No Reason to Be So Attentive

Just like last time, Xie An covered half his face with black cloth, yet Zhang Lin recognized him at a glance.

There was nothing he could do about it. That head of white hair was too eye-catching.

Upon seeing Zhang Lin again, Xie An was no longer as wary as before.

After making inquiries over the past few days, Xie An learned that Tiger Wolf Gate was not some gang cloaked in the guise of a martial sect. It was a proper sect, determined to put down roots and develop in Qingwu County for the long term, and therefore highly concerned with its reputation and inheritance.

Xie An felt that choosing Tiger Wolf Gate as his target had been no problem. Next came the matter of adding some weight to his bid to join them.

He was no longer young. If he joined them only to do odd jobs, that would never do...

Xie An clasped his hands. "Steward Zhang."

Zhang Lin thought highly of Xie An and had no airs about him. "Hmm. Here to buy bear gall?"

Xie An did not hide the truth. "I'm buying a bear's heart to nourish my body."

Zhang Lin gave him a look that said I understand you. "Bear's heart is indeed a powerful tonic. Its medicinal effects are fierce and overbearing. Not only does it strengthen the body, it can also keep a man standing all night. Big Brother, you really know how to enjoy life... Old Liu, this is my friend. Give him a better price."

The latter half was addressed to the stallholder.

The stallholder was over forty and well versed in human affairs. He cast Xie An a surprised glance, then broke into a broad smile. "So Big Brother is Steward Zhang's friend. I was blind before—please forgive me. I'll give it to you at cost price, then. Thirty taels."

Just one word—"friend"—had saved him a full thirty taels of silver.

The world of the big shots truly was beyond the comprehension of ordinary folk.

Xie An readily agreed and bought the bear's heart. The stallholder, Old Liu, packed it up and presented it to Xie An with both hands. "Any time you come to my stall in the future, you'll get this price."

Old Liu had long wanted to curry favor with Zhang Lin, but had never found the opportunity. Now that the opportunity had arrived, he naturally knew how to seize it.

Zhang Lin also accepted Old Liu's flattery, saying that he would waive Old Liu's stall fees in the future and that any good goods could be brought to the black market first. Old Liu was overjoyed.

"Big Brother, you left in such a hurry last time. It's still early today. Why don't I show you around the black market?"

Having accepted Zhang Lin's kindness, Xie An naturally found it difficult to refuse. He agreed. "Then I'll trouble you, Steward Zhang."

"No need to be so polite, Big Brother. Just call me Zhang Lin."

Xie An merely smiled. Naturally, he was not actually going to address Zhang Lin by his name.

The Blood Ridge Black Market spanned five or six towns and covered more than a hundred thousand villagers. The status of its guards and stewards was clearly extraordinary without even needing to think about it.

He was only being polite. How could you take him seriously?

After strolling around for a while, Xie An noticed that everyone treated Zhang Lin with utmost respect wherever they went. By association, they also showed Xie An a little more courtesy. Zhang Lin, however, was used to all this and enthusiastically began introducing the black market to him.

"The Blood Ridge Black Market is the largest black market within six towns. You can find everything here: weapons, medicinal herbs, secret manuals..."

"All the stalls along this road sell weapons—blades, swords, spears, bows, crossbows... Quite a few are excellent goods banned by the Imperial Court. There are also blacksmith shops on this street. The blacksmiths have some reputation, and they can even forge weapons to order according to your needs."

"The stalls along this road mainly sell medicinal herbs. There are also apothecaries who can prepare medicine for you according to a prescription..."

"The stalls along this road mainly sell martial arts manuals..."

After listening to Zhang Lin's explanations, Xie An finally gained a fairly comprehensive understanding of the Blood Ling Black Market.

Rather than calling this a black market, it would be more accurate to call it a huge village.

Looking at the endless stream of merchants and customers, Xie An estimated that the black market's annual turnover was probably far greater than the entire output of Wuqiao Town.

No wonder Tiger Wolf Gate did not need to make money through robbery. Relying on this black market alone, it could reap enormous profits every year. What was more, to Tiger Wolf Gate, this black market was merely the tip of the iceberg among its industries.

A martial sect and a gang were fundamentally different.

If he could join Tiger Wolf Gate and become a manager of this black market, would obtaining cultivation resources in the future not be a piece of cake?

The key was to become a manager... Being a lackey would not do.

After they finished strolling, Zhang Lin invited Xie An to have a talk at his courtyard.

