Chen Qinghe

"Third Brother, what's the good news today? You're treating me to a meal." Before he even entered the house, Chen Liangpin's voice carried inside.

When he stepped into the courtyard, he saw—

"Big Brother's here too. What's going on?"

"Second Brother, what are you talking about? We're all in town. Isn't it perfectly normal for us brothers to get together?"

Chen Liangwu came out carrying the fine wine Chen Qinglin had brought back.

"So there's good wine!" Chen Liangpin's eyes lit up when he saw the bottle in Chen Liangwu's hands.

Then he felt a little regretful. His wife had come along with him, so he probably wouldn't get to drink much of it.

"Where'd you get it, Third Brother?"

"That kid Qinglin brought it back. It made me think of you and Big Brother!"

"Qinglin? He's back? Where is he?"

"He went out with Qingshi a little while ago. They'll be back soon."

"What about that kid Qinghe?"

"Don't mention him. If Qinghe were like Qinglin and Qingshi, I'd be at ease. Who knows where he's wandered off to this time?"

At that, Chen Liangpin couldn't help envying his elder and younger brothers.

Since they were having the eldest uncle's family and the second uncle's family over for a meal, Chen Qinglin and Chen Qingshi went out to buy ingredients. Chen Qingyun and Chen Xiaoxiao hadn't seen their eldest brother in a long time, so they came along too.

"Qinglin, your ring is so handy!" After they bought plenty of meat and vegetables, Chen Qingshi watched in amazement as Qinglin packed it all into the little ring.

"When will I get a ring like that?"

But it was only an idle remark. He couldn't afford something like this; Qinglin had already told him how much it cost.

It took a hundred Spirit Stones to buy one. They weren't sold in Dingyuan County at all, and even in Changyang County, there were very few. People like them had almost no chance of getting one.

One Spirit Stone could be exchanged for a hundred taels of gold, and one tael of gold was worth ten taels of silver.

That meant this ring was worth a hundred thousand taels of silver. Besides, hardly anyone would exchange Spirit Stones for gold or silver.

Gold and silver alone couldn't buy a Storage Ring.

Even a hundred thousand taels of silver was beyond Chen Qingshi's imagination.

"Keep practicing martial arts. When you reach the Body Tempering Ninth Level, I'll give you one." Chen Qinglin looked at his cousin and encouraged him.

"Really? I'll work hard at martial arts, Qinglin!" Chen Qingshi answered excitedly.

"Of course." Chen Qinglin replied with a smile.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as he looked ahead.

When Chen Qingshi saw Qinglin fall silent and stare in one direction, he followed his gaze. It turned out to be their cousin Chen Qinghe, the second uncle's son.

A group of people had surrounded him. A few of his companions stood off to the side, too afraid to approach.

One of them said to Chen Qinghe, "Chen Qinghe, when are you planning to repay the money you borrowed from Third Master?"

"Bah! I paid Third Master back ages ago—and then some!" Chen Qinghe's face was bruised, and he retorted indignantly.

"That little bit you paid isn't nearly enough. We've got written proof. Don't even think about weaseling out of it."

"Pay up soon. Otherwise... heh heh. You know what Third Master is capable of."

"Oh? How much does he still owe your Third Master?"

A voice suddenly came from behind them. Sun Tao and the others turned around to see a handsome young man walking toward them.

"Who are you, kid? I'd advise you not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong." Seeing Chen Qinglin all alone, Sun Tao spoke arrogantly.

"Go tell your Third Master to return the money he took in excess. I, Chen Qinglin, will let the matter go."

"Well, well! I've never met anyone on this street more arrogant than me, Sun Tao." He'd never seen anyone put on airs like this kid. Today, Sun Tao was going to teach him a lesson.

"Beat him up! Teach this kid a lesson." Sun Tao retreated behind his underlings and gave the order.

At his words, the group of underlings rushed forward all at once.

