Baisha Town.
"Brother-in-law, I saved up one hundred cents this month."
Xiao Qiaoniang carefully counted the copper coins, afraid she would miscount.
People accustomed to poverty often acted this way when they suddenly came into a not-insignificant sum of money.
Xiao Qiaoniang gingerly placed the one hundred copper coins into a small pouch and tucked it away at the bottom of a chest. Only then did she feel at ease.
'Sister-in-law is truly adorable...'
Bai Yuan found Xiao Qiaoniang's cautiousness amusing to watch.
He trained at the Martial Arts Hall, and his daily appetite was terrifyingly large.
Most of the game he hunted in the mountains ended up in his stomach, with a very small portion taken into town to be traded for cornmeal.
Most of these one hundred cents were saved up by Xiao Qiaoniang from her own needlework.
The Chen Family's Women were very well-informed. After learning of Bai Yuan's performance at the Martial Arts Hall, they took extra care of Xiao Qiaoniang, raising her wages several times from the initial two cents to five.
Combined with Xiao Qiaoniang's own diligence, she had managed to save up a respectable sum.
"You're a wonderful homemaker, Sister-in-law."
Bai Yuan praised her.
His words were sincere. He was away from home all day; if not for Xiao Qiaoniang, their small wooden cabin would have long since fallen into disrepair.
Hearing his praise, the smile on Xiao Qiaoniang's lips widened.
The Bai Family's meals were a world away from what they used to be; they had meat with every meal now.
With months of proper nourishment, Xiao Qiaoniang's face had grown fuller and rounder. Her once-loose clothes were now stretched taut, gradually revealing a long-suppressed beauty. The fabric over her chest, in particular, seemed to be struggling to hold on.
In his past life, Bai Yuan had seen many female celebrities, and he thought that if his sister-in-law put on just a touch of makeup, she would be no less stunning.
Women from poor families never had enough to eat; they were all sallow and gaunt. No matter how beautiful one was naturally, that kind of hardship took its toll.
Compared to the other poor women of Baisha Town, Xiao Qiaoniang seemed all the more alluring.
"Sister-in-law, it's probably best if you don't go out much for a while."
Bai Yuan reminded her again and again before he left.
"I'll do as you say, Brother-in-law."
Xiao Qiaoniang looked down in frustration at her stretched neckline.
'This body just won't listen,' she thought. She'd already had to get rid of her old clothes.
But for a farmer's family, buying a new set of clothes was a major affair. How could Xiao Qiaoniang bear to spend money so frivolously?
Every time she went out, she caused many of the local farmhands to stare wide-eyed.
Anyone who didn't know better would mistake her for the lady of some wealthy household.
In short, the rate at which Bai Yuan earned money still couldn't keep up with the rate at which his sister-in-law was filling out.
This was why he had asked her to avoid going out as much as possible.
...
Deep within Mentougou.
Enhancement Points +1
Enhancement Points +3
...
Bai Yuan's Master-level archery gave him a distinct advantage in the forest. No beast could escape his bamboo arrows.
He had killed so many of the wolves in Mentougou that they were forced to flee deeper into the mountains.
He had already swept the foothills near Baisha Town clean, so he had no choice but to follow the wolves into the deeper parts of the range.
With his current hunting skills, he was practically invincible—as long as he didn't run into a bear.
When he reached a valley, Bai Yuan stopped in his tracks.
He had heard from Hunter Zheng that beyond this valley lay Master Ridge.
A man-eating demon named Third Master Huang lived there, and it was a place one must never, ever go.
Many of Baisha Town's most experienced hunters had died there, and no one dared to retrieve their bodies.
Although Bai Yuan had never actually seen a demon, he subscribed to the "better safe than sorry" mentality and had never dared to set foot inside.
He glanced at the vast, dark green mountains one last time before turning to leave.
After two months of allocating points, his Five Animals Fist was on the verge of Minor Accomplishment.
The Five Animals Fist consisted of five forms: Ape, Tiger, Bird, Deer, and Bear. Of these, the Deer Form was the easiest, and the Tiger Form was the most difficult.
Bai Yuan had now achieved Minor Accomplishment in four of the forms, leaving only the final Tiger Form.
"Allocate points!"
