Outside the restaurant, Wang Er was shoved out, clutching his belongings. He stumbled, then spun around and started cursing at the establishment.

"You fucking scumbags! You turn your back on people the second there’s no profit in it for you! I hope to hell you go out of business in the next two days! Just you wait, I’ll get my big brother to come deal with you!"

Wang Ergou felt a sour knot in his stomach. It wasn’t easy to find a job in the county town that provided room and board. He’d finally landed one at this restaurant and had been living quite comfortably; among his peers, he was considered one of the most successful.

But in the end, after dragging Wang Lei over, not only had he failed to get the job done for his boss, but he’d also lost his own job...

Fuming, he stood in the middle of the street with his hands on his hips, cursing loudly. Suddenly, he was interrupted by a voice from beside him:

"You seem to be in high spirits."

Wang Ergou whipped his head around to find Xie Yuan standing nearby with a faint, unreadable smile. Beside him, Wang Lei stared silently, his eyes red.

Wang Ergou froze for a second, then bolted.

A hand shot out, grabbing him squarely by the neck.

Wang Ergou found himself unable to move as he was hoisted back.

"Second Brother Wang, what’s the hurry? We’re all from the same village. Let’s go home together."

The commotion in front of the restaurant quickly died down.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the streets grew busier, and the flow of customers in and out of the restaurant became more frequent.

After the midday rush, the busiest part of the day was over. The Shopkeeper stood at the counter, clacking away at his abacus, but his movements were distracted. His mind was still on the four large bear paws in that bundle.

Just then, a pair of black, upturned shoes stepped across the threshold.

The Shopkeeper looked up. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, but his face quickly broke into a wide smile as he personally went to greet the newcomer.

"Squad Leader Zhang, you’re here! Please, have a seat. What can I get for you?"

The visitor wore the dark red uniform of a yamen official, a saber hanging at his waist. He cut a dashing and handsome figure, yet there was an undeniable trace of cold effeminacy and gloom in his features.

He looked at the Shopkeeper and gave a slight bow with cupped hands.

"Shopkeeper, I didn’t come to eat. A word in private, if you please."

The Shopkeeper nodded silently and led him into a private room. He spoke first, his tone deeply apologetic:

"Squad Leader Zhang, my apologies. I’ve already let the man go."

"Let him go? Then the land deed... Did you get it?"

Zhang Yufeng’s thin eyebrows knitted together.

The Shopkeeper forced a placating smile.

"N-no, it’s like this..."

He recounted the morning’s events with some dramatic embellishments, taking care to emphasize Xie Yuan’s arrogance and unyielding attitude. He portrayed his own actions as a reasonable struggle, but claimed he was ultimately overpowered and had no choice but to let the man go.

Zhang Yufeng’s expression darkened. "You were in the right," he said coldly, "and you just let him go?"

"Squad Leader Zhang, the kid was too brazen! He kept shouting about ’forcible land seizure.’ Forcibly seizing land is a capital offense! I didn’t dare push it..."

The Shopkeeper insisted that his opponent had been aggressive, repeatedly stressing the phrase "forcible land seizure" until Zhang Yufeng’s face turned grim.

’That brat,’ he thought. ’Not only did he refuse to submit, but now he’s actively ruining my plans...’

"What about Wang Er? Isn’t he here?"

He decided not to press the Shopkeeper further and asked about Wang Ergou instead.

The Shopkeeper’s expression remained unchanged. With his hands tucked in his sleeves, he said:

"Oh, it seems someone called for him to go home."

He conveniently left out the part where he was the one who had sent him packing.

Zhang Yufeng’s brow furrowed, and he cursed under his breath.

"These useless bastards. Can’t get a single thing right, but they’re quick to run away! The next time I see them, I’ll have to teach them a serious lesson."

He gave the Shopkeeper a perfunctory bow, muttered, "My apologies for the trouble," and hurried away.

"Take care, Squad Leader Zhang! Next time you’re here, noodles are on me!"

The Shopkeeper enthusiastically saw Zhang Yufeng to the door. Once he was a good distance away, the smile vanished from the Shopkeeper’s face, replaced by a cold sneer.

"Hah! With the peanuts you’re offering, you expect me to take the fall for you? In your dreams! Maybe when you’ve kissed enough ass to become the County Captain yourself!"

"Ah, my bear paws... Hehehe..."

Zhang Yufeng returned to his office in the county yamen. He was brooding with a dark expression when someone called out to him.

"Mr. Zhang, the County Captain is looking for you."

Zhang Yufeng’s expression immediately turned serious. He entered the inner compound and found the County Captain of Yunzhao County by a garden pond. He was a sturdy, fair-skinned man in his middle years.

