Cultivating good habits is an important thing.
Take getting up at night for instance. Xu Yang hardly ever got up at night, and even when he occasionally did, he wouldn't rashly leave the cabin but often went about his business by opening the hatch.
After all, Dongting Lake was vast and full of dangers, especially at night. Who knew what accidents might occur? It was best to stay in the cabin if possible, even to relieve oneself.
Not just him, other old boatmen did the same. If there were facilities, they used a toilet; if not, a hatch would suffice. Only those young fools who knew nothing of life and death and couldn't be bothered with niceties would go outside the boat for that.
Although Zhang Cheng was an old boatman who knew the rules of the water, his two sons didn't have such awareness.
So...
Xu Yang didn't have to wait long before he saw a figure emerge from the cabin, half-asleep and half-awake, and make his way to the side of the boat to undo his belt.
It was the elder son of Zhang Cheng, smaller in build compared to the younger one who was supposed to attend to his funeral.
But Xu Yang wasn't choosy. He gripped the pebble in his hand tightly and, putting strength into his arm, hurled it with force.
Most techniques with hidden weapons involved using the wrist, but Xu Yang didn't know any such techniques, so he relied on instinct, throwing the pebble with the strength of his arm.
This method was showy and full of openings. Forget a martial artist, even an ordinary person would find it easy to dodge.
But the elder of Zhang family was peeing while drowsy, in no condition to react or dodge.
"Plop!!!"
There was a splash followed by the sound of a heavy blow, and the elder Zhang family's brother grunted before toppling headfirst into the water, creating ripples.
"Elder brother?"
In the cabin, the lightly sleeping Zhang Cheng was also startled awake by the noise outside and hurriedly went out to look.
Seeing no one at the bow, only the ripples in the water, Zhang Cheng immediately panicked, shouting, "Not good, Second son, wake up! Your brother has fallen into the water, hurry and save him."
"What's wrong, Dad?"
Hearing Zhang Cheng's frantic shouts, the robust second son of the Zhang family also rubbed his eyes and came out of the cabin.
"Your brother's fallen in, hurry, dive in and get him out."
"Oh!"
The second son of Zhang family didn't sense anything amiss and immediately dove into the water, leaving Zhang Cheng by the boat's side, waiting anxiously with a lantern in hand.
"This damned boy, I've said it over and over, the wind and waves are strong at night, don't leave the cabin, but he wouldn't listen, and now look what's happened..."
Zhang Cheng, holding the lantern, cursed under his breath by the boat's side, unaware of anything amiss.
Until...
"Glub glub!!!"
A flurry of bubble sounds came from below, indicating something was amiss underwater. Zhang Cheng's pupils contracted as he shone his lantern towards the dark depths, only to see a great deal of bubbles and blood red water surfacing.
"This..."
"Second son!!!"
Finally realizing something, Zhang Cheng screamed, taking up an oar and thrusting it into the water, yet touching nothing.
"Elder brother, Second son!"
This left Zhang Cheng with a panicked face, shouting helplessly.
Just then, a surge of water sounded from behind, and Zhang Cheng's pupils contracted as he quickly turned around.
The result...
"Plop!!!"
A flying stone came hurtling out of nowhere and struck him squarely in the face, bursting into a spray of blood.
Zhang Cheng felt darkness before his eyes and intense pain, then his world spun, and he involuntarily toppled over at the bow.
Simultaneously, a large hand grabbed onto the side of the boat and hoisted a body out of the water. The figure rushed forward with a knife straight towards Zhang Cheng.
"Plop!!!"
A dull thud sounded as the blade penetrated the flesh, Zhang Cheng's body twitched, tensed up, but then went limp, unresponsive.
"Plunk!"
Xu Yang pulled out the dagger, looked at the body emotionlessly and plunged the knife back into the deceased's chest.
"Plunk! Plunk! Plunk!"
After three stabs, Xu Yang stopped, turned, and dove back into the water to drag out two bodies and throw them onto the deck.
They were the Zhang family's brothers.
Both had multiple knife wounds, their throats slit, and their hearts pierced, clearly beyond dead.
Three bodies were neatly stacked together.
Xu Yang then climbed back onto the boat and started searching inside the cabin.
A short while later, Xu Yang, with a bag tied around his waist, exited the cabin. He ignored the three corpses of the Zhang family, deftly pushed the boat off, and headed for the deeper waters of the lake.
Rowing (swiftly, with waves, without alarm)
As a fisherman, one who had lived on the water for over forty years, Old Xu's boating skills need hardly be mentioned. He had honed his abilities, developed his attributes, and moved over the water both quickly and steadily.
In less than the time it took to burn half an incense stick, Xu Yang had steered the boat to the deep water area, then he turned around, went back into the cabin, and began to bore holes in various parts of the bottom of the boat.
"Glug glug!"
"Glug glug!"
With the cabin bottom breached, water poured in. Xu Yang made his way to the bow, tying heavy weights to each of the three corpses and binding them together with the hull.
After doing all this, Xu Yang somersaulted into the water and swiftly swam away from the area.
