This Martial Saint is Too Cautious
Chapter 6 - 4: Initial Effect of the Martial Arts Tree

Chapter 6: Chapter 4: Initial Effect of the Martial Arts Tree

I’ve reached the initial stage of the Rock Pillar Posture!

And my body was famished.

Despite his hunger, Lin Yan walked to the kitchen stove, his eyes shining brightly.

’This Martial Arts Tree of mine is truly incredible,’ he thought. ’It can actually guide me to the initial stage of a Cultivation Method.’

’This cheat ability of mine is finally starting to work.’

After a bowl of rice mixed with pork lard, which half-filled his stomach, he heard his aunt’s voice from outside the door:

"Yan’er, come give me a hand."

Lin Yan quickly put down his bowl and went to the courtyard gate. A flatbed cart was parked at the entrance, carrying two large burlap sacks.

The driver of the cart was a clerk from the city’s grain shop. While his aunt was settling the payment in silver coins, Lin Yan went forward and helped carry the sacks into the house.

"I’ve heard that people who practice martial arts have to eat well," she said. "Otherwise, your Qi Blood won’t be able to keep up, and it will actually harm your body. These two bags are polished rice; it’s what all the martial artists’ families eat."

In her hand, his aunt also carried a bag of pork offal. Given the Lin Family’s financial situation, they couldn’t afford meat with every meal, but buying some cheap offal was manageable.

That evening, his aunt had just finished cooking when Lin Mo returned home.

"It smells amazing! Mom, did you buy meat today?"

Drawn by the fragrant aroma, Lin Mo reached for a piece of meat on the plate.

SMACK!

His aunt’s chopsticks came down on his hand. Lin Mo cried out and snatched it back, looking at his mother with a hurt expression.

"That’s for your big brother. He needs it for his martial arts training."

"Aunt, it’s alright if he wants some. I can’t finish all of this by myself," Lin Yan said with a smile, seeing his younger cousin eyeing the pork offal on the table with longing.

"No."

His aunt’s tone was resolute. "Yan’er, our family can only afford to support one person’s martial arts training. If we split the food between two, you won’t replenish enough Qi Blood, and Mo’Er will only be satisfying a craving. If you truly care for Mo’Er, then you’ll work hard, make a name for yourself, and take care of him in the future."

His aunt may not have understood grand principles, but she was incredibly decisive.

An ordinary woman would never have the heart to close her shop, let alone undertake something as drastic as moving the whole family. But she did, simply because she was certain it was better for the two boys’ future.

It was the same now that Yan’er was learning martial arts. The family only had so much money, and every single coin had to be spent on his training.

"Big brother, Mom’s right. You need to eat more to practice. Once you’ve made a name for yourself, you can just beat up Wang Da Chui for me."

Lin Yan looked at his aunt’s determined face, then glanced at his younger cousin. Finally, he reached out and ruffled his cousin’s hair. "Aunt, I understand."

"That’s more like it." A smile returned to his aunt’s face as she reminded Lin Mo, "Mo’Er, don’t go telling anyone that your brother is practicing martial arts."

「After dinner.」

His energy restored, Lin Yan went back to the courtyard to continue practicing his stance training.

Lin Mo watched from the side, curiously trying to imitate him, but Lin Yan didn’t stop him.

’Without the proper Breathing technique, just knowing the stance is useless.’

Because of Nursing Director Zhou’s instructions, he didn’t dare teach his cousin the Breathing technique. However, he made a silent resolve: once he made a name for himself, he would find a proper Cultivation Technique for his cousin.

For the next several days, Lin Yan stayed home and focused peacefully on his Cultivation.

Although there wasn’t much change in his physical strength, Lin Yan wasn’t discouraged in the slightest, because the tender sprout in his mind was growing steadily.

The growth was slow, but it was undeniably happening.

According to the information about the Martial Arts Tree in his mind, this sprout corresponded to the Rock Pillar Posture he was practicing. When the sprout grew into a full leaf, it would signify that he had mastered the Rock Pillar Posture.

Aside from his training, he had also spent the last few days mulling over many things.

The most important of these was recalling the martial arts novels he had read in his previous life.

Regardless of how different those novels were from the world he now inhabited, some of their principles were universal and offered valuable reference.

The Shihui Martial Saint, Martial Saint Gou, the Dihua Martial Saint...

After a few days, he combined these ideas with the realities of his world and established a few codes of conduct for himself.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Young Brother Lin, are you there?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Yan’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint in them. By the time he opened the door, however, his expression was perfectly natural.

"Brother Zhang, what brings you here?"

Lin Yan put on a surprised expression when he saw Zhang Dahai standing at the door with a food container, but inwardly, he remained completely calm.

