Crisis

By the time he returned to the pawnshop, the sky was already bright.

The workers were busy wiping the doors, windows, and counters, sweeping the floor clean, and opening the doors to welcome customers.

No one mentioned Zhang Bing's death again.

In this harsh world, the lives of slaves were cheap.

Disobedient servants often committed some offense and were beaten to death by their masters. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Even the authorities would not interfere much.

A contract of servitude was no joke.

The incident had given Xie An a timely warning.

Leaning against the counter, he began making plans... He had to start figuring out how to reclaim his contract of servitude.

Previously, Xie An had been old and frail, plagued by illness. Aside from his skill at appraising objects, he had no other means of making a living. With war and chaos raging outside, leaving would only make survival more difficult.

At that time, staying at Li Manor and developing steadily was naturally the best choice.

Now Xie An could lift four hundred jin with ease, and his speed and strength had reached levels ordinary people could hardly match. Although he had not learned any fighting techniques, with his strength and speed, he already had few equals beneath the level of a martial artist.

He could now consider buying his freedom at his leisure.

With sufficient strength, Li Ru would certainly not dare make things too difficult when he tried to buy his freedom.

The question was, what would he do after leaving the pawnshop? What kind of livelihood could he find?... These were all questions Xie An needed to consider carefully.

However, the most urgent matter at hand was that there was still a son-in-law of Li Manor watching him like a tiger eyeing its prey.

Zhang Bing might have been a petty man drunk on a little power, but he would never have had the nerve to embezzle two hundred taels, much less poison Xie An.

Clearly, someone was behind him.

That person was the eldest son-in-law, Lu Wei.

Xie An suspected that Zhang Bing had helped the eldest son-in-law embezzle money, and that the poisoning had also been carried out on the eldest son-in-law's orders.

This eldest son-in-law was a ruthless man. He had practiced martial arts and come from the rough-and-tumble world. He handled affairs swiftly and decisively, which was why the Master of Li Manor had taken him as his son-in-law and had him help with the Li family's shady dealings.

Still, in this world, "live-in son-in-law" was hardly a flattering term. He was nothing more than a high-ranking lackey. If he truly had ability, he would have married properly. Why become a live-in son-in-law?

Fortunately, Xie An had not gone directly to Master Li to expose Zhang Bing. Instead, he had asked Chen He for help and disguised it as an accident. That way, no one would suspect him. They would only think Zhang Bing had brought disaster upon himself.

"Good heavens, Old Xie, did you eat some divine medicine? Why are you so full of spirit? Hey, you've even grown quite a bit younger..."

While Xie An was lost in thought, Chen Yuan swaggered over, looking him up and down and clicking his tongue in amazement.

Xie An and Chen Yuan had been partners for ten years, so there was no need for false modesty. "It's all thanks to the Health Cultivation Technique you gave me, Old Chen."

Chen Yuan, who was over forty, had already reached the twilight of his life. He had bought half a copy of the Five Animal Play to preserve his health and hoped to live a few more years.

Unfortunately, practicing it for several years had produced no results.

Now, seeing Xie An in such good condition, he was green with envy.

"How come practicing the Five Animal Play didn't have such miraculous results for me..."

Xie An took out the half-copy of the Five Animal Play and returned it to Chen Yuan. "Maybe I have a better state of mind."

Xie An had long since memorized its contents by heart. There was no reason not to return it.

Chen Yuan accepted the Five Animal Play and seemed to realize something. "Was I just too eager for quick results?"

Xie An said, "It's possible..."

Those three words—"It's possible"—gave Chen Yuan enormous encouragement. He secretly resolved to train harder.

"In any case, it's a wonderful thing. I figure Master Li will come visit you in the next couple of days and have you take charge of the shop again. We need you to hold down the fort before I, as the shopkeeper, can feel safe. Damn it, otherwise I'd be cheated to death without even knowing it."

After what had happened with Zhang Bing, Chen Yuan was still shaken.

"Hahaha, Old Xie, congratulations on recovering your health."

A hearty laugh rang into the pawnshop. It was Master Li, Li Ru, wearing an expensive scholar's robe.

