Chapter Five: The Small Courtyard of My Own Home

  Wu Ye Yu walked with uneven steps, sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, towards the small town where his family lived. He had no choice but to start practicing from the smallest details in daily life, never relaxing for a moment, in order to achieve results. Speaking of which, what were those people thinking back then, bringing themselves all the way out here? And that little fatty actually followed them too...

  As they emerged from the small woods, a quaint ancient town appeared before them. The high city gate looked somewhat dilapidated, but it exuded an unyielding charm. The walls surrounding the town were about one zhang high, and occasionally, patrolling soldiers could be seen walking on top of the walls. Outside the walls, many mottled marks could be seen, which were left by the demonic beasts that roamed the human territory.

  The demon beasts are not recognized by the mainland's ten thousand clans because they lack wisdom, and only after opening their spiritual intelligence can they be called a member of the ten thousand clans. The small town is located in a remote area, near the human tribe's dangerous land - the demon beast forest, so every decade or so, there will be a moderate-sized beast tide, and during this period, many soldiers and civilians will also die. Therefore, although the small town looks quiet and peaceful, people's hearts still exist with some urgency.

  Relying solely on soldiers and ordinary civilians is difficult to defend against the beast tide. Although there are some low-level martial arts circulating in the army and among the people, these mass-produced goods are obviously not easy to practice, so the family forces that master the cultivation of martial arts and resources in the small town become particularly important. Some higher-ranking demon beasts need to rely on these people to fight against them. In return, these families will also defend against demon beasts and control most of the resources in the small town. Xiao Pang's family is one of them.

  However, the beast tide is extremely threatening to the town, but the higher the risk, the higher the potential gain. The more advanced the demon beast, the more valuable its skin, tendons, horns and other materials, the more spiritual energy it contains, the greater its value. If you're lucky enough to kill a demon beast that has produced a demon core, congratulations, you've struck it rich! Even the lowest level of demon core is worth a thousand gold, and it's priceless. The higher the level of the demon beast, the more likely it is to produce a demon core, but the danger will also be greater.

  Because the town is attacked by beast tides every few years, there are actually not many warriors coming and going here, most of whom are mercenaries who lick blood from their knives. They basically come for the demon beasts, plus the town is one of the front stations for entering and exiting the demon beast forest, so the benefits contained within are also considerable. Even some major forces will arrange people to station in this place to purchase materials from the hands of mercenaries.

  The most precious thing on a demon beast's body is the demon dan, and the reason for this is not only because the demon dan is the essence of the demon beast's body, containing an astonishing amount of energy, but also because of the alchemist. Alchemists are professionals who can use heaven and earth treasures to refine pills, purifying and condensing medicinal materials to form pills that have a magical effect, assisting in cultivation, helping practitioners break through, healing wounds, detoxifying, and more. They are truly precious spiritual objects, and some high-grade pills even have the magical effect of expanding meridians and increasing one's innate talent. If someone is lucky enough to obtain one, their fate will be completely different for the rest of their life. In this world where strength is revered, strength represents everything, so every time such a pill appears, it attracts the attention of many powerful forces, and although its value cannot be measured by ordinary standards, various powers still flock to it like ducks to water, often leading to a bloody storm. The preciousness of demon dan lies in the fact that it is the main material for alchemists to refine pills, an indispensable spiritual material.

  As Wu Ye Yu arrived at the city gate, he looked up and saw a somewhat old sign hanging above the gate with the words "Qing Shui Town" written on it. Although it had not been wiped clean for a long time, and there were many spider webs on it, it still had a unique aura. On either side of the gate stood two gatekeeper soldiers, tall and robust, with large knives leaning against the ground, their handles stained with crimson bloodstains that seemed impossible to wipe away. A fierce and formidable energy emanated from them, and although their faces looked lazy, no one dared to underestimate them. Wu Ye Yu sized them up for a few moments and knew they were not new recruits. The two gatekeepers seemed to recognize Wu Ye Yu as well, but only gave him a brief glance before ignoring him.

  Passing through the city gate, Wu Yeru directly headed home, passing through large streets with shops and vendors calling out on both sides, making it seem lively and extraordinary. Although he really wanted to stop and take a stroll, unfortunately, he didn't have any money on him, so he could only comfort himself by thinking that there's always tomorrow. Thinking this, Wu Yeru somewhat gloomily blended into the crowd.

  The Wu family's land was not small, the eastern part of the town, within a radius of five miles, were all owned by the Wu family. At the entrance, two servants dressed as guards stood, their faces filled with strange expressions as they saw Xiao Pangzi limping towards them, some of which carried a hint of mockery and schadenfreude. They didn't stop Wu Yeru as she hastily passed through the gate either.

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Little fatty hasn't come back since yesterday, has he? I didn't expect his leg to be crippled too. Could it be that the Fourth Young Master's gang beat him up? Yesterday, I saw them push that kid out." A house servant on the road said to his companion upon seeing Wu Ye Yu.

  "Go! What nonsense are you spouting? How could it be the doing of Fourth Master and his friends? Do they need to personally take care of this little brat? It's clearly just this kid being careless!" Another person was apparently the "Fourth Master" in their mouths.

