Immortal Martial: Pushing Across the Two Worlds from Reality

When had the three of them discussed this? How had she known nothing about it?

Now this was great. Forget sending charcoal in the snow—this did not even count as adding flowers to brocade.

Jiang Shu was having a blast.

What about her?

The tasty snacks were gone.

The cute dolls were gone.

From now on, she would probably not even bear to add toppings to a cup of milk tea.

No, even the milk tea was gone!

Everything was gone!

The thought of it filled Jiang Yanyue with sorrow. All she hoped now was that her brother had a shred of conscience and would return the eight hundred yuan that did not belong to him to its rightful owner.

At that moment, hot water poured into the sink, and the grease on the plates slowly spread out.

Jiang Shu shot his sister a sideways glance. "Have you ever seen a rice bucket spit something back out after stuffing it inside?"

"Ahhh! Jiang Shu, I'm going to fight you!"

The day and night hours of the Great Jing Dynasty were exactly opposite to those of Mystic Star.

It was now the Hour of the Rabbit, around six in the morning. Unlike Mystic Star's clear blue skies, the sky in this world seemed perpetually dim and overcast.

Even the newly risen red sun looked as though it had reached the end of its lifespan, its feeble rays shining down upon Pingling County.

Inside a tiny earthen hut made from piled mud bricks, barely more than a dozen square meters in size, Jiang Shu appeared.

He sat on the bed, rose, and swept his gaze around the room, confirming that none of the strands of hair tucked beneath the furnishings had been disturbed.

Only then did he relax. He checked the slightly long wig on his head, changed into a worn padded coat, and distributed the fragmented silver specially bought from Mystic Star Gold Shop into the small pockets sewn in advance throughout the coat.

Then he tucked three small bags of lime powder into his sleeves, slid the electric baton behind his back, and pushed open the door.

This place was—

Coiling Snake Alley, Outer City, Pingling County.

Coiling Snake Alley.

The alley twisted and turned like a nine-bend, eighteen-turn snake, crammed with several hundred households.

Every morning, old men pushed night-soil carts through it. The lingering stench permeated the entire alley and refused to fade.

Jiang Shu had lived here for over two months and had long grown accustomed to it. His expression remained unchanged as he held his breath slightly and hurried out.

This was the southernmost part of Pingling County's Outer City, under the Green Snake Gang's jurisdiction. Anyone leaving the alley to set up a stall or work in the county town had to pay the Green Snake Gang fifty copper coins every month.

For the lowest class of commoners, whose monthly wages amounted to only around one or two hundred copper coins, handing over fifty was like having flesh shaved away by a dull blade—not fatal, but the bleeding never stopped.

Yet no one dared resist.

Because the Green Snake Gang's leader was a true Martial Artist!

A Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artist!

"Old Man Li, going to sweep the Escort Agency again this time? That job only pays eighty copper coins a month. Why not come sweep for our Green Snake Gang instead? We'll give you fifty copper coins a month, and you won't have to pay the protection fee. You'll earn twenty more copper coins a month. What, you refuse? Think we won't even pay you fifty? Speak!"

At the entrance to Coiling Snake Alley, a Green Snake Gang member who came every month to collect the protection fee cursed loudly.

The leader was named Zhao Tai. Two months ago, his younger sister had caught the eye of one of the gang's higher-ups and become his concubine, earning Zhao Tai this lucrative post.

Old Man Li's legs trembled. He stammered, but did not dare say a word.

Jiang Shu frowned and strode forward. He tossed half a qian of silver into the bamboo basket holding the copper coins. The crisp chime of silver striking copper immediately drew the attention of the Green Snake Gang members.

"Well, well. Isn't this Master Qin's prized student? Not reading your few rotten books properly, and you want to stand up for someone? You bookworm probably don't even know that Master Qin has caught the Inner City Gao Family's eye. Next month, he'll be going to the Gao Family to serve as a private tutor. He's probably already lost all interest in teaching and spends every day packing his luggage."

