The Promise of Redemption

The night was black as ink. The Embroidery Tower in Lin Manor's rear courtyard lay hidden beneath layers of shadowy trees, with only the dim yellow candlelight spilling from a half-open latticed window on the second floor.

Avoiding the night-patrolling servants, Chen Ping slipped soundlessly behind the secluded Rockery beneath the Embroidery Tower like a nimble civet cat.

Before long, the patter of light footsteps approached. Yun Niang, wrapped in a worn padded jacket and carrying a Stormproof Lantern, hurried over.

By its faint light, Chen Ping saw her face clearly. Her eye sockets were sunken, and exhaustion could not be concealed from her expression.

"Brother Ping." Yun Niang lowered her voice, but joy still shone through her tone.

Chen Ping said nothing. He merely reached out and took her hand.

Those hands, which should have been fair and soft, were covered in countless needle pricks. Her fingertips were red and swollen, and blood even seeped from some of the wounds.

"The Second Young Master was badly hurt. Madam said he had offended Sha Qi and wants new embroidery put up throughout the rooms to suppress Evil Spirits."

Yun Niang tried to pull her hand back, lowering her head awkwardly. "The work has been a little rushed these past two days. It's nothing."

Chen Ping only felt as if a ball of waterlogged cotton had been stuffed into his chest, leaving him stifled and miserable.

What suppressing Evil Spirits? Clearly, the masters were in a foul mood and were working those beneath them like beasts of burden.

He took out a Celadon Vial from his robes. It contained the finest Jinchuang Medicine he had specially bought from Huichun Hall.

When he pulled out the stopper, a cool medicinal fragrance spread through the air.

"Don't move."

Supporting her hand in his palm, Chen Ping dipped his fingertips into the ointment and carefully applied it to her swollen wounds.

His movements were gentle. The rough calluses on his fingers brushed across the delicate back of Yun Niang's hand, sending a numb, tingling sensation through her.

Under the dim lantern light, their shadows overlapped on the Rockery, and even the air seemed to thicken.

Yun Niang's cheeks grew warm, yet she did not evade him again. She simply gazed quietly at the focused youth before her.

She did not know when it had begun, but the frail little bookboy who used to trail behind her begging for food had grown such broad, sturdy shoulders.

"Sister Yun."

Chen Ping lowered his head. His voice was soft, but every word was clear. "Endure a little longer. In three years at most, I'll take you away from here."

Yun Niang stiffened and looked up in astonishment. "Leave? Brother Ping, you mean... redeeming ourselves? How much silver would that take...?"

"Not just redemption."

Chen Ping raised his head, his gaze burning bright. "I'm going to take the Imperial Military Examination."

Yun Niang's eyes widened. To her, those words sounded like a fantasy.

In The Liang Dynasty, for someone of slave status to rise up was harder than climbing to heaven.

The law permitted servants to sit for the examinations after redeeming themselves, but the money needed to grease the joints and train in martial arts was no different from a fool's dream for servants like them.

"I'm saving money, and I'm training in martial arts too."

Chen Ping did not explain his hidden cards in detail. He merely gripped her hand tightly. "Do you believe me?"

Yun Niang looked into those eyes glittering in the darkness.

There was none of a youth's reckless arrogance within them, only a steady calm that put her at ease.

"I do."

She nodded heavily. She did not ask where the money would come from, nor did she ask how he would train in martial arts.

As long as he said it, she believed him.

Yun Niang glanced around cautiously, then suddenly turned her back. With a faint rustle, she took a patched little cloth bundle from within her close-fitting clothes.

"There are five taels of silver in here. I've saved them over the years. And these Silver Earrings were part of the dowry my mother left me."

She forcibly stuffed the bundle into Chen Ping's hand, her eyes reddening.

"Martial arts training costs money, and you'll need to grease palms everywhere. Take these as travel funds. If... if you truly make it, then it will be our fortune. If you don't, we can depend on each other in this manor for the rest of our lives. That would be nice too."

The cloth bundle still carried her body warmth. It was heavy in his hand, so heavy that Chen Ping's palm seemed to burn.

