, they may not be as good.

Working hard is all for the sake of getting ahead!

Self-discipline is generally both a way to save money and a way to work hard.

"Let's go take a look. If he doesn't go, then forget it."

"Uncle Quzhi, it's been a long time since I've seen Xiaosan."

Ren Qingshan adopted the tone of "Sixth Uncle" and said that as an elder, it was only right to visit the outstanding members of the family.

Ren Yaokang thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement without arguing.

So the two headed towards the Fuhu Martial Arts School.

The Tiger-Taming Martial Arts School is located in the inner city, not far from the South Gate.

In front of the martial arts school is an extremely large square, with plum blossom stakes and a row of stone locks of all kinds.

At this time, many disciples were also practicing footwork and strength.

There were many men, women, and children watching around the square.

Martial arts schools rely on enrollment for revenue, and these diligently trained disciples are essentially living advertisements. Moreover, since they don't involve practicing moves, they don't have to worry about their martial arts skills being leaked.

There were martial artists guiding people at the entrance.

Ren Yaokang, dressed in the uniform of a yamen runner, approached. The disciple who was there to greet him immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and asked with a smile, "Sir, what brings you to our Fuhu Martial Arts School?"

"I'm looking for someone."

"My older brother, Ren Yaohui, is a disciple of the martial arts school. I've come to see him."

The disciple immediately understood, glanced at the roll call roster, and replied, "Sir, Ren Yaohui did not report for duty today and is not at the martial arts school. Perhaps you could go to his home to check?"

Ok?

not there?

A look of doubt appeared in Ren Yaokang's eyes. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Was I sent out by your martial arts school on some mission? Were you there yesterday?"

The disciple who was leading the way said, "Please wait a moment," and flipped through the roster again. He looked up and said, "Ren Yaohui has not come to report for duty for six days. As for where he went, I don't know. He did not ask for leave, nor was he on a mission... otherwise I would have a record of it here."

Hearing this, Ren Yaokang nodded his thanks, turned around, and a hint of seriousness appeared between his brows.

Third Brother, I hope nothing bad has happened.

probably not.

Third Brother is about to break through to the Silver Blood level. He is incredibly powerful. How could anything possibly happen to him?

"Could it be that he has broken through his cultivation level?"

"Didn't you go home for Chinese New Year?"

A guess formed in Ren Qingshan's mind, and he casually remarked.

Ren Yaokang shook his head.

"I went back, but only for three days. On the fourth day of the new year, I came to the yamen to take my shift."

"My father said that my third brother went back on the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. He returned home that day, paid respects at the ancestral hall, and left that same day..."

"My elder brother hasn't come back all day. He said he's escorting a large shipment to the capital, which will probably take half a year."

The three of them are the most successful sons in the family. They are out there making their own way in the world, and they rarely have time to stay at home.

Ren Qingshan nodded.

His eldest son is named Ren Yaowu, and should be twenty-seven years old. In his early years, he relied on Ren Zhengwei's favor to take over his father's business and get a job at the escort agency. However, he has not settled down in the county town yet, so he can't afford a house. He is also proud and unwilling to go home to marry a village woman.

Thinking about it this way, it's true that every family has its own troubles.

Ren Zhengwei's situation is also precarious.

Not to mention his four sons in the village, he also has three sons in the county town. Which one of them doesn't he help out?

and……

It seems that Ren Zhengwei didn't tell the seventh brother about spending eighty taels of silver to buy the Silver Blood Pill for the third brother, for fear that the seventh brother would harbor resentment.

That's eighty taels!

At this point, Ren Qingshan didn't want to say anything more and followed Ren Yaokang out of the inner city to find Ren Yaohui.

With so many disciples at the martial arts school, there wasn't enough room for everyone, so most of them rented rooms elsewhere.

Rents in the inner city are expensive, so even Ren Yaohui can only rent in the outer city.

……

Niuyangfang.

The ground was covered in sewage, flies were swarming around, and the stench was unbearable; it was truly an eyesore.

The market was bustling with activity, with stalls selling all kinds of meat everywhere.

Ren Yaohui rented a place here.

Firstly, the rent is low, and secondly, meat is cheap, making it easy to replenish qi and blood.

Ren Yaokang led Ren Qingshan into a narrow alley and pushed open the wooden gate.

Upon seeing the scene inside, even Ren Qingshan was secretly alarmed.

Is this a place where people live?

In the courtyard, dozens of cubicles were built with adobe bricks, divided into two floors with only a narrow passageway in the middle. It looked frightening and didn't resemble a place for human habitation at all; it was even smaller than one's own doghouse.

Each cubicle has only a linen curtain hanging above it, which serves as the "door".

Ren Yaokang sniffed, but couldn't help but sigh.

Third Brother could stretch every penny to its limit; aside from martial arts training, he cut all other expenses to the bare minimum.

I have a bed in the yamen, although it's also a large dormitory, but at least the conditions are much better than here.

However... the government has its own rules, and it's impossible for them to let Third Brother stay there.

"I'll go take a look."

Ren Yaokang walked into the corridor, went to the cubicles on the second floor, tiptoed, touched the curtain, and called softly, "Third Brother? Third Brother, it's me, Xiaokang. Are you there?"

In a short while.

A cold voice came from behind the curtain: "I'm studying hard. I don't want to see you today. Wait until I come out of seclusion."

Ren Yaokang roughly knew what his third brother was thinking. He glanced back at Ren Qingshan, but still said, "Third brother, sixth uncle is here too. He wants to say a few words to you. We're all family, so let's meet him."

"I won't see you."

"You can go back now!"

Behind the curtain, Ren Yaohui's voice sounded somewhat impatient, and hinted at a guilty conscience.

Ren Yaokang glanced at his sixth uncle, a troubled look on his face.

Ren Qingshan walked towards him, and in his heart he was fairly certain that his third nephew must have encountered some kind of trouble.

"Little Third, Sixth Uncle is here, aren't you going to see him?"

"What's wrong? Have you run into some trouble? Tell your sixth uncle."

"There's no hurdle you can't overcome. Uncle Liu was sickly for almost ten years, but now he's back to his old age, hasn't he?"

"We...we are family."

"Home will always be your refuge."

talking.

Ren Qingshan lifted the curtain.

Then they saw Ren Yaohui sitting cross-legged on the greasy bed, shirtless, his face pale, his face covered in tears, and his eyes swollen like peaches. It was unclear how long he had been crying.

"Sixth Uncle..."

"I...I...I'm in pain!"

"it hurts!"

He forced out the words through clenched teeth, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

……

……