Over the next few days, Lin Guanhuo returned to his usual routine.
With no demons coming to claim his life and no superiors picking fights with him, he could say his days were rather peaceful.
The eighty taels he had earned from selling martial arts manuals and killing Huang Bao still weren't all spent.
And with those forty taels' worth of Dog Head Gold still in his pocket, he didn't have to worry about money for a while.
During the first half of the night, he kept drawing his sword in the backyard, repeating the same motion again and again.
During the second half, he soaked in the rich medicinal broth, enjoying its nourishing effects on his bones and muscles while devouring meat and drinking bowl after bowl of wine.
This heavenly life lasted a full month.
One morning, Lin Guanhuo woke from his medicinal bath.
Hm? Something's wrong!
Just as he was about to get up, Lin Guanhuo felt an unprecedented surge of power, filling every inch of his body.
When he moved, his bones crackled, and his whole body felt impossibly light and refreshed.
He could tell his strength had taken a tremendous leap compared to just a few days ago!!
Lin Guanhuo clenched his fist and felt the sudden surge of qi and blood within him.
Then he murmured, "I actually broke through in my sleep..."
"Body Tempering third-grade."
There was none of the wild elation he might have imagined, only a calm sense that it had happened naturally.
Just then.
"Crack! Pop! Crack! Pop~~~"
"Crack! Pop! Crack! Pop~~~"
A string of firecrackers suddenly sounded outside the window.
Lin Guanhuo pushed it open.
Snow was falling outside, thick flakes blanketing all of Blackwater County.
From the distant streets and alleys came the faint sound of children laughing.
"New Year's already."
Lin Guanhuo felt dazed.
Even in this chaotic world of demons, even when they might die in the street tomorrow, ordinary folk still hoped that the new year would be a little better.
Even if all that meant was a full meal, even if all that meant was staying alive.
But for the downtrodden White Servants of Miscellaneous Room Courtyard, New Year's didn't mean a day off.
"Get moving! Quit dragging your feet!"
"Lazy mules always need to piss and shit! The County Office isn't keeping you for nothing!"
"Move it, move it!!"
Zhao Sihai had disappeared to enjoy himself somewhere long ago.
Only a few supervisors remained, shouting orders.
Lin Guanhuo, his familiar companion Li Hu, and another thirty or forty men were hauling lumber through the heavy snow in the backyard.
They called it building a stable, but really, they were just putting up a shelter for the County Magistrate's newly purchased Treasure Horses.
The people didn't even have a warm place to sleep, but the horses already had a new home.
They worked until dusk, when the sky had begun to darken, before finally finishing.
Exhausted as dead dogs, they didn't even have the strength to go back to their rooms. Instead, they crammed into the newly built stable to shelter from the wind.
"Damn, I'm freezing and worn out. I need a drink to warm me up."
Li Hu sat on a thick log and pulled out his flask.
He tipped it back for a long moment, but only a drop or two came out.
"Damn it!"
Li Hu angrily flung the flask to the ground. "I'm out of booze."
"This life isn't fit for a human being."
The more Li Hu spoke, the more bitter he became. "It's New Year's. Everyone else is eating a reunion dinner, collecting their bonuses, and keeping warm at home with their wives and kids. And us? We've spent all day building a house for livestock, and we can't even get a hot meal!"
"Last year we at least got a few coins. This year, they haven't given us a single cent!"
"Enough, Huzi. Don't say any more." A few White Servants nearby sighed. "What can we do? We were born with worthless lives."
"Worthless lives? Yeah, that's right. Our lives are worthless!"
A tall, lanky White Servant from the corner leaned over and whispered, "I heard our two foremen, along with a few of the big shots at the County Office, are all at Peach Moon Tower in town right now."
"Peach Moon Tower? That place is a money pit!"
"Isn't it? I heard it costs a whole tael of silver just to listen to a song there. They're drinking and making merry with pretty girls in their arms, while we're stuck here freezing in the wind."
The mood grew even worse.
Hunger, cold, injustice.
Those feelings weighed on everyone like a massive boulder, leaving them unable to breathe.
Just then.
