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As Wei Yuan walked along, he asked around for directions. After some time, he finally arrived at a grand and imposing residence.
He looked up at the bright red gates and read the plaque above:
Li Residence.
Just as he suspected—this was the home of Li Degui.
But unfortunately, the main gates were tightly shut. Still, a bunch of little kids were huddled around the cracks in the gate, trying to peek inside.
Wei Yuan, curious, joined them and took a glance through the gap.
Inside was a huge courtyard where men and women of all ages were hard at work training. There were little kids with innocent faces and sturdy teenagers full of energy. Without exception, every one of them was focused on practicing martial arts.
Seeing this, Wei Yuan couldn't help but feel secretly excited—looked like he came to the right place.
Soon, the people in the yard finished their practice and took a break.
Not long after, the large gates slowly creaked open.
The kids outside the door scattered like birds.
The one who opened the door was a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He noticed Wei Yuan still standing there and waved his sleeve impatiently, barking,"What do you want? Trying to sneak in and steal some martial arts techniques?"
Wei Yuan quickly bowed politely and said,"Please don't misunderstand—I'm here to find a master."
The young man looked Wei Yuan up and down carefully.
"You want to be a student? Do you have the money for that? Learning martial arts isn't free, you know—it's not something just anyone can do."
Hearing that, Wei Yuan's heart sank. He asked cautiously,"Um… how much does it cost to become a student?"
The thick-browed youth let out a frustrated huff and replied,"At the very beginning, it's 20 strings of coins a month."
"Twenty strings?! That much?"
On the way here, Wei Yuan had paid attention to prices around the town—shops, food stalls, daily stuff.
In Caixu Town, a regular household spent about 7 to 8 strings of coins a month just to get by. That didn't even include extras like medicine, clothes, gifts for others, or social stuff. Add that in, and you'd be looking at 10 strings minimum—which is around 1 or 2 taels of silver.
But now? He hadn't even started learning anything yet, and just the tuition was at least 2 taels a month. And that was just the base cost—who knew how many more random expenses would pop up afterward?
At this rate, he'd be spending close to 30 to 40 taels a year.
And this was just the beginning.
It hit him—poor people really couldn't afford to learn martial arts.
Still, he looked at the young man and calmly said,"I've got the money."
Wei Yuan wasn't worried about the cost—he had the good fortune of the God of Wealth on his side. Money was the least of his concerns.
Hearing that, the thick-browed guy's face lit up a bit."Alright, wait here for a sec," he said, then turned and walked back inside.
Wei Yuan took the chance to tie up his mule nearby.
A short while later, the young man returned and said,"Come on, the master wants to meet you. Follow me."
Wei Yuan didn't hesitate and followed him inside. They passed through the courtyard and soon reached the main hall.
As soon as they stepped in, Wei Yuan saw a fancy-looking bamboo chair at the center. An elderly man with silver hair and a youthful face was reclining on it. He looked to be about fifty or sixty, but his cheeks were rosy, and his energy seemed great.
The old man had his eyes closed and was gently rocking on the chair.
Behind him were four beautiful young maids, each wearing a different-colored outfit—white, green, pink, and yellow—tending to him.
One was fanning him, another was massaging his back and legs, a third was feeding him snacks.
Wei Yuan took in the scene and felt a little weird inside. It was like he'd stepped into a scene from some fancy drama.
"Master Li, I brought the kid," the thick-browed guy said quietly into the old man's ear.
The old man slowly opened his eyes, glanced sideways at Wei Yuan, then sat up and took a cup of tea from one of the maids. He swished a few sips around in his mouth and spit them out—clearly rinsing.
Wei Yuan was a bit annoyed inside, but on the outside, he stayed completely respectful.
Then Li Degui coughed a couple of times, looked Wei Yuan over carefully, and finally said,"So it's just you, kid? Where are your parents?"
Wei Yuan thought for a moment, then gave a vague answer."They're really busy, so I came by myself."
He didn't dare tell the truth. He still didn't know how trustworthy people in this world were.
He was just a kid, all alone. If anyone found out he had no one to rely on—and a decent amount of money—who knew what they might try to do?
Li Degui gave a soft "Hmm" and asked,"You want to learn martial arts?"
Wei Yuan nodded. "Yes. I really do."
Li Degui followed up,"Why do you want to learn martial arts?"
Wei Yuan thought for a moment and gave a standard answer."To stay healthy and to have a skill I can rely on."
"....."