Chapter 10

"Now, this matter is finally resolved!"

The matriarch sat in the grand hall, her gaze as cold as a venomous snake, "Remember this whip. It is a lesson for your insolence and disrespect to your elders!"

"Ha ha ha! Good! Good!"

Yang Ji laughed in anger, glancing at a martial realm guard nearby who was calmly rolling up the bloodstained whip:

"Matriarch, thank you for your generous gift. I will remember this whip!"

Yang Ji did not even look at the bloody wound on his back, letting the blood flow freely.

"One day, I will return the favor."

Yang Ji thought bitterly, then turned and left without looking back.

...

The Discipline Hall was filled with a chilling silence.

After Yang Ji left, the matriarch stood up, her face as cold as ice, exuding a chilling aura.

"There is no such thing as having both face and a full belly. If you didn't want to join, you shouldn't have taken the 'Longevity Pill' in the first place!"

The matriarch coldly said these words and turned to leave, leaving behind three elders with ashen faces.

She lifted a curtain and entered the back of the Discipline Hall. As she passed a kneeling girl, the matriarch suddenly stopped.

The girl was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a clear and extraordinary beauty. She was kneeling on the ground, holding a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a large bowl in the other, filled with fragrant and spicy stir-fried meat. She was eating and crying at the same time.

Her stomach was already swollen from eating, but she continued to eat, tears streaming uncontrollably.

"This is just a small lesson for you. Do your job well. If it happens again, it won't be as simple as making you eat the cat you raised from a kitten. I won't always be so merciful!"

The matriarch said and walked away.

"Ah!"

After the matriarch left, the girl finally burst into tears, crying and vomiting uncontrollably.

The pet she had raised from a kitten, which she considered a family member, was now just a pile of remains. Seeing the pieces being vomited out, the girl was on the verge of breaking down.

"Lady, I won't dare again, I promise I won't dare again..."

The girl cried out loudly, her voice hoarse.

...

After leaving the Discipline Hall, Yang Ji's mind was in turmoil. The sky, though not very bright, seemed unbearably glaring.

"Sixteen years old, sixteen years old... Reaching the martial realm is no easy feat! Even the outstanding disciples in the clan, who are supplied with training resources every day, can't guarantee they will break through to the martial realm, let alone me, who is only at the sixth stage of breathing."

Yang Ji felt a heavy weight in his heart, seeing a bleak future ahead.

"However, no matter what, I will not let you succeed. Perhaps one day, I will leave the clan, but it will not be in this way!"

Yang Ji clenched his fists and secretly vowed to break through to the martial realm before he turned sixteen.

Half a year is such a short time!

Yang Ji's only advantage was the strange "star iron" that had changed his constitution, putting him on the same starting line as other clan disciples.

This was his only hope.

Leaving the Discipline Hall, Yang Ji saw the old steward in the crowd. The old man, seeing the bloody whip mark on Yang Ji's back, could not help but shed tears.

The old steward felt guilty towards the deceased master and lady, so sad that he could not even speak.

"Uncle Liang, it's fine. It's just a small scar. Consider it a lesson. One day, I will return the favor."

Yang Ji comforted the old steward, ignoring the cold and mocking gazes, and returned to his residence.

The whip was specially made with barbs, and the skin it tore would not heal quickly. Yang Ji applied some medicine, but the pain did not lessen at all.

This was the matriarch's cruelty!

"Good things never come in pairs, but bad things come in threes. I wrote a couplet, and it seems to have come true on me. Time is short; I must find a way to gather enough money to get through the winter."

Yang Ji laughed bitterly, moved his body, and found that the injury did not significantly affect his movements. He gritted his teeth and left with his backpack.

Writing couplets was hard work, but it was the only thing he could do now. Yang Ji planned to sell a few more couplets as he did yesterday.

However, when Yang Ji entered the same shops as yesterday, something unexpected happened.

"Sorry, young man, we have enough stock."

"Really sorry, we don't need couplets right now."

"… Try another place."

...

The responses were mostly the same. After entering over ten shops, Yang Ji failed to sell a single couplet. It seemed that all the shops had suddenly decided to reject him, and their attitudes were cold. Some shops even waved him off as soon as he appeared at the door.

"Shopkeeper, just tell me what's going on."

Yang Ji finally couldn't hold back and shouted.

"Hehe, young man, I won't hide it from you. You are a disciple of the Yang clan, right? Yesterday, the matriarch sent someone to us, forbidding us from buying your couplets. We have no choice."

The shopkeeper of a grain and oil store finally spoke the truth, looking helpless.

"What? The matriarch!"

Yang Ji's face changed abruptly.

Although he had sensed someone was targeting him, he thought it was a competitor. He never imagined it was the matriarch, whose reach was so long.

He had just sold couplets yesterday, and today this woman had ordered all the shops in the market to stop buying from him.

"This woman is determined to cut off all my means of survival!"

Yang Ji was filled with anger and urgency.

"Selling couplets" was his plan to earn enough money in a short time. The matriarch's move was like cutting off his lifeline.

If he couldn't sell couplets, how could he survive the harsh winter?

"There must be a way out. I don't believe a living person can be defeated by a few coins!"

Yang Ji was furious, but this also ignited his pride and determination.

Yang Ji turned to leave, but as he stepped over the threshold, his gaze fell on something in front of the grain and oil store, and he stopped.

"Shopkeeper, what is that?"

