Mountain Tax

That day, Lu Chuan arrived at the Martial Arts Hall as usual, but sensed the atmosphere was different from before.

On the Training Ground, many disciples had gathered together, chattering excitedly about something.

After asking around, he learned that Old Zheng had taken on a new disciple today.

And this new disciple, word had it, tested as Upper Grade Bone Root.

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

Over this period, his understanding of the Martial Way had deepened, and he'd also inquired about the situation within the hall.

The talent among the disciples varied greatly. The best was Senior Disciple Sister Su Tang, whom Old Zheng rated as Middle Upper Grade—already rare.

The rest, including Senior Disciple Brother Chen Mo Bai and Seventh Senior Disciple Brother Zhou Ming Chuan, hovered around Middle Grade, while most Outer Disciples were merely Lower Middle Grade.

When Old Zheng had felt his own bones that day, the assessment had been Lower Middle Grade.

Upper Grade Bone Root, in a small place like Qinghe County, was indeed something special.

Following the crowd's gaze, he spotted the newly arrived genius.

He looked to be a youth of about seventeen or eighteen, named Jiang Hao.

Rumor had it he came from an ordinary family in Qinghe County, with modest means.

But his build was striking—broad shoulders, a wide back, and especially his legs, with smooth, powerful muscle lines, just like the legendary Mantis Leg.

"No wonder they say Upper Grade Bone Root—with a frame like that, he looks like he can really fight..." Lu Chuan mused to himself.

But he quickly looked away, not crowding in to gawk like the other disciples.

With his system backing him, Lu Chuan believed his own potential was second to none, so he had no need to curry favor.

He drew his long saber and began his daily practice.

Lu Chuan might not join the commotion, but that didn't mean others felt the same.

Senior Disciple Brother Chen Mo Bai, his face plastered with a warm smile, had already taken the initiative to teach Jiang Hao the basics of Initiate.

After finishing his own training, Zhou Ming Chuan walked over and sat down to rest beside Lu Chuan:

"Tsk, tsk, Upper Grade Bone Root... Junior Disciple Brother Lu, too bad, huh? Otherwise, Master Zheng might've considered taking you on as a Formal Disciple..."

Lu Chuan heard this and gave a wry laugh: "Senior Disciple Brother Zhou, why would I care about that?"

Seeing that Lu Chuan truly didn't mind, Zhou Ming Chuan asked in surprise: "You're pretty laid-back about it. But that Jiang Hao kid is a bit uncanny—whatever Senior Disciple Brother Chen teaches, he watches once, practices a few times, and it looks decent. If you ask me, in three days tops, his Mountain Splitting Saber will reach Initiate!"

"Oh." Lu Chuan replied flatly.

Watching Lu Chuan's utterly unruffled demeanor, Zhou Ming Chuan scratched his head: "Junior Disciple Brother Lu, your temperament... it's really rock-solid."

At noon, after downing his bowl of Qi and Blood Soup, Lu Chuan didn't continue his saber practice. Instead, he went to the back courtyard and found Old Zheng.

"Master Zheng." Lu Chuan bowed respectfully.

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

"Disciple would like to request leave," Lu Chuan said directly. "Starting today, I'd like to leave the Martial Arts Hall a bit early in the afternoons."

Old Zheng's brow immediately furrowed, his tone displeased: "What do you mean? Finding martial training too hard?"

"Not at all." Lu Chuan shook his head and explained, "Disciple has been practicing the Mountain Splitting Saber lately and have made some progress, but it consumes a great deal of Qi and Blood. That daily bowl of Qi and Blood Soup barely sustains the morning's hard training. So I want to free up the afternoons to gather more resources to replenish my Qi and Blood."

Old Zheng looked him over a few times, then suddenly said: "Show me a round of the Mountain Splitting Saber."

Lu Chuan immediately performed a smooth demonstration in the open space of the courtyard.

It hadn't reached Minor Success, but it wasn't far off.

Old Zheng's face showed clear surprise.

