It was a sunny day with warm sunlight shining on everything.
The cold spring had just ended and it was a busy time of year at the foot of Wudang Mountain, where it was warm in April. The streets of the small town were particularly busy.
Both sides of the street were lined with stalls selling all kinds of jewellery, cosmetics, fruit and food, and tea houses, taverns and so on were open to welcome visitors.
The people on the street were busy shopping, carrying loads, pulling carts to deliver goods, all kinds of pedestrians were busy.
Li Xiu sat by the window on the second floor of the tavern and looked down at the bustling scene.
Although the modern streets are busier, this place is a different scene. Li Xiu has been living here for a few days, but he still feels a sense of novelty when he looks around.
A table has just been set with good wine and food, and the waiter has retired with his head bowed.
Li Xiu has no intention of picking up his chopsticks. He is waiting for someone.
After a while, an old man in shabby clothes with wrinkles on his face comes up to the empty second floor. When he sees Li Xiu, his muddy eyes light up slightly.
"Old Yang?"
Old Yang looked at Li Xiu, who was dressed in rich black and green, but for some reason the answer did not come to his mind and he just nodded awkwardly.
"Sit down."
Seeing the old man walking towards him, Li Xiu put down the gold-rimmed lotus fan in his hand and waved it to indicate.
After Old Yang sat down, he thought about the conversation that would follow, but it did not continue.
When he saw that the young man did not want to talk but was more interested in looking out of the window, Old Yang felt nervous for a moment.
Old Yang also tried to follow the young man and looked out of the window, but as usual he found nothing interesting to see, so he withdrew his gaze.
The young man in front of him did not pick up his chopsticks, and in the face of the abundant and luxurious dishes on the table, Old Yang did not dare to make a move.
After more than a dozen breaths of silence, Old Yang began to feel uncomfortable and even felt like he was sitting on a needle felt.
Finally, when Old Yang was a little restless, the young man continued to look out of the window and spoke.
"I wonder how many taels of silver you can make in a year, old man?"
There was no intention of introducing himself, no apology, as if Old Yang had not been wrong to wait.
And coincidentally, in the face of such rudeness, Old Yang was not angry at all, but quickly replied respectfully.
"For this young master, I can have nineteen and six qian at most in a year."
Obviously this number is very high for Old Yang, otherwise he would not remember it so clearly.
But the rich young master, unfamiliar with the world, seems a little surprised by this figure.
"Oh? Is it so little?"
The young man finally turned his head back and looked into Old Yang's eyes.
This direct eye contact made Old Yang's face flush and he could not hold on.
But in the next second, Old Yang's mind was drawn to the sudden appearance of something on the table. The young man's next words made Old Yang's heart beat faster and he almost couldn't catch his breath.
After a large piece of silver appeared on the table, the young man said casually.
"There are thirty-two taels of silver here, it's yours."
...
After a long time, an oily and red-faced Old Yang walked down the stairs, nodded and bowed to the four big men guarding the stairs on the second floor, and left the tavern with a happy heart.
As Li Xiu watched Old Yang walk away, looking completely different from when he arrived, his gaze dropped.
He took a handful of broken silver coins from his purse and scattered them on the table, and the four large men who had posed as his servants each took their share and bowed in gratitude before leaving.
He called the shopkeeper and settled the bill for the food and drink, as well as the private room on the second floor.
Li Xiu left the finest tavern in town and went to an ordinary tavern nearby.
Back in his room, he ordered some small dishes to be sent upstairs and sat down at a small table, feeling hungry and starting to eat.
It couldn't be helped, in order to maintain the oppressive behaviour of a wealthy son, during the meal with Old Yang earlier, Old Yang had been the one who ate while he just sipped his drink.
It was actually quite interesting, since Li Xiu came into this world, he had lived a much more carefree and luxurious life compared to his time in modern times.
About a month ago, after walking towards the bamboo forest for not much longer, Li Xiu came out of the forest and saw the main road. Following the main road, he arrived at this small town.
At that time, Li Xiu was careful with his words and actions, but he still managed to learn a lot in the few days that passed.
For example, he learned about his wealth. The four hundred and fifty silver tickets he had found from Zhang Fengshan and the two bags of silver would be worth several million in today's money!
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this silver would be enough for Li Xiu to live a comfortable life as a wealthy man until he died.
Of course, after learning about the Seven Harms Fist, Li Xiu would not be satisfied with a comfortable life.
After settling down in the small town, he immediately hired an old tutor to teach him how to read and write. Now he can at least cope with everyday tasks without any problems.
He has also roughly read through the two secret manuals, one on sword techniques and the other on fist techniques.
Although he knew the individual characters, he didn't understand their meaning in combination. That didn't stop him from realising that he couldn't practise either martial art.
The Nameless Sword Technique did not come with an internal cultivation method, and the Seven Harms Fist did come with a method for cultivating qi and activating fist power, but Li Xiu did not dare to practice it.
The Seven Harms Fist is very famous! It can be said that of all the divine martial arts in the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, it left the deepest impression on Li Xiu.
The Seven Harms Fist is a fierce, poisonous and formidable fist technique.
When trained in the Seven Harms Fist, the practitioner can strike with seven different types of force, either hard, soft or a combination of both, or with an oblique force, a straight force or an inward force.
If the opponent cannot withstand the constant flow of these seven types of power, he will suffer internal injuries and may even die instantly!
However, this martial art has an important side effect: practicing the Seven Harms Fist will cause seven wounds to yourself! If you want to hurt your enemy, you have to hurt yourself first!
The seven wounds refer not only to injuries to the five internal organs, but also to the mind and will.
Of course, there is a way to avoid these consequences. The first sentence at the beginning of the Seven Harms Fist Manual clearly states the solution.
It means that only those who have reached a high level of internal cultivation can avoid the seven wounds!
Li Xiu thinks that this sentence is almost meaningless!
Even the top five martial artists of the Kongtong Sect, who are not considered to have reached a high level of internal cultivation, still suffer from the seven wounds.
In the martial arts world, those who have reached a high level of internal cultivation include Zhang Sanfeng now and Zhang Wuji in the future. Beyond that, it is unclear who else belongs in this category.
As for Li Xiu, who doesn't even have a strong body compared to ordinary people, if he really practised the Seven Harms Fist according to the manual, it's not only questionable whether he would be able to exert the power of the Seven Harms Fist, it's also questionable whether he would be able to survive this year.
Therefore, Li Xiu really needs an internal cultivation method, and one of a higher calibre.
After realising this, Li Xiu decided to try to join the Wudang Sect, the closest sect to him.
Although he is already of a certain age and his bones have matured, it is worth a try to see if the Wudang Sect will accept him.
As long as he can learn an internal cultivation method, he can try to practise the Nameless Sword Technique, which is said to be as formidable as the Seven Harms Fist.
Once he has enough strength to protect himself in the martial arts world, he will go to Kunlun Mountain to search for the Nine Yang Divine Manual.
If he can find it before Zhang Wuji, it would be best. Even if he finds it after Zhang Wuji, it won't matter because Zhang Wuji will bury the manual after he learns it.
Li Xiu had planned his initial goals, but while gathering information about the Wudang Sect through various channels, he received a pleasant surprise about the sect's ancestor, Zhang Sanfeng, and about this world in general.
When ordinary people in the towns talk about Zhang Sanfeng, in addition to the usual descriptions of him as having a heavenly appearance, an ageless appearance, and an old divine immortal, they also describe him as having a "rich appearance".
To put it more politely, Zhang Sanfeng, the current number one martial artist in the world and the over 100 year old ancestor of the Wudang Sect, is a fat man! A very fat man!