Chapter 1: Zhang Lingshan

Whoosh!

A cold wind swept past, sending the red leaves covering the mountain fluttering into the air.

"Winter is coming."

Zhang Lingshan tightened his tattered grey cloth tunic, licked the last bit of grease from the bottom of his bowl, and sighed inwardly with a look of lingering dissatisfaction.

He had been in this world for half a year now.

At the first light of dawn, he and his father would rush to Red Leaf Mountain to work as laborers. They would join a group of men to haul stone and timber up the mountain, then carry the waste materials back down to pave the roads, repeating the process over and over.

By dusk, they would hurry home, terrified that if they were a step too late and night fell, they would encounter "dirty things" and lose their lives.

Yet, despite such grueling labor, the daily wage was only sixty wen. They ate nothing but steamed buns and cabbage, and the meager bit of grease they got was barely enough to coat the bottom of a bowl—far less comfortable than the lives of the carpenters and stonemasons building the temple on the mountain.

That was why, once his father had painstakingly saved up twenty taels of silver, he intended to entrust Zhang Lingshan to an old carpenter to learn a trade and secure a future.

However, Zhang Lingshan had refused.

Strictly speaking, the *previous* Zhang Lingshan had refused.

The original owner of this body was a child with ideals and ambitions. He had no interest in carpentry and only wanted to learn martial arts. But unable to sway his father, he had stolen the silver to apprentice at the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall.

As a result, just as he reached the entrance of the hall, his father caught up to him and slapped him hard across the face, while the onlookers watched and laughed at the spectacle.

The original owner, filled with anger and shame, had furiously slammed his head against a wall.

That collision was what brought the current Zhang Lingshan into this body.

"Although the original owner's behavior was a bit extreme, his thinking wasn't wrong."

Having lived in this world for half a year, Zhang Lingshan felt a deep sense of understanding for the original owner's mindset.

Martial arts—he had to practice martial arts!

How could one have a bright future without practicing martial arts?

In a world where human life was as cheap as grass and demons danced in chaos, ordinary people didn't "live"; they just "survived," scraping by one day at a time.

Only by becoming a powerful martial artist could one taste what it truly meant to be alive.

It was a pity that Father Zhang couldn't even grasp such a simple truth, insisting on making his child a carpenter and driving the original owner to his death.

In truth, it wasn't that Father Zhang didn't understand the logic; it was that he understood it all too well. Martial arts required talent. Without talent, practicing for a lifetime was just a waste of time and would only lead to a body full of injuries. It was better not to practice at all.

According to Father Zhang, their ancestors had been dignified martial arts masters. Unfortunately, as time passed and the world changed, the bloodline had thinned by the time it reached their branch.

He had once fantasized that his child might have incredible luck and inherit the ancestral martial talent, so when Zhang Lingshan was eight, he had paid someone to perform a bone-reading. The result, however, was disappointing.

Subsequent facts proved the bone-reading Taoist had been right.

Not only did his child lack martial talent, but he was even shorter than his peers.

Now fifteen years old, he was less than 1.5 meters tall. If not for his sturdy build, he probably wouldn't even have qualified to carry bricks for Red Leaf Temple.

And with that, he still wanted to practice martial arts?

It had to be said, Father Zhang’s reasoning was sound—if not for the panel...

"Open energy panel."

Name: Zhang Lingshan Martial Arts: None Energy: 0.3

Looking at that lonely 0.3, Zhang Lingshan felt helpless.

That 0.3 energy had only been accumulated because he had been well-fed while recovering from his head injury. Relying on the food he got from carrying bricks, he wouldn't be able to save up 0.1, let alone 0.3.

Over the past six months, Zhang Lingshan had roughly figured out how to accumulate energy.

Ordinary food was useless; he could eat a hundred white flour buns and not gain a single point.

Only meat and various rare medicinal herbs could provide energy.

And it couldn't just be meat broth or fatty pork.

It had to be pure protein.

As for herbs, they had to be genuine, effective medicinal plants; wild vegetables, radish leaves, or tree roots masquerading as ginseng were all useless.

Zhang Lingshan had done the math: based on the support his father currently gave him, if he converted it all into lean meat, he could accumulate at most two points of energy.

But the immediate priority wasn't accumulating energy; it was joining a martial arts hall.

