1: Chapter 1: Transmigration, and Betrayal by His Beloved Wife!

Daye Kingdom, Qingyang County.

Zhao Zilong walked to the entrance of his home, and just as one foot was about to cross the threshold, his body suddenly stiffened.

"Did I hear wrong?"

"Why does this voice sound so familiar, so lewd?"

Zhao Zilong was a bit dazed; as an adult, he knew exactly what was going on regarding certain sounds made between a man and a woman.

Frowning, he stepped over the threshold and tiptoed toward the front of the house, where the sounds became even clearer.

"Young Master Cao, you're too fierce, I almost can't take it."

The woman's voice inside the room carried a wave of wantonness; it was all too familiar, belonging precisely to Zhao Zilong's wife, Jin Rong.

Then, a man's voice rang out.

"Don't you just love this fierceness of mine? If I weren't so fierce, would you still go behind that fellow Zhao Si's back to be with me?"

"But Young Master Cao is truly too fierce. If you keep doing this, I won't be able to stop myself from crying out. It would be troublesome if that useless coward heard us."

"I sent him off to Qingyang Restaurant. He won't be back for at least an hour. Feel free to scream; I love hearing you cry out."

Inside the room, Jin Rong's wanton cries rang out again, accompanied by the creaking of the bedboards.

Zhao Zilong's fists were clenched tight, veins bulging on the back of his hands.

"Damn it, so this pair of adulterers have hooked up. No wonder Cao Yun always came to the house to 'chat' with the original owner and was always generous with silver, sending him to Qingyang Restaurant to buy food and wine. It turns out he was just getting him out of the way so they could do this."

Zhao Zilong gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.

Half an hour ago, Cao Yun had come to the house, given the original owner some silver, and told him to go to Qingyang Restaurant to buy food and wine. As a result, the original owner was struck and killed by a carriage, and he had transmigrated into this body.

His body was in severe pain, so Zhao Zilong had planned to return and personally cook some dishes for Cao Yun.

But he never expected that the original owner's wife would be doing this kind of thing with Cao Yun at home.

If this can be tolerated, then what cannot?

He looked around, picked up a wooden club by the window, went to the door, kicked it open, and rushed inside.

The sudden intrusion startled Cao Yun and Jin Rong, who were making the wooden bed creak and groan.

Cao Yun, who was pressing down on Jin Rong, had just turned his head when his vision went dark; a wooden club as thick as an arm smashed into his head.

The club snapped, showing just how much force Zhao Zilong had used; he intended to kill Cao Yun with a single blow.

Cao Yun was struck and was clearly dazed for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"Zhao Zilong, what are you doing? You dare hit Young Master Cao?"

After a brief moment of panic, Jin Rong regained her composure.

She hadn't expected Zhao Zilong to return so quickly, let alone dare to rush in and hit Cao Yun.

One must know that Cao Yun was not only a Junior Banner Master of the Fuzheng Division and Zhao Zilong's superior, but also the son of the Qingyang County Lord. His status and position were completely incomparable to Zhao Zilong's.

Furthermore, based on her understanding of Zhao Zilong, even if it were any other man, Zhao Zilong wouldn't have dared to do anything.

Had he taken the wrong medicine today?

Slap!

Zhao Zilong delivered a heavy backhand slap to Jin Rong's face, sending her tumbling. Blood began to seep from the corners of her mouth and eyes.

"You slut, cheating on me behind my back, and you still have the face to talk? Once I'm done with this Cao guy, I'll deal with you."

The original owner was originally a son of a wealthy family. He had been kicked out of his home for redeeming Jin Rong's freedom and marrying her.

He had thought Jin Rong would live a good life with him, but she ended up cheating on him. He couldn't stomach this.

Zhao Zilong stepped forward, dragged Cao Yun off the bed, and gave him a thorough beating with the club.

Although Cao Yun was a Junior Banner Master of the Fuzheng Division—a position in a martial institution—he had only attained it through his family background. He was nothing more than a profligate waste hollowed out by wine and women.

Having beaten him enough, Zhao Zilong grabbed Cao Yun's arm and dragged him toward the exit.

