[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult":3,"chapter-don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-13":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Don't Mock the Poor Old Man: Gains a Year of Cultivation Every Day!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2312505,4520,"Chapter 13: A Moonless, Wind-High Night for Murder","don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-13",13,"\u003Cp>Dusk approached, and the twilight deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was time for the martial academy to close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye sat as usual in the shadow by the door, his back leaning against the cold doorpost, eyelids half-lowered, watching the disciples disperse in small groups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hu Shidi, want to come over to my place for some baked cakes today...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaohé’s voice was softer than usual, almost hooking, as she followed Hu Tian out through the academy’s main gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sure...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tian paused, glanced at Lin Xiaohé with a grin, and was about to agree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a clear voice, carrying a hint of arrogance, came from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hu Shidi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xu stepped out through the threshold, flanked by two or three inner-disciple students, his pace calm and unhurried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even glance at Lin Xiaohé beside him; instead, he tilted his chin toward Hu Tian, smiling warmly but with no room for refusal:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, Brother, I’m taking you to ‘Zuixian Pavilion’ tonight!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Brother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tian didn’t hesitate a moment—his smile instantly shifted to Zhang Xu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He barely had time to throw Lin Xiaohé a glance of reassurance and dismissal before turning, naturally slipping his arm around Zhang Xu’s shoulder, intimate and familiar, as if he’d long belonged to that circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In another little while, maybe I could slip into that circle too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaohé stood where she was, watching the figures receding into the dusk, their laughter surrounding them, a flicker of hope in her brow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she could even connect slightly with that circle, the Wild Wolf Gang might hesitate before daring to come knocking and extort her so openly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this thought, the petty annoyance stirred by Hu Tian’s easy abandonment of her vanished instantly beneath a stronger emotion—the resentment toward Shi Lei, and... a cold sense of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She resented him for his recklessness: instead of solving the problem, he’d only drawn worse trouble, nearly costing her family their meager savings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was even more relieved she’d acted decisively, severing ties with him cleanly and completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could a man like Shi Lei offer, besides misplaced stubbornness and a fist that only brought trouble?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, those were the cheapest, most dangerous things of all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph! I must’ve been blind back then...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaohé cast a cold glance toward the dim training ground, let out a short, scornful snort, then turned without hesitation and stepped into the thickening night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Lin Xiaohé’s figure fade into the distance, Jiang Ye slowly rose, his gaze thoughtful, murmuring softly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One more person hasn’t come out yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twilight, like gauze, draped over the silent outer courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the ground, equipment lay scattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the farthest corner, pressed against the wall, a figure was slowly, almost imperceptibly trembling, assuming the starting stance of the Mountain-Crushing Fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was none other than Shi Lei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His bruises looked darker in the dimness; his lips were tightly pressed, his eyes no longer holding the unyielding resolve of before—only vast emptiness, and... a hint of Huansan .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fists clenched, yet his strength seemed to have nowhere to land; his whole posture drifted, distracted—not practicing, but punishing himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye’s footsteps were light, yet clear in the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei jolted awake as if from a dream, whirled around, recognized the man, and flinched with panic and embarrassment, hastily dropping his half-formed stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tugged at his lips, trying to force a smile, but only pulled at his wounds, making him look even more broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“S-sorry, Uncle Jiang...” His voice was hoarse and dry. “I... I lost track of time again, kept practicing. I’ve delayed your closing. I’ll clean up right away—I’m leaving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t wait for Jiang Ye’s reply, spun around, bowed his head, and began frantically gathering the scattered stone weights and wooden posts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye said nothing, only sighed softly, then joined him in picking up the scattered equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle Jiang... I might... stop coming to practice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arranging all the gear, Shi Lei hesitated, then suddenly spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye looked at him deeply, his voice low:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve only been in the academy less than two months, and your fist technique is nearly at the threshold...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why give up now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei flinched as if struck by the words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last glimmer in his eyes struggled violently, then drowned into deeper darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone like me... with this kind of root quality...” His voice dropped lower, nearly a whisper, each word soaked in icy self-denial. “Even if I reach the threshold, I’ll never amount to anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drew a sharp breath, as if trying to expel the suffocating gloom from his chest—but it caught in his throat:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hu Tian... how long has he been here? The Academy Master personally guides him. The inner-disciple brothers vie to befriend him. Lin... Lin Shimei...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the mention of her name, his voice twisted, raw with unmasked pain and humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She turns and clings to him, attentive and eager... and me? I trained until I bled for her, came back beaten and bruised—what did I get?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He choked, unable to continue, teeth clenched so hard his temples bulged with veins, eyes reddening—but he stubbornly held his head high, refusing to let the moisture fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye listened in silence, his eyes holding no surprise, only the deep understanding of a still pond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaohé’s icy betrayal, and Hu Tian’s sudden appearance, had struck Shi Lei too hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, Uncle Jiang, I talked too much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei abruptly turned his face away, voice trembling with shame, and moved to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi boy...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye’s voice was quiet, yet like an invisible thread, it halted his frantic steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the young body before him—bruised, battered, as if all spirit had been drained—and spoke slowly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve heard the Academy Master say many times: root quality... is heaven’s gift of food.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But whether you hold the bowl steady, whether you eat enough, whether the food tastes sweet or bitter... sometimes, it’s not entirely up to heaven’s whim.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flowing water doesn’t compete for the lead—it competes to keep flowing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, Shi Lei’s body jolted; his dim eyes suddenly flared bright. “Flowing water doesn’t compete for the lead...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle Jiang, do you think I still have a chance?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze burned with urgency, desperate as a drowning man clutching at driftwood, fixed on the old man’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye did not directly answer his question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply gazed back at the boy’s blazing eyes, his expression neither joyful nor sorrowful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone walks their own path—he didn’t know what Shi Lei’s would become if he kept going.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps he’d struggle to reach the threshold, only to become a mediocre martialist, struggling and sinking in this chaotic world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn’t need to say it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some fires need only a single spark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei didn’t demand a definite answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood still, chest heaving, chewing over those eight words again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flowing water doesn’t compete for the lead... it competes to keep flowing... keep flowing...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each time he repeated them, the light in his eyes grew brighter; his shattered spine seemed to draw a thread of strength from deep within his marrow, slowly straightening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, he stepped back, turned to Jiang Ye, and suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, forehead slamming hard against the cold ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Uncle Jiang, for your guidance—this debt, I, Shi Lei, will never forget!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was hoarse, yet firm as hammered iron, ringing with the weight of a falling mallet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without another word, he rose abruptly, turned, and strode out the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye stood where he was, watching the figure—once again upright—vanish swiftly into the night, and smiled faintly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like tomorrow, he’ll be the first to arrive at the academy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night had deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Creak—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The narrow door of the gatehouse opened a crack; a shadow slipped out soundlessly, then quietly shut it behind him, sealing it tight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shadow stood motionless beneath the eaves for a moment, then slowly lifted his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face was covered by a common, coarse black cloth, leaving only his eyes exposed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those eyes, beneath the pitch-black sky, held none of the age or dimness of daytime—instead, they glowed with inner brilliance, deep as a frozen well, sharp as a blade about to be drawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Jiang Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moonless, wind-swept night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time to go “eat people” and make money!\u003C\u002Fp>",1402,"2026-06-20T12:57:27.461Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c70ce7f973595cb6daee1a01150d7213ff5834a1b58e57c595102ed48ec3f3c7","don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-14","don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-12",268,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdon-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-cover.jpg"]