Chapter 323: 329. Chapter 329: Worlds Apart

329. Chapter 329: Worlds Apart

The seventh birthday arrived quietly.

The single mother, as usual, carefully prepared a banquet.

Lin Ke endured, keeping the single mother company in a lively time, fully cooperating throughout.

The next day, an abrupt change occurred.

The single mother's natal family came looking for her.

Two young men in fine clothes, somewhat resembling the single mother, brought a group of slaves and set fire to the house where Lin Ke had lived for seven years.

The single mother desperately tried to stop them, to no avail.

Having long lost her cultivation and grown frail, she could not even break free from the grasp of two maidservants.

"Bastard!"

A youth with a fiercer malevolent glare stared hard at Lin Ke, who showed no reaction to the sudden change, and through gritted teeth spat out an unbearable remark.

"Third brother, mind your status!"

The more mature-looking youth spoke up in time to stop him: "Do not disgrace the gate of my Jiang family."

"Hmph!"

The malevolent youth, cowed by his elder brother's authority, sullenly held his tongue.

"Please, miss, keep quiet; we're taking her home."

The mature youth, without even glancing at Lin Ke, directly ordered the two maidservants holding the single mother.

"Yes, young master."

The two maidservants replied in unison.

"Jiang Dehao, what are you trying to do?"

The single mother sensed something wrong, tried to break free, and ran toward Lin Ke.

Instead, a maidservant lightly pressed the back of her neck, her legs went limp, and she fainted.

"Go."

Jiang Dehao, the mature youth, waved his hand, taking the malevolent youth and a group of slaves, and left in a carefree manner.

Lin Ke turned, watching the single mother being helped into a luxurious carriage; his expression was calm, his gaze subtle, but anger burned inside him.

When the convoy of several carriages drove away and disappeared from sight, Lin Ke immediately left, taking nothing with him.

Inside the convoy.

The mature youth Jiang Dehao and the malevolent youth Jiang Deyao sat facing each other.

The single mother lay covered with an embroidered quilt between the two brothers.

"Elder brother, are we just going to let that bastard off like this?"

As the mind shapes the appearance, Jiang Deyao's temperament is quite violent and he loves killing.

The meaning behind his words was simply to kill the bastard who brought shame to the Jiang clan.

"What's the difference between letting him go and not letting him go?"

Jiang Dehao gazed at his pale, weak sister with both anger and pity, speaking indifferently: "Killing that bastard won't recover the Jiang clan's recent losses; it would only upset your sister. Don't you remember who cleared up the troubles you caused before?"

"I haven't forgotten!"

Jiang Deyao cocked his neck, raised his head, and shouted: "I'll always remember my second sister's kindness. But this is different. Elder brother, you've seen the records—our second sister fell to this state, her cultivation ruined, all because of that bastard. A perfect Return-to-One realm swordswoman, now she can't even handle a Qi Strength realm maid; it truly makes my spirit restless."

Jiang Dehao finally lifted his gaze to Jiang Deyao, stared at him for a long time, then said indifferently: "There are things you don't understand, and I've never told you. The family back then, disregarding your second sister's wishes, forcibly engaged her to the Zhong clan to resolve the trouble you caused. Initially, your second sister had already fallen in love with Lin Nantian; she didn't elope only after the engagement."

"This…"

Jiang Deyao's face suddenly changed.

He felt both embarrassed and angry, truly too shocked.

"Let the past be the past; don't bring it up again."

Jiang Dehao waved his hand, as if brushing away dirt he could never clean off, saying: "As for Lin Nantian's son, Lin Nantian himself back then shrank like a turtle; I, Jiang Dehao, can naturally turn a blind eye."

"Alas."

Hearing this, Jiang Deyao let out a heavy sigh.

He had once thought to cause trouble for Lin Nantian, searching throughout the southern jianghu, but never found a trace of him.

Now his pent‑up anger, with no outlet, is truly vexing.

Elsewhere.

Lin Ke ran to a secluded spot, dug a pit, took off all his clothes, and buried them.

Even the longevity lock his single mother had obtained for him, which he always wore around his neck, was wrapped in the clothes.

Naked, the little boy went alone into the mountains, rushed to a stream at great speed, and carefully washed himself.

Having confirmed his body bore no odd smell, Lin Ke then left the stream, wound left and right through the mountains, found a very inconspicuous cave, and slipped inside.

Outside this cave a waterfall curtain concealed it; inside, the space was large and dry, ideal for hiding.

At the fourth‑year birthday banquet, after inadvertently learning some things from the single mother's drunken muttering, Lin Ke began to leave himself a way out.

After several years of gradual preparation, Lin Ke laid out several similar refuges in the mountains, like this waterfall‑curtain cave.

