In troubled times, hard work can make up for ignorance

[Life Providence: Diligence makes up for clumsiness]

"If you study hard, you will succeed."

……

The ancient text appeared before his eyes, but it was soon destroyed in the darkness.

……

It was late autumn, and there was still some time before dawn.

Xu Yi put on his clothes and got out of bed in the dark. He didn't light the oil lamp, afraid that Butler Hu would scold him for being thrifty.

Pushing open the door, the moon set in the west.

The entire Wu Ling County was still sleeping under the cold moonlight.

"Whoosh!"

Xu Yi scooped up the cold water in the water tank under the eaves and splashed it on his face. The coldness seeped into his skin and he suddenly felt refreshed.

He picked up the broom and began to clean the courtyard.

The Lu Residence occupied a large area, and apart from the inner courtyard where the womenfolk lived, Xu Yi cleaned the entire area. In addition, when he was free, he had to do chores like chopping wood, fetching water, running errands, and so on.

"I transmigrated and became a servant…"

That was three years ago, nine years ago.

That year, a demon disaster broke out in the north. Countless demons broke through the defenses of the border army and marched straight in. By the time the imperial court organized an effective counterattack, more than half a year had passed. Then, martial arts experts and cultivators took action to stabilize the situation.

In the next two years, famine and plague followed.

Countless people fled south with their families, gathering into a large number of refugees. They swept through the northern counties, and along the way, there were white bones everywhere. There were no crows for thousands of miles.

Xu Yi had transmigrated over and was wrapped up in the group of refugees.

He followed them all the way to the south in a daze and finally arrived at the Wu Ling County in the south before winter last year.

At that time, the Lu family of Boling County in the north had also moved south. They bought a house in Wu Ling County and settled down. The mansion lacked servants, so they chose some young and strong refugees from outside the city and bought them as servants at a low price. Then, they brought them into the Lu Mansion.

Xu Yi was lucky enough to be chosen, so he had a way out.

It had been more than half a year.

……

"Hua, hua-"

The bamboo broom swept across the ground, making a fine sound.

The sky in the east was gradually turning white.

If one were to look down from the sky, one would be able to see that the entire Lu Residence was gradually waking up. People, servants, and masters, walked out of their houses one after another and went to do their own things.

At this time, Xu Yi had already cleaned up all the courtyards.

Even though the weather was getting colder, he was sweating.

He put the broom back and went to the kitchen to take a look. After confirming that there was enough firewood and water, he quickly walked in the direction of the backyard of the Lu Residence. There was a large open space in the backyard. There was no one there at the moment, so he waited quietly under the corridor beside the open space.

After a while, someone finally arrived.

A middle-aged man of medium build with a face as hard as steel followed behind him were a dozen or so young men. They were about the same age as Xu Yi, in their twenties.

Xu Yi's spirits were lifted.

He got up early every day to work so that he could make time to wait for them here.

To be precise, he was waiting for the middle-aged man called Xue Heng.

Xue Heng was a famous Martial Master in the Wu Ling County.

A few days ago, he was invited by the Lu family to come to the residence to teach martial arts.

The dozen or so young men who had followed him to learn martial arts had sold themselves to the Lu Residence together with Xu Yi. Later, under the instructions of the Lu Residence, they were personally selected by Xue Heng. It was said that they had good foundations and would become the guards of the Lu Residence after they had finished their studies.

Now that the situation was turbulent, it was normal for wealthy families to keep martial artists.

Xu Yi had wanted to learn martial arts as well, but Xue Heng had evaluated him as a " poor Innate Ability ", so he had been reduced to an ordinary servant.

But he did not give up.

Firstly, when he was still a refugee, he had seen a martial arts expert kill a demon with his own eyes. His fierce combat strength had left a deep impression on him, and he yearned for it.

Secondly, even if they were apprentices, they would have their own meals every day. After they finished their studies, they would receive a monthly allowance of four silver coins. On the other hand, ordinary servants like Xu Yi only had two coins a month, not to mention the food they ate.

Even if he could not become a martial arts grandmaster, it was always good to have some skills.

Who knows what the future holds?

That was why he finished his work early every day and squeezed out time to listen. At first, he was still a little nervous, but after he found that Xue Heng did not object, he was relieved. However, he only listened and watched from afar, memorizing them in his mind, and then returned to his residence to practice. He did not get too close.

Xue Heng was magnanimous and didn't care, but he knew his limits.

"Today, we'll continue with pole-standing."

On the empty ground, Xue Heng had already opened his mouth. His cold eyes swept across the group of young people in front of him. He said calmly," Pole-standing is the foundation of martial arts. You must not neglect it…The Mountain-sinking Pole-standing is simple to say, but it takes a lot of effort to practice it well…"

He got into position and started practicing while explaining the key points.

The young people all looked on seriously.

Xu Yi stood under the corridor in the distance and watched the video carefully, afraid that he would miss any details.

About an hour later, Xue Heng finished his demonstration and explanation. He let the apprentices practice on their own while he supervised and corrected them.

Xu Yi turned around and left.

When he returned to the side courtyard, he stood in the courtyard and started practicing. The memory of the movements was not accurate, so he could only follow the gist of Xue Heng's explanation and slowly adjust his posture, trying his best to get closer to it.

Stance seemed simple, but after a short while, Xu Yi felt that he could not hold on any longer. His thighs, waist, arms, and muscles were all trembling from the prolonged exertion.

"Sure enough, it's a painstaking effort…"

Xu Yi gritted his teeth.

After a while, he finally couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground.

Not even fifteen minutes had passed.

Xu Yi sat on the ground and rubbed his sore thighs. At this moment, he suddenly saw a golden light burst out in front of his eyes. Before he could react, the golden light suddenly dissipated and gathered into two lines of ancient words that appeared in his vision.

[Life Providence: Diligence makes up for clumsiness]

"If you study hard, you will succeed."

“……”

Xu Yi was stunned.

He suddenly remembered that this had appeared in his dream this morning.

However, he had almost forgotten about it when he woke up. Now that he saw those words, he remembered them again. At this moment, not only did the words appear in front of him, but the information contained in the words also fused into his mind in a mysterious way and was understood by him.

As long as one was diligent enough, one could learn anything.

“……”

Xu Yi blinked.

Two years ago, he had been randomly picked up by the heavens and thrown into the pile of refugees. He had followed the refugees to eat grass roots and peel tree barks to fill his stomach. At least he had survived, but he had been reduced to a lowly servant. Now, he finally thought of giving the poor transmigrator a little cheat?

"Diligence can make up for stupidity…"

Xu Yi finally realized what kind of incredible thing he had encountered.

With this Life Providence, even if his Innate Ability was poor, as long as he practiced diligently, he would be able to keep up with the progress of Xue Heng's other apprentice guards.

Or even…surpassed.

When he became a guard after he finished his studies, he would receive a monthly allowance of four taels of silver. He might even have other sources of income. At that time, it would not be a dream to spend money to redeem himself.

More importantly…

With martial arts, one had the capital to settle down!

Thinking of this, Xu Yi could not help but feel excited and clench his fists.

Hard work pays off.

There was nothing fairer than this.