Lou Yi walked up and asked, "How long have you been here?"

"Two hours. I wanted to have the guards notify you, but those two guys completely ignored me."

"It's normal. I'm not a formal disciple yet, so no one would run errands for me." Lou Yi looked at the main entrance and chuckled, "I'll handle it myself, so you don't have to worry in the future."

"Boss, I've found the house."

"Don't call me Boss here, just call me Brother Yi," Lou Yi said happily, "Where is it? Take me to see."

He followed Lu Yang, weaving through several turns, arriving at a residential area over a mile from the Martial Arts Hall.

The house Lu Yang and Liu Yuan found wasn't large.

It had three rooms and a courtyard of about fifty or sixty square meters, with flower beds on either side planted with some unknown flowers, both yellow and red.

The house was located deep in the residential area, with the two neighboring houses unoccupied, providing a high degree of privacy.

"Nice, how much for a year?"

"We haggled for a long time and got it down to ten silver taels."

"Less than a guan (string of cash) per month, not bad." Lou Yi nodded.

"I might not come back to stay for a while, what are your plans?"

"I found a butcher shop where I can return to my old trade," Lu Yang said.

"I haven't decided yet." Liu Yuan said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He used to be a drifter, not doing much serious work.

"No rush, take your time." Lou Yi whipped out several silver notes from his sleeve and handed them to the two, "Don't skimp on food and accommodation."

"Once I get established, taking you to the Martial Arts Hall to learn martial arts isn't impossible."

Lou Yi's promises made their eyes light up.

"Remember to keep an eye out for any unexpected deaths." Asking this odd favor left the two puzzled, Lou Yi then walked out of the house, inquiring about the cemetery location from people outside.

"There are two cemeteries in the south of the city, one is five or six miles from here..."

That night, Lou Yi rushed to a new cemetery.

Indeed, the city's cemetery was different from Xinxiang's.

Each rounded mound was arranged neatly, with standard-sized and colored tombstones, engraved with the deceased's name, age, and burial date.

"This makes it much easier!"

Lou Yi was delighted as this meant he only had to look for the newest graves at the back.

Compared to the previous random searching, the efficiency was improved significantly.

Based on the dates engraved on the tombstones, Lou Yi discovered only two graves from the past three days, and upon digging them up, found nothing—they were obviously natural old-age deaths.

The city had been peaceful for a long time, with no wild beasts or raptors, so the accidental death rate was much lower compared to rural areas.

Lou Yi moved to another cemetery but also yielded no results.

'I need to come up with something.' Lou Yi thought to himself.

Energy was his source of strength; without it, nothing could be accomplished.

...

That night, Lou Yi returned to the Martial Arts Hall, where his four roommates were already lying on the large communal bed.

"You've got guts, leaving without practicing your punches. If you don't make a mark, you might get expelled." Jin Feng kindly reminded.

"Hey, not everyone is as dense as you, maybe I'll learn it in a couple of moves." The small-eyed teenager joked beside him.

Lou Yi had just learned his name; he was called Niu Peng.

"A friend needed my help." Lou Yi smiled, "In the future, I might frequently step out."

Seeing Lou Yi didn't mind, Jin Feng frowned but didn't say more.

"Big Jin, everyone has their ambitions. If it weren't for my dad forcing me over, I wouldn't be bothered with practicing fists either." The person closest to the north wall's bed said with emotion.

He was named He Yu, from a well-off family business, most idle before Lou Yi arrived.

Seeing someone even lazier than him, he couldn't help but develop some goodwill toward Lou Yi.

"Say, Liu Yi, how did you get in? Did you spend silver or use connections?"

Lou Yi was taken aback for a moment and replied, "I got in through a friend's connections."

"Wow, you must have really strong connections." He Yu smiled bitterly, "My dad found a steward from the Martial Arts Hall and gave an extra fifty silver taels to get me in, and even then, it's the side courtyard!"

"Training fees are also fifty silver taels a year, amounting to a hundred taels in total!"

Upon hearing He Yu's words, Lou Yi couldn't help but be taken aback; he hadn't paid any training fees nor had anyone asked him for it.

It seemed the Martial Arts Hall considered the Su Family's face.

"My second aunt's cousin's uncle is an elder of the Martial Arts Hall; even then, I paid seventy taels!" Niu Peng said indignantly, "Why did I pay twenty more than you!"

