2: Chapter 2 Cultivation in a Dream: Improved Strength!

Zhao Zilong lost track of time as he observed and learned; he was woken up by a voice filled with anxiety and unease.

"Dad, wake up quickly, don't scare Xiaotian."

Zhao Zilong opened his eyes groggily, and a very thin teenage face came into view.

This teenager was named Zhao Xiaotian, a little beggar the original owner had picked up by the roadside three years ago.

At that time, the boy was about to die of cold and hunger, so the original owner picked him up and took him in as an adopted son.

However, he didn't raise the boy as a son, but rather as a servant.

All the heavy work at home was given to the boy, and the food given to him was poor, just the leftovers from him and Jin Rong.

Beatings and scoldings were even more common.

Especially Jin Rong; a few times, because she was dissatisfied with Zhao Xiaotian, she almost beat him to death.

But the boy was sensible and held no grudges against them.

Zhao Xiaotian was now a worker in a pharmacy in Qingyang County, and every month he gave the meager copper coins he earned to the original owner.

And the original owner gave them all to Jin Rong.

He never expected to be met with betrayal.

This was quite similar to his own experience.

He was originally a person from Blue Star, a food delivery driver, focused on making money to support his family and loving his wife and son.

But in the end, his wife ran away with a rich man because she looked down on him for having no money, and his son also thought his father was useless and chose to go with his wife.

In his depression, he went to Shaolin to seek answers. While observing the Shaolin murals, he learned that Master Shi had died while exorcising evil for dozens of women. In his grief, he punched the Shaolin mural and traveled to this world.

"What appeared in my mind should be the Shaolin murals. By learning from the phantom monks in the murals, I can not only become a Martial Artist but also learn martial arts techniques to improve my strength."

"The original owner was a clerk in the Fuzheng Division. Now that I've become a Martial Artist, as long as I report it, I can get a promotion and earn more monthly salary."

"Besides, it won't be that easy for Cao Yun to kill me."

Zhao Xiaotian's voice interrupted Zhao Zilong's thoughts.

"Dad, you're finally awake. What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Seeing Zhao Zilong wake up, Zhao Xiaotian's face lit up with joy; he had been truly terrified just now.

If something happened to his dad, he wouldn't have a home anymore.

Although this dad was not good to him, often beating and scolding him and treating him like a servant.

But, no matter what, this was his dad, who had given him a home.

He loved this father.

"Xiaotian, Dad is fine. Why are you back instead of being at the pharmacy?"

"Dad, I have today and tomorrow off. Also, Dad, I got my wages, and I even bought you beef and wine."

Zhao Xiaotian pointed to the two taels of beef and a small pot of Shaodaozi on the four-legged table in the room, speaking with some excitement.

"You bought wine and meat with those meager wages of yours; I'm afraid there's not much left, right?"

Zhao Zilong looked at his son with some heartache.

The boy was already thirteen years old, but his thin arms and legs looked like those of an eight or nine-year-old child.

"The original owner was really a piece of shit, and that bitch Jin Rong was even worse."

Zhao Zilong cursed inwardly.

Zhao Xiaotian didn't respond but helped Zhao Zilong out of bed and sat him down on a wooden chair in front of the table.

"Dad, eat quickly, it's very fragrant."

Zhao Xiaotian opened the oil paper wrapping the beef, a look of longing in his eyes, and he secretly swallowed his saliva.

"How do you know it's fragrant? Did you eat some?"

Zhao Zilong asked casually.

Zhao Xiaotian suddenly became like a startled little rabbit and hurriedly explained: "Dad, I didn't eat it. I just knew it was fragrant from the smell."

Zhao Zilong shook his head helplessly. The original owner had really beaten Zhao Xiaotian into a state of fear; he had just asked casually, and the boy was scared like this. Truly a beast.

No wonder he was struck and killed by a carriage while walking perfectly fine on the road; this was retribution.

"Since you haven't eaten, let's eat together. Dad can't eat this much."

