Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 29 Making a lot of money

Yang Jing blew on the oil lamp, and the dim yellow light instantly filled the small house.

He dragged the sack to the table, untied the rope, and revealed what was inside.

At the top were several heavy gold ingots, cool and heavy in the hand. Under the light, you could see the fine lines on the surface. I counted them, and they were exactly twenty taels.

According to the monetary system of the Great Qi Dynasty, one tael of gold could be exchanged for ten taels of silver, so these twenty taels of gold ingots would be two hundred taels of silver.

Underneath the gold ingots were silver coins, each one bulging and full. Three large ingots weighing fifty taels were neatly stacked, and five silver ingots weighing twenty taels were scattered around them, totaling a total of two hundred and fifty taels of silver.

"Good heavens, that's four hundred and fifty taels of silver!"

At that moment, Yang Jing seemed to hear his heart pounding. An indescribable surge of joy welled up in his chest, leaving him somewhat dazed, as if in a dream.

He had previously guessed that the sack contained the wealth accumulated by the Dayun Gang over the years, but he still didn't expect it to be so much, after all, the Dayun Gang was just an ordinary gang.

You should know that, given the current market prices, ten taels of silver can buy about two acres of land.

Four hundred and fifty taels of silver could easily buy ninety mu of land in Wazi Township.

Despite the efforts of several generations of the Yang family, at its peak, they only had twenty or thirty acres of land.

If this money were shown to my grandfather and the others, it would probably scare them to death.

With this money, he won't have to worry about money for a long time to come. With a sufficient supply of money, his martial arts skills will definitely improve by leaps and bounds!
"It's true that murder and arson bring wealth. If I honestly hold a temporary post, I only earn ten taels of silver a month. But if I commit murder and plunder, I can earn as much as I would have earned in several years of temporary posting."

Yang Jing took a deep breath, suppressing the shock and surprise in his heart.

Then he moved the gold and silver aside and touched a cold wooden box with his fingers.

Yang Jing took out the wooden box, opened the lid, and a bitter medicinal fragrance wafted out. When he saw what was inside, Yang Jing's pupils instantly contracted.

Inside the wooden box lay a ginseng plant with intact fibrous roots, a thick main root, and dense, clear ring patterns on its surface. Judging from the age of the patterns, it was at least fifty years old.

Yang Jing had worked at Liu's medical clinic and knew how valuable such old ginseng was; it was worth at least two hundred taels of silver.

"Damn, this Da Yun Gang is no ordinary gang. They must have made a fortune before!" Yang Jing thought to himself.

The light from the oil lamp fell on these valuables, making the whole room shine.

He looked at the gold, silver, and ginseng on the table, and his brows completely relaxed.

"To live a good life, you have to be bold!"

“This old ginseng is no ordinary plant; it must be at least fifty years old, so its medicinal effects must be excellent. This must be the precious medicine that Xu Tai mentioned back then. But even if I kill you, this precious medicine will still be mine.”

"The further you practice martial arts, the more difficult it becomes. I can take this old ginseng after I break through to the Dark Force level, so that I can reach the peak of Dark Force as quickly as possible and break through to the legendary Transformation Force level."

"Currently, the ample supply of wild beast meat has already significantly increased my cultivation speed."

Yang Jing looked at the gold, silver, and ginseng, thinking to himself.

As expected, one really needs money. At this moment, Yang Jing felt completely relaxed and full of anticipation for the future.

Yang Jing then picked up the ginseng and examined it for a while. He then carefully put the ginseng back into the wooden box, put it back into the burlap sack along with the gold and silver, and stuffed the sack into the deepest part of the bed, blocking it with a few wooden planks.

After doing all this, he blew out the oil lamp and lay down on the bed.

"I need to go home in a couple of days. I'm still a little worried about having so much gold and silver here, even though all the rooms have locks. I'll take some of it home and hide it away then."

Yang Jing lay on the bed, his mind racing.

The night outside the window was still dark, but Yang Jing's heart was bright.

Having eliminated the threat posed by the Dayun Gang and acquired this windfall, his path in martial arts suddenly became much wider.

The next day, early in the morning.

The teahouses and taverns in the western part of the city were in an uproar.

"Have you heard? Xu Tai, the leader of the Dayun Gang, was burned to death last night."

"It seems he was burned to death in a courtyard in Xinghua Ward. How unpredictable life is! Such a powerful person in the past, he was burned to death in a fire."

“I saw the charred roof beams when I passed by there this morning. They say the fire burned from midnight until dawn, and the bodies were burned beyond recognition.”

"What fire? I heard from the soldiers on night patrol that it was probably started by the Righteous Gang. The two gangs were fighting fiercely a few days ago."

"Not necessarily. The things the Dayun Gang has done have offended countless people. Xu Tai has a lot of enemies. Maybe it was one of the experts he tricked who did it."

