Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 50 Alien Beasts
As the sound of the carriage wheels faded into the distance, Liu Maolin looked in the direction where the dust had risen, then turned to Yang Jingdao and asked, "Junior brother, do you know who this Jinlian girl is?"

Yang Jing shook his head. "I've only just met her, how would I know who she is?"

Liu Maolin gave a soft hum, raised his hand to stroke his chin, and slowly said, "This Miss Jinlian comes from the Jin family in our Yuhe County. The Jin family is not a big family. Before Miss Jinlian rose to prominence, the Jin family only had one Ming Jin martial artist, which was nothing in Yuhe County."

Yang Jing wasn't particularly interested in this Jinlian girl. Although she was beautiful and her looks were no less than Ningxiang's, she was already married and a wife, so he wouldn't have any interaction with her and naturally wasn't interested.

However, as Liu Maolin recounted the story, Yang Jing became genuinely curious; this Jinlian girl seemed to be quite extraordinary.

Liu Maolin glanced at Yang Jing, then waved his hand and said, "Come on, let's go inside and sit down to talk."

After saying that, Liu Maolin led Yang Jing into a room in the inner courtyard of the clinic.

The two sat down facing each other on either side of an octagonal table. There was tea on the table, and Liu Maolin skillfully poured two cups of water, placing one in front of himself and the other in front of Yang Jing.

"Where was I?" Liu Maolin took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, but forgot where he had left off.

"Speaking of the Jin family, there's only one Ming Jin martial artist," Yang Jing reminded helplessly.

“Oh, oh,” Liu Maolin nodded, “The Jin family is nothing special in our Yuhe County, but the Lu family that this Jinlian married into is extraordinary.”

"The Lu family?" Yang Jing frowned. Although he didn't know much about Yuhe County, he still knew some basic facts. "I don't think the Lu family is among the six major families, is it?"

In Yang Jing's view, only six families in Yuhe County could be considered truly remarkable. Other families, no matter how wealthy or powerful, would hardly be described as "remarkable" by Liu Maolin, the young master of the Liu Family Medical Clinic.

Liu Maolin shook his head. "The Lu family isn't in our Yuhe County. They're a powerful clan in the prefectural city, even stronger than the six major families in our Yuhe County."

"A powerful family in the prefecture?" Yang Jing was taken aback upon hearing this.

Since his transmigration, apart from occasionally transporting medicinal herbs to neighboring counties or the prefectural city, he has spent the rest of his time in Yuhe County. Although he has been to Jintai Prefecture twice, he did not stay and returned directly, so he can be said to know very little about Jintai Prefecture.

Liu Maolin nodded and said, "To be honest, Miss Jinlian's experience has been quite eventful. Although the Lu family is a prominent clan in the prefecture, it is not very large. There is only one young master in the family, who is Miss Jinlian's husband."

"I heard that this young master of the Lu family was frail and sickly since childhood. Not long after he married Miss Jinlian, he died of a serious illness. It's a pity that Miss Jinlian became a widow at such a young age."

At this point, Liu Maolin even sighed with some regret.

Upon seeing this, Yang Jing's expression turned somewhat strange. His senior brother always appeared serious on ordinary days. Could it be that he had other intentions behind the scenes?
Liu Maolin continued, "Not long after the death of the young master of the Lu family, the patriarch and madam of the Lu family reportedly died in an accident, leaving only Miss Jinlian in the entire Lu family. Naturally, the vast estate fell into the hands of Miss Jinlian."

"This—" Yang Jing was stunned and speechless after hearing this.

He never imagined that the experience of that girl Jinlian would be so bizarre, full of twists and turns, enough to write a novel.

Liu Maolin glanced at Yang Jing and said, "With such a large foundation in the Lu family, it's naturally not easy for Miss Jinlian to take over. There must have been many things that happened. I'm not very clear on the specifics, but Miss Jinlian's methods are truly extraordinary. The Lu family's influence has naturally declined compared to its peak, but thanks to the legacy of its ancestors and Miss Jinlian's own skills, the Lu family's business is doing quite well."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jing couldn't help but look at the girl Jinlian with new respect.

Even if the Lu family and other prominent families in the prefecture are not numerous, they should still have many branches or relatives.

After the deaths of the Lu family patriarch and his wife, and the young master of the Lu family, Jinlian, a seemingly weak woman, was able to withstand pressure from all sides and take control of the Lu family. Her skills were truly extraordinary.

"By the way, Brother Jing, the Beast Pavilion is owned by the Lu family. The spirit fish in our clinic are sourced from the Beast Pavilion," Liu Maolin said.

Yang Jing was taken aback. "Senior brother, is this Beast Pavilion located in the inner city?"

