Back in the study, Chen Shouheng was still shaken.

"Shouldn’t you be in bed?" Chen Li glanced at him.

Chen Shouheng scratched his head. He finally couldn’t resist leaning in and asking in a hushed, mysterious tone, "Dad... tell me the truth. Are you some kind of reclusive Martial Arts master? The kind that hides their true power?"

Chen Li couldn’t help but laugh at his son. "What nonsense are you thinking, you kid?" he said, amused. "If I were a Martial Arts master, would I need to pinch every penny and spend a fortune to send you to a martial arts hall?"

"Then how did you kill them with just a few strikes of the staff?" Chen Shouheng persisted, shamelessly pressing for an answer.

"Were their Martial Arts that good?"

"Of course they were." Chen Shouheng nodded firmly. "The tall, skinny one I fought was in the Marrow Refining Stage, at least. I’ve already reached Huajin, but he completely suppressed me—I couldn’t even fight back. But you? In a flash, you took care of them all like it was a game of whack-a-mole."

"Marrow Refining?"

Chen Li was taken aback. This was the first time he had heard his son clearly explain the divisions between the Martial Dao Realms.

"Yeah!" Chen Shouheng nodded and hurriedly explained, "There are the External Cultivation Three Strengths: Mingjin, Dark Force, and Huajin. Only after reaching Huajin can you begin Bone Marrow Transformation and enter the Marrow Refining Realm. Those three men just now were all in the Marrow Refining Realm at a minimum. Dad, what’s your Cultivation level?"

Chen Li’s expression didn’t change as he gave a simple, unadorned reason: "I was just born strong."

Seeing the ’who are you trying to fool’ look on his son’s face, Chen Li simply tossed him the Iron Staff that was leaning against the wall. "Here, hold this."

Chen Shouheng instinctively reached out to catch it, but the moment the Iron Staff was in his hands, it dropped with immense weight.

Caught completely off guard, he nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.

He quickly channeled his strength, the muscles in his arms bulging as he barely managed to steady himself, his face a mask of horror.

’It’s this heavy?’

He hefted it. This Iron Staff had to weigh over two hundred pounds.

Even though he had been practicing his martial arts for two and a half years, it felt incredibly heavy.

’How does Dad swing this thing around?’

Chen Li actually hadn’t lied to him.

He had never practiced any Martial Techniques. Besides his Inner Qi, he really was just incredibly strong.

As for what Realm his Inner Qi had reached, he had no idea himself. All he knew was that he was now immensely powerful.

When he wielded the two-hundred-pound Iron Staff, it felt no different from holding an ordinary wooden stick.

Brute force overcomes all techniques. It was surprisingly effective.

"Believe me now?" Chen Li took back the Iron Staff. "Now go to bed."

Chen Shouheng smacked his lips, his gaze falling upon the booklet his father had just found on the body. His curiosity was piqued again. "Dad, what’s that little book? Is it a Martial Arts Secret Manual?"

By the light of the oil lamp, Chen Li opened the booklet to examine it.

The handwriting inside was sloppy and full of corrections. It wasn’t the Divine Skill Secret Manual he’d imagined, nor was it a prescription. It looked more like a ledger.

"March of the Seventh Year of Yuanjia: Robbed the Pu Family in You County of thirteen thousand taels. Tributed ten thousand taels to Brahma Heaven."

"September of the Seventh Year of Yuanjia: Robbed the Gou Family in Xinchuan County of twelve thousand taels. Tributed ten thousand taels to Shiva."

...

He flipped through the pages. The book recorded the gains from robbing prominent families in various commanderies over the past ten years, as well as where the vast majority of the money went after each operation.

What "tributing to Brahma Heaven" and "Shiva" meant was completely unclear. The names sounded like the Divine Beings from India, from his past life.

"Have you ever heard of any gangs or sects in the Jianghu that worship Brahma Heaven or Shiva?" Chen Li turned and asked his son.

Chen Shouheng shook his head. He leaned over for a look, but upon seeing it was just a boring ledger, he immediately lost interest and let out a huge yawn. "Never heard of them... Dad, I’m tired. I’m going to bed."

With that, he rubbed his eyes and went back to his room.

Chen Li shook his head. Just as he was about to close the booklet, his gaze unintentionally swept across the last page, and his pupils constricted.

"The twelfth lunar month of the 17th year of Yuan Jia: Jingshan Wang Family, robbed silver: eight thousand four hundred taels."

Beneath it was a line of tiny, fly-speck characters: "Beneath the third willow tree from the southwest corner of the Chen Family ancestral burial ground."

’The silver robbed from the Wang Family is hidden in our ancestral burial ground?’

All traces of sleep vanished from Chen Li in an instant. He immediately found a shovel, slipped out quietly under the moonlight, and headed straight for the Chen Family ancestral burial ground outside the village.

He quickly found the third willow tree from the southwest corner.

A conspicuous large stone lay at the base of the tree, and the surrounding soil showed signs of being recently disturbed.

He strained to move the stone aside. After digging less than a foot down, the tip of his shovel hit something hard.

It was a thick burlap sack.

He dragged it out and opened it. Inside were gleaming white silver ingots of various sizes. There were a great many of them, and they shimmered with a tempting luster in the moonlight.

"The path of crime really is paved with gold..."

Chen Li suppressed the wild joy in his heart and sighed under his breath.

