In His Sights

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Zheyu got straight to the point.

"Leaving Bidan Tea House to tell stories at Yixiang Tea House is impossible. After all, Steward Wu once showed me kindness."

Jia Yanming was slightly taken aback. His expression cooled.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Although I won't leave Bidan Tea House, I can provide you with stories."

"Songyi City does not lack skilled storytellers. Compared to those veteran masters, my storytelling techniques are not worth mentioning."

"What they lack is merely a fresh, good story. And good stories are precisely what I have," Lin Zheyu said slowly.

"Oh?"

"Stories as thrilling as the ones you told at Bidan Tea House?" Jia Yanming became interested.

Lin Zheyu was right. His storytelling skills truly fell short of many old masters who had honed their craft for years.

His greatest advantage lay in how fresh and exciting his stories were.

A good story was like a foundation. Only with a solid foundation could storytelling skill raise pavilions and palaces upon it.

"Absolutely thrilling!" Lin Zheyu said with certainty.

"Do you have a finished manuscript?"

"I do. This is the first installment of a new story. Take a look first."

Lin Zheyu handed over a manuscript he had prepared beforehand. It was the same story he had given the three storytellers yesterday.

Jia Yanming took the manuscript and quickly skimmed through it.

He could read. Otherwise, he could not have become a steward.

A few minutes later, Jia Yanming finished the first installment. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. The story was of good quality.

"Good, then it's settled!"

"I'll pay two hundred copper coins for each installment. What do you think?"

Jia Yanming said. The content of one installment was just enough for a storyteller to fill a full day's performance.

"You don't need to pay two hundred copper coins. I'll only charge you eighty."

"However, I've also sold this story to others. If you want exclusivity, it will cost more—four hundred copper coins."

Lin Zheyu opened his mouth like a lion, leaving room for bargaining.

"You've sold it to others too?"

Jia Yanming frowned. That would not do.

Why was Bidan Tea House so popular? Wasn't it because Lin Zheyu's stories were new? Not only were they extraordinarily gripping, they could only be heard at Bidan Tea House and nowhere else.

If people could hear them elsewhere too, the audience would have more choices and might not necessarily come to their tea house.

"That won't do. Do you have anything exclusive? Let me see it first," Jia Yanming said.

He was secretly astonished by Lin Zheyu's ability to create stories.

Not only was he telling new stories at Bidan Tea House, but he could also provide different stories to other storytellers—and every one of them was exceptionally exciting.

If he could take out another story and sell it exclusively to him, that would be truly astonishing.

"I came prepared."

"I originally planned to make this story into a series. But Master Liang said he liked stories about martial artists, so I wrote another one instead. This story had nowhere to be told."

"Since I have no use for it, I'll sell it to you."

Lin Zheyu spoke with a smile, deliberately mentioning Master Liang in hopes of giving Jia Yanming a warning. He did not know whether Master Liang's name carried enough weight.

"Master Liang? Which Master Liang?"

Jia Yanming accepted the manuscript, seemingly asking carelessly.

"Master Liang Song. I've already become his disciple," Lin Zheyu said.

Liang Song?

Jia Yanming pondered for a moment, and the image of that lame old man surfaced in his mind.

He had heard his younger brother mention this person. Supposedly, his strength was considerable, but he rarely acted and kept an extremely low profile.

Jia Yanming silently remembered the name, intending to ask Jia Yanyong about him in detail when he returned.

He quickly skimmed through the manuscript Lin Zheyu had provided.

It was a story about a scholar, part of the same series as the story Lin Zheyu had previously told at Bidan Tea House.

"Good!"

"As expected of Mister Lin. To write so many marvelous stories, your literary talent is truly remarkable."

"I want both this story and the previous one. Can you make it cheaper?"

Jia Yanming made his decision without hesitation.

Both stories were exceptionally thrilling. With Jia Yanming's decades of experience and discernment, they would definitely become hits.

"I'll round it down for you. Let's call it five hundred copper coins."

Jia Yanming: "..."

Jia Yanming narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing, looking as though he were asking whether Lin Zheyu took him for an idiot.

"Haha, just joking. I'll give you a discount—four hundred and fifty copper coins. Not a coin less," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

"Fine. Four hundred and fifty copper coins it is."

Jia Yanming was very straightforward.

The quality of these two stories was high. With them, Yixiang Tea House's business would flourish even more.

"Steward Jia is a straightforward man. Come, this cup is to you!"

Lin Zheyu raised his cup, feeling quite pleased.

Not only had he resolved a troublesome matter, he would also gain an extra four hundred and fifty copper coins in income each day.

Together with the three storytellers, that meant an additional six hundred and ninety copper coins of income every day.

Baishan District.

Gao Yu looked at Skinny Monkey, who was barely clinging to life on the sickbed, his brow tightly furrowed.

The physician had just examined him and said he had been poisoned. Even if he recovered, he would likely be crippled for life and unable to do heavy labor.

"Brother Yu, you... you... you have to avenge me!"

Skinny Monkey looked at Gao Yu and spoke with difficulty.

"Big Brother, what should we do about this? Report it to the authorities?" another man asked.

"Report your damn head."

"He failed at stealing and got poisoned instead. If we report it, are we asking the magistrate's office to arrest us?"

Gao Yu cursed angrily, feeling extremely agitated.

After years of petty thievery, this was the first time he had encountered such a ruthless person—someone who smeared poison on the sharp objects atop a wall.

"This cannot end like this."

Gao Yu gritted his teeth and said bitterly.

This was the first time he had suffered a loss at the hands of an outsider like Lin Zheyu, someone without clan or family backing. Gao Yu refused to believe he could not handle a weak scholar.

"Yan Ling, Wen Biao, the two of you keep an eye on Lin Zheyu. Observe his movements every day, and find out everything about the area around his residence."

Gao Yu said. This matter absolutely could not be allowed to end here.

That brat Lin Zheyu was merely a down-and-out scholar who had fled from Jiunan City. Even if he was making a little money now, he had no backing—wasn't he still free for Gao Yu to knead and squeeze as he pleased?

The only trouble was that the other man lived in the Inner City. Security there was stricter, making it difficult to act.

"Brother Yu, are we going to make a move in the Inner City?"

Wen Biao asked, fear in his heart.

If they were caught acting inside the city, the punishment would be severe.

"Relax. It'll be fine."

"As long as we find a place with no one around and act there, it will be fine as long as we aren't discovered."

"A refugee like him, who came fleeing disaster with no family or friends to rely on—even if he disappears, no one will stand up for him," Gao Yu said.

"Are we really going to kill him?"

Yan Ling felt somewhat reluctant.

Though he had stolen and done many bad things, he had never killed anyone.

"That depends on whether the brat knows what's good for him. If he does, and pays enough compensation, we can spare his life."

Gao Yu said coldly.

After discussing it for a while, the group came up with a simple plan.

After reaching an agreement with Jia Yanming, Lin Zheyu finally relaxed.

He no longer needed to worry about Jia Yanming's Flying Rainbow Gang brother coming to cause trouble or plotting against him.

However, Lin Zheyu did not remove the traps in his courtyard. These were troubled times; living alone in Songyi City, it was better to take precautions.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, six days went by.

Lin Zheyu's days were going quite well.

His team of storytellers had grown larger, reaching nine people. However, the price had dropped somewhat, to fifty copper coins per person per day.

The income contributed by the nine storytellers, together with the payment for supplying manuscripts to Yixiang Tea House and what he earned from storytelling himself, had reached around fifteen hundred copper coins.

That was equivalent to one tael of silver.