Because without martial arts, even if he saved up energy, he could only look at it and not use it.

But once the apprenticeship fee was paid, there would be no money left to buy meat.

Zhang Lingshan looked at the empty bottom of his bowl, his thoughts drifting far away, a trace of worry appearing on his face.

"Xiaoshan, keep this money safe."

A rough, large hand suddenly reached into Zhang Lingshan’s tunic and tucked a crumpled paper ball into the small pocket sewn inside his clothes.

"Dad, what is this?"

Zhang Lingshan felt it with his hand and couldn't help but be surprised.

Their combined wages for the day were only one hundred and twenty wen, but this banknote looked like it was for ten taels.

How could it be so much?

Father Zhang’s rough face revealed a smile as he whispered, "The Lei family took on another job at Golden Light Temple, lasting half a year. They didn't need many people, just skilled hands, so Old Lei recommended a few of us and even paid three months' wages in advance. But I won't be able to come back for this half-year. You'll have to take care of your mother and your younger siblings."

"They paid this much for three months! And you have to stay at Golden Light Temple for half a year? Will there be any danger? Where is Golden Light Temple?"

Zhang Lingshan felt uneasy and couldn't help but fire off questions like a machine gun.

In this day and age, ten taels of silver weren't earned so easily. Plus, they were providing food and lodging and paying three months in advance—it was so incredible it made him feel fearful.

Father Zhang patted Zhang Lingshan’s shoulder, gratified. "You’ve really grown up, knowing how to worry about others. But don't worry, Old Lei is a good man, trustworthy, and the Lei family has a reputation to uphold. They are wealthy and powerful; what’s the difference between ten taels and twenty? If they really had bad intentions, none of us would have been able to leave the mountain today."

"That's true, I suppose."

Zhang Lingshan nodded.

He still felt uneasy, but his father’s mind was made up, and there was no point in him saying anything. Besides, his father had already promised Old Lei and taken the money; backing out now would only anger them.

So, let it be.

Until he had powerful martial arts to back him up, his vigilance and worry were useless. If the Lei family really wanted to sell them off as miners, there was nothing he could do.

The immediate priority was to return to the city to learn martial arts and grow stronger as quickly as possible.

"Dad, I'm leaving then. Be very careful while you're out there. Stay with the others, don't try to be a hero, and watch out for those dirty things."

Zhang Lingshan wrapped his clothes tightly with his belt and urged him.

"Mm, I know."

Father Zhang nodded heavily, his eyes slightly red. He felt gratified to the extreme, yet also sighed.

The child had finally grown up and knew how to care for others.

Aside from his obsession with wasting money on martial arts, Xiaoshan was the best child in the world. *Sigh.*

Watching Zhang Lingshan and a few friends leave together, Father Zhang finally withdrew his gaze and went to meet up with Old Lei.

At the foot of the mountain.

Zhang Lingshan and the others soon reached the main road and quickened their pace toward Jin City.

If they were late and night fell, it was said that "dirty things" would roam outside. If they ran into one, they would be done for.

With Zhang Lingshan were Wang Datou, the son of the Wang family, and Li Xiaole of the Li family.

Both of their fathers were, like Zhang’s father, steady and hardworking men who had been kept by Old Lei to work at Golden Light Temple, so all three of them now carried at least ten taels of silver on them.

They were carrying a fortune.

Now, the only fear was running into highwaymen.

Although the chance of encountering bandits on the main road was small, there were quite a few people who had been carrying bricks with them at Red Leaf Temple.

What if some of them knew the three of them were carrying a large sum of money...

"Hehe, what's the rush, you three? My pockets are a bit tight lately, why don't you lend me some money to spend?"

Following a harsh, unpleasant laugh, three sneering young men suddenly appeared on the left, right, and front of them.

"It's over. It's Li Hu and his two cronies."

Wang Datou’s face turned pale, his body stiffened, and his calves began to tremble.

Li Hu and his two companions were notorious for being desperate for money. When they were hauling stones on Red Leaf Mountain, many adults had been "borrowed" money by them.

The three of them were ruthless and had nothing to lose; even the adults couldn't afford to provoke them.

With the three of them cornered, weren't they just sitting ducks?

"D-d-don't be afraid, there's three of us, too..."

Li Xiaole said he wasn't afraid, but his trembling voice betrayed him.