Li Ru was in his forties, a few years younger than Xie An. Yet he was sturdy and refined, with the air of a scholar about him.

Entering with Li Ru were an old physician and the son-in-law, Lu Wei.

Li Ru had Lu Wei bring over some nourishing supplements, displaying the benevolence of a family head. "Old Xie has worked diligently for my pawnshop for thirty years. I have always seen that. I specially asked Doctor Li to come examine you."

How could Xie An fail to see what Li Ru was thinking?

A few days ago, Chunlan must have gone to report to Li Ru that Xie An had fully recovered. Li Ru had not quite believed it, so he had specifically brought a physician to examine him.

Li Ru gave the old physician a glance. The latter stepped forward to take Xie An's pulse, inspect his eyes, and knead the muscles of his hands and feet. After the examination, even the old physician could not help feeling astonished.

How strange!

He had been treating Xie An's apoplexy all along. Back then, Xie An had clearly been at death's door. Even if he survived the stroke, his organs had already failed, and he would not have lived more than a few days.

How had Old Xie grown even more robust now?

In thirty years of practicing medicine, he had never seen a man in his fifties grow younger instead of older.

Lu Wei spoke first. "Doctor Li, how is Old Xie?"

Doctor Li withdrew his hand. "Master Xie's apoplexy left no aftereffects whatsoever. Instead, he is strong and vigorous, with abundant qi and blood. Living another ten years will be no problem."

A clear flash of disappointment crossed Lu Wei's eyes.

Li Ru, however, continued smiling amiably. "Old Xie is blessed. From now on, you can continue taking care of the shop's affairs."

Lu Wei, who had been standing to the side, actually turned and glared at Xie An.

Xie An's days returned to peace.

Compared with the time he had spent recuperating, he now had to visit the pawnshop more often. But he did not need to spend all day there.

He Chunli was skilled at appraising objects, honest, and diligent. He could handle the usual trivial tasks. Only when they encountered especially valuable items or rare antiques did Xie An need to step in and appraise them.

The rest of the time, Xie An spent mostly in the little room in the rear courtyard, practicing the Health Cultivation Technique.

His body grew increasingly robust, while his strength, speed, and stamina steadily improved.

As for Lu Wei...

"He'd better not try anything funny. This old man isn't someone to trifle with anymore."

Two days later, at dusk, Xie An heard an argument coming from the pawnshop in the rear courtyard, mixed with He Chunli's timid, submissive voice.

Xie An went to the pawnshop and discovered that the Guest Official was gone and the shopkeeper was absent as well. Lu Wei, however, had brought a customer and was arguing with He Chunli.

"What happened?"

He Chunli stammered for quite a while before finally explaining everything.

It turned out that Lu Wei had brought a friend named Zhang Wei to pawn a jade pendant. Zhang Wei claimed it was an ancestral jade pendant worth at least one hundred taels. He Chunli, being conscientious, insisted that it was worth only five taels. Since he also spoke rather bluntly, the two sides had ended up arguing.

Lu Wei felt that He Chunli was refusing to show his friend respect and making him lose face, so he had slapped He Chunli twice across the mouth. He had even threatened to beat He Chunli to death...

"Old Xie, your apprentice is far too foolish. The pawnshop next door offered at least one hundred taels for my jade pendant. If I weren't familiar with the Li family's son-in-law, I wouldn't have come to patronize your business." Zhang Wei weighed the jade pendant in his hand, his resentment plain.

Lu Wei urged him without the slightest courtesy. "Old Xie, hurry up and fill out the pawn ticket. I still have to go drinking with Brother Zhang."

"Let me have a look."

Xie An pulled He Chunli behind him to protect him, then picked up the jade pendant and examined it.

It was a deliberately aged, high-quality counterfeit. At most, it was worth two taels—and that was only because the jade's material and workmanship were decent.

He Chunli had priced it at five taels partly because his skill was not yet refined enough, and partly because the two men had intimidated him.

Xie An returned the jade pendant to Zhang Wei with both hands. "Master Zhang, forgive my poor eyesight. Please take it to another pawnshop."