Yang Jing hadn't thought of the Beast Pavilion when Jinlian mentioned it before, but now that Liu Maolin brought it up again, Yang Jing remembered something. He had overheard the name Beast Pavilion from a conversation between Zhao Wenzheng and Qi Yun when he was practicing martial arts at the martial arts school.

Liu Maolin nodded and said, "Yes, it's in the inner city. Our Yuhe County's Beast Pavilion is just a branch of the Lu family's Beast Pavilion. The headquarters of the Beast Pavilion is still in Jintai Prefecture City."

"Whenever you have time, or after the training ground test, I'll take you to the Beast Pavilion in the inner city. Miss Jinlian is very generous. Since she said you can go to the Beast Pavilion for tea in the future, maybe you can get the cost price when you buy beasts there."

Yang Jing asked, "Senior brother, since the spirit fish has such a strong nourishing effect, is it also a mythical beast? Is the nourishing effect of mythical beast meat even greater than that of ferocious beast meat?"

Liu Maolin nodded and said, "Exotic beasts are blessed by heaven and earth, and their flesh and blood contain immense energy. Their nourishing effect is much stronger than that of ferocious beasts. The spirit fish you consumed before was just the most common exotic beast. Slightly more precious exotic beasts cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, which you cannot afford."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jing's lips twitched slightly.

My senior is right. Although it hurts his pride, he really can't afford it.

After the numerous expenses incurred since breaking through to the Dark Force realm, he now only has a little over two hundred taels of silver. Adding the ten taels of gold and fifty taels of silver ingots on the roof beam of his old home, his total wealth is less than four hundred taels.

Even if I went to the Beast Pavilion now, I'd probably only be able to look at most of the beasts; I simply couldn't afford to buy them.

As for the meat of ordinary exotic beasts like spirit fish, Yang Jing could easily buy it at Liu's Medical Clinic, since it would be at cost price anyway. In fact, the price he would pay for spirit fish at the Exotic Beast Pavilion might be much higher than what he would pay at the clinic.

Thinking about this, Yang Jing realized he was still too poor.

If he had enough money, he could eat top-quality exotic beast meat every day, and his speed would increase dramatically.
Although Yang Jing no longer eats exotic beast meat at every meal, the combination of medicinal supplements and wild beast meat in his diet is not much less nourishing than that of exotic beast spirit fish meat.

For Yang Jing now, this is already very good.

At this moment, Yang Jing suddenly remembered something and looked at Liu Maolin, asking, "By the way, senior brother, why did you call Jinlian 'Miss'? Isn't she already married?"

Yang Jing felt it was strange that the girl Jinlian, who had married into the Lu family and now held great power in the family, was not called Madam Lu but instead was called 'Golden Lotus Girl'.

Liu Maolin shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. Anyway, everyone else calls it that, so I just started calling it that too."

"I see." Yang Jing nodded slightly.

The two exchanged a few more words before Yang Jing got up to say goodbye, politely declining Liu Maolin's invitation to stay for dinner.

He left Liu's clinic quickly, and in no time at all, he returned to the small courtyard in Tongyi Lane with his medicine bag.

As soon as Yang Jing stepped into the courtyard, he smelled the aroma of meat.

It has to be said that Yang Jing used to only pursue efficiency and speed when stewing meat and cooking rice, and he hardly cared about the taste. On the other hand, his cousin Yang An, although honest and simple, was serious and meticulous when doing things.

Steam was still rising from the stove in the kitchen. Yang An came out of the kitchen when he heard the noise. When he saw that it was Yang Jing, he smiled and said, "Jing-di is back. Wash your hands and I'll serve the food." "Okay, An-ge's cooking is getting better and better." Yang Jing praised with a smile, then went into the main room, put the medicinal herbs into the medicine box, washed his hands, and then came to the dining table.

Yang An had already set out the food.

Three large bowls of dishes were placed on the table. One bowl contained tiger meat stewed until tender, with a rich and fragrant broth, placed in front of Yang Jing's usual chair. Another bowl contained horse meat cut into large chunks, glistening with a dark brown color. There was also a bowl of light and refreshing vegetable and tofu soup.

Alongside the three large bowls of vegetables, there was also a pot of brown rice, steamed with distinct grains, rising hot from the earthenware bowl.

Yang Jing sat down, picked up a piece of tiger meat, and immediately felt the rich aroma of the meat spread as soon as it entered his mouth, and a warm feeling flowed down his throat.

"Brother An, how about a few pieces of tiger meat?" Yang Jing asked when he saw that Yang An had only put a few pieces of horse meat into his bowl.

Yang An took a bite of rice and chuckled.

“Brother Jing, this horse meat is already delicious enough, even better than the pork we eat at home during the New Year. Tiger meat is too precious, you should keep it for yourself, you need to consume more energy for your training. Besides…” Yang An scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, “I ate a little less than half a bowl the other day, and I felt feverish all over last night, I’m afraid I can’t handle it.”