"Different people, different fees for greasing palms." The person closest to the south wall's bed spoke coldly.

He was the one who warned Lou Yi not to take his bed, named Jie Bai, always alone, silent, and taciturn.

"The Extreme Fist Sect is already considered cheap; I've heard the Heavy Sword Sect's fees are more than double!"

"Joining the Heavy Sword Sect would make us rivals with the Extreme Fist Sect!"

The five roommates squeezed onto the large communal bed, starting to chat idly.

From Martial Arts Hall entry rules, they talked about other side courtyard disciples, Main Courtyard Disciples, and big figures within the hall, which gave Lou Yi a lot of insight.

This resulted in the next morning, except for Lou Yi, others were drooping their eyelids, looking completely listless.

"Tonight, I won't chat, I need to sleep early!" Jie Bai said regretfully.

Beside him, Niu Peng, Jin Feng, and others kept nodding persistently.

In the following days.

Lou Yi practiced boxing at the Martial Arts Training Ground during the day and went to the cemetery to dig graves at night.

During this time, he got along with his roommates, especially with Jin Feng and Niu Peng.

Jin Feng was sincere and mature, always spoke his mind.

Niu Peng was somewhat sly but not inherently bad.

On the other side, Lu Yang found work at a butcher shop as a bone cutter, returning to his old trade.

Liu Yuan wandered through the city streets, red-light districts, and tea houses, yet helped Lou Yi discover information about an abnormal death.

Lou Yi discreetly used Light Body Technique to sneak into the person's house, acquiring a bit of energy.

The energy acquisition was slow, so Lou Yi was also seeking new paths.

On this day, at the Martial Arts Training Ground.

The instructor was still Chen Muju.

This square-faced inner disciple demonstrated posing and boxing techniques, then let everyone practice on their own.

He continuously paced around observing, pointing out areas of improvement.

"Sink your hips, with your feet rooted like tree roots in the ground." Chen Muju lightly tapped Niu Peng's shoulder, causing him to stagger slightly, "Your waist and leg strength are all focused on your knees, making the base unstable."

"Keep your waist straight, relax your shoulders; the energy should flow from your spine upwards." Chen Muju pointed at Jin Feng's waist again, "You shouldn't be stiff; relax a bit."

When he reached the female disciples' section, Chen Muju restrained his actions a lot, only offering verbal advice.

"Senior Brother Chen, why don't you teach me how to exert force? I always feel powerless when punching." A round-faced plump female disciple pointed at her plump arm, eyes filled with anticipation.

"Ahem." Chen Muju waved his hand, "Men and women should maintain appropriate distance."

This elicited a burst of laughter from everyone.

Lou Yi also discovered that this Senior Brother Chen was not only upright-looking but also just and responsible, often teaching through words and actions.

Unfortunately, he was teaching basic boxing techniques, which currently, Lou Yi didn't need.

"Senior Brother Chen, come and guide me, won't you?" The yellow-named, soft-spoken youth who complained about not making a mark suddenly spoke.

"Alright, show me the boxing technique, and I'll take a look." Chen Muju said.

The yellow-named youth straightened his face, stood properly, legs apart, left palm vertically forward, right hand slowly pushing out from under his ribs.

"Ha!"

He swung his right fist forward, twisting his waist sharply and quickly retracting his right fist, the left fist swiftly thrust forward, producing a slight swishing sound.

With feet sliding back and forth, repeatedly throwing punches, waist and belly twisting like a fish swaying its tail, ending the last punch aimed forty-five degrees towards the sky, making a dull 'bang' sound.

"The yellow youth is impressive; he can make punching sounds already." Someone complimented nearby.

The yellow-named, soft-spoken youth seemed displeased, shaking his head, and said loudly, "Though there's a sound, it's far from being like firecrackers. I've been confused about what's wrong; please teach me, Senior Brother Chen."

While speaking, he kept an eye on a girl's expression diagonally across from him.

This girl was tall, with jade-like skin, and eyes that seemed constantly amused, precisely the object of his affection, Jia Hong.

"You have strength in your limbs, and your movements are standard." Chen Muju said slowly, "But the fluidity is lacking, and your bones and muscles aren't well-coordinated."

"Come on, show him your boxing technique." Suddenly, Chen Muju pointed at Lou Yi, shocking everyone.

...

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