Mountain Tax

That day, Lu Chuan arrived at the Martial Arts Hall as usual, only to find the atmosphere different from normal.

Many disciples had gathered in the Training Ground, excitedly discussing something.

Only after asking around did he learn that Old Zheng had taken on a new disciple that day.

And this new disciple supposedly had the results of an Upper Grade Bone Root on his Bone Root test!

"Upper Grade Bone Root?" Lu Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

His understanding of the Martial Way had deepened considerably during this time, and he had also asked around about the situation inside the Martial Arts Hall.

The disciples' talents varied greatly. The best senior sister, Su Tang, had been rated by Old Zheng as upper-middle grade, which was already rare.

The rest, including Senior Disciple Brother Chen Mo Bai and Seventh Senior Disciple Brother Zhou Ming Chuan, hovered around the middle grade, while most Outer Disciples were merely lower-middle grade.

When Old Zheng had examined his bones that day, the assessment he had given Lu Chuan was also lower-middle grade.

An Upper Grade Bone Root was indeed a rare thing in a small place like Qinghe County.

Following everyone's gazes, he saw the newly arrived genius.

He was a youth who looked about seventeen or eighteen, named Jiang Hao.

He was said to come from an ordinary family in Qinghe County, with an unremarkable household.

Yet his build was quite striking. He had broad shoulders and a wide back, and especially notable were his legs, whose smooth, powerful muscle lines resembled the legendary Mantis Leg.

"No wonder they say he has an Upper Grade Bone Root. Just looking at that frame, he seems like he can really fight..." Lu Chuan thought to himself.

But he soon withdrew his gaze instead of crowding over to watch like the other disciples.

Lu Chuan considered himself backed by a system, and believed his potential was no worse than anyone else's. Naturally, he had no intention of currying favor with others.

He drew his saber and began his daily practice.

The fact that Lu Chuan did not join the excitement did not mean everyone else would do the same.

Senior Disciple Brother Chen Mo Bai wore an enthusiastic smile and took the initiative to accept the task of teaching Jiang Hao the basics of Initiate training.

After practicing for a while, Zhou Ming Chuan came over and sat beside Lu Chuan to rest.

"Tsk, tsk, an Upper Grade Bone Root... Junior Brother Lu, what a pity. Master Zheng could originally have considered accepting you as a Formal Disciple..."

Hearing this, Lu Chuan laughed helplessly. "Senior Disciple Brother Zhou, why would I care about that?"

Seeing that he truly did not care in the slightest, Zhou Ming Chuan could not help but find it strange.

"You really are taking it well. But that Jiang Hao kid is genuinely a little uncanny. He only needs to watch Senior Disciple Brother Chen teach something once and practice it a few times before he can perform it properly. In my view, at most three days, his Mountain Splitting Saber will reach Initiate!"

"Oh." Lu Chuan responded indifferently.

Looking at Lu Chuan's calm, unruffled appearance, Zhou Ming Chuan scratched his head.

"Junior Brother Lu, your temperament... is truly steady."

At noon, after drinking his bowl of Qi and Blood Soup, Lu Chuan did not continue practicing his saber. Instead, he went to the Backyard and found Old Zheng.

"Master Zheng." Lu Chuan bowed respectfully.

Old Zheng opened his eyes and glanced at him. "Hmm? Lu Chuan, what is it?"

"Disciple wishes to ask for leave." Lu Chuan got straight to the point. "Starting today, I would like to leave the Martial Arts Hall a little earlier in the afternoon."

Old Zheng's brows immediately furrowed, and his tone turned displeased. "What do you mean? Have you found martial training too bitter?"

"It is not that." Lu Chuan shook his head and explained.

"Recently, I have been practicing the Mountain Splitting Saber and gained some insight, but it consumes an enormous amount of Qi and Blood. That daily bowl of Qi and Blood Soup can only barely support my hard training in the morning. Therefore, I want to free up my afternoons to obtain more resources for replenishing Qi and Blood."

Upon hearing this, Old Zheng looked at him several times before suddenly saying, "Perform the Mountain Splitting Saber once for me."

Lu Chuan immediately performed it fluidly in the open space in the courtyard.

Although he had not yet reached the level of Minor Success, he was not far from it.

Obvious surprise appeared on Old Zheng's face.

He remembered clearly—how many days had it been since Lu Chuan entered the Martial Arts Hall? His Bone Root was only lower-middle grade...

