The timing is off at the moment, so Lou Yi put the thought of witnessing martial artists behind him and turned to leave.
At night, the Jia Family arranged a place for Lou Yi to stay, squeezed in a room with five others.
Fortunately, there were beds, the bedding was new, and the spot was next to the window.
The roommates did not reject Lou Yi's arrival; on the contrary, due to his performance during the day, they came to converse with him.
"I'm Li Hu, from Shangzi Village..."
"My name is Wang Zhong..."
Lou Yi was new here and did not have any night watch duties arranged.
The Jia Family Manor did not impose strict restrictions on his personal movements.
That night, he took the opportunity to quickly run to the graveyard to check for any new graves, spending less than an hour, with no one paying attention.
Two days later, in the afternoon.
The Attribute Panel finally showed changes:
[Name: Lou Yi]
[Age: 19/55]
[Realm: None]
[Skills: Lou's Axe Skill (Proficient 0/30), Stone Throwing (Expert 0/30), Basic Boxing Technique (Novice 0/1), Basic Spear Technique (Novice 0/2)]
[Energy: 2]
Training with a wooden stake focuses on boxing, while training with a long wooden stick is about spear technique.
According to accumulated experience, as long as a certain proficiency is reached, skills will appear on the Attribute Panel.
Of course, it now seems that skills must be related to combat—life skills do not appear.
Which one should be advanced?
Lou Yi found a secluded spot, contemplated for a moment, then chose boxing.
Because he currently has Stone Throwing for long-range and an axe for close-range, both at a proficient level.
Although a spear is naturally stronger than an axe, without advancing to the same realm, the improvement in strength is not significant.
But fists and feet are different.
In case of the extreme situation of losing weapons, he can still protect himself.
Having made up his mind, Lou Yi saw the Basic Boxing Technique status instantly change from novice to beginner.
Brand new memories emerged in Lou Yi's mind.
In this memory, Lou Yi arrived in a time similar to the Republic of China, where foreign enemies invaded with gunfire and cannon.
To resist the enemy, he resolutely chose to join the nearby Hongyang Martial Arts Hall.
The instructor was a renowned local martial artist, very old, with a head full of silver hair.
"When training fists, first train the stake, and to train the stake, first set the mind!"
"Here, there is no fast-track method—only steady and solid step-by-step accumulation!"
Many people who came to train here did so with the intent to serve the country.
So someone asked, "Can it handle guns and cannons?"
The silver-haired martial artist paused and then honestly shook his head, saying: "It's difficult; currently, I can handle two to three in a sneak attack, but if there's more, it would require someone from the ancient texts, a Grandmaster, to have a chance."
Upon hearing this, many were disappointed, and half of them left instantly.
Lou Yi, however, persevered, staying to learn boxing from the silver-haired martial artist.
Daily, it was routine training with the stationary stake and the movable stake for hitting the wooden man stake, each practiced for more than three hours.
Due to the monotony and tediousness, with little visible effect, one person after another found it unbearable and left the Martial Arts Hall.
Newcomers joined, while the old left, but Lou Yi remained unchanged.
Two years later.
The silver-haired martial artist informed him: "You've reached the entrance, you can move on to the next step."
'Boom!'
The memory abruptly ended here.
Simultaneously, a warm flow of energy appeared within Lou Yi's body, reconstructing his flesh.
Legs, pelvis, waist, abdomen, back...
Lou Yi suddenly opened his eyes and, based on what he learned from memories, punched forward fiercely.
'Pa!'
The air exploded with a blast.
The power hadn't increased much, but the technique of exerting force was significantly more scientific, and the body had developed muscle memory.
Vaguely, he felt that upon reaching the current level of physical strength, it would be difficult to make major improvements as before.
Of course, as long as progress continues, quantitative changes will eventually lead to qualitative changes.
Next, Lou Yi moved fluidly, rotated his body, and punched one punch after another.
Either with fingers closed into a fist, fingers spread open into a palm, punching forward without restraint, or crossing arms to block in front.
Compared to before, now that boxing had entered the beginner stage, Lou Yi felt more methodical and powerful in his strikes.
"This Jia Family Manor was worth coming to!" Lou Yi thought with joy.
Just the boxing and spear techniques alone could not be learned anywhere else within ten miles of Xinxiang.
Although these were basic moves, far inferior to the legendary ultimate skills in the main city's Martial Arts Hall.
But with the Attribute Panel, Lou Yi could completely turn decay into magic.
As long as the rank is high, even Basic Boxing Technique can defeat the seasoned masters.
...
Lou Yi never expected that on the third day at the Jia Family Manor, he was assigned a task, to escort goods with a team to Dafeng Town, fifty miles away.
Dafeng Town also falls under Tai City's jurisdiction.
Although it's only fifty miles from Xinxiang, the required route passes through three mountains, a river, and a vast uninhabited wilderness.
The road is rugged, fraught with dangers.
"In the carriage, is top-grade silk that the squire bought at great expense, you all must take good care of it!"
"The squire spends a lot of silver to support you, feed you, provide a place to stay, teaches you boxing and spear techniques, just for today!"
The black-clad steward, with a gloomy face, came forward to instruct before the team's departure.
The veteran leader Cui Yuan then patted his chest and replied: "Tell the squire, the brothers will safely deliver the goods!"
"Do you have confidence?"
"Yes!" the numerous guards loudly replied.
The departing team comprised sixteen guards, seven carriages, and their respective drivers.
Cui Yuan rode ahead to scout the trail.
In the middle were seven two-wheeled carts loaded with goods, piled with wooden boxes and tied with hemp ropes, pulled by pairs of horses.
A man named Yao Kang rode at the rear with a bow.
As for Lou Yi and others who couldn't ride horses, they sat in batches atop the wooden boxes on the carts.
If they encountered difficult paths, they would have to jump down to help push the carts.
This world lacked cement or asphalt roads; sitting on these shockingly unstable carts on a journey was indeed a grueling task.
Though padded with straw, their behinds still hurt, leaving them complaining incessantly.
"By the time we reach Dafeng Town, my behind will definitely bleed," Tiger-Striped Man Shi Zhan complained to Lou Yi as they sat on the same cart.
Seeing Lou Yi unmoved, he curious asked: "Brother Yi, you don't hurt?"
Lou Yi didn't feel much.
His physical condition now far surpassed ordinary people; even an unsharpened knife striking him wouldn't likely cause injury.
But he didn't want to appear too outstanding, so he casually made up an excuse: "Maybe I can just endure it better."
Then he looked around and asked: "Have there been any dangers when transporting goods before?"
Shi Zhan pointed at Cui Yuan in front, saying: "Cui carries a map, so he won't encounter anything unsolvable!"
"Of course, tigers, leopards, wolf packs are quite common. But we're many, and armed, so they pose no real threat." Shi Zhan whispered, "Only mountain bandits are truly troublesome if encountered."
"Those guys are lawless, untrustworthy, and extremely greedy."
That night.
As the team crossed the first mountain, they indeed encountered mountain bandits blocking the way.
...