He suddenly recalled another entry in the booklet: "June of the 17th year of Yuan Jia: Wu Family of Lixian County, robbed silver: twelve thousand three hundred taels."

"Down the well by the fourth locust tree southeast of Kan Well."

These were the only two entries in the booklet with locations that hadn’t been crossed out.

Just by looking at the description, it wouldn’t be easy to find the exact spot.

However, he remembered that the last time the government constables came, they had said the Unpredictable Three Fierce’s previous crime was committed at Luoyan Collection.

Lixian County was next to Jingshan County. With plenty of silver on hand, Chen Li was in no hurry to retrieve it.

This windfall was enough to keep him from worrying about silver coins for a long time. He could continue using the Mysterious Black Tortoise Tribulation Secret Medicine without any concerns.

...

「New Year’s Eve.」

Several oil lamps and a charcoal brazier burning brightly in the center of the room filled the main hall with a cozy warmth.

In the middle of the hall, the elm wood square table, used for many years, had been wiped spotless.

The table was laden with dishes.

This was the result of a full day’s work by Mrs. Chen and Song Ying, with help from Ginkgo.

There was a large basin of braised pork belly in a rich, dark sauce; a large carp pan-fried until golden on both sides; an old hen soup with a thick layer of glistening oil; peeled quail eggs; and sticky rice cakes fried to a golden, crispy perfection...

Mrs. Chen, dressed in a clean, dark cyan cotton jacket that had faded from many washings, sat at the head of the table, an unconcealable, gratified smile on her face.

Chen Li and Song Ying sat to her left and right.

That little rascal Shouheng couldn’t hold back any longer. His eyes were glued to the braised pork belly, and he was squirming in his seat.

Shouye sat with his small frame ramrod straight, his Adam’s apple bobbing discreetly from time to time.

Shouyue’s little head turned back and forth curiously, her eyes sparkling as she looked at all the delicious food on the table.

"Let’s eat."

Chen Li’s voice was gentle, carrying a hint of imperceptible satisfaction.

Shouheng immediately picked up a tender piece of braised pork, perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat, and was about to stuff it into his mouth. But after a glare from Chen Li, he hastily placed it in Mrs. Chen’s bowl. "Grandma, this pork is so tender. You eat first."

Seeing this, Shouye quickly followed his brother’s example. He stretched out his arm, picked up a large piece of fish belly, and placed it in Mrs. Chen’s bowl. "Grandma, have some fish! Eat fish, and we’ll have abundance year after year!"

Mrs. Chen beamed, unable to close her mouth from smiling. "Good, good," she said repeatedly. "You eat too. Don’t just worry about me."

Shouyue, in her mother’s arms, also tried to imitate her brothers. She reached out her small hand, trying hard to pick up a quail egg, but couldn’t get a steady grip, making everyone laugh.

The atmosphere completely relaxed.

Shouheng’s chopsticks moved like lightning. He stuffed a large piece of braised pork into his mouth, his eyes narrowing in satisfaction as he mumbled, "Delicious! Mom’s cooking is the best! It’s a hundred times better than the bland food at the Tiger Subduing Martial Arts Hall."

Song Ying shot him a reproachful look. "Eat slower, no one’s going to steal it from you. Look at you, eating like a starving wolf. Did they starve you at the martial arts hall?"

Despite her words, her eyes were full of pity, and she added another large piece of braised pork to his bowl.

Shouheng swallowed the meat and began to animatedly recount interesting stories from the martial arts hall. "Mom, you have no idea. The cook in charge of the kitchen at the hall made a braised fish with bean paste dish one day, but it turned out to be nothing but fish heads. Master Zhou’s face went completely dark! The cook tried to explain that cats had stolen the bodies. The next day, he showed up all black and blue. HAHAHA..."

His laughter was infectious; even the usually quiet Shouye’s lips curled into a slight smile.

Shouyue asked curiously, "Big Brother, why was he black and blue?"

"The cats must have scratched him," Shouheng said, making wild gestures with his hands and feet, which made Shouyue giggle.

Chen Li watched his boisterous family, his heart filled with peace and tranquility. The hardships of the past year were all walled off by the warmth of this reunion.

He raised his small ceramic cup filled with homemade rice wine and savored it slowly.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was drawing to a close.

Mrs. Chen took out three small, exquisitely sewn sachets from her sleeve. "Grandma went to the temple to get you some peace talismans. My dear grandson and granddaughter, you must all be well this year."

"Come, your lucky money. May you have peace and prosperity every year."

Song Ying stood up, took out several small red cloth packets she had prepared earlier, and handed them out to the three children.

"Thank you, Grandma! Thank you, Dad! Thank you, Mom!"

The three children cheered, eagerly accepting the gifts.

Chen Li looked at his three children and instructed them, "Shouheng, Shouye, Shouyue, you’re all a year older now. Dad doesn’t ask you to become wealthy or famous; I only hope that you will be safe and sound, learn your skills well, and live with integrity. Shouheng, you must train diligently at the martial arts hall. Shouye and Shouyue, you two must be obedient as well. Remember, when the family is in harmony, all affairs will prosper. As long as our family is united, our lives will only get better."

Outside, firecrackers suddenly began to explode in a deafening chorus.

"Let’s go set off firecrackers!"

Shouheng shouted, and the three children, carrying the family’s firecrackers and fireworks, scrambled to run outside.

And so, amid the warm and peaceful scene of seeing the old year out, the new year quietly arrived.