Chapter 40

Zhang Heng had never returned to his hometown since he left. Even after he grew up and had the freedom to leave the capital and the Medical University, he still never went back. Even though the name of his village on his map had long been rubbed so much that the characters were barely legible, he still never returned once.

Some say it was the fear of returning to one's hometown, some say it was the many concerns, and some say it was the shame that kept him away. In any case, Zhang Heng did not want to go back to his hometown.

But now, he had no choice but to return. Hao Qi was a man of action. Upon hearing the news, he immediately discussed it with Zhang Heng, and they bought a large amount of supplies. Then they went to the horse market and bought two strong horses. After a few hours, Hao Qi and Zhang Heng set off for Zhang Heng's hometown.

Zhang Heng's hometown, though remote, was not far from the capital of the Hundred Herbs Kingdom. They set out around noon, spent a night in the wild, and arrived at his hometown, a small village with only a few hundred residents, nestled against a mountain, by the afternoon of the next day.

This village was called Bai Shan Village, named after the massive snow-capped mountain that towered behind it. It was a small village with only a few hundred residents, looking ordinary and unremarkable.

When Hao Qi and Zhang Heng arrived at the entrance of the small village, Zhang Heng dismounted and stood there for a long time, looking around. It seemed he was trying to merge the village in front of him with the one in his memory. After a long while, he sighed heavily and followed Hao Qi into the village.

The entire village looked very backward. At least Hao Qi did not see any signs of modern technology. Although this world had begun to use electricity, even if there were no computers, there were electric lights. However, there were none in this village. Similarly, there were no steam engines or other technological artifacts, just very backward mud houses, farmland, and villages, with cows, horses, pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese. This was the most "feudal era" village Hao Qi had ever seen.

"Nothing has changed... After twenty years, nothing here has changed," Zhang Heng muttered as he walked.

Hao Qi replied, "Of course, the transportation here is very inconvenient. The infrastructure of the Hundred Herbs Kingdom is poor. Apart from the capital, which is a modern city, and the National Medical University, which is well-developed, other places are quite backward. The main roads only connect to large towns, not to medium or small towns, leaving only some dirt roads and village paths. This is very fatal. As for this village, there aren't even village paths, just very poor dirt roads, and they are intermittent. How can goods circulate? If goods cannot circulate, it's just a small peasant economy. It's no wonder it hasn't developed."

Hao Qi kept talking to himself as he walked. After a while, he realized that Zhang Heng had stopped walking. When he stopped, he saw Zhang Heng looking at him in surprise from a distance. Zhang Heng ran a few steps to catch up and said, "I didn't know you were so knowledgeable about economics... And it's a kind of economics I've never heard of. You said you were an orphan who only knew how to practice boxing, but you know so much."

Hao Qi smiled bitterly and said, "Do you know how difficult it is for an orphan to practice boxing? You said you were nominally adopted by Scholar Sid, and although you suffered a lot of bullying at school, at least you had food to eat, and you probably ate enough. For an orphan, being able to eat enough is the luckiest thing."

"You must know some basics of boxing, right? 'Poverty in literature, wealth in martial arts.' To practice boxing, you need to eat meat. Even if you don't have enough meat, you need to at least be full. You should know that, right? I started practicing boxing at the age of nine, and it's been ten years now..." Hao Qi said, recalling the past with a bitter smile.

"Wait, wait! You're only 19 years old!?" Zhang Heng looked at Hao Qi in surprise.

Hao Qi stopped speaking, feeling a bit embarrassed. In fact, he looked 19 before his resurrection, but after being ambushed in the Blue Shadow Republic and using the system to resurrect, he had consumed one-third of his lifespan to successfully counter-kill. Since then, his body and appearance had aged rapidly, and now he looked at least 27 or 28 years old. That's why Zhang Heng found it hard to believe he was only 19.

"I, I just look old, what's it to you!?" Hao Qi shouted, feeling a bit embarrassed. Seeing Zhang Heng's timid expression, he apologized and continued, "Anyway, I've been practicing boxing for ten years. I started in the orphanage. By the way, I'm from the Blue Shadow Republic, a country you know, right? It's the country in the eastern part of the Blue Sea that values education the most, so I was lucky enough to enter school. I was so poor that I had to win scholarships every semester to afford the nutrition needed for boxing."

Zhang Heng asked in surprise, "Every semester? I've heard of the Blue Shadow Republic, which values education. To win scholarships there... Are you a genius?"

"A real genius!" Hao Qi laughed, then his expression turned bitter again. He continued, "But that wasn't enough. Even eating wasn't enough. That's the cost of practicing boxing. How much can a scholarship be? It's supposed to be a bonus, but you need it for living, eating, and buying things, especially for martial artists. Do you think it's enough? No, far from it. If it weren't for my friend, I would have died."

"The friend you told me about on the mountain top, the one involved in the underworld?" Zhang Heng asked.

"Yes, that's him," Hao Qi nodded and continued, "He started in the underworld at a very young age, first as a lackey, then a pickpocket, and later a clever guard. He also dealt in soft drugs and pimped. But you can imagine, he had no martial talent, almost like an ordinary person. He was just a bit more clever and had good judgment, never offending the wrong people. As the lowest in the underworld, he couldn't earn much, just enough to survive. Most of that survival went to me. I remember a few times when I visited him, he secretly hid some black steamed buns, which were mixed with a lot of bran, afraid I would see them. That's what my friend, my life-long brother, gave me... Can you imagine? I was so thin, like a monkey, practicing boxing every day, aiming for 5000 punches a day, and I practiced for ten years until I entered the Inner Strength Realm in university."

"Ten years, Inner Strength Realm at 19, wait, let me think..." Zhang Heng waved his hands, thinking for a long time, then looked at Hao Qi with a look of seeing an alien. "You practiced a set of boxing, right? For ten years, you reached the pinnacle of that set of boxing, right? And then you became an Inner Strength Realm expert?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Hao Qi looked at Zhang Heng, puzzled.

"Congenital Dao Body..." Zhang Heng sighed, muttering the four words softly. He didn't explain further but continued, "Now I understand. But you're really amazing. Studying, winning scholarships, and practicing boxing at the same time. You probably don't know, but most martial artists, once they discover their talent, focus entirely on martial arts. Few study, usually only starting to read after reaching the Quasi-Inner Strength Realm. Some extreme cases practice for 50 to 60 years, either becoming Inner Strength Realm or dying of old age. If they become Inner Strength Realm, they start reading slowly; if they die of old age, they just enjoy their last days. That's the norm. You're really amazing."

"Is that so? Hahaha, I feel the same way," Hao Qi laughed heartily, scratching his head, while Zhang Heng looked at him speechlessly.

As they talked, they arrived at Zhang Heng's original home, the old house where he lived with his father. Now, the old house was nothing but ruins, with most of the building materials gone, leaving only traces of what was once a house.

Zhang Heng stood silently in front of the ruins, standing there for a long time without moving. Hao Qi said nothing and did nothing, just standing beside him.

After a long time, tears streamed down Zhang Heng's eyes. The most beautiful memories of his childhood, the hometown in his memory, mixed with the insults, ridicule, isolation, beatings, and curses he had endured over the past twenty years, the theft of his stationery and textbooks, the defacement of his desk, being trampled in the toilet, and being urinated on...

All these memories mixed together, and Zhang Heng couldn't stop the tears. They flowed more and more, and finally, he burst into tears, crying loudly.

"I'm back, Dad... Mom..."

"I'm Zhang Heng! I'm back!"