In the vast Dongting Lake, disposing of bodies was a simple task. Once the bodies sank, the fish, soft-shelled turtles, shrimps, and crabs of the lake would take care of the rest. Eventually, only three skeletons unidentifiable to anyone would remain at the bottom of the lake.
As for the aftermath, there was even less need to worry. For the fishermen who eked out a living on the water, every day was uncertain, full of potential mishaps such as large waves, lake monsters, or some other reason leading to shipwreck and loss of life...
Such events were not unusual and happened from time to time.
Therefore, Xu Yang didn't need to worry that the death and disappearance of the Zhang family's father and sons would affect him. Even if they had met that day, no one would believe that an old fisherman on the brink of death could have killed all three members of the Zhang family.
And if by some flight of fancy, someone did harbor suspicions and cast doubts upon him, having evidence or not didn't matter. As long as there was intent, as long as there were suspicions, they would inevitably act against him.
After all, he was just a fisherman, an extremely lowly commoner. Whether they killed the wrong person or the right one, there were no consequences to bear. So, action could be taken without any misgivings—a mere suspicion was enough.
Xu Yang was aware of this, so he acted decisively, quickly ending the lives of the three members of the Zhang family that very night.
...
In the middle of the night, the fish eagle landed, perched on the bow.
Xu Yang also emerged from the water, flipping onto the boat with swift movements, and entered the dark cabin.
Once inside, he removed his sharp knife and, after wiping off the blood and the smell, he stowed it away in a hidden compartment beneath the floorboards. Then he calmly sat down, opened the small pouch, and began to count the spoils of his night's endeavor.
As the saying goes, murder and arson bring the reward of a golden belt. Without considering risk, plundering others is the quickest way to accumulate power and wealth.
Although the victims of Xu Yang's raid tonight were only slightly less poor than himself, they still brought him an unexpected windfall.
Xu Yang emptied the contents of the bag. The most eye-catching items were several pieces of yellow and white metal. There were also quite a few copper coins and a vivid, green jade pendant.
The copper coins were from Zhang Cheng's family savings. However, the plump silver ingots and shiny gold leaves, as well as the vivid green jade pendant, were clearly not the kind of wealth a fisherman would be able to accumulate.
The ingots alone were estimated to be worth around one hundred and eighty taels. Including the gold leaves and jade pendant, this unexpected fortune was enough for Xu Yang to leave Dongting Lake, buy a mansion and beautiful servants in the city, and live a life of decadent luxury.
Seeing this, Xu Yang understood why Zhang Cheng and his sons had approached him.
Their act of eating up one's estate was merely a distraction; their real purpose was to use him, an old man, as a front to liquidate some of the gold and silver, inconspicuously acquired, to improve their living conditions.
Don't ask why they didn't simply spend it. If they dared to flaunt such a large amount of gold and silver, the Goldfish Gang would ensure they ended up at the bottom of the lake.
Without adequate strength, wealth and beauty could only bring about fatal disasters.
So, they dared not dispose of the gold and silver openly but instead had to plot carefully, finding ways to convert it to cash.
Xu Yang's inheritance was one of the methods they had found for this purpose.
As for the origin of this treasure...
"Was it fished from the depths?"
"Dug up on an island?"
"Stolen from a murder?"
"Who cares!"
Xu Yang didn't dwell too much on the source of items that dead men couldn't testify about; he just collected them and bolstered his assets.
Although he now had money, in his hands, it was no different from being in the hands of Zhang Cheng and his sons—it couldn't be used just yet.
Xu Yang was a man of self-awareness. Although he possessed many skills, few were combat-relevant. He had no way to confront martial artists, let alone a gang made up of many martial artists.
Therefore, he couldn't use this treasure for the time being.
Besides, the actions of Zhang Cheng and his sons had revealed another problem.
He... was too old!
If he lived a few more years, not to mention those bastards waiting to prey upon his estate, the Goldfish Gang might notice him and become suspicious.
But if "Old Xu" died, under what identity would he buy the essentials for living?
Disguise himself?
Wouldn't that raise suspicions and attract unwelcome scrutiny?
Xu Yang frowned, pondered for a long time, and finally uttered a sigh, "In the end, it all comes down to insufficient strength."
Saying this, he stood up, preparing to start a fire to cook, make a midnight snack to replenish the energy he had expended earlier.
However, despite planning for a snack, thoughts of future developments and directions continued to weigh on Xu Yang's mind.
The formal identity of "Old Xu" was about to crumble, and it was inevitable that he would need a new identity to interact with outsiders and purchase supplies.
However, suddenly introducing a new individual could attract attention and trouble.
The best way to deal with these problems was to increase his strength.
How to increase it?
Currently, the only thing he could rely on was the Attribute Panel, his golden finger.
Xu Yang reviewed his skills, most of which were auxiliary. Only a few could increase combat capabilities, but their effects were not significant. Knife Sharpening, Flying Stone, Cleaving—they could only deal with ordinary people. Against martial artists possessing extraordinary powers, it would be a one-way ticket—doomed!
Therefore, he needed to develop new skills urgently, ones that could enhance his basic combat strength.
But how to develop them?