This Martial Saint is Too Cautious
Chapter 18 - 13: Mengzi Once Said: Not Human

Chapter 18: Chapter 13: Mengzi Once Said: Not Human

BANG!

Lin Yan picked up the stone stool from the courtyard and smashed it viciously onto Zhou Wu’s head, sending blood flying everywhere.

Only after confirming Zhou Wu was completely dead did he begin to loot the body.

"A whole Hall Master of the Black Tiger Gang, and he’s this poor?"

After searching for a long time, he only found a Silver Token engraved with the two words "Black Tiger." Lin Yan couldn’t help but curse.

The Silver Token weighed a good five or six taels, but it had too many impurities, and he couldn’t possibly take it to a pawnshop to exchange for money.

Ignoring Zhou Wu’s body, Lin Yan entered the house. The room was paved with floor tiles and simply furnished with only a table, a stool, and a bed.

His gaze swept over the room, inch by inch, finally settling on the space under the bed.

He lifted the bedframe, and the floor underneath was spotless.

Lin Yan smiled.

’A man like Zhou Wu would never clean under his bed. For it to be this clean is unnatural; there must be something fishy going on.’

After some searching, he indeed found a hollow floor tile.

He slipped two fingers into the crack and gave a sharp tug. The tile flipped open, revealing a wooden box underneath.

He opened the wooden box, and the snow-white gleam of silver reflected on his face.

’So much silver... Could this be a hidden stash for the Black Tiger Gang? Or is it Zhou Wu’s private savings?’

Lin Yan’s eyes lit up. ’It doesn’t matter who it belonged to. It’s all mine now.’

He picked up a few silver ingots to examine them and became even more satisfied. They were common silver ingots, the kind that circulated on the market, with no Black Tiger Gang markings. Spending them would be completely risk-free.

...

"Fire!"

Late at night, flames from the courtyard shot into the sky.

After the fire was extinguished, several figures stood before the ruins, their faces grim.

"Gang Leader, Hall Master Zhou was beaten to death with fists. Unfortunately, the body was burned, so we can’t tell which fist technique was used."

The Black Tiger Gang Leader’s face was ashen.

This courtyard was a secret base for the gang. He was the only one who knew of its existence; not even the other Hall Masters were aware of it.

Zhou Wu had been injured in an ambush and had many enemies, which was why he had arranged for him to stay here. The ones delivering his food were all low-ranking gang members, who shouldn’t have attracted any attention.

"Who else could it be? Our Black Tiger Gang has only three rivals. It must have been one of them."

Another Hall Master said coldly, "The way I see it, someone targeted the gang member delivering the food and followed him here. That guy, Zheng Bo, is dead, which proves it—the enemy tracked him to find this place."

"Zheng Bo? The one with an old mother and a younger brother at home?"

"Yes."

The Black Tiger Gang Leader said flatly, "The brothel is short on catamites recently. Send his younger brother over."

...

While his aunt was out, Lin Yan hid the silver, changed his clothes, and took the old set outside to burn.

’I don’t have many clothes to begin with. At this rate, I’ll have nothing to wear. I need to go to the tailor’s and have a few more sets made.’

Kill someone, burn a set of clothes.

If he didn’t get a reward each time, he’d soon be too poor to even afford killing people.

Just like last time, Lin Yan began to review the events.

First, a self-criticism: he had underestimated the power of a Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist.

Zhou Wu had been injured, his right hand crippled, and his eyes blinded, and even then, he had only barely won. If he faced a Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist at their peak, he would undoubtedly lose.

When a Martial Artist was injured, it wasn’t just a single hand that was affected. The flow of their Qi Blood would be impeded, and their overall strength would be greatly diminished.

’From now on, I can’t fight opponents stronger than me. I must only engage in battles where I have an overwhelming advantage.’

Second, tricks like pepper and lime powder, which Zhou Wu could react to quickly even when caught off guard, would likely have limited effect against a prepared Martial Artist. They could only be used as minor tactics, not as a trump card.

As for the Black Tiger Gang, he didn’t need to worry too much.

Zheng Bo hadn’t told anyone about Ge Hui contacting him, and Zhou Wu, the only other person who knew, was already dead.

As long as Ge Hui wasn’t an idiot, he would never hand over evidence of him harming a fellow disciple to the Black Tiger Gang.

Ge Hui!

A murderous glint flashed in Lin Yan’s eyes.

He wasn’t a bloodthirsty person. He killed Zhang Dahai and the other man because they had set a trap for his predecessor and caused his death—a debt that had to be repaid. He killed Zhou Wu and Zheng Bo because if he hadn’t acted first, Zhou Wu would have come after him. It was a preemptive strike.

And Ge Hui, the true culprit behind it all, also had to die.

As Mengzi said: ’He who harms his own is not human.’

With his review complete, Lin Yan turned his attention to the strange tree in his mind.

On its gray branches, two gray fruits hung quietly.

