Morning.

Jiang Chi woke up from bed; Su Qianxue was already up.

On the stove, a bowl of porridge was kept warm, with half a piece of flatbread beside it.

He finished the porridge and pushed open the door.

The morning light flooded in, shining on the persimmon tree in the courtyard.

The leaves were lush green, glistening with dew.

Jiang Chi took a deep breath.

[Ding! Sleep Cultivation completed.]

[Progress of "Five-Animal Transformation Art": 40%.]

[Mastered Forms: Deer Form (Great Perfection), Tiger Form (70%).]

[Current Realm: Martial Apprentice Realm 1st Layer.]

Martial Apprentice Realm.

Jiang Chi clenched his fist.

In his Dantian, a stream of True Qi flowed slowly, warm like a small creek.

Completely different from the Body Tempering Realm—Body Tempering is about honing the body, while the Martial Apprentice Realm is about condensing True Qi.

True Qi can be released to harm others from a distance.

He walked to the courtyard and aimed a palm at the persimmon tree.

"Buzz—"

True Qi surged from his palm, rustling the leaves, and a few leaves drifted down.

Jiang Chi looked at his hand.

Martial Apprentice Realm 1st Layer, in the Jiang Family, this was the level of a disciple. A level higher than an apprentice, two levels higher than a servant.

Still not enough, but at least he had some confidence in self-defense now.

He turned and walked out of the courtyard, arriving at the escort agency's entrance, and opened the main gate.

The escorts arrived one after another.

"Morning, gatekeeper!"

A young escort yawned as he walked past him, not even glancing at him.

Jiang Chi said nothing, sitting in the gatehouse, watching the courtyard.

The escorts began practicing with their swords.

The glint of blades flashed, and the shouts rose and fell.

Jiang Chi watched intently.

The swordsmanship of these people was too crude, full of flaws in his eyes.

It was just that his current realm was not enough; if given a few more days to further master the Five-Animal Transformation Art, he was confident he could disarm these Martial Masters barehanded.

Meanwhile.

Su Qianxue, carrying a bundle, prepared to go to the market to sell her embroidery to supplement their household.

Although they now had a place to stay, and Jiang Chi had found a job.

Two taels of silver could barely make ends meet.

She still wanted to share the burden as much as she could.

Su Qianxue, veiled, kept her head down, walking towards the market.

The market was in the east of the city, not close to the escort agency.

It took her a while to get there, finding an empty spot, laying out a cloth, and displaying her embroidery piece by piece.

Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water, Magpies on Plum Blossoms, Blossoms of Wealth and Honor... The stitches were fine, the flowers and birds vivid and lifelike.

Passersby stopped to look.

"This embroidery is really good."

"How much?"

"Fifty coins."

Su Qianxue's voice was very small, as if afraid of being overheard.

"Too expensive. Thirty coins."

Su Qianxue hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

The person left.

She lowered her head, rearranging the embroidery.

At the Drunken Immortal Tower.

In a window-side private room, Jiang Fei sat at the table, a pot of wine and a few small dishes in front of him. He held a wine cup, glancing out the window.

Then he saw Su Qianxue.

Veiled, squatting by the roadside, with a few pieces of embroidery laid out in front of her.

Jiang Fei squinted his eyes.

"Well, isn't that the ugly girl from the Su Family, my sister-in-law?"

He laughed, a sinister laugh.

Just when the food and drink seemed tasteless, here came some entertainment!

"Come here."

A servant approached: "Young Master?"

"See that veiled woman down there? That's my brother's woman."

Jiang Fei took a sip of wine.

"Go, 'take care' of her for me."

The servant, who had been with Jiang Fei for years, naturally understood, chuckled, and ran downstairs.

Su Qianxue was packing up her embroidery.

A figure stood in front of her.

She looked up, a man dressed as a servant, grinning at her.

"Well, isn't this the young lady of the Jiang Family? Why are you setting up a stall here?"