Rumors spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys.

Yang Jing mingled in the crowd in the West Market, listening to the discussions without showing any emotion.

He walked up to a hunter's stall with a tiger skin hanging on it, pointed to the fresh meat on the counter and said, "Two catties of tiger meat, with tendons."

The hunter deftly weighed the meat, tied it with straw rope, and said with a smile, "Sir, you have a good eye. This is a tiger that my brothers and I just hunted this morning. It's worth one and a half taels of silver."

Tiger meat is naturally considered the meat of wild beasts, and because tigers are the king of beasts, it is even more expensive than bear meat, costing one and a half taels of silver for two catties of tiger meat.

Yang Jing is now wealthy and generous. After paying, he took the tiger meat and went straight back to Datongfang.

A clay pot is placed on a small stove, with tiger meat cut into large chunks, simmered with ginger slices and scallion segments, and soon a rich aroma of meat wafts out.

He ladled out a large bowl and ate it, meat and soup alike. The warmth slid down his throat into his stomach, quickly transforming into a warm current even more intense than the bear meat, coursing through his limbs and bones. His muscles and bones felt as if they were soaking in warm water, making him feel comfortably bloated.

After eating the tiger meat, Yang Jing immediately locked the door, left the courtyard, and headed straight for the martial arts school in Chengping Ward.

Because buying tiger meat had delayed him, some martial arts disciples had already arrived at the martial arts school when Yang Jing arrived.

"Brother Yang."

"Senior Brother Yang is here."

Several young martial arts students saw Yang Jing and quickly greeted him.

Regardless of Yang Jing's innate talent, he is already a master of Ming Jin, which already surpasses the vast majority of his disciples.

Apart from the older disciples and those who considered themselves to have high potential and good family backgrounds, the other disciples still respected Yang Jing.

Yang Jing nodded slightly, walked to the courtyard wall, took off his coat, revealing his muscular arms, and walked straight toward the stone lock.

The ninety-pound stone lock felt weightless in his hands, whistling through the air with each movement. He had barely warmed up for a moment when a fine sweat broke out all over his body; the heat generated by the tiger's flesh surged through his veins, as if it were about to burst through his skin. He walked to the center of the arena, lowered his waist, and assumed a stance, slowly unfolding the form of the "Crushing Mountain Fist."

With the first punch, the internal energy and the heat flow within the body intertwined, and the force of the punch even carried a "humming" vibration, sounding more powerful than usual.

He could clearly feel the energy of the tiger meat seeping into his muscles along with his blood and qi. With each punch, an extra force resonated in his meridians, as if a fierce tiger was roaring inside him.

"Stone-Splitting Style!"

Yang Jing's fist swept through the air, and the force he generated stirred up dust several feet away.

As the mountain collapsed, the bluestone slabs beneath our feet trembled slightly, emitting a muffled hum.

The subtle power that used to require deliberate guidance now flows naturally along the fist's path, as if it were part of the body. The stiffness between the moves has disappeared without a trace, and the fierceness has been enhanced with a touch of fluidity.

Sweat dripped down his chin, staining the ground with dark marks, but it did nothing to diminish his momentum.

Yang Jing fought faster and faster, his fists intertwining in a blur. The heat and internal energy within his body merged completely, each punch seemingly carrying the force of a thousand pounds, yet he could control it with ease.

The force of the blow against the wooden stake was unparalleled, causing the stake to vibrate and hum.

When finishing, the movement was as light as a feather, leaving only a faint mark on the clothes with the fingertips.

Some disciples were resting nearby, discussing the fire that burned down in the western city last night, which killed Xu Tai, the leader of the Dayun Gang. Others had their eyes on Yang Jing, who was practicing his boxing, with expressions of admiration or regret.

Whether they were disciples with hidden strength, manifest strength, or ordinary disciples who had not yet entered the realm of strength, few could compare with Yang Jing in their dedication and hard work in martial arts training. Yang Jing's perseverance and willpower earned the respect of many disciples.

However, everyone also knows that Yang Jing's physical constitution is very poor. It was already extremely lucky that he was able to break through to the Ming Jin level. It was almost hopeless for him to break through to the An Jin level. No matter how hard he tried, he could not change his inferior physical constitution and talent.

That's the nature of martial arts; if you have talent, you can pursue this path, but if you don't, you can't. Good talent allows you to go far on this path, while poor talent can easily be blocked by a bottleneck, making it difficult to go very far.

Yang Jing ignored the discussions of the other martial arts school disciples nearby, his mind completely absorbed in practicing his boxing.

He could clearly sense that the benefits of tiger meat were not only in replenishing his qi and blood, but also in strengthening his muscles and bones, making his control over Ming Jin (a type of internal energy) more and more refined.

