"Hey, Senior Brother, where's Junior Brother Su?"
Just then, a voice rang out. Fang Rou looked around for Su Chen.
"He left," Li Mo said in a low voice. "If you're looking for him, you'll probably have to go to his house."
"Ah, why?" Fang Rou asked.
"He hardly ever comes to the Martial Hall!"
The thought gave him a headache. Since joining the Martial Hall, Su Chen hadn't spent even ten days there.
It made Li Mo feel as though he hadn't been much use as a senior brother at all!
"All right. Could you tell me where Junior Brother Su lives, Senior Brother?" Fang Rou asked timidly.
Li Mo thought it over. "How about this: I'll talk to him about your matter later."
"Then thank you, Senior Brother Li Mo."
Fang Rou's face brightened with a smile, and she left.
As Zhou Tao and the others stepped out of the Martial Hall, they spotted Su Chen heading off in another direction.
"Looks like our Junior Brother Su is a busy man."
Seeing Su Chen hurry away, Fang Yanxun remarked coolly.
Hu Zong chuckled. "Probably going home to train hard."
"I heard Junior Brother Su rarely trains at the Martial Hall," Fang Yanxun said. "To master Iron Wire Fist, he must have spent who knows how much time and money."
Hu Zong shook his head. "You've got that wrong, Lao Fang. Junior Brother Su is the only one in his family. I doubt he has that much money to spend."
Fang Yanxun was surprised. "Oh? With no resources to support him, he mastered Iron Wire Fist in a month? His talent must be no weaker than Junior Brother Qin Hao's."
Qin Hao pursed his lips, but before he could speak, Zhou Tao shook his head. "Su Chen still falls short compared with Junior Brother Qin Hao."
Zhou Tao then revealed that Qin Hao had kept quiet about how long it had really taken him. The two men were astonished, and looked at Qin Hao with rueful smiles.
"I thought one month was already incredibly fast. I never expected Junior Brother Qin Hao to have kept something back."
"Exactly. Junior Brother Qin Hao's talent is something we can only envy."
Hearing their praise, Qin Hao's lips curled up slightly. He smiled. "You flatter me, Senior Brothers."
After a pause, he continued, "Still, if I were as diligent as Junior Brother Su, I'd probably have done it even faster."
As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed. "But Junior Brother Su only knows how to train hard. He doesn't understand the need to balance work and rest. I'm afraid his future achievements will go no further than this."
He glanced at Zhou Tao. "For a martial artist, strength is only one part of the equation. More often than not, you also need others to lend a hand."
"Junior Brother Qin Hao is absolutely right. Su Chen's outlook is too narrow. Senior Brother Zhou Tao invited him along to broaden his horizons, but he wasn't fortunate enough to accept," Fang Yanxun said.
"Haha, let's not dwell on it. Maybe Junior Brother Su has his reasons. It's not our place to interfere. Come on, let's go to Spring Breeze Pavilion."
Zhou Tao shook his head with a smile and set off. The other three followed close behind.
After leaving the Martial Hall, Su Chen didn't head straight home. Instead, he went to a bookstore and bought some books on medicine.
He had nothing urgent to do that afternoon, so he started reading them.
He read until dusk, and when it seemed late enough, he set off to find Li Mo.
Li Mo was still at the Martial Hall. When he saw Su Chen, he asked him to wait a little. Once he'd finished his work, they left together.
The two went to Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant. It wasn't as fine as Drunken Immortal Restaurant, but the food was good and inexpensive, and it was close to both their homes.
"Junior Brother, can you really finish all this?"
Li Mo was surprised to see Su Chen order a whole tableful of dishes.
"If we can't finish it, we'll pack it up!" Su Chen said with a smile. Then he raised his cup. "Thank you for looking out for me all this time, Senior Brother."
Li Mo raised his cup too and shook his head. "I can't take credit for that. It's all thanks to your own hard work."
He thought Su Chen was talking about martial arts training. He had no idea Su Chen was also thanking him for helping drive off the Black Water Gang.
Su Chen only smiled, saying nothing to explain.
"Looks like you've found a way to make money, Junior Brother Su."
After draining his cup, Li Mo looked at the spread and smiled.
A meal like this didn't come cheap.
Su Chen neither confirmed nor denied it. Then something occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, Senior Brother, is there anything I should watch out for when pledging allegiance to a gang?"
When he'd returned home that day, a gang had come to offer him a monthly payment.
They were all small gangs, and he hadn't agreed to anything yet.
Hearing this, Li Mo said, "There's nothing in particular you need to watch out for. You're not short of money right now, so you can take your time choosing."
No, I am short of money! Su Chen grumbled inwardly.
Li Mo then gave him a brief explanation of how pledging allegiance to a gang worked.
A newly prominent Martial Hall disciple like Su Chen could only pledge allegiance to small gangs and shops. The monthly fee wouldn't be much.
At most, one or two taels; at least, half a tael.
The money was small, but Su Chen could pledge allegiance to multiple gangs.
In effect, this arrangement was like protection money. It allowed a gang to borrow the Hong Family Martial Hall's name to establish itself.
"But remember, Junior Brother, you're only pledging allegiance—you're not a member of the gang. You don't have to get involved in their disputes. Just collect the money each month. If they want you to take action, they'll have to pay extra."
Li Mo offered the reminder so Su Chen wouldn't take his duties too seriously.
At this, Su Chen was surprised. "What if the gang I've pledged allegiance to gets wiped out?"
"Then you find another one," Li Mo said, unconcerned. "There are plenty of gangs in White Stone City. When the old are gone, the new will take their place."
Su Chen nodded. It seemed that becoming a martial artist came with even more benefits than he'd imagined.
He'd never heard of collecting protection money from gangs before.
"This is your first time pledging allegiance, so you can take your time choosing. As for how many gangs to pledge allegiance to, that's up to you.
"There's one more thing to watch out for. Besides gangs and shops, some families may try to recruit you. They'll offer a very high price, but it's little different from selling yourself into bondage."
Li Mo went on to share some of his experience. It was all useful to Su Chen, who raised his cup again to thank him.
They were drinking merrily when a commotion suddenly broke out outside. Looking closely, they saw a street brawl.
"Alas, White Stone City is getting more and more chaotic." Li Mo sighed at the sight.
Su Chen fell silent, and soon the two turned their attention away from the window.
At the table, Li Mo did most of the talking while Su Chen listened.
Li Mo talked about all kinds of things, saying whatever came to mind. Some of the information proved invaluable to Su Chen.
They kept eating until the restaurant closed. Only then did the two leave.
After seeing Li Mo off, Su Chen headed home alone in the cold wind.
As he reached his front door, he spotted a beggar lying there. The man wore thin, tattered clothes and shivered in the cold wind.
When he saw Su Chen, he instinctively moved aside. But then he noticed the food in Su Chen's hands and licked his cracked lips in longing.
Su Chen shook his head at the sight, handed him the food he'd packed up, and went inside.
Just as Li Mo had said, White Stone City really was growing more chaotic.
Street brawls weren't the only problem anymore. Now there were even beggars at his doorstep.
A faint sense of danger stirred in Su Chen's heart.
I need to earn money and improve my Iron Wire Fist as soon as possible!
Before you continue