Recruitment

Steward Wu felt a little worried as he watched Lin Zheyu step onto the Storytelling Platform.

Xu Jingwu sat below and listened in silence throughout, a smile constantly on his face.

When the story reached its climax, he even could not help applauding and cheering. He did not look like he had come looking for trouble.

Jia Yanyong, on the other hand, looked thoroughly hostile, squinting his red, swollen eyes into narrow slits as he stared at Lin Zheyu.

Smack—

Time passed. With a slap of the storyteller's block, Lin Zheyu said, "If you wish to know what happened next, please listen to the next installment."

The usual sounds of reluctance rose from the crowd.

Lin Zheyu cupped his hands in salute and stepped down from the Storytelling Platform.

"Mister Lin, our gang leader wishes to see you."

The moment he stepped down, Lin Zheyu was stopped by two burly men.

Steward Wu signaled to Lin Zheyu from not far away, telling him to mind his attitude and not anger Gang Leader Xu.

Endure for a moment and the wind and waves would be still; take one step back and the sea and sky would stretch boundlessly.

"Mm."

Lin Zheyu gave Steward Wu a slight nod and followed the two burly men away.

"Haha, Mister Lin is here. Sit."

Xu Jingwu laughed heartily and generously invited Lin Zheyu to take a seat.

"May I ask why the gang leader summoned me?"

Lin Zheyu sat down openly across from Xu Jingwu and asked with a smile.

"As expected of someone who could write The Legend of the Condor Heroes. You truly have courage," Xu Jingwu said with a smile when he saw that Lin Zheyu showed no fear.

"Gang Leader Xu means I ought to look afraid?" Lin Zheyu countered. "Could it be that you intend to resort to violence here?"

"And what if I do?"

Xu Jingwu's smile vanished as he looked expressionlessly at Lin Zheyu.

"You must be joking, Gang Leader Xu. This is the Inner City of Songyi City, where fighting and brawling are strictly forbidden," Lin Zheyu said.

"Haha, quite right."

Xu Jingwu smiled again. "I invited Mister Lin over because I would like to invite you to tell stories at my residence."

"Yesterday, I had Jia Yanyong invite Mister Lin over. Not only did you refuse, you nearly blinded him. That was hardly friendly."

"Today, I came personally. Could Mister Lin grant me this favor?"

Xu Jingwu's smile faded as he calmly looked at Lin Zheyu.

"Will you pay me?" Lin Zheyu asked, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Interesting."

"There are countless storytellers who would like to tell stories for me, Xu, but you are the first to ask me for money."

Xu Jingwu smiled at Lin Zheyu. "I can pay you. But do you dare take it?"

"Why would I not?"

"A scholar receives payment for telling stories, and when you enjoy what you hear, you give a reward. It is only natural and right!" Lin Zheyu said solemnly.

"Haha, Mister Lin truly is an interesting fellow."

"Mister Lin fled here from Jiu Nan City, did you not? You have no one to rely on in Songyi City, no clansmen or relatives to help you. Would you be interested in working for me?"

Xu Jingwu said with a smile.

Over the past few days, he had ordered his men to gather information on Lin Zheyu. After looking into him, he found himself rather appreciative.

Lin Zheyu's background was clean. Though he was a scholar, he enjoyed tales of the martial world, and the stories he wrote carried the thick, untamed flavor of jianghu drifters.

Xu Jingwu liked that very much.

Moreover, Jia Yanyong had told him that Lin Zheyu was upright and repaid kindness with gratitude.

To repay a favor, he had repeatedly refused recruitment from Jia Yanyong's older brother. His character was quite good.

A man like this, with no one to depend on in Songyi City and a heart that knew how to repay kindness, was ideal to recruit as a subordinate.

"Oh?"

This time, Lin Zheyu was genuinely surprised.

Because of his first impression, he had assumed Xu Jingwu was not a good man.

But after meeting him now, the other man had left an excellent impression on him. He even seemed somewhat refined.

"What benefits are there to joining the Flying Rainbow Gang?"

