Making a Move

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of fists connecting with flesh echoed throughout the tea house.

Xing Jinglong and Jia Yanyong were both large men, and their fighting styles were identical: reckless and ferocious.

In their eyes, the only way to fight was to attack, with almost no thought given to defense.

The intense, blood-pumping spectacle had the surrounding crowd worked up into a frenzy.

"Is Jia Yanyong always this reckless when he fights?"

Lin Zheyu kept his eyes fixed on the other members of the Wuding Gang and asked in a low voice.

"Yeah."

Xie Jiang nodded.

The brothers from the Flying Rainbow Gang they had brought along were each keeping a close watch on the Wuding Gang members, guarding against any dirty tricks.

"It's a miracle he's still alive," Lin Zheyu remarked dryly.

The two men in the center were locked in a brawl, with neither able to gain a decisive advantage in the short term.

However, it was clear that Xing Jinglong held the upper hand.

After all, he came from the Xing Family; although he was only a collateral branch, he was still from a wealthy household and had been supplied with abundant medicinal resources since childhood.

His strength was significantly higher than Jia Yanyong's, likely reaching the middle or late stage of the Bone Forging Realm.

However, in terms of ferocity and combat experience, Jia Yanyong was a cut above.

The two traded blows, their fighting style wide and open, devoid of any technique.

Just then.

A burly man from the Wuding Gang reached into the leather pouch at his waist, pulled out several thin needles, and aimed them at Jia Yanyong, preparing to throw them.

"What are you doing?"

Lin Zheyu, sharp-eyed, stepped forward and grabbed the man's right hand.

"Isn't this the storyteller from Bidan Tea House? How did you end up joining the Flying Rainbow Gang?"

"Get lost if you know what's good for you, or you won't have anywhere left to listen to stories," the man said with a sneer. Clearly, he recognized Lin Zheyu and didn't think much of a mere storyteller.

"Hmph."

Lin Zheyu was happy to be underestimated and didn't waste any words.

He exerted sudden force, twisted the man's arm behind his back, and delivered a knee strike, slamming it hard into his abdomen.

"Ah!"

The man let out a miserable shriek, his eyes bulging as he clutched his stomach, collapsed to the ground, and curled into a ball.

He had never expected the storyteller to strike first; caught off guard, he was easily taken down by Lin Zheyu.

"Damn it!"

"Fuck, he dared to strike first."

"You're looking for death!"

Lin Zheyu's actions were like poking a hornet's nest, and the members of the Wuding Gang all moved to attack.

"Get them!"

Xie Jiang shouted and charged toward the Wuding Gang members.

Including Xing Jinglong, the opposition had brought a total of three Bone Forging Realm martial artists, the same number as them.

However, since one had just been taken out by Lin Zheyu's surprise attack, Lin Zheyu and his side now held a slight advantage.

The remaining Bone Forging Realm martial artist was locked onto by Xie Jiang, while Lin Zheyu faced only the average lackeys.

He swept his gaze calmly across the room, activated the Golden Goose Technique, and moved rapidly among the Wuding Gang members, leaving a trail of screams in his wake.

Within a few breaths, four members of the Wuding Gang were sent flying with kicks, wailing in pain.

The entire room suddenly went quiet.

Even Xing Jinglong and Jia Yanyong stopped to look over.

"Impressive!"

Xie Jiang grinned and gave Lin Zheyu a thumbs-up.

"Brother Lin is amazing!"

Jia Yanyong stepped back a few paces, looking at the wailing Wuding Gang members on the floor, and exclaimed in admiration.

If he had been the one to act, he wouldn't have been able to deal with these people so easily.

"Fatty Xing, still want to fight?"

He looked at the livid Xing Jinglong and chuckled, his face full of smug satisfaction.

Lin Zheyu and Xie Jiang stepped forward, standing beside Jia Yanyong.

"Kid, I've got my eye on you!"

"You've got some skills, much better than this trash Jia Yanyong."