Clink.
No one knew where they came from, but two pieces of Broken Silver landed at Li Hu's feet.
He looked up sharply.
Lin Guanhuo, who had been quietly working all along, was now sitting to one side. He said, "Stop complaining."
"Li Hu, take the money and go to a restaurant in town. Buy wine and dumplings!"
"This one's on me!"
In the world Lin Guanhuo had once lived in, New Year's meant eating dumplings and making merry. That was what made it feel like the New Year.
It was New Year's today. They ought to celebrate.
Lin Guanhuo wasn't some selfless saint, but he certainly wasn't stingy, either.
At his words.
A deathly silence fell.
Everyone stared at Lin Guanhuo in disbelief, then looked at the silver in Li Hu's hands.
Two taels of silver!
That was more than this whole group could save in a year or two.
And he was just... using it to treat everyone to dumplings?
After a moment.
"Brother Lin..." Li Hu's hands trembled. "This... this is too much..."
"Just go." Lin Guanhuo waved him off, not in the mood to listen to Li Hu's heartfelt thanks.
"Right! Right! I'm going now!"
Li Hu scrambled to his feet, so excited he nearly tripped. He grabbed the silver and dashed outside.
"Wait here, everyone! I'll be right back!"
Half an hour later.
"Hyah!! Hyah!! Hyah!!"
Li Hu returned, driving the flatbed cart they usually used to carry corpses. They'd only laid a little dry grass on the bed.
But no one cared.
The cart was piled high with several jars of aged wine and dozens of steaming boxes of dumplings.
"Dumplings are here~~~~!"
Li Hu's shout rang with the festive cheer of New Year's.
That night, a bonfire blazed in the backyard of Miscellaneous Room Courtyard.
Forty or fifty rough men, used to enduring scorn and going hungry, sat gathered around the flames.
No one spoke. Only the sounds of swallowing rose and fell..
The freshly made dumplings were stuffed with meat, with thin wrappers and generous filling. One bite was enough to make a man swoon; they were bursting with flavor!
With a swig of strong liquor, everyone felt warmth rising through them.
"So good... Damn, these are so good..."
"These dumplings are delicious! Dig in!"
"The last time I had dumplings was years ago, at New Year's. I was passing a rich man's house when the family had a fight and threw their dumplings outside. They landed all over the ground. They were a little dirty, but I still ate my fill!"
The White Servants sat there holding the battered bowls they used for their everyday meals, talking as they ate.
Lin Guanhuo sat among them with a bowl of wine, quietly watching.
"Brother Lin!"
Li Hu raised his bowl and toasted Lin Guanhuo.
Then, all at once, the rest followed.
Every White Servant there, young and old alike, stood up and faced Lin Guanhuo with a bowl of wine in hand.
The numbness and worldliness in their eyes were gone.
In their place was genuine gratitude and respect.
Lin Guanhuo was younger than every man present, but they called him "Brother Lin" with heartfelt sincerity.
"Brother Lin, this drink's for you!"
"Happy New Year, Brother Lin!"
The snow fell harder.
Yet for the first time, this dilapidated courtyard had a human warmth to it.
The next morning, the snow stopped.
Lin Guanhuo opened his door, intending to wash his face and wake himself up.
Just then.
"Lin Guanhuo, come here."
A lazy voice called out.
Lin Guanhuo turned to look.
Deputy Foreman Zhao Sihai was lounging with one leg crossed over the other in a chair under the eaves, a steaming teapot in his hand.
He looked like he was begging for a beating.
Lin Guanhuo stopped. "What is it, Foreman Zhao?"
"The long-term laborer at my house took leave to visit his hometown. I need someone to chop wood and haul water."
Zhao Sihai blew the tea leaves from his cup without even raising his eyes, as if Lin Guanhuo owed him. "You're young and strong, so come give me a hand later. Work hard, and I'll reward you with a full meal at noon."
In Zhao Sihai's eyes, these White Servants were his personal slaves, to be ordered around however he pleased.
But...
At those words, Lin Guanhuo's brow furrowed even deeper.
"I'm not going."
Before you continue