[Martial Arts Fruit: Three years, five months, and seven days]

[Martial Arts Fruit: Five months and four days]

’As expected of a Single-Time Skin Smoothing powerhouse, he contributed three years and five months.’

Lin Yan’s eyes flickered. ’The Mountain-Splitting Fist is a fist technique, but it also nourishes Qi Blood, so I should be able to use a Martial Arts Fruit on it.’

’Consume.’

With a thought, the Martial Arts Fruit from Zheng Bo vanished.

In that instant, a massive amount of information flooded his mind—images of himself practicing the Mountain-Splitting Fist for several consecutive months.

It wasn’t just memory; it was like a brand, deeply seared into his very being.

Five months of hard training, all absorbed in a single moment of enlightenment.

Lin Yan closed his eyes. If he were to fight Zhou Wu again now, it definitely wouldn’t have dragged on for so long.

His understanding of the Mountain-Splitting Fist and the angles of his punches had all taken a qualitative leap forward.

What pleased him even more was that when he practiced the Mountain-Splitting Fist again in the courtyard, the Martial Arts Tree in his mind actually grew taller.

It wasn’t much, but previously, he would have had to practice ten times to achieve the same effect.

The more proficient he became at the Mountain-Splitting Fist, the faster his Qi Blood was nourished.

A sharp glint flashed in Lin Yan’s eyes, and he unhesitatingly consumed the second Martial Arts Fruit.

BOOM!

A torrent of information, several times larger than before, surged into him. Spring passed into autumn, cold into heat, as he trained day and night.

Punching, dodging, exerting force...

When Lin Yan came to his senses, he was soaked in sweat and utterly exhausted.

But his eyes were bright and full of spirit.

Three years had passed in an instant, like the dream of the golden millet.

He raised his hand, twisted his waist, and threw a punch—his body moved with perfect control, with no wasted motion or force.

After finishing the fist routine, Lin Yan looked inward at his mind.

The Martial Arts Tree was still growing slowly, but what excited him more was that the leaf for the Mountain-Splitting Fist had fully formed and turned from emerald green to silver.

At the same time, new information appeared.

A moment later, Lin Yan whispered in realization, "The color of the Martial Arts Tree’s leaves corresponds to the proficiency of the Cultivation Technique."

A tender bud corresponds to the entry level.

A green leaf corresponds to proficiency.

Silver corresponds to Minor Achievement.

Gold corresponds to Great Success.

His Mountain-Splitting Fist had now reached Minor Achievement, a level of skill comparable to senior brothers who had been at the entry level for several years.

’I must continue to work hard!’

After calming himself, Lin Yan resumed his cultivation.

He soon discovered that at the Minor Achievement stage, the Mountain-Splitting Fist nourished his Qi Blood much faster. At this rate, the time it would take him to reach Single-Time Skin Smoothing would be shortened once again.

However, after half an hour, he stopped.

He was faced with a fortunate problem.

The essence of the Mountain-Splitting Fist was to use one’s Inner Breath and the circulation of Qi Blood during punches to convert the body’s nutrients into more Qi Blood. While a small portion of these nutrients came from the body’s own systems, the majority came from food.

Previously, he would only feel hungry after training for two hours, but now, after just half an hour, his stomach was empty.

’Qi Blood doesn’t just appear out of thin air. Now that the Mountain-Splitting Fist is at Minor Achievement, I have to keep up with my food intake to maintain this progress, and that means spending more money.’

...

「Three days later.」

Lin Yan received some good news.

The Black Tiger Gang had been wiped out by another gang.

"The Black Tiger Gang was wiped out?"

Lin Yan was a bit stunned to hear this news from Zhang Wei.

’But I only killed one of their Hall Masters.’

"Just last night, the Black Tiger Gang was annihilated by the Four Seas Gang. From the Gang Leader to the Hall Masters, not a single one escaped. As for the grunts, some were killed, some were injured, and a portion surrendered directly to the Four Seas Gang."

Zhang Wei recounted the events vividly, as if he had been there himself, but in reality, he had just heard it all from the other Escort Masters at the Escort Agency.

"You know Zheng Bo from our street? He’s supposedly dead too. Good thing he still has a younger brother, or his family line would have ended."

Lin Yan wasn’t interested in gang wars. But the destruction of the Black Tiger Gang was good news for him. Now he could use those silver ingots without worrying about the gang coming after him.

"Did you come all the way to my house just to tell me this?"

"Of course not. I have the day off today, so I made plans with Monkey to go see a show at the Wu Family Opera Troupe."

Seeing Zhang Wei’s enthusiastic expression, Lin Yan swallowed the refusal on the tip of his tongue. He had been completely absorbed in his martial arts training recently, his mind constantly taut. It would be good to relax a little.

...

「The Wu Family Stage.」

It was an open-air theater with a dozen or so tables set up. Watching the show was free; a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds only cost ten copper coins, an affordable pastime for the common folk of the city.