[You have practiced the Tiger Form of the Five Animals Fist diligently. Your punches generate wind, and you have gradually attained some insight.]
...
[After three autumns of practice, your fist technique has finally reached Minor Accomplishment.]
[Name: Bai Yuan]
[Class: Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer]
[Skills: Cleave (Proficient), Tracking (Proficient), Archery (Mastery), Tiger-Crane Form (Uninitiated), Five Animals Fist (Proficient)...]
[Enhancement Points: 0]
Bai Yuan was overjoyed. He had finally broken through the Skin Grinding Barrier.
His skin was now countless times tougher than before; an ordinary person's punch would feel like nothing more than a tickle.
His strength had also increased significantly. He could lift a two-hundred-jin weight with one hand, making him comparable to the strongmen of his past life. And this was only the beginning of the Martial Dao.
Having passed the Skin Grinding Barrier, he was now qualified to become an Outer Disciple.
Bai Yuan figured he would go to Zhang Yang in another two months to reveal his true strength.
With a shining example like Xu Wen before him, breaking through the Skin Grinding Barrier in five months wasn't so world-shattering.
After descending the mountain, Bai Yuan headed straight back to Baisha Town.
Although he had special permission from Zhang Yang to come and go from the Martial Arts Arena as he pleased, his prime grinding spot was in the mountains, not the hall. Thus, he rarely made an appearance there.
He had just reached the entrance to Baisha Town.
"Bai Yuan, something's happened to Lady Xiao!"
Mrs. Liu of the Chen Family was pacing at the town entrance. When she saw Bai Yuan, she rushed toward him.
"What happened?"
Bai Yuan's heart tightened as he pressed for details.
"Lady Xiao somehow provoked Lame Yang. He and his men have surrounded your home."
"He's courting death!"
Bai Yuan's expression turned utterly grim upon hearing this, and he broke into a frantic sprint toward his cabin.
Lame Yang was just a local thug in Baisha Town. Relying on his modest fighting skills, he had gathered a sizable following.
In the past, both his body's previous owner and Zhuang Zhao had to steer clear of them.
...
A crowd had formed in front of the Bai Family's home.
Several vicious-looking men had surrounded Xiao Qiaoniang and Hunter Zheng.
"Lady Xiao, I, Lame Yang, am a reasonable man. Just pay for my brother's medical expenses, and we'll leave right now."
"How much for the expenses?"
"Three taels!"
Hearing the words "three taels" come from Lame Yang's mouth, Xiao Qiaoniang's face turned deathly pale. Where would she ever find three taels of silver?
"Yang San'er, don't take this too far,"
Hunter Zheng said, raising his steel hunting fork to shield Xiao Qiaoniang.
A young man with shifty, rat-like eyes let out a sneer. You could tell he was lame from his drastically uneven shoulders.
"Hunter Zheng, my brother was knocked over and injured by Lady Xiao. What's wrong with asking for a little compensation? I'd advise you not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong."
Lame Yang's words were laced with threat.
If Hunter Zheng hadn't interfered, they would have tied Lady Xiao up and dragged her away long ago. They wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble.
His beady eyes roamed up and down Xiao Qiaoniang's figure.
He didn't know what kind of nourishment the Bai family widow had been getting, but she had blossomed into someone more beautiful than the noble ladies in the city.
A pity he wasn't fortunate enough to enjoy her himself.
They always found a way to send such exceptional women into the city as gifts for the officials.
At most, they got to play with the leftovers.
Lame Yang had made a name for himself in Baisha Town with this scheme.
Xiao Qiaoniang rarely left the house, only going out to get needlework from Mrs. Liu of the Chen Family.
She hadn't expected to run into Lame Yang and his group the moment she stepped outside.
If Hunter Zheng hadn't heard the commotion and come out with his steel fork to help, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Lame Yang eyed the steel fork in Hunter Zheng's hands with apprehension.
These hunters, who scraped by and risked their lives in the mountains every day, were the hardest to deal with. They weren't afraid of a life-or-death struggle, and he had no desire for things to escalate to the point of someone getting killed.
Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a young man burst through the crowd.
When Xiao Qiaoniang saw Bai Yuan appear, a spark of light ignited in her eyes.
"Brother-in-law!"