After finishing a set of punches, he stood still to regulate his breathing. The heat in his body was still flowing slowly, nourishing every inch of his muscles. He felt that his whole body was full of inexhaustible strength.

The July sunlight filtered through the treetops and fell on him, his sweat reflecting dappled light.

Yang Jing clenched his fist, and the calluses on his palms seemed to have thickened even more.

"Now that I have no worries about money, I can eat plenty of wild beast meat to supplement my diet. This will speed up my progress towards the peak of Ming Jin. Once I reach the peak of Ming Jin, with the panel, I can break through to An Jin naturally without any bottlenecks."

The next moment, Yang Jing had a thought.

The panel then appeared before his eyes, clearly showing his progress in cultivating the "Mountain Collapse Fist"—

[Minor Mastery of the Mountain-Crushing Fist (371/500)]

Seeing the progress of his training in the "Mountain Collapse Fist," Yang Jing couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

During this period, although he also ate bear meat, only ten catties a month, his diet mainly consisted of horse meat. This morning he ate a catty of tiger meat, and when he practiced the "Crushing Mountain Fist", he felt it was even more nourishing than eating bear meat, and his cultivation progress was also faster.

After resting for a short while, Yang Jing continued practicing his boxing, making full use of the energy remaining from the tiger meat in his body.

When Liu Maolin entered the front yard of the martial arts school, his eyes immediately fell on Yang Jing.

At this moment, Yang Jing was shirtless, his bronze skin glistening with sweat. The force of his punch, which had just finished its swing, still carried the lingering wind, but his breathing was already steady.

Liu Maolin nodded slightly. Yang Jing's control over force seemed to have improved even more than before.

He walked over slowly, his hands behind his back, his eyes looking at Yang Jing with a mixture of inquiry and understanding.

"Junior brother, you've made further progress." Liu Maolin's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Yang Jing's ears.

Yang Jing picked up a cloth to wipe his sweat and said with a smile, "Senior brother is here."

Liu Maolin nodded slightly without speaking, but glanced around and, seeing that the other disciples were all practicing their skills, lowered his voice and asked, "Have you heard about Xu Tai's matter?"

"Yes, I heard about it on the way here. Apparently, there was a fire." Yang Jing said calmly, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

Liu Maolin stared into his eyes, which were clear and bright, yet held something he couldn't see through.

"A fire?" Liu Maolin scoffed. "Xu Tai is a peak Ming Jin master. He managed to fight his way out of two Ming Jin masters from the Righteousness Gang a few days ago. Would he be burned to death in a fire?"

Yang Jing was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, "Perhaps he was too badly injured to run away."

"Really?" Liu Maolin's gaze darkened further. "I remember, you left quite early yesterday."

Yang Jing paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Something came up at home. Why are you asking this all of a sudden, Senior Brother?"

Looking at Yang Jing's composed demeanor, Liu Maolin suddenly smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "It's nothing, I just feel that in this world, it's actually a good thing that some people die."

He didn't press further, turned and walked to the courtyard wall, took off his shirt, and said, "Xu Tai deserved retribution for what he did long ago, don't you think, junior brother?"

Yang Jing watched his retreating figure, a slight thought stirring within him, and then smiled, "Senior brother is right."

Yang Jing knew that his fourth senior brother had some suspicions and guessed that he had killed Xu Tai.

However, some things don't need to be said out loud; it's enough that we both understand each other.

In this world where the weak are subservient to the strong, it's enough to stay true to yourself.

Liu Maolin put down his shirt, turned to look at Yang Jing, his eyes no longer filled with complexity and inquiry, only his usual gentleness remained, "Come, junior brother, spar with me for a few moves, let's see how much you've improved these past few days."

"Okay!" Yang Jing replied with a smile.

As dusk settled over the eaves of the martial arts school, Yang Jinggang had just finished his last punch, the heat still lingering on his fist.

There were hardly any people left in the front yard of the martial arts school at this moment. Liu Maolin had left early as well. Now that he had taken over the family business, he spent very little time in the martial arts school each day. Only a few servants were tidying up the equipment, and the sound of firewood clattering was particularly clear in the twilight.

He wiped the sweat from his body and was about to put on his coat when a figure walked out from the inner courtyard.

Lin Yue wore a moon-white brocade robe with a jade belt around his waist, which made his figure appear even more upright.

He glanced at Yang Jing, his gaze sweeping over her like a casually placed stone, without lingering. Then he turned away, a faint arrogance playing on his lips, as if looking at her any longer would be beneath him.

Yang Jing didn't care at all. He draped the cloth over his shoulder, picked up his old cloth bag, and walked straight to the door.

Geniuses have their own path, and they have their own pace; their paths need not intersect.

(End of this chapter)