Zhang Wei was clearly displeased, while Lu Wei angrily spoke first. "Old Xie, what do you mean by that? You eat from my Li family's bowl, and now you're deliberately tripping up my friend?"

How could Xie An's eyes miss it? He naturally saw that Lu Wei and Zhang Wei had joined forces to set a trap and cheat the pawnshop of its money.

Zhang Bing had probably fallen into Lu Wei's trap before, which was why he had tried to embezzle two hundred taels.

And now they had brought that scheme to him?

Although pawnshops relied on an appraiser's skill, even experienced appraisers sometimes made mistakes. The family head would not normally blame them.

But this was a loss of one hundred taels. It would come to light sooner or later.

When that happened, Xie An would have to shoulder the blame.

How could he agree to that?

"By my judgment, this jade pendant is worth about five taels. If the son-in-law insists on pawning it for one hundred taels, then we can only ask Master Li to come and write a note confirming it in person. Otherwise, if the money is lost later, I cannot bear the consequences."

Lu Wei stamped and raged.

This old fool doesn't know how to read the situation.

When Zhang Bing had been in charge of the pawnshop, he had simply waved such things through.

He had never expected Old Xie to be so stubborn and even invoke Master Li to suppress him. There was truly nothing he could say. After all, he was only a live-in son-in-law.

"You ignorant old fool. Just you wait!"

Leaving those furious words behind, Lu Wei dragged Zhang Wei away in a rage. Before leaving, he shot Xie An and his apprentice a venomous look. Let's see how many more days you can keep jumping around.

Lu Wei's glare frightened He Chunli so badly that his head shrank into his collar. "Master, we've offended the eldest son-in-law... Will we get away with it?"

Xie An was troubled as well. When working for a wealthy household, the thing one feared most was offending someone from the master's family.

But now that Xie An possessed strength, he was more courageous. "If you give in to him out of fear, you'll offend Master Li instead. That would truly be courting death. Understand?"

Though the reasoning was sound, it was not easy for He Chunli to act on it.

"I understand, Master."

Xie An breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at He Chunli's face, swollen like a pig's head from the beating, he asked, "Does it hurt?"

He Chunli covered his face and smiled shyly. "With my master's concern, it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Stay away from him in the future. If he comes looking for trouble, tell me, or go to Shopkeeper Chen."

"This disciple will remember."

"By the way, how many taels do you think that jade pendant is worth?"

"Two taels. I only said five because I was afraid the son-in-law would get angry..."

"Your master hasn't taught you for nothing."

Only after receiving the answer he wanted did Xie An turn and return to the little room in the rear courtyard. He changed into black clothes, took his entire life's savings of twenty taels, tucked a dagger into his belt, and hurried out toward the black market.

Xie An intended to buy all the medicinal ingredients listed in Tang Qingfeng's prescription. He also wanted to buy a complete copy of the Five Animal Play, as well as a martial arts manual.

Twenty taels... He was stretched to the limit.

"Damn it, I never thought Old Xie would refuse every inducement and threat, blocking my path to wealth. He deserves to die! Zhang Bing was useless too. Even after I gave him arsenic, he still couldn't kill the old man."

After leaving the Li Family Pawnshop, Lu Wei drank his sorrows away with Zhang Wei at an eating house, his mood foul.

Zhang Wei said, "Son-in-law, I heard Three Flowers Gambling House has changed hands, and the new owner is pressing hard to collect debts. If you can't repay your gambling debt in time, the owner may have to go to Li Manor to demand payment."

Indeed, Lu Wei had developed a gambling addiction and incurred enormous gambling debts. Although he had committed minor thefts and robberies, the debt was simply too large, so he had been forced to reach his hand into his own family's pawnshop...

If the owner of Three Flowers Gambling House went to Master Li, then Lu Wei's future as the family's son-in-law would be over.

At that thought, Lu Wei's eyes grew venomous. "I refuse to believe Old Xie can keep hiding indoors forever. If not, I'll kill him sooner or later!"

A gambling addiction was even more corrosive than indulgence in wine and lust. Once addicted, a person was no longer normal, and nothing they did could be considered strange.

Zhang Wei suddenly looked toward the distant street. "Hey, isn't that Old Xie?"