Song Manor Assessment

Song Manor Assessment

Song Manor

Lin Le glanced up at the plaque over the gates, then followed Hou Guang inside.

A servant led the two of them to a room and said, "Young Master Hou, please wait a moment. There's one more recommendation today."

No sooner had he spoken than the door opened, and two men walked out. One of them had a small mustache beneath his nose and a somewhat shriveled-looking face.

When he saw the two extra people outside, Mustache froze for a moment before recognizing one of them. His voice carried a mocking, yin-yang edge.

"Well, if it isn't Little Hou. You came today too? Huh, and you even brought along a little monkey."

Mustache patted Hou Guang's shoulder. "It's not that I want to criticize you, but no matter how badly you want to make money, you shouldn't bring a kid whose hair hasn't even fully grown in. If the master of the house sees this, he'll think we're here to swindle him."

Hou Guang glanced at Mustache and let out a derisive snort. He said nothing, but the contempt flowing from his bones was plain to see without a word being spoken.

He turned to the servant beside him. "Can the person I recommended go in now?"

Mustache's expression immediately turned ugly. He hated it most when Hou Guang pulled this trick. Even trading a few barbs would have been better than this.

They were both mud-legged commoners who had clawed their way up from the bottom. Who was any nobler than whom? Yet Hou Guang simply looked down on him and could not even be bothered to speak to him.

The servant nodded. "He can."

Hou Guang looked at Lin Le. "Junior Brother Lin, go in."

"Alright." Lin Le stepped inside as well, not sparing Mustache or the other man a glance.

Unexpectedly, the man beside Mustache suddenly stretched out a leg in front of Lin Le. He clearly wanted to trip Lin Le and make a fool of him.

A glint of coldness appeared in Lin Le's eyes. He lifted his foot slightly, then stomped down.

The man reacted quickly as well. Seeing that things were going wrong, he swiftly pulled back his foot, but his reaction was ultimately a beat slower than Lin Le's.

He escaped the fate of a broken shin, but not the fate of having his foot stomped on.

Lin Le turned his head to look at the man, then gave a derisive snort as well. His contempt needed no words.

The man's face instantly flushed the color of pig liver. His fists had already clenched, but Lin Le merely watched him quietly, his gaze indifferent.

That dismissive expression made the man even angrier. He took a quick step forward, but Mustache spoke in a low voice beside him. "Junior Brother Zhu, this is Song Manor!"

The man calmed down. He glanced at Lin Le and gave a cold snort, deciding that once they were outside, he would teach this brat a proper lesson.

"Heh!" x2

The two derisive snorts came from Lin Le and Hou Guang, once again brimming with disdain.

Mustache and the man's faces turned pig-liver red again.

Had the servant not realized that things were turning bad and stepped in front of them, the two might already have thrown punches at Lin Le and Hou Guang.

"Let's go, Junior Brother Zhu. We'll have plenty of chances to run into them again!" Mustache practically forced out that final sentence one word at a time.

Lin Le said nothing and simply continued walking into the room.

Hou Guang did not move either. He merely cast the two men a sidelong glance and watched Lin Le enter.

This wordless disregard made the pair burn with even greater rage, adding another thread of killing intent to their hearts.

Inside the room, a woman who looked to be in her thirties raised her head and glanced at Lin Le. "How strange. Two came today. Kid, take off your clothes."

Lin Le took off all his clothes. The woman swept her eyes over him. "Take off your undergarment too. What's there for a grown man to be shy about?"

Left with no choice, Lin Le removed his undergarment as well.

The woman checked his pulse and prodded him about before finally nodding in satisfaction. "At your age, you're even more developed than someone who has reached adulthood. Not bad. Get dressed. You've passed."

With that, the woman turned and left, though her steps were somewhat awkward.

Lin Le got dressed, silently recited the Heart-Calming Mantra, and only left after his blood and qi had settled.

"How was it? Did you pass?" Hou Guang asked when he saw Lin Le emerge.

"I passed." Lin Le nodded.

"Then let's go to the next test." Hou Guang led Lin Le away.

