From a humble farmer to a great martial arts master

23, Great Wisdom

That night.

Ren Qingshan and Ren Yaohui spent the whole night watching the laborers unload cargo at the outer city dock.

I also taught him a lot about principles of conduct and behavior.

Compared to the masses of ordinary people who do not practice martial arts, Ren Yaohui is already exceptionally lucky and a dragon among men.

He's not even thirty yet; he has a long and wonderful life ahead of him.

It was in the early hours of the morning.

Ren Yaohui stared blankly at the first light of dawn on the horizon, watching until the sun rose in the east, its rays spreading across the sky, before finally exhaling a long breath of white air.

I felt as if all the shackles in my heart had been lifted, and I was filled with hope again.

A glance at Uncle Liu, who stood with his hands behind his back, revealed a golden hue around his imposing figure, making him appear both majestic and heroic.

Ren Yaohui bent his knees slightly and knelt down heavily.

Bang bang bang.

He kowtowed three times.

"Sixth Uncle, I, Ren Yaohui, have suffered a great misfortune in my life, but I was fortunate enough to receive your guidance and was able to escape the abyss!"

"I will never forget this life-saving grace!"

Ren Qingshan chuckled to himself.

Get up.

"If you still want to die in the future, then join the army, kill demons, or even stab Pang Qingyun with a knife and kill his entire Pang family... At least you'll be a real man."

"If you don't want to die, then you should endure it for now, bear the humiliation and hardship, conserve your energy, and plan for the future."

"Lacking both the courage to burn one's boats and the ruthlessness to endure insults, one is of no use other than driving oneself to one's death."

"You go first, go to the martial arts school to practice."

"I'll go home for dinner tonight after I've rented a place for Xiaokang."

Ren Yaohui stood up, forced a smile, revealed his white teeth, and nodded emphatically.

He gave his sixth uncle a deep look, then turned and strode away.

……

The house was rented in the southern part of the city, in the workshop of artisans.

This market town is full of all kinds of craftsmen: blacksmiths, carpenters, leatherworkers, stonemasons, lacquerers, weavers, dyers, papermakers, printers, and so on.

Although the environment isn't particularly good, it's a world of difference compared to where the previous Yaohui lived.

Ren Yaokang paid the rent of half a tael of silver per month for three months.

They also spent their own money to buy pots, pans, charcoal, and thatch, and spent half a day tidying up to make it neat and tidy.

As for quilts... I really can't afford quilts.

Fortunately, both Uncle Six and Third Brother were martial artists with abundant energy and blood. Moreover, spring was approaching and the weather was getting warmer, so bedding wasn't a big deal.

After tidying up, Ren Yaokang went to the third house in Yanhua Hutong, the one with the plaque that read "Auspicious Purple Qi Comes from the East," as his sixth uncle had told him the night before, to find his sixth uncle.

This is Hu Xiaofeng's home.

When Ren Yaokang arrived, he had just knocked on the door when he smelled a rich aroma of meat. He pushed the door open and saw his sixth uncle grilling meat in the courtyard. The charcoal fire was burning brightly, and his sixth uncle was holding bamboo skewers, comfortably grilling meat skewers.

The people around, young and old, stared wide-eyed, their mouths watering.

After exchanging information about their identities, Ren Yaokang learned that Hu Xiaofeng was actually a demon hunter with a family of six: his son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and grandchildren.

A strange sense of amusement welled up inside me—my sixth uncle really knows how to make connections everywhere he goes; he's only just arrived in the county town and he's already starting to build his network.

When Hu Xiaofeng learned that this yamen runner was actually Ren Qingshan's nephew, he became even more tempted.

The Ren family has a truly deep-rooted foundation!

……

For the next few days, Ren Qingshan stayed in Huaiyin County.

While gathering various information about Huaiyin County.

On one hand, he would eat, drink, chat, and gossip with Hu Xiaofeng, Ren Yaohui, and Ren Yaokang.

In this county town, every business that makes money is inextricably linked to the local powerful and wealthy families.

If you want to make money, the best starting point is to become a demon hunter.

However, there are two difficulties in catching demons.

First, the difficulty lies in the strength.

Demons, imbued with the essence of the sun and moon, develop intelligence and are generally quite powerful, possessing hidden talents and ultimate techniques that often unleash extraordinary combat strength.

