The entire pawnshop fell into dead silence.
Xie An stared at the silver in Madam Li's hands, unable to speak for a long while.
Xie An could sense Li Ru's thoughts. There were no more than three possibilities:
First, he felt that after serving as a slave for thirty years, Xie An should not be thinking of breaking free from Li Manor's control...
Second, Xie An had offended Li Ru's dignity and displeased him.
Third, Li Shaoyun's martial arts training expenses were enormous, so he had simply decided to deal Xie An a vicious blow. It was suppression, but it was also a genuine cut.
Li Ru knew he could not produce that much silver, so Xie An could only remain in the pawnshop and continue laboring for Li Manor. Over the years, not only had Xie An become highly skilled at appraising goods, he had also built up quite a reputation both within and beyond the town. Many old customers came specifically for Xie An. As long as Xie An continued staying at the pawnshop, his value would naturally exceed two hundred taels.
If Li Ru insisted on doing this, then with Xie An's current abilities, he had no intention of letting Li Manor have an easy time.
But Madam Li... was kind-hearted and benevolent.
For a moment, Xie An could not help recalling the grand scene of Madam Li's marriage into Li Manor.
Back then, he had been a young man, while Madam Li had been a maiden in the bloom of youth.
Now, both their temples had turned white.
The years truly drove people old.
Coming back to himself, Xie An cupped his hands and said, "Madam Li, I appreciate your kindness. But I absolutely cannot accept this silver."
Madam Li's attitude was resolute. "Old Xie, I sincerely hope you can see out your days in peace. I'm not testing you or anything."
Feeling Madam Li's genuine sincerity, Xie An no longer concealed anything. "Madam, if I lack the ability to gather the silver needed to buy my freedom, then even with your kindness, I still won't be able to make a living outside. In that case, buying my freedom would be meaningless. Please give me seven days. I'll go raise the money."
Seeing the determination in Xie An's eyes, Madam Li no longer forced him. "Since that's the case, I won't insist. I'll speak with Master and ask him to give you seven days to raise the money. If you still can't gather it by then, have Chunlan come tell me."
Leaving behind those words, Madam Li rose and left, stepping once more into the wind and snow.
Xie An escorted her to the door and watched her retreating figure disappear into the distance.
A little later, Chunlan came over and said, "Master Xie, Madam Li has shown you nothing but kindness. Why must you act this way? You'll only make things hard for yourself."
Xie An said, "Madam Li was once a maidservant, and marrying into Li Manor could hardly have been easy for her. If Master finds out about this, her days will only become harder. Madam has treated me with immense kindness. How could I possibly make things difficult for her?"
Chunlan gazed deeply at Xie An for a while before turning and leaving.
If it had been several months ago, one hundred and eighty taels would absolutely have been a figure Xie An could never have imagined.
But to Xie An now, it was not all that outrageous.
After all, Zhang Lin had said that an enforcer of White Feather Hall received twenty taels a month. If he asked Zhang Lin to smooth things over and drew an advance on half a year's wages... that would be one hundred and twenty taels, and together with the sixty taels in hand, it would be enough.
When he returned to the small house, Xie An saw that his two disciples were actually practicing the Health Cultivation Technique with great enthusiasm. Han Li even had the movements down quite well. As for He Chunli... he was practicing with his butt stuck in the air, looking for all the world like he was doing a dog-paddle crawl...
Seeing his disciples so cheerful caused the gloom in Xie An's heart to disperse quite a bit.
The shop would not open until the eighth day of the first lunar month, so everyone was free with nothing to do. Normally, this period was when people visited their relatives, but all three of them were servants without any family, so naturally they had no relatives to visit. They could only huddle together for warmth, which could also count as a little household.
"Master, look. Am I practicing correctly?"
"And me, and me..."
Xie An glanced at the stances of his two disciples. "Han Li's is passable. Little He, what are you doing... swimming doggy-style?"
"Hahaha."