Each refuge is far apart; each was set up by Lin Ke over the past few years whenever he found an opportunity, no easy feat.

Now it finally comes in handy.

Having changed into dry clothes, Lin Ke sat on a natural stone bench, closed his eyes, and recalled what had just happened.

From a few fragmented words, he inferred some useful information.

First, the single mother is the second daughter of the Jiang clan of Tianshui Commandery, once engaged to a certain scion of another great clan, the Zhong family, in the same commandery.

As a result, the Jiang second daughter not only fled her engagement but also privately pledged herself to another, bearing a child out of wedlock.

This matter caused the Jiang clan of Tianshui Commandery to lose all face.

To appease the Zhong clan's anger, they even had to give up substantial benefits.

After Jiang's second daughter became pregnant and found travel difficult, to avoid burdening her lover, she actually fled alone, hiding for eight years.

Originally hiding her identity and living well, she would not have been discovered by the Jiang clan.

Today's scene happened because Jiang's second daughter sensed Lin Ke's strong yearning for cultivation, so she proactively contacted the Jiang clan, hoping to obtain a cultivation method suited to Lin Ke's physique.

Furthermore, the Jiang clan of Tianshui Commandery, at least the brothers who came to fetch back Jiang's second daughter, extremely disliked Lin Ke, this illegitimate child.

Not only did they refuse to give a cultivation method, they also wanted to separate mother and son, and even refused to leave Lin Ke any lodging.

When Lin Ke was abandoned by them, he was penniless.

A seven-year-old child in this situation would either starve to death or end up begging on the streets.

From this we can see that the Jiang clan's anger is extremely fierce and has continued to this day.

Unable to vent their anger on Jiang's second daughter and her lover, they took it out on Lin Ke.

Lastly, there is a strong sense of social disjunction.

Seven years ago, Lin Ke was born in a near-modern hospital.

These past years, although living in seclusion with his single mother in remote mountains, he occasionally went out.

According to Lin Ke's initial observation, even a small county town has the development level of genuine early Republican-era Shanghai from a past life.

Wired telephones, wireless telegrams, electric lights, trams, and movies are all fully available.

Yet the Jiang clan of Tianshui Commandery actually still uses horse-drawn carriages for travel.

This made Lin Ke quite curious.

Is it because the automobile industry is not prosperous, or simply to display the historical depth of an old-established family?

After indulging in idle daydreams, Lin Ke gathered his scattered thoughts and began to consider how his future path should proceed.

"Fortunately I had made preparations early."

Soon, Lin Ke had thought things through and let out a sigh.

These past years, taking advantage of his single mother's indifference to money, Lin Ke actually hid a considerable amount of private savings.

In the water curtain cave where he is now, there is enough silver for Lin Ke's food and expenses for two or three years. However……

"The plan has changed; the money is somewhat insufficient."

With a sigh, Lin Ke got up, spread his bedding on the dry natural stone bed, and slept clothed.

A child should have the demeanor of a child.

Going to bed early and rising early ensures proper development.

The next day.

Lin Ke rose early, washed with waterfall water, filled his stomach with dry rations, then facing the morning sun, practiced a set of radio calisthenics for strengthening the body.

After loosening up his body, Lin Ke chose a direction, carrying sufficient silver, and headed out of the mountains.

Only when the sun was high in the sky did he finally leave the mountains.

After finding a clean water source, tidying himself up a bit, eating some dry rations, Lin Ke came to the side of the official road, intending to flag down a vehicle to enter the city.

Not long after, Lin Ke seized the opportunity and stopped an ox cart transporting firewood to the county town.

The carter, an old man with a simple, honest appearance and dressed as a farmer.

"Sir, could you trouble yourself to give me a ride?"

After stopping the cart, Lin Ke directly produced a copper coin, waved his hand, and said, "We came out from school for an outing; I forgot the time and missed the bus."

"You're a little scholar, young sir."

The old man sized up Lin Ke with a glance, grinning, "Little scholar, you don't mind my cart's mess; just hop on, no need to pay."

"No problem, no problem."

Lin Ke nimbly climbed aboard, sat beside the old man, slipped the copper coin into the old man's palm, and earnestly said, "Our teacher taught us that when asking for help, one must prepare a thank-you gift to conform to propriety. Sir, please accept it; otherwise the teacher would criticize me if he found out."

"Good, good, good, I accept it. What a fine young gentleman!"

Upon hearing this, the old man stopped refusing, accepted the copper coin, and resumed driving the cart onward.

"Which school do you study at, young sir? I see you're not wearing a uniform."

The ox cart creaked slowly forward.

The old man casually asked.