At this moment, Cao Yun was completely unable to resist.

"Zhao Lao Si, you dare treat me like this? I will never let you off! You're dead!"

Cao Yun shouted and cursed, his face covered in blood.

As if he hadn't heard Cao Yun's angry curses, Zhao Zilong dragged him like a dead dog to the courtyard gate and tossed him out amidst his shouting.

In the alley outside, several people were drawn out by the noise to watch the commotion.

Seeing Cao Yun thrown into the alley naked, everyone pointed and whispered. Cao Yun wished he could find a hole to crawl into; he had truly lost face this time.

"Zhao Lao Si, today's matter won't end here! Just you wait, I'll definitely kill you!"

Too ashamed to stay, Cao Yun covered himself front and back and scurried away like a rat crossing the street.

Zhao Zilong snorted, closed the courtyard gate, and returned to the house, now holding a kitchen knife.

By now, Jin Rong had already put on her dress.

Seeing Zhao Zilong enter with a kitchen knife, Jin Rong's face instantly turned pale with fright.

"Zhao Zilong, what are you doing? Murder is against the law."

Jin Rong's voice trembled.

Zhao Zilong said, "I naturally know murder is against the law, but I can't swallow this insult. If I don't kill you, I won't be able to quell the hatred in my heart."

Jin Rong said, "Zhao Zilong, you can't entirely blame me for this. If you want to blame someone, blame your own incompetence. If you weren't dirt poor, I wouldn't have hooked up with Cao Yun. In the end, it's because you're useless. Don't think I don't know you secretly mortgaged the house. When you married me, you said you'd give me a good life. Now that you're in debt, I don't want to carry that burden with you."

"You can't give me the life Cao Yun can."

"You slut, all you care about is money!"

Slap!

Zhao Zilong stepped forward and delivered a heavy slap to Jin Rong's face, knocking her to the ground. Half of her face was now red and swollen.

"Zhao Zilong, you were the one who said you'd satisfy all my expenses."

Jin Rong clutched her face and spoke without a hint of guilt.

"I did say I'd satisfy all your expenses, but I didn't say you could cheat on me with other men. I am in debt, but when have I ever made you pay a single cent? Which of your desires have I not fulfilled?"

As Zhao Zilong spoke, a murderous glint appeared in his eyes. He leaned down slightly and pressed the knife against Jin Rong's neck.

"Jin Rong, you were the one who was unfaithful and unjust first, so don't blame me for being heartless. If you want to live today, hand over the silver. Also, leave behind all the gold and silver jewelry I bought for you. Otherwise, I'll have to kill you."

Jin Rong felt the chill of the blade and was somewhat wary, but she didn't believe Zhao Zilong actually dared to kill her. There was no way she'd give up her silver.

Jin Rong said, "Zhao Zilong, if you kill me, you won't live either."

"You're right, I won't live if I kill you, but I won't live if I don't kill you either."

Jin Rong was a bit stunned. Zhao Zilong continued, "I owe money to loan sharks, and the deadline is in three days. If I can't pay it back, they won't spare me. Since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well take a slut like you with me to the grave."

As he spoke, he pressed the kitchen knife harder against Jin Rong's neck. Her skin broke slightly, and blood began to ooze out.

Jin Rong was terrified now; Zhao Zilong was really prepared to go down with her.

She hurriedly said, "No, Zhao Zilong, don't kill me! I'll give you the silver, I'll give you all my gold and silver jewelry!"

As she spoke, she picked up her jewelry from the bed.

These pieces of jewelry were all bought for Jin Rong by the original owner. Zhao Zilong knew they were worth a lot of silver, enough to repay the hundred taels he owed Qian Kun.

However, Zhao Zilong knew even better that Jin Rong had a secret stash.

His actions weren't truly intended to kill Jin Rong; he just wanted to force her to reveal her secret stash.

"These aren't enough."

Zhao Zilong glared coldly at Jin Rong and barked.

"This is all I have."

Thwack!