Looking at Zhao Xiaotian, Zhao Zilong couldn't help but think of his own son, who was the same age as Zhao Xiaotian, except his own son was fat and covered in flesh, a sharp contrast to Zhao Xiaotian.

Most importantly, that son of his was very rebellious and not as sensible as Zhao Xiaotian. He had worried a lot, but he had doted on him immensely.

But in the end, because his wife followed a rich man, his son also chose to follow his wife and leave him.

"Dad, I've already eaten. I'm not hungry."

Zhao Xiaotian said this, but his eyes were fixed on the beef on the oil paper, his small eyes shining, and he kept swallowing his saliva.

Zhao Zilong sighed and said, "Xiaotian, are you not listening to your dad anymore?"

"No, Dad, Xiaotian listens to you."

"Then eat all this meat. Not a single slice is allowed to be left."

Zhao Zilong's tone became a bit stern.

"But, Dad..."

"But what? Eat when I tell you to eat."

Zhao Zilong snorted, picked up a piece of beef, and put it in his mouth. The taste was not bad.

Afraid that Zhao Zilong would get angry, Zhao Xiaotian cautiously picked up a piece of beef, watching to see if Zhao Zilong's expression changed, and slowly put the meat in his mouth.

So fragrant.

The meaty aroma exploded in his mouth, and Zhao Xiaotian's eyes brightened even more.

He had never eaten anything so fragrant before.

"Eat it all, no leftovers."

Zhao Zilong deliberately put on a stern face.

Zhao Xiaotian nodded heavily. Seeing that Zhao Zilong really wanted him to eat, he began to feast, stuffing several slices of meat into his mouth at once, eating with great relish.

As he ate, Zhao Xiaotian started to cry.

"What are you crying for?"

Zhao Zilong was a bit confused.

"Dad, you're so good to Xiaotian."

He was actually moved to tears, which surprised Zhao Zilong.

This little guy was really easy to satisfy.

Zhao Zilong felt a bit of heartache. He reached out and touched Zhao Xiaotian's face, saying, "Xiaotian, don't worry. Dad will be even better to you in the future and will definitely let you live a good life. Also, when you're old enough, Dad will find you a beautiful and virtuous wife."

Zhao Zilong didn't say some things; he also planned to divorce Jin Rong and find himself a beautiful young wife.

No, he wanted three wives and four concubines.

In his previous life, he only cared about his family and never fooled around, but in the end, he was met with his wife's betrayal.

In this life, he put all his heart into Jin Rong, and the result was still betrayal.

Therefore, in this life, he would live for himself.

Now that he was a Martial Artist, he could change his fate. He wanted to hold the power of the world when awake and lie on the laps of beauties when drunk.

"Ah, Dad, Xiaotian doesn't want a wife. Xiaotian wants to stay by your side forever and take care of you until the end."

Hearing Zhao Zilong say this, Zhao Xiaotian suddenly got anxious, and the beef in his mouth didn't seem so fragrant anymore.

Zhao Zilong rolled his eyes at Zhao Xiaotian and said, "Alright, hurry up and eat."

"Okay."

Zhao Xiaotian felt that his dad today was different from usual; there was a sense of affection in his eyes.

It was far from the coldness and disdain of the past.

Moreover, Dad seemed to have become much younger.

The beef tasted even better.

"Zhao Lao Si, get the hell out here!"

Suddenly, a shout and curse came from outside.

Zhao Zilong frowned; he recognized whose voice it was.

Qian Kun.

Last month, he had mortgaged his house to Qian Kun and borrowed a hundred taels of silver.

However, the prepaid interest was twenty taels, so he only received eighty taels of silver.

And the monthly interest was fifteen taels.

This was a total usury loan.

But in order to buy rouge, powder, and beautiful clothes for Jin Rong, he had bitten the bullet and borrowed it.

In the end, he didn't expect Jin Rong to be cheating on him behind his back, and with his superior at that.

This plot was somewhat similar to the movies he had seen in his original world.

Except Jin Rong was just purely cheating because he was incompetent, not for the sake of so-called "saving his job."

