Rise in the Martial Chaos: Starting From a Martial Arts School-Chapter 42 - 32: The Yiqi Gang’s Fixation
Yang Jing saw this, and his heart ached.
He knew his family’s habit of always saving the best things for him. Persuading them was useless, so he didn’t say much. Instead, he simply used his chopsticks to place some meat into Yang An’s bowl a few times. "Brother An, you should eat more too. You need to replenish your nutrients even more when you’re training your strength."
Yang An accepted it with his head down, his mouth stuffed full. He mumbled, "Mhm, thanks, Brother Jing."
Halfway through the meal, his grandfather, Elder Yang, put down his chopsticks. He took out a pouch of dry tobacco and, after lighting his pipe, slowly asked, "Jing’Er, you’re in the city. Haven’t you met any girls you fancy?"
Yang Jing was taken aback. He shook his head. "No, Grandfather. I spend all my days training at the Martial Arts Hall. I don’t have the time to think about such things."
"It’s about time you did." His grandfather tapped his pipe, his gaze turning somber. "Your father and your uncle went to the front lines in Caozhou to escort grain supplies. It’s been over half a year without any word from them. I hear fighting has broken out there, and it’s not peaceful... Our family should continue its line sooner rather than later."
Hearing her father-in-law’s words, his mother, Liu Cui Ling, felt her eyes redden. She didn’t speak, but simply used her chopsticks to add another piece of meat to Yang Jing’s bowl.
His aunt also said softly, "Jing’Er, you’re seventeen this year, right? That’s not young anymore. Several boys in the village got married at this age. Jing’Er, if you meet a suitable, decent girl in the city, you should keep an eye out. The family can help you look, too."
’It’s not that I’m completely against getting married, having children, and continuing the family line,’ Yang Jing thought, his heart heavy. ’Since I’ve come to this world, I have to slowly integrate myself into it.’
’Besides, since I’ve taken over the original owner’s body, it’s only natural that I should also bear the responsibility of carrying on his family line for him.’
What truly weighed on Yang Jing’s heart was the matter of his father and uncle. The two of them had followed a convoy to escort grain to the Caozhou front lines to earn some silver coins. For over half a year, he had been constantly worried about it, but he was powerless to help.
Taking a shallow breath, Yang Jing decided not to dwell on the topic. Otherwise, everyone would probably stop eating and start wiping away tears.
He looked at Yang An, who was eating with his head down, and smiled. "I’m not in a hurry. Brother An, on the other hand, should find a wife first. You all can worry about his matters first."
Yang An had been minding his own business, focused on his food. Hearing Yang Jing turn the tables on him, he snapped his head up, his face instantly turning red. He almost spat out the rice in his mouth and mumbled, "I... I’m not in a hurry."
Everyone burst out laughing.
His aunt, Auntie Xue, patted Yang An’s arm. "You’re not in a hurry, but I am. After the autumn harvest, I’ll ask someone to keep an eye out for you."
His grandfather also shook his head with a smile. He placed his pipe on the table, his gaze sweeping over Yang Jing and Yang An. "We need to look for both of you. The sooner you two brothers start your own families, the sooner your grandmother and I can rest easy."
Elder Yang’s gaze, however, lingered more on Yang Jing.
Yang An would most likely remain a farmer for the rest of his life. The Yang Family’s true hope for rising in status was Yang Jing.
Starting with Yang Jing’s generation, the descendants of the Yang Family could escape the fate of being farmers and become people of another social class.
Elder Yang had placed all his hopes for changing the family’s destiny on Yang Jing, so naturally, he was even more eager for Yang Jing to marry and have children as soon as possible...
Listening to his elders’ discussion, Yang Jing didn’t refuse again and simply nodded.
After lunch, Yang Jing helped clear the table, then coached his cousin in martial arts for a while. After chatting with his family for a bit more, he felt it was about time to leave and stood up. "Grandfather, Grandmother, Auntie, Mother, I have to go back. I can’t fall behind on my training at the Martial Arts Hall."
His grandmother, Grandma Qin, held his hand, reluctant to let go. "Won’t you stay another night? I was planning on steaming some osmanthus cakes for you later."
"I can’t, Grandmother." Yang Jing smiled and patted the back of her hand. "Once things aren’t so busy, I’ll come back to see you."
His mother stuffed some dried herbs into his bag. "These are for treating bruises and sprains. Be careful when you train. Don’t always push yourself so hard."
Yang Jing didn’t lack these herbs, but he accepted them anyway.