He remembered clearly—hadn't Lu Chuan only joined a few days ago? And his Bone Root was only Lower Middle Grade...

Yet this saber technique's form already had some real skill!

"Hey!" Old Zheng sized Lu Chuan up anew. "When I felt your bones back then, how did I miss that you had this kind of insight?"

Logically, with the insight Lu Chuan was showing now, even if his Bone Root was lacking, it would be enough to take him on as the eighth Formal Disciple.

But today, of all days, Jiang Hao with his Upper Grade Bone Root had shown up!

Comparing the two, the gap was too wide.

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

"I understand." Old Zheng nodded. "You want to earn money in the afternoons. Hm... that makes sense. Not keeping up with Qi and Blood is indeed a problem. Fine. From now on, you can arrange your afternoons as you see fit."

He paused, then added: "It's a pity you haven't broken through the Blood Pass yet. Otherwise, the hall does have some tasks I could give you."

This counts as an extra pointer.

Lu Chuan clasped his hands: "Thank you for your understanding, Master. Your disciple takes it to heart."

With permission granted, Lu Chuan didn't linger past noon.

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

Since he needed to gather resources, the best way was naturally to go up the mountain and hunt.

When Lu Chuan got home, he found only his mother there, mending clothes, with no sign of his father Lu Danian.

"Mother, where's my father?" Lu Chuan asked.

Mother Lu looked up, a trace of worry on her face:

"Him? He went up the mountain. The Black Tiger Gang came by this morning and said this year's Mountain Tax has to be paid early—four silver coins per person. Your father had no choice but to try his luck again."

"The Mountain Tax is early?" Lu Chuan frowned slightly.

The Black Tiger Gang.

He naturally knew that name.

Kaoshan Village and several nearby villages all fell under their influence.

The gang leader's surname was Lei, known as Lei Laohu. In his early years, he'd been an escort guard. Later, no one knew what opportunity he'd stumbled upon, but he broke through the Blood Pass, and a dozen ordinary men couldn't get close to him.

He also had several capable underlings, all trained fighters.

As for the so-called Mountain Tax, it sounded like an official government levy, but it was actually protection money collected by the Black Tiger Gang.

Every year, each person had to pay a sum, euphemistically called "keeping the mountain forests peaceful and free from wild beasts and roving bandits."

But if you didn't pay, they could definitely make your life miserable.

Given his current strength, Lu Chuan wasn't planning to cross these local bullies.

"One tael and two silver coins..." he calculated in his mind.

With three people in the family, that was the amount.

Not too much, not too little either.

The few silver coins left in his pocket were set aside for emergencies, and he still needed to scrape together more.

His father had taken the bow up the mountain, so for now, he could only wait.

About half an hour later, the courtyard door pushed open, and Lu Danian walked in carrying a wild rabbit.

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

"I asked Master for leave. From now on, I can arrange my own time in the afternoons."

Lu Chuan took the game from his father and briefly explained what had happened at the Martial Arts Hall—how his qi and blood consumption was severe and he needed to find other resources.

Lu Danian listened, then sighed:

"Ah, what a shame today... I ran into a wild boar in the woods, must've been over three hundred jin. If I'd shot it, it would've covered not just our family's Mountain Tax but also your training expenses for a good while. Too bad—it got away."

Lu Chuan's mind stirred: "Father, how did it get away? Couldn't you find a chance to loose an arrow?"

"It wasn't about the chance!" Lu Danian said, his tone full of regret, "It was this bow letting me down! That beast's hide was thick as a suit of armor. This bow's draw is too weak—the arrow hit but didn't sink deep, and it just spooked the thing. It bolted into a deep gully and vanished."

Lu Chuan looked at the old bow, a bit embarrassed.

This bow had seen years of use. It was fine for shooting Mountain Pheasants and rabbits, but against a thick-hided wild boar, it was indeed lacking.

And the better Hardwood Hunting Bow the family had once owned had long since been collected by him.

The more Lu Danian thought about it, the more he regretted it. After mulling it over for a long time, an idea grew clear.

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

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