"If you ask me, you ought to come pour chamber pots for our Green Snake Gang and keep Old Man Li company. Pour enough chamber pots, and maybe some manliness will rub off on you. Studying? What the hell is studying good for? Those brothel girls can't read anyway. You're sixteen or seventeen already—don't tell me you're still a virgin? Hahaha!"

"Even if Master Qin is leaving, that will be later."

Jiang Shu's tone was cold, but his foot casually nudged Old Man Li, signaling him to pay up and leave quickly. When Jiang Shu had first arrived here, he had learned much of his early information from Old Man Li. He had to remember that kindness.

Others feared Zhao Tai, but he did not.

Greedy for wine and lust, his steps unsteady.

To Jiang Shu, who could Sense Qi and Blood and whose strength had surpassed three hundred jin, such a man could not even withstand a single punch.

"Studying? Hahahaha..." Zhao Tai threw back his head in wild laughter. His original name had been Zhao Da. After gaining power, he had found an old scholar to change it. Studying was useful? If studying was useful, then why had that old scholar trembled in fear while changing his name, terrified that Zhao Tai would be dissatisfied?

"So what if you can write? Our hall master can't read a single character, but who dares say he isn't a real man? I say you brat ought to crawl through my crotch and feel what true manliness is like. Come on, crawl through!"

Zhao Tai spread his legs apart, looking at Jiang Shu like a jackal in the forest toying with a rabbit.

He had had his eye on Jiang Shu for a long time. His skin was fair and tender. Zhao Tai did not have that kind of taste himself, but Hall Master Zheng was fond of such things. If he trained this tender-skinned boy and sent him over, then won Hall Master Zheng's reward, would he not be able to walk sideways in this whole area?

Previously, this rabbit had been Master Qin's student, draped in a tiger's skin, so Zhao Tai had not dared go too far.

But now Master Qin was leaving the Outer City.

This fair, tender rabbit who had lost his backing—he could play with him however he liked!

"Master Zhao, Master Zhao, Young Master Jiang is young and ignorant. Tomorrow, I'll go to the Green Snake Gang. I'll sweep the floors, and let him pour the chamber pots."

Old Man Li, who had not yet left, immediately sensed trouble upon hearing Zhao Tai's words. His callused, rough hand wrapped around Jiang Shu's hand just as it was about to clench into a fist. Turning back, he pleaded, "Everyone is still waiting to go to work, Master Zhao. You are magnanimous, your heart as vast as the sea. We'll report to the hall tomorrow. We'll certainly bring honor to your face, Master Zhao."

"Pah! What the fuck are you—"

"Master Zhao, Master Zhao, we're nothing but farts. Please let us go. Everyone is in a hurry to work. We can't delay, truly, we can't delay!"

"Damn it. Bring the brat to report tomorrow. Do I need to teach you how to do things? Get lost!"

Seeing more and more people gathering at the entrance of Coiling Snake Alley, and hearing Old Man Li's endless pleas, Zhao Tai swallowed his rising fury and kicked out. Work truly could not be delayed. The monthly protection fees were already like cutting flesh with a dull blade. If he stopped people from working altogether and provoked public outrage, he might not be able to suppress it.

The hall masters were practitioners who had achieved Qi and Blood Great Circulation, capable of facing hundreds or thousands alone.

But Zhao Tai was not.

As for crawling through his crotch—he had only told them to get lost today.

Tomorrow was another matter.

"Master Zhao is so magnanimous, so magnanimous."

Old Man Li did not dare rub the place where he had been kicked. Wearing a deeply grateful expression, he dragged Jiang Shu swiftly out of the crowd.

"A scholar? Scholar my ass. After all that studying, he's still trash anyone can bully. If not for Old Man Li, I'd have made him crawl under my crotch today. Living in a place like Coiling Snake Alley, and he still wants to be some scholar? Pah!" Zhao Tai spat on the ground, kicked the bamboo basket, sat down on a stool, and said, "Put in your copper coins one by one. Whoever dares put in one less, hmph."

