In response to Su Yu's question, the short, stout man turned around, revealing a simple, honest-looking smile.
"Well, if it isn't Brother Su! What a coincidence, you're hiding out here too." He pointed to the grain sack on the ground and said with a grin, "We just snatched this from some sneaky fellow and were just wondering who it belonged to."
The short, stout man was none other than Zhou Da, and the tall, thin man beside him was his younger brother, Zhou San. The two of them looked at Su Yu with grins, an air of brazen confidence about them.
Su Yu's expression was grim as he spoke again. "It's mine. Either you give it back, or I take it back myself."
Su Yu hadn't had much contact with these two. He had only seen them a few times as part of the Qian Family Fishing Team. His impression of them was nothing special; they were just ordinary people.
Zhou Da still wore that simpleton's smile, but Zhou San's face had turned cold. He slammed the cloth sack in his hand onto the ground and placed his hand on the Fish-killing Saber at his waist, his triangular eyes glinting menacingly.
The atmosphere instantly became charged with tension.
"Hey now, Zhou San, don't be rash!"
Zhou Da suddenly reached out to stop his brother, the smile on his face growing even wider. He proactively picked up the grain sack and handed it over.
"Since it belongs to Brother Su, then it should naturally be returned to its rightful owner. We're all brothers on the Qian Family Fishing Team. We see each other all the time. There will be plenty of opportunities to interact in the future, right?"
He deliberately emphasized the last sentence.
Su Yu took the sack, his eyes flickering slightly. He too put on a smiling face. "If that's the case, then it was just a misunderstanding."
Opening the cloth sack, he found that the rice, oil, meat, and other items were all inside. Su Yu smiled, said his goodbyes, and left.
As he walked out of the alley, his expression turned cold again. 'Those two are not good people. From the way they were acting, they probably wanted to make a move on me.'
'But now that I've achieved a first-level breakthrough, I don't really have anything to fear.'
In the shadows of the alley, Zhou San stared at Su Yu's departing back, a vicious light in his eyes. "Big Brother, we're just letting him go like that? The market is still in chaos. Why don't we take this chance to kill the kid?"
The simpleton's smile vanished from Zhou Da's face in an instant, replaced by a chilling, heart-pounding coldness.
"Idiot. Didn't you notice? That kid's breathing is long and steady, his steps are stable, and the speed he had when chasing that thief... He's already had a first-level breakthrough."
"What!"
Zhou San's pupils shrank violently. A look of extreme, twisted jealousy appeared on his face. "That poor brat has talent? On what grounds?! I've been training for so long and I'm still just a piece of trash!"
"What's the rush?" Zhou Da patted his brother's trembling arm, his tone like he was placating a rabid dog. "Once we take down that stupid Gao woman, we'll have money. Then we can send you to a martial arts school and use Herbal Decoctions to try for a breakthrough."
At the mention of that woman, a lecherous glint flashed in Zhou San's eyes. He licked his lips. "That woman really is stupid, thinking she's got us wrapped around her finger. Heh heh, when the time comes, I'm going to have to have some real fun with her..."
"Of course, of course."
...
Night fell, and the sounds of shouting and killing gradually faded.
Su Yu didn't know who had won, but thankfully, neither side had gone on a random killing spree, and everyone at the market had managed to leave safely.
Su Yu also returned home. Just as he opened the door, Yaya followed him in like a little shadow.
Looking at the little girl's eyes, full of dependence, Su Yu sighed inwardly.
'She's just a little girl of about ten, and she's all alone in the world now. This is only natural.'
The words "You should go back" died on his lips, changing instead to, "Come on in."
Once inside, Su Yu gave the rice, oil, meat, and other things to Yaya for her to put away. He had intended to leave the coarse rice for her anyway; after all, once he earned enough money, he needed to get back to the martial arts school to train as soon as possible.
When everything was put away, Su Yu sent Yaya home, shut the door and windows tightly, and lit the oil lamp.
CLATTER CLATTER.
A pile of silver was poured onto the table, its alluring gleam reflecting the lamplight. He counted it—there was a full twenty-five or twenty-six taels of silver!
'Crime pays. The old sayings really are true.'
Su Yu sighed in admiration and secured the silver close to his body. With this money, his Herbal Medicine Fee for the next few months was covered!
Then, he picked up the yellowed booklet. Written on it were three large words: Coin Toss Art!
Coin Toss Art, full name Eighteen Hands of Falling Coins, was a hidden weapon technique that used Finger and Wrist Bursting Power to control the spin and trajectory of thrown objects.
The hidden weapon that accompanied this technique was a specially forged dart that resembled a copper coin.
However, even without the coin darts, one could use other hidden weapons, like flying daggers or even stones.
This technique had four key principles, summarized as: *The world in the palm, its measure taken; thunder at the fingertips, startling gods and ghosts... The hero's hand, untainted by wealth; a fortune spent to buy a life of dust!*
These corresponded to four realms and four types of Power.
Square-and-Round Force, Spiral Force, Wind-Hearing Force, and Piercing-Back Shot!
