Advance Monthly Pay

The entire pawnshop fell into a deathly silence.

Xie An stared at the money in Madam Li's hand, speechless for a long time.

Xie An could sense Li Ru's intentions, which were no more than three:

First, he felt that after thirty years as a slave, he shouldn't think of breaking free from the Li family's control...

Second, he had offended Li Ru's authority, displeasing him.

Third, Li Shaoyun's martial arts training incurred significant expenses, so he decided to inflict a heavy blow on himself. It was both suppression and a genuine cut.

Li Ru knew Xie An couldn't come up with that much money, so he could only continue to stay at the pawnshop and work for the Li family. Over the years, Xie An's appraisal skills had improved, and he had also accumulated considerable fame both inside and outside the town. Many old customers came specifically for Xie An. As long as Xie An continued to work at the pawnshop, his value would naturally exceed two hundred taels.

If Li Ru insisted on this, with Xie An's current abilities, he had no intention of making things easy for the Li family.

But unfortunately, Madam Li... was kind and benevolent.

For a moment, Xie An couldn't help but recall the glorious scene of Madam Li marrying into the Li family.

At that time, he was a young man, and Madam Li was also a girl in her prime.

Now, both their temples were streaked with white.

Time waits for no one.

Snapping back to reality, Xie An cupped his hands and said, "Madam Li, I appreciate your intentions. But I absolutely cannot accept this sum of money."

Madam Li's attitude was firm, "Old Xie, I sincerely hope you can have a good end, I'm not testing you."

Sensing Madam Li's sincerity, Xie An no longer concealed anything. "Madam, if I don't have the ability to raise the money for my freedom, then even if I receive your favor, I won't be able to live freely outside. Such freedom would be meaningless. Please give me seven days, and I will go and raise the money."

Sensing the determination in Xie An's eyes, Madam Li didn't force him further. "Since that's the case, I won't push it. I will speak to the master and ask for seven days for you to raise the money. If you can't raise it by then, have Chunlan tell me."

Leaving behind those words, Madam Li got up and left, stepping back into the wind and snow.

Xie An walked her to the door and watched Madam Li's retreating figure.

A moment later, Chunlan, who had left earlier, came up and said, "Master Xie, Madam Li is showing you genuine kindness, why must you do this? This will only make things harder for yourself."

Xie An said, "Madam Li was a maidservant who married into the Li family. I imagine her life hasn't been easy. If the master finds out about this, her life will become even more difficult. Madam has shown me great kindness, so how can I make things difficult for her?"

Chunlan gazed deeply at Xie An for a moment before turning and leaving.

If it were just a few months ago, one hundred and eighty taels would have been an unimaginable sum for Xie An.

But for the current Xie An, it wasn't too exaggerated.

After all, Zhang Lin had said that the treatment for White Feather Hall stewards was twenty taels a month. If he could get Zhang Lin to pull some strings, he could get an advance on half a year's salary... which, totaling one hundred and twenty taels, plus the sixty taels he had on hand, would be enough.

Returning to his small room, Xie An saw his two disciples practicing the Health Cultivation Technique with great enthusiasm. Han Li was practicing in a proper manner. As for He Chunli... he was practicing with his butt sticking up, looking like he was doing a doggy-paddle crawl...

Seeing his disciples happy, Xie An's gloomy mood lifted considerably.

The shop wouldn't open until the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, so everyone was free. Normally, this was the time for visiting relatives, but the three of them were servants with no family to visit. They could only huddle together for warmth, forming a small family of their own.

"Master, look, am I practicing correctly?"

"Me too, me too..."

Xie An glanced at his two disciples' stances. "Han Li's is passable, but Little He, what are you doing... doggy-paddle swimming?"

"Hahaha."

Hearing this, Han Li laughed so hard he slapped his thighs. He Chunli, already shy and thin-skinned, became even more embarrassed.

"Let me demonstrate for you, watch carefully."

Xie An wasn't in a good mood today, but seeing his two disciples' diligence, he couldn't help but be infected and stopped to demonstrate for them.

With a few opening moves, Xie An had already stunned his two disciples.

"Master, your movements are so cool, just like a hero."

"Little He, you're too impolite. Please remove the word 'like'. Master is a hero."

"Brother Han is right, I was too hasty."

"Don't get distracted, watch closely." Xie An reprimanded them, and the two disciples finally focused, learning diligently. The more they watched, the more shocked they became. Although they were beginners, they could clearly feel Xie An's movements were fluid and seamless, executed in one go. When he punched, he could even create bursts of air, which was incredibly imposing.

In an instant, their gazes towards their master were filled with adoration.

Xie An finished demonstrating each move, then stopped and stood firm. "Alright, you can figure it out yourselves. Cultivation depends mainly on you."

Leaving those words, Xie An returned to the storage room next to the small room and practiced the Health Cultivation Technique all day.

At dusk, after having dinner with his two disciples, Xie An hurried out.

As they left the town, night fell. Xie An wrapped his face with a black cloth and once again headed to the Blood Ridge Black Market.

Although the black market hadn't officially closed, there were very few people on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Only twenty to thirty stalls were open, with few merchants and customers.

Xie An went directly to the black market but couldn't find the young man with the night pot. So, he went to the courtyard on the edge and found Zhang Lin.

"Old brother, I've finally been waiting for you." Zhang Lin, still wearing his steward uniform, warmly welcomed Xie An into the inner hall and had Zhou Xing make some aged tea to entertain him.

After some pleasantries, Zhang Lin got straight to the point. "What a coincidence. Steward Zhang Biao was ambushed by bandits on New Year's Eve, and his steward position has just become vacant. If you're interested in joining our White Feather Hall, old brother, you can fill this position."

As he spoke, Zhang Lin looked at Xie An with a half-smile, as if he knew something.

Although there was no evidence, Zhang Lin strongly felt that this matter was the work of the old man before him.

A few months ago, Zhang Lin had hinted to Zhang Biao, and then Zhang Biao had died.

Moreover, Xie An showed up at his door just three days after Zhang Biao's death?

How could such a coincidence happen?

What's more, Zhang Lin had examined the scene and knew that Zhang Biao had been killed by a heavy crossbow. Zhang Lin had seen it from afar when Zhang Wei and Lu Wei died previously, and Xie An had used a heavy crossbow at that time.

Based on all this, Zhang Lin had deduced eight or nine tenths of the truth: Zhang Biao was killed by the old man in front of him.

But without evidence, such a matter could only be buried in his heart; it absolutely could not be spoken aloud.

Facing Zhang Lin's gaze, Xie An knew what this old fellow was thinking.

However, Xie An was not flustered. He was merely speculating, with no proof. Furthermore, after half a year of observation, Xie An felt that their interests were aligned for the time being, and the other party would not expose the matter.

Of course, Xie An would not place all his hopes on Zhang Lin's integrity. He wore a mask every time he came to the black market, so Zhang Lin did not know his identity. If Zhang Lin were to truly try to frame him, Xie An would have no choice but to send him on his way.

Favors were favors and could be repaid. But if it concerned life and death, Xie An, possessing strength, would absolutely not be ambiguous.

After careful consideration, Xie An said, "Steward Zhang, may I pre-receive half a year's salary in advance?"