Among the gang members nearby, one quick-eyed fellow hurried over to massage Zhao Tai's shoulders, flattering him, "Brother Zhao thinks too highly of him. Crawling through your crotch would be his blessing. Is just anyone worthy of crawling beneath you? A few days ago, I saw one of the brothel girls at Sparrow Pavilion. That charm, that allure—that's the sort fit to crawl through Brother Zhao's crotch."

"Damn it. I told you all to read more, but you never listen. Are the women in Sparrow Pavilion mere brothel girls? That place is a gold-devouring den! If you don't have a few taels of real silver in hand, you can't even get a cup of tea inside." Looking at the ignorant ordinary gang members around him, Zhao Tai's mood soared, and his confidence swelled as he proudly said, "Of course, I have been to such a gold-devouring den once."

"Ah, Brother Zhao truly is wise and mighty. This little brother doesn't have Brother Zhao's abilities. I'm still a virgin even now, only hoping to save up enough money to have some fun in the alleys. Which brothel girl is good? Please give me some guidance, Brother Zhao."

"Tsk, we're brothers. What guidance is there to speak of? I know a brothel girl in Green Grass Alley, though I've grown a little tired of her after so long. Come with me later. I'll let you, a fledgling chick, experience what it means for two dragons to play with a pearl."

"Brother Zhao is generous indeed. It's just that I'm on duty at the gambling house this afternoon. By the time I get there, it'll have to be after the Hour of the Dog."

"Damn it, you're going to a gambling house, so just say you're going to a gambling house. On duty? Do you think you're eating from the government's bowl? Fine, got it. I'll go later too. The third-to-last house in Green Grass Alley—I'll leave the door open for you."

The Green Snake Gang members burst into laughter, completely failing to notice what was behind them.

Jiang Shu, whom Old Man Li had dragged away through the crowd, stood sideways nearby and lingered for quite a while, until he had heard every word clearly.

"Young Master Jiang, don't hold Master Zhao's words against him today. Even if you resent him, don't show it on your face. Tomorrow, come with this old man to sweep the hall and pour chamber pots. This old man knows you're a good scholar and can't do such lowly work. I'll do it. You only need to go there once. If Master Zhao asks about it, just say you poured the chamber pots."

Old Man Li tugged Jiang Shu's sleeve and spoke in a low voice, rubbing his calf.

He had fled famine from another county. He had merely dozed off on the road, and when he woke up, his little girl was gone.

As for his son, long before the famine had begun...

If his son were still alive, would his grandson also have been like Young Master Jiang—courteous and fond of learning...

Cloudy tears could not help but stream from Old Man Li's eyes. He clearly remembered the first time he had met Jiang Shu.

That time, he had risen early as usual. Across from him, the earthen house that had always stood empty unexpectedly had its door open. A youth who obviously looked like a scholar walked out and called to him, "Old uncle."

For a refugee like him, even the slightest bit of respect was enough to make him never forget.

"Old Uncle Li, you should have left directly today. You should not have stopped me."

Jiang Shu sighed.

To him, Zhao Tai's repeated provocations were no more than a single punch. He could kill Zhao Tai, then leave in an instant. Even if the Green Snake Gang searched with all its strength, as long as he headed toward the Inner City, he could safely return to Mystic Star after merely twelve hours.

But when Old Man Li turned back, he could not throw that punch.

He could leave, but Old Man Li might have to leave his life behind here.

"Child, if I hadn't stopped you, and you refused to crawl through his crotch, Master Zhao really would have beaten you. They use leather whips soaked in salt water to lash people. You don't know—you've never seen it. How could your tender flesh endure such a vicious beating?"

After living in Coiling Snake Alley for so many years, he knew all too well what sort of people the Green Snake Gang were.

When such things happened to others, he would cower and pretend not to see. The world was simply like this. What could an old refugee like him do?