Yang An stood to the side and said in a low voice, "Brother Jing, I’ll be sure to practice the leg techniques you taught me."
"Mhm, practice hard." Yang Jing patted his shoulder.
He didn’t mention buying a courtyard in the city to his family. He planned to wait until he broke through to the Hidden Strength stage and had firmly established himself in Tongyi Square, and indeed the entire city, before telling them the details. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
When that time came, perhaps he could bring his grandfather, grandmother, and mother to live in the city for a while.
His cousin Yang An could come along too, and he could personally teach him martial arts.
These thoughts merely swirled in his mind. To put them into practice, he would have to wait until he broke through to the Hidden Strength stage at the very least.
However, Yang Jing was confident that day wouldn’t be too far off. The bottlenecks that held back other Martial Artists for long periods didn’t exist for him!
After bidding farewell to his family, Yang Jing quickly walked out of Yang Family Village, exchanging a few words with the old and young villagers he met along the way.
At that moment, a thought from when he had just transmigrated couldn’t help but surface in his mind—’I can’t become a laughingstock!’
Back then, countless eyes in the village had been watching him, waiting to see him and his family become a joke.
It wasn’t that these villagers were bad people; they just didn’t approve of Yang Jing practicing martial arts. These farmers, who had tilled the land for generations, always believed that farmers’ sons were destined to be farmers for generations to come. Anyone who tried to break that pattern was bound to suffer great misfortune and take a huge fall.
At the time, countless people were waiting to see Yang Jing return from the city in disgrace.
But now, he had finally done it. He had gone from being an ordinary person to an Entry-level Martial Artist, avoiding the spectacular failure they had all expected.
At this thought, Yang Jing’s mood lightened considerably. He strode out of Yang Family Village and headed east.
Just as he reached the main road, he saw dust billowing in the distance. A crowd of ragged refugees was slowly shuffling along the roadside. They were all sallow-faced and emaciated, some carrying dying children on their backs, humming tuneless laments.
"They’ve fled from Caozhou..."
A passing peddler whispered in discussion, "I hear fighting’s broken out over there. The Court is conscripting able-bodied men, and the fields have all gone to waste..."
Yang Jing’s heart sank.
His father and uncle had been escorting grain to Caozhou. With no news for over half a year, in these chaotic times of rampant warfare and tides of refugees, how could one not worry about their safety?
He stopped, watching the endless lines of refugees. He couldn’t help but clench his fists, and his pace quickened.
’The more chaotic the world becomes, the harder your fists must be!’
’Only by getting stronger, as strong as possible, as quickly as possible, can I protect the people I want to protect in these turbulent times!’
A little over two hours later, the walls of Yuhe County came into view.
Yang Jing looked up at the towering city gate, took a deep breath, and quickened his pace to merge into the stream of people entering the city.
Behind him, the refugees continued to pour in like a black tide.
Once inside the city, Yang Jing didn’t stop. He followed Vermilion Bird Avenue straight toward Tongyi Square.
Chengping Square and Tongyi Square were both located deep within the Outer City, near the base of the Inner City walls. Compared to other districts, the Court’s defenses were stronger there, and security was much higher.
To get from the city gate to Tongyi Square, one had to pass through several squares, one of which was Guang’an Square.
As soon as Yang Jing stepped into Guang’an Square’s territory, he saw a group of sturdy-looking men gathered at a street corner. Each wore a saber at his waist and had a hostile expression as they moved through the alleys.
Yang Jing paused for a moment, overhearing two peddlers with shoulder poles whispering:
"Those are men from the Yiqi Gang, aren’t they? They’ve been coming here every few days, turning the ruins of the old Great Fortune Gang territory completely upside down. No idea what they’re looking for."
"Who knows? These gangs are all a chaotic mess. Best to stay far away and not get involved."
"I have a cousin in the Four Seas Gang. He said the Great Fortune Gang was based around Yong’an Square for years. They must have hidden a lot of loot. Now that the Yiqi Gang won, of course they want to cash in."
Yang Jing’s heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously slowed his pace.
’Gold, silver, old ginseng, the *Raging Waves Leg Technique*... aren’t the valuables I took from Xu Tai and Scarface Li the most precious assets of the Great Fortune Gang?’
’The Yiqi Gang went to so much trouble to crush the Great Fortune Gang; there’s no way they wouldn’t be after these things.’
He nonchalantly edged toward the outside of the crowd, his peripheral vision sweeping over the Yiqi Gang members. The leader was a one-eyed man who was kicking open the door of a dilapidated house, cursing under his breath. He seemed to be in a very bad mood.