  "Haha, right, right, it must be this little fatty who fell down himself, what a waste, can't even walk without tripping and becoming crippled, how pathetic." This family's Ding also came to his senses and immediately changed his tone.

  "Hmm, but this fall is quite severe, you see that kid's leg can't even straighten up, tsk tsk..." After saying that, he pointed at Wu Ye Yu's leg and whispered to the other person.

  "Alas! How pitiful!" Another household's Ding also sighed in agreement.

  Then, the two of them exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with suppressed laughter, and left with a burst of giggles, completely ignoring Wu Ye Yu who was right in front of them.

  Watching the two family servants leave, Wu Ye Yu's head was filled with dark thoughts. After a while, he muttered something to himself and headed towards his own small dwelling. Although Xiao Pang Zi's status wasn't very high, his living quarters were still quite unique, with its own small courtyard. However, the courtyard had become overgrown with weeds, as his mother used to tidy it up when she was around, but now that he was alone, it looked rather desolate.

  Pushing open the door, a simple living room came into view. On either side were bedrooms, and behind the living room was a small compartment that had originally been used to store miscellaneous items but had later been converted by Little Fatty into a shrine where he worshipped a memorial tablet for Dantai Mingyu, which he himself had carved out of wood. The writing on it was childish and clumsy, but the thought counted.

  Because Dantai Mingyu was given a new name directly by the steward when she was bought, no one in the family knew her mother's name except for Xiaopang. As a result, the two of them could not enter the ancestral hall of the family, and it would not have occurred to anyone to pay attention to the name of this inconspicuous servant.

  This small shrine, the chubby boy is quite diligent in maintaining it. Every day he will use a small broom to sweep, add oil and incense, and the offering plate is also full of fruit and snacks. With the chubby boy's identity and personality, being able to get these things is already doing his best.

  When Wu Ye Yu walked into the mourning hall, a strange feeling surged up in his heart, which couldn't be described. If he had to say it, it was a kind of tremble from the depths of his soul. His whole body felt somewhat ethereal and floating, with a very strange sensation. Tears also flowed uncontrollably from Wu Ye Yu's eyes, a nameless sorrow welled up in his heart, desolate and bleak. This feeling Wu Ye Yu had only experienced when Old Wu passed away, and he didn't expect it to appear again at this time.

  It turns out that the two Wu Ye Yu still have some commonalities, and can be compatible with their own souls. It's a great fate to be able to do so. Perhaps this is what heaven has destined. As he thought about it, Wu Ye Yu carefully picked up a small broom from the side and began to sweep the spirit tablet. Although there was almost no dust on the spirit platform due to daily sweeping, Wu Ye Yu still swept slowly, as if experiencing the love of his mother in Xiaopang's memories, feeling the heartbeat that had never been felt before in this body, as if it were a spiritual sublimation, purifying his own heart and soul, making him feel deeply moved. This feeling is very mysterious, just like he has become more stable, and his mind has become broader.

  At the same time, Wu Yeru's internal energy also began to circulate rapidly due to the influence of his mental state. At first, it may have been a bit awkward, but as time passed, the circulation speed of the internal energy became faster and faster, and the amount also increased rapidly. The spiritual energy in the universe quickly gathered and converged into Wu Yeru's small courtyard, and then was continuously absorbed into his body. In this process, Wu Yeru's meridians were rapidly expanded, cracked, repaired, solidified, expanded, cracked, repaired... and so on, circulating repeatedly. His meridians became more resilient, wider, and stronger than before. His physical body also became stronger due to the influx of spiritual energy, and at the same time, a lot of waste was eliminated.

  After a while, Wu Yeru regained his senses, feeling the changes in his body, and his heart was also filled with joy, but he didn't show too much emotion. He reached out to take a few sticks of incense from beside him, lit them up, and respectfully put them into the incense burner. Then, he knelt down on the cushion next to it, bowed his head, and knocked his forehead against the ground.

  After leaving the mourning hall, Wu Yeyu came to the courtyard, closed the gate, drew several buckets of water from the well, and then undressed to take a bath. It's really not bad to wash his muscles and bones like this, every time he finishes, Wu Yeyu can clearly feel that his body is getting stronger, his skin becoming more resilient, and Wu Yeyu doesn't know if it's an illusion or not, but after pinching himself slightly, he finds that he seems to have lost weight, haha, the slimming effect is really obvious. The only bad thing is that every time he has to take a bath, although it's convenient because he can control water, taking three baths a day is also very troublesome...

  If others knew what Wu Yeyu was thinking at this moment, they would surely scold him for being unaware of his blessings and wish to exchange places with him. For others, having the opportunity to wash their bones and marrow is a rare privilege, let alone washing three times a day, even if it's thirty times, they'd be willing!

  The water flow in the courtyard was now under Wu Ye Yu's control, rapidly rotating and swirling around his body, washing away the fatty flesh... Directly on his body, a wave of meat ripples formed, while Wu Ye Yu himself felt an unprecedented sense of comfort, with each wave surpassing the last. His face revealed a lustful and indulgent expression, and he let out comfortable humming sounds, which would have led people to imagine all sorts of things if they had seen this scene. If someone were to witness this, they would surely be shocked, their eyes wide with astonishment - this guy was too obscene!