Han Li laughed so heartily that he slapped his thighs repeatedly. He Chunli, who was naturally shy and thin-skinned, became even more embarrassed.
"I'll demonstrate it for you. Watch closely."
Xie An had not been in a very good mood today, but seeing how diligently his two disciples were practicing, he was infected by their enthusiasm despite himself. He stopped and demonstrated the movements for them.
As the saying went, one could tell the height of a mountain at a glance. Xie An had only demonstrated a few movements when he shocked both disciples.
"Master, your movements look way too good. You're practically a great hero."
"Little He, you really don't know how to compliment people. Take out the words 'practically.' Master is a great hero."
"Brother Han is right. I spoke too hastily."
"Don't get distracted. Watch carefully." Xie An barked at them, and only then did the two disciples gather their thoughts and study seriously. The more they watched, the more astonished they became. Although they were beginners, they could clearly feel that Xie An's movements flowed like clouds and running water, completed in one seamless breath. Every punch even stirred up bursts of air-shattering booms, making him look incredibly mighty.
In the blink of an eye, both of them were looking at their master with eyes full of admiration.
After demonstrating every move, Xie An withdrew his hands and stood still. "All right. Figure it out yourselves. Cultivation mainly depends on your own efforts."
Leaving those words behind, Xie An returned to the storage room beside the small house and practiced the Health Cultivation Technique for the entire day.
At dusk, after Xie An and his two disciples had eaten dinner, they hurried out.
By the time they left the town, night had fallen. Xie An wrapped his face in black cloth and once again arrived at Blood Ridge Black Market.
Although the black market had not officially closed, there were not many people on the third day of the New Year. Only twenty or thirty stalls were open, and there were few merchants or customers.
Xie An went straight into the black market but did not find Night Pot Lad. He then went to the courtyard on the outskirts and found Zhang Lin.
"Old brother, I've been waiting ages for you." Zhang Lin was still wearing the uniform of an enforcer. He warmly welcomed Xie An into the inner hall and even had Zhou Xing brew some aged tea for him.
After some pleasantries, Zhang Lin got straight to the point. "What a coincidence. Enforcer Zhang Biao was ambushed and killed by bandits on New Year's Eve, so his position happens to be vacant. If old brother is interested in joining my White Feather Hall, you can fill that position."
As he spoke, Zhang Lin looked at Xie An with a half-smile, as though he knew something.
Although he had no evidence, Zhang Lin strongly felt that the old man before him was responsible.
Several months ago, Zhang Lin had hinted at Zhang Biao through Xie An, and then Zhang Biao had died.
And he had only been dead for three days when Xie An came knocking?
How could there be such a coincidence?
What was more, Zhang Lin had inspected the scene and knew that Zhang Biao had been shot dead by a heavy bow. When Zhang Wei and Lu Wei had died, Zhang Lin had seen it from a distance. Xie An had used a heavy bow then as well.
Putting everything together, Zhang Lin had deduced with eighty or ninety percent certainty that Zhang Biao had been killed by the old man before him.
But without evidence, he could only bury such a matter in his heart. He absolutely could not say it aloud.
Facing Zhang Lin's gaze, Xie An knew exactly what the old fellow was thinking.
Xie An was not panicked, however. It was only a deduction, and Zhang Lin had no evidence. Besides, after half a year of understanding each other, Xie An felt that their interests were currently aligned, and the other party would not go so far as to expose the matter.
Of course, Xie An would not place all his hopes on Zhang Lin's integrity either. Every time he came to the black market, he covered his face, and Zhang Lin did not know his identity. If Zhang Lin really took steps to frame him, Xie An could only send him on his final journey.
A favor was a favor and could be repaid. But if it concerned life and death, Xie An, who possessed the strength to back himself up, would never hesitate.
After weighing the matter again and again, Xie An said, "Enforcer Zhang, could I draw an advance on half a year's wages first?"
Before you continue