Chapter 11: Learning Martial Arts

Qiye's temper is indeed quite good. Whether it was refusing him in the Simulator before or slacking off in the Simulator this time, he never petty-mindedly punished her. At most, he would just set her aside and leave her to fend for herself. It seems that winning that third round truly holds unusual significance for Qiye; otherwise, he would have long since thrown her into his own residence as a menial maid to suffer and toil—a thing he is truly capable of doing in the simulation.

Moreover, he has always held expectations for her. Even after she had been practicing martial arts for over two years, Qiye still wanted to take her away, even using her sister as bait. It was just that she had already made up her mind before the simulation: this time, she would only stay in the gang to practice martial arts and would absolutely not leave Jiangning City.

He took that young boy away from Jiangning City without being attacked. Clearly, the person who killed her was either the force behind this boy or someone close to him, who killed her to compete for the spot Qiye had sent over. It was just that Qiye was not very satisfied with that boy, which is why he dragged it out for several years before sending him over.

Regarding this boy she had never met, Ruan Xing had already developed a murderous intent. Anyone who knew they had been killed for no reason several times would feel resentment, right? Is having True Qi so amazing? Why not hold a blade to Qiye's neck to threaten him into changing people, instead of wasting so much effort to kill an innocent child like her? It was nothing more than bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

However, she does not yet know who they are, and she herself is just a six-year-old girl with no power to truss a chicken. It is still too early to talk about revenge; she can only focus on the present and consider the three-choice option.

The first option has no value. For fourteen years, she had been cooped up in the hall practicing martial arts. If she hadn't been conscripted as a thug and forced to go out to fight, she wouldn't even have stepped out of the hall's door. Qiye taking a boy away was something she only heard from others; she never saw that boy with her own eyes and could not know what he looked like. The second option goes without saying; she had never chosen it, and one could guess there was nothing good there. Although the third option says "random," she only focused on learning one thing in every simulation, and it likely wouldn't give her a skill she already had, so Ruan Xing was quite confident this time that she could get what she wanted.

【Congratulations, you have obtained the Body Refining technique from when you were fourteen.】

【Given that you have attained a martial arts realm, the Simulator is about to enter a system upgrade. The time required is twelve hours.】

Just as she felt her body become stronger and more vigorous than ever before, Ruan Xing was surprised to see the second message. She had a premonition that after obtaining martial arts or cultivation, the recharge amount and points required for the simulation would increase proportionally, but she had not expected the Simulator to update as well.

She remembered that she had 11.3 points left. She hoped the price increase of the Simulator would not be too large, otherwise, she would become a pauper before finding a way to survive.

She also hoped the Simulator would bring useful new functions after the update.

Thinking this, Ruan Xing turned over on the bed and slowly drifted into sleep.

The next day, after eating breakfast in the morning, Shi Shifu inspected the results of yesterday's practice and nodded with a smile, "Not bad."

"Back when I was wandering the world with my master, I spent three whole days and took quite a few beatings before I could put three eggs into the same bowl without breaking them. You have more talent than I do." He patted Ruan Xing's shoulder with some emotion.

He then felt something was off. He looked at Ruan Xing up and down and asked suspiciously, "Little girl, why do I feel you are a bit different from yesterday? It seems you've grown a bit overnight."

Her originally thin, stalk-like frame now had a thin layer of muscle, and her complexion was ruddier than before. If Ruan Tao were to see her, she would certainly be able to tell the big change in her immediately. But here in the hall, both Shi Shifu and Qiye had only seen her a few times, so she wasn't particularly worried. She replied with a straight face, "I also feel my body is a bit better. Perhaps it's because I ate my fill yesterday and had a good sleep. With your guidance, Master, I will be even better in the future!"

These words made Shi Shifu feel comforted. He smiled, a hint of regret appearing in his eyes, "You little girl, I don't know how you were born, to be so clever! It's a pity I cannot be your master; Gambling is just a stepping stone for you."

"How do you say that?" Ruan Xing asked curiously. "You will know in a few days." He shook his head.

Shi Shifu did not say it directly, but Ruan Xing did not want to stop this topic; she still wanted to probe for more information from Shi Shifu.

The person who killed her had the same pale White True Qi as Qiye. If this was a technique that only high-level members of the Red Head Gang could practice, she could narrow down the scope.

"Then tell me about your younger days? When did you come to the Red Head Gang?" Ruan Xing blinked her eyes, cupping her chin in her hands as she squatted by Shi Shifu's legs.

Shi Shifu was just about to demonstrate the next move of the Three Immortals Return to Cave. Hearing this, he stopped his movements, shook his head, and laughed, "Very well, it's still early, so I'll chat with you for a bit."

"Come to think of it, it wasn't that I voluntarily joined the Red Head Gang, but that the Red Head Gang incorporated me. More than ten years ago, after my master passed away, I grew tired of the wandering life and settled down in Jiangning City. Relying on my skills in Cheating, I worked as a hidden dealer in a Gambling Den run by a small gang. At that time, there were dozens of gangs in Jiangning City, and they changed very quickly. Sometimes, small gangs would be swallowed up overnight; sometimes, those who were brothers yesterday would turn into enemies the next day because of uneven distribution. Some unrelated merchants might have to pay protection money to several gangs in a month..."

"It wasn't until six years ago that the Red Head Gang emerged suddenly. Relying on powerful force, they developed rapidly. It took less than a year to go from a dozen people to over a thousand gang members. They not only taught the members Body Refining methods according to their rank but also meticulously planned regional management. Those small-time thugs who relied on ferocity to fight soon fell apart. The small gang I was in at the time was broken up and incorporated by the Red Head Gang because of this. I was assigned under Qiye. After he found out I knew Gambling, he didn't let me go to the casino anymore, but instead had me teach Gambling to others in the hall."

"Teach others?" Finally hearing some relevant information, Ruan Xing hurriedly asked, "Who else have you taught?"

Shi Shifu coughed to clear his throat. Ruan Xing immediately poured a cup of tea and handed it to him. He continued, "Not all of them were like you. Qiye is a rare good person among those in the gangs. He doesn't allow hidden dealers in his venues, saying it's like draining a pond to catch fish, but he also can't let others pull a fast one. He had me teach those who watch the venues basic Cheating techniques and how to spot a Cheat."

"As for children like you, I have taught two others—one five years ago, and one three years ago. They learned a little bit of the basics from me before being sent away by Qiye."

Ruan Xing pursued, "Then where are they now?"

"Now? I don't know." Shi Shifu answered very bluntly, "They might be dead, or they might be enjoying endless wealth and honor. In any case, I haven't seen them again. Qiye later told me that the people above weren't very satisfied, but they weren't sent back either. Anyway, it has nothing to do with me, and I didn't ask further."

Shi Shifu did not show a shred of pity when speaking of those two. Perhaps those short days of teaching did not cultivate any bond between master and apprentice, which made Shi Shifu seem a bit cold.

That's right, he is not a kind old neighbor, but a gambler who has been struggling in the underworld for half his life. He only looks easy to get along with.

Ruan Xing lowered her eyes and silently refilled the tea. Shi Shifu realized he might have let something slip, but it didn't matter; Ruan Xing would know soon enough anyway. He blew on the rising steam of the teacup and said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, you are much more sensible than those two."

(End of chapter)