Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 136: 107. Counter the plot with a plot

Outside the dilapidated temple, Wan Xiaolou picked out the four oldest kids from a group of more than ten.

Even the oldest of these kids was only fifteen or sixteen years old, all partially grown children.

However, compared to ordinary children of their age, their appearances all bore an unnatural maturity and their eyes occasionally flashed a fierce light.

"Xiao Jin, Xiao Feng, Xiao Xi, Xiao Yu, I'm giving you fifty liang of silver. Go and gather all the beggars in the city near the West City Watchtower!"

Wan Xiaolou divided half of the bag of broken silver Hou Yuxiao had given him and handed it to the four. Although confusion was evident on their faces upon hearing this, they saw the seriousness on Wan Xiaolou's face, asked no questions, and simply nodded emphatically.

"Then pick out ten people who have a similar build to you all. Keep those ten close to you, don't draw any attention. I'm going to buy some clothes and will come to find you once I'm done."

"Understood, big brother!"

"Remember, disciples of the Divine Sound Sect are capturing people all over the city. When you gather those beggars, crawl through dog holes, take alleys, wade through cesspits... whatever it takes, just remember to hide your tracks and not be discovered.

If tonight goes well, we five will be defying fate from here on out!"

Upon hearing Wan Xiaolou's last words, a flush of red crept over the faces of the four, and a fierce longing sparkled in their eyes.

Wan Xiaolou watched them leave, his heart uneasy for a long time.

He was eighteen this year. Since becoming completely deaf at the age of ten and being expelled by the Divine Sound Sect, he had been living in Yunye county.

A child with a hearing disability, he was not even considered by traffickers, let alone ordinary people who wanted to adopt orphans.

So, in the initial years, he barely survived by begging.

Only he knew the bitterness of those days.

Having served as a disciple at the Divine Sound Sect and later mingling in the lower circles of Yunye, he knew well that becoming a martial artist was his greatest chance to change his destiny.

Five years ago, he stumbled upon two groups of people from the martial world fighting outside the city. After one group won and looted the bodies of the others, casually tossing them by the Official Road,

he, watching from a distance, realized immediately that his opportunity had arrived!

He, under the cover of night and armed with a shovel, silently made his way to the side of the Official Road and unearthed the bodies of those seven or eight men. Among them, he found a basic martial arts cultivation technique, which left him ecstatic.

From that point forth, his destiny truly changed!

Using that basic martial arts cultivation technique, he formally stepped onto the Martial Path as a one-layer body-opening warrior, killed more than ten of the beggars who had bullied him most, and naturally became the leader of all the city's beggars.

In his early years after being expelled by the Divine Sound Sect, an old beggar surnamed Wan gave him half a bun, so he took on the surname Wan, and the name Xiaolou was something he and the three brothers and one sister he adopted chose together.

The Golden Wind and Drizzle Building, a place he heard of from martial artists passing through Yunye, was said to be the most luxurious building in Wanyang County, frequented only by the most illustrious figures.

He and his four sworn brothers and sisters gave themselves this name, representing their wild ambitions.

In these five years, all five of them successfully entered the Martial Path. Though the other four were still at the body opening first level and he was only at the second level, living normal lives was no longer an issue for them.

He no longer needed to rely on begging. The reason he did not want to give up the status of the leader of the beggars was because he could see the immense benefits it brought, even though the status itself was indecorous.

From notable strangers arriving in town, big movements by the Divine Sound Sect, to minor happenings in various households of Yunye or personnel movements, although these hundreds of beggars could not get detailed information, general intelligence was always quickly accessible to Wan Xiaolou.

So, starting from last year, Wan Xiaolou began to trade in information.

It proved his choice was correct: in just one year, he had earned over fifteen hundred liang of silver, far more potent than choosing to be a normal martial artist, guarding homes or working other trades.

But as he spent more time in the information business, he also saw its limitations. The importance of the information he could acquire was directly proportional to one's personal strength.

The information accessible by beggars, though abundant and varied, had severely limited reach due to their status, making it cheap. If he did not find a way to enhance his strength, this year's limit of 1500 liang would be his ceiling forever.

"As long as this senior accepts me as a disciple, my sponsorship, cultivation techniques, and the martial arts that I've always dreamed of, will all become attainable. Just like five years ago, I must seize this opportunity, I must..."

Wan Xiaolou clenched his fists tightly, his face full of extreme longing, and a deep hue of hatred flashed in the depths of his eyes as he determinedly walked out of the dilapidated temple.

...

"Find beggars with a build similar to mine, buy clothes, it's planning to use those ten beggars to impersonate me, draw the attention of the Divine Sound Sect's disciples, clever... clever... no wonder he just said no matter the method, I must agree."