On the way, Lin Le suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Hou, who were those two just now?"

"People from Wo Hu Martial Arts School," Hou Guang said. "The one with the mustache is called Hu Zigui. He's a petty villain with plenty of underhanded tricks, so be careful around him in the future. The other should be Zhu Gaoyuan. He's already stuck at the boundary of the mundane realm, just one step away from generating blood and qi."

"Oh." Lin Le nodded thoughtfully. "That Hu Zigui—Senior Brother Hou, you said he's a petty villain. Then he must have done quite a few evil deeds?"

"He's done every evil deed under the sun." Disgust appeared in Hou Guang's eyes. "Some people clearly have poor Bone Structure and would not get far even if they learned martial arts, but he deceives them anyway and lends them money."

"When they can't repay it, he sucks the marrow from their bones, leaving who knew how many fathers and sons turned against each other and families shattered, their people dead."

"Then how strong is he? Is he also a first-limit Martial Master?" Lin Le asked.

"He should still be," Hou Guang nodded. "Otherwise, with that petty villain's nature of being drunk on success, if he had broken through to the second limit, he would have trumpeted it until everyone under heaven knew."

"Oh, I understand." Lin Le nodded faintly, a sharp gleam rising in his eyes.

Hou Guang then asked in return, "Junior Brother Lin, why are you asking about his strength?"

"Didn't you teach me to be wary of him? Then I should at least know how strong the other side is." Lin Le shrugged.

"True enough." Hou Guang said no more.

Before long, they arrived at a reception hall. A refined middle-aged man sat in the seat of honor, while Mustache, Hu Zigui, and the man he had brought, Zhu Gaoyuan, stood beside him.

Song Shanhai. The moment Lin Le saw that middle-aged man, he knew who he was. Hou Guang had specifically told him to pay attention to him on the way here.

Seeing Lin Le and Hou Guang arrive, the middle-aged man, Song Shanhai, said, "Little Hou, you're here?"

"Greetings, Master Song. May you enjoy ten thousand blessings." Hou Guang and Lin Le bowed with clasped hands.

"No need for more pleasantries." Song Shanhai waved a hand. "Perfect timing. Little Hu says the person he brought has good combat talent. Have your person test himself against him."

"But my junior brother has trained in martial arts for less than half a month. Isn't this asking too much of him?" Hou Guang immediately said anxiously.

"Less than half a month of martial training? Little Hou, are you trying to fool me?" Song Shanhai's gaze shifted to Lin Le. Under that gaze, Lin Le's body instantly tightened. He felt as though Master Song had already seen through his physical condition completely.

"This little brother has firm muscles and steady, powerful steps. I would believe he had trained for ten years, yet you say he has only trained for half a month?" Song Shanhai said.

Hou Guang glanced at Lin Le. Recalling what he had seen, no matter how doubtful he was, he could only brace himself and say, "It is absolutely true, Master Song."

Song Shanhai nodded slightly. "That's no matter. Boy, are you willing to give it a try? I can pay you an additional fee for your efforts. How about ten taels?"

Lin Le nodded slightly. "Alright."

Since Lin Le himself had agreed, Hou Guang said no more. He could only watch as Lin Le and Zhu Gaoyuan went to the courtyard outside the hall.

Zhu Gaoyuan pressed his fists together, making them crack in a show of force. He grinned viciously. "Kid, I might not know my own strength later. You'd better bear with it!"

Lin Le watched him quietly and merely beckoned with one hand. "Come."

Courting death! Seeing Lin Le's casual, contemptuous attitude, a flash of scarlet appeared in Zhu Gaoyuan's eyes. He stamped his foot and charged at Lin Le like a fierce tiger.

Zhu Gaoyuan's charging figure reflected in Lin Le's eyes. Lin Le drew his right fist back beside his abdomen, making it extremely conspicuous.

Zhu Gaoyuan clawed toward Lin Le, while the corner of his eye remained fixed on Lin Le's right fist. Then he noticed the mocking curve at Lin Le's lips.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Zhu Gaoyuan froze stiffly on the spot.