Zhao Zilong raised the kitchen knife and slammed the flat of the blade hard against Jin Rong's face. This blow was extremely heavy, knocking her directly to the ground. As she cried out in pain, two or three teeth fell from her mouth.

Zhao Zilong squatted in front of Jin Rong, waving the kitchen knife before her eyes.

"Jin Rong, my patience is limited right now. You'd better be honest, or the next strike won't be with the flat of the blade."

Jin Rong panicked.

She hurriedly said, "Zhao Zilong, don't be angry! I still have silver, I still have silver! Wait, I'll get it for you right now, right now!"

She quickly scrambled up, crawled under the bed, lifted a brick, and after a moment, pulled out a wooden box.

"Zhao Zilong, this is my entire fortune."

Jin Rong placed the wooden box on the bed and opened it for Zhao Zilong to see.

Sure enough, it was filled with gold and silver jewelry, as well as silver coins and banknotes.

These were all her savings.

Zhao Zilong took a quick look; there were over a thousand taels.

"Zhao Zilong, I've given you all the silver. You can let me go now, right?"

Hatred surged in Jin Rong's heart; she wouldn't let Zhao Zilong off.

She would remember this grudge.

With a fierce look on his face, Zhao Zilong said, "Go? Where do you think you're going? To find that Cao Yun?"

Hatred welled up in Jin Rong's heart, but she didn't respond.

Zhao Zilong said, "For the past three years, I've given you money and served you. Now it's your turn to serve me."

"I can choose not to kill you, but it's impossible for you to leave."

Saying this, Zhao Zilong dragged Jin Rong out of the room to the woodshed and found a rope to tie her up.

"Zhao Zilong, you're not human! How can you treat me like this?"

"The fact that I'm not killing you is already doing you a favor. You'd better behave, or if you displease me, I'll slaughter you."

After stuffing a rag into Jin Rong's mouth and closing the woodshed door, Zhao Zilong returned to the house.

Zhao Zilong hadn't yet decided how to deal with Jin Rong, but he wasn't willing to let her go just yet.

Furthermore, not releasing Jin Rong was also a way for Zhao Zilong to guard against Cao Yun's retaliation.

After all, Cao Yun was a Junior Banner Master of the Fuzheng Division and the son of the County Lord, while he was just an ordinary minor official. He couldn't afford to offend him.

"Even though I have Jin Rong, it might not necessarily pose a threat to Cao Yun. I still need to find a way to save myself."

After putting away the silver, Zhao Zilong sat cross-legged on the bed and began to close his eyes in deep thought.

Before long, his surroundings changed, revealing a mural that was solemn and sacred.

In the mural, hundreds of monks were practicing. It was difficult to capture any single one of them.

Only a phantom monk who was meditating and circulating True Qi through his meridians was easier to follow.

Moreover, at this moment, a force was guiding Zhao Zilong, and he subconsciously began to learn from the meditating phantom monk.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Zilong felt a sensation of qi appearing at his Dantian.

Combining this with the original owner's memories, Zhao Zilong knew that this was the sign of advancing to a Martial Artist.

Martial Artists were divided into nine ranks; the first rank is entry-level, and the ninth rank is the highest.

Above the ninth-rank Martial Artist were Grandmasters, Great Grandmasters, and so on.

In the Daye Kingdom, Martial Artists held a respectable status.

Simply put, it could change one's fate.

Furthermore, once one became a Martial Artist, even if they committed a crime, the County Lord had no authority to judge them and could only report it to higher authorities.

This time, because Cao Yun and Jin Rong had committed adultery, his injuring Cao Yun wouldn't be considered a crime. Even if Cao Yun's father, Cao Yuan, was the County Lord, there wasn't much he could do, at most retaliating in secret.

But if he were to attack a Martial Artist official of the Fuzheng Division and be discovered, the County Lord wouldn't fare well either.

As the sensation of qi was generated in Zhao Zilong's Dantian, his mental energy also became much more vigorous. Soon, he locked onto another monk.

This monk was practicing with a staff.

"This is the Shaolin Staff Technique!"

Zhao Zilong focused his attention and began to observe and learn.