"What family?! He's not your real son! Have you forgotten he's the one who kicked you out? You have a biological son—if you're going to sponsor a Martial Artist, it should be your own son!"
Xu Qing's voice was shrill, and she was beside herself with anger.
She cared more about their father, Xu the Second, than Xu Yang did, which was why she was the most furious. Xu Yang, the one this was all about, hadn't said a single word, as she had already said it all.
Xu the Second choked, his face flushing red. When he had first gotten together with Zhang Cuiting, Yang Jun would beat him with a stick every time he came over. This was the very reason he hadn't moved in with them right away.
"Him? He wants to practice martial arts? Ah Jun's father was a Martial Artist, which is why he has the potential to become one. Your brother is just a dirt-poor, mud-legged peasant, a bottom-feeder. The idea of him training in martial arts is absolutely hilarious."
Zhang Cuiting burst out laughing as if she'd heard a joke, her words dripping with scorn and sarcasm.
Xu Qing trembled with rage and was about to say more, but Xu the Second shouted at her to stop.
"You shut up! Let your brother speak. When adults are talking, what right does a child have to interrupt?"
Having been repeatedly shamed by his daughter's angry retorts, his expression darkened. He turned to Xu Yang and said, "You speak for yourself. Are you willing to provide the money or not? You'd better think this through. Ah Jun doesn't absolutely need your help to become a Martial Artist; it will just take a bit longer without it.
If you don't help Ah Jun now, by the time he becomes a Martial Artist in the future, it will be too late for you to try and curry favor with him."
As for Xu Qing's claim that Xu Yang wanted to practice martial arts, he completely dismissed it, treating it as a joke.
He had laid out all the pros and cons. As long as Xu Yang wasn't a fool, he was confident that Xu Yang, who had already suffered so much in the world, would make the correct choice.
"You'd better think it through, too. What makes you think you can achieve something even Dorgon couldn't?!"
Leaving Xu the Second with this baffling sentence, Xu Yang grabbed Xu Qing's hand and left without another pointless word.
'He'd rather feed his money to the dogs than use it to sponsor Yang Jun.'
"Unfilial son!" Xu the Second's furious roar came from behind them.
...
By now, the sky had started to darken. The sunset painted the horizon red, and the land looked as if it were draped in crimson armor.
As the brother and sister stepped out of Zhang Cuiting's house, Xu Qing couldn't help but start to sob, her tears flowing from a place of deep hurt.
At home, she had joked about coming for a free meal, but in reality, she had wanted to see her father. What had just happened was hard for her to accept.
"Don't cry. Just pretend he's dead," Xu Yang comforted her.
'He'd expected as much before they came, so he wasn't particularly sad.'
"I'm not crying for him. I'm worried that you'll miss your chance to learn martial arts, Brother." The little girl wouldn't admit she was crying over Xu the Second.
"Don't you worry about the money. If he won't help, I'll find a way. Trust me, I'll make sure you get to eat the finest food and live a good life."
Xu Yang gazed toward the horizon. 'I have to learn martial arts.' He wasn't particularly concerned about the rule that you couldn't start after turning eighteen. The main problem was that someone from the Sanhe Gang seemed to have his sights on his little sister. He had to become a Martial Artist fast to get them out of this bind.
In this kind of world, it wasn't a good thing for a girl from the lower class to be born beautiful.
The Sanhe Gang was vicious, and once they targeted someone, they would use all sorts of cruel methods.
Such things were not unheard of in the workshop district. Those who complied might be spared, but those who refused would always end up with their families destroyed and their lives ruined.
Although it might have just been a casual mention by Li Hu, he couldn't take that gamble.
He racked his brain, trying to figure out how to get money for training, but he was at a complete loss.
"Brother, why don't we try borrowing from people? We can go see our uncle later, borrow a little from each relative. I know you're too proud to ask, but it's our only hope. If you miss this chance, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.
So what if they refuse? We're living like this; we've got no face to lose anyway."
The little girl suddenly piped up, "There's also our maternal uncle! I heard he became an accountant for the great Huang Family, with a monthly salary of two taels of silver. He should be able to lend us some."
Even a beggar has a few poor relatives, and naturally, Xu Yang's family had some as well.
"Alright!" Xu Yang agreed.
