Chapter 248: Life in the Inner City

"Young Master Zhou, you've moved in? Let me lend a hand; give those things to me, old man."

A man approaching nodded and bowed, greeting them enthusiastically as he took the load from Zhou Laodie.

Zhou You took a look—isn't that what's-his-name? Constable Liu.

What a coincidence, an acquaintance! Constable Liu signaled a few colleagues, and they scrambled to grab the large and small bags; in the blink of an eye, the family of three was empty-handed.

Tie Niu sulked on the side—you all did the work, what am I supposed to do? On the way, his parents talked with Constable Liu and learned that due to the worsening security in the city and a severe shortage of manpower, they had simply abandoned the Outer City and transferred most of the Constables into the Inner City to work.

When Constable Liu spoke with Zhou Laodie, he carried three parts caution, three parts respect, and three parts fawning; the remaining one part was for reminiscing, as he knew Zhou You was no longer what he used to be.

It was said that after Zhou You left the martial arts hall, not only was he not crushed, but he had even established a connection with the City Gate Guard.

Now he had even moved into the Inner City, which was a symbol of status for the upper class.

They arrived at the place very quickly.

"Hey, did we go to the wrong place?"

Zhou Laodie squinted at the spacious courtyard entrance, hesitating as he stopped his steps.

Just looking at the size of the gatehouse to the side, it was already larger and more spacious than the house they had originally rented.

The high, thick surrounding walls, which had consumed a large amount of blue brick and lime, looked very safe and reliable.

"How could it be wrong?"

Zhou You took out the gatehouse key, inserted it into the bronze lock, and with a *click*, opened it, "We're in, aren't we?"

The address was correct, the key was right, it really was this house...

Hmm? The family of three stood in the vast courtyard, with Tie Niu following behind.

His mother was almost about to faint; with a place this big, how much time would she have to spend cleaning?

There were large trees and flower beds in the courtyard; once autumn came, the fallen leaves would be everywhere. While the scenery was certainly beautiful, cleaning it up would be exhausting!

"His father, we should just return the key; we can't afford to live in a place like this."

His mother was also stunned. The most spectacular building she had seen in her life was the city wall; in her view, this residence was just like the spectacular city wall—neither belonged to commoners like the Zhou Family.

"Mother, we'll just manage the amount of space we live in, don't tire yourself out."

"Isn't Tie Niu here to help?"

Zhou You was very satisfied with the place and gestured to Tie Niu, who nodded solemnly.

Zhou Laodie recovered from his shock and began darting back and forth to inspect the inside and outside.

"His mother, there's even a water well in the courtyard; we won't have to queue for water anymore."

"Whoa, there's even an ornamental stone here, at least 300 catties; the cost to transport it in must have been huge, tsk tsk."

"Look, there's even a livestock shed in the backyard; it really lives up to being a wealthy household."

"The kitchen is especially large, and the chimney is thick too; you won't have to worry about being choked by smoke when you cook in the future."

Zhou Laodie's exclamations came from every corner.

Master Shen had even hired someone to clean it once; the ground had been leveled and smoothed, and not a single weed could be seen in the cracks.

The paint on the doors and windows was as smooth as new, and no traces of cobwebs could be seen in the corners.

The firewood pile in the back kitchen was stacked nearly to the roof, and the cupboards and rice jars were filled with all kinds of food and supplies.

"Father, Mother, you will have to get used to this from now on."

Zhou You said to them solemnly, "Our life is getting better and better, and our house can only keep getting bigger."

"It won't do if you can't get used to living in a big house; you must actively adjust your mindset."

It was only after living in the new house for over half a month that the old couple realized the Zhou Family had its own home and was no longer in the situation of the past, where they had no fixed abode and were renting in cheap areas.

Their son was right; life would only get better and better.

The Inner City occupied less than one-tenth of the area of Gongliang City, and the population living inside was less than ten thousand, which was about one percent of the total population of all of Gongliang City. This resulted in the Inner City having extremely abundant space.

