You can imagine what a fist capable of shattering ironwood would do to a person's face. The monkey-like man's nose collapsed on impact.
The landlady was stunned. She stared with her beady, pig-like eyes, frozen for several breaths before letting out a blood-curdling scream, "Help! Murder!"
The landlord charged out like a ball, but his fat feet weren't very nimble. He tripped over the scattered debris and fell to the ground with a THUD.
Lin Ming strode toward the monkey-like man. He was now at the First Layer of the Body Cultivation Stage. While only the beginning of his Martial Arts journey, reaching the First Layer was no common feat. Most people in Tianyun Country weren't suited for martial arts to begin with. Lin Ming's own talent was one in a hundred, and coupled with his diligence, you'd be hard-pressed to find one person in a thousand his age who could surpass him in strength. This monkey-like man was merely a servant to a Military Lord's son; for Lin Ming, dealing with him was child's play.
The man wailed ceaselessly. He never dreamed Lin Ming would actually dare to hit him. He pointed a blood-stained, trembling finger at Lin Ming and stammered, "You... you dare hit me? You... you're finished."
"I don't know if I'll be finished later, but I know you're finished now." Lin Ming kicked the man in the abdomen. The man screamed and went flying like a monkey again, this time crashing right through the wooden door and out of the house.
Without another word, Lin Ming returned to his room, quickly gathered his belongings, and strode out. The entire house was a wreck. The landlady's heart was bleeding. Mustering her courage, she said, "You... you can't just leave like this. You... have to... to pay."
Lin Ming paused. He turned and glanced at the old woman cowering on the floor like a ball. "Pay?"
"P-Pay..." The landlady's voice grew weaker, her conviction gone. She felt the young man's gaze was like the Nine Nether Abyss, sending a chill down her spine.
Without a second word, Lin Ming suddenly punched the wall. With a muffled BOOM, a layer of dust shook loose from the rafters as his fist punched straight through the brick wall. The landlady shrieked, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
Lin Ming walked out of the room with his luggage, not even sparing a glance for the monkey-like man lying unconscious on the ground.
He was well aware that after beating this man, his master would not let the matter rest. It would surely bring him trouble, but Lin Ming had no regrets.
A person must learn forbearance, of course. If a true Martial Arts Master had come today, someone he was no match for, Lin Ming would have chosen to endure it and swallow the loss. But the one who came was just a servant with some shoddy skills, relying solely on the power of his master. If he were to tolerate even this, then what was the point of practicing Martial Arts?
This did not align with Lin Ming's Martial Arts Heart.
Striding away from the residential area, Lin Ming casually set his bundle down and began to consider his housing situation. He needed to find a place to stay. The inns were mostly full and too expensive. As for sleeping in the wild, he wouldn't have minded, but Lin Xiaodong would certainly not stand for it and would insist on dragging him to his place.
If he went over, the Military Lord's son would inevitably send more people. Then Lin Xiaodong would be out of a home too, and the two of them could sleep on the streets together.
Besides, he had just caused trouble. The Military Lord's son might send thugs directly. For people like them, crippling someone was nothing unusual. Lin Ming didn't want to drag Lin Xiaodong into this.
'So where can I stay?'
Lin Ming thought for a moment and finally came up with a place—one of Tianyun City's most luxurious restaurants, Da Ming Pavilion.
The prices at Da Ming Pavilion were extremely high, and its patrons were all either rich or noble. The establishment itself had a powerful background. Against that kind of power, a mere Military Lord's son was helpless.
Of course, Lin Ming wasn't going to Da Ming Pavilion to pay for a room. He was going there to find work. Lin Ming's parents ran a restaurant, so he knew how to cook, and his food was quite good. But he didn't think he could compare to the master chefs of Tianyun City. In fact, his real specialty wasn't cooking...
...
When Lin Ming arrived at Da Ming Pavilion, the restaurant was still brightly lit. It stayed open until the early morning hours and was the busiest restaurant in Tianyun City.
Lin Ming's clothes were quite plain. When he entered, the attendant gave him a strange look. A person dressed like this, carrying a bundle on his back, simply didn't look like someone who could afford to eat at Da Ming Pavilion. Crucially, he was only about fifteen years old.
However, the attendant was well-mannered enough. He walked over and asked, "Young man, are you here with your parents?"
Lin Ming shook his head and said, "I'm here to find a job."
This time, even the well-mannered attendant frowned. 'What kind of work can a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy do? We need pretty seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls to clear tables, and tall, handsome men in their twenties to be attendants. As for a chef? Can a boy this age be a chef?'
"Go on, don't cause trouble here," the attendant said, waving his hand impatiently.
"I really can work. You can let me try out in the kitchen."
The attendant asked irritably, "What can you do?"
Lin Ming smiled slightly and said, "Bone Dissolving."
"Huh?" The attendant was dumbfounded.
...
Bone Dissolving was a very niche profession; not every restaurant had such a position. The job was essentially to dismember slaughtered Livestock or hunted game into cuts of meat.
An ancient tale spoke of Butcher Ding carving an ox. A master carver could dismember an entire ox with effortless grace. A good carver could also dismember an ox, but would need a new knife every year. An average carver, however, would go through a knife every month and work so inefficiently it could take them the better part of a day to butcher a single ox.