Neighbors

"Zhou You, you're all right—thank heavens."

Old Man Zhou had been fretting in fear. Seeing that it was his son entering the door, he finally let out a breath.

"Father, Mother, it's all over. My senior brothers from the martial arts school warned Tu Laosan. The Wild Fox Gang won't dare come make trouble again."

His mother was still worried. "Tu Laosan is vicious as a wolf. Will he really listen?"

"What would a woman like you know? Zhou You's senior brother is the son of Shopkeeper Xu from our trading house. He's always talking about his son, boasting about how capable and promising he is."

As Old Man Zhou spoke, he said proudly, "Who would have thought Zhou You could call him brother too?"

Shopkeeper Xu was a prominent figure in the trading house. He wore silk clothes every day, even his pipe holder was carved from jade, and the tobacco he smoked was the finest.

Whenever Old Man Zhou saw Shopkeeper Xu in the trading house, he had to step aside and bow.

Only the heads of the clerks were qualified to work directly under Shopkeeper Xu.

Old Man Zhou had never imagined that his son would be so close to Shopkeeper Xu's beloved son.

"Mm, we only got to know each other recently."

Zhou You thought, If you knew I also knew the Young Master of the trading house, you'd be even more stunned.

"You two sit and talk. Have some water to wet your throats. I'll go clean up outside—the doorway got tossed about badly."

His mother was the sort who could never sit still. Grabbing a dustpan and broom, she headed out to sweep.

To her surprise, the moment she stepped outside, she froze. She rubbed her eyes, but she had not seen wrong.

The entrance had been cleaned spotless. The filth and stones had vanished without a trace, and even the dirtied ground had been scrubbed clean.

The road had originally been pitted and uneven, but now every hollow had been carefully filled.

In a word, the ground outside the Zhou Family home was smoother than a bride-to-be's face.

"Zhou You, this is..."

"The Wild Fox Gang did it. They cleaned up their own mess."

Zhou You raised a hand. "Father, Mother, do you see this waist token? From now on, your son is an official apprentice of Jianxiong Martial Arts School. Not only is there no tuition fee, the school even provides food and lodging."

Such a good thing?

Zhou You's parents stared wide-eyed. "Zhou You, you've truly made something of yourself."

"Also, Master—the school master, that Venerable One—will send us out on jobs. If we do well, we'll get paid."

This was no fabrication; it was indeed true. Martial artists at the Martial Force level were already capable of standing on their own and handling work.

Jianxiong Martial Arts School had dozens of Martial Force apprentices, forming its backbone.

"Zhou You is right. Whenever caravans head out under escort, the trading house pays a great sum to hire people from the martial arts school."

"Zhou You is an official apprentice. If our trading house wants to hire him, a single trip will cost at least fifty taels."

Old Man Zhou spoke with restrained pride. "Zhou You, our family isn't short of money for now, so don't think about taking jobs. Your father can earn money to support the household. Just focus on training and strive to shine before the school master."

His mother looked at Zhou You, her eyes full of anticipation and her heart brimming with dreams for the future.

At the neighboring home of Mao Laoyao, they too had spent the entire day in fear.

When Mao Xiaoli returned home from work and heard from his father what had happened during the day, he could not help grumbling and complaining.

"Father, did you see? Zhou You offended a gang. Even if he's backed by a martial arts school, he still has endless trouble tangled around him."

Mao Laoyao deeply agreed. "Isn't that the truth? Your old man was scared half to death."

In the daytime, Tu Laosan had looked like a fiend, leading dozens of gang members in curses and threats to burn down the houses.

Shan Wa's entire family had been burned to death. No one doubted that the Wild Fox Gang would actually do it.

Mao Laoyao had feared that the flames would spread to his own house, and inwardly cursed the Zhou Family a thousand times over.

"Hmph. Those martial artists are all brash and bloodthirsty, always fighting or killing. None of them live proper lives."

Mao Xiaoli took a silver piece from his sleeve, weighing roughly one tael and two mace. It glimmered in the candlelight.

"Today I met a generous customer. He thought I recited the menu well and rewarded me with this much silver.

"Father, once this month's wages are paid, our family will have five shining taels of silver coming in."

Mao Laoyao looked at the silver piece, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Good, good, good."

"Look at Zhou You—he practices martial arts and does no work to earn money. Day after day, there's only spending and no income. How can his family possibly keep it up?"

Mao Xiaoli sneered. "What kind of person is Tu Laosan? He failed today, but he'll definitely seek revenge later."

"We should stay farther away from their home, lest we get caught in the fallout."

Mao Laoyao was somewhat troubled. "It won't be easy to find another cheap rental."

"Once I rise from a serving clerk to a senior clerk, my wages will go up too. Then our family can move to a more respectable street."

"When that time comes, we won't live alongside lowly people like the Zhou Family either."

Mao Xiaoli dreamed of a fine future life, then suddenly thought of something. "Father, how is the matter of finding a concubine coming along?"

His ambitions were lofty. He was not content to remain a restaurant clerk; in the future, he intended to become a shopkeeper and a truly respectable man.

Therefore, marriage was an affair of utmost importance. He had to marry a proper woman from a well-off family.

For now, this was only a transitional stage, but he could not remain idle either. He would take a refugee woman as a concubine.

First, she could bear him children and continue the family line; second, she would not eat for free, but could work for the household and serve the Venerable One.

The father and son, Mao Laoyao and Mao Xiaoli, had their wishful calculations clattering away like an abacus.

"Son, to tell you the truth, more and more people are fleeing disaster from Su City, and the price of people is dropping by the day."

"I think we can wait a little longer. Maybe we'll pick up an unmarried girl for free, one who only asks for a mouthful of food."

After hearing this, Mao Xiaoli nodded earnestly. "Father, I think that'll work. Let's do it."

Widow Li had spent the entire day in fear. By nightfall, Constable Liu came to stay over, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You weren't there, so you didn't see..."

She was quick and capable with her hands, never pausing in her work as she rapidly recounted what had happened during the day.

The more Constable Liu heard, the more silent he became. He had none of his usual hearty spirit for drinking and eating meat; he even let the food and wine grow cold.

"Widow Li, your neighbor is no ordinary figure!"

From Widow Li's scattered words alone, Constable Liu judged that Zhou You was No Longer the Same.

A Martial Force-level martial artist was an outstanding elite whether in a gang or a martial arts school.

Constable Liu had worked for the yamen for twenty years. His qualifications had long been sufficient, yet he still could not rise in rank because his strength was lacking.

If he had cultivated Martial Force, he would already be Chief Constable Liu by now.

"I originally wanted to bring Zhou You under my command and cultivate him into a capable right-hand man. Now that I think of it, that was sheer wishful thinking."

A Martial Force martial artist in his teens had hopes of charging toward Blood Qi. Even if he wasted decades without breaking through, he could still earn himself the title of Lord X.

Would such a person possibly follow a mere lowly constable like him?

"I listened to you before, bringing soup and water to the Zhou Family and currying favor with them in every way."

"That was the right thing to do. From now on, you must be even more filial to his parents than to your own."

Constable Liu spoke earnestly to Widow Li. "I'm only a constable, and my abilities are limited. If I can't protect you in the future, perhaps we can still count on their family to save us in a crisis."

Widow Li's heart trembled at his words. She threw her arms around Constable Liu. "Don't talk nonsense."

"Take ten taels and put them in a red envelope. Tomorrow, send it to the Zhou Family as a congratulatory gift."

"What? That much money?"

Widow Li's heart ached.

Constable Liu shot her a sidelong glance. "Leave early. If you go late, I'm afraid you won't even be able to squeeze in."