Unless a martial artist is truly desperate, even if they are a level above him, he will not easily want to become his enemy.

It's not worth it for porcelain to come into contact with earthenware.

Secondly, the difficulty lies in the availability of suitable location and manpower.

Demons either live in deep abysses or deep forests, are very familiar with the terrain, and often have multiple dens. Beasts, on the other hand, tend to live in groups, so it takes a lot of effort just to clip their wings.

However, the reward money of the Demon Suppression Division is limited, and if there are multiple warriors, they will have to share it.

With fewer people, we might not be able to win.

There are too many people and too little money.

Furthermore, there have been previous instances where powerful martial artists, under the guise of demon-slaying, organized groups to extort money from others to join their ranks, and some even went so far as to betray and kill their own teammates...

This bowl of rice is really not tasty.

However, it was precisely because of these difficulties that Ren Qingshan saw a "business opportunity".

Pain points are opportunities.

Solving the pain point is money.

……

That night.

"Brother Hu, do you think the three of us at the Iron Bone Realm can handle that weasel demon?"

After gathering all the intelligence, Ren Qingshan prepared to take action.

Let's try our hand at this first, starting with the weasel spirit.

This weasel spirit has a reward of one hundred taels of silver... Let's make a sale first!

In front of the two of them, Ren Qingshan did not reveal his Silver Blood cultivation level for the time being, and only referred to himself as Iron Bone.

Hu Xiaofeng knew all the monsters on the bounty list like the back of his hand. Upon hearing this, he immediately replied, "Killing them shouldn't be difficult; the difficulty lies in capturing them."

"This yellow demon is cunning and suspicious by nature. Whenever it knows that a martial artist is trying to capture it, it will hide. Several groups have tried to capture it before, but all of them failed and only captured two small ones."

"This demon's ultimate survival skill is burrowing underground at incredible speed. Once it's underground, it's impossible to find it again."

"Moreover, those mass graves are everywhere. The local people can't control the Yellow Demon, but if the demon hunters destroy people's ancestral graves, they can't escape responsibility and will be taken to the authorities."

Ren Qingshan chuckled to himself.

This yellow demon is indeed cunning, having chosen a good place to dwell... very clever!

"Fine."

"In that case, I'll go ahead and investigate to see what's going on, so that the three of us don't go together, spend a lot of money, and return empty-handed."

Ren Qingshan pondered to himself and said with a smile.

To defeat this demon, one must use wits, not brute force.

Having a large number of people may have some use, but the losses outweigh the gains.

Hu Xiaofeng hesitated for a moment, then asked with concern, "Do you know the way? That area is quite large, and the roads are difficult to navigate. Why don't I come with you?"

After all, it was our first time working together.

"Need not."

"Just draw me a map."

"You're an experienced demon hunter. Perhaps the Yellow Demon can recognize you by smell. I don't have any malevolent aura on me, which would actually make things easier... Besides, whether it will work out or not is still uncertain."

"Since I took the lead in this matter, I will be fully responsible. If I fail to catch them, I will lose my travel and food expenses. If I do catch them, it will be considered that you, my brother, have done a good job in drawing the map, and I will give you ten percent of the reward."

Ren Qingshan smiled and refused, but instead offered a pie in the sky, proposing to allocate 10% to him as a reward for his contribution.

There will be many more collaborations in the future, and his intelligence and experience will be indispensable.

"This...this is too much trouble!"

"Brother Ren, this...this is too kind of you."

"I don't want it, I really don't want it. I can't accept something for nothing. What kind of achievement is drawing a picture... I absolutely refuse!"

Hu Xiaofeng licked his lips, but resolutely refused, showing that he was very principled.

Ren Qingshan is righteous, but I must not let anyone look down on me either.

……

Seeing the two of them passing the buck...

Ren Yaohui, who witnessed Uncle Liu's conversation throughout, seemed to be deep in thought.

The words that Sixth Uncle had said that night kept flashing through my mind.

— You must use your brain when practicing martial arts. If you only use your fists and feet without thinking, you will die by the sword sooner or later!

The martial arts world is not just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social interactions.

To see what kind of person someone is, first test them with small favors and observe their actions, motives, and priorities...

pity……

I wish I had known these truths sooner.

Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have suffered such a huge loss.

……

……