When Lin Yan and Zhang Wei arrived, a skinny young man stood up and waved. "Stone, Wei Zi, over here!"

"Monkey, how come you’re here so early?"

"My uncle went out today."

The skinny young man’s name was Wang Tao. He had been frail since childhood, earning him the nickname "Monkey." The three of them came from similar family backgrounds, but Wang Tao had an uncle who was a shopkeeper at a pharmacy. He worked there as a clerk, earning five hundred copper coins a month, the highest income of the three.

"Stone, Zhang Wei told me you joined a Martial Arts Hall to study martial arts? What’s it like inside?"

"What do you expect? It’s just a bunch of people practicing martial arts."

Lin Yan sat down at the tea table. The performance on stage was just a literary opera, hardly what you’d call exciting. The people who came to watch were mostly there for the lively atmosphere and a bit of entertainment.

"Stone, our pharmacy has Qi Nourishing Soup specially prepared for martial artists. I picked these out from the leftover medicinal herbs at the shop. The quality isn’t the best, but they should still be useful to you."

Wang Tao handed over a bundle from the stool. Fearing Lin Yan would refuse, he added, "Don’t be shy now. I heard from Wei Zi that even the Escort Masters at the Escort Agency praise your talent for martial arts. When you make a name for yourself in the future, you have to look out for me."

"Alright. When I make a name for myself, I’ll have everyone call you ’Master Monkey,’" Lin Yan said, looking at the bundle on the table as he accepted it directly.

"Master Monkey? That’s a great name. What about me?" Zhang Wei chimed in.

"You... How about ’Brother Wei’?"

"Brother Wei... Not as impressive as Master Monkey, but I guess it’s alright."

Lin Yan smiled faintly. "Brother Wei" was more than just alright; it was a man’s treasure.

Zhang Wei had interjected suddenly because he was afraid Lin Yan would be too embarrassed to accept Monkey’s gift. As for Monkey’s claim that the herbs were "leftovers" from the pharmacy, that was just a pretense to make him feel comfortable accepting them. He had bought Qi Nourishing Soup before and knew that a pharmacy would never throw away even the worst quality herbs; they would either pass them off as superior goods or sell them at a low price.

Lin Yan understood in his heart. It wasn’t so much that Zhang Wei had invited them to the opera today, but rather that the two brothers had planned it together, finding a roundabout way to support him. These ten packets of Qi Nourishing Soup were most likely bought with money they had pooled together.

There was no need to get to the bottom of it. He just had to remember this kindness.

Halfway through the opera, the crowd suddenly grew restless.

Several burly men in cyan clothes appeared on the scene, drawing many eyes.

"Aren’t those men from the Cyan Snake Gang? What are they doing here?"

"Who knows? Be careful. These gang members are vicious."

The opera troupe’s manager heard the commotion and hurried out from backstage.

"Are you gentlemen here to watch the show? Please, have a seat."

"No need."

The leader of the cyan-clothed men scanned the crowd. "From this day forward, you will hand over thirty percent of your earnings from every show. If you try any tricks, you can expect your Wu Family Stage to be torn down."

The troupe manager’s face paled. "Sir, isn’t thirty percent a bit too much?"

"Too much?" The burly man sneered. "If you don’t want to give thirty percent, then make it forty."

"Thirty percent... oh, no, forty percent it is! The Wu Family Stage guarantees it will be paid in full."

The manager didn’t dare to talk back again.

Watching the arrogant display of the cyan-clothed men, Zhang Wei snorted softly. "Bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. I heard from the Escort Masters at the Escort Agency that a new gang called the Four Seas Gang has popped up in the city recently, snatching territory from a lot of the older gangs. The Cyan Snake Gang doesn’t dare to go after the Four Seas Gang, so they just bully common folk instead."

"Keep your voice down," Monkey interrupted him in a low voice. "We can’t afford to provoke these people. Don’t cause trouble for yourself."

After the disturbance from the Cyan Snake Gang, the audience members got up and left one after another. No one wanted to get involved in trouble. Only the opera troupe’s manager remained, sitting dumbstruck on his stool, his face a mask of despair.

"We should go too."

The three of them got up and left. They felt sympathy for the manager’s plight, but they could only keep it to themselves.

After parting ways with Zhang Wei and Monkey on the road, Lin Yan’s brow was tightly furrowed.

’The Cyan Snake Gang’s territory was taken, so they’ve started extorting the common people to maintain their income. What about my own neighborhood? Just because there are no gangs there now doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future.’

’It seems my original plan to save money and grind my way to Single-Time Skin Smoothing is no longer viable. I have to speed things up.’

’Thankfully, Zhou Wu provided a timely rescue, "sponsoring" me with over a hundred taels of silver. I can finally go to the Martial Arts Hall and buy the Skin Smoothing Secret Medicine.’

PS: To all my readers, Lin Yan has found his first sponsor! The book was contracted today. Would any of you like to show your support? Please give recommendations and monthly tickets, and most importantly, please keep up with the daily Chapters.