Su Qianxue kept her head down, not speaking, stuffing the embroidery into her bundle.

"Don't go."

The servant squatted down, reaching to grab her wrist.

"Our young master said to 'take care' of you—"

Su Qianxue quickly stood up, frightened, stepping back.

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?"

The servant stood up, smiling as he walked forward.

"You married our Young Master, so you're part of the Jiang Family. Jiang Family people must listen to the Jiang Family..."

People nearby glanced over, but no one dared to speak.

The Jiang Family, in Qingyang City, was not to be provoked.

Su Qianxue turned to run, but the servant grabbed her bundle.

"Rip..."

The bundle tore open, and the embroidery scattered on the ground.

Su Qianxue squatted down to pick them up, the servant standing by, laughing heartily.

"Why pick them up? Just a pile of junk..."

At the escort agency.

An escort rushed in.

"Jiang Chi."

Jiang Chi looked up.

"Your wife is being bullied at the market, by your Jiang Family people."

Jiang Chi stood up abruptly.

"Where?"

"Still at the market, you better go check it out!"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Chi was already out the door.

Jiang Chi ran all the way, though he didn't want to fall out with the Jiang Family now, he couldn't just stand by and watch his wife being bullied.

First, protect Su Qianxue, then consider himself... his current body was much better than before.

He wouldn't suffer serious injuries, and until he could take down Jiang Fei in one strike, he needed to be cautious.

When Jiang Chi arrived at the market.

The crowd had dispersed.

There was no sign of Su Qianxue, and after inquiring, he learned that the Jiang Family servant had thrown Su Qianxue's things and left after robbing her.

"Robbed???"

Jiang Chi gritted his teeth, seething.

He had seen firsthand how hard Su Qianxue worked on those embroideries.

These bastards.

At this moment.

Jiang Fei had moved from the Drunken Immortal Tower to Fenglai Pavilion to listen to music.

The servant, holding the embroidery, came to Jiang Fei to claim credit.

Jiang Fei merely glanced at it, tossed two taels of silver to the servant.

"Alright, the silver is your reward, take these rags away, scram, scram! You did well today, go back early, don't disturb me and Miss Du Juan drinking!"

As he spoke, a large hand reached for the girl's chest in his arms.

The servant nodded, pocketing the silver.

"Then I'll take my leave!"

With silver in his pocket and the embroidery in hand, the servant was in high spirits.

This useless young master was indeed his lucky star.

Following Young Master Fei for so many years, bullying and cursing the useless one, he had gained many benefits.

The entire Jiang Family knew, Young Master Fei's Martial Dao Foundation was inherently flawed, and he had used underhanded methods, taking Jiang Chi's heartblood to make up for it.

This had always been a thorn in Young Master Fei's heart, and seeing Jiang Chi always sparked inexplicable anger.

Even after driving him out of the Jiang Family, he couldn't let it go.

But it was good.

This way, he could continue to reap benefits.

Thinking, thinking, the servant walked into the alley on his way home.

That alley was his usual route back to the Jiang Family.

Narrow, dark, deserted.

The servant hummed a tune, holding Su Qianxue's embroidery—Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water, looking at it as he walked.

"Tsk tsk, I must say, that ugly woman can really embroider..."

He hadn't walked far into the alley.

Then he stopped.

He saw the useless young master blocking his path.

At this moment, Jiang Chi stood in the middle of the alley, looking at him.

The servant was momentarily stunned, then laughed.

"Well, isn't this Young Master Chi?"

He sized Jiang Chi up, a mocking grin stretching to his ears.

"What, come to settle accounts with me?"

He took a step forward, tilting his head, full of ridicule.

"You? A useless one? Want to stand up for your wife?"

Jiang Chi said nothing.

The servant spat, pointing to his chest.

"Come, hit me here, if I even frown, I'll take your surname."

He glanced back at the alley entrance, then turned back, laughing even more.