Xie An thought he could take the opportunity to learn more about Tiger Wolf Gate, so he agreed.

When Zhang Lin heard that Xie An had agreed, he was actually delighted. He led Xie An to a small courtyard near the black market and even took the initiative to brew tea for him, showing great courtesy.

After some pleasantries, Zhang Lin once again explained his intentions. "Big Brother, you've seen the prosperity of the Blood Ridge Black Market. It has all the cultivation resources you could want, and you can get them at discounted prices. That's far better than struggling along alone."

Xie An held the teacup in both hands without speaking, but let a hint of interest show on his face.

Seeing that there was hope, Zhang Lin became even more enthusiastic. "Let me tell Big Brother a little about the general situation here in Blood Ridge..."

After listening carefully to Zhang Lin's explanation, Xie An learned that:

The Blood Ridge Black Market belonged to White Feather Hall.

White Feather Hall was one of the seven halls under Tiger Wolf Gate.

White Feather Hall was naturally overseen by its hall master, Fang Baiyu, a Second Gate Marrow Refining Realm martial artist.

Besides Fang Baiyu, there were also two vice hall masters.

Under the vice hall masters were the four Incense Masters.

The Blood Ling Black Market was under the jurisdiction of Incense Master Wei Dian, and Zhang Lin was one of the three stewards under Wei Dian. He was responsible for order and security around the black market and had a total of more than a dozen armed guards under him.

"I saw Big Brother effortlessly draw a One-stone Bow with one hand and fire two arrows in succession. Clearly, you're still hale and hearty despite your age. Lifting four hundred pounds with one arm should be no trouble for you. That is already the lifting strength of a First Gate Bronze Skin Realm martial artist. If you're willing to join White Feather Hall, you can first become my deputy—in other words, a deputy steward. The monthly pay is eight taels of silver. On top of that, all kinds of resources purchased in the black market will be discounted. When a steward's position opens up in the future, I'll naturally find a way to put Big Brother in it."

After explaining the benefits, Zhang Lin gazed at Xie An with an expectant look.

Eight taels a month meant a hundred taels a year.

That was truly no small sum.

It was five times more than Xie An currently earned as a pawnshop appraiser, not to mention all the other benefits.

It would be unrealistic to say Xie An was not tempted.

It was just... wasn't the position of deputy steward a little too low?

Above it were stewards, Incense Masters, vice hall masters, and hall masters... He did not know how many levels separated him from Tiger Wolf Gate's upper echelons.

It was not that Xie An had his head in the clouds. But when seeking employment, who would not want a better position and better treatment?

If one could be the big brother, who would willingly be the little brother?

Xie An revealed a troubled expression.

Zhang Lin's eyes were sharp. He immediately noticed that Xie An looked down on the low position of deputy steward, so he began adding more weight to his offer. "Actually, with Big Brother's strength, you could directly become a steward. However, none of the three steward positions under Incense Master Wei are vacant right now. But..."

When he reached the crucial point, Zhang Lin suddenly fell silent. Clearly, he knew how to whet someone's appetite. Only after Xie An looked toward him did Zhang Lin continue. "Recently, one of the stewards has incurred Incense Master Wei's displeasure. From what I can tell, Incense Master Wei intends to replace him, but for the moment, he can't find a suitable candidate."

Xie An finally became interested. "What do you mean?"

Zhang Lin lowered his voice. "Zhang Biao, who is a steward like me, is addicted to gambling. Not only has he neglected his duties, his temperament has also changed drastically, and he repeatedly defies the Incense Master. Unfortunately, he has someone backing him, so Incense Master Wei can't do anything about him for the time being. If something were to happen to Zhang Biao, his steward position would become vacant. Big Brother could conveniently take his place."

Upon hearing this, Xie An's heart jolted, and he grew wary.

As the saying went, when someone showed kindness for no reason, they were either plotting evil or theft.

Zhang Lin had twice warmly extended an olive branch to him, and now he had subtly brought up Zhang Biao...

Xie An felt that it was probably not merely Wei Dian's dissatisfaction with Zhang Biao. Rather, Zhang Lin and Zhang Biao had some grudge between them, and Zhang Lin was hinting that he wanted to borrow Xie An's hand to eliminate Zhang Biao.

That would make perfect sense.

However, Xie An did not feel there was anything wrong with that. The martial world... had always been about me making trouble for you, and you making trouble for me.

In any case, he was wearing a mask at that moment, and Zhang Lin did not know his identity. Thus, he asked, "What are the benefits of a steward?"