After leaving the Pigeon Market, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then stored the chickens and rabbits in his system space.
Otherwise, carrying so many live animals would be too conspicuous!
… …
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
Just a few steps from the Pigeon Market, Cao Yuan heard a woman’s sharp scream from a dimly lit alley.
“Shh! Don’t scream if you don’t want to die!”
“Brother, I don’t want anything else. Be sensible, hand over your money, and I’ll let you go!”
After the woman’s scream, a man lowered his voice and threatened her.
Cao Yuan knew immediately that someone was taking advantage of the night to rob someone!
They caught a single girl and started to scare her!
Although such incidents were not uncommon, Cao Yuan felt a little unhappy when he encountered it.
In the middle of the night, a bunch of grown men robbing a woman’s money?
He had always looked down on such behavior!
With arms and legs, why not do something legitimate instead of resorting to robbery?
Robbing a woman’s money was simply inhumane!
He quickly slowed his steps and peered into the alley.
He saw four hooligans surrounding a beautiful girl.
The girl had never seen such a scene before, and whether from cold or fright, she was trembling all over.
“I… I really don’t have any money, please let me go! I just started working, I didn’t bring any money with me!”
“Whether you do or don’t, we’ll know once we search you!”
The hooligans clearly didn’t believe her and were about to search her.
“Cough —”
At this moment, Cao Yuan, who had reached the alley entrance, suddenly coughed.
Seeing Cao Yuan’s tall stature, the hooligans immediately stopped their actions, feeling a little intimidated.
But soon they thought that Cao Yuan was just one person, so their courage returned.
“Kid, be sensible and get lost, don’t interfere with our business!”
“Otherwise, believe it or not, we’ll rob you too!”
Saying this, one of the hooligans pulled out a gleaming knife and gestured with it towards Cao Yuan a few times.
How could Cao Yuan be someone who was afraid of trouble?
Moreover, he couldn't stand seeing women being bullied, so since he encountered it, of course, he couldn't ignore it.
Hearing the hooligan’s threat, he not only didn’t retreat but continued to walk towards them.
Seeing Cao Yuan’s posture, the hooligans’ expressions all turned ugly.
As Cao Yuan got closer, the hooligans simply ignored the girl and all turned to face Cao Yuan.
Although Cao Yuan was tall, there were four of them. Couldn't they beat just one of him?
“Kid, you’re asking for it!”
After saying that, one hooligan was the first to throw a punch at Cao Yuan.
Seeing someone make the first move, the remaining three also immediately pounced on Cao Yuan.
Seeing this, the Tianlong True Energy throughout Cao Yuan’s body circulated rapidly, and an invisible force instantly enveloped him.
!!!
The first hooligan who pounced on Cao Yuan only felt his fist hit Cao Yuan’s chest as if it had slammed into a rock!
At that moment, his hand bones seemed to have all broken, and he screamed in pain!
The other two, seeing this situation, immediately stopped and helped up the sweating, unsteady hooligan leader, anxiously asking, “Brother, what happened? Are you okay?”
The hooligan called Brother was in too much pain to speak. After a while, his lips trembled as he said, “This… this kid is really evil!”
The others hadn't reacted yet when Cao Yuan spoke:
“A bunch of trash!”
With the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Divine Skill, Cao Yuan’s speed and strength were incomparable to these hooligans!
One of them tried to resist but was grabbed by the arm by Cao Yuan and couldn't break free no matter how hard he struggled.
Cao Yuan pulled and pushed, and with a 'crack', that person's arm was dislocated, making him scream in pain.
The remaining two hooligans were stunned, backing away while watching Cao Yuan’s every move.
Seeing that Cao Yuan didn't continue to act, they immediately turned and ran, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Are you okay? If you’re fine, hurry home. Don’t come out so late again, it’s not safe.”
At this moment, Cao Yuan finally noticed the woman who had just been robbed.
She had delicate features, but her face was pale from fright, making her look frail, with a beauty somewhat like Lin Daiyu.
Hearing Cao Yuan’s words, she slowly began to say thank you: “Thank you!”
“Oh, by the way, my name is Ran Qiuye, and I teach at the elementary school in our neighborhood.
What’s your name? If you have time, come find me, I’ll treat you to a meal!”
“But, not now, I just started working… I don’t have any money yet…”
As she spoke, Ran Qiuye lowered her head shyly.
Hearing Ran Qiuye state her name and profession, Cao Yuan was also momentarily stunned.
In the original novel, Ran Qiuye didn't appear much, so when Cao Yuan first saw her, she only seemed somewhat familiar.
It was only after she finished speaking that he remembered—
In the original novel, Ran Qiuye was Bang梗’s homeroom teacher, and after learning about Qin Huairu’s family situation, she took special care of her.
When Qin Huairu’s family couldn’t afford Bang梗’s tuition, Ran Qiuye even personally visited, saying she could help them delay the payment.
But Qin Huairu didn't take Ran Qiuye’s kindness to heart at all, and her mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, even suspected her of having an unclear relationship with Sha Zhu.
What was even more outrageous was that to trick Sha Zhu into helping pay the tuition, she actually wanted to introduce Ran Qiuye to Sha Zhu!
This was truly inhumane!
Ran Qiuye came from a scholarly family, and Sha Zhu?
A crude man, a cook!
Just thinking about it, would she have a good life if she really got together with Sha Zhu?
Fortunately, in the end, Ran Qiuye didn't have any good feelings for Sha Zhu, and the matter didn't go through.
