Selling the Deed, Mastering the Fist Technique

The next morning.

A ray of sunlight shone upon the earth, heralding the arrival of a new day.

Su Chen got up early, washed up briefly, and left without even eating breakfast.

Vendors had already begun setting up along the streets. He found a breakfast stall and made do with a simple meal.

Then, after turning this way and that, he arrived at another street with relatively few people.

Ping San Street.

There was a pawnshop here called the Han Family Pawnshop.

Su Chen squeezed the deed in his clothes, his gaze gradually hardening.

The purpose of this trip was to sell the deed.

With his current strength, whether he could even keep the house was still uncertain. He might as well sell it for silver and strengthen himself.

"The Han Family Pawnshop has been rooted here for as long as I can remember. It is quite renowned in the nearby area."

"To remain standing in the Outer City, where gangs stood thick as trees, it clearly had some capability."

"There are rumors that the pawnshop has someone backing it."

Standing before the pawnshop, Su Chen considered the information he had gathered.

There was a saying among the locals: gangs came and went in turn, but the Han Family Pawnshop alone stood unmoved.

Though that was somewhat exaggerated, it was enough to show that the Han Family Pawnshop had powerful forces behind it and did not fear the Black Water Gang.

After hesitating for a few moments, Su Chen stepped into the pawnshop. Though it was still morning, a line had already formed at the counter.

"Are they here to pawn their deeds too?"

Standing at the back of the line, Su Chen happened to glimpse the deeds held by the three people in front of him.

It seemed they had come with the same plan as Su Chen—to sell their deeds.

All of them were dressed better than he was.

"You want to sell a deed? Let me see your documentation."

The shopkeeper wore a mustache shaped like the character eight. He took the documents and deed from the first customer, which contained information related to the house.

"Shopkeeper, my house is nestled between mountain and water, with beautiful hills and clear streams. It is a fine place."

Seeing that the shopkeeper remained silent, the old man stammered out a sentence.

Only then did the shopkeeper look up at him and ask carelessly, "What price are you asking?"

"At least twenty taels!" the old man immediately replied.

"Twenty taels?" The shopkeeper sneered. "A stinking ditch and a little mound, and you think it is worth twenty taels?"

"This..."

The old man began to panic, but the shopkeeper quickly cut him off impatiently. "Let's meet in the middle. Ten taels of silver. Sell or don't sell."

In the end, with gritted teeth and helpless resignation, the old man agreed to the transaction, and the two sides signed a contract.

"You want to sell a deed too?"

Soon it was the second customer's turn. The shopkeeper spotted the deed in his hand at a glance.

The burly man nodded, took out his documentation, and handed it to the shopkeeper. Then he said, "Sir, I am different from him. My house is far from the bustle and close to nature. It is a summer retreat, suitable for noble young masters to live in, and they can even go hunting outside."

As he spoke, he held up three fingers. "So it is a little more expensive. Thirty taels."

Who would have thought that the shopkeeper would still sneer? "The location is remote and desolate. Those noble young masters would not look twice at it. Let's meet in the middle—fifteen taels. Sell or don't sell?"

"Sir, this is prime land! Twenty taels! I will sell for twenty taels!" The burly man immediately grew anxious.

The shopkeeper said nothing and silently handed the documentation back.

The burly man opened his mouth, but in the end helplessly spat out two words. "I'll sell."

"Next."

Their transaction was completed swiftly, and it was the turn of the customer ahead of Su Chen.

He leaned forward and took out his documentation. The hand holding it trembled slightly.

Clearly, the shopkeeper's two rounds of bargaining had given him a bad feeling.

"Shopkeeper, m-my house has convenient transportation in every direction. It is located at a market and is a good place to do business. Every shopkeeper there can make money."

"Oh? Then what price are you asking?"

"Thirty... no, forty taels!"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "The transportation is indeed convenient, but it is a countryside market, a patch of land no bigger than an ant. It is not worth that price. Let's meet in the middle—ten taels. Sell or don't sell?"

"Ten taels? No, no, I won't sell! That is far too low!"

The man immediately bristled, blowing his beard and glaring.

Seeing how the shopkeeper always met in the middle, he had deliberately raised the price by ten taels. Yet after the other man split the difference twice, the price had landed directly at ten taels.

No matter how badly he needed money, he could not sell it that cheaply. He shook his head, put away the deed, and turned to leave.

At last, it was Su Chen's turn.

Su Chen took out his documentation and handed it over without saying a word.

What could he say?

Things like "nestled between mountain and water," "prime location," and "convenient transportation"—the three people before him had already said everything there was to say.

"Hm? Don't you have anything to say?"

The shopkeeper looked at Su Chen in confusion. The previous three had all done their utmost to describe the merits of their houses.

Yet when it came to Su Chen, he had turned mute. That surprised him somewhat.

Su Chen pursed his lips. "My house has no fancy selling points, but... the Black Water Gang has taken a liking to it!"

"Oh?"

The shopkeeper froze for a moment and gave Su Chen a surprised look. Then he carefully examined the deed in his hand.

"Ping Shi Street. It is indeed Black Water Gang territory. Tell me, how much do you want?"

"Twenty taels."

"That is a bit high. Will you sell for ten taels?"

"Nineteen taels."

"Eleven taels."

"..."

After a round of bargaining, the two sides settled on thirteen taels, money and goods exchanged hand for hand.

When Su Chen left the pawnshop, he had thirteen taels of silver in his clothes. He murmured, "Panel, recharge five taels and activate Easy Mode."

The silver in his clothes immediately decreased by five taels.

Easy Mode activated: Throw punches at empty air for twenty minutes to train Iron Wire Fist to mastery.

Su Chen clenched his fist and threw a punch into empty air.

+1%

It worked.

He found an uninhabited place and continued throwing punches.

+1%, +1%...

Twenty minutes later, as a gentle force washed over him, the panel changed:

Name: Su Chen

Martial Art: Iron Wire Fist (Mastery 1%)

Easy Mode: Iron Wire Fist 0 times (10 taels of silver/time)

"Ten taels next time?"

Seeing the amount required to activate Easy Mode next time, Su Chen froze, feeling somewhat helpless.

Even including the money from selling the deed, he clearly did not have enough to recharge.

"Since it is not enough, then next time. I should keep this money for renting a house later."

Su Chen shook his head, having made up his mind.

Then he looked at his arms. The changes were enormous. Before, only the faintest trace of muscle could be seen.

But now, the muscles in his arms were clearly visible even without clenching them.

A powerful sense of strength surged through both arms, and his understanding of the fist technique had also deepened.

"Eh? Why is there a faint red line on my arm?"

Suddenly, Su Chen's gaze froze. At the instant he tensed and relaxed his muscles, a Blood Line seemed to flicker in and out of sight.

"Iron Wire Fist... Iron Line... could it be referring to this Blood Line? I'll ask Senior Brother Li Mo when I go to the Martial Hall this afternoon."

Releasing his hand, Su Chen headed toward the Brokerage.

Next, he planned to rent a house.