It all sounded very impressive, but considering it was likely a common technique that many members of the Money Gang had a chance to practice, it was probably just a lot of bull.
'Seems like even the ancients couldn't resist bullshitting...'
Su Yu pushed the door open and went out into the small courtyard. He picked up a smooth, rounded pebble from the corner of the wall, gripped its center of gravity between his thumb and middle finger, and slightly tensed the major tendon in his wrist.
"First form, Throwing Stones to Ask the Way!"
With a flick of his wrist, a burst of skillful power erupted.
CRACK!
The pebble shot out like a meteor chasing the moon, striking the earthen wall hard before bouncing off, leaving a deep white mark.
[Martial Arts]: Coin Toss Art (entry-level 1/100)
The familiar ink-black text appeared, and a wave of insight into the Coin Tossing Technique flooded his mind.
Square-and-Round Force, grip the object with the pads of the fingers, release with a circular motion, feel for the center of gravity, wind shear...
"Great! I get it!"
Su Yu immediately picked up a new stone and began to throw.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK...
In the silent courtyard, the sound of continuous impacts rang out.
The noise continued until the hour of Zi. 'If this were his previous life, someone would have definitely reported him for disturbing the peace...'
[Martial Arts]: Coin Toss Art (entry-level 50/100)
"The Skill Level is increasing so fast!"
Even Su Yu himself was shocked. Although this hidden weapon technique wasn't a particularly powerful form of Martial Arts, such a rapid increase in his Skill Level gave him a long-missed feeling of satisfaction.
Compared to this Coin Toss Art, the growth of his White Ape Six Changes was practically a turtle's pace!
'Does this mean my innate aptitude is terrible, or am I just exceptionally talented with this hidden weapon technique?'
"No, I have to practice a little longer!"
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK...
...
「The next morning」 Yaya arrived on time with a hot breakfast.
Su Yu had her sit down with him, then fetched two salted duck eggs, handed one to her, and began to eat.
"I'm going back to the city to practice martial arts soon. This house will just be sitting empty, so you should move in. Use whatever's here, and help me keep the place tidy."
Yaya nodded silently, looking like she wanted to say something but swallowing her words.
After breakfast, Su Yu took the two jin of pork he had bought yesterday and headed to his cousin Su Hong's house.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
A moment later, the door opened, and his Eldest Aunt came out.
"Oh, it's Yu." She hesitated for a moment. "Come in."
Su Yu frowned slightly. His aunt's eyes were a little red, and her hair was disheveled, as if she had just been crying.
As he entered the house, a thick smell of herbs mixed with the stench of blood assaulted his nostrils.
Su Yu put the pork on the table. "Aunt, this is two jin of pork I bought yesterday. It's for you, to help you regain your strength. Will Big Brother be back tonight? I was hoping to have a drink with him."
Upon hearing this, his aunt suddenly burst into tears, sobbing, "He's in the inner room!"
A sense of foreboding rose in Su Yu's heart. He hurried into the inner room and saw his older brother lying on the bed, covered by a blanket, his face pale.
"Big Brother! What happened?!"
Su Hong wore a bitter smile. He had heard Su Yu come in but hadn't made a sound.
Seeing his second younger brother approach the bed, he said helplessly, "It's nothing, it's nothing. There was some trouble with the gang a few days ago. I got hurt, just need to rest at home for a few days."
"My son, how could you be so foolish!" At that moment, his aunt entered the room, her cries shrill.
"Yu, your big brother... his legs are broken! He's completely crippled!"
"What!"
Su Yu's heart sank. He ripped the blanket away and saw that Su Hong's legs were immobile, with dark red blood seeping through his trousers.
He immediately reached out to feel the bones... Both leg bones... were completely shattered!
Utterly crippled!
"Who did this?" Su Yu's voice was as cold as a crypt.
Su Hong opened his eyes, revealing a bitter smile. "Second Brother, don't ask. You can't get involved in this."
"Did Cao Bin do this himself?"
Su Hong fell silent.
Seeing his brother's silence, Su Yu knew the answer.
The Martial Artist, Cao Bin! He had made his move personally!
At this moment, Su Yu felt the pressure. With his current strength, he was definitely no match for Cao Bin.
"Second Brother, it doesn't matter that I'm crippled, but I'm going to bring ruin upon you all!" Su Hong's eyes were bloodshot now as days of suppressed emotions erupted.
"That Cao Bin wants to exterminate us completely! He didn't kill me on purpose—he wants to torture me! He wants to torture my family and friends to death first, to take revenge for his brother! Only then will he come to kill me, to make me die in agony!"
"I've doomed you all! I'm powerless! Dammit, I have no innate talent for martial arts! Second Brother, now the Su Family can only count on our third brother!"
"I kept this from you because I didn't want to disturb Third Brother's training. He has a weak disposition and can't handle pressure, so you absolutely must not tell him. He has already had his second-level breakthrough. If he can truly become a Martial Artist, only then will our Su Family have a hope of survival!"