Xing Jinglong looked Lin Zheyu up and down, his expression turning somewhat grave.

To be able to deal with his brothers so easily, his strength was not to be underestimated.

"Hmph!"

"Let's go."

Xing Jinglong let out a cold snort, tossed down a tael of silver, and left with his brothers.

"Are we just letting him go like that?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"What else are we supposed to do?"

"That guy is a young master of the Xing Family. Even if he's from a branch line, he's still a member of the Xing Family."

"Look, this is his compensation."

Xie Jiang picked up the silver from the ground and said with a smile.

"We can't go too far while we're in the city. If we were outside the city in a secluded spot, I'd dare to kill him even if he were a direct descendant of the Xing Family."

Jia Yanyong curled his lips and said viciously.

"You couldn't even beat him, yet you're still talking big," Xie Jiang said dismissively.

"Damn it, Xie Jiang, do you want to fight too? I didn't even get enough of a workout fighting that Fatty Xing just now!" Jia Yanyong said unhappily upon hearing this.

"Bring it on then. Whoever is afraid is a dog!"

"Think I'm scared of you..."

Lin Zheyu ignored the two bickering men; he was used to it.

These two guys always argued whenever they met and couldn't stand each other, yet they somehow loved hanging out together.

"What's that kid's background? How come I've never seen him before?"

Xing Jinglong asked the lackey beside him.

He didn't like reading and almost never went to tea houses to listen to stories; whenever he had free time, he was at taverns, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, or gambling dens, so he didn't recognize Lin Zheyu.

"He's a storyteller at the Bidan Tea House. He's quite famous, but I don't know how he ended up joining the Flying Rainbow Gang," the man beside him said.

He had been sent flying by a whip kick from Lin Zheyu, his arm was fractured, and his face was deathly pale.

"Storytellers are this strong now?"

Xing Jinglong widened his eyes. A storyteller, yet his strength was so formidable.

"I'm not sure either. Two months ago, he still looked like a weakling. I guess he made some money and hired someone to teach him martial arts."

The man shook his head, clearly just as shocked.

"He managed to train to this level in just over two months?" Xing Jinglong was somewhat surprised.

He had been practicing martial arts under his father's guidance since he was a child, and at fifteen years old, he had only just reached the middle stage of the Bone Forging Realm.

"Did he really only train for two months?" Xing Jinglong asked, somewhat disbelieving.

"Yeah."

"At first, that guy looked like a Skinny Monkey, all skin and bones."

"Later on, he slowly started getting more and more robust."

A lackey who was more familiar with the situation said. Many people who liked listening to stories knew about Lin Zheyu's background.

"If he really reached this level in just two months, then his talent for martial arts is truly terrifying."

Xing Jinglong muttered to himself, "If this guy could be recruited into my Xing Family and cultivated for a few years, he'd be a top-tier expert!"

The group returned to the Bidan Tea House.

Someone was already telling stories inside the tea house.

Lin Zheyu listened from backstage for a while and found that the performance was quite good, with much more flair than his own.

"I'll leave the storytelling to this guy from now on," Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He found Steward Wu and discussed the matter with him, and Steward Wu readily agreed.

They settled on a price of 400 wen per story session, which was about 100 wen less than what Lin Zheyu earned from his own storytelling wages plus tips.

Leaving the tea house.

Lin Zheyu headed straight for the apothecary in Songyi City.

He planned to exchange all one hundred and thirty-plus taels of silver in his possession for ingredients for the Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup.

With prices rising day by day, the silver in his hands was worth less as time went on.

After scouring every apothecary in the city, Lin Zheyu finally spent one hundred and twenty-eight taels of silver to purchase twelve sets of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup.

It really doesn't last long.

Lin Zheyu sighed; his silver was gone once again.

After handing over his storytelling job, he was left with only his work at the Flying Rainbow Gang.

The work at the Flying Rainbow Gang was very relaxed, with almost nothing to do.

Lin Zheyu's days became much more leisurely.