Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

[Sparing Lu Ren: +3 Points]

[Martial Arts Ascension Dragon: +50 Points]

[Rejecting Gu Haoming: +3 Points]

[Not vying for first place: +10 Points]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 101]

The sky was just beginning to lighten. The first thing Xu Yang did upon opening his eyes was to look at his panel.

"Huh?"

He immediately noticed something was off. Before, the panel had simply given him a crude point reward. But this time, it had actually listed out all the events that had awarded him points.

Greatly surprised, he quickly took a closer look. Not fighting for the top spot had actually given him ten points. The biggest reward was for Dragon Ascension, a whopping fifty points.

Sparing Lu Ren and rejecting Gu Haoming had also earned him rewards, but killing Zhu Yang had not.

He pondered for a moment but couldn’t figure out why the panel had changed. Deciding not to waste any more thought on it, he focused instead on the points he had received.

All in all, the haul was huge. Including the points he had saved for emergencies, his total now exceeded one hundred.

[Comprehension: 75]

Xu Yang immediately spent fifty points to raise his Comprehension to "75." After a cool sensation washed over his mind, he allocated another ten points to the Vajra Skill as planned, leaving the rest in reserve.

He got dressed, climbed out of bed, and began practicing the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture.

...

「The Zhou Residence」

In the seventh month, the weather was as muggy as a steamer even in the morning, hot enough to cook a person alive.

After breakfast, Zhou Shunchang grabbed his things and was about to head out.

"Remember to buy some rice tonight, the rice jar is almost empty again," his wife reminded him.

Zhou Shunchang said, displeased, "Can’t you buy it yourself? I have no idea when I’ll be back tonight."

His wife replied, "I don’t have any money on me. If you give me some, I can go buy it."

"How are you out of money again?" Zhou Shunchang frowned.

He was no longer an accountant but had been sent out to work as a minor Shopkeeper, earning only six qian of silver a month. As soon as he was paid, he gave it all to his wife for household expenses, leaving him with no money either.

His wife sighed. "Six qian of silver for seven or eight mouths to feed, how is that enough? Husband, why don’t you find another accounting job? Stop wasting your time with the Huang Family. They’re taking their anger about Ah Yang out on you. They’ll never give you an important position again."

’Those two bastards. They’re grown men and still mooching off me.’

He felt a sense of helplessness regarding his two sons who were still living off him.

It had been fine when his monthly salary was high, but now, with only six qian a month, their savings were gradually dwindling. They were actually facing the prospect of not having enough to eat.

"It’s not as easy as you make it sound. If I go to another family, as soon as the master makes some inquiries and finds out I was let go because of ’unclear accounts,’ no one will dare to hire me."

He knew, of course, that he should leave the Huang Family and find another master to serve. But since Second Master Huang had used that excuse to suppress him, no one else dared to hire him. Even if he were to starve to death, it would have to be while working for the Huang Family.

"Then go ask Ah Yang for help! Are you just going to let the whole family starve to death?" his wife said.

’As his uncle, how could I bring myself to ask my own nephew for help?’

THUMP, THUMP...

Just as Zhou Shunchang was about to speak, someone suddenly started knocking at the courtyard gate.

"Who is it, visiting so early in the morning?"

He had to swallow the words he was about to say and opened the gate.

There stood Huang Xu, the Eldest Master of the Huang Family, and Fifth Master Huang Jin, both with wide smiles plastered on their faces. Behind them followed a pig-headed figure who looked vaguely familiar.

Of course, it wasn’t a real pig’s head, but a person whose face was swollen beyond recognition. His face was a mass of black and blue, his eyes were squinted into a thin line, and he even let out a strange laugh at Zhou Shunchang.

"This humble one greets you, Eldest Master, Fifth Master!"

Zhou Shunchang ignored the pig-headed man and hurriedly bowed respectfully to Huang Xu and Huang Jin.

"Old Zhou, don’t be so formal. We’re all family. Calling me ’Eldest Master’ is too distant. If you don’t mind, you can just call me ’Big Brother’ like the others from now on," Huang Xu said, rushing forward to support Zhou Shunchang by the arm.

He was instantly overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. Since when had the Eldest Master been so amicable? He was actually telling him to call him Big Brother. Ever since the Huang Family had risen to power, the Eldest Master had barely spoken a word to him.

"Eldest Master, you flatter this humble one. How could I dare to call you Big Brother?"

As Zhou Shunchang spoke, he heard Huang Xu’s voice command, "Bring them in!"

He looked up and only then realized that besides Huang Xu, Huang Jin, and the pig-headed man, there were three Huang Family servants outside. All of them were carrying shoulder poles laden with baskets of rice, meat, fruits, and bolts of cloth.

’Zhou Shunchang was dumbfounded. Had Huang Xu and Huang Jin come to his house so early in the morning to give him gifts?’

His wife, Mrs. Wang, was also stunned, thinking she must still be dreaming.

"Old Zhou, I’ve been in seclusion recently. I only found out yesterday what that bastard Huang Ping did to you. I’ve brought him here today to apologize."

As Huang Xu spoke, he barked at the pig-headed man, "What are you waiting for? Get over here and apologize!"

Huang Ping scrambled over, his head bowed so low it nearly touched the ground. "Old Zhou, I’m sorry. I was wrong."

Huang Xu pointed at the pig-headed Huang Ping and said, "After I learned about this yesterday, I gave this dog a good thrashing. If you’re still not satisfied, just tell me. You can punish him however you see fit."

’So this pig-headed man was actually Huang Ping.’

Zhou Shunchang was utterly speechless, his heart flooded with emotion. The Huang Family hadn’t forgotten his contributions! The Eldest Master knew what had happened to him and had actually beaten his own brother this badly for it.

"Eldest Master, how could you beat Second Master so badly? It was just a small matter," Zhou Shunchang said, his voice trembling slightly.

Any dissatisfaction he had felt vanished in that instant. With the Eldest Master of the Huang Family showing him such respect, he felt that the grievances he had suffered were nothing at all.

"This dog treated you so poorly, Old Zhou, yet you’re still speaking up for him? You don’t hate him? It makes me want to give him another thrashing.

"Rest assured, I know all about it now. You’ll return to your post in the accounting office today. I’m raising your salary to three liang of silver, and from now on, no one will dare to give you trouble again."