"Today, I'll break one of your legs, and tomorrow I can claim a reward from Young Master Fei again!"

Jiang Chi didn't waste words.

Deer Form. Great Perfection.

His figure blurred, like a gust of wind.

The servant only saw a blur before his eyes, then Jiang Chi vanished from his original spot.

"Hmm?"

Before he could react, a shadow was already upon him.

One step, ten meters, not running, but instant movement.

The servant's pupils contracted sharply, the laughter still on his lips, Jiang Chi's face was already inches away, less than half a foot.

"You—"

Jiang Chi's hand shot out.

Tiger Form—Pouncing Kill.

His five fingers like hooks, carrying True Qi, tearing the air with a "sizzle."

The servant instinctively raised his hand to block.

"Crack—"

Bones shattered.

The servant's scream hadn't even escaped his lips when Jiang Chi had already grabbed him.

Like lifting a chicken.

The power difference between the Body Tempering Realm and the Martial Apprentice Realm wasn't one or two times, it was overwhelming.

The servant's feet left the ground, kicking wildly in the air.

His right wrist bent at an impossible angle, bone shards piercing the skin, stark white, blood dripping down.

"You... you're not a useless one..."

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His face turned purple, eyes filled with terror.

Jiang Chi looked at him, eyes calm.

No anger, just calm.

Then he punched.

Poof!

Tiger Form—Fierce Tiger Steals the Heart.

A punch pierced the servant's chest, straight through.

The stench of blood filled the air.

This was Jiang Chi's first time killing.

There was no imagined fear, just a sense of exhilaration throughout his body.

Years of repression finally released today.

Jiang Chi didn't linger.

He wiped the blood off his arm.

Quickly searched the body.

Two taels of silver, a few dozen copper coins, a dagger.

He pocketed the silver, retrieved the embroidery, folded it, and tucked it into his sleeve.

Then glanced at the corpse on the ground.

In the depths of the alley was a dry well.

He dragged the servant over, tossed him in, and covered the well.

Clapped his hands, turned, and walked out of the alley.

Back at the escort agency entrance.

The escort who had brought the news was waiting at the door.

"Is your wife alright?"

"She's fine."

Jiang Chi said, "She went home."

The escort nodded, asking no more.

Jiang Chi sat in the gatehouse, took out the embroidery, and placed it on the table.

Mandarin Ducks Playing in Water, the piece Su Qianxue had spent days on.

He looked at it for a long time.

Evening.

Jiang Chi closed the door and went home.

Su Qianxue was cooking at the stove, hearing the noise, she turned around.

"Brother Chi, you're back?"

"Yeah."

Jiang Chi walked over, took out the embroidery from his sleeve, and placed it on the table.

Su Qianxue was momentarily stunned.

"This... how did it end up with you?"

Jiang Chi didn't speak.

Su Qianxue lowered her head, silent for a while.

She didn't want Jiang Chi to know about being bullied by the Jiang Family servant.

Having been bullied since childhood, she didn't want Jiang Chi to worry or cause trouble.

She tried to endure as much as she could.

She didn't expect him to find out anyway.

Su Qianxue looked up, smiled.

"Dinner's almost ready, go wash your hands."

Jiang Chi looked at her, said nothing.

Turned to the well to fetch water.

After washing his hands, he sat down.

Jiang Chi took out two taels of silver and some copper coins.

Su Qianxue looked at Jiang Chi with wide eyes, puzzled.

"This..."

"I went to the Jiang Family to demand it, Jiang Wanling compensated."

Su Qianxue opened her mouth, thinking "How is that possible?"

But seeing Jiang Chi, after speaking, just buried himself in eating, not wanting to say more, she swallowed her words.

Maybe this time he stood up for her, suffered too much grievance, and didn't want to talk about it.

Su Qianxue swallowed her words, picked up a piece of egg, and placed it in Jiang Chi's bowl.

"Brother Chi, have some egg!"