The County Captain held a handful of fish food, which he scattered carelessly to the koi in the pond.

"Yu Feng, how have your duties been lately?"

"Reporting to you, sir, all is well. I wouldn’t dare trouble you."

"Good."

The County Captain nodded, then asked:

"However, I’m still in need of a young servant to water the flowers in my back garden. You said you’d find me someone clever. Why haven’t you brought him yet?"

Zhang Yufeng lowered his head.

"The boy is a bit stubborn, but I will persuade him shortly."

The County Captain said, displeased:

"Yu Feng, finding one person shouldn’t take this long. The supervisor position in the Punishment Division has been vacant for some time now. I’ve always held you in high regard, but if you can’t even handle a small task like this efficiently, how can you possibly be qualified for that role?"

"I have been incompetent and have disappointed you, sir. I will redouble my efforts and settle this matter as quickly as possible."

"Good. I trust you will. But the position in the Punishment Division cannot remain vacant for too much longer. Go."

"Yes, sir."

After Zhang Yufeng left the garden, his face was an expressionless mask. In his mind, he silently repeated a name:

’Xie Yuan...’

...

Little Stone Village.

Xie Yuan and Wang Lei emerged from a patch of woods outside the village. Wang Lei’s expression was a mixture of relief and anxiety.

"Yuanzi, that Wang Ergou... he won’t go and report us, will he?"

"It’s fine. We didn’t cripple him. Besides, I had him confirm it himself, over and over: he fell on his own, and it had nothing to do with us. If he insists on running his face into our fists, we should be the ones settling the score with him."

Xie Yuan said with a laugh.

Wang Lei said indignantly:

"That bastard Zhang set me up! Yuanzi, you were scammed out of your money because of it. We should report him to the authorities!"

Xie Yuan sighed.

"Brother Shitou, he works in the county yamen. If you go there, it’ll be a classic case of ’who in the court below dares to accuse this official?’ It’s useless."

"Sigh... That bastard Zhang has his eyes on my land. Since you stood up for me, he’s definitely got it in for you now, too. What are we going to do?"

Xie Yuan shook his head silently.

’He’s had his eyes on me for a while now,’ Xie Yuan thought. ’This just makes it official.’

’There’s no other way. I have to increase my strength as quickly as possible. Once I break through and become a Martial Artist, I’ll at least have the power to protect myself.’

’Fortunately, for me, that goal isn’t too far off.’

"Sigh, Yuanzi, about that money... I’ll pay you back, slowly."

"Brother Shitou, don’t say that. It makes us sound like strangers. There’s no rush. And hmm, you shouldn’t go to the county town anymore. I’ve got a job for you here... chopping down trees..."

Xie Yuan explained his idea to Wang Lei. After listening, Wang Lei didn’t ask a single question and just nodded in agreement.

It wasn’t just that Xie Yuan’s plan was well thought out; even if Xie Yuan had told him to go chop down a diseased tree, he would have done it without hesitation.

Wang Lei was filled with emotion. ’The Xie Yuan of today is so decisive,’ he thought. ’Is this really the same kid from next door who used to scrounge for meals at my place?’

After putting the word out in the village, it took less than two days for Zhou Feng’s father to forge another Fine Iron Axe. In total, there were now four axes, which were distributed between Wang Lei and three hunters.

Once the bearskin and paws were gone, the rest of the animal wasn’t worth much money. Xie Yuan used the proceeds to pay for the labor of moving the bear and the cost of forging the axes, leaving him instantly penniless.

"How does the money from such a huge bear disappear so fast?"

Xie Yuan sighed, but he wasn’t discouraged. In fact, he was filled with anticipation.

’The tools were ready and the logging team was assembled. Now I just have to sit at home and reap their surplus value... No, wait, I’m the one training hard and processing all the timber later. That’s hard work, too.’

’If all goes smoothly, the silver will come rolling in, just as quickly as my strength is growing.’

After accompanying them into the mountains, marking the trees, and giving them a final briefing, Xie Yuan began to practice his techniques in a clearing, waiting for them to start on a nanmu tree.

’Four of them working together, it looks like there won’t be any problems,’ he observed. ’It’s certainly much faster than me working alone...’

For the next two days, Xie Yuan didn’t even need to leave his house. He focused completely on his cultivation, and his progress was astonishingly fast.

By the third day, the four men had delivered a complete nanmu log to Xie Yuan’s small courtyard. In that same time, Xie Yuan, with a final push, broke through the bottleneck of his Iron Cloth Shirt training, advancing from the peak of the second layer.

[Iron Cloth Shirt, 3rd Layer: (1/1000)]