The two great clans that controlled Gongliang City were located in the Inner City; well, in essence, the Inner City was built for them.

The leaders of the city's guilds and the masters of the various martial arts halls all had properties in the Inner City.

After moving in, Zhou You wandered around for a few days and roughly figured out the surrounding environment.

The Shen family was just three streets away, and it would take less than half a day to get there on foot.

Hmm, Wang Jianxiong's property was five streets away from here; I heard it was currently being renovated in preparation for his daughter's wedding to Lu Jianqing.

Once a disaster broke out in the Outer City, these prominent figures could take their families and move into the Inner City to avoid the trouble.

As for the remaining commoners in the city, they could only endure the hardship and struggle, seeking a chance to survive.

"Hoo-hoo, thud-thud!"

In the courtyard, Zuo Shier was drenched in sweat, vigorously throwing his fists—one movement was a tiger claw pounce, the other a tiger tail whip.

His foundation was in the Two Hearts Fist, and his method of splitting his focus was very proficient, but the momentum of his Tiger Form Fist was slightly lacking.

Even so, when he struck, both hands worked in tandem, doubling the power; enemies of the same level were definitely no match.

Zhou You stood to the side, pointing out how to optimize and improve every move.

What he was providing Instruction on to Zuo Shier was the finalized version of the Double Body Tiger Form Fist, not the Tiger Crane Dual Path Fist.

With Zuo Shier's aptitude, digesting the Double Body Tiger Form Fist was already a stretch, let alone the more complex and exquisite Tiger Crane Dual Path Fist.

"Not bad, you've reached Qi and Blood Stage 2."

Zuo Shier had mediocre aptitude; after the Two Hearts Fist was destroyed, he had managed to survive, but his strength had remained stagnant for a long time without progress.

It wasn't until Zhou You taught him the Double Body Tiger Form Fist, combining the advantages of the two fist techniques, that he achieved a breakthrough.

Zuo Shier finished the entire set of fists and cupped his hands toward Zhou You, "Senior Brother Zhou, a great kindness that words cannot express."

His fate was now tied to Zhou You.

When the martial arts hall split, Zuo Shier had firmly stood on Zhou You's side, already offending Wang Jianxiong and Lu Jianqing.

The Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall would no longer protect him, and he could be hunted down and killed by Bao Tiefeng at any time.

He had been hiding and dodging these past few days, never expecting Zhou You to invite him to the Inner City and even carefully instruct him on the training methods for his upcoming fist techniques.

"My place is big enough, spacious, and convenient for daily fist training and martial arts practice."

Zhou You pointed casually at a guest room, "Pack your things and move in; help me look after the house to cover the rent."

Not allowing Zuo Shier to refuse, "Go back and pack now, move in before dark."

Zuo Shier felt moved inside; moving into the Inner City had extraordinary significance for him.

Bao Tiefeng was still active in the Outer City to this day, and even with money, one could not buy property in the Inner City.

Once he moved into the Inner City, no matter how great Bao Tiefeng's influence was, he would no longer be able to pose a threat to him.

Zhou You watched his departing figure and breathed a sigh of relief; although Zuo Shier was only in the early stage of Blood Qi, he was still a useful person.

Zhou Laodie and his mother now had two Amulets each; one came from Zhang Huaimin, and three were scavenged from Golden Crane Mountain.

After Zhou You returned to Gongliang City, he found an excuse to give the Amulets to his parents.

His parents simply assumed their son had prayed for them at some unknown wild temple; unable to refuse his sincere filial piety, they agreed to wear them and never take them off.

By further inviting Zuo Shier to live in the house, he would have a Blood Qi martial artist, as well as Tie Niu as a guard with physical strength.

With such meticulous arrangements, there was no need to worry too much about his parents' safety.

There were many things Zhou You found inconvenient to do at home and he often needed to go out; during the gaps when he was away, he had to take extra care regarding his parents' safety, as this world was not peaceful after all.

(End of this chapter)