This was everything a woman owned, and all of her hope.

Chen Ping pushed the bundle back.

"Brother Ping!" Yun Niang grew anxious.

"Money—I have it."

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Ping drew a Jade hairpin from his sleeve.

A half-bloomed orchid was carved at its head. The jade was not top-grade, but beneath the moonlight, it still glimmered with a warm, lustrous sheen.

He had picked it up casually while disposing of stolen goods at the Black Market some days ago.

Awkwardly, he inserted the Jade hairpin into Yun Niang's slightly messy bun.

"Don't wear those wooden hairpins anymore."

Chen Ping looked at her. "This is only the beginning. One day, I'll let you walk out through Lin Manor's gates in glory, never having to look at anyone else's face again."

Yun Niang touched the Jade hairpin in her hair, and at last, tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.

Just as the two leaned against one another, the dull clack of the night watchman's wooden gong suddenly sounded in the distance.

Dong—! The air is dry, beware of fire!

Like startled birds, they swiftly sprang apart.

"Hurry back. Don't let anyone see you." Chen Ping gave her a gentle push.

Yun Niang walked away while looking back every few steps. Only after her figure disappeared behind the Embroidery Tower's doors did Chen Ping withdraw his gaze.

Standing in the shadows, he touched the burning warmth in his chest. The desire in his heart to merely cling to life and seek longevity suddenly gained an edge called ambition.

Longevity was not merely about living a long life. It was about living with dignity, living as one wished.

If even his own woman had to work herself to the bone to support them, what use was cultivating longevity?

... Back in his quarters, Chen Ping did not go to sleep.

He removed his outer robe, bared his upper body, and assumed a stance in the cramped room.

Hah!

With a low shout, Chen Ping's palms flew through the air, accompanied by the sound of wind splitting.

After reaching Great Accomplishment in the Shattered Stone Palm, every muscle in his body brimmed with explosive power.

Sweat slid down his back, falling onto the floor tiles and bursting into eight scattered droplets.

Again and again, he practiced the forms, while Yun Niang's needle-pierced hands filled his mind.

Not enough.

Still not strong enough.

As he was now, he could easily crush trash like Lai San to death. Yet before true power and influence, he was still an ant that could be snuffed out with a casual hand.

Only when the eastern sky turned the pale white of a fish belly did Chen Ping slowly finish his practice.

[Shattered Stone Palm proficiency +5]
[Longevity of Pine and Crane proficiency +2]

Looking at the slowly rising numbers on the panel, Chen Ping let out a long breath of stale air and dragged out the small wooden cash box from the hidden compartment beneath his bed.

Including the stolen money Wang Meng had left behind and the bits and pieces Chen Ping had saved during this time, there were fifty-three taels in total.

This sum would be an enormous fortune for an ordinary household, but on the path of martial arts, it would not even make a splash.

To take the Imperial Military Examination, he first had to free himself from slave status.

That money-grubbing Master Lin would never let him go without several hundred taels of silver.

Then there was the Letter of Recommendation.

Without a Xiucai degree holder or a renowned local gentry member to vouch for him, he would not even be able to enter the examination grounds.

That would be another considerable expense.

"Relying on sweeping floors and monthly wages, I'd have to save until the Year of the Monkey."

Chen Ping sat cross-legged on the bed, lightly tapping his knee with his fingers as his gaze gradually deepened.

He had to find another source of income.

And it had to be the kind that brought in staggering profits.

He looked toward the waist saber in the corner, which he had deliberately worn down to look old.

Now, he possessed considerable martial skill, external arts at Great Accomplishment, and even the Disguise Technique that could alter his appearance.

"Weiyuan Escort Agency..."

Chen Ping murmured to himself.

Aside from its legitimate escort business, the agency where his cheap uncle Liu Sanjin worked also secretly accepted certain "private jobs" that could not see the light of day.

For example, escorting contraband for others, or... dealing with certain troublesome matters.

Such work brought in money quickly, but the risks were just as great.

But for him now, it might be the best choice available.

Chen Ping rose to his feet, locked the box again, and shoved it back into the darkness.