The Predicament of Zhang Cai

Chen Mo did not take the bottle and the brocade box, waiting instead for her answer.

Yin Shanshan's eyes flickered as she retracted her hand, "It was you who saved me that night, wasn't it?"

Hearing this, Chen Mo did not deny it and nodded.

Seeing Chen Mo admit it, a weight seemed to lift from Yin Shanshan's heart. She let out a quiet sigh of relief before saying, "Don't worry, I don't care what you were doing at the Hua Pavilion, and I won't ask."

She paused slightly, "But you saved me, and I must repay this debt."

Repay the debt?

Chen Mo had already guessed as much.

"I was just passing by; you don't need to take it to heart."

Women in ancient times valued their reputation above all else, and if a man preserved their virtue, they would often offer themselves in marriage.

At the very least, they would repay the favor with gifts.

Yin Shanshan was likely the latter.

She was the talented daughter of the dojo master, and this pride was etched into her bones. Even if she harbored a shred of affection for Chen Mo, she would not reveal it to his face.

Perhaps in her eyes, Chen Mo was not yet outstanding enough to warrant such a gesture.

"This bottle contains Juqi Pill."

Yin Shanshan pointed to one of the bottles.

Chen Mo knew of the Juqi Pill; it had similar effects to the Yiqi Powder but was more expensive and potent.

"The other bottle is the Zhixue Pill, used for stopping bleeding from external wounds."

Both bottles contained high-quality medicine, and they were not cheap.

Next, she opened the wooden brocade box, inside of which lay a semi-withered herb, "This is a ten-year-old Tianxin Sunflower. I have treasured it for a long time."

After speaking, she handed over the three items.

Chen Mo took the two bottles, but regarding the Tianxin Sunflower, he hesitated for a moment before deciding not to accept it.

It was not that he was being coy, but a ten-year-old Tianxin Sunflower was simply too valuable. He had heard Ji Chang say that a common three-year-old herb cost over a dozen taels of silver, let alone a Tianxin Sunflower, which had the effect of tempering bones and refining tendons.

However, Yin Shanshan insisted on thrusting it into his hands, "You are going to participate in the Martial Examination, and it will be useful for your breakthrough to Dark Jin. My father hopes that one of you three will become a Martial Scholar, and Senior Brother Yue and Senior Brother Li are not lacking in these medicines."

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

With this Tianxin Sunflower, his breakthrough to Dark Jin would be much more secure.

After accepting it, he immediately cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks for the gift, Senior Sister!"

Yin Shanshan also gave a brilliant smile, "Junior Brother, just accept it with peace of mind!"

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

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

After noon.

Chen Mo finished his training and leaned against the training post, wringing out his sweat-soaked martial arts uniform before heading to the Iron Furnace Room.

After walking for a while, he arrived at the Iron Furnace Room. Having not been here for a long time, the place looked much the same, but...

He discovered that Zhang Cai was missing.

Chen Mo asked Master Wu, who was nearby, and only then learned that Zhang Cai was on the list for the next batch of human sacrifices, which was scheduled for tomorrow.

"The human sacrifices have been getting more frequent lately. I don't know what the Black Tiger Hall is up to, but it has everyone feeling anxious."

Master Wu sighed softly.

Chen Mo was stunned, and memories flooded his mind...

He still remembered when he and Chen Lan had been at their wit's end, having gone two days without food. It was Zhang Cai who had stolen two dry cakes from his home to keep them alive.

Years had passed since then.

But Chen Mo had never forgotten. Later, he would often give Zhang Cai a few copper coins to help him through hard times. Although it was only a few coins each time, for people like them, it was life-saving money.

It was just that...

Ever since Chen Mo had stepped onto the path of martial arts, his contact with Zhang Cai had become less frequent than before.

He secretly blamed himself, then spoke up, "Master Wu, I'm going out for a moment."

A short while later.

He arrived at the entrance of Zhang Cai's home, a dilapidated shack that was no better than his own.

At that moment, he seemed to hear sobbing from inside the house.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

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

When she saw it was Chen Mo, the tension on her face eased slightly.

"Oh, it's A-Mo..."

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

Aunt Shen suddenly realized something, tears welling up in her eyes as she plopped to her knees in front of Chen Mo. "A-Mo, Auntie begs you, please save little Cai, please save him..."

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

Aunt Shen wiped her tears and, supported by Chen Mo, entered the house. She wanted to get a stool for Chen Mo, only to realize that everything in the house had long since been pawned.

Chen Mo could see that Aunt Shen seemed to have aged significantly overnight.

At this moment, Zhang Cai was squatting in the corner, staring blankly with lifeless eyes.

Aunt Shen's tears flowed again. "Everything that could be pawned has been, and we still can't scrape together three hundred coins. What are we supposed to do now, A-Mo..."

"Three hundred coins?"

Chen Mo was surprised. "It was only one hundred and fifty copper coins before. It doubled so quickly; the Black Tiger Hall truly treats human lives like grass."

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

When Zhang Cai's dull eyes caught the glint of the silver ingot, a flicker of vitality suddenly returned to them.

He turned his head to look at Chen Mo.

"Take it, A-Cai," Chen Mo said. "Once you exchange it for copper coins, three hundred will be more than enough for the Black Tiger Hall."

Zhang Cai held the silver ingot, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

To him, this piece of silver was a new lease on life.

"Mm! A-Mo, thank you!"

He nodded heavily and burst into tears.

Chen Mo stood in silence, a thousand emotions swirling in his heart.

For now, he could at most help Zhang Cai scrape together the money for the tribute grain; as for his status as a Ming Jin martial artist, he had no real say in the matter yet.

And for those of them living in the lowest rungs of poverty, the divide between classes was a shackle they could never escape!

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

Aunt Shen sobbed, "A-Mo, you are truly our family's great benefactor! A great benefactor! How can we ever repay you!"

Chen Mo replied immediately, "Aunt Shen, don't say that. A-Cai and I have been close since we were children; we've always helped each other out."

In this current world, under such immense pressure, the streets were filled with petty and selfish people. Those like Zhang Cai and Chen Mo, who sincerely supported one another, were few and far between.

Just then, Zhang Cai suddenly remembered something. He walked 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 ran to a pavilion two miles away from the Iron Furnace Room and lay behind a rock to space out. Suddenly, two people went into the pavilion to talk in secret. It seemed... it seemed like one was a hall master of the Black Tiger Hall, and the other was the head of the Zhao Family."

"Zhao Huayuan?"

Chen Mo's expression tightened slightly. "Did you hear their conversation clearly?"

Zhang Cai recalled for a moment and recounted a few fragments. "The wind was strong, so I didn't hear the whole thing. I only heard bits and pieces about the Black Tiger Hall master demanding the head of the Zhao Family to cooperate on something. The head of the Zhao Family refused at first, but later, he seemed to reluctantly agree."

Hearing this, Chen Mo began to ponder, and a moment later, his expression suddenly shifted.