’Zhang Dahai set a trap for me, so of course he knows where I live,’ Lin Yan thought. ’He probably waited outside for a long time, only knocking after he was sure my aunt had left to deliver clothes to her Boss today.’

"Young Brother Lin, you haven’t come to get your medicinal soup for two days straight. I was worried something had happened to you, so I made some inquiries to find your home."

"Oh, I see. I’m sorry to have worried you, Brother Zhang."

Lin Yan acted as if he’d just realized, his expression turning resentful. "Brother Zhang, a few days ago I told my aunt I wanted to practice martial arts, so I quit my job as a pharmacy Clerk. She got so angry that she’s confined me to the house and cut off my allowance."

"You didn’t tell your aunt about the medicinal soup I’ve been giving you, did you?"

Zhang Dahai’s heart skipped a beat. ’That Lin Family widow is a formidable woman. If this kid blabbed, she’d find out her nephew was being scammed.’

"Don’t you worry, Brother Zhang. I, Lin Yan, am a man of my word. Since I promised not to tell, I absolutely won’t."

Lin Yan thumped his chest, but then his face fell. "Brother Zhang, could you ask that Lord Martial Artist to pay a visit to my home? If a Lord Martial Artist comes to our door, my aunt will definitely stop trying to prevent me from learning martial arts."

’Visit, my ass,’ Zhang Dahai cursed inwardly. The "Martial Artist" in the teahouse that day was just his partner. Their gang was only two people, and they specialized in finding ’fat sheep’ like Lin Yan. They’d managed to trap two such sheep this time around.

"Young Brother Lin, think about that lord’s status. How could he possibly make a house call?" Zhang Dahai shook his head. "Only after your body has been properly nourished can I take you to see the Lord Martial Artist."

"Alright."

Lin Yan put on a dejected expression, but Zhang Dahai ignored it and opened the food container. Inside was a bowl of freshly brewed medicinal soup.

"Young Brother Lin, I went to the trouble of brewing this soup and bringing it to you. You can’t stop the treatment. If you do, all its effects will be lost. Sign your name, leave your thumbprint, and then drink it while it’s hot."

Watching Zhang Dahai pull out a ledger, Lin Yan didn’t hesitate to sign his name and press his thumbprint. He took the bowl of soup but didn’t drink it.

"Young Brother Lin, why aren’t you drinking it?"

"Brother Zhang, I... could I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it?"

Lin Yan looked a bit sheepish. "Brother Zhang, since you’re willing to let me buy the medicinal soup on credit... could you also lend me a little money? Once I become a disciple of the Lord Martial Artist, I’ll pay you back for everything at once."

’Not only does he want it for free, he wants cash too?’

Zhang Dahai wanted to refuse outright, but he was afraid that would scare off his ’fat sheep’. The corner of his mouth twitched. "What do you need to borrow money for?"

"Brother Zhang, it’s my aunt’s birthday soon. I was thinking of buying her a piece of jewelry to appease her. That way, she might let me out of the house," Lin Yan explained, once again thumping his chest. "Don’t you worry, Brother Zhang. Same deal as before: once I’ve made it, I’ll pay you back multiple times over."

’Buy jewelry?’

Zhang Dahai considered it. The jewelry would be in the possession of the Lin widow, but it would all end up in his hands eventually anyway.

"How much do you want to borrow?"

"Ten taels of silver."

Zhang Dahai’s eyes widened.

"Eight taels... or seven would be fine too."

"I only have three taels. If you want to borrow it, you have to write that you’ll pay it back double."

Zhang Dahai cut Lin Yan off. He didn’t demand multiple repayments for the medicinal soup because it was just a cheap blood-circulation tonic that cost a few copper coins. This, however, was his own real, hard-earned silver.

"Alright, three taels it is."

Lin Yan looked a little displeased, but he ultimately signed and put his thumbprint on the paper without fuss.

After confirming Lin Yan had written ’repayment in double’, Zhang Dahai pulled a money pouch from his robes. He spent a long time counting out bits of broken silver but still came up short of three taels. Finally, he pulled out half a string of copper coins from his waist to make up the difference.

After seeing Zhang Dahai off with a wide smile and closing the door, Lin Yan became lost in thought.

’When I worked as a Clerk at the pharmacy, my monthly wage was three hundred copper coins, and that included lunch. For Zhang Dahai to struggle to produce three taels of silver, having to supplement it with copper coins... even if he isn’t carrying all his money with him, his entire net worth probably doesn’t exceed ten taels.’

’It seems Zhang Dahai’s gang isn’t very powerful. At most, they’re just street thugs.’

Borrowing money from Zhang Dahai served two purposes: one, he really was short on cash, and two, it was a way to probe the strength of Zhang Dahai’s gang.