Hearing Qian Kun's shouting, Zhao Xiaotian was startled and hurriedly said, "Dad, you hide first, I'll go deal with it."

Zhao Xiaotian was about to go out when Zhao Zilong reached out and pressed down on his shoulder.

"You keep eating, Dad will handle it."

Zhao Zilong stood up and walked out of the room.

Zhao Xiaotian stopped eating too; he followed him out and stood at the door, only showing half of his body.

In the hand hidden behind the door, he had somehow already grasped a broken wooden stick.

"Zhao Lao Si, you're still here? I thought you'd run away."

Qian Kun was a bit fat, with squinting small eyes, his demeanor and posture perfectly fitting the image of a villain.

He had brought four subordinates.

"Qian Kun, what are you doing here?"

Zhao Zilong questioned.

"Zhao Lao Si, are you a busy man who forgets things, or are you trying to play dumb? Don't you fucking know you owe me silver?"

When Qian Kun spoke, the fat on his face shook, and his eyes glinted with ferocity.

Zhao Zilong said, "Of course I remember this. However, it seems there are still three days left before the silver is due. What's the meaning of you coming today? Every business has its rules. There's no rule for coming to demand silver early, is there?"

"Zhao Lao Si, stop talking that useless crap. I know your situation very well. Never mind three days, even if I give you thirty days, you won't be able to pay me back. I'm afraid you'll run away, so I'm here today to take your house."

Qian Kun snorted coldly.

If it were the original owner's cowardly self, he would have definitely agreed.

But Zhao Zilong couldn't possibly give it.

He didn't plan to give it now, nor did he plan to pay it back later.

He borrowed it by his own ability, why should he pay it back?

Even if he were to pay it back, he would only return the principal of eighty taels.

He wouldn't give a single copper coin more.

He wasn't going to be a sucker.

Zhao Zilong said, "Qian Kun, listen up. The time isn't up. Not only do I not have silver now, but even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you. It's against the rules. As for wanting my house, you don't have the qualifications."

"Hahaha, Zhao Lao Si, you say I don't have the qualifications?"

Hearing Zhao Zilong's words, Qian Kun laughed, his laughter full of disdain.

"You, Zhao Lao Si, are just a minor clerk in the Fuzheng Division. I have more than enough ways to deal with you. Stop talking shit. Either pay back the silver now, or get the hell out of here right this instant. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

"There's no silver, and I'm not leaving."

"Zhao Lao Si, you're refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit. If I don't show you some real action, you won't know how many eyes Lord Ma has. Brothers, give him a lesson. I want to see how long this Zhao Lao Si can keep acting tough."

"Master Qian, just watch."

The four subordinates immediately got excited, rolling up their sleeves and shaking their wrists as they walked toward Zhao Zilong.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaotian, who was hiding at the door, bit his lip. Although his body was shaking, he still ran out and blocked Zhao Zilong.

"Don't touch my dad."

"Oho, the little brat has some guts. Then we'll beat you and your dad together."

A slightly sturdy man snorted coldly.

As he spoke, he raised a fist the size of a sandbag and smashed it toward Zhao Xiaotian.

Zhao Xiaotian instinctively shrunk his neck and closed his eyes in fear.

This punch would definitely hurt a lot.

Zhao Xiaotian was terrified, but after waiting for a while, no fist landed on his face.

When Zhao Xiaotian gathered his courage to open his eyes, he saw that the opponent's fist was caught in Zhao Zilong's palm, suspended in front of him.

In the woodshed, the bound Jin Rong moved her body, looking at the situation outside through a gap.

Seeing Zhao Zilong fighting with Qian Kun's men, a look of ruthlessness flashed in Jin Rong's eyes.

"Zhao Zilong, I'll see how you die this time!"

"It's not good to hit children, is it? If you want to fight, I'll play with you."

Zhao Zilong's eyes gleamed with ferocity. He snorted coldly and suddenly kicked out.

This kick was powerful and heavy, hitting the sturdy man in the stomach and sending him flying over five meters away. He crashed heavily onto the ground, coughing violently.