Then they went flying out one after another.

After holding back just enough not to hurt Sun Tao too badly, Chen Qinglin gave him a beating and said—

"Get lost. And remember to pass my message on to that so-called Third Master of yours. Otherwise, I'll pay him a visit myself."

He turned to Chen Qinghe. "Qinghe Ge, come to my house for dinner today."

Then he gestured toward the others. "You can leave. If I see you hanging around Chen Qinghe again, I'll break your legs."

"Yes, yes!" The men scrambled to their feet and ran off.

"Qinglin, thank you." Chen Qinghe looked at him with complicated feelings.

"What are you thanking me for? We're family."

"Don't hang around with those people anymore."

"Come on, let's go to my place."

"But I..." Chen Qinghe touched his face, reluctant to go.

Chen Qinglin immediately understood what was on his mind. He raised a hand and used True Qi to heal the bruises on Chen Qinghe's face.

"There, that's better. Let's go."

Chen Qinghe touched his face, then thanked him again, embarrassed. "All right. Thank you so much for today."

When they entered the house, Chen Liangpin looked surprised.

"Where did you run into your cousin?"

Then he launched into a scolding. "Why aren't you out with those good-for-nothing friends of yours anymore...?"

"Enough, Second Brother. Qinghe hardly ever comes by. Don't give him such a hard time."

"Come on, let's have a drink, the three of us. Let the younger brothers go chat over there." He raised his cup and called Chen Liangpin over.

The two aunts and their mother were cooking in the kitchen, while their father and uncles drank in the courtyard.

Chen Qinglin and his cousins found a place in the courtyard and sat down to chat.

"Qinghe Ge, stop hanging around with those people. You won't get anywhere with them. Practice martial arts with me!" Chen Qingshi said to Chen Qinghe.

"Practice martial arts? Am I not too old to start?" Chen Qinghe didn't want to keep mixing with those people either. What had happened that day had shown him their true colors.

But he was already twenty. Though Chen Qingshi's suggestion tempted him, he knew he was getting on in years and worried he wouldn't amount to much.

Still, he looked toward his younger cousin, Chen Qinglin.

When Chen Qinghe and Chen Qingshi looked to him, Chen Qinglin said:

"Of course you can. Not just you, Qinghe Ge—Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, and my father can practice too."

"For them, it'll only be a way to keep fit. But you still have a chance to make something of it."

"Even if you can't reach a particularly high level, it'll be enough for you here in Qingyan Town."

"Then I'll do it. Thank you, Qinglin." He didn't bring up the fact that his family couldn't afford to support his training. Since his younger cousin had offered, Qinglin would naturally make arrangements.

Chen Qinglin did indeed have arrangements in mind.

Ordinary money was no longer of much use to him.

He had earned hundreds of thousands in silver from completing missions. He decided to invest some of it in the clan and use some to buy property for his parents and uncles.

The next day, Town Guard Wei Zhan heard that Chen Qinglin and Xie Jingyun had returned and came to pay them a visit.

As an official serving within the Great Xuan Dynasty, he naturally knew that both Chen Qinglin and Xie Jingyun had joined Qingfeng Mountain.

After hearing what had happened to Chen Qinglin's cousin, he promised to keep order in Qingyan Town and crack down hard on dangerous elements who threatened the town's safety.

That very day, he raided the gang the so-called Third Master belonged to and punished them according to their crimes. He also returned some of the money Chen Qinghe had overpaid.

Chen Qinglin thanked Town Guard Wei Zhan. He didn't take any extra money, only telling Chen Qinghe to take back what he had overpaid.

Later, his aunt Chen Liping's family came to visit. His uncle Zhou Jin was very warm, and he finally got to meet the cousins he hadn't seen much before.

Though they weren't close, his aunt Chen Liping was still family.

After hosting his aunt's family, Chen Qinglin didn't meet with the other visitors who came to call.

He took his family back to Linhe Village.