Now that they were in a crisis, he could only swallow his pride and ask for help. From what he remembered, this uncle was quite kind and would probably help if he could. As for whether it would work out, they'd have to try to find out.
Although they hadn't had much contact since their mother passed away, the bonds of blood would not just disappear.
"Where did you hear all this?" Xu Yang asked curiously.
The reason he hadn't thought of his uncle was mainly that his impression of his uncle, Zhou Shunchang, was of someone who was also down on his luck, struggling just to make ends meet.
"Our cousin from Eldest Uncle's family told me. She saw him in one of the Huang Family's shops..."
Xu Yang hadn't even had the chance to go into the city to borrow money from his uncle when, unexpectedly, he saw Zhou Shunchang—the very uncle he hadn't seen in ages—standing right at his doorstep.
Bathed in the glow of the sunset, Zhou Shunchang stood at the door dressed in fine silks, a piece of pork belly in his hand.
Standing next to him was a young woman with a scholarly air about her; it was his cousin on his mother's side, Zhou Xia.
"Uncle! Cousin!"
As the saying goes, the maternal uncle is the most important relative. The two hurried forward and gave their uncle a deep bow, then respectfully invited him and their cousin into the house.
"You two have suffered these past few years. That animal, Xu the Second... If I had known he was this kind of person back then, I never would have agreed to your mother marrying him."
Looking at their meager home, Zhou Shunchang couldn't stop himself from cursing Xu the Second as an inhuman beast.
"I didn't just come to see you today. There's something I need to talk to you about, Ah Yang." After a bit of small talk, Zhou Shunchang got down to business.
Xu Yang was taken aback. 'Someone else has something to tell me? Don't tell me they're after my money too.'
'But on second thought, my cousin on his side of the family is already over eighteen. It can't be that he wants me to pay for martial arts training, too.'
"You might not know this, but the Huang Family I serve has started to rise in prominence recently, and their business is getting bigger and bigger..." Zhou Shunchang slowly revealed the true purpose of his visit.
In this world, no matter the trade, any profitable business needed Martial Artists for protection. It was like nuclear weapons from his previous life: you might not use them, but you couldn't afford not to have them.
The Huang Family had only recently begun their rise, and they didn't have enough Sacrificial Martial Artists to match their rapidly growing business.
Established Martial Artists were usually already pledged to a faction. Poaching them would not only offend other powers but would also be very costly.
So, the best method was to cultivate their own. However, not everyone in the Huang Family had the potential to become a Martial Artist. Thus, the Huang Family came up with a solution: to search externally for people who had the potential but lacked the money to train.
The Huang Family would pay for the training on the condition that, after becoming a Martial Artist, the person would become a Tributor for the Huang Family. That's why Zhou Shunchang had thought of his nephew, Xu Yang, who was the right age.
"Go to the Huang Family Mansion first thing tomorrow morning. An old master will be there to examine your bones. As long as your Root Bone is acceptable, the Huang Family will send you to a Martial Arts Hall."
"Thank you, Uncle!"
Xu Yang gave Zhou Shunchang a deep bow. He didn't ask whether this meant selling his life away, or if he would have to pledge lifelong loyalty to the Huang Family.
'For him, right now, as long as he had a chance to practice martial arts, what did it matter if he had to sell his life away?'
"Wear something decent tomorrow!"
Noticing Xu Yang's clothes, which were covered in patches, Zhou Shunchang left half a mace of silver.
Xu Yang wanted to refuse, as he had one other decent set of clothes, but after a sharp glare from Zhou Shunchang, he had no choice but to accept the silver.
"Alright, it's getting late, and the roads aren't safe. Your cousin and I have to get back."
He didn't offer any words of encouragement to Xu Yang, because something like Root Bone was innate. He had come here just to take a chance, to see if his nephew had an opportunity to change his fate.
"Take care, Uncle and Cousin!"
The two siblings walked Zhou Shunchang and his daughter all the way to the edge of Bai Shi Workshop before returning home.
"Brother, you can learn martial arts now!"
After such a dramatic turn of events, back in their home once more, the little girl could no longer contain her excitement and began to jump for joy. She didn't even realize that he still needed to have his Root Bone examined for a chance to get the Huang Family's sponsorship.
"Yes, I can learn martial arts now," Xu Yang said softly.
'I wonder if my Root Bone, which I've raised to twenty-two, will meet the Huang Family's requirements tomorrow.'