Zhang Cai's Ordeal

Chen Mo didn't take the bottle or the brocade box. He waited for her answer.

Yin Shanshan's gaze shifted. She withdrew her hand first. "You were the one who saved me that night, weren't you?"

Hearing this, Chen Mo didn't deny it. He nodded.

When Chen Mo admitted it, a stone seemed to drop from Yin Shanshan's heart. She quietly let out a breath, then said, "Don't worry. I don't care what you were doing at the Hua Pavilion, and I won't ask."

She paused briefly. "But you saved me, so I have to repay that kindness."

Repay her kindness?

Chen Mo had already guessed as much.

"I just happened to be passing by. You don't need to take it to heart."

In ancient times, women valued their chastity above all else. If a man saved a woman's reputation, she would often offer herself to him in marriage.

At the very least, she would repay his kindness with a gift.

Yin Shanshan was probably choosing the latter.

She was the daughter of the hall master, with exceptional talent. Her pride was etched into her bones. Even if she felt some affection for Chen Mo, she wouldn't show it openly.

Perhaps, in her eyes, Chen Mo wasn't yet exceptional enough for her to go that far.

"This bottle contains Juqi Pills."

Yin Shanshan pointed to one of the bottles.

Chen Mo knew about Juqi Pills. They had a similar effect to Yiqi Powder, but were more expensive and more effective.

"This other bottle contains Zhixue Pills. They stop bleeding from external wounds."

Both bottles held premium pills, and they were worth a great deal.

Then she opened the wooden brocade box. Inside lay a withered medicinal herb. "This is a ten-year-old Tianxin Sunflower. I've treasured it for a long time."

She handed him all three items.

Chen Mo took the two bottles, but after hesitating, he still didn't accept the Tianxin Sunflower.

It wasn't false modesty. A ten-year-old Tianxin Sunflower was simply too valuable. He'd once heard Ji Chang say that even an ordinary three-year-old herb cost more than ten taels of silver, let alone a Tianxin Sunflower, which could temper bones and strengthen sinews.

But Yin Shanshan insisted on pressing it into his hand. "You're taking the Martial Examination. It'll help you break through to Dark Jin. My father hopes one of the three of you will become a Martial Scholar, and Senior Brothers Yue and Li don't need these herbs."

Hearing this, Chen Mo no longer hesitated and accepted it.

With this Tianxin Sunflower, he'd have a much better chance of breaking through to Dark Jin.

After accepting it, he immediately clasped his fists. "Thank you for the gift, Senior Sister!"

Yin Shanshan smiled brightly. "You can accept it with peace of mind, Junior Brother!"

After they finished speaking, the two walked out of the inner room side by side.

Chen Mo continued practicing his stance and fists, while Yin Shanshan found a quiet spot to practice Soft Cloud Hand.

After noon.

Once he'd finished practicing, Chen Mo leaned against the training post and wrung out his sweat-soaked martial uniform. Then he headed to the Iron Furnace Room.

After walking for a while, he reached the Iron Furnace Room. He hadn't been there in a long time, and it looked much the same as before, but...

He realized Zhang Cai was missing.

Chen Mo asked Master Wu nearby and learned that Zhang Cai was on the list of people to be sacrificed in the next batch. The ritual was scheduled for tomorrow.

"Lately, the sacrifices have been getting more and more frequent. I don't know what the Black Tiger Hall is up to. They've got everyone on edge," Master Wu sighed softly.

Chen Mo froze. Memories surged through his mind...

He still remembered when he and Chen Lan had been at the end of their rope. They'd gone two days without food, and Zhang Cai had stolen two dry buns from home to keep them alive.

Several years had passed since then.

But Chen Mo had never forgotten. Afterward, he often gave Zhang Cai a few copper coins to help him through hard times. Each time, it was only a handful, but for people like them, it was money that kept them alive.

It was just...

Ever since Chen Mo had set foot on the path of martial arts, he hadn't kept in touch with Zhang Cai as often as before.

He blamed himself in silence, then said, "Master Wu, I'm going out for a while."

A short while later.

He arrived at Zhang Cai's home, a ramshackle hut not much better than his own.

At that moment, he seemed to hear someone sobbing inside.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

After a moment, the door opened, revealing the trembling face of an elderly woman.

When she saw that it was Chen Mo, some of the tension immediately left her face.

"A-Mo..."

Chen Mo said, "Hello, Aunt Shen. Zhang Cai, he..."

Aunt Shen suddenly realized what he was about to ask. Tears welled in her eyes, and she dropped to her knees in front of Chen Mo. "A-Mo, I'm begging you to save Xiao-Cai! Please, save Xiao-Cai..."

Chen Mo was stunned. He immediately helped her up. "Aunt Shen, let's go inside and talk."

Aunt Shen wiped her tears and went in with Chen Mo's support. She wanted to get him a stool, but then realized they had pawned everything in the house long ago.

Chen Mo could tell that Aunt Shen seemed to have aged years overnight.

At that moment, Zhang Cai was crouched in the corner, staring blankly into space.

Aunt Shen's tears began to fall again. "We've pawned everything we could, but we still can't scrape together three hundred coins. What are we going to do now, A-Mo...?"

"Three hundred coins?"

Chen Mo was surprised. "It was one hundred and fifty copper coins before. It doubled so quickly? The Black Tiger Hall really treats human lives like dirt."

He walked up to Zhang Cai, took a silver ingot from his pocket, and pressed it into his hand.

When Zhang Cai's vacant eyes caught a flash of light from the silver ingot, a trace of life suddenly returned to them.

He turned to look at Chen Mo.

"A-Cai, take it," Chen Mo said. "After you exchange it for copper coins, three hundred will be enough to give to the Black Tiger Hall."

Zhang Cai clutched the silver ingot, his hands trembling nonstop.

To him, that single silver ingot was a new lease on life.

"Yeah! A-Mo, thank you!"

He nodded hard and burst into tears.

Chen Mo stood there in silence, his heart awash with mixed feelings.

At present, all he could do was help Zhang Cai scrape together the money for the tribute. As for his status as a Ming Jin martial artist, he couldn't throw his weight around yet.

For people at the bottom like them, the divide between classes was a shackle they could never escape!

Seeing this, Aunt Shen came over and bowed deeply. Chen Mo immediately reached out with both hands to steady her.

Aunt Shen sobbed, "A-Mo, you're our family's greatest benefactor! Our greatest benefactor! How can we ever repay you?"

Chen Mo replied at once, "Aunt Shen, please don't say that. A-Cai and I have been close since we were children. We've always helped each other through everything."

In this day and age, under crushing pressure, the streets were full of petty, self-serving people. There were very few like Zhang Cai and Chen Mo, who sincerely looked out for each other.

Just then, Zhang Cai suddenly remembered something. He came over and whispered into Chen Mo's ear, "A-Mo, there's something I need to tell you."

"Yesterday, when I was feeling down, I went to a pavilion two li from the Iron Furnace Room. I lay behind a nearby rock, staring into space. Suddenly, two people went into the pavilion to talk in secret. I think... I think one was a Black Tiger Hall leader, and the other was the Zhao Family Head."

"Zhao Huayuan?"

Chen Mo's expression tightened slightly. "Did you hear what they said?"

Zhang Cai thought for a moment and picked out a few fragments. "The wind was strong, so I didn't hear everything. I only caught bits and pieces. The Black Tiger Hall leader asked the Zhao Family Head to work with him on something. The Zhao Family Head refused at first, but then he reluctantly agreed."

Hearing this, Chen Mo began to ponder. A moment later, his expression suddenly changed.