Yet the stances of his saber technique clearly already showed a fair degree of mastery!

"Heh!" Old Zheng sized Lu Chuan up again. "When I examined your bones back then, how did I fail to notice that you had this level of comprehension?"

By rights, judging from the comprehension Lu Chuan had displayed, although his Bone Root was somewhat lacking, he was qualified to become the eighth Formal Disciple.

But today, Jiang Hao had arrived with an Upper Grade Bone Root!

Compared with each other, the gap was simply too great.

Resources were limited, and so was Old Zheng's energy.

"I understand." Old Zheng nodded.

"You want to earn money in the afternoon. Hmm... It makes sense. Being unable to keep up with the consumption of Qi and Blood is indeed a problem. Very well. From now on, you may arrange your afternoons yourself."

After a pause, he added, "It is a pity that you have yet to break through the Blood Pass. Otherwise, there would be some work in the Martial Arts Hall that I could give you."

This counted as an extra bit of guidance.

Lu Chuan cupped his fists. "Thank you for your understanding, Master Zheng. This disciple understands."

After receiving permission, Lu Chuan did not stay at the Martial Arts Hall that afternoon.

He left the Martial Arts Hall and headed straight back to Kaoshan Village.

Since he needed to gather resources, the best method was naturally to go into the mountains and hunt.

When Lu Chuan returned home, he found only his mother inside, mending clothes. His father, Lu Danian, was nowhere to be seen.

"Mother, where's Father?" Lu Chuan asked.

Mother Lu raised her head, worry written across her face.

"Your father? He went into the mountains. The Black Tiger Gang came by this morning and said that this year's Mountain Tax had to be paid early—four qian of silver per person. Your father had no choice, so he went to try his luck again."

"The Mountain Tax was moved up?" Lu Chuan's brows drew together slightly.

The Black Tiger Gang.

Naturally, he knew of them.

Kaoshan Village and several nearby villages all lay beneath their sphere of influence.

Their gang leader's surname was Lei, and he was known as Lei Laohu. In his early years, he had been an escort guard. Later, he somehow encountered an opportunity and broke through the Blood Pass. Ordinary groups of ten or so men could not get near him.

He also had several capable subordinates, all trained fighters.

The so-called Mountain Tax sounded like a legitimate tax imposed by the imperial court, but in truth, it was protection money collected by the Black Tiger Gang.

Every year, every person had to pay a sum of money, supposedly to "keep the mountain forests peaceful and protect them from wild beasts and roaming bandits."

But if you refused to pay, they could absolutely make sure you had no peace.

With Lu Chuan's current strength, he had no intention of provoking such a local tyrant.

"One liang and two qian of silver..." he calculated inwardly.

With three people in the household, that was the total.

It was not an enormous amount, but neither was it insignificant.

The few qian of silver remaining in his possession had been set aside for emergencies, so he still needed to gather more.

His father had taken the bow into the mountains, so for now, he could only wait.

About half an hour later, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and Lu Danian entered carrying a wild rabbit.

Seeing Lu Chuan at home, he asked in surprise, "Chuanzi? Why did you come back so early today?"

"I asked my master for leave. From now on, I can arrange my afternoons myself."

Lu Chuan took the prey from his father and briefly explained what had happened at the Martial Arts Hall, along with his plan to seek other resources because his Qi and Blood consumption was so great.

After listening, Lu Danian sighed.

"Alas, what a pity today... We ran into a wild boar in the woods. It looked to weigh over three hundred jin. If we had shot it, it would have covered not only our family's Mountain Tax, but also your martial training expenses for quite some time. What a pity—we let it get away."

Lu Chuan's heart stirred. "Father, how did you let it get away? You couldn't find a chance to shoot?"

"How could it be that I had no chance?" Lu Danian said, his voice full of frustration. "It was this bow of mine that let me down! That beast's hide was so thick it was like wearing armor. My bow was too weak; when the arrow struck, it did not penetrate deeply enough and only startled it. It bolted into a deep ravine and vanished."

Lu Chuan looked at the old bow, his expression somewhat awkward.

The bow was already many years old. It was adequate for shooting pheasants and wild rabbits, but against a wild boar with thick hide and flesh, it was indeed rather lacking.

And the better Hardwood Hunting Bow the family had originally owned had long since been recorded by him.

The more Lu Danian thought about it, the more regretful he became. After pondering seriously for a long while, an idea gradually took shape.

"Son, let's go buy a new bow."