Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World-Chapter 62: Shrewd Jin Yongsheng

"Yang’Er, when did you buy this house?"

Buying a house in the county, just like that, was unbelievable for a man like him—a hunter and tenant farmer who had always relied on the mountains for his meals and the weather for his livelihood.

You couldn’t get rich from farming, though hunting might offer a chance.

But he knew exactly what his son brought home from his hunts. When had he ever found something from the mountains that was so valuable?

Cheng Zongyang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone agreed with his decision.

’It’s good that the family is of one mind.’ He immediately responded:

"I stumbled upon two stalks of old ginseng and some other medicinal materials. After selling them, I had the steward from the Celestial Fragrance Tower act as a guarantor and spent four hundred taels on the house. I also bought the medicinal formula from that same steward."

’They’ll never meet Zheng Yan anyway, so it’s fine to use him as a convenient excuse.’

’After all, Father knows that Zheng Yan is a Martial Artist. It makes the excuse more believable.’

’Of course, it doesn’t really matter if they believe me or not. A plausible reason is all that’s needed.’

"Good heavens, four... four hundred taels!" Zhou Hanchang’s eyes went wide as he held up four fingers. "I’ve lived this long and I’ve never even seen what four hundred taels looks like."

But Zhou Hansong questioned, "Four hundred taels? The house you bought can’t be very big, can it? If we all move to the county, how could it possibly house all of us?"

He had heard about the houses in the County Town when he’d gone to the market. The properties in the east and north of the city were the most expensive, as those were the districts where the Official Families, Noble Races, and wealthy merchants lived. West City and South City were more or less the same, mostly inhabited by commoners and ordinary folk.

In his opinion, four hundred taels was certainly a lot of money, but it was nowhere near enough to buy a house that could accommodate so many people, not even in the South City or West City districts.

"Don’t worry. The steward and I are on good terms, and he helped me get a lower price," Cheng Zongyang said with a smile. "Dad has met him, too. He’s an Eighth Grade Martial Artist."

"Eigh-Eighth Grade Martial Artist!"

At this, Zhou Hansong said no more. A person of that stature was not someone a man like him could question.

Seeing that no one had any more questions, Cheng Zongyang said decisively:

"Then it’s settled," Cheng Zongyang said. "Tomorrow, I’ll head back into the mountains to check on the spot. It’s on the border between the Inner and Outer Mountain. If we tidy it up, it would make for an excellent, secluded retreat."

"Alright!" Zhou Hansong and Zhou Hanchang agreed. But then, as if remembering something, Zhou Hanchang added, "Last night after you left, someone came looking for you. He wanted to discuss something. A man named Jin Yongsheng.

I told him you were already asleep and didn’t open the door. He insisted for a long while. I finally had to shout him away."

Cheng Zongyang froze. He never would have expected that.

’He came to talk to me?’

Cheng Zongyang shook his head, dismissing it. ’Once it gets dark tonight, I’ll go slaughter him. What’s there to talk about?!’

And so, with the help of his two uncles, the entire family began to sort through and pack their belongings.

They set aside the matter of moving into the mountains for the time being; it wasn’t too late to discuss it once the plan was finalized.

Seizing the free moment, Cheng Zongyang left the house. On the pretense of taking a walk, he slowly made his way to the main residence of the Jin Family.

He was curious to see what Jin Yongsheng was planning.

However, when Cheng Zongyang saw the empty house, he froze.

Cheng Zongyang frowned and checked the other houses, but everyone else seemed to be home.

’So their whole family just up and left?!’

This sparked several suspicions in Cheng Zongyang’s mind.

"Hey, Zongyang, what are you doing here?" Just then, Li Ming, carrying wooden buckets on a shoulder pole, happened to be passing by. Seeing Cheng Zongyang standing there, he walked over and greeted him with a puzzled look.

"Elder Ming, fetching water?" Cheng Zongyang also walked forward and greeted him. He then glanced at the buckets, which were two half-full buckets of murky water.