Yang Jing understood.

Knowing that tiger meat is the meat of a ferocious beast, Yang An was just an ordinary person who was building his foundation. Eating tiger meat occasionally was fine, but if he ate too much, he wouldn't be able to stand it.

He immediately stopped talking and just pushed the horse meat toward him, saying, "Eat more. Practicing martial arts takes up a lot of energy, so you need to take care of your health."

Yang An agreed, picked up a few more pieces of horse meat, and chuckled every now and then.

Before he left, his grandfather and mother told him to take care of Jingdi's daily life after he entered the city, and to let Jingdi focus all his energy on practicing martial arts, while he would do the hard work himself.

But look at it now, where is the hardship? It's like living the life of a god, with meat and rice at every meal. You wouldn't have dared to dream of this before.

The two ate in silence, the chirping of cicadas outside the courtyard mingling with the clinking of bowls and spoons, creating a comforting and warm atmosphere.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, another ten days had gone by.

There are only three days left until the training ground test.

That day, Yang Laosan picked up the letter written by Yang An from Tongyifang, chatted with Yang An for a while, and then drove the oxcart with the goods out of the city.

It was evening when Yang Laosan finally returned to Yangjia Village.

He first delivered the letter written by Yang An to his grandfather, Yang Shouzhou. After leaving, he habitually drove the oxcart and stopped under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village.

As soon as Yang Laosan stopped, before he could even jump off the car, he was surrounded by several fellow villagers who were cooling off in the summer heat.

"Third brother, what interesting things did you bring back from the county today?" An old man squatting on a rock smoking a pipe asked first.

Yang Laosan jumped off the oxcart, dusted himself off, and with a smug look on his face, raised his voice, "You have no idea, Yang Jing from our village is quite something now. In a few days, he will be taking the martial arts exam. If he passes, he will get a proper official position and become a big shot in the county town!"

These words immediately caused an uproar under the tree.

Most of these ordinary villagers didn't know what the military examination was, and they all referred to it as the martial arts examination.

"What? Martial arts examination? In the plays, they say it's earned through real skill!"

"Yang Jing has always been strong and healthy since he was a child. I never thought he would actually have such good fortune?"

"If he really wins, our village will have a great person!"

The villagers were talking excitedly.

Hearing the crowd's discussion, Yang Laosan straightened his back even more and replied, "Of course, I've seen him practice boxing with my own eyes. He can punch right through a sandbag; it's no joke! If that punch landed on a person, goodness, the consequences would be dire."

"Tch, third brother, stop bragging. You think passing the martial arts exam is that easy? That's the martial arts exam; you need to be a celestial being descended to earth to pass it." A dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man said with a sneer, though his face was clearly stiff.

"Yang Ji, you're still being stubborn. Let alone whether Yang Jing can pass the martial arts exam, he could crush you with a single finger right now." Yang Laosan looked at the dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man and sneered, "It's only because Yang Jing is magnanimous that he doesn't bother arguing with a frog in a well like you. Do you know how powerful Yang Jing is now? Do you know what kind of important people he associates with?"

The dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man was named Yang Ji. He had a conflict with Yang Jing's family over land issues in the past. Seeing Yang Jing's business getting better and better every day made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Pah, you lackey!" Yang Ji glared and cursed. "No matter how powerful he is, I'm not afraid of him. Does he dare to kill me? Does he even respect the law? Even if he becomes an official, he should know that the emperor is subject to the same laws as ordinary people. Everyone who performs operas knows this principle."

A woman nearby sneered, "Yang Ji, why don't you go take a look at the wasteland to the south? It's almost turned into a mass grave. There aren't just corpses of refugees in there. Have you seen the government do anything about it?"

The other villagers under the tree burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Yang Ji's face turned pale and then flushed, looking quite unwell. He forcefully flicked his tattered sleeve and prepared to leave.

"Yang Ji, how about we make a bet? Let's bet on whether Yang Jing can pass this martial arts exam," Yang Laosan suddenly shouted.

"What are we betting on?" Yang Ji paused in his steps.

"I bet your wife—" Seeing Yang Ji about to hit someone in a fit of rage, Yang Laosan quickly continued, "My wife has been eyeing that hairpin your wife is wearing for a long time."

Yang Ji's face turned grim. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "What are you betting with?"

PS:

Dear readers, this book was released at midnight and should have been updated with five chapters and 20,000 words.

I'd like to ask for monthly passes and first-time subscriptions.

After it's published, I'll update it with two chapters and 8,000 words every day.

If there are extra chapters, one extra chapter will be added for every 100 monthly votes or 5,000 Qidian coins, both of which are 4,000-word chapters.

The author bows deeply in gratitude for everyone's continued support!
(End of this chapter)