They say your illegitimate child is worthless, yet you rebel with seven wives?

Chapter 24: Falling into a trap

"Daqiang, stop spouting your Vajra Fist nonsense, it's just a peasant's trick!"

Shen Laosan's words dampened Su Luo's excitement. He said to Su Luo, "Young Master, Daqiang is ignorant, don't take it to heart!"

"He's obsessed with martial arts and techniques; he's gone mad from thinking about it!"

Su Luo had a sudden thought and asked, "Uncle Shen, does martial arts really exist in this world?"

Before Shen Laosan could answer, Ye Hu said, "Of course there are, but they're not places that people like us can access!"

There really is martial arts!

Although, according to Ye Hu, true martial arts are hard to come by, it just means that there might actually be something like internal energy or true essence in this world!

This stirred up Su Luo's emotions, which had just calmed down.

As long as there is hope, that's enough!

In his previous life, Su Luo honed his body to its limits and even went deep into famous mountains to learn traditional Chinese martial arts, but ultimately he didn't master any martial arts.

Now that I've traveled through time, there's a day when my dreams come true!

Zhang Daqiang retorted, unconvinced, "Uncle Shen, don't talk nonsense. This really is the Vajra Fist. I personally witnessed one of my master's senior brothers smash a large tree with a single punch..."

Shen Laosan scoffed, "Daqiang, you've told the legend of your master a thousand or eight hundred times!"

"But in all these years, I've never seen you punch a tree and break it. Let alone a tree, you don't even have the strength of Boss Ye Hu!"

Zhang Daqiang's face turned bright red.

Su Luo smiled and said, "Da Qiang, if you'd like, why don't you demonstrate the Vajra Fist for me?"

"of course can!"

Zhang Daqiang's eyes lit up, and he immediately began practicing in front of Su Luo, his iron fists wielding powerful force.

After finishing a set of boxing techniques, which consisted of only a dozen or so movements, Zhang Daqiang exhaled a breath of stale air and gave Shen Laosan a smug look.

Old Shen curled his lip, "A farmer's slacker!"

Zhang Daqiang ignored him, snorted, and said, "So what if he's a farmer? As long as the son-in-law likes him!"

After reading it, Su Luo nodded. "Not bad!"

Zhang Daqiang said happily, "Son-in-law, if you like, I'll teach you!"

Su Luo was indeed somewhat tempted, but still shook her head: "Isn't this a bad idea? Wasn't this passed down to you by your master?"

Ye Hu said leisurely, "His so-called master was just a street performer in Qingzhou. You could become his apprentice for just ten coins!"

"Also, his master told everyone that they all had extraordinary talent!"

Zhang Daqiang earnestly defended himself, "Boss Ye Hu, I'm different. My master said my talent is truly extraordinary..."

Su Luo's lips twitched, but he didn't give up on the Vajra Fist. Since he was bored on the way, he had Zhang Daqiang break down a few of the movements.

His memory was astonishing; he memorized the entire Vajra Fist after only watching Zhang Daqiang demonstrate it once and then explain it again.

Although Su Luo wouldn't call himself a martial arts fanatic, he was indeed very interested in traditional Chinese martial arts in his previous life. As he traveled, he kept practicing the dozen or so moves of the Vajra Fist in his mind.

A moment later, Su Luo was shocked.

"Hmm, this Vajra Fist... seems to have something special about it?"

Although this Vajra Fist is simple, it is completely different from the traditional Chinese martial arts he learned in his previous life.

It even feels like practicing Bajiquan in reverse.

However, finding a way to sell salt in town was the priority, so he could only suppress his surprise and practice in his mind, exploring every movement of the Vajra Fist.

"Young master, Yunhai Town is just ahead."

Soon after, Ye Hu's voice brought Su Luo back to his senses. He looked ahead and saw the entrance to Yunhai Town.

What made him frown was that there were several soldiers in light armor guarding the entrance, and those who came in or out had to pay a toll.

Seemingly noticing Su Luo's confusion, Ye Hu said, "Young Master, Yunhai Town belongs to Feiyun City and is one of the four cities of Linshui County, controlled by the Xie family."

"From the city lord's mansion in Feiyun City to the several towns under its jurisdiction, almost everyone is from the Xie family."

“Logically speaking, our Great Xia Dynasty does not have the concept of toll fees, but Yunhai Town... is Xie family territory, so naturally Xie family has its own rules.”

Upon hearing this, Su Luo frowned even more deeply: "Collecting tolls privately is simply squeezing another layer of profit from the common people on top of already heavy taxes. Isn't the Xie family afraid of being exposed?"

Just as Su Luo and the others were talking, a carriage carrying several loads of goods drove by on the wide official road not far away.

The soldiers guarding the entrance immediately removed the fence and watched the carriage enter the town with utmost respect.

Turning to the ordinary people entering the town, the soldier's expression turned menacing: "Three coins a time, take it or leave it. What? Where did the price go up?"

"Haven't we been charging this price all these years? If you can't even come up with three cents, don't blame us for charging you a toll. Blame yourself for not working hard enough these past few years!"

Yunhai Town was not prosperous. Su Luo looked up and saw a row of dilapidated wooden houses, of which only two or three tenths were tiled houses or mud houses.

Xiao Dong's house was even more scattered.

The people walking on the road were all pale and thin, weak and listless, clearly having been exploited severely by the Xie family.

At the town entrance, under the heavy pressure of the soldiers, the people cried out in despair, but had no choice but to pay money to enter the town.

Not only do they charge money to enter the town, but they also charge an extra fee to leave.

Seeing this, Zhang Daqiang gritted his teeth and said angrily, "This is outrageous! They're extorting travel fees privately and acting so arrogantly..."

As Su Luo watched the carriage depart, he said softly, "That was the Su family's carriage!"

"The Su family of the Marquis of Sinan is the true ruler of this area. The people of Yunhai Town are being exploited in this way, and it's not just the Xie family who are acting recklessly!"

"More importantly, the Su family simply doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people!"

The roots are rotten!

A glint of light flashed in Su Luo's eyes.

However, he did not cause trouble, but obediently paid the money and led Ye Hu and the others into the city.

"Son-in-law, what should we do now?"

Once inside the city, Ye Hu asked, "Should the brothers take the goods and go door-to-door asking around?"

Old Shen shook his head and said, "This is Xie's territory. Yunhai Town is only so big, with at most four or five businesses, and they may all be connected to Xie's family."

“We’re not just selling a small amount; we’re looking for a long-term partner. If we ask around, it might attract the attention of the Xie family or other forces, causing even more trouble.”

Ye Hu frowned: "Then what should we do?"

Su Luo said calmly, "No rush, I have my own methods. Just follow me."

He took the initiative to walk forward and strode off in one direction.

Seeing the Su family's carriage moving smoothly just now gave Su Luo some ideas about salt-trading routes.

Ye Hu and Shen Laosan followed closely behind, and soon they saw Su Luo arrive at the most luxurious building in Yunhai Town.

On its door plaque are four large, elegantly written characters: “Sinan Trading Company”.

Upon seeing this, Shen Laosan was immediately stunned: "Young Master, isn't this property of the Marquis of Sinan's mansion?!"

"What are we doing here?"

Isn't Su Luo sworn enemies with the Su family?!

Why are you here selling salt? Are you trying to walk right into a trap?