Yang Ji pointed to a snow-white fox fur in front of the store.

The grain and oil store rarely sold other items. Besides Yang Ji's calligraphy and couplets, the fox fur was the most special.

"Oh, you mean this!"

The shopkeeper smiled, "This is a fox fur from a hunter in the mountains. Winter is coming, and these animals are changing their fur. Whether it's foxes or rabbits, they all turn snow-white, and the young masters and misses in the city love them. They sell very well. If you can catch one, I'll buy it too, … of course, without letting your matriarch know."

The shopkeeper was mostly joking. It was hard to imagine the refined and scholarly Yang Ji as a mountain hunter.

But Yang Ji thought differently. Hearing the shopkeeper's words, his mind suddenly became active.

"Hunting…"

Many thoughts raced through Yang Ji's mind. His eyes brightened, and he had an idea.

Hunting required a lot of strength, whether it was drawing a bow or shooting an arrow. Ordinary people would get their arms and veins numb and feel exhausted after a few shots, needing a long rest to recover.

But Yang Ji was different. After reaching the sixth stage of breathing, his strength and stamina had greatly increased, far surpassing ordinary people. Others might struggle to draw the bow, but Yang Ji could definitely do it.

"The grain and oil store rarely sells other items unless there's a huge profit. I earn only one copper coin per couplet, while a fox fur could be worth seven or eight times, or even ten times more. Moreover, although I have reached the sixth stage of breathing, my tendons and muscles are still loose. Practicing archery can strengthen my entire body, preparing me for future martial arts training."

Yang Ji's eyes grew brighter. At this moment, he knew what he had to do.

After selling couplets on the street to gather eight copper coins, Yang Ji entered a bow shop. He chose a large "ironwood bow" made of ox sinew. This bow had great resilience and a long range, not something an ordinary person could draw.

Yang Ji planned to use it to strengthen his tendons and muscles, enhancing his strength during hunting.

Before leaving, he spent two copper coins to buy more than twenty arrows, then left the bow shop.

"Go!"

As he walked down the street, a sudden loud shout echoed, and a strong wind blew in his face. A spirited young man, fully dressed for hunting, rode a galloping horse, followed by a robust hunting dog, passing by Yang Ji.

"It's a hunting disciple!"

Yang Ji squinted, recognizing him.

Every winter, the clans in Pingchuan County would enter their exclusive hunting grounds for competitive hunting.

Although Yang Ji was a disciple of the Yang clan, he had never been allowed to enter.

"One day, I will enter there with honor."

Yang Ji clenched his fists and turned towards the vast, deep mountains, known as the "wild zone" in the major clans.

...

The mountains were covered with tall and dense trees, which did not shed all their leaves even in winter.

Yang Ji walked under the trees, surrounded by a thick layer of withered branches and leaves, emitting a decaying smell.

"Hunting requires a high level of accuracy. I've never shot an arrow before, so I need to practice."

Yang Ji pulled the ironwood bow to a full moon, carefully studying the technique of shooting.

He aimed at a tree in front of him.

"Buzz!"

The bowstring vibrated, and an arrow shot out, flying past a branch of another tree about three steps away and disappearing.

"The accuracy is too poor; I need more practice."

Yang Ji shook his head, picked up the arrow that had missed its target.

He had few arrows, each costing money, so he had to use them wisely.

"Buzz!"

Another arrow shot out, this time with better accuracy, but still far from perfect.

Arrow after arrow, Yang Ji repeatedly shot, each shot exhausting his arms. Ordinary people might have become tired and frustrated, but Yang Ji remained calm, his wrist steady.

"Snap!"

In a moment, half a quiver of arrows was shot, and Yang Ji's arms were numb, unable to lift.

"No, it's too tiring. I need to rest."

Yang Ji leaned against a tree, panting, and sat down. His strength was already considerable, but such frequent shooting was still too much.

"At least I've initially mastered the bow's power and improved my accuracy."

Yang Ji nodded, resting under the tree. At this moment, his ears twitched, hearing a faint cry for help in the wind.

"This voice… someone is injured."

Yang Ji was startled and immediately stood up. He had thought he was alone, so the cry for help surprised him.

"This direction… it's deep in the mountains."

Yang Ji identified the direction of the voice and his face changed slightly.

The deep mountains were full of dangers, not a place for just anyone to wander.

"Ah, I can't worry about that. A man must act. I'll go and see."

Yang Ji gritted his teeth, ignoring the dangers, and ran towards the source of the cry.

The journey was uneventful, and in the deep mountains, Yang Ji finally found the source of the cry. In the grass, a girl in yellow hunting clothes lay on the ground, her body bruised and black, unconscious.

Nearby, a venomous snake with a triangular head lay severed in two, motionless.

"She's been bitten by a venomous snake!"

Yang Ji was shocked, immediately noticing the deep snake bite marks on her exposed ankle.

Her leg was black, and the poison was spreading visibly.

"What a strong poison!"

Yang Ji's eyes twitched, sensing the great danger. If he didn't act quickly, the girl would surely die.

"I must quickly help her suck out the poison."

Yang Ji didn't hesitate, leaning down and sucking the poison from her ankle, spitting it out repeatedly. The blood was black, like ink.

After more than thirty sucks, Yang Ji was drenched in sweat, but the blood he spat out was noticeably lighter.

The girl's face also improved slightly, but she remained unconscious.

[Request for recommendations and collections!]

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