Since Lin Ke chose to pose as a county town student, he naturally had prepared in advance.

On the way to the county town, during the over-an-hour ride, he chatted intermittently with the old man, without mistake.

Upon entering the city, Lin Ke politely declined the old man's kind offer to take him to the school, expressed his thanks sincerely, and then parted ways.

After just a few steps, his figure disappeared from the old man's sight.

"What a clever and fine young gentleman!"

Seeing this, the old man sighed, turned, led the ox cart to the street in front of a wealthy household's gate, and loudly hawked his wares.

If he hadn't already retired from the jianghu, upon encountering such a handsome young gentleman he would certainly try to see if he could lure him away.

What a pity……

It's a pity he had already retired from the jianghu, and it's also a pity that a mere young brat could pose a deadly threat to him, making him abandon the thought of pulling off one last job.

"Damn it, human hearts are no longer ancient, morals have declined!"

Lin Ke hurried toward his destination while complaining to himself.

The old man was the target Lin Ke carefully selected for hitching a ride, valuing that he did not seem like a bad person.

Who would have thought that after getting on the cart and exchanging a few words, he would only then realize the man seemed to have been involved in human trafficking, constantly probing him intentionally or unintentionally.

"Strength! Strength!"

Before, living with a single mother, I didn't feel there was anything wrong.

Now, the first thing after leaving the mountains, I almost fell flat on my face, which only strengthened Lin Ke's resolve to quickly regain his strength.

Even if my strength cannot be quickly restored, I at least need to find a way to unlock part of my mental power, or even just some inspiration will do.

While his thoughts wandered, Lin Ke arrived at the most renowned Eight Extremes Martial Hall in Fuli County.

Two imposing stone lions stood left and right, guarding the deep-red bronze-clad gate.

Two doors studded with many rivets

"What's the matter?"

Lin Ke took a detour, came to the side gate, and was immediately met with questioning.

"Register, study martial arts."

"Where are your elders?"

"Studying martial arts is for independence; why need elders to accompany?"

"Good ambition! Have you brought enough money?"

"Of course."

"Then go in, walk straight to the training field, and shout that you're looking for Senior Brother Stone."

"Thank you."

After the routine questioning, the gatekeeper disciple let Lin Ke enter the martial hall.

Following the gatekeeper disciple's instructions, Lin Ke quickly found the training field.

By then it was near evening, yet the training field was still bustling with activity.

Dozens of martial hall disciples—some youths, some young adults, some bare-chested, some neatly dressed—each practiced techniques or tempered their bodies.

As soon as Lin Ke arrived, he was met with many gazes.

But how could he show fear? He shouted loudly, "I'm looking for Senior Brother Stone!"

Having said that, he calmly faced the many scrutinizing gazes and waited quietly.

Not long after, a bare-chested sturdy man stepped out from the crowd, laughing heartily: "Great, it seems our Eight Extremes Martial Hall will gain another junior disciple."

At the Eight Extremes Martial Hall, paying tuition allows one to enroll and study martial arts.

But the disciples inside are divided into several categories, with completely different treatment.

Ordinary disciples wear gray clothes; their relationship with the hall is transactional—one side pays tuition, the other teaches self-defense techniques.

Entry disciples wear blue clothes; their relationship with the hall is one of learning art—they not only pay tuition but also work for the hall, yet they can receive the true teachings.

Elite disciples wear black clothes; their relationship with the hall is that of apprenticing to a master—although they also work for the hall, they need not pay tuition and can receive benefits.

The last type is the Secret Transmission Disciple.

Senior Brother Stone is the eldest among the Secret Transmission Disciples, and also the eldest senior brother of the entire martial hall.

What he meant by saying they would soon add another junior disciple was that, in his view, Lin Ke had the potential to become a Secret Transmission Disciple.

As soon as these words were spoken, they caused a stir on the training field.

The many gazes directed at Lin Ke now carried added complex emotions.

There was envy, jealousy, and some feelings that were hard to describe.

Lin Ke keenly sensed these changes, and couldn't help wondering why the unseen Senior Brother Stone would make such a judgment and publicly proclaim it.

"Come, I'll take you to meet the master."

Senior Brother Stone didn't give Lin Ke time to think, waved his hand, and strode straight toward the inner court.

This action only made the commotion on the training field even livelier.

A new disciple who can see the master before paying tuition—such a thing has happened only once in the past ten years.

That is Su Yan Senior Sister, who has already made a great name for herself in the Jianghu of Langya Commandery.

What merit or ability does this kid have to earn such high regard from Senior Brother Stone?

Is it just because he's somewhat better-looking and somewhat more steady-minded?

There's really nothing else about him that stands out.

I cannot figure it out no matter how I think.