Lin Zheyu grew interested. "Will you pay me?"

He was currently troubled over how to expand his sources of income.

Lin Zheyu had only memorized a few stories. Every story he told was one fewer left.

It was also difficult to keep expanding his storytelling team.

Once it expanded, more people would be sold each story, and the amount of silver each storyteller was willing to pay would continue to fall.

In the end, adding it all together, the price would not even match what he had earned before.

Jia Yanyong: "???"

When Jia Yanyong heard that the gang leader wanted to recruit Lin Zheyu, his mind filled with question marks.

His swollen eyes, which had been squinted into slits, abruptly widened, his gaze full of confusion.

What the hell?

Hadn't the gang leader come to help him save face?

And what the hell was Lin Zheyu supposed to be? Being allowed to work for the gang leader was already an enormous blessing.

Before he had even joined the Flying Rainbow Gang, he was already thinking about money. Had he crawled into a money hole?

"Haha, I, Xu Jingwu, have never treated my subordinates unfairly."

"So long as your abilities are outstanding and your strength is sufficient, you can gain things from me beyond your imagination," Xu Jingwu said with a smile.

He found Lin Zheyu quite interesting and was even beginning to appreciate him.

"What counts as sufficient strength and outstanding ability?" Lin Zheyu looked at Xu Jingwu and asked.

"With Mister Lin's learning and literary talent, you could manage the gang's logistical affairs. Tell me stories in your spare time, and if you tell them well, that would count as outstanding ability."

Xu Jingwu took a sip of tea as he spoke.

"And how would sufficient strength be judged? By a martial contest?"

Lin Zheyu said.

This was what interested him more.

Simply handling logistics through storytelling would not earn much money.

Most of his current income came from selling stories for others to tell.

If he could join the Flying Rainbow Gang and use its influence to establish a copyright model in Songyi City, making everyone who told his stories pay him—

That would bring in the greatest possible income!

"Mister Lin means you do not wish to handle logistical work, but intend to make a name for yourself in the gang through martial strength?"

Xu Jingwu found this exceedingly amusing.

In his impression, Lin Zheyu was merely a scholar with decent literary talent, someone who could write good stories, had an interesting character, and knew to repay kindness.

Though he had heard that Lin Zheyu practiced martial arts, he had trained for less than two months. What could he possibly have achieved?

"Mm."

"Compared to all those refined and bookish matters, I yearn more for a life of eating meat in great mouthfuls, drinking wine from great bowls, roaming the martial world with a sword at my side, and settling gratitude and grudges to my heart's content."

Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

"Haha, Mister Lin truly is an interesting fellow. No wonder you could write such an entertaining story as The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

Xu Jingwu burst into hearty laughter.

The more he interacted with Lin Zheyu, the more interesting he found the man.

There was no real enmity between him and Lin Zheyu. It was only that his subordinate Jia Yanyong had had a minor conflict with Lin Zheyu.

But it did not matter. His eyes had not gone blind, after all.

For those in gangs, picking up a few injuries was as commonplace as eating and drinking.

"I heard Mister Lin has practiced martial arts for some time, so you must have acquired a measure of skill," Xu Jingwu said tactfully, using "a measure of skill" as his assessment.

"When Jia Yanyong invited Mister Lin before, the two of you came into conflict. Though his eyes are unwell, his strength is still quite formidable."

"If you can defeat Jia Yanyong fair and square, then you can prove your strength."

"After this Exchange Blows, the grudges between you can also be wiped clean with one stroke. What do you say?"

Xu Jingwu proposed.

After all, Jia Yanyong's eyes had been struck by Lin Zheyu's sneak attack. Xu Jingwu had to give his subordinate a chance to recover his lost face.

The chance had been given. As for whether Jia Yanyong could recover that face, it depended entirely on himself.

Jia Yanyong was eager to give it a try.

That bastard Lin Zheyu—if he had not used Chili Powder for a sneak attack, Jia Yanyong would have long since pinned him to the ground and rubbed him raw.