Chapter 12: Refugees blocking the road, first test of the knife
Chapter 12: Refugees blocking the road, first test of the knife
Li Hao became a formal apprentice, which gave great encouragement to all freshmen.
The changes in treatment that followed one after another are even more eye-catching.
Formal apprentices no longer need to pay the monthly tuition of 20 taels. Not only that, the martial arts school also provides food, accommodation and clothing.
The tiger bone ointment that used to be applied once every seven days has now been changed to once every three days.
More importantly, the owner of the hall would occasionally summon formal apprentices to give them guidance on cultivation.
In the outer courtyard, formal apprentices are regarded as superior to others.
Crossing the threshold of strength and becoming a formal apprentice is the goal of all new students.
"Have you heard that after Li Hao became a newborn, the elders in his clan immediately returned his father's inheritance?"
"That's not true. Now he has the support of the owner of the museum behind him."
The two new apprentices talked as they walked.
The new apprentices in the external college talked the most about Li Hao.
It turned out that after Li Hao's father died in battle, the elders of the clan took away all the relics left by his father when he was an official, on the grounds that Li Hao was young.
However, once Li Hao became a formal apprentice of the martial arts school, all his things were returned intact.
The reason is simple. Li Hao has proved his potential with facts.
Once he breaks through the Qi and blood barrier and becomes a warrior, he will be qualified to inherit his father's position as city gate guard, and the entire family will rely on him.
"Li Hao's success today is due to both his talent and hard work."
"His father is a military officer, and he laid a solid foundation for him since he was young. He has already surpassed 90% of our freshmen. Plus, he practices like he's risking his life. Tsk tsk!"
The apprentices were very envious of Li Hao, as he was officially hired as a full-time employee in just two months.
If it were them, once the three-month deadline was up, they wouldn’t know if they could develop strong strength?
"Zhou You, go home?"
A new apprentice saw Zhou You walking towards him and subconsciously greeted him.
Zhou You nodded. The first month of closed training was over and he could go home to visit his parents.
During this period, his father asked someone in the courtyard outside the martial arts school to tell him that everything was fine at home and asked him to practice martial arts with peace of mind.
There is a wooden sign of Jianxiong Martial Arts School at the door, so the villains dare not approach, and the surrounding security has improved a lot.
Zhou You was eager to go home, so he asked his senior brother for half a day off.
Walking on the road, I felt that the situation was different.
He was wearing the apprentice uniform of Jianxiong Martial Arts School, and passers-by gave way to him with awe on their faces.
In this world, the status of people who practice martial arts is much higher than that of ordinary people.
"Ok?"
Zhou You arrived at the neighborhood where he lived and saw several shops in ruins along the familiar street.
There were traces of fire on the broken bricks and tiles on the ground, obviously something had happened.
Many refugees with foreign accents roamed the streets, begging for dry food and water from passers-by.
The ground was littered with tattered bedding, and sitting there were ragged women and lifeless children.
In just one month, there were so many refugees in the city.
Zhou You noticed that the accents of these refugees were similar to Fang Guiqi's, and they must have all fled from Sucheng.
Some refugees simply rummaged through the ruins, searching for anything they could use.
"What's the most you'll give?"
"Two taels, no more. In today's market, a half-grown girl is worthless."
"Give more, please be kind. Our family ran out of food seven days ago, and the old man is so hungry that he can't see clearly."
"Your wife is pretty good, how about selling them together to make up the difference?"
"Let me think about it again..."
The human traffickers in the city openly selected women from the refugees and bargained with their fathers and brothers.
Zhou You quickened his pace, wondering how long the peace in Gongliang City could last after the chaos in Sucheng?
The world was becoming increasingly critical, so he was urged to develop his strength as quickly as possible and become a formal apprentice.
He walked around an alley, and suddenly three refugees jumped out in front of him. They were so dirty that they could not see their faces clearly, only their black and white eyes were exposed. The refugees were all young and strong men, holding sticks and threatening viciously, "Hand over all the money."
Robbery in broad daylight is such a heinous act.
Zhou Youxin suddenly became alert and felt a chill on his back.
He subconsciously tensed all the muscles in his body. A sharp sound of breaking air rang in his ears, and then a cold stab hit his back.
The refugees in front were just a cover, the real attackers were hiding in the dark and attacking from behind.
The stinging pain came not from a stick, but from a sharp iron object.
Zhou You was shocked and angry. It would have been fine if this group of refugees had just robbed people, but they went straight to the point of killing people.
Thieves and thieves doing illegal work in the city, under the control of the government and gangs, do have to abide by some rules.
The worst behavior is to beat passers-by with clubs, drag them to the roadside and rob them, but it rarely results in loss of life.
It is different for refugees. They are so poor that they only have their lives left. Not only do they not take their own lives seriously, they even don’t care about the lives of others.
"You are so bold, thief."
A month of hard training while traveling around the world is not without effect.
As the foundation of boxing, Subduing Tiger Fist improves strength, speed and defense in all aspects.
The moment the tip of the knife pierces the skin, it immediately triggers an instinctive reaction in the body.
The knife-wielding vagrant stopped his hand, and the knife was like stabbing into a piece of dry cowhide, with great toughness rolling back.
Zhou You slipped, and the refugees who were attacking him from the front and back were dazzled and lost sight of him.
He flashed to the side of the knife-wielding vagrant and punched out like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, causing the air to tremble.
A fierce wind suddenly arose from the ground, and a shocking roar rang in the ears of the refugees.
The refugee who attacked with a knife was like being knocked away by a galloping wild horse, with half of his head rotten.
"Dead people, dead people."
The few remaining refugees were terrified and dropped their sticks to run for their lives.
Want to go?
Zhou You's eyes flashed with a cold light, he rubbed the ground with his feet, and rushed into the enemy crowd as fast as the wind.
The wooden stakes and stone locks in the outer yard were all dead targets, and it was rare to have a living thing to practice on.
He acted ruthlessly, decisively and mercilessly.
The scene was like a tiger rushing into a flock of sheep, with casualties everywhere it moved.
One by one, the refugees were knocked into the air, and when they landed on the ground, their tendons and bones were broken, and they twitched a few times before they could no longer move.
Zhou You tried his hand at actual combat and came to the conclusion that even if he had not developed strong strength, his actual combat level was still beyond that of ordinary people.
Looking at the wound on the back, it was only a scratch on the epidermis and the blood clotted without much bleeding.
"Zhou You, you're too cruel."
The noise was so loud that it soon alerted the local patrol officers.
Constable Liu was an acquaintance. He was the lover of the neighbor Widow Li. The two families had met before.
He checked the refugees on the ground and finally shook his head.
The knife-wielding vagrant had his head smashed to pieces and was dead.
The rest of the refugees who participated in the robbery had their bones broken and their internal organs pierced, and if they were not dead they were only half alive.
This skill is definitely for a martial artist, and he is only one step away from achieving great strength.
"Detective Liu, you have to enforce the law impartially, I was acting in self-defense.
Constable Liu laughed and said, "They are just a few refugees. Their lives are worthless. Just have them taken to the mass grave outside the city."
"I'll host you and have a drink with you when I'm free."
He also reminded Zhou You, "Don't eat the wild dog meat on the market recently. It's not clean."
It turned out that there were too many refugees from Sucheng, and countless casualties, which directly fattened up the wild dogs outside the city.
(End of this chapter)