Li Ming followed Cheng Zongyang’s gaze to the buckets and gave a bitter smile.

"The well at my house ran dry today. Couldn’t draw any more water. So I came to the public well, but after waiting in line for half an hour, this is all I managed to get. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

Hearing about the water, Cheng Zongyang sighed inwardly. ’Looks like the Li Family and the Chen Family will have to abandon their homes and leave soon, too.’

He gathered his thoughts, looked toward the Jin Family’s house, and asked:

"I came to take a look, but why is it completely empty? Have they moved out?"

Li Ming nodded.

"In the dead of night last night, I saw that Jin Yongsheng fellow hastily carry several bodies from his house to the village entrance and burn them.

Then, first thing this morning, he took his whole family and left. They made quite a commotion, so I went over to ask what was going on. He said they were going to stay with relatives!"

Cheng Zongyang continued to ask, "Did Jin Yongsheng head south from the village?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ming gave the boy from the Cheng Family a meaningful look and sighed to himself.

"Yes."

At this, Cheng Zongyang’s expression darkened.

’What a man, that Jin Yongsheng!’

’To think he was so sharp!’

’His visit last night wasn’t to talk—it was a test!’

’He either guessed what I was out doing...’

’...or when I refused to see him, he concluded I would stop at nothing and decided to flee with his family ahead of time!’

’Even if I had been home and agreed to talk, he probably would have just said things like "let’s shake on it and make peace" or "let’s call it even."’

’I just didn’t expect him to think things through so thoroughly!’

Cheng Zongyang realized he hadn’t seen them since returning from the County Town; the only direction they could have gone was south.

But about four hours had passed by now; there was no telling how far they had gotten.

Thinking about the other things he had to do, and unsure if he could even find Jin Yongsheng, he gave up the idea of chasing after them.

’The man’s decisiveness is beyond my expectations. But to just abandon his cousin like that?’

’Did he really guess I would continue killing to silence them all just because I wouldn’t meet with him?’

’But either way, it’s enough to prove that Jin Yongsheng is a man who has been underestimated.’

’He’s an incredibly meticulous thinker!’

’If he had waited until Jin Yongkang got back to make his move, he never would have made it out of Golden Bridge Village!’

’I never realized he was so bold and cunning! Was he just keeping a low profile and hiding his true strength? Or did this family disaster force the change in him?’

Cheng Zongyang shook his head. ’It doesn’t matter what caused the change. After all this time, there’s no telling where he’s run off to.’

’Otherwise, I really couldn’t rest easy knowing someone who holds a grudge against me is out there somewhere.’

Seeing that Cheng Zongyang had fallen silent, Li Ming said, "Well, I’ll be going then."

Cheng Zongyang cupped his fist in his palm. "Take care, Elder Ming."

It was still early, so Cheng Zongyang prepared to head into the mountains.

He was going to check on that place from his memories and then search for a water source.

After applying fresh medicine to his father’s wounds, Cheng Zongyang shouldered a back-basket filled with supplies, grabbing his Ironwood Bow and Arrow and Long Saber.

Everyone had seen these two weapons yesterday, and he had simply brushed off their questions with the excuse that he had bought them in the County Town.

He told his parents and two uncles that he might spend the night in the mountains, then headed for the eastern village entrance.

When he neared the foot of the mountain, Cheng Zongyang saw rows of burial mounds, as well as the mass grave where the bodies of refugees were discarded.

The pit hadn’t been filled in; it was just left open to the elements. He saw vultures, rats, and countless flies...

’I don’t know if they were just too lazy to bother, or if it was to vent their frustrations, but they let the refugees’ bodies lie exposed in the wilderness, denied a proper burial. Even in death, the corpses couldn’t find peace!’

’It’s understandable.’

Cheng Zongyang held his breath and quickly moved on.

’But if things go on like this, Golden Bridge Village is truly doomed.’

Cheng Zongyang couldn’t be bothered with it. The pit was about a third of a mile from his home; it wouldn’t affect them yet.

He just wanted to find his destination as quickly as possible.