Listening to Ran Qiuye’s words, Cao Yuan didn’t refuse.
He just said indifferently, “It’s nothing, a small matter, no need to treat me to a meal. My name is Cao Yuan.”
After speaking, he threw the two unconscious hooligans aside and walked out of the alley without looking back.
“Cao Yuan…”
Ran Qiuye gazed at his gradually receding back, her heart filled with admiration.
She whispered to herself:
She came from a scholarly family with very strict upbringing, and from childhood, she never even had the chance to experience romance.
She never dreamed that the 'hero saves the beauty' scenario, so common in newspapers and novels, would actually happen to her.
Involuntarily, Cao Yuan’s handsome and resolute face reappeared in her mind.
And his dashing figure as he dealt with those hooligans swiftly and cleanly.
As well as his gentle tone when he asked, “Are you okay?”
By this time, Cao Yuan had already walked far away.
Ran Qiuye still stood there in a daze, an inexpressible tenderness welling up in her heart.
… …
Cao Yuan didn't take helping Ran Qiuye to heart at all.
By the time he got home, the sky was already showing the first signs of dawn.
He had no more desire to sleep.
Since cultivating the Great Might Heavenly Dragon Divine Skill, his spirits were exceptionally good; even after a sleepless night, he didn't feel tired at all.
After washing up, Cao Yuan was about to add coal to the stove.
“Ding! The harvest time for AFK Fishing has arrived! Do you want to start harvesting?”
Just then, the system’s prompt sounded in his mind again.
Only then did he remember that a day had passed, and the Myriad Worlds Fishing System automatically harvested once every 24 hours.
The last time he used the experience card to harvest the Golden Treasure Chest early, it directly yielded a Great Might Heavenly Dragon Divine Skill that could cure his Eunuch Cao!
He wondered what treasures he would harvest this time?
“Yes!”
Filled with anticipation, Cao Yuan clicked confirm without hesitation.
“Ding! Congratulations to the host, you have obtained a Bronze Treasure Chest from AFK Fishing.”
As soon as the system finished speaking, Cao Yuan opened the system warehouse to check.
Besides the chickens and rabbits he bought yesterday, there was a bronze chest with ancient patterns in the warehouse.
Cao Yuan said nothing more and directly opened the treasure chest.
“Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 【One Finger】.”
“Obtained a box of red wine!”
“Obtained a box of instant noodles!”
“Obtained five jin of milk candy!”
“Obtained three jin of melon seeds!”
“A box of preserved eggs!”
The system’s voice rang out continuously.
The bronze chest in the system warehouse also disappeared.
All the items mentioned by the system instantly appeared in the warehouse.
Seeing the bronze chest yield so many good things at once, Cao Yuan was overjoyed.
Just as he was filled with joy, a ball of light flew towards his glabella.
As the light dissipated, a surge of memory instantly flooded his mind.
After reading this memory, Cao Yuan immediately understood how to use “One Finger.”
This was truly a profound martial art!
Once mastered, it could be combined with Tianlong True Energy to condense true energy at the fingertips and release it to harm others, with immense power.
At the same time, it could make the fingers incredibly hard and vibrate at high speeds, reaching hundreds of times per second.
In this era lacking entertainment, this thing was truly useful!
Cracking an egg was as simple as could be.
It could even be used to dig holes, which was incredibly convenient.
Thinking this, Cao Yuan temporarily had no mood to check other rewards.
He immediately began to cultivate according to the memories in his mind.
Because “One Finger” was an external martial art, it wasn't as obscure and difficult to understand as “Great Might Heavenly Dragon Divine Skill.”
Coupled with the fact that he had already learned “Great Might Heavenly Dragon Divine Skill,” he reached the introductory stage in no time.
After practicing, Cao Yuan was eager to test the power of “One Finger.”
“Bang!”
He circulated his energy, sent it to his fingertip, and thrust out a finger.
The firewood on the stove immediately burst open, and then, a blazing fire actually started!
Seeing this scene, Cao Yuan was a little surprised.
Although he could release Tianlong True Energy externally, compared to the power of “One Finger,” it was simply incomparable.
Seeing the firewood burning, Cao Yuan didn't continue practicing.
He took out a box of preserved eggs from the system warehouse.
In this era, preserved eggs were a rare item.
At that time, the focus was on industrial development, and preserved eggs had to be made with special techniques. There were few workshops, so the price was similar to meat, and ordinary families rarely bought them to eat.
In his previous life, Cao Yuan’s favorite food was preserved egg and lean pork congee.
There was still some pork left at home, so he quickly started washing the rice.
Cao Yuan planned to cook a pot of preserved egg and lean pork congee for himself.
After washing the rice, he put several peeled, shiny preserved eggs into a basin.
Thinking of the “One Finger” he had just learned, Cao Yuan immediately got excited.
He directly channeled Tianlong True Energy to his fingers, then put them into the basin of preserved eggs.
Under Cao Yuan’s control, his fingers began to vibrate rapidly.
In less than two seconds, the preserved eggs were stirred into small, irregularly shaped pieces suitable for congee.
He looked at the results of his labor and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
If this finger technique were used to hit people, who could withstand it?
If it were used to dig holes…
Cao Yuan shook his head, not daring to think further.
He could definitely dig a large pit in one afternoon, which would be too convenient.
The method for preserved egg and lean pork congee is actually quite simple; the key is to control the heat and the amount of seasoning.